What it's Like on the North Branch

[FM]

Timing is everything this year. I've had to go to some extremes just to get out on the river. Thursday the 13th I went to my launch and had by coincidence a large snow shovel in my truck. I used the shovel to push the inch and a half of slick mud down the ramp and into the drink. I was counting on a few predicted showers to clean up the remainders. So when I came back on Friday evening everything was in pretty good shape. The river was at 8 feet on the WB gauge. That doesn't mean much until you understand that ideal level start at 3 to 4 and good wet wading is a 1 to 0. At 8 I can anchor safely along shore in slower spots. At 10 even that is impossible. So I was out for a few hours Friday evening and got two channel cats medium 20's. It was getting very foggy and w/o much of a bite I called it. Last night Sunday , 16th I had better conditions at 5 feet. I ran up river and anchored in a big eddy. I picked up about 10 with a couple dropped at the boat. I forgot I had the rear anchored, first time this year, and lost one fighting the anchor rope like a dummy. Another came off close the the boat, may have been a flathead it didn't fight like a channel cat. I'll never know. One funny thing, I caught the same 15.5 pound 30 inch channel cat twice within 30 minutes. All this on live 3 to five inch bluegills. It will be sometime next week before anything will be happening on the Susky.
FM

[dretallack]

The Susquehanna? Right now in Harrisburg, she looks more like the muddy Mississippi. Last night I would of been lucky to have 6" of visibility. Good job on those cats.

[afishinado]

Timing is everything this year. I've had to go to some extremes just to get out on the river. Thursday the 13th I went to my launch and had by coincidence a large snow shovel in my truck. I used the shovel to push the inch and a half of slick mud down the ramp and into the drink. I was counting on a few predicted showers to clean up the remainders. So when I came back on Friday evening everything was in pretty good shape. The river was at 8 feet on the WB gauge. That doesn't mean much until you understand that ideal level start at 3 to 4 and good wet wading is a 1 to 0. At 8 I can anchor safely along shore in slower spots. At 10 even that is impossible. So I was out for a few hours Friday evening and got two channel cats medium 20's. It was getting very foggy and w/o much of a bite I called it. Last night Sunday , 16th I had better conditions at 5 feet. I ran up river and anchored in a big eddy. I picked up about 10 with a couple dropped at the boat. I forgot I had the rear anchored, first time this year, and lost one fighting the anchor rope like a dummy. Another came off close the the boat, may have been a flathead it didn't fight like a channel cat. I'll never know. One funny thing, I caught the same 15.5 pound 30 inch channel cat twice within 30 minutes. All this on live 3 to five inch bluegills. It will be sometime next week before anything will be happening on the Susky.
FM

The NB and entire river is predicted to be close to flood stage later this week (20' + at Wilkes-Barre)>  https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=bgm&gage=wbrp1

Hard to believe >  2018....the fishing season that wasn't (on the Susky)

[chez]

I wasent able to fish the river once this year for bass.
I got out 3 times for spring cats.That was it.
Hopefully I can get out for the fall bite.