Boasting as the longest commercially non-navigable river in the United States, the Susquehanna is also one of the oldest rivers in the eastern US. Looking at all the natural rock and ledge structures that span the river, this beautiful yet brutal waterway seems locked in time. Having been witness to countess floods the last several decades, the Susquehanna seems to quickly rebound. When you consider its size and geological age, the Susquehanna River is still subject to change.
The change we are experiencing today is not due to industrial or environmental circumstances. It is due to the actions of short-sighted anglers who introduced an invasive species into the river. This is not to say that new specise introduction is always a bad thing, or that fishing for invasive species is not an amazing angling opportunity. However, it does show how introducing a species outside of fishery management can have catastrophic consequences.
Many anglers do not seem to understand the difference between native vs. introduced vs. invasive species. Going back to our records of nearly 200 years, the native species of the Susquehanna River were bowfin, quillback, bullheads, sunfish, eels and a variety of suckers and minnows. Seasonally, ocean run shad, herring and striped bass joined the mix of native species. Dam construction eventually limited access to many ocean-run species.
Gamefish such as musky, smallmouth, channel cats, and walleye were all introduced by fisheries management or permission from the commission. For example, smallmouth bass were introduced to the Susquehanna around 1873 after Thaddeus Norris (with permission from the commissioner of fisheries,) had success introducing 450 Potomac River smallmouth to the Delaware River in 1870. This is a great story in itself, but perhaps for another time. The introduction of smallmouth bass fit well with the native species that can still be caught today. This gave room for the commission to stock musky, channel cats and walleye with great success, all without critical changes to other species.
Approximately two decades ago, anglers stocked flathead catfish without the consent of the fish commission. Flathead catfish grow quickly and offer an amazing fight when hooked. Initially the PFBC issued a kill-on-capture/seek and destroy, making it illegal to release live flathead after being caught. Early on, even a few tackle shops offered bounties on flatheads brought into their shop. This ‘kill order’ was lifted when the PFBC realized the flathead catfish were here to stay. Oddly, the PFBC seems to have removed flathead catfish from their invasive list in 2020.
Anglers are now faced with another kill-upon-capture/seek and destroy mandate on northern snakeheads. Similar to the flathead, this angler believes that snakeheads are here to stay and will offer angling opportunities for those who embrace them. The impact of these invasive species is still quite unknown and may be for some time.
My first memories of smallmouth on the Susquehanna River revolved around fishing with my grandfather. He had a passion fishing and passed that along to me. Since my earliest memories, I have been hooked on smallmouth bass. Their willingness to chase lures and fight well beyond their physical size just intrigued me. He had an annual tradition of constructing a rather crude plywood johnboat in the spring and floating this wooden box down the Juniata during the summer weekends.
If we were not floating, we were wet wading in the heat of the summer. When time allowed, we would hit the big river and pitch a tent at a campground that my grandfather’s friend Leroy owned. That same campground is still in operation today. We would wet-wade the Duncannon area with live bait we collected along the way. The water is much the same, but the fishery has changed a great deal since the 70’s.
During that time, nearly every outing resulted in 80-100+ bass. Big bass for us back then were 16”-17” and they were few and far between. My grandfather would say, “There is a bass behind every rock.” And honestly, in the 70’s and 80’s that was very true. In the good old days, if you will, there was a lot of fish but not necessarily a lot of big fish. This began to change in the 90s.
It was this time period that I purchased my first jet boat and my obsession with smallmouth really took hold. The jet boat gave me range and I began to explore different areas along the main river and its northern stretches. For me, targeting river smallmouth became a four-season event. Numbers were still solid, but size was improving, and the Susquehanna River was gaining national attention. By the end of the 90’s, Susquehanna was a destination for big smallmouth and plenty of them.
Entering 2000, the outboard jet market was starting to explode. Prior to the mid 90’s, most jet units were converted after purchase. By 2000, every outboard manufacturer was offering factory “jet-ready” packages. With the fishery gaining notoriety and jet drives becoming more popular, spring and fall community holes were busy and everyone was catching.
Few of us realized how delicate the fishery was. Within just a few years, numbers were on the decline and there seemed to be gaps in the year classes. Spring flooding and cases of Columnaris were impacting the young of year in three out of every four years. By 2007, outdoor writers, guides and passionate anglers had the PFBC’s attention. As a result, the first Smallmouth Symposium was held, and I was in attendance. By the second year of Symposiums, Pennsylvania had invited fisheries managers from Maryland, New York and Virginia.
By 2012, the PFBC changed the bass regulations on the Susquehanna and the lower 40 miles of the Juniata. The regulations were ‘catch & release’ only and a moratorium for no bass fishing from May 1 until the opening day of bass in June. Even through these troubled years, many of the wintering areas held great numbers of bass. Fort Hunter, one of the most popular wintering areas was easy fishing. These deep-water areas held large numbers of bass and forage from November to early spring. The regulations worked and by 2017, the moratorium for targeting bass from May 1st to mid-June was lifted.
What a remarkable recovery for the smallmouth. However, they were not quite out of the woods. A new apex predator was gaining in numbers and after two decades was about ready to change a few things when it comes to deep water smallmouth fishing and wintering areas. I am sure the change was more subtle than it appeared, but community wintering areas were changing. Places like Fort Hunter still hold bass, but nowhere near the numbers it once did. From December to March, instead of being smallmouth central, it is now home to large schools of flathead catfish. And this is perhaps the silver lining.
For anglers to be successful late fall and winter, they must up their game and explore new areas. While some wintering areas are still hold numbers of bass, most are now home to flatheads.
For me, while initially I hated these invaders, their presence has made me a better angler. While I doubt I will ever fully embrace them, they are here to stay. If anglers want to catch bass consistently and in numbers when the river is at or below 38°, my advice is to stop lamenting yesterday and find new areas and patterns. Doing so will better your overall smallmouth game and improve your knowledge of their movement throughout the year.
