Bass-Addict

Alberto, and agreed it is 100% due to break off and retying which as you said even conservatively uses several inches of braid each time. That can be up to a foot or more every trip which adds up. I’d rather have too much than too little and be stuck using mono for finesse, that was d**n near impossible.

The scenery alone made it worthwhile, which to me is equally or more important than catching trophies. Ditto on the above

Lol we did ok, I got one 18.5 that was pretty chunky and a lot of healthy medium sized fish. Lost one that was definitely over 18 the second day. My buddy fared a bit better, caught 5-6 over 18 but he fished a bit harder. Like when I was at the campsite gathering wood he was going back out to catch the evening topwater bite. I guess my shoulder can only take so much lol. Beautiful place, incredible fishery. I couldn’t believe how many smallmouth were in that river.

Suffix 832 10 lb

So if I’m running out should I switch back to the full spool?

Yeah won’t be long before the Jackhammer goes the way of the plopper. They wise up to specific sounds like that.

Yup we ended up doing Duncannon to Harrisburg, I tried my damnedest to talk my buddy into Sunbury down but he was dead set on this stretch. I knew just from the advice given here and Google Maps that this was way more developed and less “immersive” but I went with it because he planned it. Still a great float, plenty scenic in the first half but it flattened and widened approaching Harrisburg and the ledge systems transitioned to grass that was out of control. Next time we will definitely be going north.

6-8 ft Fill which spool, shallow or reg 2500? Is this brand significantly better? Do you prefer a shallow spool for finesse tactics? I’m not running out on a cast ? I fish a Rocky river and break off enough that I’ve apparently run out.

So which stretch would you recommend that feels more wild and scenic? Is sunbury south good?

Yeah I guess I’ve just broken off enough that it has gotten low inch by inch. I break off fluro too but once it gets under 2 ft I cut and retie.

Yeah we were looking at ducannon down to the statue. Is that not very scenic/mountainous?

6’10” MLXF St Croix LTB. You don’t get snagged often on a Ned rig? Hell I have to retie several times almost every trip, and I use EWG hooks.

So south of Ducannon isn’t very scenic/mountainous? My buddy and I are heading down there and looking for a good 2 day float, plan to island camp. Looking for the prettiest stretch.

10 lb Suffix, Ned rig

How do you suppose I ran out?

You got smallies in the PNW?

I bought a Stradic 2500 from digitaka not realizing it was shallow due to the Japanese model numbers. At first I figured no problem I can use for my finesse setup, but today when I ran out of braid I quickly changed my mind. What exactly is the advantage of these?

Yeah it’s pretty worn out, esp since the explosion in popularity of fishing since Covid. I would love to have fished it when it first hit the market.

Really? That’s interesting, you would think the southernmost portion of their range would be tougher in the dead of summer.

As it is everywhere

What is the likelihood of catching a 19-20” fish in there?

In my river it is not nearly as effective as it was even a year or two ago, but still produces consistently enough to keep it tied on in the summer. I’m wondering if it’s worth leaving my comfort zone and learning to walk the dog or mixing Ricos into my rotation or if the plopper still gets bit way more?

What fisheries would you say fit this description?

I think the metric generally used is greatest concentration of trophy fish (5 lb +)

Are gobies and zebras pretty much single-handedly responsible for this explosion or is there more going on? Yeah I knew about Dale Hollow but always wondered if Norris had some monsters.