padon

I feel the same as team 99 and for that reason tend to favor baits like z man or roboworm as they tend to float or at least fall very slowly.

I personally like river rock tubes in any of the green pumpkin flake colors, craw colors etc. I also like smoke purple if the water is clear. I use both the the 2.75 and 3.5 versions. 1/8 and 3/16 are usually my go to weights and I like weedless heads made by Oldham. you can google them if you want. im sure youll get other opinions but that's what I like.your normal shallow to medium cranks. jerkbaits and spinnerbaits that you use down south should work fine. this is a big river with big aggressive fish don't think you need small stream baits to catch smallies here.

way too much.lol but then ive rebuilt my trailer this year and am replacing 4 stradics that are 10 plus years old with new ones so that gets expensive. as far as lures and such not too much. just restocked what I went through last year. added a few new things to experiment with but not a lot. maybe $200

that is my home river and that area in particular is where I fish the most.that time of year can be boom or bust. hit a warm stretch with stable river flows and you can load up. 100 fish days are not uncommon with double digit numbers over 3 pounds.if its cold and the water is too high your gonna struggle.check the Harrisburg gauge, if its at about 4-7 you should be good. also what kind of boat are you fishing from? that stretch can be very rocky and a jet boat is best a prop boat will work if you have decent water but you have to go slow and limit where you go.as for the fishing that time of year most fish will want to be out of fast current, bankside eddies,slowwer water behind rock ledges etc.as said hair jigs tubes,crankbaits , spinnerbaits , and jerkbaits and swimbaits can all be effective depending on water temp flow and just the mood of fish that day. although spring can be great for big fish don't overlook summer if you have the right boat. when the flow is more stable, you may not get as many big fish but its not uncommon to have 50 fish days with several 3pound plus fish even in mid summer. that time of year flukes and topwaters can be dynamite.nothing like catching 18" plus smallies on topwater while your buddies back home a dropshoting 30' depths.

because of the heavy sinker you can search deeper water fairly quickly and still have a subtle presentation with a soft plastic. it allows you to feel the bottom and see whats there , muck, rocks ,grass etc.also a little easier to fish in wind because of the heavy weight. I use it as a search tool for deep water, after you locate them and catch some you can pinpoint them and work them with a drop shot and usually catch a few more.

those work great for nose hooking .for texas rigging the the roboworm rebarb hook works well

I see you live in bucks county ,I shouldn't mention this because we may fish some of the same waters.lol.ive used lots of things but one of my favorites that nobody has mentioned so far is the erie darter. especially smoke purple in clear water.

so to pass the winter boredom ive been doing some reading.Just finished slider fishing by Charlie Brewer. I couldn't help but notice while reading it the similarities in approach between the two techniques.Both emphasize light weight similar type retrieves type of hook set etc. bear in mind charlies book was written in the 70s I believe. I looked up some things on the ned rig and reread those also and was again struck by the similarities. ive had some success on the ned rig but after reading more I need to refine the way I fish it.i think I will try to work on the slider technique this year also on the clear highly pressured lakes I fish.there deffinitley seems to be some crossover between the two techniques.

I fish a couple lakes similar to the OP. not a lot of "cover " in the deeper depths, what do you key on in those situations. im assuming changes in elevation, areas that drop more steeply than others etc. basically what I would describe as "structure"

I use white a lot but also like Arkansas shiner and watermelon magic. sometimes in super clear water the white just seems kind of overpowering which is when I use one of the others.

I use the same hook for my flukes . The screw lock helps keep the bait from getting torn up as much. I also throw mine on spinning tackle for smallmouth in the river.

I fish the Susquehanna for smallmouth a lot. don't be afraid to try the 5inch size. the only time I use the small size is in early spring, all summer and fall they eat the bigger one and it casts better

I like those and yamamoto d shads in current the extra weight gets them down a little with no weight needed.

to me ,I want the profile, presentation, speed and depth right first. color comes last. now having said that I do have certain colors that I have faith in. june bug and black and blue in stained/ dirty water, green pumpkin in less stained to semi clear, watermelon/ translucent colors in clear water. for me you need a general color that is visible in the water your fishing but not overpowering and generally matches the prey where your fishing. im sure there are others with more experience who will say color matters more but just for me I feel the other factors are more important. you can have the best color there is but if your not fishing where the fish are and with a presentation that they are receptive to you wont catch many fish.

I gotta get that book.been meaning to get it for my winter reading/education

Z man. Also reins worms will sit tail up on a shakey head.

There are several ways to fish it.I personally like to swim it with occasional stops to sit on the bottom and hop it a little.google Ned kedhe Midwest finesse and he will describe the most effective retrieves.

Thanks guys.seems to be the general consensus from guys I've talked to here also.good in early pre spawn,great in fall very ify to worthless in summer.

They were the fore runner of the fluke.the original soft stick bait. My favorite way to fish them is texposed weightless. Kinda like a fluke but with fewer jerks and more of a slow glide pause.

So I know how effective the A rig can be in fall.the question I have is does anybody fish it successfully in pre spawn or summer? I was just wondering like in summer when the fish don't seem to be responding on the deep weed lines and I see schools of shad I just think man those fish must be on those shad schools.the only ways I can think of approaching this is with the a rig a swimbait or maybe a flutter spoon.

Ok,I'm gonna let you in on a secret.lol well not really but a very productive bait in the rivers.3.8 keitech fat impact on a 1/8-1/4 depending on depth and current will hammer fish.also in summer flukes are great especially the last hour of light.really in summer Yuri don't need much stuff.some swimbaits,fluke a few cranks topwaters and senkos will get you bit all summer.throw in some tubes if you wanna fish low and slow and that's it.

Sure.actually duncanonn to Marysville is my main stomping ground.I'm always looking for guys to fish with.what do you fish out of?

I fish the main branch from selinsgrove down to about Marysville.I fish most of my moving baits that way Oh I see you from the area.great fishing in the rivers around here.

Rich is Avery good finesse fisherman.I used to read his stuff in in-fisherman in the mid 80s before finesse was ever a mainstream thing.

Bandit 100s and kvd 1.5 are both good and inexpensive,relatively.I fish both of those on the Susquehanna and do well.cast up and across and retrieve diagonal through the current.also fish behind rock current breaks and grass islands