This is a long shot, but I was wondering if anyone fishes the Little Juniata around Alexandria, PA often.  I'm going to be staying in one of my neighbor's vacation homes for the weekend next weekend.  The house is actually on the river, but I'm bringing a canoe and my son's kayak.  If the river doesn't lend itself to paddling at that time, I'll probably wade in the mornings.  He told me to forgo whatever opportunitiessmallies might exists on the river and borrow his Sage and go after the trout, which I'm not doing.  I'm wondering if I should just drive somewhere else or fish there?  Thanks.

 

I think you have a great opportunity.

In streams that support a good trout populations, coldwater fish are usually the main target.

In many instances, the smallie population may be neglected, which is a good thing.

 

Roger

 

That's what I'm hoping.  I've never seen it, let alone fished it.  Where I'm from, the Roanoke River is that way to a degree.  But it's not quite cold enough for the trout, by the end of July there are none left.  I could usually find a 16" smallie on it, though.

There are 2 branches of the Little J that converge downstream from Alexandria. 

 

The Frankstown branch is warmer water and I would expect a heavy population of smallmouth and possible musky.  There should be several access points to float depending on water conditions. 

 

The other branch known as the Little Juniata is a world class trout stream.  When fly fishing was my major hobby I had some unforgettable days in the 13 mile catch and release section.  Also caught the unintended smallmouth on most trips.  Depending on the section you could possible float smaller areas if the water conditions are right.

 

I would recommend at least picking up the sage for a few hours.  The biomass of brown trout is hard to find elsewhere and there are some very large fish haunting the deeper pools. 

 

This house is pretty near the convergence of the Little Juniata and the Raystown branch.  I have a panfish rod in the car.  I saw some video he shot of the river by the house, definitely speaks more to brook trout than smallmouth.  Let me go see how much a 3 day trout stamp costs.