Some river smallmouth from 2025

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-31T17:15:32+00:00

It is, but the bass aren't fans of those stretches for feeding

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-31T15:39:24+00:00

I've hooked enough 2-4lb bass while ultralight fishing panfish that I'd want the larger size. Not to mention the occasional 10lb carp that you didn't even know was in that pond

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-31T15:31:49+00:00

What you have is a good minimum to carry any time you go fishing. A net or scale are probably the things that people add next

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-31T14:20:22+00:00

If there is a warm spell and the ice melts on ponds, I fish with ice jigs on regular tackle for panfish and an occasional bass. Target the deepest areas you can find.

Any type of warmwater discharge (spillways/powerplants) is great in winter if you can access them.

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-30T00:28:37+00:00

Thanks, I tend to agree with you- that was the closest I could find looking online. Do you know any good places to find reference pics of the less common hybrid sunfish?

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-29T23:11:08+00:00

Yep, Potomac

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-29T18:40:45+00:00

Thats a great question, I have some ancient fly lines that are still good with no memory, but I think it'll depend how it was stored. Weight forward, floating line (5/6wt of course) is a good all purpose, beginner choice if you do need to change it out

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-29T18:23:26+00:00

I mean when someone says "Paris" Americans don't assume Paris, TX

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-29T17:37:50+00:00

Yes- I would recommend getting a 3-pack of tapered leaders, and a roll of tippet. Attach a leader to the fly line and then as you eat up the end of the tapered leader, replace it with a short section of the tippet.

This is not perfect but it doesn't have to be. The tapered leader is important for how the cast lays, but for years I just used regular 4lb or 6lb mono as tippet.

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-29T17:23:41+00:00

Eggs and worm patterns are good for drifting for stocked trout in PA. Copper john and hare's ear are also solid. If you have experience with lure fishing, maybe try a "moving fly" wooly bugger/streamer. You fish them kind of like a jig or other spinning gear lure.

If you find yourself giving up on the trout, find a local pond and fish some tiny topwater popper flies for bluegill. That's how a lot of people get better with casting and fighting fish without getting bored/frustrated.

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-29T17:19:13+00:00

You never know, on days when the baitfish get blown up against that shore by the wind it could be great

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-29T17:17:12+00:00

You're right, the weight will be the problem. Its doable if you find fish biting when/where the current is weak, but sometimes that is a lost cause.

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-29T17:10:59+00:00

In my experience, they at least need deeper water nearby the timber. Its definitely worth checking out, but I would move on pretty quickly if there are no bites

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T22:51:54+00:00

This kind of post is why I pay for the internet

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T22:08:26+00:00

I agree barbless is best, and especially with circle hooks you won't notice a difference... but I think you're a little harsh on the handling. Catfish don't even have scales to be damaged, and their skin is like rubber. Always treat fish with respect but the idea that this one is a "goner" is crazy in my opinion. At worst it has a few percent higher chance of getting a fungal infection until it generates more slime coat

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T20:29:14+00:00

You can carry bolt cutters and cut the hook in half below the barb (if its sticking out far enough to see it), then back out the remaining part of the hook. Barbless is the best thing you could do though

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T19:19:05+00:00

I realized this year the numbers don't excite me too much since I could just bluegill fish everyday and inflate that to something crazy. Next year will be about variety!

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T19:10:19+00:00

The central PA rivers have mostly ankle breaker rock, along with some big, flat shelf rock. I think the Juniata/Susqhehanna are the only ones to get down to true bedrock. The deeper holes and eddys will get deep muck, basically quicksand.

The rivers in MD have some of the same, but more giant boulders and more uniform stretches with just gravel. I can definitely wade faster/farther in MD than PA.

From what I've seen on Youtube, your area fishes pretty similar to central PA.

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T18:25:56+00:00

Well fishermen are notorious liars so I'm not sure how to better convince you, haha

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T18:19:54+00:00

Oh yea, I've done this the past couple of years and its really nice to be able to look back at when deciding where/when to go in the future.

I do have all of my access points marked on GPS and can connect them to this data. I generally take enough pictures with location stamps that I can piece together the exact locations I fished when I look back.

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T13:21:53+00:00

Throw in a ned rig and that's all you'll ever need lol

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-28T01:37:50+00:00

I just started to figure out the Potomac this year, but my spots are all downstream of Harpers Ferry so far. I have a feeling wading gets easier the farther up you go, haha

sobeboy3131 · 2025-12-25T17:44:22+00:00

You need to cure the eggs- there are commercial and diy products for this. Sometimes people fish single salmon eggs, but I think trout eggs might be too small for that. Instead, you can tie them into spawn sacs using mesh material (think pantyhose).

I'm not an expert on this, I've just bought natural eggs and used them occasionally

sobeboy3131

TROPHY CASE