june 1963 boating issue - Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

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SPINNING THE BIG RIVER Big rivers like the Delaware and Susquehanna are, in reality, a combination of little streams and in their travels between the banks are many subtle shallows, long slick runs and eddies, as well as the obvious unwadable stretches of white water tumbling between house-size boulders. The sight of all this variety within the easy reach of the spincaster can be most devastating and one's first impulse is to start casting any and everywhere. It is far better, however, to think out your moves in much the same way the fly-fisherman, with his limited equipment, must do. By sparing the number of casts, you automatically enlarge your chance of taking a really big fish, for with the exception of those times when the stream is very high and roily, big fish are, more often than not, scared by indiscriminate casting. The way to the big fish is that which is most direct. Figure out where he is likely to be, then go about the strategy by casting the lure, preferably above his lair, in such a way it will come down to him in perfect timing with the pressure of the retrieve. You will then present it to him perfectly the first time and all the nuances of the lure's built-in action will work its deadly attraction. If you simply heave the lure in the general direction, it will usually go by the fish too fast, too high or in such a way he will not see it properly. Often the simple strategy of selecting a casting point above a midstream rock and working a cast well above it, letting the lure drift naturally, will draw the big one out. Other times a spinning lure is best fished slowly straight across the hot spot. Streamer fly-fishing is the general technique which can be well adapted to big stream angling. If you have taken bass on streamers in big rivers, you've likely had to wade long and difficult stretches to put the lure in just the right current movement where the action will count. Any fly-rod man who has used a spinner knows what I mean. Spinning, however, makes the whole proposition easy. You need not wade, and banished is the heavy, bellying line with the accompanying difficulty of sinking the lure to the right depth just where you want it. Spinning will do all these things and more if you apply yourself to the task and put your faith in the tackle. Bass, big ones, will come out of the hot spots lured by weighted bucktails and even salt-water jigs in the spinning sizes if you don't scare 'em down by a lot of unplanned tries. In the matter of lures, the heavy sunken lures such as the brass, copper and silver finished spoons are good teasers and will not snag up readily despite their weight, if you cast them bullet-like and not up in the air and down ... a common failure which allows too much slack. Remember . . . heavy line with the heavy lures if you want distance, but remember too that distance is only as good as its control. If you can reach the other bank but cannot manipulate the lure into the hot spot properly, save your effort and work from another point. For fast water, avoid the lures with revolving blades that fan out from the lure shank. These spin too fast and create too much drag on the line and if and when a fish does hit, the pressure will often be too much for the frail line. The rod tip, already bent from the excessive drag, has little cushioning power left in it. Avoid the lazy habit of tying your lures directly to the line for the holes in most of them are rough. Wire loops are also bound to cut into the thin nylon. Your best plan is to tie on a By Ray Ovington snap swivel of the proper size and weight for the job. Make sure your tackle box includes many sizes and use the smallest possible, for a large swivel detracts from the action of the lure- Tie your swivel with a clinch knot and carefully test it before you snap on the lure or the lure split-ring. Often it is advisable when working with large lures in quest of river bass to use a short length metal leader ahead of th e snap swivel for this will help avoid line breakage when the fis' 1 carries the lure into rough rocks or pesky snags. Bass, hardscaled and hard-mouthed, tend to wear through a fine line- Incidentally, I have never found that the short leader of wire or plastic covered wire detracts from the killing qualities 0» the lures, so it just makes good sense to use them. Fast-water fishing will twist your line unmercifully unless you take the proper precautions. When using lures that have any tendency to spin (and bait is definitely included here)employ a transparent fin to the leader or just ahead of the swivel. Live bait is duck soup for the big stream. A hefty nigh' crawler needs no additional weight unless you are still-fishing at the head of a pool. The worm fished, dead drift, casting i' 1 slightly upstream fly-fishing style, is still one of the most killing forms of bait-fishing. These same thoughts also apply to minno\Vfishing as well and you'll note that you can make long casts easily with little danger of flicking the bait off. Though it may seem like a great deal of bother, change you'' lure weights for given circumstances, even though you keel' fishing from the same location. For example, suppose you are working from the head of a pool on a big fast section of the river and right below you is deep water with a combination of backwater and heavy flow with a white-water stretch in the center- Light lures can be employed on the shallow, slow fringes an'' retrieved right to your very feet. The middle water can be handled with the middle-sized lures with ease and for the deep water too if it is slow enough- When casting across the three levels from a position downstream, the heavy lure is O.K. if you throw it just the other side of the fast water and retrieve as it is brought down by the current. Let it remain in the white water as long as you can and bring it upstream, holding the rod high as you work it quickly through the shallows. The lighter lure is sometime^ more practical, however, for you can cast it upstream, allowing it to sink farther for its weight in the fast water and then take your time on the retrieve, bringing" it through the fish)' spots. I've taken many bass just at the fringe of white water where the bottom of the stream slants upward, for here there is a dead water current, not visible to us, where bass congregate- Make it a point never to stay with one lure for too long < l time in the same area. Change often, for fish seem to tire of the same lure. They might follow it once or twice, but if yov' present them with something different on the third cast the)' will often strike. I've seen this proven in salt-water angling- A school of mackerel will go crazy for a particular lure fo'-' maybe three or four casts and then interest begins to lag. Put on something of the same color but different shape and actid 1 and they come in fresh and eager again. Remember this, for i' will pay off again and again. Changing lures will also get yotf into the habit of selecting the right weight lure and action for the type of water you are fishing. Never underestimate the power of the midget bass plugs i' 1 16 P E N N S Y L V A N I A ANGLEU
all shapes, sizes and actions. I can recall one old bruiser that Came a full fifty feet out of hiding for an old River Runt Spook. ' was fishing the tail of a broad pool having worked my way downstream from the head. I hadn't had a strike despite the 'Set that I picked my locations and had cast carefully, practically calling the shots. While changing lures, I snapped on 'he River Runt. The cast was to a rook in the center of the Pool, a wonderful resting place for the big fish that come into 'hat lower water and stay there, frustrating all who try for 'hem by orthodox means. The River Runt was hard to handle, for the faster I retrieved, 'he deeper it went, so, I fed out line while keeping the rod bent against its downstream course. It must have wobbled its way at least 200 feet downstream when all of a sudden I felt a jolt, distantly I whipped the rod back, lifting the line in a razor cut off the water. Snagged? No sir . . . there was the flash 01 a fish and the reel drag started to buzz and never quite popped. When that finny gent came to the end, I snubbed him, 'he only hope. I swear he must have gone five feet in a long tarponlike tailwalk and then up—up! The line went slack but I didn't care for I had learned a secret of the big river . . . the w ay to a big baby in fast water is to give him something fishy • • . something large and formidable. I wish that every lure 1 have lost could have taught me what this one did that day! Bass bugs in the evening, work well on lunkers that feed just below the fast water of a pool where it slides into a slower Pace. Don't jerk them, but let them drift, stopping the line every now and then to make them swing into the current. Sere the drag works to your advantage, despite the teaching °f the drag-wary dry fly purist. That drag probably looks "atural for any bug that size should cause some surface disturbance. Often a few ripples and the sight of the big bug is all that old Mr. Bass needs when he's beginning his nighttime feeding period. If I were selecting a rig solely for big, fast stream work With big spinning lures or small bait-casting lures (almost one and the same), I'd choose a 7-foot tubular glass with a fast tip and plenty of solid backbone in the mid-section. The fast tip makes the rig more versatile for other fishing, while offering Just the right power for pinpointing the long casts to those midstream holes. This type of rod offers great striking qualities, too, f°r it is strong enough to lift a long line quickly and set the barbs. When a river smallmouth is hitting you, that strength is none too much to set the hook. Playing big bass in thick, heavy water, requires you to let the fish do the dictating, for he will anyway. With a long line °ut it is hard to stop a downstream run and I've found that the best practice in this situation is to relax pressure entirely. Pish don't like to run downstream with the current and when 'hey find the pressure relaxed, will immediately head back upstream. This is the point you have to watch for it is right here, with plenty of slack line, they will usually take to jumping. Keep 'em down by testing the pull against them, just Enough so they will battle themselves out heading into the current. Now with the current working in your favor, let them drop down to a slack pocket and for the final netting, bring them in at the head of the quiet water, leaving a comfortable margin for them to roust about without getting back into the fast stuff for one last terrifying run downstream. If the hook has been wearing a hole, that last run may be all they need for leverage. Once they get it, your trophy is only a myth or 'he "one that got away!" Play big fish until they are almost spent and don't make any sudden movement when they swim by those first few times for they are simply looking you over. When they start turning on their side have the net ready. JUNE—1963 When the Shad Flies Hatch By ALBERT G. SHIMMEL The expert angler is aware that the opening of trout season is not favorable to his art except on rare occasions. As the water warms under the lengthening days the hatches increase in number and intensity until late May and eai\y June mark the hatching of the largest of the Ephemeridae, the Green Drake or Shad fly. This is the one time of the year the angler finds large brown trout willing to feed at the surface during daylight hours. The Shad Fly hatch marks the peak of abundance not only of this fly but of both abundance and varie.y of species. Because of the numbers of surface feeding fish this has been nicknamed the "Duffers Fortnight." In order to understand some of the effective methods of taking fish when the Shad is on it is necessary to be familiar with somj of its life history. The nymph burrows in the mud or sand of the stream bottom and are not available to trout in any quantity except when they are actually hatching. It is then that they emerge from their burrows. A tiny bubble of gas forms at the thorax and they rise toward the surface with a bucking motion. Here the nymph floats, the skin breaks open, the adult emerges and using the discarded nymph shuck for a raft, floats for the few seconds it requires for the wings to stiffen. It then lifts from the water and Hies away to the trees. Here it again sheds its skin and so alters its appearance that it is difficult for any but a trained observer to believe that it is the same fly. The nymph is a dirty yellow gray in color. The sub-imago is dull lemon yellow with dark brown or black mottlings. The wings are semi-transparent yellow with black barrings. After the second adult molt the body becomes elongated and is chalkwhite in color. The wings are transparent and retain their black markings. In this stage it returns to the water to mate and lay eggs. The flight begins at sundown, high above the trees and gradually descends until the water is literally covered with floating insects. Anglers now crowd the streams, casting to the rise and hoping for a trophy trout. Paradoxically the angler often fails because his artificial is lost in the multitude of naturals. One of the most effective methods of angling the Shad Fly hatch is to try the stream in the morning. The nymphs leave their burrows and become active some time before reaching the surface. Trout find these animated morsels rather attractive. A nymph either of the fly vise material or one of the molded plastic specimens is used. Cast it into the deeper, more calm portions of the pools and allow it to sink. Strangely enough the fish seldom take this pattern on the way down. After it has reached the bottom move it toward the surface in slow pulls with pauses between of sufficient length to allow the artificial to settle slightly. Trout many times follow them all the way to the surface and then strike viciously just as the angler is about to lift the lure for another cast. At other times the take is slow and del.berate. In the faster water a small dirty yellow streamer of marabou feathers is allowed to drift with the current with an occasional twitch to give it life. These streamers should be slightly over an inch long and have a body of creamy red fox fur spun on yellow silk. Keep the body rather rough to imitate the body of the nymph. It will also collect air bubbles and add realism to the imitation. If you have confined your fishing during this hatch to the tag end of the day be sure to try the morning from about nine a.m. on. I am sure you will be agreeably surprised and have the further advantage of not being trampled in the evening rush. 17
Page 1 and 2: JUNE 1963 BOATING ISSUE
Page 3 and 4: PENNSYLVANIA FISH COMMISSION DIRECT
Page 5 and 6: Penna. Fish Commission West Fairvie
Page 7 and 8: DELAWARE COUNTY D ELAWARE RIVER TID
Page 9 and 10: MONTOUR COUNTY SUSQUEHANNA RIVER, N
Page 11 and 12: NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE PLANS FOR S
Page 13 and 14: „ WAKES. Wakes can cause damage a
Page 15 and 16: eas e. Planks are cut and numbered.
Page 17: Boat Trailering Skill Comes With Pr
Page 21 and 22: THE WORM WALLET By ARTHUR GLOWKA Ru
Page 23 and 24: Muskellunge Culture Featured at Fis
Page 25 and 26: Boulder Valley Club's Fish Conserva
Page 27: CLIP HERE FOR YOUR (OR YOUR FRIEND'

june 1963 boating issue - Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

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