Spring gobbler season ended last week, and we are about to plunge into another summer season.
On the last Saturday of spring gobbler season, I was looking for any shootable bird. I got in the middle of six jakes and ended it with a Boone and Crockett four and a 4 1/2 inch-bearded gobbler. That evening I took a cruise just before dark and the old gobbler that outwitted me all season was in the field with three hens, in full strut of course. He looked over at me, stuck his tongue out, then went back to the business of courting the hens. I’ll be looking for him come fall.
Now is the time when some serious trout fishing takes place. Most of the streams are in good shape and have lots of trout left. A lot of trout fishermen hang it up after the 30th. That is good for the diehards, because other than the hordes that encompass Penns for the drake hatch, most streams see little pressure from now on compared to the first month or two of the season. Blue-winged olives and sulphurs should be good for a while on many streams. For the spin crowd, try some small rebel and rapala minnowbaits. The small rebel crayfish is another often-overlooked but effective early-summer trout lure.
The summer season on the Susquehanna is in full swing. The Adam Bower Dam is fully inflated and Lake Augusta is back for the summer. Smallmouth are mostly finished spawning, but I did see a couple still on nests last week.
Post-spawn smallmouth can be finicky for a couple of weeks. Straining the water with crankbaits and spinnerbaits is a good way to find active fish. You will sometimes find them out in the middle of the river chasing minnows. With the water up as it is now, they will roam around and feed on the plentiful minnows. When the water levels come down and things clear up as they do most summers, bass will revert back to living on crayfish. Tubes and crankbaits that imitate crawfish become a staple for the summer smallmouth angler. Smallmouth love to feed on the surface, and topwater fishing usually gets better as the summer progresses.
There are plans underway to put two fish passageways at the Adam Bower Dam. The “when” is unknown, but a passageway is slated for the west side. It will be a stream-like passage that will rise one foot for every 100 feet in length. At this rate, it will have to be relatively long to get over the Bower Dam. The east side will get the full-blown ladder with a viewing window, canoe portage path, and improved parking and footpaths.
There are gizzard shad there right now trying to figure out how to get past the dam. The American shad are what the fish ladders are all about, but so far, few Americans get upriver this far. Shore-bound anglers will lose some fishing grounds.
No fishing is allowed within 100 feet of the entrance to a fish ladder. This means we will lose a portion of two of the most popular river fishing spots in our area, both sides of the falls below the Bower Dam. It will be interesting to see if the exclusion zone will be enforced during the times when the dam is not inflated. The passageways might not be operational when the dam is down, so maybe we’ll be OK for the fall walleye season.
We shall see, if and when the project actually gets off the ground.
-- Ken Maurer, Herndon, is a licensed fishing guide and a regular contributor to the Outdoors section.
Sports
See you in the fall, tom
- Sports
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Keller runs to his first victory
Amazing. That was the simple reply from Cody Keller after capping the long comeback from injury win his first sprint car race Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway.
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Zaktansky: Life lessons learned from an earthworm
On my hands and knees, I slogged forward.
The steady rain had long before soaked through my clothes and turned the ground underneath me into a slick film of runny mud. My back hurt, my fingers were caked with brown goop and my mouth was aching from holding a small flashlight as I slowly scanned the backyard. -
Indigo buntings grace the Valley
Summer is the best time for viewing a spectrum of colorful birds.
Like most bird species, it is the male who exhibits bright coloration. From the orange and black patterns of the northern oriole to the scarlet tanager and yellow warbler and the rose-breasted grosbeak — all make a spectacle of themselves. -
Don Steese column: Counting the days
Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the start of the summer vacation season. Kids are out school, the weather is beautiful and all is well with the world ... except for folks like myself, who find themselves counting the days until fall.
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Hartley, Billas fight off heat
Melanie Hartley was drained, a puddle of nerves and perspiration after a brutal 400-meter dash. While the official thermometer at Shippensburg University flirted with 90 degrees on Saturday, the heavy dose of humidity had the packed house at Seth Grove Stadium sweltering.
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Moore bags two medals
Matt Moore is a hard guy to please. Or at least, he finds it hard to take pleasure in his own track and field performances.
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Ken Maurer column: More talk about bass
This past week I attended 2 meetings involving the PFBC.
The first was in Harrisburg where fish commission officials explained to the state senators why they want the DEP to place the Susquehanna River on the “impaired” list. DEP has refused once, and the PFBC has reapplied. -
Scott Dudinskie's high school baseball column: Reich still going strong
Bryan Reich feels it with every pitch he throws. Some would call it pain, maybe discomfort. The Milton right-hander chooses "annoyance."
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State Track & Field updates
Get updates throughout the day on how Valley athletes are faring at the PIAA Track & Field Championships in Shippensburg.
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Danville has that feeling again
Danville was already that team that few others wanted to see in the District 4 Class AA baseball tournament. After the Ironmen's 5-0 quarterfinal win at Wyalusing Valley, that goes double for the three other teams remaining.
- More Sports Headlines
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Keller runs to his first victory
