Anyone who reads the Way North Fishing Reports has seen plenty about fishing in the Susquehanna River. With 18 million gallons of water flowing through its mouth every minute, the Susquehanna River is often described as “mighty.” But for we anglers, it might better be described as “mighty good”—for fishing, that is. In its entirely freshwater zone the Susquehanna offers up excellent action on smallmouth bass, walleye, and catfish. And where it meets the Bay the river swarms with striped bass, perch, and these days snakeheads as well. Providing about half of the freshwater flow into the Chesapeake, at its mouth the famed Susquehanna Flats has at times generated a fishery nothing short of world-famous. This is a B-I-G river, and in truth there are thousands of hotspots along the 440-plus miles of its banks. Spoiler alert: we aren’t going to get to all of them. In fact, we aren’t even going to be able to scratch the surface, even though we’ll stick to just the lower river. But for an angler living in the Mid-Atlantic region these top five Susquehanna hotspots belong on your bucket list.
1. Peachbottom
Just over the MD/PA line the Peach Bottom area is still technically part of Conowingo Reservoir, but it’s certainly part of the Susquehanna too. Historically it drew attention in the winter months due to the warm water discharge at the powerplant on the western shore. The real standout fishery here, however, is the fall bite for smallmouth and walleye (though flathead catfish can also be found in good numbers here), which should be getting ready to fire up soon.
Deep water pushes close up to the western shoreline south of the power plant and there’s even deeper water on the eastern shoreline from around the state line up to the point a mile north, and rocky shorelines plunge off into deep ledges. The key here isn’t finding deep water so much as it is finding the dramatic transition. Try bouncing a jig, blade-bait, spoon, or a similar lure that sinks relatively quickly down these edges and look for areas where underwater boulders cause visible eddies. Fishing Tip: smallmouth love brownish three-inch tube jigs, and walleye love three-inch twister tails. But bring plenty of both, because getting snagged in that rocky bottom you’re bouncing along is quite common.
2. The Dam Pool
The Conowingo dam demarcates the tidal line for the Susquehanna, and here you’ll find mostly freshwater species along with some saltier surprises like rockfish. Smallmouth bass, walleye, flathead catfish, and during the runs shad and perch are all top targets. But this is an area subject to great variation depending on upriver rainfall and the opening of the dam’s floodgates. Sometimes the flow is too high, sometimes it’s too low, and we anglers will be happiest when it’s just right.
For the rockfish, anglers line the banks and cast jigs and plugs with the longest rods possible, often surf rods, to get far out into the pool. More riverine species like smallmouth and walleye are usually targeted by finding boulders and rocky holes which provide a break in the current, where you can offer up a paddle or twister tail jig or a crankbait. Fishing Tip: If flatheads are in your sights nothing beats fishing a live bluegill, however, this is a catfish species that often strikes at lures as well.
3. Rt. 95 Bridge
About six miles downriver from the dam you’ll find the Rt. 95 bridge, the first of four bridges that tower over the river before its junction with the Bay. The deep waters below that busy highway offer some of the best fishing for trophy blue catfish that you’ll find anywhere. Not just in the Bay tribs, but anywhere period. The blue showed up here in mass numbers a decade or so ago, and while you aren’t likely to find fish pushing up to the 100-pound mark—yet—there are swarms of 20- to 30-inchers, plenty of 20-pound fish, and more than a few pushing into the 30- to 40-pound range.
Fishing for these catfish is about as straightforward as it gets. Simply tie on a fishfinder or float rig with a 6/0 to 10/0 circle hook, bait it up with cut fish, and send it down to the bottom. Most of the time any cut fish will work but gizzard shad are considered the gold standard. Fishing Tip: If bait is in short supply chicken livers and chicken breast soaked in cherry Kool-Aid can work wonders, too.
4. Havre De Grace to Perryville
This lower section of the river has good catfish fishing most of the year and you can find all the usual suspects along the banks, but the reason this spot is a true standout is its winter perch fishing. Prior to the spring spawn hordes of yellow perch pack into the deep waters, creating one of the most reliable winter fisheries on the Bay. And some of these perch are magnificent—just last February the state record for yellow perch, which had stood since 1979, was broken when Thomas Dembeck, Jr. reeled in a 2.3-pound, 16-incher.
These fish can be targeted with a simple top-and-bottom rig baited with minnow and fished down deep. Fishing Tip: many sharpies scale down their tackle and fish tandem rigs with darts or small jigs tipped with live minnow.
5. The Susquehanna Flats
Although the Flats haven’t created the buzz of yesteryear, when rockfish populations were booming and the Flats offered an angler’s very best opportunity to tie into the fish of a lifetime on light tackle or fly gear, this remains a prime destination for multiple fisheries. Depending on seasonality and closures, for much of the year it still proves awesome for anglers ISO rockfish both slot-sized and well beyond. Fishing for largemouth bass and snakeheads ranges from good to excellent through the warmer months of the year.
Fish topwater and other lures that stay near the water’s surface over the Flats’ weedbeds and around the weed’s edges. Look for clean water and on windy days by searching out upwind areas that are less churned. When the water is discolored or after a cold snap, probe the deeper channels around the flats with jigs and other lures that get a bit deeper. Fishing Tip: before making a journey here keep tabs on the weather upriver, because heavy rains to the north and west can cause floodgate openings that turn the waters muddy.