Fishing the Susquehanna

In the early 1800’s, shad were among the most sought-after fish in the Susquehanna, swimming up from Chesapeake Bay to Owego and beyond, but changes in the river, the construction and removal of dams, and increased river craft and activity led to their disappearance; today conservationists are working to restore them. Eels were also plentiful, and one newspaper report told of a fisherman catching barrelsful of eels and selling them fresh from the back of an open wagon on the streets. Today the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, including Catatonk and Owego Creeks, provide varied fish habitat, with successful fishing depending especially on water temperature, time of year, location, and lure choice. The river is generally broad and shallow, about 250 to 1,000 feet wide and reaching depths of 30 feet or more, but it is also subject to flooding and can be dangerous in high water. In Tioga County, the Susquehanna offers some of the state’s best walleye fishing, while walleyes, muskies, and channel cats favor deepwater pools. Smallmouth bass are common from near Apalachin downstream to the Pennsylvania border, especially at the top or riffle edge of pools, with especially good fishing around Hiawatha Island, near Wappasening Creek by Nichols, and from Smithboro to Barton. Regular stocking of tiger muskellunge since 1980 has also made some of these areas productive for that fish, and drifting stretches of the river by canoe or flat-bottom boat remains part of a long Susquehanna fishing tradition.

Owego, New York · United States