The versatility of our region!

A wet spring is an understatement for 2025, but historically speaking we're just above the historical YTD average of 12.29" at 12.85" - you coulda fooled me! For myself, working a full-time job during the week, it's been alot of cancellations in 2025 due to the rivers being blown out on the weekends, but that all changed this weekend when the heavy rain line from a spring nor'easter went smack dab over Elmira. This was a perfect example of why this region is so versatile with respects to river fishing. The heavy rains west caused the Chemung to blow up, but the relatively light and steady rain east made the North Branch Susqy very fishable east of the Chemung/NB confluence, so we took advantage of it! Although it was swift and off color, we targeted just about every slack water seam or any little obstacle that caused a current break we could find, and some were definitely holding more fish than others. What we lacked in numbers of smally's, we certainly made up for in size. I started Casey and his son Jack off on a steady dose of square bill cranks and jointed Shad Raps and the chunky spring bass were agreeable! The hot colors were by far dark colors in brown/black/red crawfish patterns but fire tiger or dark colors with chartreuse bellies also worked well. The square bills we were using dove down 3-5' and the Shad Raps covered the 5-10' range, although the bass were sometimes suspended and taking the shallower presentation in deeper water. I usually don't fish while guiding, but I took a few casts to show the duo how to retrieve the cranks to get a reaction strike. The whole key was to reel it fast! Rip it, so to speak. Generally when someone takes your rod after a half hour of no bites and catches one the first cast you tend to listen! All in all it was a great day with Casey and Jack catching their new PB smally, and Casey landing and quickly releasing an accidental 43" Musky, which was his first ever and something we talked about someday catching earlier in the day. To summarize, the NB Susqy and Chemung confluence area we live in is a pretty incredible place, and the ability to adjust and fish either one depending on river conditions is something to always keep an eye on and remember. Tight lines to all and be safe out there!