PA Jon Boats

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I'm a guide on the North Branch of the Susquehanna, and fairly up on all the clubs. Not many around. What type of club are you interested in?
 
Hey seasprite, thanks for responding. I just thought perhaps there might be a Jon boat/Bass fishing club in the Harrisburg area of the Susquehanna.
 
I have a few contacts down that way, I'll check and see. I know there are some fishing clubs as well as some nice rod and gun clubs.Since the fishing has turned sour down your way a lot of clubs are no more.
I've been fishing for 45 years, and guiding for half that. I've never fished from a Jon boat until I purchased a used one in October, its a 18 foot Seasprite with a 50 hoarse jet. I only got a chance to take it out twice, I gotta to tell you its a fishing machine. Its got lots of room, very stable and I can run in ankle deep water. I can get it on a plane with the trolling motor, LOL! I have a 17 foot bass tracker and there is no comparison. If you can't find a club lets start one.
 
Seasprite - Thanks for checking. I didn't know the fishing was supposed to be sour down here. I just started back after about 40 years away from fishing. I wish I could fish everyday. It is a long uninteresting story about how I kind of lost my way and haven't fished but I started back this year and I pick up a good deal on a 1648 Tracker Grizly. I could probably have better luck on the Suquehanna but I only have a 50# thrust trolling motor for now and I don't feel comfortable going on the river with just that. I was hoping that there were other guys in the area looking to exchange information on local lakes and streams and mods on their boats. Maybe even start up some local tournaments get kids interested in fishing. Honestly, I am not an organizer type person by myself but I can work with other people really well.

Captain Ahab - thanks for your interst too. I am really excited about getting back into fishing and making some new friends along the way. I have gotten older and found that working every minute of the day is not as satisfying as having fun and going fishing. Thank you both...I hope we can start something.
 
Bassgeek,

I live only a few miles from you in Camp Hill. I do a lot of fishing in and around the New Cumberland area. I launch at the New Market access at the lower end of town and mainly fish from the Dock Street Dam down to the turnpike bridge. There is a lot of good water in that stretch for fishing if you have the right boat. That Tracker Grizzly would be a great boat for that area if you added a small jet outboard like a 40/30. In the summertime when the river gets below 3.5 on the guage it gets very nasty and a lot of boats can't run the entire stretch without fear of smacking bottom.

Using just a troller will limit you to summertime flows on the Susquehanna, Pinchot Park and several other small lakes in the area. Your Tracker is a great starting point. Spent some time looking over other rigs in the area and don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions from someone on their set up. It seems most fishermen in the area are more than happy to talk shop about their rigs. You will find that MOST will advise getting a jet but a small prop outboard is doable if you take your time and learn the water.

Keep me in mind and maybe next season we can hook up and I can show you around the area and possibly get in a few fishing trips. I currently have two jetboats - a RiverPro Lopro 186 DCC and a Tracker PT 185 with a 90/65 merc jet. The RiverPro is new and I am still learning its' capabilities but the more I run it the more amazed I am at what it will do.

Later, Dave
 
Rpjet -- Thank you very much. I want to get an outboard but I am not sure when I will be able to get one. They are much more expensive than I knew. I am watching CraigsList and eBay to see what I can get. Thank you so much for the pointers...it would be so awesome to get together for some fishing. I will warn you that I am a novice in fishing and boating but I would rather be out fishing than anything else. I know my boat is just a start but I really like it and I can't wait until spring. I am sure we will be talking over the winter. I visit this site about twice a day or so and I plan to ask a lot of questions and learn more before the spring gets here. Really -- thank you.
 
Bassgeek, Still waiting on clubs or tournaments in your area. I love your interest in getting kids involved. Welcome back to the rod and reel. I love to teach people to fish. Most of my clients are from your area. Fishing (or catching) seems to have slowed down in your area after the flooding in 2006, epically on the lower Susquehanna where the problems are many. I am a staff writer for Susquehanna River Fishing Magazine perhaps we can get a club going using the magazine for our ideas? Just a thought. Good luck on your boat. Grizzly tracker 1648 is a fine boat. You can pick up a used motor cheap. Keep looking you'll find a deal. Just be careful on the Susquehanna with a trolling motor, I'm on the water everyday, the river doesn't cut many boaters a break. You'll have to come up and fish the North Branch our fishing is world class.
 
I think it would be great to get kids involved -- get them away from video games and into the outdoors. Teach them a balance to life which has taken me 40 years to learn. I even was thinking of a slogan -- "Teach them to look for a fish, not a fix". I think it would be great to work on a program like that and it would take more than one person to make it happen. I am just not sure how to get it that started.
 
Bassgeek we just got it started. Now all we have to do is figure out what we want to do. Is it take a group out kids out fishing, no problem. The sky is the limit. Funding is fairly easy. Think about what the club wants to get done. The how part will follow.
 
I'm interested !! I'm going to be heading back to Pa. after 30+ years in Arizona in the spring.I bought my 1448 flat bottom just for that.I'll be a Juniata man myself but always wanted to fish the Susquehanna all my life.I'll be in Reedsville myself.
 
Great! glad to hear you heading east and back to the mountains, leaving the flat land behind. There is a few clubs on the Susquehanna, one near safe harbor and a bass club that meets on different sections every Tuesday and Thursday to fish. They have a tournament every month within the club. I'll get you some phone numbers and contacts soon
 
Hey azslabber, welcome back to PA. Looks like you will be fairly close to Raystown Lake which is supposed to be good to fish. Did you ever fish Powel Lake out there? I have been seeing it on the fishing channel...looks very nice. Let's all keep talking and see what we can figure out. Thanks for checking in azslabber.
 
Yes Bass Geek,Lake Powell is a great fishery.Stripers,stripers and more stripers.Got a lot of 2 and 3 pound smallmouth also through the years.Very big lake.I got hooked on Crappie fishing here on San Carlos Lake.Very big Slabs 17 and 18 inches by the hundreds.My best memory of Pa. was when I was 12 years old at the mouth of Jacks Creek in the Juniata River when a 36" Musky grabbed my Mepps #2 Aglia Spinner when I was smallmouth fishing with a flyrod.What a proud boy I was,lol.I was just getting ready to post some pics of my 1448 that I'm getting ready.Take a gander at her.
 
Hey do you guys watch WFN (World Fishing Network)? They have an "Ambassador" program you can apply to. I put in a application and maybe I can use a blog on there to help get somethings going for some fishing activities in the area. I will keep you guys posted. BTW -- I am freezing here. It is about 18 degrees and the wind chill is supposed to be in the single digits.
 

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