Susquehanna River — Local services in Hanover Township

I grew up in Exeter, Pa, no more than a half mile from the Susquehanna. I began fishing the river at 11 years old consistently, and by the time I was 13 I averaged close to 300 days per year on the water. I crossed the river to "Wintermoot Island" (I renamed it "Perinski Island...nickname of mine) and knew of 20-30 places I could cross the river within a span of 3 miles upriver and 3 downriver. To me, Exeter hosts the BEST fishing anywhere on the river I have won a few dozen BASS club & open tournaments out of Exeter with Wyoming playing a slightly smaller role, really depending on the time of year and river level. The downside to the river in this area is a TOTAL lack of public access for boaters. One has to launch in Wilkes-Barre or Harding. Both require a rough ride to where I fish, not even possible at times when the river is low. The other downside is Exeter is just below the Lackawanna River & the Butler mine tunnel....2 major sources of pollution. The good about Exeter is the water is radically cleaner than the Pittston side....separated by the Perinski Island.The Pittston side of the river has orange banks from the Lackawanna River.....animal life on the banks that doesn't exist on the other side of the island. The main channel keeps the water separate through Wyoming when both banks have some tint below and downstream from there....Exeter has spotless banks and tons of insect & marine life on the banks that doesn't exist a couple hundred yards east on the Pittston side. The Wyoming banks are also clean...once you get into Forty-Fort...both banks are a little discolored. I'm primarily a bass fisherman, but the Walleye fishing is also incredible for a 3 mile stretch...Exeter into Wyoming....For those who fish with bait there is also incredible Channel Cat-fishing. I've also hooked into and personally witnessed Muskie that would challenge the World record but we could never land the monster ones with a bass net. One of my best friends (in my boat) had a 66-70" muskie on the line for over 3 hours until I ran out of gas and couldn't chase it any further...we had it alongside the boat a dozen times but it would go on a run as soon as a hand or net went into the water. The water was too cold to jump in to land it by the gills, so we had to snap the line after running out of gas. I was able to get an idea of the length by lining that monster up with a 6'fishing rod and that Muskie was within a few inches of being a full 6'! It is truly a shame we couldn't land that pig to measure it and photograph it. We are both avid catch and release fishermen, so it would have been released unharmed once we had the length, girth and pictures. The islands on the river in the area make for AWESOME camping expeditions on a river float trip. We used to do a float trip from above Tunkhannock to Exeter every year from 1989-96 and we camped on Perinski Island since 1984. Outside of fishing, the river is an awesome, underrated recreation "destination"!!! If you ever get the chance...wet a line in Exeter ir...

Always interesting to see the water level and color changes as I cross the bridge from Columbia to York area... rocks, sea birds. Have seen this part of the river look many different ways, been crossing it here often on Route 30 since 1996. The drive on Route 15 from Harrisburg to northern PA has also become a part of my life occasionally now as well... Impressive sights of the wide river, as you continue north, and then the north- central Pennsylvania mountains become the next wonderful scenery. I think we have a lot to be thankful for in Pennsylvania. Born and raised here, seen many parts of "the lower 48. " America the...

The mighty susquehanna, I see comments on the raw sewage found in the river as well as its dirty and not very deep. Are there problems here, yes but the river has improved immensely over the years. Yes, you can eat the catfish from the river if you'd like, I recommend that you purge them in clearer water for a couple days but that's your choice. As for crossing a river with out drowning that's a plus in my book, who wants to drown anyway. I've seen rivers in my travels that are no bigger than the creek I grew up beside. Spend the day at one of the many parks along the river...