Tricos on Conemaugh River

[dryflyguy]

So, this morning I was driving out to fish one of my favorite WT streams. Had to go east along route 286 through Saltsburg. As I'm crossing the bridge over the conemaugh river, I saw clouds of small whitish colored flies dancing up and down in the air. So, I stopped to check it out.
It didn't take me long to catch some of the flies, and found out that they were trikes - although they were smaller than the ones I fish on limestone streams. These guys were definitely a size #24 - #26.

The water was in great shape - low and lear
And I hung around awhile to see if anything started rising when the spinners finally fell - but saw no surface activity at all.
The conemaugh is a warm water stream in that area and I would have thought that at least some bass or fallfish would have come up for the hatch.

Just wondering if anyone else has seen this hatch on that stream, and maybe even fished it

 

[turkey]

I've not seen them on the Connie but I've found duns on my truck next to the Allegheny. I've never seen a spinner cloud in town though. Figures you'd see them there but I can't seem to catch them dropping on Spring if my life depended on it.

 

[MHanes]

I am going to guess it was more than likely blue quill spinners. That up and down motion is a classic blue quill spinner trait.

 

[albatross]

DryFlyGuy knows a trico when he sees one. No doubt on the identity of these bugs.

 

[dryflyguy]

MHanes wrote:
I am going to guess it was more than likely blue quill spinners. That up and down motion is a classic blue quill spinner trait.

No - these were definitely trikes. Most of the ones I caught had an all black body - males. And the size - closer to a #26 - says trico to me also. I've seen lots of blue quill spinners - and they're about a #18 -#20 hook size.
Also, these things all fell suddenly around 10:30 - and then they were gone.
Blue quill spinners usually linger around until after noon.

I was really surprised to see a great hatch of anything coming off of this river. From what I've read about it, it was pretty much lifeless not too long ago - from AMD and other pollution

 

[MHanes]

really a shock to see them there that's all.

 

[JackM]

I have seen them on the Youghiogheny. I don't think they are too particular, often just sporadic and variable even where they are famous or at least expected.

 

[Chaz]

Blue Quill spainner bobb up and down, the mating flight of tricos is a sinewave.

 

[albatross]

Or some other trigonometric function...

if a trike is tracing a sin wave but flying towards you, it will appear to bob up and down. Just sayin!

 

[turkey]

I usually can ascertain species from afar by determining opposite over hypotenuse.

 

[MHanes]

sinewave? that has to be some crazy movement!

 

[osprey]

Are we talking about the Conemaugh river that runs through Johnstown? The only Saltsburg i know about is in Maryland is there another Conemaugh other than the one that starts in northern Cambria county PA?

 

[troutbert]

I'm not from that area.

But if you just Google "Saltsburg, PA" you'll find a map that shows where it is.

It's on the Conemaugh River, down river a ways from Johnstown.

 

[DaveS]

The Conemaugh is a much improved waterway. The bridge Dryflyguy is referring to is about 2 ml from my house. Although I've never managed to catch a trico hatch there, I can say, I've gotten a number of different species of fish from the river including stocked trout. I also have a theory as to why small fish wouldn't rise to small mayflies there... Dryflyguy, PM coming.

 

[Acristickid]

Bill- I fished the Loyalhanna between the dam outflow and it's junction w the Conemaugh last week and was suprised to see as many bugs and smallies rising for them. Caddis and a couple mayflies I could not identify. Just a couple miles away from where you were.

 

[albatross]

Bruno has had good fishing at times to a trico hatch on the Loyalhanna which is a trib to the Conemaugh.

 

[osprey]

I find it amazing that there are trout to be caught in the Conemaugh river below Johnstown.......not that i don't believe , it's just that it's so dead and devoid here.....now upstream from here yeah and the tribs but below the Gap? Incredible!!!!!!

 

[DaveS]

Osprey, first time I fished below the dam on Conemaugh, it was surreal! Everything was orange, it looked like we were fishing on Mars. So my buddy's are drinking beer, I figured "what the hell!" Pitch out a tiny torpedo, twitch, twitch , WHAM! Northern pike! Sweet! Now I live near there! It's not fantastic, but it's right here and not very crowded either!

 

[dryflyguy]

Yeah - loyalhanna creek joins the conemaugh right there. And I kinda figured that those trikes worked their way down from it. I even drove up around several miles to the next bridge crossing over the loyalhanna. And saw just a few trikes in the air there - but they may have already fallen by that time

 

[osprey]

DaveS........the water in the Conemaugh near Mineral Point is blue milkshake color and the rocks are orange for miles downstream to at least the gap. learn something everyday on here , although i've fished the Loyalhanna for twenty years had no idea it joined the Conemaugh.