Yough @ Confluence

[3oh4]

With no rain in the forecast and flows starting to stabilize I'm thinking about making a trip to the Yough @ Confluence. (I've fished it a couple times)

How far down below the Casselman's entry do you generally have before temps become an issue? Read an old post on here that about 4 miles down river temps were about 10 degrees warmer. Just didn't want to harm any fish and didn't want to fish dead water. I imagine the browns start to creep upstream to find the cooler temps this time of year.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[Acristickid]

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?03077500

Gage says 66 coming out of dam

Been cooler but warming these days - not sure the casselman would be warmer than 66. Not sure though.

 

[dryflyguy]

With the hot weather still hanging on, you'd probably want to stay above the casselman river inflow point.
The gauge station called "below confluence" is located a short ways downstream of where where it feeds in, and is currently reading close to 70 degrees.
I was thinking about fishing some downstream reaches of the river just today. But changed my plans when I saw the temps.
I'm gonna wait until things cool down a bit before heading there

 

[krayfish2]

Up until the 12th or 13th, the temps were goo all the way to Ohiopyle. All hinges on the overnight lows and how much sun you get during the day. Give it a few cool night's (none in near future though) and it will actually bee cooler the further you get from the dam. Might have to wait another week or so before it turns back around.

 

[3oh4]

Do you guys notice a lot of fish moving up past the Cass. during these times of high water temps or do they stay in their same areas and hunker down deep or find the heads?

Not really interested in fishing above the Cass. slow flat water is just not my thing.

Looks like I'm probably heading to the North Branch then.

 

[Jlafko3]

In my experience, the fish from ramcat down typically stay there. That water is so fast and deep that they can find somewhere togo when the temps heat up. I drove by the dam this past weekend because I needed cell service to help me find a couple new blue lines. I talked to a couple fly guys and they were struggling. They hadn't caught anything all morning. They said a guy bait fishing in the corner of the dam was catching a few but that was all. Your best bet will be to trek down past ramcat on the bike trail and fish it down that way. Other then that, they typically do a stocking in the outflow in either the end of September or beginning of October, and that would be a good time hit the Yough.

 

[3oh4]

Thanks for the info. Zero interest in stocked trout though.

 

[albatross]

This is the gage at Ohiopyle several miles downstream of the Cassleman inflow. IF temps are good here, then they are good for the entire Middle Yough.

USGS Flow and Temp Yough @ Ohiopyle

This gage shows temps above 70 for Sunday and Monday of this week. We are supposed to have air temps in the 80s all this week in western PA. I think I would not fish below the Cassleman this coming weekend.

Historically September is the only time the Yough really gets too warm for an extended period. I think the cold water behind the dam just runs out this time of year.

 

[DanL]

Sorry, maybe I missed something but aren't all of the trout in the Yough stocked (or were stocked at some point)? I've never caught a native out of Meadow Run for example, so where else are they reproducing that leads to a substantial population of native fish in the Yough?

I'm only asking because of the comment "not interested in stocked trout". Not sure how you'd selectively target stocked vs. non-stocked, in a primarily stocked river?

Here's a document that details the stocking plan:

http://www.fishandboat.com/Fish/Fisheries/YoughioghenyRiver/Documents/yough-river-plan.pdf

 

[3oh4]

A fingerling stocked brown that grows to adulthood in the stream is a wild fish to me. (I don't care what the elitest argue) You will find no difference between a stream born brown and a brown that was put in the river that was 2 inches long. Once they thrive in that river for a few years they both are as moody and beautiful as one another with the an exception here and there.

I mean what are you going to say? That blue dot isn't round enough, just an old "stocker" who ate a size 22 BWO Emerger after he refused a dozen flies and a 100 drifts? C'mon, pick another topic to argue about elsewhere. That horse is already dead.

 

[DanL]

Calm down there buddy, just clarifying your statement. When I think of wild trout I think of central PA, not southwest PA, so wasn't sure what angle you were coming from. Being that I grew up in Armstrong County and still live in the Burgh, I'm by no means elitist and appreciate any trout I can fool on the fly given the options are limited.

 

[krayfish2]

Zero interest in stocked trout should equal zero interest in Yough, shouldn't it? Those aren't wild palomino trout in the section between Ramcatt and Ohiopyle.

With that said, I'm quite confident that there's some natural reproduction in that section.

 

[3oh4]

I would google "Yough pa brown trout" and click images... then I would like someone to try and tell a fly fisherman he isn't fishing for "wild" fish. Some pretty legit specimens in that place.

 

[krayfish2]

Yeah, one of those guys I fish with quite often. Seen them. Spawning tribs are hard to come by in that section so most spawning would need to be done mid river. I did a thread on it a year or two ago.

 

[ryansheehan]

Zak, fished it Sunday with a buddy and got brutalized. We fished hard, sun up to sun down and got two trout and a smallmouth between us. We biked it from ramcat down, it was the worst day I've had on that river. It's a great place with some serious hogs and yes plenty of wild fish. The ratio is similar to the North Branch as far as stockers go.

 

[3oh4]

Shee that sucks. Reading your posts over the years I know you didn't go half arse at them either. That bike ride out isn't fun without the fish adrenaline. I'll def. save the trip for later in fall then. These hurricanes really let us down here in the tri-state we are bone dry.

 

[tomgamber]

whats nice about the Yough is how wide it is. If I'm not catching i just go into, "lets see if i can get that bugger all the way over there to that spot" mode. I'll swing a bugger a long swing to see what happens. I've had it save a day or two on the Yough to my own surprise. I got way to used to the big water out west and enjoy just letting loose occasionally. the Yough allows that kind of exercise not only because of its size but its not usually too crowded. still a gorgeous day to be out.

 

[3oh4]

I'll play devil's advocate. I hate how big the Yough is, not how wide but how deep.

I'm a long 6'3 and that river is tricky, you think you finally found a shallow spot to cross a run and before you know it your up to your neck. It is so deceiving. I'm an on foot fisherman and that place has to many places I can't get my fly to.

 

[tomgamber]

and if you can get your fly there...try getting your fly down deep with that kind of flow...like i said, its like a western river.

 

[Jlafko3]

The yough is not a wild trout fishery. There is not remotely enough of a population of fish reproducing in the body of water. However, I agree with the statement about fingerlings. Those are basically wild fish. They can be just a finicky as a spring creek brown.

To argue my own point about the yough not being a wild trout fishery, there are around 7-8 very small wild trout streams that feed into the yough between confluence and ohiopyle. So I wouldn't be shocked if a wild brookie was caught somewhere in that area.

And for the post saying that Southwet PA is not a wild trout fishery is a fib to say the least. Yes, it is not as publicized as central PA. Yes, the fishable water is not as big as central PA. No, not every body of water is going to chocked full of 2000+ fish per mile. And No, not every stream has the chance of pulling out brown trout over 20 inches.

However, Southwest PA has a lot of fishable wild trout water. A decent chunk of Class A and Class B streams and a lot of water that is phenomenal fishing that won't be online anywhere. You gotta grab a gazzeteer and blue line it. The water is small, but beautiful and can be super rewarding the same as Central PA.

P.S. Sorry for the rant lol just had to give my opinion on the subjects