Fishing the Youghiogheny River

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austincrawford

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This coming up weekend my buddies an i are going to camping along the Youghiogheny River, in the past i've bait fished it and had sucess but I'm here to see what you guys think i should fill my fly box with. Its late in the year so i'm not really sure what to tie. We're going to be wading so i was thinking some wooly buggers and muddler minnows. I'm not sure so let me know what you guys think.

Thanks for looking,
Austin
 
I did very well there around this time of year or perhaps just a bit earlier on Isonychia nymphs size 12 and 10...here are the ingredients.

Tail- peacock swords (3 or 4 fibers)
Abdomen- peacock hearl

-also Iso nymphs have a white line running up their backs so I tie in a thin strip of white braid or a strip of flash and run it up the back of the nymph, then I secure it with the ribbing.

rib- gold wire.

Wing case- white turkey tail.
Thorax- rusty brown dubbing

Pretty easy tie, it is a variation of the zug bug, im sure if you just tied Zug Bugs you would be fine too. Good Luck.
 
It sounds like you talked me into tying some iso nymphs this week, thanks for the help man!
 
Iso's, yellow drakes, cahills, olives, micro mayflies, tan caddis, midges... and the corresponding nymphs. Big streamers.

If the flows (below confluence) are under 1000, you should find some dry fly action... above 1000, be careful wading and you can find dry fly action in some places, but you have to look for it... But for best result, go under with nymphs and big streamers.
 
I ran into a guide while I was there and he said Zoo Cougars in Olive and Yellow are great streamers to have...just figured id mention that too.
 
I'll look for you on the stream. Cahills and olives have been productive in the evening. ISO nymphs and the corresponding slate drake dry in the afternoon.
 
DyBerryBrookies,

Zoo Cougars are good...Heifer Groomers are the articulated version are better. As far as color think golden olive and shade variations. Neither of these are weighted, so use a sink tip. If you need to get deeper quicker...consider a Butt Monkey. Then Hold On To Your Rod!
 
I always forget to hold onto my rod.
 
You should also have a fantastic bikini hatch this weekend. Flow,temps and blood alcohol levels should be just about perfect.
 
No alcohol in the park. I've made that mistake...
 
They will get tuned up at campground or prior to reaching river. Those young uns are sneaky too. :-D
 
I was thinking of giving the Yough a shot tomorrow morning for the first time ever. I have the coordinates to the Ramcat access area and will be wading.

The rods I have are : 10' 7WT, 9' 5WT, 9' 8WT, and 10' 3WT.

Would I be better off throwing streamers, and if so, is the 10' 7WT suitable? I think a 9' 6 WT would make more sense but I don't have one.

Also, I don't own a wading staff, will I have problems? I typically wade pretty slow and carefully so not too worried but I heard there are some deep spots...

 
The big pool above the rapids at ram cat is one of the easier sections of the Yough to wade. And you will likely see some risers there if you wish to go topwater.
Those rapids in front of the parking lot though, can be hairy. Some deep dropoffs and holes. Proceed with caution there
 
Greg you never call, you never write, JK. Dan I would join you guys but my daughter has a figure skating competition tomorrow and my son wants to go to Penguins practice at Consol tomorrow
 
Norm - your kids are really cutting into your fishing time. You need to get it together...

Just kidding....

We'll hook up one of these weekends I'm sure.

 
I'm glad I read the post about the Youghiogheny River, I was thinking about checking it out, I had already read it only fished good in the evening. Not sure I should try it solo, after reading about the rapids, and deep drop offs, I saw you have a fly fishing club in Upper St. Clair, is it just for guys? I can't make the one in Nov., I'll be in Peru, but just moved here from Colorado, and would like to find some friends that fish and camp here.
 
The yough at Confluence is a tough place to fish and learn to fish. I have not done a float on it, only bank fished it. it is a long drive from Scott, over 2 hrs. You may wish to try steelhead in the Erie tribs, that is about a 2 hr drive.

i've fish CO multiple times, withing a few hors from Denver, and have really enjoyed it.
 
The research I did on that river showed fishing it out of McKeesport, 45 minutes from me, but my son in law said that's in town fishing. I really need to explore more, I went the direction of Weirdon and into Ohio a bit, but locals are saying the fishing is not great there. I think I'll explore that cook forest area next, that Clarion River sounds good, any luck there? Hoping to find some friends to fish/camp with before spring.
 
KB,

The trout water on the Yough is mostly from the dam near Confluence down trough Ohiopyle to Connelsville PA. Some stocked trout down river from there, but its more of a warm water stream below Connelsville.
 
KB29116 wrote:
I'm glad I read the post about the Youghiogheny River, I was thinking about checking it out, I had already read it only fished good in the evening. Not sure I should try it solo, after reading about the rapids, and deep drop offs, I saw you have a fly fishing club in Upper St. Clair, is it just for guys? I can't make the one in Nov., I'll be in Peru, but just moved here from Colorado, and would like to find some friends that fish and camp here.
Click to expand...

In the summer time, the best fishing is in the evening.
That has changed now though - with the cooler temps, the fish are in their fall mode, and rise in the middle of the day.
I fished the river on monday. And even though it was a very warm day - the best action was between 2 and 5 pm.

As for wading it - many parts are tough.
But the section around confluence isn't bad - really no worse than just about any other stream in PA
 
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