Floated from Confluence to Ohiopyle with DaveS, Alby and Don. Above the junction with Casselman, clear with temps in the low 50's. The early part of the day was bright sun and temps in the 70's but it felt like 90. Saw some small caddis early and we had risers before 8:30 am. Continued down toward Ramcatt where I had a few little smallies swipe at my streamer. That's where things got interesting. Hooked up with bow on nymph as 75 rafts launched...including boats plowing into us and kayaks rowing into our lines.
We pulled over to let the rafters get by us. Our stop ended up being longer than expected as wave after wave came by. In between rafters, we had a few hook ups in the fast water on nymphs but all got off before the net.
The second half of the day was completely different. Clouds rolled in an we were all alone on the water. Pods of rising fish dotted the head and tail of every pool. Some smallish trout and bass were taken by blind casting iso dun. We were well behind schedule and would be navigating some ugly stuff in the dark. Don must have been overheating since he decided to swim a few times. I was rowing as the rain started and Dave was tossing a nymph rig / putting on a clinic. The first 2 casts brought fish to net. Another 5-7 followed over the next 15 - 20 minutes. If it didn't start lightening, who knows how many he would have caught. Must have had a good oarman LOL.
The flow was a little low but sitll manageable. Water temps 3/4 of the way through the float was 64 degrees. What was confounding was the hatches. I don't know if they changed that quickly or if there was a different hatch going in each pool we got into. Hatches seen: caddis in several sizes / colors, small olives, a few sulphurs, stenos, Cahill, iso and some golden drakes. It's a very interesting river minus 1000 rafters.
We pulled over to let the rafters get by us. Our stop ended up being longer than expected as wave after wave came by. In between rafters, we had a few hook ups in the fast water on nymphs but all got off before the net.
The second half of the day was completely different. Clouds rolled in an we were all alone on the water. Pods of rising fish dotted the head and tail of every pool. Some smallish trout and bass were taken by blind casting iso dun. We were well behind schedule and would be navigating some ugly stuff in the dark. Don must have been overheating since he decided to swim a few times. I was rowing as the rain started and Dave was tossing a nymph rig / putting on a clinic. The first 2 casts brought fish to net. Another 5-7 followed over the next 15 - 20 minutes. If it didn't start lightening, who knows how many he would have caught. Must have had a good oarman LOL.
The flow was a little low but sitll manageable. Water temps 3/4 of the way through the float was 64 degrees. What was confounding was the hatches. I don't know if they changed that quickly or if there was a different hatch going in each pool we got into. Hatches seen: caddis in several sizes / colors, small olives, a few sulphurs, stenos, Cahill, iso and some golden drakes. It's a very interesting river minus 1000 rafters.
