Yough River, Somerset County, 6/27/2010

[greenghost]

Fished the Yough below Confluence from 2p.m. to 9 p.m. I decided that I needed a good workout, so I hiked down river a couple of miles from Ramcat put-in. In 84-degree humid air, I got a better workout than I bargained for. However, once I got in the river, the 64 degree water felt great. (I was wet wading.)

In 7 hours, I landed 4 fish in all, missed a few, lost a couple. All fish were caught nymphing, didn't even see a fish rise until evening. Fishing was slow and rafting traffic was fast and furious.

Fished slower water in the evening and could not figure out the few rising fish I did see. There was a hodgepodge of bugs on the water... small BWO, slate drakes, cahills, small black mayflies (trico duns??), midges of course, and caddis in a variety of sizes from micro to about a size 14. A fog rolled in at dusk and pretty much shut everything down.

Note to self: Never go on a warm Sunday again, too much traffic on the water.

 

[bam]

Yeah, that's a bad section for rafters on a hot summer weekend. Any size to the fish you caught? There's some good water and plenty of holdovers well upstream of the launch area, just below where the Castleman dumps in.

 

[greenghost]

bam,
Three rainbows and -- of all things -- a brookie. Biggest was 15 inches lost one bigger. The brookie was a nice looking fish, about 13 inches red belly with a black mouth, very plump. My guess is it was a holdover. I did fish the section you referred to in the evening -- the flat water section. I was actuallly going to start at Ramcat, but as usual on a weekend, there were some fishermen already there, so I decided to take a hike and do a bit of exploring.

 

[bam]

Good to hear. Unless I get into a pod of fingerlings, which can actually ruin a day, I rarely catch a fish less than a foot in length. Maybe I should tie up some 4 chrome streamers for those days...

 

[greenhead]

Im heading up Friday. Might hike upstream from Ohio Pyle. Haven't really decided yet. Anyone else heading up ?

 

[JackM]

I work friday.

 

[dryflyguy]

I plan on going to the yough monday -likely fish Jack's honey hole.
Don't want to spot burn though.

 

[CodorusTUTom]

Just returned from my first ever Yough visit this morning. Left with my tail between my legs - no fish whatsoever. Fished Monday (daybreak to late morning and again in the evening) and Tuesday (daybreak to late morning). All about 2 miles below Ramcat (and you're right greenghost, that humidity was brutal!) Only rises I saw were one pod of fingerlings.

Trying to write it off as a first-time-on-new water thing - it certainly is a lot to take in. Tried fast water, flat water, nymphs, streamers, dries, everything. I was disappointed because I was expecting more bugs. Saw about 8 cahills one evening (none taken), and no slate drakes. The caddis, olives, and cranes were so sporadic they didn't seem at all significant.

I suppose I just need to put my time in out there until I learn it. It certainly is a beautiful river.

 

[hendeylathe]

My brother and I hope to hit the Yough tomorrow (Thursday) above Ohiopyle in the late afternoon/early evening. We've been hoping to bug out of work during a weekday and now is a good a chance as any. We'll probably fish the Ramcat area late Saturday. Haven't fished there for about 4 years. Most of the commercial boat traffic should be through by then.

 

[greenghost]

Tom,
You have the right attitude... it takes time to find the spots and the fish and the best times to fish. And even then... this river is like none in PA that I've ever fished. After 30 years, it still remains difficult.

But I keep coming back.

The river's beauty stays with you. Its mystery doesn't go away. Its residents live in big, deep and swift water; some have never seen an artificial fly. And some are leviathan fish that would make your nape hair stand on end.

When MacClean wrote, "I am haunted by waters," he must have been talking about rivers like the Yough.

 

[helios]

The only way to fish that stream for rising fish is in the evening...that is when the big boys play...

 

[grobe33]

Fished tonight below the dam. The meat hunters were out in full force, they stocked 2 days ago. Great BWO hatch at 8pm, fish were on them, ended up catching 12-14 fish between the 3 of us in 2.5 hours.

www.grobe33.blogspot.com