Youghiogheny River, Fayette Co., 8/16/11

[turkey]

On a whim decided to drive to the dam and work down to Ramcat. Water temp was about 60F and the gauge below Confluence was at about 800cfs. This river has snubbed me more than any other water I fish so I changed tactics...I decided to swing flies with a 6wt switch rod loaded with a 27' head and a 10' full sinking (7 inches per second) versi-leader. I swung a large, olive BH bugger all afternoon...hooked 4 and landed 2 Rainbows below the dam. I had something large chase my bugger right in to shore near Ramcat...it broke the water twice as I lifted my line for another cast. Looked to be a big Brown, but I'm not 100% sure.

All in all, I'm glad that I finally had a decent day on this tailwater. Saw a few small olives (18s?) and a lot of midges toward dusk. Only noticed one rise all afternoon/evening.

 

[thebassman]

Good Report! I am going to give this a shot in the next few days..

 

[csoult]

Nice fish Turkey. Are all of those fish stocked or is there repro in there.

 

[bam]

There are some wild fish in the Yough... no doubt. I'd say 99.9% are stocked or fingerlings from the dam to the Castleman R. Below that, I'd say 90%+ are fingerlings with some stockers making their way from Confluence. There is reproduction in some of the tributaries, so I'm positive a small percentage drop back into the river to grow up.

 

[albatross]

Good job Turkey. You always get a nice fight from those fish, they know how to use the current to their advantage.