Fishing the youghiogheny river, pa

Southwestern PA’s Best Tailwater Fishery

By James Hill Jr.

The 134-mile Youghiogheny River, simply referred to as “the Yough” (pronounced “the Yawk”), flows north from West Virginia and Western Maryland, passing through the area of Pennsylvania known as The Laurel Highlands before emptying into the Monongahela River. In Pennsylvania, the Yough flows through Ohiopyle State Park, which features one of the deepest gorges in the state and is famous in the eastern U.S. for its Class II and III rapids.

Within this section of the river is a flood-control dam about 10 miles upriver that forms the 16-mile Youghiogheny River Lake, situated just above the town of Confluence. Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this is a bottom-release dam with a hydroelectric turbine that generates electricity. The water flowing out of the dam stays cool for most of the year, creating an excellent fishery for many miles downriver.

One of my favorite sections is near the town of Connellsville, PA, about 16.5 miles downstream of Ohiopyle. What I love about the stretch of river from South Connellsville downstream is that the water remains cool even in the summer, compared to other areas further downstream. This is due to two factors: first, the river drops at a rate of 25 feet per mile, which keeps the water highly oxygenated; second, it flows through some heavily-canopied forest in the gorge.

Indian Creek adds volume to the system before it reaches South Connellsville, followed by Dunbar Creek, which is a Chestnut Ridge Trout Unlimited (TU) project that treats acid mine drainage in the creek's Glade Run tributary. The project uses a passive treatment system with high-carbonate alkaline limestone sand to neutralize the acid.

Miles of Water

The Youghiogheny, in Algonquin language, means "a stream flowing in a contrary direction," a reference to the river’s unique northerly course. The Yough has rebounded from decades of industrial pollution, and thanks to the Clean Water Act and the efforts of local groups like the Mountain Watershed Association, as well as volunteers, the river has become a prime freshwater fishing destination. Species include smallmouth bass, walleye, black drum, musky, and both stocked and wild trout, to name a few.

Just before the spring trout season in Pennsylvania, numerous sportsmen's clubs stock the Yough. One of these is General Braddock’s Fish Club, located in Connellsville, PA, which maintains its own trout nursery and stocks the river with thousands of adult trout. Other clubs, such as the West Newton Sportsmen’s Club, Smithton Sportsmen’s Club, and Youghiogheny Sportsmen’s Club of Perryopolis, PA, also contribute to stocking efforts. If you get a chance, please consider donating to these clubs to help ensure continued stocking for future generations.

The lower Youghiogheny River offers miles of fishable water, accessible by wading or floating. One notable feature of the lower Yough is the Great Allegheny Passage, which runs parallel to the river for about 50 miles. Once an active railway, it has since been converted into a trail. There are ample parking areas along the river that provide access to the trail. Whether you prefer hiking or biking, both are excellent ways to explore the river and discover great fishing spots. Of course, you can also access the river by floating with a fly fishing guide service like ours, Mountain Laurel Guide Service, LLC. We target smallmouth bass, trout, and the occasional musky. Yes, I had to throw in that shameless plug—please forgive me!

Gearing Up

The key factor when fishing the Yough is flow. The headwaters of the river, where the dam is located, can have fluctuating flows from day to day or week to week, depending on the plans of the Army Corps of Engineers. One benefit of the river's gauges is that they show predicted flow rates several days in advance.

On a day when Rob Ranko and Dom Petrills from the Pittsburgh Orvis Store and I were going to float, the flow at the Connellsville gauge was 1,250 cfs, which is in the range I prefer for floating. The water temperature was in the mid-60s Fahrenheit, which was great for late summer. After we completed the vehicle shuttle, we returned to the boat at the put-in. The sun had just started to rise, and the morning was still cool. The weather forecast predicted a warm-up as the day progressed, with sunny skies, so we wanted to get started quickly and cover as much water as possible before the sun climbed high in the sky.

We loaded our “weapons” into the boat: 9-foot, 7-weight, 4-piece fly rods with fast action. Our reels were loaded with WF-6-F/S Scientific Angler Sonar Titan Sink Tip lines. You might be wondering why I used a 6-weight sink-tip line on a 7-weight rod. The answer is that these lines are actually two sizes heavy. In theory, I should have used a 7-weight line, which is the equivalent of a 9-weight line. However, I prefer going up by one weight when fishing big streamers, especially those that absorb a lot of water. In our case, we would mostly be using Peanut Envys, Rusty Trombones, and various Sex Dungeon patterns, along with some smaller flies.

And off we went on a day-long float down the river. For me, this is my happy place, and spending it with Rob and Dom was a bonus. The day would take us approximately six river miles, with riffles, long pools, very deep and slow pools, grassy banks, and some rapids.

Dom tied on a white Sex Dungeon, while Rob went with the same pattern in brown. Both flies are designed by Kelly Galloup. White is a great color, as are brown, olive, and black. As we floated, we had a couple of fish chase, but none committed. As usual, we said, "Okay, we’ve got them looking." For the next 30 minutes, we didn’t bring any fish to the net. Normally, by this time, I’d have changed flies and colors at least four times, but I was had faith in what we were using.

As we were floating through a slow pool, I happened to open my streamer box and my eyes went to a George Daniels pattern called a Sculp Snack. For some reason, it spoke to me. It was smaller than what we’d been using, had a brass cone, olive polar chenille, a couple of rubber legs on top, and a marabou tail in brown and tan. No sooner had I tied it on Dom’s line than we had the first fish to the net. I switched Rob’s fly to the same one, and we caught the second fish. I believe we had found a pattern: smaller profile, flashier, and it sank to the bottom quicker.

Here’s a lesson: When you’re not getting bites, change the color and size of your fly, and don’t wait 30 minutes to do it. Give it more like five minutes. And remember, what worked yesterday might not work today. I’m guilty of this myself at times. It’s part of human nature: we think, "This worked yesterday, so it should work today." But that’s the beauty of fly fishing—figuring out the pattern.

I rowed most of the day, which I enjoy. Dom and Rob had a great time, and we brought many fish to the net.

A Bright Future

What’s surprising about the Youghiogheny River is that there are areas where mine drainage enters the water, but thanks to clean-up efforts, the water is now cold and clean. This creates a pleasant surprise when you hook into big trout, such as browns and rainbows, after spending time catching smallmouth bass.

I owe my thanks to the sportsmen’s clubs that stock the Yough, ensuring great holdover trout from year to year, and to the conservation groups that work hard to improve water quality throughout the river system. Because of them, the Yough has become one of the best fisheries in Pennsylvania for trout and smallmouth bass, and hopefully it will continue getting better and better every year.