Fly Fishing Western Pennsylvania's Youghiogheny River and Meadow Run

A few weekends ago I went white-water rafting on the Youghiogheny River with my fiancee's family. While we primarily drove to Ohiopyle, PA to celebrate her father's 50th birthday, I was nonetheless able to sneak a few casts into this well-regarded river and one of its many tributaries. After our white-water adventure, Jackie and I briefly fished upstream of the Ohiopyle Falls in the "Middle Yough" section of the big river. I caught a nice smallmouth using a big wooly bugger streamer, but the famous Youghiogheny brown trout were nowhere to be found. At this point, I will spare readers of this blog another rant about big tailwater streams; however, the size and flow of the river make fishing the Yough next to impossible without flotation.

Before driving back to the DC metropolitan area, Jackie and I hiked up Meadow Run, one of the big river's tributaries. Aside from the throngs of people swimming in it, Meadow Run was a pleasant and picturesque place to fly fish. Augmented by a plentiful stocking regimen, the small stream boasts a decent population of trout. I was lucky enough to land one stocked brook trout on a Walts Worm pattern. Because we had to drive nearly 3.5 hours back to Washington, we left immediately following this success.

Please check back soon for an update about my time surf fishing the Outer Banks. It was an excellent experience, and I look forward to posting pictures of some of my saltwater catches.

Image #1 - The brook trout
Image #2 - Fly fishing Meadow Run

Overall Total: 122

River Breakdown:

Teetertown Brook - 18 (18 Wild Brook)
Spring Creek - 16 (13 Wild Rainbow, 3 Wild Brown)
Raritan River, South Branch - 12 (8 Stocked Rainbow, 3 Stocked Brown, 1 Wild Brown)
Marshalls Creek - 8 (8 Wild Brook)
Swift River - 6 (3 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Brook)
Elk Creek - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Elk River - 5 (3 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brook, 1 Wild Brown)
Penns Creek - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Stony Brook - 4 (4 Stocked Rainbow)
Paulinskill River - 4 (2 Stocked Brook, 2 Stocked Rainbow)
Rockaway Creek - 4 (4 Wild Brown)
Bushkill Creek - 3 (2 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brown)
Clear Fork of the Mohican River - 3 (3 Stocked Brown Trout)
Fishing Creek - 3 (3 Wild Brown)
Lost Cove Creek - 3 (2 Wild Rainbow, 1 Wild Brook)
Old Town Run - 3 (2 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Yellow Breeches Creek - 3 (1 Stocked Brook, 1 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Brodhead Creek - 2 (1 Stocked Brown, 1 Wild Brown)
Hickory Run - 2 (2 Wild Brook)
Little Brook - 2 (2 Wild Brook)
Roaring Run - 2 (2 Wild Brook)
Big Gunpowder Falls River - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Little Glade Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Meadow Run - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)
Mill Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Mud Run - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Poplar Run - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Schooley's Mountain Brook - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Trout Brook - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
White Deer Creek - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)


Species Breakdown:

Brook Trout - 45
Wild - 38
Stocked - 7

Brown Trout - 39
Wild - 25
Stocked - 14

Rainbow Trout - 38
Stocked - 23
Wild - 15


Wild Trout - 78
Stocked Trout - 44


Trout 15+ Inches: 11


Fly Breakdown:
Olive Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 23 (22 Wild Brook, 1 Wild Brown)
Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph, size 14 - 10 (8 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown)
Green Weenie, size 14 - 8 (4 Wild Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown, 2 Wild Brown)
Green Weenie, size 12 - 6 (3 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Brook)
San Juan Worm, size 12 - 6 (3 Stocked Brown, 2 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brook)
Tan Caddis, size 14 - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Pink Shrimp, size 14 - 4 (4 Wild Rainbow)
Sulphur dun, size 16 - 4 (2 Wild Rainbow, 1 Wild Brook, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Bead-head Copper John Nymph, size 16 - 3 (3 Wild Brook)
Black Caddis, size 14 - 3 (2 Wild Brown, 1 Stocked Brown)
Gummy Stonefly, size 14 - 3 (2 Wild Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Bead-head Black Stonefly Nymph, size 10 - 2 (1 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Brown Stonefly nymph, size 10 - 2 (1 Stocked Brook, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Ladybug, size 16 - 2 (2 Wild Rainbow)
Wet Ant, size 14 - 2 (1 Stocked Brown, 1 Wild Rainbow)
Bead-head Green Weenie, size 14 - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)
Bead-head Hare's Ear Nymph, size 14 - 1 (1 Stocked Rainbow)
Brown Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Blue Quill, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Blue Winged Olive, size 18 - 1 (1 Wild Rainbow)
Golden Stonefly, size 8 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Light Cahill, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Scud, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Rainbow)
Sulphur dun, size 14 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Walts Worm, size 14 - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)


Angling Breakdown:

Fly Fishing Rod - 93 (26 Wild Brook, 18 Stocked Rainbow, 17 Wild Brown, 15 Wild Rainbow, 12 Stocked Brown, 5 Stocked Brook)
Spinning Rod - 29 (12 Wild Brook, 8 Wild Brown, 5 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brook, 2 Stocked Brown)


State Breakdown:
Pennsylvania - 53
New Jersey - 48
North Carolina - 9
Massachusetts - 6
Ohio - 3
Virginia - 2
Maryland - 1

Fly Fishing Central Pennsylvania's Spring Creek in Late July

Two weeks ago, my fiancee and I spent a few days camping in central Pennsylvania. While we were ostensibly there to work on wedding stuff, I still found some time to fly fish. We first tried Penns Creek. Despite the cool water temperature, the trout were quiet. It had rained earlier in the day, and I think that the thunder/downpour had put the trout down for the evening. Instead, I caught a few smallmouth bass on a big black marabou streamer. We stopped and photographed some Indian Pipe - a parasitic white plant devoid of chlorophyll - on our hike along the river. It was the first time Jackie and I had encountered this strange flower.

The next night we drove to the Fisherman's Paradise section of Spring Creek. I caught 11 fish - 9 wild rainbows and 2 wild brown. All of the fish fell for either a terrestrial or a shrimp pattern (4 on an inch worm, 4 on a pink shrimp, 2 on a ladybug (!), and 1 on an ant). It was a pleasant central Pennsylvania night, and the fish were willing. I'm convinced there's nothing better. Our time at Spring Creek was marred, however, by one annoying fly fisherman. While I thought fly fishing was known as the "quiet sport," a know-it-all angler spent nearly twenty minutes watching my every move. He kept telling me where to cast, what I was doing wrong, and how to land fish. At first I was polite, and answered his questions. Then as time went by, he became more and more annoying. After I landed a fish, he said "Now you can go back to Hoboken and tell everyone you caught a fish." His condescension and his patronizing attitude were extremely aggravating. I don't know if this guy was trying to impress his friend and young son, but just because my car has a New Jersey license plate doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing. Oh, and I don't live in fucking Hoboken.

I got my revenge, though, by catching four fish in a row while this guy struggled to catch one. To which my new friend responded by asking, "Are you still using that terrestrial pattern?" Of course I was - it's summer in the northeast, what else would I use?

Image #1 - Indian pipe
Image #2 - 15 inch wild brown
Image #3 - My first fish caught on a ladybug pattern! It can be done.

Overall Total: 121

River Breakdown:

Teetertown Brook - 18 (18 Wild Brook)
Spring Creek - 16 (13 Wild Rainbow, 3 Wild Brown)
Raritan River, South Branch - 12 (8 Stocked Rainbow, 3 Stocked Brown, 1 Wild Brown)
Marshalls Creek - 8 (8 Wild Brook)
Swift River - 6 (3 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Brook)
Elk Creek - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Elk River - 5 (3 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brook, 1 Wild Brown)
Penns Creek - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Stony Brook - 4 (4 Stocked Rainbow)
Paulinskill River - 4 (2 Stocked Brook, 2 Stocked Rainbow)
Rockaway Creek - 4 (4 Wild Brown)
Bushkill Creek - 3 (2 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brown)
Clear Fork of the Mohican River - 3 (3 Stocked Brown Trout)
Fishing Creek - 3 (3 Wild Brown)
Lost Cove Creek - 3 (2 Wild Rainbow, 1 Wild Brook)
Old Town Run - 3 (2 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Yellow Breeches Creek - 3 (1 Stocked Brook, 1 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Brodhead Creek - 2 (1 Stocked Brown, 1 Wild Brown)
Hickory Run - 2 (2 Wild Brook)
Little Brook - 2 (2 Wild Brook)
Roaring Run - 2 (2 Wild Brook)
Big Gunpowder Falls River - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Little Glade Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Mill Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Mud Run - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Poplar Run - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Schooley's Mountain Brook - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Trout Brook - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
White Deer Creek - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)


Species Breakdown:

Brook Trout - 44
Wild - 38
Stocked - 6

Brown Trout - 39
Wild - 25
Stocked - 14

Rainbow Trout - 38
Stocked - 23
Wild - 15


Wild Trout - 78
Stocked Trout - 43


Trout 15+ Inches: 11


Fly Breakdown:
Olive Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 23 (22 Wild Brook, 1 Wild Brown)
Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph, size 14 - 10 (8 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown)
Green Weenie, size 14 - 8 (4 Wild Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown, 2 Wild Brown)
Green Weenie, size 12 - 6 (3 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Brook)
San Juan Worm, size 12 - 6 (3 Stocked Brown, 2 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brook)
Tan Caddis, size 14 - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Pink Shrimp, size 14 - 4 (4 Wild Rainbow)
Sulphur dun, size 16 - 4 (2 Wild Rainbow, 1 Wild Brook, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Bead-head Copper John Nymph, size 16 - 3 (3 Wild Brook)
Black Caddis, size 14 - 3 (2 Wild Brown, 1 Stocked Brown)
Gummy Stonefly, size 14 - 3 (2 Wild Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Bead-head Black Stonefly Nymph, size 10 - 2 (1 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Brown Stonefly nymph, size 10 - 2 (1 Stocked Brook, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Ladybug, size 16 - 2 (2 Wild Rainbow)
Wet Ant, size 14 - 2 (1 Stocked Brown, 1 Wild Rainbow)
Bead-head Green Weenie, size 14 - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)
Bead-head Hare's Ear Nymph, size 14 - 1 (1 Stocked Rainbow)
Brown Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Blue Quill, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Blue Winged Olive, size 18 - 1 (1 Wild Rainbow)
Golden Stonefly, size 8 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Light Cahill, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Scud, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Rainbow)
Sulphur dun, size 14 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)


Angling Breakdown:

Fly Fishing Rod - 92 (26 Wild Brook, 18 Stocked Rainbow, 17 Wild Brown, 15 Wild Rainbow, 12 Stocked Brown, 4 Stocked Brook)
Spinning Rod - 29 (12 Wild Brook, 8 Wild Brown, 5 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brook, 2 Stocked Brown)


State Breakdown:
Pennsylvania - 52
New Jersey - 48
North Carolina - 9
Massachusetts - 6
Ohio - 3
Virginia - 2
Maryland - 1