9/5 Fishing Report
Hunter Lobdell with a 31” giant!
Shorter days and cooler nights can only mean one thing; The fall fishing and guiding season is right around the corner. With the cool fall rain comes increased flows in our favorite waterways allowing the fish to spread out and, in many cases, making passage possible for fish looking to reach their yearly spawning areas. The cooler water temperatures and eager fish looking for a protein packed meal to replace calories lost in the breeding festivities make this a very productive time of year. For this reason, Fall Steelhead and Pre and Post spawn brown trout make up a majority of our guided fall fishing trips.
For those fly and conventional spin fisherman looking to “match the hatch”, the fall season means replicating the protein sources fish will be concentrating on. Anytime you have spawning fish you're going to have eggs in the water, explaining why many of the steelhead patterns are representative of eggs. My favorite pattern being the Y2K which incorporates a bead and a yarn egg placed strategically onto a curved hook. The weight of the bead ensures the fly will sink downward to the fishes’ level, contrarily some may argue weighting the fly detracts from the neutrally buoyant attraction of a free-floating egg.
Both disciplines will likely find success in replicating the plentiful baitfish, another major protein-based forage that’s seems to spread out a bit with the cooler water temperatures. Rapala’s are hard to beat when replicating baitfish, but any stick bait will likely produce fish as they allow you to cover a lot of water quickly with minimum effort. Weighted and unweighted streamer patterns fished on a sinking line is a great starting point should you choose to fish flies. Last but definitely not least live bait has always produced when all else has failed. Make sure to visit our Bait on the Fly bait cooler at Allegheny Outfitters for the freshest bait in town!
Chapman Dam State Park continues to produce above average Largemouth bass. The same tactics we discussed in our most recent fishing report still apply- In short, fish the evening under a setting sun. A Boogle Bug Popper of any color for our fly fisherman while Buzz Baits and Jigs have been the most reliable producers when fishing conventional gear.
The Kinzua Dam Tailwaters on both the Hemlock Rd and Route 59 sides have been seeing a lot of fishing pressure lately. The bait fisherman have been reporting quantities of sizeable fish being caught, quite possibly why the Night Crawlers have been flying out the door at Allegheny Outfitters.
The Allegheny River water temperatures are cooling but still too warm for our liking to safely target trout. That being said the musky, walleye, and smallmouth seem to be eager to feed with the water now under 70 degrees. Plenty of great fishing to be had on the entire river. ** Paying attention to productive water types and finding similar areas seems to be the name of the game.
The East Branch of the Clarion River continues to be our first choice when we are looking to fly fish and will continue to be until we have safe water temperatures to safely target trout elsewhere.
Below is a list of must have flies if you’re considering a trip to The East Branch tailwater, all flies listed are available at Allegheny Outfitters in the Hatch Run Fly Fishing fly bin.
Green Weenie Nymph- #12 Frenchie Nymph - #12-18 a variety of both dark and light imitations. Holy Grail Nymph/ Caddis Emerger - #14-18 Olive and Tan. Stimulator Dry Fly - #8-10 Dry Dropper approach for picky trout. Sexy Walts Worm - #12-16 Pheasant Tail Nymph - # 12-18 Dark and Light imitations. Pats Rubber Legs - #6-10 Squirmy Worm - #12 Rainbow Warrior - #12-16
Hatch Run Fly Fishing has the flies, bait, and local knowledge to make your next visit to the area in and around the Allegheny National Forest a success. Text or call for up to date information 814-706-1958.
**The infamous Steelhead season is fast approaching, we will have a selection of flies for your Steelhead Alley needs. l will again be offering guided trips for steelhead as well as migratory browns covering the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario Tributaries.