An angler casts on the middle Yough between Confluence and Ohiopyle. (Photo Courtesy Laurel Highlands Guide Service)

    While I cast the two fly-rig with a floating indicator into the likely looking fish lies on the broad river I put my constant focus on following the drifting imitations.
    As the drift boat travels downstream there are endless targets to cast to. As soon as the drift ends and the current begins to drag the line that impairs the natural drift of the fly I try to hit the next oncoming run or drop off.
    In a split second I see the indicator stop and instinctively set the hook and am instantly attached to a rainbow trout that darts down and around the boat and goes sideways in the current. As the guide maneuvers the boat to calm water the trout begins to succumb and comes to net and I am able to release it in short order.
    I have enjoyed this scenario in a variety of locations in the American west and it is a daily occurrence on legendary waters such as the Madison, Green, Yellowstone and others. However, my recent experience was not in the western United States but rather in western Pennsylvania on the Youghiogheny River.
    The Yough, as it is often known, is a strong and powerful river with a watershed that drains 1,763 miles in its 132-mile journey through West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. A total of 505 square miles of the Yough lie in Somerset County with Confluence being the staging point for what is generally known as the middle Yough that extends nine miles to the falls at Ohiopyle in Fayette County. The river below the falls is renown for its white water experiences and draws thousands of kayak and rafting enthusiasts every year.
    The middle Yough is also great water to float although it does not have the degree of difficult or plunging rapids of the lower river. The middle Yough does have runs, riffles and pools and angling is the growing attraction on the middle Yough especially since the river has rebounded from abandoned mine drainage (AMD) pollution since the 1970s.
    Today anglers flock to the tailwater of the Youghiogheny Reservoir located 1.2 miles upstream on the river from Confluence. The reservoir, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers is itself a renowned walleye and bass fishery. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) annually stocks approximately 10,000 trout 10 inches or bigger in the tailwaters each year.
    However, for the anglers who are searching for more than what amounts to following the stocking truck style of angling, the middle Yough downstream of Ramcat Run below Confluence and continuing nine miles through Ohiopyle State Park lands to the Route 381 bridge at Ohiopyle is managed as All-Tackle Trophy Trout Waters Special Regulations and is open for angling year round.
    Approximately 32,700 brown and rainbow trout fingerlings are stocked in the middle Yough down to South Connellsville each year. According to Rick Lorson, PFBC Area 8 Fisheries manager, "This averages out to 150 fish an acre which makes the Yough one of the heaviest stocked trout waters in the state." This put and grow strategy with the 14 inch trophy trout regulation size creel limit allows for the fingerlings to grow and prosper in the river. The sheer size of the water also provides locations for some of the elusive brown trout to survive long enough to reach the well over 20 inch length as well.
    Although the middle Yough is paralleled by the Yough River Trail, a nonmotorized hiking and biking trail that is part of the Great Allegheny Passage system of trails, the river is difficult to access for angling from the shore because of its sheer remoteness and because of its rugged shoreline and other obstructions that lie between the trail and the river.
 . The Yough's primary and most prevalent insect to match for the fly rodder is the wide variety of caddis in the river. There are mayflies and stoneflies as well as bait fish that are also useful to have imitations of depending on the time of year. An added bonus is a healthy population of smallmouth bass that inhabit the broad pools and share much of this cold and cool water river with the trout.
    In the early 1750s a young George Washington traversed and floated the Youghiogheny as an officer in the British army. Today the history of the Yough continues to evolve with new adventures and opportunities that still provide intrigue and new discoveries. For those anglers looking to discover new fishing opportunities in their backyard or for the traveling angler always on the lookout for unique adventures the Yough can satisfy both desires.

Reprinted from the Daily American with permission from the Daily American and Len Lichvar.