Help - new to Pittsburgh, will have 2 weeks to camp/fish before starting school/work

[agent229]

Hello all,

I've browsed these forums a lot and appreciate all of the information that is already here, but honestly, it's a bit overwhelming! My boyfriend and I are moving from New Mexico to Pittsburgh on August 1. Where we're from, there isn't much water, so it's easy to sort through fishing locations and pick where to go. It seems there are so many options for fly fishing in PA that I'm having trouble planning a trip and would really appreciate some individual advice.

We will have two weeks to camp and fish after we get settled in Pittsburgh before we start work/school. This is going to be our only vacation so far this year, and probably our last vacation for a while, so we want to plan a really good trip. We want to tour around and get a good feel for what will be around us for shorter trips during the year, but we might consider driving fairly far if there's an amazing spot, but probably don't want to drive more than 4 hours in one day, and don't want to move around too much within the two weeks.

We enjoy fly fishing in rivers/streams, but we also have float tubes so small lakes are cool too. We like car camping, but would prefer not to be crowded into a campground with a ton of other people if possible. Also, we like to drink, and I was reading some of the parks don't allow this (though I think we can be sneaky if needed).

So... any suggestions are much appreciated, thank you!

 

[David]

There are plenty of options for you, but August 1 might have some high temp water... so you'll have to be careful with the trout. Since this is also a scouting mission for later trips, I would suggest splitting the time 2 or 3 locations.

Head east and start around the Yough. The Yough is a bottom release, so it should still be cool enough even if the weather is warm. There are also many small streams in the area and is a great day trip from Pittsburgh. They Yough is a has lots of trout and some big fish. It is also big water and it can be maddening at times.
I would then suggest heading to State College (about 2.5 hours from Pgh). From there you can fish famous limestones such as Sping Creek, Fishing Creek, the Little J, and Penns (but still keep an eye on the water temp). These are some of the fabled fly fishing steams of PA.
From there, I'd send you north to Renovo. From Renovo, you have a relatively short distance to Pine / Little Pine, Young Womens, Kettle, and Sinnemhoning... plus a multitude of little streams. This area is primarily freestone streams and the water temps might be too high for trout in many streams, but you can get a feel for the area and fish for smallies.


Those options were based on trout fishing... if you would also consider warm water species, your options open up tremendously in Western PA. Some relatively close lakes that have produced for me are Lake Arthur (Moraine St Park) just north of Pgh, Keystone Power Dam (just NE of Pittsburgh and not to be confused with Keystone St Park), Pymatuning (North of Pittsburgh), and Raystown Lake (central PA by the Little J).

 

[troutbert]

I recommend going to the Kettle Creek drainage, and camping at Ole Bull State Park.

It's a nice state park, and a great region to explore the PA outdoors.

 

[gfoledc]

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[dryflyguy]

Adding to the great suggestions already posted: the delaware river is what I would call an amazing place to FF. Plenty of large fish that freely rise to massive hatches. Western style fishing right here in PA
It is a pretty good drive from the burgh - 6-7 hours away - but well worth it IMO. Any time I have a week off, that's usually where I wind up.
There are plenty of threads already posted on this forum about it, that will give you the info you need as far as where to fish and stay

 

[agent229]

Thanks all! I've only ever fly fished for trout, but I am open to trying other species. The only other species I've ever fished for were catfish with bait, but that's not terribly exciting...

On a somewhat related note, maybe not, but... do people fish in any of the rivers in the city of Pittsburgh? I would imagine you wouldn't want to eat the fish, but is it doable?

 

[Fishidiot]

agent229 wrote:
On a somewhat related note, maybe not, but... do people fish in any of the rivers in the city of Pittsburgh? I would imagine you wouldn't want to eat the fish, but is it doable?

Yes, they fish the rivers. This is big water with locks and dams - it's really a boat fishery; not known for shore or wade fishing (although I'm sure there are some spots). Some folks fish at the point park downtown where the rivers join; mostly they catch freshwater drum there but I'd guess there are some bass and maybe walleye around. Most warm water species can be caught there although the bass fishing is probably better if you head up the Allegheny or Monongahela rivers outside the city. Upriver, the Allegheny is a world class fishery for warm water species and also trout up near the tailrace (this is way above P-burgh, closer to New York).

Just a few years ago they had the BASS Masters Classic in P-burgh and smallmouths were caught in the city.

 

[gfoledc]

Another pm sent