Kayak Fishing Allegheny for Smallmouth and Musky

[kingofsnags66]

Hi everyone, I just got a kayak and I am interested in kayak fishing the Allegheny next year.

I'm planning to Target primarily Musky/Pike, and smallies. Are there any particular stretches of river that have better populations of those species? Especially Musky?

And, how manageable is it to fish the river on a kayak, assuming normal conditions.

Obviously this won't be something that I attempt till May/June, but I'm hoping to pick out some areas to target so I'm ready when the time comes.

Thanks!

 

[PennKev]

And, how manageable is it to fish the river on a kayak, assuming normal conditions.

Very manageable and you'll see plenty of other kayaks and small craft on weekends, especially as you go farther north on the river. The river can be quite low in the summer (but still big by any standard) The smallmouth fishery is exceptional IMO and there is a lot of diversity beyond that. You never know what you'll hook into.

 

[Forestfishin]

I think of the Allegheny as 2 rivers. The lower section of pools behind the locks and then the northern free flowing section below Kinzua. I’ve only fished from Kinzua down to President but I’d imagine smallmouth and musky fish well down towards Pittsburgh. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It’s a fun way to fish. Clousers and crayfish.

I kayak fish a lot for smallmouth in the summer on the free flowing section and have a lot of fun doing it but there are a lot of kayaks and canoes out on weekends as was mentioned above. The water up there varies a lot between sections of flat water and riffles and moves pretty quickly even at low summer flows. Have to be careful with snags while you’re moving.

One thing to keep in mind if you plan to fish for musky while floating is it will be a lot tougher to land one in a kayak compared to a boat or shore.

I was smallmouth fishing a few summers ago and had a pretty big musky grab a spinnerbait and take off. He turned my kayak and I was heading toward the left side of an island where the passable flow bottlenecked into a 10-15 foot wide rapid along the bank with trees hanging over the water. It’s a spot I know well and usually grab my spare rods and lay them in front of me. I couldn’t paddle to the shallows to the right so was about to cut the line when his teeth took care of the problem. I was backwards facing upstream at that point. If I had gone under the trees I probably would’ve snapped 2 rods or had the lures come off the keepers from slack and be swinging around. Would have most likely flipped once I hit the real choppy water and boulders that are barely beneath the surface there. Could’ve ended not so well.

I do take a rod specifically for musky a lot of times but pull over and wade if I see a likely spot. Never had an issue landing bass but that fish was an eye opener. Between its strength and the strong current I was never in control. Might not be an issue on the lower sections but wanted to mention it.

Btw what type of kayak did you get?

 

[kingofsnags66]

I think of the Allegheny as 2 rivers. The lower section of pools behind the locks and then the northern free flowing section below Kinzua. I’ve only fished from Kinzua down to President but I’d imagine smallmouth and musky fish well down towards Pittsburgh. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It’s a fun way to fish. Clousers and crayfish.

I kayak fish a lot for smallmouth in the summer on the free flowing section and have a lot of fun doing it but there are a lot of kayaks and canoes out on weekends as was mentioned above. The water up there varies a lot between sections of flat water and riffles and moves pretty quickly even at low summer flows. Have to be careful with snags while you’re moving.

One thing to keep in mind if you plan to fish for musky while floating is it will be a lot tougher to land one in a kayak compared to a boat or shore.

I was smallmouth fishing a few summers ago and had a pretty big musky grab a spinnerbait and take off. He turned my kayak and I was heading toward the left side of an island where the passable flow bottlenecked into a 10-15 foot wide rapid along the bank with trees hanging over the water. It’s a spot I know well and usually grab my spare rods and lay them in front of me. I couldn’t paddle to the shallows to the right so was about to cut the line when his teeth took care of the problem. I was backwards facing upstream at that point. If I had gone under the trees I probably would’ve snapped 2 rods or had the lures come off the keepers from slack and be swinging around. Would have most likely flipped once I hit the real choppy water and boulders that are barely beneath the surface there. Could’ve ended not so well.

I do take a rod specifically for musky a lot of times but pull over and wade if I see a likely spot. Never had an issue landing bass but that fish was an eye opener. Between its strength and the strong current I was never in control. Might not be an issue on the lower sections but wanted to mention it.

Btw what type of kayak did you get?

Wow, thanks for the info! This was awesome to read. Ive got a NRS Kuda. I took it out on lakes a few times last year and was very happy with it but much prefer rivers. I'm planning on fishing the Yough and The Allegheny as often as I can next year for smallies/pike/musky.

I also bought a huge musky net. I haven't used it yet as I haven't landed one, but I'm sure landing one will be an adventure cone the time.

I am still trying to work out how to most effectively use an anchoring system. Do you have any recs? My kayak is inflatable.

I plan on just floating down and fishing, and banking it and fishing where possible, but I'm sure there are going to be nice spots where anchoring really ups the odds. I am of course never going to anchor in anything remotely fast enough to be problematic however.

Thanks!! One more question, how deep is the Allegheny up where you fish? I'm sure it varies wildly, but on average what would your guess be?

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear kingofsnags66,

I'm not trying to spend money for you, but I recently bought an inflatable Aquaglide Blackfoot 130 on Black Friday. It hasn't seen the water yet but come Spring I'll be adding a Bixpy motor to it.

I checked out your Kuda and it seems like it comes with a fin-box style skeg mount. The Bixpy is a plug and play for a skeg mount. They aren't cheap motors at $ 1200.00, but they are WAY less expensive than Torqueedo motors. I was looking at getting a Bixpy for my Crescent Lite Tackle in the Spring but it's not as easy to motorize as many kayaks. When the Black Friday deal came up on the Aquaglide, I just bought a new kayak because it was about the same money as all the additional bits and pieces, that I would have had to add to motorize my old kayak.

You may not even want a motor, and I get that. But on a big river with a flat pool when the fish are active and worth a second trip through the pool you will probably appreciate not having to paddle to do that.

Just get out and have fun. I'm no musky fisherman, but I've run into more than a few northern pike on the NB Susquehanna. They are similar fish, and the pike often held in places like eddies near deeper water, or near grass beds with cover so they could come out when something interesting came by.

As far as anchoring goes, can you mount a Scotty anchor bracket at the stern of your Kuda? If so, then 100 ft of paracord and a couple of sections of worn out old 3/8"s chain will make you a ton of small drag anchors to use. I used them all the time in my old jon boat. They let me control the speed and line of my drift easily. If I got stuck a pocketknife solved that problem.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[jifigz]

They are similar fish, and the pike often held in places like eddies near deeper water, or near grass beds with cover so they could come out when something interesting came by.

Northerns love the weeds, Tim. If there was a single species of fish I wish I had more opportunities at catching around central PA, it would be the northerns. I miss them.

 

[Forestfishin]

Wow, thanks for the info! This was awesome to read. Ive got a NRS Kuda. I took it out on lakes a few times last year and was very happy with it but much prefer rivers. I'm planning on fishing the Yough and The Allegheny as often as I can next year for smallies/pike/musky.

I also bought a huge musky net. I haven't used it yet as I haven't landed one, but I'm sure landing one will be an adventure cone the time.

I am still trying to work out how to most effectively use an anchoring system. Do you have any recs? My kayak is inflatable.

I plan on just floating down and fishing, and banking it and fishing where possible, but I'm sure there are going to be nice spots where anchoring really ups the odds. I am of course never going to anchor in anything remotely fast enough to be problematic however.

Thanks!! One more question, how deep is the Allegheny up where you fish? I'm sure it varies wildly, but on average what would your guess be?

I don’t anchor when fishing that section of the Allegheny due to the current so can’t help you there. I tried it a few times in my canoe and it was sketchy at best. Drag chain might work. Same with the Yough although it would probably be ok from Buena Vista to the mouth.

Normal summer level for Allegheny up there is 3.5 - 4 feet at West Hickory gauge. I guess average depth might be 2.5 to 3 feet maybe. There are a lot of shallow riffle areas that keep it interesting. You’ll only see jet boats up there because there’s too many shallow spots.

I fish the Yough a lot also from Connellsville to Boston. Similar to the upper Allegheny but deeper holes and rougher riffle areas. Both are fun to float even if the fishing isn’t good. If the gauge at Sutersville is below 3.5 it’s a much tougher float. I quit going this summer when the gauge was consistently around 3 feet because it was too rough on the yak bottom. Think it got as low as 2.7.

 

[PennKev]

I don’t anchor when fishing that section of the Allegheny due to the current so can’t help you there. I tried it a few times in my canoe and it was sketchy at best. Drag chain might work.

I agree. I cannot recommend dragging an anchor on the upper Allegheny. The few times I've been with someone who wants to try dragging, it has resulted in either a lost anchor or a herculean effort to get it un-stuck.

 

[Ggrove]

Lips are tight on the dam in harmar.. have had my share of musky (and walleye) there.

As far as pike go, find the weeds. They love to burrow in them, and watch for baitfish to swim by. Weed lines are the ticket on pike.