Summer Fishing on Meadow Run

[silfeid]

I've been enjoying the stunning scenery of Meadow Run in Ohiopyle State Park for as long as I can remember. I've spotted trout in some of the stream's deeper pools - below the slides and especially at Flat Rock about a mile further up - many, many times in the past, but have never ventured there with a fly rod (or any other kind) before.

I'd really like to fish this stream due to its natural beauty, place in my heart, and the fact that there are definitely large holdover trout there. My understanding though is that these holdovers are notoriously fickle and difficult to catch, and I was wondering if anyone on this forum had advice for how to do so? Unfortunately I won't be able to start fishing until the end of June (currently abroad), so I'll be fishing in the dead of summer.

I'm a novice fly fisherman, so right now my plan is pretty much to fish the deeper pools around daybreak and sunset using terrestrials and possibly olive woolly buggers. I have an 8'6" 5 weight rod, which is a little on the large side for that stream but should be workable all the same.

Has anyone fished this stream successfully in the summertime? Any tips, hints, suggestions would be most welcome. It's been my dream to catch (and release) a 14"+ trout from that stream for a long time now...

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Fishing at daylight and dusk are your best times of the day and knowing where the big trout are are some of the biggest tips. Fishing right after a thunderstorm usually leaves ideal conditions. Big holdover trout are usually smart and it is more important to have a good presentation sometimes than it is what fly you are using.

 

[Acristickid]

Don't fly fish there very often but I would think trying to fish in the evening when there maybe some fish rising to a hatch- likely your tan caddis.

Also, fishing after a stocking would help too. Good luck, pretty stream. I've had better luck in the upper half of the stream.

 

[DanL]

I've always had luck there, with bigger, weighted stonefly nymphs to get down deep. I've never had a killer day there of 20+ fish or anything like that, but it's a confidence pattern when I go there. Stockies seem to like them enough...

 

[silfeid]

Thanks for the informative and helpful replies everybody!

 

[gulfgreyhound]

After a rain.imo. GG

 

[Bruno]

Swimmers can be an issue on hot days in the summer. I have caught fish there in Aug messing around with my kids. After a rain the lower area near the mouth will give up some monsters on a big streamer.

 

[tstooge26]

I have fished there a lot and there are some big holdovers. Stoneflies are def a good bet I have also had luck with just the basic hares ear. There is a lot of pocket water to fish so I gets a lot easier to access inthe summer with the water low just make sure you check the water temps I was there last year in the summer and the water was above 70. The two biggest fish I caught there came on midges though. They do get some good hatches through out the year. Good luck and maybe I'll see you down there

 

[troutbert]

Are they holdovers? Or river fish?

 

[albatross]

Fish some zebra midges, maybe as dropper off another nymph

 

[fayettenamese]

Water temps are an issue there in the summer from late june-september. Early morning is the best time to get an hour or 2 in before water temps climb above 70. I've been catching more and more wild rainbows there every year so the fish must be tolerating the temps well.

 

[Bopper]

I have caught some at the mouth with a very small fly, think it was an RS2 size 18 or 20. In the fall you always see big fish in the lower pools by the slides. I don't know if they can get up those slides. I figured they were spawning or waiting for eggs to come down.

 

[fayettenamese]

I was at a watershed conference in Ohiopyle a few weeks ago and they shared some interesting info. Don't go near the mouth of meadow run in the summer. During peak tourism season the town's sewage system gets overwhelmed and often dumps raw sewage into the mouth of meadow. The came straight from a DCNR officer. I've seen the facility hundreds of times but never thought anything of it. The actual discharge pipe is actually 100 yards or so up in meadow run.