Fishes Youghiogheny River
Tailwater · Laurel Highlands · Pennsylvania
Youghiogheny River Fishing Guides
The Yough, a cold tailwater below Confluence running through Ohiopyle State Park to Connellsville, with wild browns in the upper reach and smallmouth below the falls.
Map of the Youghiogheny River
31 numbered points: 3 access points, 5 campsites, 1 bait & fly shop, 3 outfitters, 5 bridges, 3 parks and conservation areas, 1 agency office, 4 regulation section limits, 3 hazards, 1 USGS gauge, 2 points of interest. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 17, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (3)
- Campsite (5)
- Bait, tackle & fly shop (1)
- Outfitter / canoe rental (3)
- Bridge crossing (5)
- Park / conservation area (3)
- Agency / conservation office (1)
- Regulation section limit (4)
- Dam / hazard (3)
- USGS gauge (1)
- Point of interest (2)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 31 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Youghiogheny River Dam U.S. Army Corps of Engineers | Dam / hazard | 39.79850, -79.36925 | Flood-control dam at the head of the tailwater. Everything on this sheet is below the outflow; releases are what make the reach run cold through the summer. |
| 2 | Stocked trout section - upper limit (dam outflow) PFBC boundary, placed on the centreline | Regulation section limit | 39.80149, -79.36887 | Upper limit of the PFBC year-round stocked trout water, 'from the lake downstream to the confluence of the Casselman River'. Both limits of this reach are mapped features. |
| 3 | Youghiogheny River Lake Outflow Campground U.S. Army Corps of Engineers | Campsite | 39.80358, -79.36802 | USACE campground immediately below the dam outflow - the usual base for the Confluence tailwater and the top of the Middle Yough float. |
| 4 | PA 281 bridge (Mae West Road), Confluence PA 281 | Bridge crossing | 39.80645, -79.36447 | One of two PA 281 spans at this crossing; the Great Allegheny Passage trail bridge crosses within 60 m to the east. First crossing below the dam. |
| 5 | Stocked trout section - lower limit (Casselman River mouth) PFBC boundary, at the mapped confluence | Regulation section limit | 39.81559, -79.36538 | Lower limit of the year-round stocked reach, at the mapped mouth of the Casselman River at Confluence - 1.3 mi below the dam. The Casselman centreline meets the Youghiogheny here to within 10 m. |
| 6 | USGS 03081000 - Youghiogheny River below Confluence Stage and discharge | USGS gauge | 39.82758, -79.37254 | The gauge this water page reads. OpenStreetMap carries the same USGS station node 20 m away, which confirms the coordinate independently. |
| 7 | All-Tackle Trophy Trout - upper limit (Ramcat Run) PFBC boundary, walked from the published mileage | Regulation section limit | 39.82747, -79.37677 | Upper limit of the 9.18-mile All-Tackle Trophy Trout reach. Ramcat Run is not in OpenStreetMap, so this point was walked 9.18 mi up the centreline from the mapped PA 381 bridge; it lands 0.4 km below the USGS gauge. |
| 8 | Paddler's Lane Campground Private | Campsite | 39.82843, -79.38110 | Riverside campground about a mile below Confluence, on the Middle Yough drift. |
| 9 | Ohiopyle State Park Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks | Park / conservation area | 39.86718, -79.46304 | The park carries roughly 14 miles of the river through the gorge. This marker is the mapped park centroid, not a facility - use the park office point at Ohiopyle. |
| 10 | Ohiopyle GAP Trail Access Great Allegheny Passage parking | Access / boat ramp | 39.86963, -79.49077 | The main parking at Ohiopyle, on the bank - a walk-in access, not a boat ramp. The state park's Middle Yough take-out and Lower Yough put-in ramps are not mapped in OpenStreetMap. |
| 11 | Wilderness Voyageurs Fly shop, guides and rentals, Ohiopyle | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 39.87152, -79.49224 | Tagged shop=outdoor in OpenStreetMap; the business runs the Ohiopyle fly shop and guided wade and float trips on the Yough. The only fly shop on this sheet - call ahead. |
| 12 | PA 381 bridge at Ohiopyle OSM names the span Mill Run Road | Bridge crossing | 39.87081, -79.49294 | Carries PA 381 over the river at the head of Ohiopyle, just above the falls. It is the reference point for the Trophy Trout reach's lower limit. |
| 13 | All-Tackle Trophy Trout - lower limit (PA 381 bridge) PFBC boundary, at the mapped bridge | Regulation section limit | 39.87081, -79.49270 | Lower limit of the 9.18-mile All-Tackle Trophy Trout reach, 'downstream to the Route 381 bridge at Ohiopyle'. Placed on the centreline under the mapped span. |
| 14 | Ohiopyle Falls About 20 ft / 6.1 m | Dam / hazard | 39.86774, -79.49540 | A mandatory portage for anything coming down the Middle Yough. OpenStreetMap records canoe=permit. The Lower Yough whitewater run starts below it. |
| 15 | Laurel Highlands River Tours and Outdoor Center Ohiopyle | Outfitter / canoe rental | 39.86792, -79.49331 | Boat rental, guided trips and shuttles at Ohiopyle. |
| 16 | Ohiopyle Trading Post Ohiopyle | Outfitter / canoe rental | 39.86758, -79.49342 | Rentals and shuttles, and the shop's own fishing page covers the Middle Yough. Two OpenStreetMap nodes under this name (boat rental and bike rental) were merged to one point. |
| 17 | Whitewater Adventurers Ohiopyle | Outfitter / canoe rental | 39.86744, -79.49314 | Boat rental and shuttle service at Ohiopyle. |
| 18 | Ohiopyle State Park Office Laurel Highlands Falls Area Visitor Center | Agency / conservation office | 39.86678, -79.49472 | Park office and visitor centre above the falls. The historic Western Maryland Railway station 300 m upstream is a second information point and was not shipped separately. |
| 19 | Cucumber Falls On Cucumber Run | Point of interest | 39.86321, -79.50265 | A 30 ft falls on a tributary 0.2 km off the river, beside the Lower Yough put-in area. A landmark you will pass, not a hazard on the main stem. |
| 20 | Ferncliff Peninsula Natural Area Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks | Park / conservation area | 39.86960, -79.49792 | The peninsula the river wraps around at Ohiopyle; wading access off the loop trail. |
| 21 | Kentuck Campground Ohiopyle State Park | Campsite | 39.88465, -79.49307 | State park campground on the rim above the gorge, about 0.8 km from the water. Around 200 sites, April to mid-December. |
| 22 | Sugar Run Falls Side-stream falls in the gorge | Point of interest | 39.90589, -79.49060 | Falls on a side stream entering the river in the lower gorge, 0.17 km off the centreline. |
| 23 | Lower Youghiogheny River Takeout Bruner Run - parking 1.2 km up the shuttle road | Access / boat ramp | 39.91403, -79.50077 | The take-out for the Lower Yough. The mapped point is the parking area, which sits 1.2 km from the water up the shuttle road; the river landing itself is not in OpenStreetMap. |
| 24 | Youghiogheny Intake Dam Low-head weir | Dam / hazard | 39.99578, -79.59418 | A weir across the full channel above Connellsville, mapped on the centreline. Scout before committing to the reach above town. |
| 25 | West Crawford Avenue bridge (PA 711), Connellsville PA 711 | Bridge crossing | 40.01749, -79.59254 | First of two road crossings at Connellsville, at the foot of town beside the USGS Connellsville gauge. |
| 26 | Memorial Bridge (US 119 / PA 711 Truck), Connellsville US 119 | Bridge crossing | 40.02150, -79.59705 | The downstream Connellsville crossing, just above Yough Park and the Stewart's Crossing launch. |
| 27 | Yough Park City of Connellsville | Park / conservation area | 40.02066, -79.59957 | Riverfront park on the right bank at Connellsville, on the Great Allegheny Passage. |
| 28 | Stewart's Crossing Connellsville, on the GAP | Campsite | 40.02143, -79.60288 | Camping and the river landing at Connellsville - the usual take-out for the reach below the gorge. |
| 29 | The Blue Canoe RV Resort Also mapped as River's Edge Camping & Cabins | Campsite | 40.04008, -79.62750 | Riverside campground and cabins at Adelaide, between Connellsville and Dawson. |
| 30 | Boat ramp at Dawson (PA 819 bridge) Unnamed in OpenStreetMap | Access / boat ramp | 40.04513, -79.65631 | A mapped slipway on the right bank 360 m upstream of the PA 819 bridge at Dawson, 0.3 km from the village centre. OSM carries no name for it. |
| 31 | PA 819 bridge at Dawson PA 819 | Bridge crossing | 40.04562, -79.66050 | The downstream limit of this sheet. Below Dawson the river runs on toward Layton and Smithton. |
Guides on the Youghiogheny River
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
About the Youghiogheny River
The Youghiogheny runs north out of Maryland into Pennsylvania, gets impounded at Confluence, and comes out of the dam as a cold tailwater that has quietly become one of the better trout rivers in the state. The reach from Confluence down through Ohiopyle is the trout water: fast, boulder-strewn, wadeable at low flows and floatable at higher ones, holding wild brown trout along with stocked fish and a strong population of caddis and sulphurs to feed them.
Below Ohiopyle Falls the river changes into the Lower Yough, which is the busiest whitewater run in the eastern United States and a different kind of trip entirely. Trout persist in the upper part of that reach; farther down toward Connellsville the river warms and smallmouth bass and walleye take over, and the smallmouth fishing there is genuinely good in summer and fall.
The Confluence gauge sits right below the dam and reads the release. Low releases in the few-hundred cfs range give comfortable wading on the Middle Yough; higher releases through the summer whitewater season push the river up and move the fishing to the banks and the boat. Because releases are scheduled for both cold-water management and recreation, the daily pattern matters as much as the seasonal one; check the day’s release before you commit to wading.
Confluence and Ohiopyle are small towns geared toward the outdoor economy, with bike shuttles for the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail, raft outfitters, and a handful of lodging options. Ohiopyle State Park manages most of the river corridor and its access points.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Youghiogheny River.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
Pioneer badgeUnclaimed
Add a photo of this water
Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.
Fished this water? Add a photo
Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.
Access
Confluence: town access at the top of the tailwater below Youghiogheny River Lake.
Ramcat Put-in: the standard Middle Yough launch below Confluence.
Ohiopyle State Park: numerous access points, the falls, and the Lower Yough put-in.
Bruner Run: the standard Lower Yough takeout.
Connellsville: lower river ramp in smallmouth water.
The Great Allegheny Passage rail trail parallels the river and reaches much of the bank.
Seasons
March through May: stocked and wild trout, sulphurs and caddis, moderate releases.
June through August: warmer air but cold releases keep the tailwater fishing; heavy whitewater traffic below the falls.
September and October: the best trout month on the Middle Yough and prime smallmouth below Ohiopyle.
November through February: cold, quiet, and open water below the dam.
From the water
No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.
Log this water
Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.
Questions
What is the current flow on the Youghiogheny River?
As of Oct 19, 2:45 am, the USGS gauge Youghiogheny River below Confluence, PA reads 2,220 cfs, the 84th percentile for this date, with water temperature 62.8 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Youghiogheny River?
Anglers target Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye on the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania.
Are there fishing guides on the Youghiogheny River?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Youghiogheny River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Youghiogheny River?
Confluence: town access at the top of the tailwater below Youghiogheny River Lake. Ramcat Put-in: the standard Middle Yough launch below Confluence. Ohiopyle State Park: numerous access points, the falls, and the Lower Yough put-in. Bruner Run: the standard Lower Yough takeout. Connellsville: lower river ramp in smallmouth water. The Great Allegheny Passage rail trail parallels the river and reaches much of the bank.
When is the best time to fish the Youghiogheny River?
March through May: stocked and wild trout, sulphurs and caddis, moderate releases. June through August: warmer air but cold releases keep the tailwater fishing; heavy whitewater traffic below the falls. September and October: the best trout month on the Middle Yough and prime smallmouth below Ohiopyle. November through February: cold, quiet, and open water below the dam.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Youghiogheny River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Pennsylvania agency site: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/fishandboat/fishing/regulations