Loyalhanna Fishing Report 5-3-15

Decided to hit some bait water today, had to get out and enjoy the sun this weekend. Hit the water above Ligonier, and was surprised to do very well. Picked up about a dozen. Not sure who, but some organization has really done some great work above the 711 bridge, adding tons of structures that should hold fish through the summer. Not much happening on top, but saw the first few March Browns of the season hatching. Prince Nymphs and Green Weenies were the ticket this afternoon. Looking forward to some night hatches up here in a week or two.

Loyalhanna Fishing Report - Winter Hogs

Headed out to the Loyalhanna today to take advantage of the warm weather. The water was at a great level, and there weren't any other people out surprisingly. Worked several holes with nymphs and streamers, only getting one swipe at a minnow pattern for most of the day. Right before I was going to wrap it up, I scored on this huge, beautifully colored 20" rainbow. Today it was quality, not quantity in the 724! First Hog of 2015 for me.

Loyalhanna Fishing Report 5-24-14

Fished the Dumpster hole tonight with good success. Dad fished it from about 4pm on, while I didn't make it down until 6pm. Luckily I didn't miss much, as Dad only caught a couple before I got there. After talking to him, I decided to go small on the fly selection, and see if that is what they wanted, and sure enough things picked up. Then as the sun set the #14 first, then #16 Sulphurs actually produced a decent hatch with a few risers. Dad caught his first Loyalhanna trout on a sulphur pattern in 35 years of fishing, maybe the hatches are getting better!

We ended up with a half a dozen on top, definitely a weird year when I have more fish on top at the Hanner than the Little J!!!!!!!!


Other hatches: 1000's of midges, Good #14 - #18 Tan Caddis.

Loyalhanna Fishing Report

Fished the Project last night from 5:00 - dark, and was again surprised by a very nice tan caddis hatch.  Risers were all over and I managed a few on top.  Match the hatch on the Hanna - very cool!  The fish have been pounded though, and these fish are sharp - I had way more refusals than takes.  Water is flowing great, temperature is great, bugs are happening - good days on the local water!

Loyalhanna Hatches !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well at least for the Hanna.  Hit the project last night and today, and while the water was fine - the fishing was slow.  The major surprise to all of those people who fish the Hanner is that I was greeted to a fishable BWO hatch last night!  While it wasn't Penns Creek it sure was interesting, and then a few Quill Gordon's joined the fray! Whoa.  The risers were sporadic but definitely eating the olives, and the Gordons went untouched.  The water is still nice and cold, in fact it is so cold I think the fish are slightly sluggish.  Top that with the unrelenting pressure and it makes for tough conditions.  Dad and I did manage a better score this morning, until the masses showed.  Nothing consistent, but the nymphing was productive.  Look forward to a warmer day or two this week to see if things pick up.
Hopefully the bugs keep coming -- ITS ON!

Loyalhanna 3-30-12

Fished the Loyalhanna Delayed Harvest after work with my dad for a few hours Friday night. Weather was cloudy, but not too bad; water was excellent.  Started out nymphing and we both had success on sucker spawn, small beadheads, and green weenies.  Nothing to speak of in the hatch department except the ever present midges.  Working the water slow and thorough lead to several hookups.  Towards the end of the night switched to a woolly bugger and fished back to the truck picking up several fish along the way.  All in all an excellent outing for only a few hours fishing.

Skeeters on my Helios

Fished the delayed harvest section of the Loyalhanna this afternoon for a few hours before dark.  The water was slightly off color from the heavy rain the other night, but still managed to pick up a few on the typical early season junk list, pink and yellow suckerspawn, green weenie, and BH Prince nymph.  Excellent black stonefly activity, but no top water action.  Even saw a few olives poppin', which is uncommon for the Hanna.  Its so warm out, I left early because the skeeters were eating me alive!  I hope this weather cools off a bit, or its gonna be Green Drakes in early May!

Loyalhanna Fishing Report 5-29-11

Fished some bait water last night and did pretty well. The water was total chocolate brown mud in the morning, but by afternoon had some green flavor to it, so I decided to give it a go, and take a need break from tying flies. It was a good decision because I picked up 5 or 6 fish in a couple hours, and saw an impressive Cahill spinnerfall. Unfortunately nothing was rising, but that kind of bug action on the Hanna isn't to be taken lightly. I'll probably try another stretch tonight and see how it goes.

5-24-11 Loyalhanna Fishing Report

Hit the good old Loyalhanna in the Delayed Harvest Project last night. The water was damn near perfect, but slightly cloudy still. Started fishing around 6 PM and other than the usual 50,000 midges working the water nothing was going on. Picked up a few on small Copper Johns and Caddis Larva, but nothing on top. A decent sulphur hatch popped around 8:30pm,but the fish had decided not to rise by then. Actually saw a Coffin Fly spinner too, a rare sight on the 'Hanna.

4 Mile Run and Loyalhanna - Bait Water Recon

Fished 4 mile run and the Loyalhanna bait waters all day saturday and had mixed results. The weather turned out to be sunny and around 80 F which was the opposite of all the recent rains. 4 mile was about perfect flow, and the Loyalhanna was still high enough to restrict wading at times. Neither stream fished all that well. While I caught fish on both waters, I was somewhat disappointed in 4 mile. There is such nice water between all the pull offs, but nary a trout to rise to a consistant Quill Gordon hatch. I am hopeful that the Loyalhana bait water has a little more to offer with more exploration, but was encouraged by what I saw and heard on it.