Allegheny River Catfishing

By Jeff Knapp

Once summer sets in and river levels stabilize, the time is right to enjoy warm weather catfishing. One of the best venues is the Allegheny River, which provides excellent sport for many anglers throughout western Pennsylvania.
The middle portion of the Allegheny River, particularly from Tionesta down to East Brady, is a warm water fishery that plays host to a wide variety of species, catfish included. Both flatheads and channel cats are present. From Tionesta up to Kinzua dam, water temperatures tend to be cooler (as a result of the Kinzua discharge) and though catfish are still present, the conditions may limit the population somewhat. Below East Brady, the river is impounded.
Catfish populations are habitat-related in the middle Allegheny River. Expect to find channel cats and flatheads in the biggest, deepest pools. Active cats often locate to the upriver portions of such pools during feeding forays. Dredge holes exist in this portion of the river, and generally will play host to catfish populations. Man-made cover, such as bridge piers, deflects current and tends to feature wood cover, both of which are attractive to catfish.
Middle Allegheny River catfish are accessible to both boat and shore fisherman. Dredge holes located near Oil City, Reno and Tionesta provide good spots, but are by no means the only places to catch river cats from shore. Find a deep hole (usually referred to as an “eddy” in this part of the state) and chances are good it will hold decent numbers of cats.
In Forest County, the Fish and Boat Commission provides boat accesses at West Hickory and as well as a bit upriver from Tionesta. Both of these ramps are found just off of Route 62. The Tionesta Sand and Gravel Company also allow the use of a ramp on its property, which is located in Tionesta. In Venango County, boat ramps are found in Oil City, Franklin and at Fisherman’s Cove. Fisherman’s Cove is located about 10 miles downriver of Franklin.
The middle Allegheny is a shallow, free-flowing river. While prop-driven boats can be operated in deeper pools, navigating large river sections requires either a jet-drive outboard or a non-powered boat such as a kayak or canoe.
The lower portion of the Allegheny River, from East Brady down to Pittsburgh, is a navigable river. Eight lock and dam systems impound this 70-mile river section.
The lower Allegheny provides classic summertime catfish habitat. Not surprisingly, the river has provided many entries in the Fish and Boat Commission’s annual Angler Awards Program. It also is credited for the current state record flathead catfish, a 43- pound, nine-ounce lunker taken in 1985 by Seymore Albramovitz of Pittsburgh. Like the free-flowing river portion found above it, the lower Allegheny contains both flathead and channel catfish.
As an impounded river, the lower Allegheny is a bit more difficult to read from a shore fisherman’s perspective. One can always count on good numbers of cats in the tailrace areas below the dams, however. Dams are located at Rimer, Mosgrove, Kittanning, Clinton, Freeport, Natrona, Acmeonia, and Sharpsburg. Shore fishing access varies somewhat from one dam to another. In general, however, good slackwater areas are found on the lock side of the dam. The dams at Rimer, Mosgrove, Clinton and Freeport have hydroelectric facilities on the non-lockage side of the dam, all of which provide some parking as well as fishing platforms. Current levels are often low during August, which can equate in to some good fishing below these power stations for a variety of species, cats included.
Boat anglers can expect to find cats in the deeper holes of the river. Fish and Boat Commission boat access areas in Armstrong County include Brady’s Bend, Cowanshannock, Rosston and Freeport. In Allegheny County PFBC ramps are found at Harmarville, Tarentum and Springdale. Many of the towns that line the river also have ramps.