hoch999
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waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
i was just reading a thread on the northweat pa forum about hellbenders and it got me to wondering.... has anyone caught/ seen/heard about waterdogs in the yough river? i saw a hellbender caught below dawson about 5-6 years ago and caught one below whipkey dam on laurel hill in the late '60's, but have never seen or heard anything about waterdogs in the yough. does anyone know if there are any?
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Estimated
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/13 21:33:11
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Hoch I've seen a few in the water while wading but not many caught one about three years ago.
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smallhook
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/13 21:56:25
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I've seen them while wading the yough as well. My son caught one on a late summer night while catfishin about 8 years ago in Sutersville. I used to catch them in the Mon when I was into night fishing for carp and cats. They sure are ugly and I've seen some larger ones that was fairly agressive when dragged onto shore.
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Guest
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/13 22:24:31
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20 years ago fishing the Yough near Coulter my friends and I caught a couple. Yes, mudpuppies was what I meant.
post edited by rsquared - 2009/02/14 12:42:08
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KJH807
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/14 02:52:05
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are you sure they are not mud puppies?
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hoch999
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/14 07:26:27
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just to clear up any confusion between the two species, waterdogs(also known as mudpuppies) have external gills, hellbenders do not.
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Youghman
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/14 09:30:37
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Have caught them(hellbenders) in the Yough at Smithton and below Whipkey Dam on Laurel Hill Creek.
Both were caught bouncing a 'crawler for trout, but this was close to 20 yrs. ago.
Both were close to a foot long and fought like their name implies.
I remember the one we caught on Laurel Hill was quite large and we put it in a bucket because our sons were young and they wanted to bring it home. We were all standing around the bucket lookin' at the beast, when that slimy devil decided to jump about 3ft. straight up. LOL. We all ran like little girls and that critter slid back in the crick like a 'gator.
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DiverDog
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/14 15:41:00
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Saw a hellbender at the piers above Dawson about 10 years ago
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fishrmn
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/15 04:01:39
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I saw a Hellbender below Kingston Dam on the Loyalhanna three or four years ago. It surfaced about 5 yards in front of me and scared the $h1t out of me... This dude was probably close to 20 inchs long. -Tim
post edited by fishrmn - 2009/02/15 04:02:48
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cohoking
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/15 19:07:34
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I have some pics around here of a hellbender. 26 inches and over 5#. It is rare to catch hellbenders under 16 inches. Juveniles are not often caught.
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smallhook
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/15 19:48:35
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hoch999
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/15 21:25:52
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thanks for the replies about hellbenders, guys, but the actual question was are there any waterdogs(mudpuppies) in the yough? based on the replies i've recieved, i would guess not.
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Estimated
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/16 01:10:36
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I used to get them in some of the tribs of the Yough when I was a Kid never seen one in the Yough
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yough rvr rat
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/16 10:00:04
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I was fishing indian creek a few years ago and saw something that looked similar to a giant tadpole only this thing had long hind legs and short front legs and was approximately 2ft long. it came to the surface and seemed undaunted by my presence. does anyone have any idea what it may have been. i was wading in sneakers and shorts, needless to say it didnt take me long to get to shore !
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rollcaster
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/16 12:50:46
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ORIGINAL: yough rvr rat
I was fishing indian creek a few years ago and saw something that looked similar to a giant tadpole only this thing had long hind legs and short front legs and was approximately 2ft long. it came to the surface and seemed undaunted by my presence. does anyone have any idea what it may have been. i was wading in sneakers and shorts, needless to say it didnt take me long to get to shore !
I don't know but I hope I never see one. Do these things really get that big? A two foot long lizard is pretty big.
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crappiefisher
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/18 11:29:39
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Back in the 70's I kept one about 2' in a aquarium. It would get loose & come back to the tank at will??? One time my grandmother spoted it on the carpet & said who in the world would own such a ugly rubber toy as that?? Thank god it didn't move  My grandmother ended up livin' to 102 Just rem. there is no open season on Hellbenders or Mudpuppys any more in Pa. Crappy
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shemanese
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RE: waterdogs/hellbenders in the yough river?
2009/02/18 13:36:11
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I am hoping not to seem too nit picky, but Hellbenders and Mud Puppies are salamanders which are amphibians; and not lizards which are reptiles.
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