In Venango County, boat ramps are found in Oil City, Franklin and at Fisherman's Cove, about 10 miles downriver of Franklin.

The middle Allegheny is a shallow, free-flowing river. While prop-driven boats may 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.

LOWER ALLEGHENY RIVER
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's also credited with the current state-record flathead catfish, a 43-pound, 9-ounce lunker taken in 1985 by Seymore Albramovitz of Pittsburgh. Like the free-flowing river portion above it, the lower Allegheny contains both flathead and channel catfish.

An impounded river, the lower Allegheny is a bit more difficult to read from a shore fisherman's perspective. Anglers can always count on good numbers of cats in the tailrace areas below the dams, however. Dams have been built in Rimer, Mosgrove, Kittanning, Clinton, Freeport, Natrona, Acmeonia and Sharpsburg. Shore-fishing access varies somewhat from one dam to another.

In general, good slack-water areas are found on the lock sides of the dams. The dams at Rimer, Mosgrove, Clinton and Freeport have hydroelectric facilities on the non-lockage sides of the dams, all of which provide some parking as well as fishing platforms. Water levels are often low during August, which can equate to some good fishing below these power stations.

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.

MONONGAHELA RIVER
Two of the top five flathead catfish registered with the state during the 2004 season (the latest season for which statistics were available) came from the Monongahela River -- including the largest, a 35-pound shovelhead caught in August by Joseph Barno of Monongahela, Pa.

Barno's flathead measured 41 inches long and was caught on a shiner.

The entire river is navigable. Six locks and dams influence the 90-odd- mile river between the West Virginia state line and Pittsburgh.

This portion of southwest Pennsylvania is home to a multitude of anglers who have welcomed the rebirth of the Monongahela over the past several decades. Good fishing for flatheads and channel cats is a major component of the Monongahela River's fishery.

Shore-fishing opportunities tend to center around the dams at Point Marion, Grays Landing, Maxwell (near Brownsville), Charleroi, Elizabeth and Braddock. Merging feeder creeks also create good shore-fishing spots.

Tributaries often form sand-gravel bars in the river. These bars are usually marked by a red or green buoy (depending on which bank of the river they're on). The presence of a buoy often signals that an eddy has formed downriver of the rock bar. When the water is low, it's often possible to set up shop on the exposed portion of the bar.

In Greene County, a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission boat access area is available at Rice's Landing. Ramps maintained by Fayette County are at East Fredrickstown and Point Marion. Washington County access areas include Speers Landing and Monongahela. In Allegheny County, boating anglers will find a PFBC ramp in McKeesport.