Recent Posts
FTTU Volunteers Help With Trout in the Classroom Preparations
Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers who packed eggs on January 12 for the Trout in the Classroom program! Now in its 18th year, TIC made 444 shipments of trout eggs to 430 schools, where students will learn about raising alevins from the eggs with the goal of releasing the sterile trout into local streams. The Penns Creek, Spring Creek, Forbes Trail, and Columbia County chapters of PATU participated in this year’s efforts.
FTTU also helped with fish food packing and shipping.
PAF&BC Offers Virtual Fly Tying Classes
This four-part virtual program will cover common aquatic macroinvertebrates and the flies that imitate them; basic fly tying equipment and materials; and will feature live tying demonstrations. No equipment is needed to participate.
Participants utilize their personal computers to virtually attend the program. Details on how to access this online program will be emailed to all registered participants prior to the course.
Starts February 24.
Click the Link to register.
Rock Run Water Tests - January 2026
“Niether rain nor snow…” the saying goes. Snow covered roads and 20 degree temperatures did not deter the FTTU Citizen Scientists from their duties at the mouth of Rock Run.
The results:
Air Temperature: 21° F
Water Temperature: 33° F
pH: 6.8
Alkalinity: 5.1
Linn Run Gauge: 1.94′
Linn Run Discharge: 13.8 ft³/sec
Rivers Camp Sign-Ups
The 2026 Rivers Conservation Youth Camp will run from June 14 to the 19th at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. The camp is open to boys and girls ages 14 to 17 and the deadline for applications is February 28th.
FTTU will consider sponsoring at least one Westmoreland County youth to attend the camp. Contact us at info@forbestrailtu.org if you know of an interested student.
For more information on the camp, download the brochure using the link below, or visit the camp website – riverscamp.com
Beginner Fly Tying Classes Start January 8
Beginner fly tying classes held at the PA Fly Co classroom.
166 Three Mile Hill, Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666-1346
Registration is open now (space is limited)
Includes hooks and materials for flies being tied.
$250.00 for classes (cash only)
Needs to be paid in full by December 31, 2025.
Classes starting January 8, 2026.
Scheduled every other Thursday at 6 pm.
Classes include fly tying, knot tying and fly casting.
(tools and equipment available to use at no charge during class).
Along with special guest speakers and fly tying instructors.
Last class in April will be fly casting lessons at a private lake stocked with large trout.
This is FREE to all who participate in the class.
For more information call (724) 322-0037
Thank You Larry Myers!
FTTU would like to offer our sincere thanks to outgoing President Larry Myers. Larry has gone above and beyond by serving as President for seven years!
During that time FTTU has been a very busy chapter expanding our education outreach, celebrated our 50th anniversary with a very successful banquet, continued to improve our veterans fishing outing which Larry spearheaded, and conducted a thorough cold water conservation plan for the Linn Run Watershed.
Under Larry’s leadership we have acquired several grants including a PA Fish and Boat Commission R3 Grant to equip our education efforts and a Coldwater Heritage grant to do work on Linn Run in 2026.
We presented Larry with a gift of a bamboo fly rod hand-built by Ligonier’s Gig D’Orio and an Hardy reel.
“As I’ve said many times, it has been a pleasure serving all of you and very rewarding. I congratulate our newly elected president Rick, our new Vice President Lee, our newly elected Director Rick and our re-elected Director Brian. With all of you who continue to serve on EXCOM, we have a well-structured and highly skilled governance. Our Chapter is positioned to be a strong leader for TU! I wish all of you well!”
-Larry Myers
Raffle Winners
Here are the winning numbers from tonight’s raffle drawing.
1361
3654
4926
3509
1511
0980
3123
2729
3242
We sold 872 tickets and drew 9 prize winners. The winners have their choice of a $250.00 gift certificate to Werry’s Provisions, or $250 in cash.
If you have one of the winning numbers, you should have already been contacted. If you have a voice mail from us, call us back and we can arrange to send you your prize.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who participated making this another successful fund raiser!
Raffle Update
You did it again! Thanks to our members and friends, we have reached our goal for our 2025 fundraising campaign.
We are currently at 816 tickets sold with more to come in. That means we will be drawing for at least 8 prizes on Wednesday evening and we will be sharing 10% of our profits with the Westmoreland Food Bank just in time for Thanksgiving.
The prize drawing will be held at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, November 19th. The drawing can be seen live on our Facebook page.
Thank you to all who bought and/or sold tickets and good luck in the drawing.
Officers and Directors For 2025-2026
Here are the results of the elections held at our annual meeting on October 1st 2025.
President: Rick Yaksic of Irwin
Vice President: Lee Demosky of Greensburg
Directors:
Brian Zimmerman, Derry, Reelected to a new three-year term
Rick Lynch, Jeannette, elected to a three-year term
Rick Yaksic replaces Larry Myers who served as President for 7 years.
Lee Demosky replaces Rick Yaksic as Vice President.
The other officers have another year left of their 2-year terms.
Scott Minster remains Secretary and Ron Rodgers stays on as Treasurer.
The other Directors are:
Barb Hauger and Dan Ferguson – 2-year terms
Milt Claney and Bill Somogyi – 1-year terms
A huge Thank you to Larry Myers for his seven years at the helm of FTTU!
FTTU Honors Long-Time Leaders
Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to two of its most esteemed and long serving members at its recent monthly meeting at the Nimick Family Education Center in Ligonier. Trout Unlimited is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to conserve, protect and restore coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.
Forbes Trail is one of forty-nine chapters in Pennsylvania and its four hundred plus members represent Westmoreland County. Each fall the Chapter presents various awards to volunteer members and local businesses who have demonstrated exemplary performance and commitment supporting TU’s mission. Activities include conducting education and outreach services to local schools and community groups, providing leadership and direction on Chapter programs and events, as well as managing trout stream research and remediation projects.
Forbes Trail created a new award this year to recognize members who have devoted years, if not decades, to serving in leadership roles, developing policy and direction for the Chapter, and managing projects and activities pursuant to its mission. The new award is titled the “Monty Murty Lifetime Achievement Award”, and was presented to both Monty Murty and Ralph Koscianski.
Monty is a Life Member of TU who served as president of the chapter for many years as well as financial reviewer. He continues to serve in various capacities at both the State Council and National level including currently assisting in developing direction and policy to address climate change and mitigate its adverse impact on trout streams. His expertise and devotion to education have led to new in-classroom and on-stream lesson plans and ecology studies. Monty is adept at working with elected officials, environmental regulatory agencies and advocacy groups to find viable solutions to technical and politically challenging environmental problems.
Ralph’s monumental contribution to serving the chapter and its mission began a couple decades ago to address the disastrous impact of acid rain on trout streams in the Laurel Highlands. While Penn State and other research groups focused on the national and regional impacts, Ralph lasered his attention on Linn Run and its tributaries. Ralph worked with academia and consultants to formulate a treatment process to remediate the water quality in Rock Run, a major tributary to Linn Run, that would allow macroinvertebrates and wild brook trout to survive. Because of low pH and alkalinity caused by decades of acid rain, trout were nonexistent in Rock Run, as well as the bugs they normally eat. By selecting crushed limestone with the appropriate chemical and physical composition, he and other volunteers began treating the stream in 2005. Today, Rock Run’s water quality has improved to the point that it supports natural reproduction of wild brook trout.
Forbes Trail applauds the award winners for their dedication to TU’s mission and for their generous donation of time and talent to make all of TU’s programs and activities successful!
