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Posted in Chapter Business

Fall Newsletter

The Fall 2024 issue of The Trails is out!

Click the link below to download.

Fall Trails 24

Posted in Citizen Science Linn Run Rock Run

Rock Run Water Tests 7.30.24

Linn Run
Upper Linn Run Dry Stream Bed

Results of water tests at the mouth of Rock Run on July 30, 2024.

Air Temperature: 70° F
Water Temperature: 65° F
pH: 7.13
Alkalinity: 9.6

Rain is needed desperately. The flow in Linn Run’s headwaters is just a trickle.

The USGS gauge at Linn Run was at 1.45′ and the discharge was .88 ft³/sec. This is the lowest reading we’ve had in 5 years of keeping records. This is still not a record. According to the USGS website, the lowest discharge was .16 ft³/sec recorded in 2012.

Contrast this with April 3rd of this year when the stream was flowing at 454 ft³/sec and the gauge measured 3.79′.

Posted in Events Veterans

2024 Vets & First Responders Fishing Day Registration Open

Our 6th annual Veterans and First Responders Fishing Day will be on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at the Kingston Sportsman’s Club near Latrobe, PA.

The event is free to all military veterans and first responders but you must register in advance.

See the Veterans Page for more details and to register.

2024 Vets Flyer
Posted in Citizen Science Rock Run

Rock Run Water Test Results

RR-6/30/24
Rhododendron was in bloom at Linn Run State Park

Monthly water quality tests were done at the mouth of Rock Run on June 30, 2024

Air Temperature – 72°
Water Temperature – 65°F
Linn Run Gauge – 1.63′
Linn Run Discharge – 4.57 ft³/sec
pH – 7.2
Alkalinity – 7.0

Posted in Events

2024 FTTU Summer Picnic

  • Picnic_20
    Trout cake from the Pie Shoppe
Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited held its annual summer picnic on Saturday, June 22nd at Twin Lakes Park in Hempfield Township.  It was an opportunity for the Chapter to celebrate a very active year of in-school programs, stream fishing with youth, a fishing event for military veterans and first responders, studies on Linn Run, and numerous community events.  It served as a thank you to all the member volunteers who gave of their time and talents to make the events successful.
Ninety-four guests, including eleven youth, registered to attend.  Although it was the hottest day of the summer to date, a soft breeze kept the hilltop comfortable, and many guests opted to relax in lawn chairs outside the pavilion.  Retired chef, and TU member, Dan Ferguson, prepared and served an out-of-this-world lunch for the guests which included, sweet Italian sausage, meatballs Roma style, mac & cheese, redskin potatoes, two salads and fresh watermelon.  Dessert was two full sheet cakes decorated with a large rainbow trout, provided by The Pie Shoppe in Laughlintown.  Raffle prizes included an Orvis fly rod, a Yeti cooler, wine basket, several youth rod/reel combos and Yeti travel mugs.  Activities for the kids included wooden trout silhouette painting, tying a “crazy fly” to display on pack packs, bean bag toss and volleyball.  The Chapter thanks all of the guests and volunteers
 who made the event a success!

Posted in Events

Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited History and Conservation in the Ligonier Valley Presentation.

Golden Trout Award
Enoch "Inky" Moore (left), PA Council President, presents the Golden Trout Award to FTTU President Frank Felbaum (center) and past President Tom Patton. The Golden Trout is Trout Unlimited National's highest award.

Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited is happy to announce that a history of the Chapter, and its coldwater conservation efforts, is on display at the Ligonier Valley Library as part of its 22nd Annual Historic Photo and Document Show.  The display, including photos and written essay, is a result of several months’ worth of research and documentation by TU members Scott Minster and Monty Murty.  Additionally, Monty will be doing a presentation on the Chapter history at the Library on Tuesday, June 25th at 6:00 PM. 

Posted in Loyalhanna Creek

Trout Unlimited Volunteers Celebrate Earth Day Cleaning Stream Banks

TU member volunteers spent Wednesday afternoon cleaning litter along Loyalhanna Creek in Ligonier and Latrobe.  Each year the Forbes Trail Chapter picks up litter and cleans illegal dumps to make the stream banks look more attractive, and to make them safer for us wildlife.  Much of what they found was likely a result of recent flooding washing items from backyards downstream until they were deposited in low lying areas.

Volunteers reported that they didn’t find the amount of litter as in the past which is always refreshing to hear.  Maybe the local Litterbugs are getting the message that our waterways and roadsides in the Laurel Highlands are too precious to trash.

Loyalhanna Creek is one of ten premier trout streams in the Laurel Highlands Trout Trail.  Visit www.laurelhighlandstrouttrail.org to learn more about the Trout Trail program.  Anglers can win fishing gear by participating in the “Poker Run” and fishing all ten streams before July 31.

The two areas the cleanup focused on were the Delayed Harvest Area from the Rt. 711 bridge in Ligonier down stream to where Mill Creek enters.  And also, where Mission Road in Latrobe crosses the Loyalhanna.  Historically these have been areas heavily trashed.  But this year, between the two sites, volunteers recovered just 12 bags of trash, a 5-gallon bucket, some scrap sheet metal, a lawn chair and plastic molding from an automobile.  Still not good…but not as much trash as in the past.

Trout Unlimited wants to remind our readers that if they see anyone dumping garbage along our streams or roadways, please take a photo of the vehicle if you can do so safely, and report it to Keep PA Beautiful at www.keeppabeautiful.org or (724) 836-4121 in Greensburg.  This is your community’s environment…make sure its respected!

Posted in Fishing Youth Education

Students Exploring the Outdoors

As impossible as it might seem, every student who participated in the Trout Unlimited first, annual “Students Exploring the Outdoors with TU” event caught at least one trout…and some caught many more.  This was a partnership effort developed by the Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU), Ligonier Valley School District, the PA Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) and local landowners.  The intent was to introduce 5th graders to the sport of fishing and use the school sanctioned field trip to teach a little about stream ecology, water safety, trout bugs and becoming responsible environmental stewards.

The event was held April 18 and 19 on a trout stream near Ligonier where property owners and neighbors had remediated a section of stream specifically for youth anglers.  The neighbors sponsor a youth event each year on the traditional first day of trout season, but this event went above and beyond.  Each day, forty students from Ligonier Valley elementary schools were bussed to the site and divided into groups of five to seven students, then rotated every half hour through six learning stations.  The stations, managed by TU volunteers and partners taught casting, stream ecology and macroinvertebrates, water safety, fly tying, the value of riparian buffers, and of course…trout fishing.  

In preparation for the event, the PFBC stocked the stream and TU purchased another delivery of trout from a local hatchery in an effort to up the odds for the students to catch fish.  “That might not be how it works in nature”, noted Angie Schultheis, Education Committee Chair and event organizer for TU.  “But in order to get the students “hooked” on the sport, they needed to ensure a “fish-on” experience for each student.”  Mission accomplished!

It was rewarding for the volunteers to see the excitement of the young anglers landing, what in many cases, was their first fish ever.  Mr. Ryan Podlucky, Health and Physical Education Teacher at Ligonier Valley Middle School, and coordinator for this event, arranged for ten students from the District’s Life Skills program to participate in the fishing also.  They had first shot at the trout on the second morning.  Those students all enjoyed a memorable experience catching trout, and releasing them unharmed.

Mr. Podlucky provided eight Junior Mentors each day from his school to assist the younger students.  The Junior Mentors had just completed a winter-long program with TU and were anxious to demonstrate their newly developed skills to the fifth-graders.  In just three months of working with TU in the classroom and on the stream, the students grew from being learners, to being instructors.  Being close in age, the Junior Mentors and new learners worked well together. 

Local Waterways Conservation Officers, a Game Warden and adult TU mentors worked alongside the Junior Mentors to help the 5th graders read the stream, cast to likely hiding places, set the hook, then net the fish and safely release it.  Students took a break at noon to enjoy a bag lunch provided by the school district.  TU cooks provided a grilled lunch for the volunteers as they caught their breath for the afternoon session.  Over twenty volunteers and teachers worked like a well-oiled-machine to provide the students with a rewarding outdoor education and memorable experiences.


 

Posted in Uncategorized

Rock Run Water Tests 4•27•24

Rock Run April 24

Here’s the results of water quality tests at the mouth of Rock Run on April 27, 2024

Air Temperature – 45° F
Water Temperature – 47° F
Linn Run Gauge – 1.95′
Linn Run Discharge – 15.1 ft³/sec
pH – 7.2
Alkalinity – 3.8

Posted in Events Fishing Trout Trail

Laurel Highlands Trout Trail Poker Run

Announcing the first annual Laurel Highlands Trout Trail Poker Run!

Here’s how it works:

  • Fly-Fish all 10 of the top ten Laurel Highlands Trout Trail streams
  • Take a photo of participants at each of the Top Ten Stream signs and submit the photos to us at info@trouttrailtu.org
  • Participants submitting all ten photos will be included in a drawing for the prizes
  • Adult prize is a Douglas ERA fly rod with Cheeky Preload 375 reel with line and backing
  • Youth prize is a Echo Gecko youth outfit with rod, reel and line ready to fish 
  • Registration fees are $20 for adults and $5 for youth 15 and under

Visit the Laurel Highlands Trout Trail website laurelhighlandstrouttrail.org for all the details and locations of the LHTT top ten streams and signs.

  • The Poker Run goes from April 6th to July 31
  • Photo submission deadline is August 7, 2024

Download the Flyer: Poker Run Flyer

Download the Rules and Registration Form: Poker Run Rules and Registration