Allegheny Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Welcome to Fall

Wow the year has really moved fast. We had a busy spring and summer, and we are ready to start back with our regular meetings starting in September. October will be our election of Officers and Directors. We do have two open positions for directors, some have expressed interest, but we would like to hear from others who may be interested.

October membership meeting.

Mark your calendar for October17th membership meeting that will be at Penn State DuBois Rm 202. In addition to the election of officers and directors we will have Samantha Snedden speaking on her time at the Fly Fishing and Youth Camp and her experience at the PA Leadership Academy. If you have a child, grandchild or just know of a young person this is a must see. Applications will start in November so hearing what’s involved is important. Time is at 7pm and please bring a guest.

Dr Colson Blakeslee Memorial Forest Cleanup

Matt Marusiak led a group of chapter members as well as some interested sportsmen in clearing brush and removing trash from the parking area as well as the riparian area of this site located in Medix Run.

In addition to the trash and bush a lot of invasive species of plants were also removed. This was the third year of this worthwhile activity and many of the participants were able to go fishing afterward due to the good turnout.

Update on Sandy Lick DHALO

In March we received word that there was a fish kill on the creek. The PA Fish and Boat Commission came out the see the fish but found no evidence of what caused the kill. They were to come back in June to electroshock the creek and see if any fish were still there. On June 17^th I met the biologist over at Martins and we shocked from the ballfield to Reasinger Run. We found several brown trout from the March stocking along with some rainbow fingerlings from the Trout in the Classroom at the Middle School. We then moved up to the section by the foot bridge below Shaffer Road and again found some browns and rainbows that may have swum up from Martins. In addition, we found a robust population of other species. The mystery remains as to what occurred on this section back in March. The good news is this section will be stocked again in the spring to provide opportunities for anglers.

Cooks Run

Some long-time members may remember the chapter working hard to reclaim the Cooks Run Drainage. Rock and Camp Run, two tributaries to Cooks Run were polluted by acid mine drainage due to a strip mine that was active in 1979. These creeks both are listed as class A by the PA Fish and Boat above the mined area. The site was reclaimed as required, unfortunately the site spewed a toxic mix into Camp Run and over time Rock Run became polluted even though not in the mine area. These two streams were devoid of fish from the mine to the mouth and killed Cooks Run from their mouth to the mouth of Cooks. We spent a lot of time and money trying to find a solution starting in 1999. After a lot of meetings and discussions, the best solution was determined to re-mine the site, recover what coal was left and backfill the area with alkaline material. The remine occurred around 2015 and of course results were not instant. In 2020 brook trout were caught in Cooks at the lowest bridge. Electroshocking in Camp Run found one brookie also in 2020. Fast forward to 2024 and I had the opportunity to join National TU in assessing Camp and Rock Run. We electroshocked from the mouth up to the road approximately 100 meters. Camp had the most brookies showing that the reclamation of the Fran site was having the desired impact. Rock had brookies as well, but the habitat was not quite as good in this section but still brookies were found. We also looked at the control section of Rock Run (above the mine) and it was full of brookies. The big takeaway is that while much of the work we did in the early 2000’s didn’t get built, still we now have trout where none existed for almost 40 years. I’m sure Dr Blakeslee is smiling from above.

Fly Fishing Club

We had a great outing this year. Many trout were caught and lots of hot dogs were eaten. We would like to thank everyone who helped make this a successful day. We had the opportunity to try our new fly rods and reels with good results. Keep an eye out for the 2025 version of the club.

59^th Annual Fundraiser

Mark your calendar APRIL 12^th we will again be back to Luigi’s Villa. We have already secured some nice prizes to be raffled off. Stay tuned for more details, including raffle tickets.

DuBois Area Middle School Environmental Day

We had a successful day with the 8^th graders. We planted willow stakes along Mountain Lick to augment the trees that were planted last year. Big Thank You to the Western PA Conservancy for supplying the willow cuttings and in helping the student planting them. Other stations were electroshocking, macroinvertebrate collecting, fishing, and invasive species. This marks at least 20 consecutive years of our supporting this important day. Thanks to all who helped including TU National and members of our chapter. The 2025 event is set for May 16^th

In Memorial

Long time director and former Treasurer Sam Sleigh passed away in July and the family asked that memorials be made to our Chapter. To date we have received checks from the following:

Ms Hilda Hutchinson Mr &Mrs John Eppele Mr & Mrs Donald McMillien Mr &Mrs Timothy Keister Mr & Mrs George Kutskel

Ms Louise Steele Mr & Mrs Steve Brazinski Wes and Sandra Carnahan Quinn and Carol Lundberg Jr

This list was provided to the family, and we wish them our condolences.

Chapter Picnicb

August 25^th 30+ members of the Jim Zwald and Allegheny Mountain Chapters enjoyed a fun day eating and visiting with some old and new friends. Rich Ferrara hosted a course on nymphing in the morning and everyone ate a lot of pierogi, haluski, kielbasa and sauerkraut, and pulled pork.

September Board meeting

The board met at the pavilion at the Tanney Dam on September 12^th. All the events that took place over the summer were discussed and Kelly gave an update on our 59^th annual fundraiser to be held at Luigi’s Villa on April 12^th. All officers agreed to serve another term. Our annual reorganizational meeting will be held on Wednesday November 6^th site to be announced.

Fly tying Roundtable and possible fly-tying class

We will be hosting our popular fly-tying roundtable starting in early January. The plan is to be back at Penn State in the DEF building. Stay tuned for more information as we approach the new year.

We may host a fly-tying class this winter if there is enough interest. We will host if we have between 7 and 10 students. Class will be limited to 10 students. To express interest or to register call George at814-371-9290.