Trout group promotes ‘fishing tourism’ for Laurel Highlands

If a fishing group and a regional tourist agency tout the streams of the Laurel Highlands as a destination for top-notch trout fishing, will anglers travel here and boost tourism in Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties?

That is what the Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited and GO Laurel Highlands, the state’s official tourism agency for the three counties, are hoping will occur this year with the creation and marketing of the Laurel Highlands Trout Trail on the watersheds across the Chestnut and Laurel ridges.

To create the trout trail, experienced fly fishers from several Trout Unlimited chapters in Southwestern Pennsylvania will identify the premier trout streams in the three counties, said Larry Myers, president of the Westmoreland County-based Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited. The organization identified 10 top trout streams in a similar effort several years ago and Myers said a few more could be added in this newest list, which he hopes to have completed by the end of March.

All of the streams — such as Loyalhanna Creek and Linn Run in Linn Run State Park — will be within what is designated as the Laurel Highlands landscape by GO Laurel Highlands, formerly the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Myers said. Trout Unlimited volunteers wants to install two signs in larger parking areas along the selected streams to identify the waterway as part of the Laurel Highlands Trout Trail. The signs will have QR codes to direct visitors to a website with more information, Myers said.

“It’s an opportunity (for members) to share their favorite fishing spots with fellow anglers, while helping small support businesses in the region such as tackle shops, restaurants, gas stations and motels,” Myers said.

Rural Pennsylvania has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the growing national and international interest in the outdoor experiences and nature-based tourism, or eco-tourism, according to a 2009 report for the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, an agency of the state General Assembly. Recent national trends show huge increases in nature activities, such as bird watching, hiking, downhill skiing and primitive camping, the report found.

The report recommended that the state restore “fly-fishing only” designations on select historic waters, then market these assets in national magazines, with the logic that out-of-state licenses generate more revenue for conservation. It also should pass laws to improve environmental cleanup, because poor stream quality has affected the quality of fishing in the state and hindered tourism, the report found.

Marketing trout trail

To spread the word within a four-to-five-hour drive of the region, GO Laurel Highlands plans to launch a Laurel Highlands Trout Trail marketing campaign in Washington, D.C., and its metro area; New York City; Philadelphia; Cleveland and the Midwest, said Ann Nemanic, executive director of Ligonier-based GO Laurel Highlands.

“Those trout streams are the hidden gems” in the Laurel Highlands, Nemanic said. “Folks are looking for outdoor experiences” during this time of covid.

The Forbes Trail chapter will help to publicize those hidden gems by producing brochures and placing signs along the streams, thanks to a $3,900 grant from the Penn’s Woods West Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Pittsburgh.

The trout trail is a successor to a similar initiative that started in 2012, which was a partnership with the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau and the local chambers of commerce, Myers said. The Forbes Trail chapter eventually purchased the intellectual properties of the initiative. With assistance from the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown in spring 2021, the website message and technology were revised toward trout fishing ecotourism, focused on the coldwater conservation and outreach missions of Trout Unlimited, Myers said.

The business school at University of Pittsburgh Johnstown is developing a marketing plan and a brochure for the trout trail and Trout Unlimited chapters — Chestnut Ridge in Uniontown, Ken Sink in Saltsburg and Mountain Laurel in Johnstown — are assisting in the initiative, Myers said.

The idea of attracting out-of-state trout fishermen to the region is not far-fetched to Dan McMaster, owner of Ligonier Outfitters, which stocks an extensive supply of fishing equipment including flies, rods and gear. McMaster said it is not unusual to field calls from those outside Pennsylvania who want to fish the Loyalhanna Creek.

A section of the Loyalhanna Creek from the Route 711 bridge downstream to the Two Mile Run bridge is designated as a delayed harvest, artificial lures only by the state Fish and Boat Commission, which means that from Labor Day through June 15, fish caught must be immediately released, Myers said. That high quality section of the creek is a “state selected stream,” resulting in the fish commission stocking more trout there, Myers said.

Two customers recently looking to purchase flies for trout fishing at the store, Jeff Holmes of Murrysville and his son, Benton, agree with McMaster that the Loyalhanna attracts trout fishermen from outside the region.

“Loyalhanna is a beautiful stream,” Holmes said.