Linn Run, Westmoreland, 7/26/16

[curtrein]

Fished with my daughter from 1-3pm. Water was at typical summer flows which meant pocket fishing. Didn't take a temp but the water was cold enough to take your breath away while wet wading. Pretty incredible given the intense heat. So it was a refreshing way to fish. We each caught 4 beautiful brookies, all on the famed green weenie! Fish were larger than in years past with most of our fish going 5-8 inches. Many times while wading you could spot the mature brookies in the upcoming pocket tailing and moving around. Threw the fly in there and BAM! instant hookup!

Of course, wet your hands before handling and get a quick pic before releasing and these little gems will be good to go..

Here are a couple fish pics:

 

[steveo27]

Looks like fun.

Glad to hear the water isnt boiling there yet.

 

[skybay]

Linn is a little gem. Brokies are beautiful there and more plentiful in May. Your daughter looks quite happy with a nice size of native.

 

[csoult]

Very cool!

 

[724flyfishing]

Great report! Linn Run really is a gem for our area. It holds a good native population with some fish that have some size, with all things considered. Just imagine if they quit stocking over the wild fish and added some stream improvement projects throughout the public stretch. I bet it could reach a Class B or even Class A brook trout population.

 

[steveo27]

Agreed. The stretch above the park holds a good number of nice sized gemmies. Id imagine the whole stream would be the same way if they stopped stocking it.

Speaking of stocking it, does anyone know if it holds any wild browns? Ive heard both yes and no. Can anyone verify this. Ive only ever caught brook trout in it before.

 

[LetortAngler]

Steveo, wild Browns were found in there a few years back and the local TU chapter had them removed. They still pop up every now and then.

 

[curtrein]

Seriously???!!!

 

[724flyfishing]

I fish it a good bit in the off season (November-March when there's not so many people). Never caught a brownie but i have caught the oddball rainbow. I know they used to stock rainbows with brookies in there up until a few years ago. Not sure if they were holdovers, got mixed in accidentally in the stocking truck, or swam up from Rolling Rock.

 

[MathFish]

In all the times I have fished Linn Run, I have only got brookies except on two occasions.

I fished there on July 28th, just last week and I fouled hooked a Brown trout just below the Adams Falls parking area. Being that it was foul hooked and that I wanted to release it ASAP, I didn't inspect it for traits of being wild, but I did notice that it had a sparce amount of black and red spots in its pattern. It was probably about 10 inches long. It really caught me off guard to see that Brown.

On one other occasion earlier this summer, about mid June, I took my son an one of his buddies for a hike and time spent catching crayfish and salamanders. I packed along a fly rod just in case my son or his buddy wanted to fish... Well, his buddy did want to give it a go. We found a nice pool and I hooked up with a few little Brookies that were able to shake off the barbless hook, until I had one on that seemed to be a solid hookset. I handed the rod over so the kid could feel the fight and reel it in. I knelt down, wetted my hand and to my shock, was holding a 5 inch rainbow that sure looked like a wild stream born fish. It had pronounced parr marks, a perfect set of fins and beautiful coloration. I reached for my camera to snap a photo and the little fish gave a pretty good shake and spit the hook! No photo! I was in shock over that one for sure.

Perhaps some of the non-Brookies may swim up stream from the private water below Flatrock. Isn't that land part of the Rolling Rock Sportsmen Club or some sort of private club?

 

[troutbert]

LetortAngler wrote:
Steveo, wild Browns were found in there a few years back and the local TU chapter had them removed.

Do you have any details on this removal?

 

[Acristickid]

Don't know about the removal but wild rainbows are very common in the Loyalhanna watershed.

Pretty sure rainbow fingerlings were planted a few times years ago.

Alot of water on private property in the Loyalhanna watershed.

Mill creek which is in the watershed gets brown trout fingerlings plants by the state.

 

[steveo27]

Gotcha. Thanks for the info.

I believe the Rolling Rock club owns alot of the water between Linn Run and Rt30. I know that really nice stretch of trouty looking water along 381 is posted by them.

 

[skybay]

This is the first time I caught pretty Rainbow on the Linn Run. Nice surprise.
This is brook water and shouldn't be stock. Very few fish this year.

 

[curtrein]

Nice fish! Do you think it was stocked or wild? Fins look pretty intact and wildish from your photo.

 

[skybay]

This was the day I caught two wild rainbows on BWOs, they were about the same size. Little wild acrobatic devils. There are quite a few small runs in area with the Brookies. I use only dry flies there.

Photo: there is a little pool, lets call it “ONE X little pool “with one little Brook Trout in it. His name is Charlie. He manages to hold his office as a rule king. If you not a king he will ignore you.

 

[fayettenamese]

That rainbow in the picture is wild. There are a few class a wild rainbow streams in very close proximity to Linn Run.