Welcome to the River’s Edge Blog!

Hello from the Kiski River in Leechburg PA!

Please come visit our shop for the Fall Leaf Peeping season!

Trout Season!

Trout season is finally here! The guys and girls have been stopping in the bait shop all week to get ready. The favorite spots are Buffalo Creek, Cowanshannok, Cherry Run, and Mahoning. Of course my fellow members will be hitting it hard at the Parks Township Sportsmen’s Association. Rumor has it they put some very nice trout in the lake this year! The weather is perfect and the fish should be biting. Hope to see you on the water!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all of you from The River’s Edge. Our season has just begun and the bait orders are being filled! It always fun this time of year because the anticipation builds as opening day gets closer. Trout season in Pennsylvania is huge! Some people even go as far as camping out at their favorite honey hole! Hopefully the weather will cooperate and lots of fish will bite. I am looking forward to 4-21-09 when the annual stocking of the Kiski begins! Once again we will be starting at RRWA and ending up in Leechburg. Most of the fish will be over 20″ and will include Palominos, Brook, Brown, and Rainbow Trout. The Parks Township Sportmen’s Association, The Kiski Watershed Association, and my friend Bill Berry will sponsor their 8TH year of stocking the river! Hope to see you on the water!

Signs of Spring

A sure sign of Spring is the return of the Robins. Another is the first shipment of BAIT! As the truck was pulling in to The River’s Edge the guys were waiting for their first order of Fatheads and Shiners! As soon as they got to the water they called to say the fish were biting! Tom and Chris caught a Striper and a Walleye. Dennis and Bill were at the Leechburg launch and started reeling in the Smallies. This is a good sign that this is going to be a very good year on the Kiski. Stop in to see what’s bitin’.

Rollin on the River

As the weather warms up so does the fishing! The boys have been spotted on the Kiski in force. I was hangin with Bill over the weekend and he was catching some nice smallmouth bass. We are in the process of lobbying the PA Fish Commission to stock trout in the Kiski. As it stands we will continue to do it privately through the Kiski Watershed Association and the Parks Township Sportsmens Club. Our stocking will take place on April 21st at 5:30pm starting in Apollo at the Roaring Run Trail parking lot. Hope to see you there!

Think Spring!

No matter what the Groundhog says Spring is coming. The River’s Edge family can’t wait! As I sit here at the shop looking out at the river you would never know it is only 30 degrees outside! The sun is shining and the Kiski river looks way too inviting. I cannot wait for the chance to paddle again! It won’t be long now. Trout season is just around the corner.

Wintertime

The Holidays are here and the snow is flying!  Things at The River’s Edge have slowed down.  The river is extremely high right now.  I wish we could save some of this water for the summer months!  A recent survey by the PA Fish and Boat Commission shows the best time to fish for Steelhead in the Erie tributaries is January and February!  If all goes well I will give it a go.  Remember to have fun EVERYDAY!

Exciting Times!

These truly are exciting times here at The River’s Edge!  In the past week I was elected President of the Roaring Run Watershed Association.  We are an environmental group who have been improving, protecting, and preserving the Roaring Run watershed for the last 25 years.  It is quite an honor for me to hold this position.  We have great plans for our rails to trails system and the future of this organization is very bright.   Please consider joining our group  or at the very least making a small donation(http://www.roaringrun.org).   We are a 501c3  registered  charity  and are  doing  great things for the  environment.  Also in the last week the Bald Eagle flew past the shop here in Leechburg several times!  Many of my customers over the last week have spotted it up and down the river, along with Osprey and Great Blue Heron.  Three of my friends swear they saw a 6-7 foot long Paddlefish in the Kiski near Vandergrift.  These fish were stocked by the PA Fish Commission since 1991.  The leaves are now at the peak for Fall foliage, the fishing is fantastic and the river is gorgeous.  Come see what your missing!

Fall is in the Air.

The air is changing and the leaves are just beginning to turn. Over the past few days I have been observing a Blue Heron and an Osprey fishing in the Kiski. Their activity has given me new incentive to hit the water myself. Two friends recently reported catching 87 smallmouth bass on the Leechburg to Schenley portion of the river. The Roaring Run Watershed fishing tournament was a great success! I will have the breakdown of the many fish that were caught in a later posting. The Kiskiminetas was featured in a front page article in the Valley News Dispatch. It is exciting to see the river I have loved since childhood used for canoeing and kayaking. Not to mention hiking, biking and fishing. If you get a chance stop in at The River’s Edge Canoe & Kayak and say hello!

The River’s up!

What a difference a week makes. The river has risen to 6.6 feet. This makes for some fun kayaking on the upper half of the river. The Avonmore to Roaring Run section is a blast at this level. Evelyn and I can’t wait to hit the rapids! It is tough to fish when the water comes up but the mouths of the creeks are excellent as the fish will go up into the mouth to get out of the current. This weekend will be a lot of fun due to the Avonmore Harvest Jubilee and the Kiski River Fishing Tournament. The Avonmore Festival starts on Friday and goes until Sunday evening. The food, parade, fireworks and friends are one of the best times of the year. The fishing tournament is sponsored and held at the Roaring Run Watershed Association trail. We (Evelyn and I are members) are celebrating 25 years as an organization! This tournament will be the biggest yet! The prizes total over $1000.00 and The River’s Edge is giving away 2 canoe trips. Fall is here and the water is calling. Hope to see you on the water!