Danny Hilliard of Leechburg has loved fishing since he was old enough to clutch a rod.

He recently created the Leechburg Angling Club, a new public Facebook group, with a goal of promoting angling on the Kiski River and its associated tributaries.

“When I was a kid, the Kiski was only good for curing poison ivy rashes and tie-dying white T-shirts with a rust-and-orange patina,” Hilliard said. “Now it’s got mussels, crayfish, a burgeoning bass population and it’s stocked with trout. We have an immense natural resource right in our backyards.”

The Trib previously reported the discovery of the pink heelsplitter mussel in two locations in the Kiski River in 2019.

Anyone with an interest in fishing is invited to join, and Hilliard requests members keep their posts civil. Hilliard serves as the group’s administrator.

He initially posted the group July 14. More than 30 people joined within the first 24 hours. The group had 63 members Tuesday.

“The fishing game is strong in Leechburg, ” Hilliard wrote in one of his posts.

Members are encouraged to post personal fishing photos, tips and experiences fishing the Kiski River and related waters.

The Kiski River is about 27 miles long and is sourced at the confluence of the Conemaugh River and Loyalhanna Creek in Saltsburg.

Some of the Kiski tributaries include Wolford, Beaver, Pine and Brady runs and Blacklegs Creek.

Leechburg resident Sherry Kirkman Benes said she’s lived near the Kiski River her whole life and welcomes the new online club.

“To see it (Kiski) go from orange to sustaining fish, of course we need a group to share what we catch in the river,” she said.

John Linkes, director at the Kiskiminetas Watershed Association, said the nonprofit has been stocking the Kiski annually for the past 20 years.

“We would like to know if someone is catching them, or do they move elsewhere? Nobody has to tell their hot spots, either,” Linkes said.

Hilliard said he releases the majority of the fish he catches.

“Whatever I catch gets put gently back into the river, but a nice catfish with Cajun rub and garlic potatoes is hard to pass up,” Hilliard said.

Hilliard, originally from New Kensington, is employed as editor-in-chief for Kallanish Power Materials and regional editor for Kallanish Steel.

He said future goals for the group include hosting informal fishing floats and maybe a fish fry.

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