Bear creek today.

[Opie610]

So I finally decided to try Bear creek since it just had fish put in and I haven't been out in over 6 weeks. I arrived at the lower end of the DHALO and fished for an hour without a take or even spotting a fish. So I decided to try the upper end for a little. I started at the bridge fishing down stream, again nothing. After fish down around the bend I met a young man and his girlfriend. He proceeds to tell me he caught over 100 fish in that whole in the last 2 days. After talking to them they said they were leaving and I should try fishing there. I must have to say I thought they were possibly exaggerating the story but whatever.
So I started fishing and caught 1 then another. By the end of the day I had well over 40 myself. All fish were 10 to 12 inches, nothing big. At noon I actually left the hot spot and fished down to about the midway point and couldn't find another fish. Walked back up caught a few more before the young guy came back with another friend. They immediately started catching fish so I decided to pack it in for the day and let them have the hole to themselves.
All I can fegure is that they dumped all the fish at the bridge in the upper end an they all moved 100 yards down stream to the deeper water.
O well enough rambling, I'm not much of a writer so apologies if it was hard to read. Bottom line it was a good day to take a vacation day and fish.

 

[salmonoid]

Sometimes fishing a DHALO or FFO area is about as close as it gets to fishing in a hatchery (or at least what I imagine it would be like, since I've never done it). I fished Donegal one time in the fall and notched my highest fish count at the time, mostly on a black wooly bugger. Went back in early winter and could not move a fish. I guess it was a good way to hone my small streamer skills, but now, I'd much rather walk a few miles, catching fish that nature allowed to grow there.

 

[Opie610]

Yeah kind of a shame because there was some nice water downstream and only a stones throw from the road but I guess they had nobody to spread them around.

 

[MKern]

That's how the DH was on Lycoming when I first started fishing. All the fish put in at the top and at the very bottom, but not a fish in the middle mile and a half, which had a lot of decent habitat.

I feel that they should float stock all delayed harvest sections.

 

[salvelinus]

PFBC doesn't have the help as it is which is why they end up the way you saw on Bear.

I remember when I used to help float stock Stony Creek in Dauphin Co, many times my friends and I took float boxes by ourselves to get the fish spread out. That's difficult job for one person. Sure enough while doing the float there would be guys at the holes waiting for you to put the trout in.

I have heard of WCO's reprimanding volunteers carrying buckets trying to spread the fish out because "we're on a schedule and don't have time." Which to me is BS. No wonder no one wants to help.

 

[Bonzoso]

Seems to be a lot of this in recent years. There's not many folks around who can help with stocking during the week and I also don't think there is the frenzy associated with trout fishing as there once was. In the last 10 years it seems that when fishing a lot or stocked streams I find these all or nothing sections.

 

[afishinado]

Here is my favorite explanation of the behavior of freshly stocked trout by Maurice: tailpipe

 

[Mike]

Bear Ck is in my region and it is a DH area that provides a challenge to stock. There are few if, if any, pull-offs for stocking. As a result, bridges provide nearly all of the access for trout distribution. Yes, for that reason it would be a good stream for volunteers to float stock.

It is also a stream where we were seeing fairly low residency of stocked brown and Brook trout. One species' residency was very low. After a few trials I shifted the species mix to that which provided the best residency, although there was still movement. There should be at least some natural distribution of the fish occurring over a 5 day period.

The section also harbors a few...very few... wild Brookies on a seasonal basis.

By the way, it was one of the first DH areas. It met the various chemical, thermal, and access requirements, and happened to be a stream section that was about to be posted. Establishing the DH area kept it open to public fishing. I have never been told angler use is high there and my impression is just the opposite, so it would be what I would think would be a good DH area for individuals to try. I would expect a variety of hatches.

 

[CRB]

Why not stock on weekends throughout the year and close the stream for stocking on those weekends?
More help available on weekends and spread the fishing out over the season.
People fishing that weekend the WCO's can site and the state can make some fine money too.
I see no reason to stock all the fish for opening day.

 

[salmonoid]

CRB wrote:
Why not stock on weekends throughout the year and close the stream for stocking on those weekends?
More help available on weekends and spread the fishing out over the season.
People fishing that weekend the WCO's can site and the state can make some fine money too.
I see no reason to stock all the fish for opening day.

Do you support a license increase to pay overtime for the drivers?

Anyone know if WCOs are hourly or salaried employees?

 

[Mike]

CRB,
Nowhere did I say in this thread that more help was needed in stocking Bear Ck's DH Area. What I indicated was that if anglers wished to have the fish spread out more effectively on that creek, then float stocking would be necessary given the poor access for stocking almost anywhere but at the bridges. Float stocking does not require more help (in terms of participants), it just requires the participants to voluntarily bring some floating equipment with them. There are areas of this region where float stocking is popular (Lancaster Co) and other areas where it doesn't seem to happen very frequently. Wherever stockings occur, float or otherwise, I am sure that the voluntary helpers do the best that they can with the time and resources that they have available.

 

[polky]

Mike,
What requirements are there for float stocking? Does the PAFC need to be notified beforehand? French and Pickering creeks have benefited from it in the past, did it happen this year?

 

[CRB]

Yes, I support license increase. 10 years is a lot of time between. Also, support PAFBC to incrementally raise them through out increase time span. Those are my feelings for stocking through out the state as I live in Erie county.

 

[Opie610]

Speaking of float stocking, does anyone know if the Tully will be float stocked this spring?

 

[WCO]

I will second Mike’s comments about Bear Creek not being an easy stream to stock. Access for stocking is limited and, as a result, there are safety issues associated with pulling off along the road in certain areas. I agree float stocking the stream would be a benefit, but we haven’t had individuals interested in helping us float stock Bear Creek in recent years.

If people are interested in float stocking, they can call the appropriate region office, express their interest and the WCO will contact them. As Mike alluded to, this has worked well in Lancaster County. With that being said, however, we are not going to honor every float stocking request. This is because some areas simply do not need to be float stocked, despite what some may think, based upon stocking point proximities. Other factors we consider are how many fish do we have available to put in the float, how far of a stretch can be floated, posting/access issues, water levels and safety concerns for the people walking the float and are the people walking the float going to load up their own honey hole…yes it happens.

Regarding some of the other comments in this thread, we simply cannot limit our stocking days to Saturdays. PA stocks too many waters for this to happen. In addition, and I may not be understanding correctly, but why would we close a stream we stocked on a Saturday (in-season) to fishing if that is when the people have the time to fish for the trout being stocked?

Do WCO’s reprimand people for taking buckets of fish too far? You bet. The “time issue” is a minor concern associated with our truck drivers on occasion (they log their hours just like a tractor trailer driver and can only log so many hours in a given time frame so we have to pay attention to this), but the bigger issue is there is only so much oxygen in a half filled 5 gallon bucket of water for 25-30 fish. If people are walking buckets around for 5 minutes “to spread them out” the fish are going to have a problem. Plus, some volunteers try to take fish to a honey hole or where there is no access. We want to spread the fish out, but we also have to strike balance between spreading fish out and convenience.

I think someone also questioned how I get paid! We are paid a salary, but that salary is broken down to an hourly rate for overtime purposes. Trust me when I say, however, I give you guys time and a half effort for straight time pay every day I am out there. Plus, I am addressing your concerns off the clock.

Next week is going to be nice. I hope everyone gets out to do some fishing. Just be mindful of Stocked Trout Waters, Class A Waters, Special Reg Areas…haha…I am going to look at that thread next…Seriously, if you have any questions where you can fish right now call us…the defense, “RedAdiposeFin347 on PA Fly Fish told me I could fish here,” may not hold up in court.

 

[afishinado]

WCO wrote:
I will second Mike’s comments about Bear Creek not being an easy stream to stock. Access for stocking is limited and, as a result, there are safety issues associated with pulling off along the road in certain areas. I agree float stocking the stream would be a benefit, but we haven’t had individuals interested in helping us float stock Bear Creek in recent years.

If people are interested in float stocking, they can call the appropriate region office, express their interest and the WCO will contact them. As Mike alluded to, this has worked well in Lancaster County. With that being said, however, we are not going to honor every float stocking request. This is because some areas simply do not need to be float stocked, despite what some may think, based upon stocking point proximities. Other factors we consider are how many fish do we have available to put in the float, how far of a stretch can be floated, posting/access issues, water levels and safety concerns for the people walking the float and are the people walking the float going to load up their own honey hole…yes it happens.

Regarding some of the other comments in this thread, we simply cannot limit our stocking days to Saturdays. PA stocks too many waters for this to happen. In addition, and I may not be understanding correctly, but why would we close a stream we stocked on a Saturday (in-season) to fishing if that is when the people have the time to fish for the trout being stocked?

Do WCO’s reprimand people for taking buckets of fish too far? You bet. The “time issue” is a minor concern associated with our truck drivers on occasion (they log their hours just like a tractor trailer driver and can only log so many hours in a given time frame so we have to pay attention to this), but the bigger issue is there is only so much oxygen in a half filled 5 gallon bucket of water for 25-30 fish. If people are walking buckets around for 5 minutes “to spread them out” the fish are going to have a problem. Plus, some volunteers try to take fish to a honey hole or where there is no access. We want to spread the fish out, but we also have to strike balance between spreading fish out and convenience.

I think someone also questioned how I get paid! We are paid a salary, but that salary is broken down to an hourly rate for overtime purposes. Trust me when I say, however, I give you guys time and a half effort for straight time pay every day I am out there. Plus, I am addressing your concerns off the clock.

Next week is going to be nice. I hope everyone gets out to do some fishing. Just be mindful of Stocked Trout Waters, Class A Waters, Special Reg Areas…haha…I am going to look at that thread next…Seriously, if you have any questions where you can fish right now call us…the defense, “RedAdiposeFin347 on PA Fly Fish told me I could fish here,” may not hold up in court.

Thanks for the comments and info above.

While it's impossible to please everyone, no one should question all the hard work and dedication by you as well as many others on the staff of the PFBC.

Thanks again.

 

[salmonoid]

WCO wrote:

I think someone also questioned how I get paid! We are paid a salary, but that salary is broken down to an hourly rate for overtime purposes. Trust me when I say, however, I give you guys time and a half effort for straight time pay every day I am out there. Plus, I am addressing your concerns off the clock.

I asked if WCOs are salaried so I would know if there would be an overtime component to wages for all PFBC employees who might participate in CRB'a proposed weekend stocking. CDL drivers are definitely non-exempt and also subject to DOT hour restrictions. It sounds like a WCO is also non-exempt, because you are eligible for overtime. I am not questioning anyone's work ethic or dedication, simply trying to figure out what all additional costs might be associated. The practical implications of only stocking two weekend days vs. five weekdays would render the additional cost moot as an issue anyway (as you noted), unless the PFBC drastically reduced the number of streams stocked.

 

[Chaz]

I've seen the comments by Mike and WCO, and I agree to a point. But I've also fished the stream early in the season and done very well all through the DH section not just at the bridges.
There are several places where fish can be dumped in right at the road and that are not at bridges.

 

[PocketWater]

I have heard of WCO's reprimanding volunteers carrying buckets trying to spread the fish out because "we're on a schedule and don't have time." Which to me is BS. No wonder no one wants to help.

Reprimanding volunteers.....wow. That is one sure way to not have those volunteers the next year.

 

[AugustWest]

Which Bear Creek?