Fishing after extended season, February 18th

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bigslackwater said:
It does not. The exact date range I am talking about is Feb 19-April 5th. Which is the period not covered by extended season or regular season. Some of you are reading the No Harvest Rule - Catch and Immediately release, which is intended for Extended season and applying it to this out of season range (2/19-4/5)
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Forget the chart...

...That date range is defined on page 23 under Trout Fishing Regulations in the 2024 Summary Booklet. It is and has been commonly referred to the "Closed Period" forever although with different date ranges.

The Closed Period (meaning NO FISHING PERIOD) is from the end of the Extended Season to Opening Day and it ONLY, ONLY, ONLY, ONLY, ONLY applies to waters listed as "Stocked Trout Waters" which DOES NOT INCLUDE Special Regulation waters even if they are stocked or anything else...

IF the stream section DOES NOT appear on the listings of Stocked Trout Waters which begins on page 25 of the 2024 Summary it is NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT closed to fishing during the Closed Period...

PERIOD... :rolleyes:
 
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Not sure if I'm getting my point across. Here's another way to look at it... If non-stocked waters are open extended season for catch and release the date range would read Jan1st - April 5th, but it does't. It's Jan 1st to Feb 18th. Perhaps this is all in error on the FAFBC's part for not posting it correctly.
 

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Bamboozle, I would like to forget the chart but I cant. If what you are saying is correct, That means the chart is in error. They need to correct it.
 
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I've also read the handbook and see nothing saying that Non stocked waters, that have no special regs or Class A designation, are open to fishing.
 
bigslackwater said:
I've also read the handbook and see nothing saying that Non stocked waters, that have no special regs or Class A designation, are open to fishing.
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So I suggest that you call your regional PFBC law enforcement office for clarification rather than analyzing the Summary Booklet. It will be easier.
 
bigslackwater said:
I've also read the handbook and see nothing saying that Non stocked waters, that have no special regs or Class A designation, are open to fishing.
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Just don't fish if you think that is the regulation. I suggest you contact the PFBC for clarification if you wish to fish for trout in the winter season.
 
bigslackwater said:
I've also read the handbook and see nothing saying that Non stocked waters, that have no special regs or Class A designation, are open to fishing.
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You need to look closer at that chart I am telling you ignore...

Look at the 5th NOTE at the bottom of that chart at the bottom-center of page 10. It clearly mentions Class A Streams being OPEN to fishing year round...

The rest of the locations are OPEN by virtue of the fact they are not listed as Stocked Trout Waters. It's really not the difficult to figure out...

I guess next the nay-sayers will want a list of every body of water that IS open to fishing to be published in the Summary... :devilish:
 
"I guess next the nay-sayers will want a list of every body of water that IS open to fishing to be published in the Summary... :devilish:"

www.fishandboat.com

Regulations

www.fishandboat.com www.fishandboat.com
Page 23

"Many streams, lakes, ponds and reservoirs are officially classified as “stocked trout waters.”This means that these waters contain significant portions that are open to public fishing andare stocked with trout. The waters listed here are open to trout harvest during the “extended season” (see page 10). Unlisted streams (those not included in this list of “stocked trout waters”)are not open to harvest of trout during the “extended season.” Only stocked trout waters are open to harvest during this period. Spearingfish is not permitted in any of these waters atany time of the year.These waters are closed to all fishing(including taking of minnows) from February 19 to 8 a.m. on the opening day of the trout season.

A person shall be deemed to be fishing if he or she has in possession any fishing line, rod or other device that can be used for fishing while on or in any water or on the banks within 25 feet of any water where fishing is prohibited. Unless geographically designated in the Region Regulated TroutWaters section, the term stocked trout waters includes the entire stream from headwaters to mouth."

Page 24 lists Special Regulation Areas
 
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Not good enough... ;)

I need to see a list of EVERY single body of water in the State listed by county WITH section limits if applicable where I can fish legally from February 19th until Opening Day.

To alleviate some of my confusion; in the event there are multiple streams named Mill, Trout or Laurel in a county, coordinates should be provided.

I expect these additional listings to be added to the Summary Booklet annually along with the words; NO CHANGES TO REGULATIONS THIS YEAR REGARDING FISHING FOR TROUT IN MIDWINTER in bold black 70 point type across the front cover.

I also would hope the PFBC considers offering an "official" Fish & Boat hand truck on the HuntFishPA website for a nominal cost so I can transport this revised Summary.

While I am waiting for these changes and to address other shortcomings and confusion, I have decided to embark on a mission to create a list (to be titled the "Not a Duck List'') of every animal that doesn't look, walk, or quack like a duck...

...just in case some duck hunter out there is unsure about cats or something else... :cool:

Carry on...
 
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Another thread that needs to vanish!!!!!
 
It's fine if someone wants to delete my topic. It's getting very "Who's on First" at this point! I thought it was a good discussion. If you're annoyed you can choose to ignore it. I'll probably just fish a special regs area or go to Maryland until opening day.
 
bigslackwater said:
It's fine if someone wants to delete my topic. It's getting very "Who's on First" at this point! I thought it was a good discussion. If you're annoyed you can choose to ignore it. I'll probably just fish a special regs area or go to Maryland until opening day.
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Rather than just guessing and not fish most of the streams in PA, I recommend you contact the PFBC. I know some of the WCO's and they will give you the answer to your question to your satisfaction and you can expand your fishing this winter. Good luck.
 
bigslackwater said:
I've also read the handbook and see nothing saying that Non stocked waters, that have no special regs or Class A designation, are open to fishing.
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You are reading the handbook correctly. Nowhere does it explicitly say these areas/dates are open.

However, look at page 9 of the handbook “it is unlawful to…” section:

1706242369107

This means catch and immediate release is allowed unless the regulations specifically forbid it.

I think the actual statute is written a little cleaner:

58 Pa. Code § 61.1. Commonwealth inland waters.

Information included at this site has been derived directly from the Pennsylvania Code, the Commonwealth's official publication of rules and regulations and from the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the Commonwealth's official gazette for information and rulemaking
www.pacodeandbulletin.gov
1706242856583
 
Riverrat22 said:
Except OP isn’t asking about class A trout streams.
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OK....


So the regs specifically cover Class A and the specifically cover Stocked Trout waters.

Where do the say you cannot fish other waters during the closed period? There is a "closed" period for harvesting smallmouth and largemouth bass, but I've never heard anyone try to argue that waters containing those fish are closed to fishing during those species closed harvest period. How are waters that contain trout, and are not stocked, and are not Class A any different during the closed trout harvest period than waters that contain bass during the closed bass harvest period.

The seasons chart attached on the first page of this thread handles bass and trout pretty similarly. The only difference being that the bass regs mention no tournaments allowed and have a start time in addition to the date of the closed harvest period.

I can only conclude that if one believes all trout containing waters that are not specifically mentioned as open to fishing during the closed harvest period are closed to all fishing, then the same must be believed to be true for any waters containing bass during those species closed period. I believe this to be a misinterpretation. Further more, the screen shot from a few posts up specifically clarifies that it is OK to catch bass but that targeting visible spawners is not permitted. This clarifies that the closed harvest period is not a closed fishing period for waters containing the species in question.
 
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