Good News For Penns Wild Trout

We also have to understand that many other streams with wild trout and temps that are warm will receive very, very little pressure compared to one of PA's "Crown Jewels" of wild trout fisheries. After all, Penns is a destination stream for many.

Good work by DCNR on this one. As an avid hiker who spends a lot of time within DCNR regulated lands, I feel that they generally do a very good job with conservation.
 
I've seen them stacked at the mouth panther and swift run many times over the dry low summers of the past. Should just post it from coburn to weikart until we get good moderate rainfall.
 
Bamboozle wrote:
Maurice wrote:
Well lets be clear, it was the DCNR who closed down the stream sections and ASKED the PFBC for cooperation and LEO help. It wasnt the commishes idea, at least not according to the article.

Back in 1999 or whenever that drought was the locations mentioned and also the mouth of Pine were being slaughtered and the FBC said hey there is a harvest period and this would reduce angling opportunity. And didnt close it until after there were opening day crowds day after day there. Then I think I recall they did close it

So what about Pine mouth now? Not on DCNR land so I guess it open season.
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DCNR vs PFBC what's the difference whose idea it was, it happened.

In regards to the mouth of Pine...

Big Pine, mouth at the WB Susuquehanna? Why would the PFBC protect that, it's not even ATW?
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Well because previously the PFBC has exhausted lots of hot air telling us why temporary thermal refuge closures aren't practical in PA. It also tells you why other streams with wild trout suffering the same way aren't also protected.
 
Yes, nearly all trout waters are open and fishing is "legal" but I think it's important for all of us to use common sense when choosing where to fish in extreme conditions.

Give the trout a break, even though the temps were just below the critical when you fished it but rises during the day. Also use your best judgement before fishing a section of a stream with a cool trib or spring seep where trout are stacking up and taking refuge.

It won't be long until the cooler weather is upon us and temperatures moderate. In the mean time, if you only fish for trout, consider targeting the spring creeks and tailwaters.
 
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DCNR vs PFBC what's the difference whose idea it was, it happened.


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It ABSOLUTELY matters! Who's hero? Who's the problem?

I mean, the whole THING results from good or bad or NON-actors.

Syl
 
I called the fish commission on the catch and release section of Pine by the mouth of slate. They said that they won't close it due to the trout bring stocked. About 70 fish are trapped in s huge pool and can't get into slate. Please call the commission to help out this section. All trout should be protected including areas of catch and release! Please call!
 
afishinado wrote:
Yes, nearly all trout waters are open and fishing is "legal" but I think it's important for all of us to use common sense when choosing where to fish in extreme conditions.

Give the trout a break, even though the temps were just below the critical when you fished it but rises during the day. Also use your best judgement before fishing a section of a stream with a cool trib or spring seep where trout are stacking up and taking refuge.

It won't be long until the cooler weather is upon us and temperatures moderate. In the mean time, if you only fish for trout, consider targeting the spring creeks and tailwaters.
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Tom thank you and well said.
 
Special Regs, and ad hoc closures are too difficult for Joe Six-Pack to follow. My bait-chucking hunting camp buddies are chomping at the bit to shoot-fish-in-a-barrel season. Why not just close the entire state to trout fishing from , say, Aug 1st to October 1st? Probably would screw up many folks State Park vacation plans though.
 
Question for discussion....

From a sporting sense, what's the difference between fishing over a pod of fish that's stack up at a thermal refuge vs a pod of fish stacked into a hole as they attempt to move upstream during the spawn?
 
Ones struggling to survive. The other just wants some tail.
 
Really? Fish fighting their way upstream in order to spawn aren't also struggling to survive?
 
No. Steelhead will survive if they don't make it upstream. Heck, they may be more likely to survive if they don't get up that riffle.

Not all will make it, of course. But whether it has a fight with an angler along the way isn't gonna make a huge difference (assuming it's not creeled or deep hooked, but that goes for all fish everywhere)

Because water temps are such that the steelhead will recover from a fight. The trout at a thermal refuge struggling to breath and then fought and pulled into warmer water, not so much.

Plus you are comparing stocked fish to wild. Most of us perceive the conservation needs of artificial fisheries as making it last for one season, not protecting it for future seasons.
 
Decades ago I used to fish the larger and warmer streams in NWPA this time of year for bass and whatever. We often stopped at mouths of cold tributaries for the "whatever" part.;-)

But those were stocked trout.

The last time I checked one of those spots during the summer (16 years ago), the introduced otters beat me to it. Seriously. All the exposed rocks were covered in otter poop, not all that long after otter were re-introduced.

I do agree with the general consensus of leaving the wild trout alone in those types of situations. In fact, I don't fish the wild streams during the trout spawn, either.
 
Plus you are comparing stocked fish to wild. Most of us perceive the conservation needs of artificial fisheries as making it last for one season, not protecting it for future seasons.
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Not necessarily, how 'bout fishing over wild steelhead or salmon runs out west or up north?

 
Fair enough, I thought you were mostly speaking of Erie.

In the case of wild populations of salmon/steelhead, I'd say yes, there's a conservation interest in making sure the spawn is successful. So you don't want to kill the fish.

While also saying that, presuming decent water temps, those fish aren't on the edge of death from oxygen deprivation, and a simple fight and release from an angler shouldn't be overly damaging to this conservation interest.

But if angling practices in such places are such that they are taking a toll on the fish populations, then yes, I'm fully in support of closing them. Since I am not all that close to the situation, I'll let the local sportsmen speak for what's right, and should I visit will listen to their recommendations.
 
I'd be all for it if they changed steelhead rules to no added weight to the line (I.e. Split shots, slinkies, etc.) This would eliminate lining and drifiting egg patterns and nymphs directly into a fishes mouth, and centerpinning. It would allow fishing streamers and spinners and spoons for the non fly guys.
 
From a sporting sense, what's the difference between fishing over a pod of fish that's stack up at a thermal refuge vs a pod of fish stacked into a hole as they attempt to move upstream during the spawn?
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From a sporting sense, we probably shouldn't leave out spring fish stacked in feeding lanes, gorging themselves on mayflies. That is by far the easiest scenario to catch them in. As far as survival, the prime feeding times of the year are just as important to continuing the yearly life cycle and populations as the other times of year are. I would wager that a trout that has been caught by a dozen anglers and spooked by several hundred more throughout the spring has less of a chance than one that hasn't been disturbed at all. That is a lot of lost feeding time, energy, and stress. They are in survival mode every minute of every day, all year long. How far do we take all these proposed bans on fishing? Some of you are only a few months of the year behind PETA in your quest to ban fishing for others.
 
I have less issue with targeting wild steelhead or salmon that are running, than people who support stocking hatchery fish. At least the former is rooted in activity that was vital to survival, as opposed to the latter, which is not much different than a canned hunt.
 
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