March 1st Closed Season for trout

[Nate540]

So I'm good to go then thanks. I'll be out this weekend

 

[Bamboozle]

Shaner wrote:

NOTE: It is legal to fish for trout in Class A trout streams year-round, with no harvest beginning the day after Labor Day through the opening day of trout season the following year.

EXCEPT - Class A sections of streams which are listed BY NAME as Approved Trout Waters in the Summary.

Example - Little Lehigh Creek, Hay Creek, Perkiomen Creek (a portion of the Class A Perkiomen Creek runs through my property and I was told by the WCO that it is closed to fishing, even by ME!)

This is done specifically to try & keep anglers off of Class A sections that are adjacent to stocked sections for obvious reasons.

If the Class A is defined by section or isn't listed by name, its fair game.

This comes up every year, nothing has changed but nobody can seem to remember.

 

[Shaner]

All I was saying with that was that it would be easy to get overturned in court I would not do it. I don't like stockers anyway ;-)


PS missed Penns Creek section 2

 

[springer1]

Here is info from the PFBC site on fishing for trout during the "closed" season:

http://fishandboat.com/images/pages/qa/trout/year_round.htm

http://fishandboat.com/images/pages/qa/fish/trout_ext_season.htm

To use as a guideline, below is the County Trout stream map from the PFBC site.

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/county.htm

If you zoom in on a region, the streams are color coded. The stocked streams are colored TAN , the Class A's are colored GREEN and the special reg areas are BLUE. Any stream not highlighted in a color is not stocked with trout.

The tan ones for their entire length (to be safe) are closed to fishing.

The green, blue and unmarked streams are open to fishing with fish immediately released unharmed. Be sure to check the Special Reg stream details before fishing.

I love this color stuff since I'm color blind. Dotted lines and dashed lines I can do, but not color. So I appreciate everyone contributing to this thread and assisting the government in explaining the rules.

Fortunately, the stocking schedule shows the GPS coordinates of where stocking begins and ends; so I understand (and help with) that. But I've always thought that if I wanted to try to C&R some Fallfish in March in an area of creek a mile or so outside any stocked area l should be OK, but I guess that's not legal either.

Maybe the whole process should simplified so people can easily understand it without having to debate and clarify about it.

 

[Shaner]

Here I have a few brain busters then if you can't fish stocked waters anywhere...
Here are a few I know of the top of my head. Waters that are stocked but lower parts are WWF also(bass musky ect.) Does this mean you can not fish say bass on the lower sections of these? :hammer:

Allegheny River(Potter)
West Branch Susquehanna River(Clearfield)
Schuylkill River(fingerling stocking)
:hammer: :hammer: :hammer:

 

[Shaner]

Or all the stocked lakes

 

[Bamboozle]

Shaner wrote:
Here I have a few brain busters then if you can't fish stocked waters anywhere...
Here are a few I know of the top of my head. Waters that are stocked but lower parts are WWF also(bass musky ect.) Does this mean you can not fish say bass on the lower sections of these? :hammer:

Allegheny River(Potter)
West Branch Susquehanna River(Clearfield)
Schuylkill River(fingerling stocking)
:hammer: :hammer: :hammer:

It's as simple as looking at the Summary listing of Approved Trout Waters.

Allegheny River from the Summary for Potter:

POTTER
Allegheny River – Bailey Run – Bell Run ...

Because the Allegheny is listed by NAME, the entire river IN Potter is closed.

PART of it is also closed in McKean, but because it is listed by SECTION, only that section is closed.

From the Summary for McKean:

McKEAN
Allegheny River (county line downstream to confluence with Allegheny Portage Creek)

Any other section in McKean or any part of the Allegheny in any other county through which it flows, is OPEN because it is NOT listed elsewhere.

West Branch Susquehanna River from the Summary for Clearfield:

CLEARFIELD
West Branch Susquehanna River (confluence with Anderson Creek to SR 2024 crossing at Porters Bridge)

The WB is listed by section therefore any other section in Clearfield is OPEN.

It isn't listed under any other county so the rest of it is open as well.

The Schuylkill River main-stem is not listed as ATW for any county through which it flows so it is open its entire length.

See, it isn't hard to figure out if you understand how it works, refer to the Summary listings of Approved Trout Waters and know which county you plan to fish in. :hammer:

 

[henrydavid]

I have a question, can I sample a stream that is ATW with a nymph seine during the closed period ? I did read this, "These waters are closed to all fishing (including taking of minnows)".

 

[Reeder]

The immediate, unharmed catch and release rule, listed on page 9 of the summary book, applies to all species, in all waters, all the time. Nowhere in the book does it say any one water, species, or time of year has a stricter or more lenient interpretation or enforcement of that rule. The lack of encouragement to fish non approved waters means nothing. I have yet to come across a regulation that encourages fishing at all.

More from the PFBC:
"Those with a particular interest in regulatory interpretation may want a further explanation. Here it is: The season for taking trout from waters other than stocked trout waters extends from opening day in April to midnight on Labor Day. During other times of the year, there is no season for trout on waters other than stocked trout waters, certain special regulation waters and private waters that apply for and are made subject to the extended trout season under PFBC regulations (58 Pa. Code 65.26). The regulations establishing seasons, sizes and creel limits state that a fish taken out of season from waters where other fishing is lawful is not considered a violation if the fish is "immediately returned unharmed to the water from which it was taken." Thus, it is not a per se violation to catch a trout out of season on Class A wild trout waters as long strict catch-and-release fishing is practiced. "

Well of course it isn't a per se violation, just like catching a stockie in the Susquehanna river in March isn't either, so long as you release it unharmed. Can anyone point to a law or regulation saying it is illegal to fish non stocked trout waters? If not, then it is not illegal to catch trout there. It is only illegal to kill or harm them, just like it is most of the year on delayed harvest stretches, catch and release only streams, etc. I have found nothing about targeting trout being illegal either...probably because there would never be any way to prove someone's intent.

 

[pcray1231]

CLEARFIELD
West Branch Susquehanna River (confluence with Anderson Creek to SR 2024 crossing at Porters Bridge)

The WB is listed by section therefore any other section in Clearfield is OPEN.

It isn't listed under any other county so the rest of it is open as well.

Careful:

Stocked Trout Waters:
West Branch Susquehanna River (confluence with Anderson Creek to SR 2024 crossing at Porters Bridge)

^^This is a very short stretch right in Curwensville.

Stocked Trout Waters open to year round fishing:
West Branch Susquehanna River – SR 1001 Bridge near Hyde to first Railroad Bridge downstream of the confluence with Moose Creek

^^This section basically comprises most of the town of Clearfield.

Anyway, the point. The second section is downstream of the first. Hence, the extended season already applies per the "areas downstream of" wording. If only a small section of the W. Br. is actually closed during March, and all other areas are open to C&R, then what is the reason for even having the second?

I don't really know the answer. It's just a curiosity. The established thinking in that area is that ONLY the area in Clearfield (stocked trout open to year round fishing) is open from Mar 1 to opening day. I'm not sure that's true, but that's how the locals generally see it. And I'm sure having this special reg section is the reason for that feeling. Cause if it doesn't change anything at all, then why even have it?

This one is a head scratcher, for me.

 

[FarmerDave]

pcray1231 wrote:
And there you go. You have a STOCKED class A. lol. Which side of the regulation takes precedence?

I would say the ATW reg supercedes, as the de facto C&R for non-ATW's is assumed out of omission. There actually exists a reg which says ATW's are closed. So if the LL is listed as ATW in that section, it's closed.

Correct. Even thought Class A, it is also ATW, and therefore closed now unless it is specifically listed as an ATW open year round.

 

[FarmerDave]

pcray1231 wrote:
I tend to agree. But it might actually go to court, when it states clearly:

I agree with that too. It would likely go to court, and you might even have a better than 50/50 chance of winning that one. But even if you win, you lost time, and likely a vacation day to go to court.

So, you win you lose. You lose, you lose more.

I'd fish somewhere else and let someone else be the test case.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Hey, Let's all have a contest to see who can get the first ticket for fishing for trout!

 

[FarmerDave]

BTW, a relative of mine recently got busted for a non fishing violation. Without getting specific, it had to do with cutting firewood and using an ATV where he probably shouldn't have been. I can't remember which agency busted him, but it wasn't police. Game or fish warden, maybe.

Anyway, he planned to fight it because he did have a lease that more of less permitted him to cut firewood there ...

Anyway, after it was rescheduled a second time, and he lost work time due to the nature of his work. He didn't get the registered notice until he got back home. Too late to reschedule the work the following week.

After the advice of several relatives, he finally said, screw it, plead guilty and paid the fine. Somewhere around $200 bucks.

His wife paid it for him (because he was out of town for work again), but she also took a copy of that least with her and showed it to them.

A couple weeks later he got a check in the mail and a letter stating the charges dropped. What are the odds?

Moral is, it still cost him time and wages and a crapload of frustration.

 

[chadm]

So can I get a ruling can I fish valley creek in Chester co.?

 

[Shaner]

according to what I see yes you can.

 

[salmonoid]

chadm wrote:
So can I get a ruling can I fish valley creek in Chester co.?

Yes, Valley is C&R year round.

http://fishandboat.com/fishpub/summary/catchreleaseall.html

 

[lestrout]

Yo cha

Re your query: "So can I get a ruling can I fish valley creek in Chester co.?" Careful here - Valley Creek, the watershed that's the next one over in Valley Forge and also Montgomery County, is the one my buds consider C&R year round - it's not stocked, at least not by the state. Confusion reigns on what locals here call West Valley, all of which is in Chester County. But the DOT and PA FBC call it "Valley". West Valley has a special regs section, which is ffishable year round, but has "open" water. Both are stocked, by the state as well as clubs. The open water is subject to the March closed season.

 

[Mike]

"Approved trout waters open to year round fishing" are stocked trout stream sections or stocked trout lakes that are stocked with adult trout at some point during any given year. For example, two stream sections in that program in Area 6 are Tulpehocken, section 8, and South Branch Codorus Ck, section 3. Both are stocked inseason only during the spring.

The Schuylkill River is stocked with fingerlings from the confluence of Tumbling Run just south of Pottsville downstream to the RT 443 bridge in the south end of Schuylkill Haven. It is not listed as stocked trout stream in the Summary Booklet of fishing regs. It also supports some wild Brook and brown trout in that stretch.

 

[chadm]

lestrout wrote:
Yo cha

Re your query: "So can I get a ruling can I fish valley creek in Chester co.?" Careful here - Valley Creek, the watershed that's the next one over in Valley Forge and also Montgomery County, is the one my buds consider C&R year round - it's not stocked, at least not by the state. Confusion reigns on what locals here call West Valley, all of which is in Chester County. But the DOT and PA FBC call it "Valley". West Valley has a special regs section, which is ffishable year round, but has "open" water. Both are stocked, by the state as well as clubs. The open water is subject to the March closed season.

I'm going to be fishing in the park and just upstream. It's just for a month.