Proposed DHALO regulations change

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Awesome post Maurice. I like the dated trout idea.

One thing not discussed is many DH Area's DO HOLD TROUT OVER, if not fished in the summer.

Let the fish rest and you get more the next year. And some nice ones! Blue Cheese Trout if you will ;-)

 

[CRB]

If the PAFBC wants to sell licenses why not open up the hatchery once/twice a year for fishing?
Drive up and get your keepers without wetting a line.

 

[SBecker]

I suggest allowing explosives. 1/4 stick does wonders and is even really quiet when sunken.

 

[PennKev]

Chaz wrote:

As far as DH areas, I know they are popular and why, but I've always said it is 1, foolish to put special regs on stocked water since everyone pays for those fish.

I would like at least some of the trout that I HELPED BUY last long into the spring! And as we have discussed, no one is excluded from fishing DHALO. If you have a spinning rod and some artificial lures, you are good to go. DHALO is great for providing trout fishing opportunities over a longer period of time in areas with few or no year-round or wild trout fisheries.

And 2, that DH is always a missused reg that should only be used at the lower limits of wild trout water to prevent as much as possible the inadvertent harvest of wild trout at the lower limits of the wild trout water while the water still holds wild trout in that area.

DHALO is not intended as a wild trout reg and never will be. It protects stocked fish from being harvested at the begiining of the open season so that good numbers of fish will remain to provide a recreational fishery. If it happens to protects wild trout all the better.

Kev

 

[Chaz]

OH yeah. putting a bounty on fish, that's a great idea. We won't have any fish in our lake and streamsif that were put in effect.
Brilliant, don't give PFBC any more bright ideas.
All regs should have a goal in mind, the only goal that I see for DH is to preserve stocked fish for a little longer, to appease a small fraction of the FF crowd, that probably can't can't fish otherwise. That's not a goal, that's catering to a small group of angers.
I stand by what I have said for year, no stocked water should have special regs.

 

[afishinado]

Good post, Maurice.....aGREED!

A few year ago, the FBC spent a lot of money and time doing a trout angler survey to get a pulse for what anglers desire from the Commish. As I recall, there was resounding agreement by the majority of anglers that the special reg / DH sections should be expanded to allow more quality trout fishing opportunities. Nothing has happened since the survey to move in that direction......quite the opposite in fact.

Since the number of trout that can be raised and stocked is limited by declining revenues and increased costs, stretching out the resource (the fish) by promoting Catch & Release rather than Catch & Keep would be logical.

Hey, what ever happened to the Commish's "Fish-for-Fun" program?!........Fish-for-Fillets?!? :-o

 

[miltiades]

I fish pa year round if I can. This year I have tried multiple times to fish regular stocked waters and I am very very disappointed in the behavior of my fellow fisherman. I have even seen a fist fight on the stream. And these are all bait fisherman. They rush from area to area to get as many fish on the stringer as possible, follow the stock trucks, and attack each other. All over GREED.

So now the one place I could fish in relative peace, the DHALO, will be infested by these same people. I think thats just wonderful. The DHALO area close to me has had a ton of work done by TU and is a pretty nice area. Where were these "bait fisherman" when there was work to be done? I guess that there wasnt anything in it for them so they didnt show up. Now that the area will support trout year round, they want in. Its absolute crap. There are miles and miles of unrestricted stream that they could fish, but their greed has already fished the rest out.

And it WILL be like another opening day.No doubt about it. The common misconception around here is that the DHALO is full of 20 inch fish. Whatever.......

I especially like the comment, " we just want an equal opportunity" Yeah, equal my ***. Its fueled by your jealousy and greed. You already have the opportunity to fish there. Just get a flyrod or artificial lure to do it. I guess thats not good enough either.

 

[PennKev]

Chaz wrote:
All regs should have a goal in mind, the only goal that I see for DH is to preserve stocked fish for a little longer, to appease a small fraction of the FF crowd, that probably can't can't fish otherwise. That's not a goal, that's catering to a small group of angers.
I stand by what I have said for year, no stocked water should have special regs.

What is wrong with getting the most bang for the buck? Stocked trout are not free and most anglers fish primarily for recreation anyway. A fish that is caught multiple times provides more recreation for the dollar than one that is stocked and roped the first weekend of the season.

to appease a small fraction of the FF crowd, that probably can't can't fish otherwise.

Ummm, whatever.

That's not a goal, that's catering to a small group of angers.

Again, NO ONE is excluded. if you have a license and a spinning rod you can fish DHALO. Instead of buying a cup of worms at the beginning of the day, buy a couple spinners or rapalas.

The current stocking program is incredibly wasteful in my opinion. Anything that helps to increase the value of each fish stocked is an improvement in my eyes.

Kev

 

[jdaddy]

I have a couple of thoughts and questions regarding the matter at hand.

1) There is much talk of license sales being the underlying factor to these changes. We have noted that there has been a substantial upswing in license sales Q1 2012 v Q1 2011, however weather may be a huge factor here as Q1 2011 was brutal with rain and Q1 2012 was substantially warmer and drier than average. Having said that, is the trout stocking program solely funded by trout stamp sales? We frequently acknowledge that the PFBC is self funded, however we often say through fishing license sales. What economic impact does the "B" portion of PFBC have on the trout stocking program? How about general license sales (non-stamp) revenues as directly related to trout stocking?

2) While the "Fish Portal" or online comment section does in fact get read, it is my understanding that a physical letter has carries much more weight with this commissioner.

3) When we last visited this issue the commissioner received over 1,200 letters in opposition to the regulation change. Why was it brought up again so quickly when there was such opposition to the regulation change?

 

[SBecker]

TAP

 

[outsider]

Came across someone fishing worms in the DHALO section of the Tulpehocken Creek this evening. No license, 3 fish on a stringer. And they were not there very long, came in above me. Second time in less than a week, different people.

 

[boss_steb]

Just a quick question...what do we call Flyfisherman's Paradise in the future?

 

[Maurice]

FFP is not a DHALO.

 

[tomgamber]

And I believe FFO C&R are just that..not DH...is that correct?

 

[jdaddy]

outsider wrote:
Came across someone fishing worms in the DHALO section of the Tulpehocken Creek this evening. No license, 3 fish on a stringer. And they were not there very long, came in above me. Second time in less than a week, different people.

I am hearing this almost daily. Why not carry a cell phone with the SE PA PFBC number in it and report it to them? Or you can call the park rangers who can handle the matter.

 

[Maurice]

tomgamber wrote:
And I believe FFO C&R are just that..not DH...is that correct?

Correct.

 

[outsider]

jdaddy wrote:

outsider wrote:
Came across someone fishing worms in the DHALO section of the Tulpehocken Creek this evening. No license, 3 fish on a stringer. And they were not there very long, came in above me. Second time in less than a week, different people.

I am hearing this almost daily. Why not carry a cell phone with the SE PA PFBC number in it and report it to them? Or you can call the park rangers who can handle the matter.

I've done this in the past. Response time is the issue. I know the WCO's have a lot of territory to cover, but the Tully is constantly abused. A lot of it is ignorance of the regulations, which of course is no excuse.

 

[JackM]

I may be nearly alone in thinking this, but I believe in these situations, you can do more in more instances to help the poaching problem by trying to educate the poacher, first, as to the regulations, second as to the consequences if caught and prosecuted, third as to why the regulation exist and fourth as to why it is better to release on certain waters so the fish may be caught again.

If you get an open-mouth blank stare, not only do I know where you are fishing, but I also recommend at this point not wasting further time and call the fish cops.

 

[McSneek]

Having seen some of this activity and the individuals involved first hand I highly doubt they are responsive to an educational approach including a review of the regulations, consequences of getting caught, etc. I would suggest this to be a rather risky thing to do.

Was fishing the Refrigerator Hole a few years ago. Nice evening - caddis and sulphurs coming off. Had the stretch to myself. Couple of guys come scrambling down the steep hill across from me. Rig up with outfits more suited to saltwater. Plunk some night crawlers out in the deepest part of the hole. The pyramid sinkers they were using certainly kept their offering on the bottom. Eventually landed a big carp which they tossed up on the bank where it writhed around while they continued to fish. After fishing for awhile longer with no more success they picked up their prize catch and headed up the bank. At least they took the carp home to eat it or fertilize their garden I guess.

 

[JackM]

I understand an attempt at education will not always work or will not work even "most of the time." I also believe calling the fish cops will work even less often. This is the basis for my comments. Why not try what has a better chance of working. As for it being dangerous, I am not recommending beligerence. Think of yourself as a diplomat for common courtesy and the rule of law.