CRALO approved by Board at recent meeting >
In Huntingdon County, the Board voted to add Spruce Creek, Section 03 to the Catch-and-Release Artificial Lures Only Program. The intent of this management strategy is to provide anglers with a unique opportunity to fish over an exceptionally high-quality wild trout population where fishing mortality would not be a major factor determining population structure. Recently, the 13-acre Indian Caverns property near the Village of Franklinville, Huntingdon County was acquired by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) for conservation purposes to include conveyance of the riparian land to the PFBC for public fishing access to the portion of Spruce Creek flowing through the property. This portion of the stream was formerly closed to public angling when privately owned and operated as a commercial limestone cave attraction; however, it now provides approximately 0.15 river-miles of new public fishing access to Spruce Creek. As such, Spruce Creek, Section 03, was established and extends approximately 800 linear stream feet upstream from the vehicle access bridge to Indian Caverns located along State Route 45. It is anticipated that angler use in Section 03 will be high and warrant harvest and terminal tackle restrictions to adequately protect the trout population and provide greater sustainability of the quality of the fishery than would be provided under less restrictive angling regulations. Furthermore, application of Catch-and-Release Artificial Lures Only angling regulations would provide for consistent management with Spruce Creek, Section 04 (PSU Experimental Fisheries Area), currently managed with these regulations. The designation will go into effect upon the publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Link to source: https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/fish-and-Boat-Commission-Details.aspx?newsid=276
