Was this guy illegal? Fly fishing only waters

PABigFishHunter

PABigFishHunter

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Apr 3, 2020
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Yesterday evening I was fishing a fly fishing only, catch and release area on Little Mahoning Creek in Indiana County. When I was done, I took a ride up the road to see if there were any other anglers out. I saw one guy down over the bank using a spinning rod. He wasn't trying to hide at all and not one to intervene or confront someone, I didn't stop to see exactly what he was doing.

Could he have been using flies on the end of his spinning gear? If so, is that legal? I haven't read the regs yet but plan to but was interested in your opinions. It's an interesting question because I was Euro nymphing and didn't have any actual fly line on my reel. I was using 30lb. mono, sighter, and tippet. Could he be fly fishing legally but without using a fly rod or reel?
 
No, He was ilegal. who knows if he had a fly on the end of his line, probably didn't. I live in MD on a river. You have to see all the slugs breaking the rules on fishing. You should have reported the guy, let the law sort it out with him. I'm sorry , but I have no mercy for slugs breaking the law.
 
If he was within the boundaries of a FFO, fishing anything (even flies) on spinning tackle is illegal. From the FFO reg:

"Fishing must be done with tackle limited to fly rods, fly reels and fly line with leader material or monofilament line attached. Anything other than these items is prohibited."
 
Yeah, I just dig into the regs myself and see that he was definitely breaking the law. Man, what a jerk. And he didn’t seem to have a care in the world. Clueless or callous.
 
Maybe the guy mis-read the reg's to that specific stream? Streams such as Laurel Hill are delayed harvest artificial lure only and can be fished with both fly and spinner. No bait.

I'm not trying to read the guys mind, but I can see someone getting confused about what laws apply to what stream.

Just sayin........
 
So the OP was illegal for not having any fly line on his reel?
 
We've had this discussion before. OP was ok because of the "or" in the reg...

"or monofilament line attached"

The reg deliberately intends to allow "Euro" style nymphing as a form of FFing.
 
I take a lot of photos when I'm out and had one of the regs signs that are posted about every 300 feet along the road that follow the stream. It clearly states that spinning, spincast and casting rods and reels are prohibited. That's about as clear as it gets. The guy did look foreign, but I assume can read English.
 
Swattie87 wrote:
We've had this discussion before. OP was ok because of the "or" in the reg...

"or monofilament line attached"

The reg deliberately intends to allow "Euro" style nymphing as a form of FFing.
Click to expand...

Here is the reg from PFBC site >

"Fishing must be done with tackle limited to fly rods, fly reels and fly line with leader material or monofilament line attached."

Link to source: https://pfbc.pa.gov/fishpub/summaryad/catchreleaseffo.html

Fly line is required with mono attached according to the reg.

There is no reg on how long or short the leader/mono section must be.

 
No we've opened a can of worms! :-o

An earlier poster said this was discussed before and it was determined that Euro nymphing using mono was permitted. That said, I wasn't part of that thread so I don't know if that was verified with PFBC. If it's not permitted it seems like something that should be addressed as this technique seems to be growing in popularity.

It was only my second time trying it but I'd like to continue on that piece of water with the comfort of knowing I'm not breaking the law. The other option would be to just use fly line but an extremely long piece of mono, sighter, and tippet. At that point...what's the point of not simply allowing all mono?

Interesting topic to debate.
 
So the consensus is you must attach the mono to fly line, even though the mono is several times longer than the rod, and the fly line will never leave the reel?

Meh. If anyone needs me, I'll be back in the spinning gear thread.

 
Swattie87 wrote:
So the consensus is you must attach the mono to fly line, even though the mono is several times longer than the rod, and the fly line will never leave the reel?

Meh. If anyone needs me, I'll be back in the spinning gear thread.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree, it's really not that hard to understand.

Plus there are so few mile of CRFFO miles of stream in PA and so few anglers fish mono only rigs, the whole thing is really not a big deal.
 
Anybody know where the required face mask streams are?
 
Ive seen enough gloves and masks left by the stream already.

So who is gonna volunteer to pick up that trash? :-o
 
I believe fask masks are only required when entering life sustaining businesses that require them.
 
hunter1 wrote:
No, He was illegal. who knows if he had a fly on the end of his line, probably didn't...You should have reported the guy, let the law sort it out with him...
Click to expand...
Easier said than done as all of the Regional Law Enforcement Offices are closed for some moronic reason.

I guess you would have to call 911 which often doesn't go well when you want a Fish Cop...
 
This.....

PABigFishHunter wrote:

I saw one guy down over the bank using a spinning rod.

Could he have been using flies on the end of his spinning gear? If so, is that legal?

Could he be fly fishing legally but without using a fly rod or reel?
Click to expand...

Then this.....

PABigFishHunter wrote:

I take a lot of photos when I'm out and had one of the regs signs that are posted about every 300 feet along the road that follow the stream. It clearly states that spinning, spincast and casting rods and reels are prohibited. That's about as clear as it gets.
Click to expand...

So why was it even necessary to ask in the first place?
 
Bamboozle wrote:
hunter1 wrote:
No, He was illegal. who knows if he had a fly on the end of his line, probably didn't...You should have reported the guy, let the law sort it out with him...
Click to expand...
Easier said than done as all of the Regional Law Enforcement Offices are closed for some moronic reason.

I guess you would have to call 911 which often doesn't go well when you want a Fish Cop...
Click to expand...
Your right ,I was thinking of a different time not far back. lol. The guy probably figured that out also.
 
Yes there must be fly line.

Regardless, that is a really nice stretch of stream that stays quite cool late into the season. It used to be one of my favorites. it get pounded and poached. Its in the middle of pretty much nowhere. Local TU guys up there say the local Amish clean it out pretty good with nets at times. It could be just talk but I have been there shortly after fall stockings and it has been void of fish. TU used to put some really nice brookies in there in the fall.
 
If you took the time to follow the string you would have seen that I didn't locate the photo until I asked the question initially. I later answered my own question and posted what I found out.

And here I thought maybe this place wasn't like most other outdoor forums. What was I thinking? :-?
 
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