Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited

The Pennsylvania Statewide Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day is tomorrow and everyone at the Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited hopes that you will be able to take a youth (or more than one) out for the day.  We all know the thrill of getting a trout on the end of our line and the many great experiences we have while being outdoors and on the stream.  Please consider taking one of your kids, a neighbors kid, nieces and nephews, or friends kids.

It is important to get kids outdoors and to experience what our great state has to offer.  Kids of today have to many other distractions and activities that keep them indoors and away from nature and the many sports of the outdoors.

Please share any stories or pictures of your day tomorrow with us.  We would love to see stories written by the kids themselves.  We will post them on our website and may use some of them in our newsletter. Remember kids are our future and we need to get them outdoors.

Please keep in mind a few guidelines given by the Fish and Boat Commission:

1. All approved Trout Waters in Pennsylvania are open for mentored youth (does not include special regulation areas)
2. The times of the season are 8 am thru 730 pm
3. Adults (16 years old and older) are required to have a fishing license and trout stamp.
4. Youths (15 years old and younger) are required to have a mentored youth fishing permit or a voluntary fishing license and be accompanied by a licensed adult angler.
5. The Fish Commission receives approximately $5 for every voluntary youth fishing license sold.

Please see the PA Fishing and Boat commission website for more information (http://fishandboat.com/MentoredYouth.htm)

This is a news release issued by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on April 3, 2015

HARRISBURG, Pa. (April 3) – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced today that it has withdrawn a proposal to change the Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO) regulations after receiving public comments overwhelmingly opposed to the measure.

The PFBC Board of Commissioners approved the withdrawal of the proposal and the end of the public comment period in a vote conducted this week.

“The DHALO program is a stocked trout program, and social factors play a critical role in how the program is managed,” said PFBC Executive Director John Arway. “The proposed changes were designed to do two things: first, maximize the harvest of stocked trout before stream temperatures increase to lethal levels and, second, increase the opportunity for kids to catch fish.”

“The proposed changes generated much public comment in which questions were posed that would require substantial staff time and effort to fully answer,” he added. “Therefore, we believe that we need to withdraw this idea and focus on identifying other changes where we can more easily accomplish these objectives.”

Approved at the PFBC’s January 2015 quarterly business meeting, the proposal included the following:

• Move the start of the trout harvest period from June 15 to the Saturday before Memorial Day.
• Allow the use of bait by all anglers during the trout harvest period.
• Allow youth anglers under the age of 16 to use bait year-round in DHALO areas.
• Change the minimum length limit from 9 inches to 7 inches.

As of March 31, the agency had received 343 comments, with all but five opposed to the proposal. A main concern expressed by the individuals was the use of bait during the harvest period.

First launched in 1983, the DHALO program is designed to make more stocked trout available later in the season. The current regulations allow harvest only between June 15 and Labor Day, have a minimum size limit of nine inches, and a creel limit of three fish. The waters are open to fishing year-round.

Media Contact
Eric Levis, Press Secretary
717.705.7806
elevis@pa.gov

In a post on March 31, 2015, we let you know about a meeting of the Loyalsock Creek Watershed Association to be held on April 14, 2015. This meeting was to be with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission to explain the application and water withdrawal process.  This meeting has been cancelled.  Please see the Loyalsock Creek Watershed Association facebook page for more information (https://www.facebook.com/LoyalsockCreekWatershedAssociation)

The Northeast Regional Qualifying fly fishing event is coming to Central Pennsylvania April 24 – 26, 2015. The individuals who will be fishing this event, limited to 24 preregistered anglers, will have a chance to earn a spot on the US Fly Fishing Team.

Fishing Will take place at the following locations:

Upper Spring Creek, McCoy Section: Bellefonte PA

•  from the Mouth(in Milesburg PA) to the upper limit of the Kayak course(just below Lamb St bridge) in Bellefonte

Lower Spring Creek , Milesburg Section: Milesburg, PA

• from the Mouth(in Milesburg PA) to the upper limit of the Kayak course(just below Lamb St bridge) in Bellefonte, P

Penns Creek:  Coburn,PA

• From the bridge over Penns Creek in Coburn, PA downstream to old train trestle bridge at the end of Tunnel Road

Big Fishing Creek: Lamar, PA

• From 1st bridge Upstream of USFWS Hatchery to a point 1.5 miles upstream.
  

The Loyalsock Creek Watershed Association is holding a meeting that is open to the public at the Plunketts Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department, 327 Dunwoody Road, in Barbours on Tuesday, April 14th, at 6:30 p.m. …

The roles of our area’s cooperative trout hatchery programs and their benefits to local cold water fishing streams and opportunities will be the topic of presentations at the Wednesday, April 8^th meeting of the Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited at 7 pm at the Fellowship Hall at the rear of the First Presbyterian Church, Corner of East Third and Mulberry Streets, Williamsport.  The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. Muncy Creek Consolidated Sportsmen and Lycoming Creek Anglers operate nurseries in cooperation with the PA Fish and Boat Commission to help supply our local streams with trout for the angling public, with the work dependent on dedicated volunteers. Please come to hear about their programs and what is involved in raising fish and stocking streams, and how you might be able to help out. Slate Run Tackle Shop has donated a new Orvis Hydros fly line which will be given away as a door prize at the meeting. Please note the time change to 7 pm.

We just became aware of this by way of email from Katy Dunlap of Trout Unlimited.  The PFBC will be considering whether to add 45 streams/stream segments to the Wild Trout Stream list at their May 4-5, 2015 commission meeting. Some of these streams are within our area.

County	Stream name	Tributary to	Survey date	Lat	Long
Lycoming	Grandad Run	Hessler Branch	7/10/2011	41.35706	-76.748738
Lycoming	Shingle Run	Bear Creek	7/12/2011	41.38193	-76.769877
Lycoming	Snake Run	Bear Creek	7/12/2011	41.38209	-76.78073
Lycoming	South Fork Bear Creek	Bear Creek	7/13/2011	41.37089	-76.74029
Lycoming	Buckeye Run	Otter Run	6/26/2012	41.44321	-77.36231
Lycoming	Greens Hollow	Mill Creek (Montoursville	7/2/2012	41.29052	-76.90299
Sullivan	Joes Run	Loyalsock Creek	6/9/2011	41.46269	-76.685328
Sullivan	Huckle Run	Loyalsock Creek	7/11/2011	41.41844	-76.71111

The PFBC is accepting public comments on the addition of these streams to the Wild Trout Stream list. Many of these streams being considered were surveyed three years ago and found to hold naturally reproducing trout populations, and we are pleased that the PFBC is taking action to ensure that they are managed property and provided protections.  There are more than 350 streams/stream segments that were surveyed from 2011-2013, and found to support naturally reproducing trout, that are on a backlog waiting to be added to the Wild Trout Stream list. TU supports the addition of these 45 streams and urges the PFBC to continue to add formally add streams to the Wild Trout Stream list that have been surveyed and found to hold naturally reproducing trout populations.

Comments can be submitted electronically (http://fishandboat.com/promo/form/advance-notice-streams.htm ), or you can send a letter to John Arway, PFBC Executive Director (cc: your PFBC commissioner) at:  1601 Elmerton Ave, PO Box 67000, Harrisburg, PA  17106-7000.  Please send comments by March 30.

The PA Fish & Boat Commission has proposed a number of changes to Delayed Harvest Artificial Lure regulations that would greatly alter the quality of angling in these popular stream sections, including moving up the start of the harvest season, allowing the use of bait, and lowering the minimum size of harvested trout to 7 inches. This program which was begun in 1983 includes 83 stream sections, 19 of which have been documented to contain wild trout. Click the links below for more information.

2015-03 Proposed DHALO changes

2015-03 PA Trout position on Proposed DHALO changes

Public Comments are being accepted on this proposal until May 13, 2015. Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, objections or suggestions about the proposed rulemaking to the Executive Director, Fish and Boat Commission, P.O. Box 67000, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000.  Comments also may be submitted electronically by completing the form at http://www.fishandboat.com/regcomments. If an acknowledgment of electronic comments is not received by the sender within 2 working days, the comments should be retransmitted to ensure receipt. Electronic comments submitted in any other manner will not be accepted.

Whatever your thoughts and opinions are on this matter, please let them be known.  Now is your chance to become involved.

The Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited invites everyone to its meeting at 7:30 pm on March 11 in the Fellowship Hall of First Presbyterian Church at East Third and Mulberry Streets in Williamsport. Dave Wonderlich will be presenting a program on fishing Pine Creek in western Lycoming County and neighboring streams in the Slate Run area, including a description of the change in regulations on Pine Creek which allow all tackle bait fishing, but no-kill restrictions on trout. He will share the history of the “Brown Trout Club,”  efforts to restore quality trophy trout populations to Pine Creek, and will give perspectives on techniques and fish conservation initiatives that can significantly improve fishing experiences in this beautiful and popular area. Dave is a knowledgeable local angler who produces the fishing blog and videos on the Slate Run Tackle Shop’s website and newsletters. Slate Run Tackle Shop has donated an Orvis mid-arbor fly reel which will be given away as a door prize at the meeting.

The following was taken from the Keep America Fishing Website and is being given to you for informational purposes.  We know that many of you are boaters and want you to be informed.  The Chapter has not, and is not taking a position on this.

     “Did you know that the higher the level of ethanol in your fuel, the more likely you are to destroy your engine? When levels go above 10 percent, fuel burns hotter and often reduces engine life. But adding more is exactly what ethanol makers are trying to push past the EPA.

     What’s at stake? You could harm your car or boat. Engines in older cars and trucks are more easily damaged and wear out faster when run on high ethanol fuels.  Worse, small engines – like the two-strokes found in many bass boats – are even more susceptible to damage because the ethanol often washes the oil off cylinder walls. 

     But this issue has good news. Currently, there is legislation moving through Congress that will protect our engines. A new bill, the Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act of 2015, would cap the amount of ethanol in fuel at the already recommended 10 percent. 

     What can you do? Inform your Representative that this is an important issue to you, so they don’t miss the opportunity to co-sponsor this legislation. Tell them you don’t want higher-ethanol fuels that damage and destroy engines.  It just takes a few steps on our website.

     On February 4, 2015, with 34 original co-sponsors, Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced the RFS Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 704) into the House. This act will prohibit the EPA from approving blends of ethanol above 10 percent in gasoline, such as E15. In the past, nearly identical versions of the legislation have compelled over 220 members from both chambers of Congress to oppose the RFS.”

     For more information, please see the Keep America Fishing Website at  http://keepamericafishing.org/