Pine Creek Regs

Chaz

Chaz

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Sep 13, 2006
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Here's an area of concern I have with regs. on Pine Creek. A couple of years ago PFBc created a new section on Pine Creek, ATW Open to Fishing Your Round. All well and good, and it should be based on the availability of species other than trout. Within that section now lies the C & R Area from Slate Run Downstream 2.8 Miles. I suspect this will become an enforcement problem, or at least very confusing to the anglers not familiar with the River.
What are your thoughts on how to fix it?
 
Sorry , I don't see the problem. Can you give a specific example of the problem?
 
This regulation perplexes me too...but not for the reason Chaz states. My confusion is why the commish see these "give 'em what they don't want by giving them what the like" pleases no one and everyone inbetween. It leaves me scratching my head.

The same thing happened to Young Womans Creek.

Was Selective Harvest ALO I believe until it fell below Class A and the WCCSA lobbied to stock it because its right at the outflow of their nursery but they never could cuz it was class A. After much deliberation and public meetings the Commish decided OK, you can stock it (pleasing them and not the wild torut guys) but you cannot harvest trout (not pleasing them but pleasing the wild trout guys.

There everyone is happy....see....or are they?

Then Pine Creek. Lets make a DHALO area below Below the canyon...Slate Run downstream 2.8 miles they said...it makes sense to be Delayed Harvest there as Finkbiner will tell "the Piney she will warm in the summer with all the rocks". The locals have a fit because now they can't fish with bait. So they protest and the Commish is listening to their plea....and say OK, lets make it All Tackle, we got a sign for that....but it All tackle Catch and Release. So the Bait guys are happy they can fish bait but unhappy they can't harvest. (likely the issue Chaz is raising). And the C&R guys are saying...well OK, um sure but this is dumb.

Another one off the end of the bat Commish...nice try thanks for playing.

Hey they had ALL the right regs 15 years ago...All they needed was a Delayed Harvest All Tackle reg and they could have hung a sign on any stream and make it work.

Then they shoves all those regs into three or four shoeboxes and now its a mess.
 
PFBC - we specialize in making no one happy..


My simplified regulation approach:
Stock where wild trout are not, to provide a contrived fishery for those areas of the state that can't sustain trout

Regulations are either "You can keep trout" or "C&R".

Fish with whatever style of angling you want. Provides exactly four regulations.

C&R ATW
C&R WTW (wild trout water)
Creelable ATW
Creelable WTW
 
I just spoke with someone "in the know" on this situation an this is what they told me: the locals stores and groups that are stocking this area with "big trout" are the reason you are seeing changes made tp the regulations. But these changes have now brought about new issues to address........like regarding bait but what about the fact this river is widely popular with float fisherman. So they make an exception that you can have bait in the boat but no rods can be deployed in that section as you float through or something to that affect. Don't quote me on that part but you see my point, one cause leads to another affect and so on. So that's why the all tackle thing has come about. Don't go laying blame on the commission--- they are trying to accommodate the user groups of that area that are making a huge impact in the local economy there. Since those bigger fish have been stocked business is up, angler satisfaction is high and things are as good as ever in that section of valley. And that's a good thing.
 
Actually here is the issue. ATW open year round have different harvest regs than ATW. Open year round allows harvest under extended season sizes and limits 3 fish a day 7 in Minimum. The ATW open year round area overlaps the C & R area from Slate Run downstream 2.8 miles.
I see a conflict, and as others said, it's not going to make anyone happy.

Extended Season: Approved trout waters and all waters downstream of approved trout waters.
Jan. 1 through Feb. 28 and Sept. 8 through Dec. 31.

C & R is just that, while ATW open year round is not.
Really it's an issue of enforcement. If someone wants to harvest 3 fish during the extended season in the C & R area and gets caught, then what? PFBC has an enforcement problem.
 
the answer is simple. BECAUSE THEY CAN.
 
I still do not see a problem. The "Open Year Round" regs just allow fishing but not harvest of trout from Mar 1 to beginning of trout season. Otherwise it is the same as any other ATW. Personally, it would have to be one very warm March and a dry winter to tempt me into taking advantage.

A bigger change is going from Delayed Harvest to Catch and Release but I don't think much harvesting was going on before.
 
I guess I'm the only person that see that it's an issue to have with the open year round section there are 3 very different harvest limits.
 
Chaz wrote:
... there are 3 very different harvest limits.

I am still not sure what 3 different harvest limits you are talking about.

I am confused as to why you inject the Open Year Round regs into a problem of harvest limits. The Open Year Round regs only differ from standard ATW regs in that they allow fishing from Mar 1 to the start of trout season. No harvest of trout is allowed during this period.

Big Fishing Creek does have 3 very different harvest limits:

1. section 6 class A wild trout normal regs

2. section 7 Trophy Trout

3. section 8 Catch and Release

4. section 9 Trophy Trout

5. section 10 class A wild trout nornal regs

Have there been harvest reg problems on Big Fishing Creek?
 
I fished Big Pine Monday and Tuesday in the new regulation area below the Slate Run bridge. I can only wonder what the fish mortality rate will be with the use of mealworms and other live bait. Guys were chucking large gold wobble lures with those nasty treble hooks that I would like to see banned in catch and release sections. Only lures with a single hook should be allowed. IMHO
 
InCahoots wrote:
I fished Big Pine Monday and Tuesday in the new regulation area below the Slate Run bridge. I can only wonder what the fish mortality rate will be with the use of mealworms and other live bait. Guys were chucking large gold wobble lures with those nasty treble hooks that I would like to see banned in catch and release sections. Only lures with a single hook should be allowed. IMHO
+1 on the single hooks.
 
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