Refuge Areas

[salvelinusfontinalis]

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/rulemakings/notices/2009_03_09refuge.pdf

I think this is a bad idea.

 

[troutbert]

I think eliminating these areas is a good idea. They never made sense to me. They were designed as refuges for stocked trout, not wild trout.

If the idea is to keep stocked trout around a while to provide angling opportunities, then the delayed harvest tool works much better. That has been successful, so they are keeping that tool in the box. And throwing away the tool that didn't work.

 

[Maurice]

I'm not sure I even understand it. humphf. It sounds to me like cool waters that may hold wild trout are being used as refuge areas for stocked trout in the warm months. They are not open to fishing during the good fishing times but when the stockies fill the areas, they are open to fishing.....but now by removing the refuge area, they will be under general regulations and be fishable during the period from opening day until June 15 when otherwise they were not.

I am confused. Why are they not open during the trout season until June 15?

 

[Fishidiot]

I agree with Mo. This doesn't seem to make sense if, in fact, the original purpose was to protect fish during the early season. If this is a water temp issue why not close them AFTER June 15th? It wouldn't surprise me if the PFBC has received complaints from local fishermen and rod and gun clubs about these closures and they are simply trying to keep the customer happy with more trout fishing opportunities.
I'm not familiar with these waterways - they're mostly upstate and, I would guess, they're mostly tribs that run into larger
ATWs (?). I usually try to send the PFBC my comments on these sort of reg changes but if we can't discern the purpose of the reg it's hard to give 'em an honest vote.

Mike ought to be able to shed some light on this.

 

[osprey]

The only other time i've seen anything to do with June 15th is on the delayed harvest waters .......maybe it has something to do with spawning redds or fry or something....sure would like to know more about the origins of these regs and just more about it in general before we vote.....heh

 

[franklin]

I took a look at the 2009 fishing regulations book and couldn't find any details on these refuges. (Did I miss something?) They do mention what a refuge is but I didn't see any details. Are these just applied on certain stream sections?

 

[osprey]

There was a place on Wykoff sp? Run that was posted as a study area or something like that. Is that the type of signs you are speaking of?

 

[wgmiller]

Yes, those are the areas. The two I'm familiar with are the ones on Wykoff Run (along the road) and Upper Jerry Run in Cameron County. Both very close to each other and opposite sides of the mountain.

 

[albatross]

I'm familiar with the refuge areas on Hicks Run in Cameron County. They tend to put these regs on smaller streams. They'll post a 100 yard section then let 2 or 300 yards open. I always thought it was just a way to keep from having all the stocked trout cleaned out of the stream during the first week after stocking. Since they are getting rid of the regulation, it must not have been very effective.

 

[jaybo41]

I'm familiar with the Refuge area on Kinzua, I have waded past it several times over the past few years. If anyone has not fished that stream it's a larger watershed. The refuge area is a beautiful section of water too. I often wondered what the basis was for designating these areas and what the goal was.

They're open for fishing in fall and closed in the spring which doesn't make sense to me. I'd think just the opposite would be more beneficial since fall is when we tend to see the spawn. My best bud lives in Chicago and fishes WI often, and their season closes in October for this very reason-- to help foster reproduction. I know that Kinzua has some wild fish in it, I have caught a few over the years.

If these are gone, I for one will be anxious to fish this part of the 'Zua.

 

[jrcll]

jaybo41....if i`m not mistaken i think there`s a refuge area on the south branch of kinzua also

 

[RLeeP]

>>if i`m not mistaken i think there`s a refuge area on the south branch of kinzua also>>

There were several there as of last season, the first time I'd been on the creek in nearly a decade. They are/were fairly common in the National Forest. I can remember seeing them on Sugar Run, it's NF, Willow Creek, Chappel Fork, Kinzua Creek, South and EB of the Tionesta, etc. Actually, come to think of it, probably on a majority of ANF streams at one time or another.

I never minded them, although I never really understood the logic and thought the entire notion a little goofy. I kind of thought they were maybe being used like a time-release cold capsule, stocked with a lot of fish that would eventually wander out of the refuge and into open water. But I didn't really give it that much thought...

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

wonder if that means the first 20 yards of big spring will be open ;-)

I think eliminating these areas on wild streams is a bad idea. i could care less about the stocked ones

 

[jaybo41]

I should clarify, we always walked around the refuge areas due to the regs. Never waded through them.

That list has them on E. Branch Tionesta and W. Branch Tionesta as well as Kinzua and it's S. Branch. I have never fished those branches of Tionesta, just the main stream. Looking forward to fishing them this year. Fished the S. Branch Kinzua, man what a nice stream. It gets pounded, there's always guys there but we fished it pretty far from the road and did very well.

Thing is in the ANF those refuge areas are mostly all on stockie streams that can sustain or contain wild fish--which makes no sense to me. I don't think they do an awful lot the way they're designed now. Closing those streches of stream in the Spring, then opening them in the fall--can anyone explain to me the benefit in that?

Makes more sense to me to close those areas in the fall, let the fish do what they do and make more fish. What I'd really like to see and what I believe would help produce more wild fish would be to close the season on those streams in the fall and open them in the spring. Then have some streams with the special regs like DHALO, FFO, etc that allow year round fishing and stock them.

 

[wetnet]

I dunno? Lets ask them what the reason is. I have a PFBC guys card I'll ask him to explain the procees and what it is about. Sounds better than guessing. I'm curious now.

 

[Mike]

Generally speaking, Albatross is correct, although these areas, also known as "wired areas," were not limited to smaller streams.

 

[tomgamber]

salvelinusfontinalis wrote:
wonder if that means the first 20 yards of big spring will be open ;-)

I think eliminating these areas on wild streams is a bad idea. i could care less about the stocked ones

Do they have them on wild streams that get no stockings?

 

[osprey]

There was one on the Letort right below charlies meadow before you get to the houses , I don't know if it's still there or not.

 

[tomgamber]

Thanks, just wondering...

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Big Spring has one also in the ditch area ;-)