List of streams being considered for wild trout designation

M

Mike

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http://fishandboat.com/wild-trout-designations-step1.htm
 
Nice. I just posted about Cuttaloosa the other day. It's fairly close to me and I want to check it out.
 
I noticed an error on one of my local streams. Red Run is a tributary of East branch Antietam, not West.
 
Afish: If that's kudo is aimed at the Fisheries Management Division, I'm sure all would appreciate it. If it is aimed at me, given the sudden increase in SE Pa streams listed (especially the Schuylkill R drainage in Schuylkill Co), thanks. The increase is directly related to my having been able to hire a full-time biologist in May, 2011. You'll note that most of the Area 6 streams listed were surveyed in 2011. We still have 2012 wild trout surveys to do, although we have presently shifted gears to: smallmouth bass population surveys at night on the Susquehanna and Delaware, trap netting at least one lake, and assisting with a Pohopoco survey.
 
Mike wrote:
Afish: If that's kudo is aimed at the Fisheries Management Division, I'm sure all would appreciate it. If it is aimed at me, given the sudden increase in SE Pa streams listed (especially the Schuylkill R drainage in Schuylkill Co), thanks. The increase is directly related to my having been able to hire a full-time biologist in May, 2011. You'll note that most of the Area 6 streams listed were surveyed in 2011. We still have 2012 wild trout surveys to do, although we have presently shifted gears to: smallmouth bass population surveys at night on the Susquehanna and Delaware, trap netting at least one lake, and assisting with a Pohopoco survey.


Kudos to all involved. Most of us on here, myself included, criticize the FBC for spending too much time and money raising and stocking trout. When efforts are made on behalf of wild fisheries, we should applaud that effort.

Since you can't know where you are going until you really know where you are, at least the identifying the streams will allow us to conserve what we have, and maybe in some cases give us insight as how to enhance the wild fisheries in PA.

Can't wait until we see the 2012 results published.

 
Makes me want to get out and find a few of these streams.
 
Fireline creek and Nis Hollow are a 5 minute walk from my house. I would be interested in the sections that were surveyed. Especially Fireline, because at one time I found a nice size population of brooks in the very end of the stream, only for them to disappear the next year.
 
So I understand this correctly; these creeks will not be stocked, but protected, so the wild's can do their thing and increase the population?
 
Can someone explain how to use those latitude & longitude numbers in Google Maps or other mapping sites to find the location?

I've done this before, but I tried it this time and got somewhere around Mongolia, so I reversed the order of the numbers and tried again and got somewhere up around Greenland.
 
Troutbert .. For the first (brich run) on the list I randomly added a N and W ..

39.95105n, 77.44382w

Ended up @ Knob Run Franklin, PA 17257 which is not "Birch Run" but closer than Mongolia.
 
troutbert wrote:
Can someone explain how to use those latitude & longitude numbers in Google Maps or other mapping sites to find the location?

I've done this before, but I tried it this time and got somewhere around Mongolia, so I reversed the order of the numbers and tried again and got somewhere up around Greenland.


Copy and paste these numbers: 40.858233,-77.810731 in Google maps and click on "search" and the exact location will magically appear.
 
Troutbert, the PA expressions should be something like this:

40.16561, -78.29808

As you can see the longitude is negative. Not all the expressions got it right. Try adding the negative sign to the second half.
 
Thanks. Adding the negative sign to the second term worked.

You can also use these numbers to bring up the location in Acmemapper, which I like a little better than Google maps.

 
Yup, Jack. Latitude is the first number and is a positive number and longitude is the second number and is a negative number (in our part of the world, anyway). Separate the two with a comma, and you should be good-to-go.
 
So I understand this correctly; these creeks will not be stocked, but protected, so the wild's can do their thing and increase the population?

No. They would end up on the "streams with natural reproduction" list.

Only those which are class A would be as you suggested. If they are not class A, and 95% of these aren't, then they could be stocked.

That said, many of these are pretty small, and currently unstocked. While it doesn't prevent the PFBC from stocking them, it doesn't make it more likely either, and most of these will remain unstocked.

What it would do is increase protection of the streams. I don't know the details, but you have water quality designations like HQCWF (high quality cold water fishery), EV (exceptional value), etc. These designations increase environmental protections on these streams for things like industrial runoff. Being included on the list automatically bumps them up to a certain level, if they are not already there.
 
58 Pa. Code, Section

§ 71.4. Stocking of designated waters.

It is unlawful to place fish in waters that have been designated by the Commission as catch and release, wilderness trout or wild trout management waters except with the express written consent of the Executive Director or his designee. This section does not prohibit a person from returning fish unharmed to the waters from which they were caught or taken.


I wonder if Mike can explain what the underlined designation means. Is it all Class A streams and does this include some other wild waters, or finally, does it include everything on the reproduction list? I have never seen a list of stream designated as "wild trout management." Is this a secret list? :cool:
 
Jack,

Mike can answer more knowledgably than myself, obviously. But my understanding is that class A is the threshold, above which the commission considers it to be a viable wild trout sport fishery and manages it as such, and below which they do not.

All the arguments we've had about stocking over wild fish, IMO, boil down to too high a threshold. I don't think ALL wild trout streams should be unstocked, some have tiny populations and aren't capable of more, they need stockers to be a fishery at all. But I do think we stock some that we shouldn't, that would be good wild fisheries left alone. Lower the threshold, problem solved.
 
JackM wrote:
58 Pa. Code, Section

§ 71.4. Stocking of designated waters.

It is unlawful to place fish in waters that have been designated by the Commission as catch and release, wilderness trout or wild trout management waters except with the express written consent of the Executive Director or his designee. This section does not prohibit a person from returning fish unharmed to the waters from which they were caught or taken.


I wonder if Mike can explain what the underlined designation means. Is it all Class A streams and does this include some other wild waters, or finally, does it include everything on the reproduction list? I have never seen a list of stream designated as "wild trout management." Is this a secret list? :cool:

Likely "lawyer speak" to create a catch-all phrase to catch-all...
 
I was looking at the list last week, I'm glad Mike posted it because the list isn't well know. I also tried to put in the Longitude and Latitude, but when I hit enter it took me to central Asia. Ithen put in the negative for the longitude and it put me at the mouth of the creek I was looking at.
Kudos to PFBC for listing these streams, is the list out for comments yet, cause that's what I was looking for last week.
I have a question about the list I have call Streams that are unsurveyed and may have brook trout. My question is who should I send comments to, I know of at least 20 that I've fished that do have brookies.
 
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