PFBC Takes Actions at Quarterly Meeting

[DaveKile]

During today’s business meeting, commissioners:

1. Added eight stream sections to the list of self-sustaining Class A wild trout populations. The stream sections are in Venango, Warren, Blair, Huntingdon, Lycoming and Potter counties. Surveying unassessed waters and documenting wild trout populations are consistent with the Commission’s Strategic Plan for Management of Trout Fisheries in Pennsylvania, which may be viewed in its entirety at http://fishandboat.com/troutplan.htm

2.Extended the wild trout stream designation on the Little Juniata River by an additional 19.7 miles downstream, from the Bellwood Sewage Treatment Plant to the Barree Road Bridge (SR 4004).

 

[pcray1231]

Good news, thanks. Anywhere I can find what the 8 stream sections are?

 

[jdaddy]

Fixed Link:

http://fishandboat.com/troutplan.htm


2.Extended the wild trout stream designation on the Little Juniata River by an additional 19.7 miles downstream, from the Bellwood Sewage Treatment Plant to the Barree Road Bridge (SR 4004).

Cool.

 

[Chaz]

http://fishandboat.com/reg398.htm
This is the link to Rulemakings, this is where the list of streams added is.

 

[pcray1231]

thx Chaz.

I've fished 4 of the 8.

Reese - Note to PFBC, it also has brookies and browns, though didn't expect it to match class A for any of the 3. In fact, for me brookies seemed to dominate once you got up a ways. Biomass doesn't list them. Or are you not listing because it's just being handled as a rainbow fishery due to the lower criteria?

Mix - unless I'm getting stream names messed up, it's not a mile long! Thats possible though, as this tiny stream runs into another equally tiny stream, and my map says Mix is the trib but it could be wrong. That whole system is nice for brookies, but some of the streams are strangely dead, others are very much alive. I was blaming acid deposition for lack of a better explanation, but it always seemed strange to me as they all have similar geology, and they're either loaded or empty, there's no in-betweens. Been wanting to investigate further with a water testing kit but never found the time, don't get up that way much anymore.

Little Lyman is the other small one I've fished. And of course the LJR, and holy cow, I know those studies showed lots of wild trout but look at that biomass!

Good stuff.

 

[DaveKile]

Thanks guys and fixed my link.

 

[PennKev]

Good news, my only problem is that the first three on the list were surveyed in 2005-2006 and it took 5 yrs to declare them class A. What's up with that?

As for listing only one species, I'm fairly certain the first three all have browns and brookies. Perhaps they only listed the species whith the biomass that reached Class A status.

Also on the same note, isn't there a situation where Class A is determined based on biomass of combined species?

Kev

 

[bikerfish]

pcray, I agree with you about reese, brookies seem to dominate. your probably right about how they listed it.
kev, this is a state agency we're talking about, you should have said, wow, it only took 5 years to list them!!

 

[Maurice]

As stated earlier this year (or last) the PF&BC is on a push to survey and upgrade protections to waters in the Marcellus Shale regions. This is the beginning. They probably started by reviewing what they've already surveyed to see if there had been any "forgotten" surveys that could yield the desired result with little effort.

 

[pcray1231]

PennKev, I'd be surprised to find browns in Mix Run, though not "shocked." I haven't caught any wild browns in that whole system above Chapman. It's been a while but I used to fish it fairly extensively too. Doesn't mean they aren't there, though, as a brown seems to pop up out of nowhere sometimes....

 

[Chaz]

PennKen, oftentimes the streams that are surveyed don't get on right away because someone is contesting the addition by challenging the surveys. It happened recenlt with Halter and Plum Creeks. It is still happening on about 20 streams that have been left off the list for many years. For instance there are 8 sections of Monocacy Creek near Bethlehem and Nazareth that were surveyed in 2001, 6 of the 8 had well over a Class A rating and yet a stream that should be listed as Class A Headwaters to Mouth is still only listed for the special regs area, Section 7. Some of it has to do with development, but the stance of T. U. is that if it is Class A it needs to be on the list.