Locust Creek, Schuylkill County, 4/2/2011

[Mike]

"Untouched except for fly anglers?" That is hardly the objective there or anywhere else in Pa., except in FFO areas, and even in FFO areas the regulation restricting use to fly anglers is biologically unnecessary.

 

[njk3395]

I should have reworded that to fisherman with some care for the wild fish population, which is most of the time fly fisherman.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

"Untouched except for fly anglers?" That is hardly the objective there or anywhere else in Pa., except in FFO areas, and even in FFO areas the regulation restricting use to fly anglers is biologically unnecessary.

If a stream is not stocked, use is not restricted to fly anglers only. Anyone can fish the stream under general regulations. The PFBC has created a rubber fish culture and those anglers wont fish there because it is not stocked.

This is not the fault of fly anglers.

 

[pcray1231]

:roll: Here we go again.....

 

[JF_]

I live one mile from Locust Creek, four miles from Cold Run.

Every year during the opening day onslaught (and a week or so after) there are a significant number of legal size brookies harvested from these streams. Then by next year more grow, waiting to be harvested again. Plus add in all the smaller brookies that swallow the hook, or are mishandled, and are thrown back to become food for the animals and you have a considerable "artificial" hit to the population.

I've seen this for more years than I want to remember.

Stop stocking and I really believe there will be more and bigger brookies in these waters.

No scientific evidence to prove this, just my opinion from years of observation and fishing the streams.

John

 

[steliejim]

How about only stock it below Tuscarora down to the Little Schuylkill?

When people don't see the white fish truck in the other section, they won't fish it. Then, maybe you'll see some 10 inch brookies.

 

[OldLefty]

Let me suggest something. Those who value wild trout and recognize that a particular stream harbors a significant wild trout population and is stocked may be able to do something to help. You have the right, just as any other fisherman, to harvest 5 trout per day. If you're really concerned that the stocked trout may negatively impact the wild trout population you can go frequently and harvest, legally, every hatchery fish you can bring to hand. The faster you can remove them from these streams the less they will impact the wild trout population.

I've been known to do this more than once on a stream or two here in the north central part of the state. Some of these streams harbor wild trout populations which exceed the minimum for class A population; however, they are not "officially" class A because they haven't been approved by PFBC to be added to the list.

BTW, I'm glad to see that others realize that trout management isn't an exact science. Too many variables in nature over which we have no control. Without considering droughts and floods in the equation we're looking at trout management too simplistically. When stocking is ceased and trout density/population is examined subsequent to this action there must be consideration given to uncontrollable factors having contributed to survey results.

I could go on and on but there's too much to read here already.

Dave R.

 

[njk3395]

I keep every stocked trout out of there, I kept ten or so from each so far.