HARRISBURG, Pa. (Jan. 24) – Anglers will have additional opportunities to catch 14”-20” trophy trout this season after the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced today at its quarterly business meeting that it is adding six new waters to the popular Keystone Select Stocked Trout Program.
“The Keystone Select Program has proven to be a big hit with our customers,” said PFBC Executive Director John Arway. “It added an element of excitement to trout fishing and has helped establish the waters as destination fisheries, drawing anglers from all over and providing economic boosts to the local communities. Adding these new waters will make 2017 an even better fishing season.”
The six new waters include:
Berks County, Tulpehocken Creek, Section 7 (1.84 miles)
Cambria County, Chest Creek, Section 3 (1.80 miles)
Fulton County, Big Cove Creek, Section 3 (0.93 miles)
Luzerne County, Harveys Creek, Section 4 (1.70 miles)
McKean County, Kinzua Creek, Section 4 (2.29 miles)
Venango County, Oil Creek, Section 7 (1.55 miles)
The original eight waters include:
Chester County, Middle Branch White Clay Creek, Section 3 (1.67 miles)
Dauphin County, Wiconisco Creek, Section 3 (0.74 miles)
Lackawanna/Wyoming Counties, South Branch Tunkhannock Creek, Section 4 (0.99 miles)
Lawrence County, Neshannock Creek, Section 3 (2.67 miles)
Lycoming County, Loyalsock Creek, Section 5 (1.49 miles)
Potter County, First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek, Section 4 (1.67 miles)
Somerset County, Laurel Hill Creek, Section 3 (2.33 miles)
Westmoreland County, Loyalhanna Creek, Section 3 (1.67 miles)
Under the program, approximately 4,500 large trout will be distributed among the 14 waters. The trout will be stocked at a rate of 175 to 225 per mile, which is comparable to the numbers of similarly sized fish in Pennsylvania’s best wild trout waters.
The waters are regulated under Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO) regulations, which provides the opportunity to catch these fish multiple times. Under DHALO regulations, waters are open to fishing year-round, but anglers can harvest trout only between June 15 and Labor Day and the trout have to be a minimum of nine inches. For the rest of the year, these waters are managed on a catch-and-release-only basis and the creel limit is zero. Tackle is limited to artificial lures and flies.
The large trout will be stocked during the preseason and in-season spring stocking periods to coincide with the period of peak angler use. Both of these stockings will include a number of these larger fish. The PFBC website or FishBoatPA app should be consulted for the actual stocking dates.
In other related PFBC agenda news:
• Approved the purchase of an easement of approximately 250 linear feet along Elk Creek in Fairview Township, Erie County, for $3,750. The easement area is located off of Luther Road across the stream from Folly’s End Campground.
• Added 99 waters to the list of wild trout streams, revised the section limits of seven waters, and removed one water. The list can be found on the PFBC website.
• Added 26 stream sections to the list of Class A wild trout streams. The list can be found on the PFBC website.
• Approved a proposal to continue stocking Section 4 of Bald Eagle Creek in Centre County, which is classified as a Class A wild trout stream. The 5.72-mile section begins in the Borough of Milesburg and extends to the inlet of Foster Joseph Sayers Lake and is extremely popular during the traditional spring stocked trout season. It also receives a significant volume of cold water from Spring Creek and therefore supports a robust wild Brown Trout population and year-round fishing opportunities for wild Brown Trout and stocked fingerlings and adult stocked Rainbow Trout.
• Approved a grant of up to $115,000 to the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited for a habitat restoration project on Snitz Creek, Lebanon County. The stream suffers from bank erosion and heavy sedimentation with limited instream habitat for fish. The project will include stabilizing streambanks to reduce erosion, installing instream habitat structures to provide cover and resting areas for trout, removing invasive plant species, and installing fencing and a cattle crossing to control livestock movement in the stream.
Comments in the forum here
Here is the a rebroadcast of the PFBC Meeting.
“The Keystone Select Program has proven to be a big hit with our customers,” said PFBC Executive Director John Arway. “It added an element of excitement to trout fishing and has helped establish the waters as destination fisheries, drawing anglers from all over and providing economic boosts to the local communities. Adding these new waters will make 2017 an even better fishing season.”
The six new waters include:
Berks County, Tulpehocken Creek, Section 7 (1.84 miles)
Cambria County, Chest Creek, Section 3 (1.80 miles)
Fulton County, Big Cove Creek, Section 3 (0.93 miles)
Luzerne County, Harveys Creek, Section 4 (1.70 miles)
McKean County, Kinzua Creek, Section 4 (2.29 miles)
Venango County, Oil Creek, Section 7 (1.55 miles)
The original eight waters include:
Chester County, Middle Branch White Clay Creek, Section 3 (1.67 miles)
Dauphin County, Wiconisco Creek, Section 3 (0.74 miles)
Lackawanna/Wyoming Counties, South Branch Tunkhannock Creek, Section 4 (0.99 miles)
Lawrence County, Neshannock Creek, Section 3 (2.67 miles)
Lycoming County, Loyalsock Creek, Section 5 (1.49 miles)
Potter County, First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek, Section 4 (1.67 miles)
Somerset County, Laurel Hill Creek, Section 3 (2.33 miles)
Westmoreland County, Loyalhanna Creek, Section 3 (1.67 miles)
Under the program, approximately 4,500 large trout will be distributed among the 14 waters. The trout will be stocked at a rate of 175 to 225 per mile, which is comparable to the numbers of similarly sized fish in Pennsylvania’s best wild trout waters.
The waters are regulated under Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO) regulations, which provides the opportunity to catch these fish multiple times. Under DHALO regulations, waters are open to fishing year-round, but anglers can harvest trout only between June 15 and Labor Day and the trout have to be a minimum of nine inches. For the rest of the year, these waters are managed on a catch-and-release-only basis and the creel limit is zero. Tackle is limited to artificial lures and flies.
The large trout will be stocked during the preseason and in-season spring stocking periods to coincide with the period of peak angler use. Both of these stockings will include a number of these larger fish. The PFBC website or FishBoatPA app should be consulted for the actual stocking dates.
In other related PFBC agenda news:
• Approved the purchase of an easement of approximately 250 linear feet along Elk Creek in Fairview Township, Erie County, for $3,750. The easement area is located off of Luther Road across the stream from Folly’s End Campground.
• Added 99 waters to the list of wild trout streams, revised the section limits of seven waters, and removed one water. The list can be found on the PFBC website.
• Added 26 stream sections to the list of Class A wild trout streams. The list can be found on the PFBC website.
• Approved a proposal to continue stocking Section 4 of Bald Eagle Creek in Centre County, which is classified as a Class A wild trout stream. The 5.72-mile section begins in the Borough of Milesburg and extends to the inlet of Foster Joseph Sayers Lake and is extremely popular during the traditional spring stocked trout season. It also receives a significant volume of cold water from Spring Creek and therefore supports a robust wild Brown Trout population and year-round fishing opportunities for wild Brown Trout and stocked fingerlings and adult stocked Rainbow Trout.
• Approved a grant of up to $115,000 to the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited for a habitat restoration project on Snitz Creek, Lebanon County. The stream suffers from bank erosion and heavy sedimentation with limited instream habitat for fish. The project will include stabilizing streambanks to reduce erosion, installing instream habitat structures to provide cover and resting areas for trout, removing invasive plant species, and installing fencing and a cattle crossing to control livestock movement in the stream.
Comments in the forum here
Here is the a rebroadcast of the PFBC Meeting.
