The Catch-and-Release Fly Fishing Only Section on the Dyberry Creek is Gone

[Im_leary]

Fishermen,

If you are planning a trip to the Dyberry Creek in Wayne County, cross the Catch-and-Release Fly Fishing Only Special Regulation area off of your itinerary. I fished the creek yesterday. What was once a well marked, and clearly recognizable, fly fishing area (as of early last year) is now indistinguishable from the rest of the creek. Every single one of the large white Special Regulation posters has been removed... right down to the last staple.

Having driven two hours to get there, I was not about to miss the opportunity to do some fishing. I should not have bothered. I fished the creek from the bridge above what is delineated in the PFBC web site as the Special Regulation Area to the next bridge downstream, which is below the designated area. Not so much as a rise. There are several nice pools in this area. One, in particular, is quite close to the road. I remember the large (albeit, stocked) brown trout that could easily be seen holding in the current between the large rocks in this pool. Yesterday, the only fish I could see were shiners, chubs, and a few suckers.

As I was walking back to my car (a trip of about 3/4-mile), I was trying to fathom just what could have happened to this Special Regulation area... seems like I have been having an extraordinary bit of trouble with "Special Regulation" areas, of late. When I had reached a point a bit beyond the midway of my walk, a fellow in a late model pickup truck stopped and answered my questions. The conversation went as follows:

Truck Driver: How do...?
Me: Afternoon, been better... how are you?
Truck Driver: Been fishing down there (pointing to the creek on the other side of a meadow, off to the left)?
Me: Just wading... didn't catch, or even see a fish.
Truck Driver: Well, we don't like people down there... but if you're just fishing, that's OK. We took the fish out of there quite awhile ago... but if you want to try for anything that's left, that's fine by me... just don't think of doin any huntin down there.
Me: (with a look of dumbfounded incredulity on my face) Hunting?
Truck Driver: No, no huntin allowed... well good luck (as he drove off)

Well, that was a baffling conversation... to say the least. I also noted that there is only one very short section of this creek, which is posted, within the section that was once the Fly Fishing stretch. It is very short (approximately 200-yards). The area that was pointed out by Truck Driver was quite a distance down stream from this.

As soon as I returned to my home I called the PFBC North Eastern Reagional Office to ask precisely what the disposition of that section of the Dyberry is. I was told, "That part of the creek is a Fly Fishing Only Special Regulation area". When I told the lady that there are no longer any signs, and a fellow I met told me that the fish have been removed, there was quite a prolonged pause. She then told me, "The officer that covers that area will be in touch with you".

I am beginning to wonder, does anyone check these Special Regulation Areas?

 

[Fishidiot]

Leary,
Thanks for another heads up - yeah, it's as if you're cursed this year.

 

[FlySwatter]

"I am beginning to wonder, does anyone check these Special Regulation Areas?"

In answer to your question: no.

I heard through the grapevine the officer assigned to this area (not to far from where I live) doesn't give a rat's hairy hind quarters (or words to that effect) and is happy collecting his licensed-funded pay check.

I hope you prove that wrong, but I doubt you will.

 

[1wt]

Leary,
Thanks for another "heads up" with the trout streams.
I'm glad that you have the courage to fish where you want, rather than give up because some idiot takes the signs off trees and gives you a lot of crap.
Along the same lines, and I don't want to sideline your thread, but:
Last month, early June, I was walking back the railroad tracks at Muddy Creek Forks....... regular stocked section, and four people were standing there.
A Indian or Pakistan lady said "Do you know that you are on private property?" Her husband and two other guys probably couldn't speak English, so they didn't say anything.
I said that I wasn't back that far to the private property. I was then only 1/8th mile from the parking field.
She said "This is all private property now" " You didn't throw any trash, did you?"
I said "no" and I walked away. When I got to the shop where the train workers were, I asked them if the property was really posted.
He told me "the fish only get stocked to where the track ends with the cars sitting on the track, I think someone bought the land behind it"
In 07' I was way downstream, a mile at least, and a guy walked over to me with a shotgun in his hand and said "This is private property, get off now"
All this "privatizing" really makes me sick!!
One last point: A few weeks ago, I was wading the Susquehanna myself with my flyrod in the evening. I was about 100yds from the boat ramp when a Mexican girl said "Hey, we are fishing here. We are up there now, but soon we will be coming down here to fish."
They had a boom box playing and nobody had a fishing license.
This also makes me sick!
These are strange times for us fly guys.

 

[bigjohn58]

Haha don't get me started on someone patroling special reg waters or any waters in PA. There might be one or two officers that actually patrol but not where I live. I'd love to see an officer once in a while to at least know my license money is going to some kind of use. Maybe once or twice when ice fishing I'll see one but that time of year there's only a hand full of places that would be practical to watch. The PA fish commission is a splitting immage of the game commission. They only want yes men and no negative talk whatsoever and if ya know someone and have connections then they will hire ya also. Just don't try to buck the system or you'll get fired! I just read somewhere about a license increase in price and a dollar will be put to stream access points so people can get in and out easier. What a waste if people can't hike back in then so be it but I just want the water open to the public. That money should be put towards keeping streams open to the public so things like this and the SRC things don't happen.

 

[Fredrick]

Wow fly fishers just don't get any respect these days 😢

 

[1wt]

BigJohn,
Same thing here. I've only seen one person patrolling once in the last ten years.
They are afraid to check the illegals that don't have a license, so they drive around and drink coffee.
The illegals keep every fish they catch, so even if a warden would check them, they would be afraid to check the tackle boxes to see the dead fish.
It is really a waste of money. And easy access for the disabled fisherpeople? What is our country coming to?

 

[afishinado]

That really sucks. We are losing access to many streams and rivers throughout PA at an alarming pace. As things become more and more developed, more and more land/water becomes inaccessible, and more and more people seem to care nothing about the stream regulations.

As far as the PFBC, I know they are understaffed and have a tough job, but some WCOs do seem to be invisible. But to give credit where it is due, I have to say that in SE PA we have a least one excellent WCO patrolling the area, Bob Bonney. He makes his cell phone number well known, and does his best to respond to all calls, in spite of the fact that his beat is in some of the most highly populated and toughest areas in the State. He seems to really care for the streams, rivers and lakes and the fish that inhabit them. We are lucky to have him here.

Also in the SE region, while others in the FBC remain anonymous, I have to give Mike Kaufman credit for communicating and informing us about many things (on his own time yet), all while taking many of our spears and arrows, when many times he has no control over the situation.

Overall though, IMO, I agree the FBC can do a better job patrolling our waterways.

 

[Fishidiot]

As usual, afishinado has nailed the issue.

Here in the southcentral region, our WCO does a good job and is available to call. I typically see Dave Keller once or twice a year on local creeks and he almost always shows up at TU functions, local outdoor shows etc.

 

[CRB]

Well, they did not receive a pay check this past Friday (all state workers except convicts the state pens).
I think making it aware to higher ups your concern will get the boat rocking.
Ever think about becoming a A DWCO?
CRB

 

[pcray1231]

Agree with all thats been said, but back to the original point.

Signs need to be more specific. While I don't like to see land or water privatized, it is certainly a landowners right for the land, and in some/many cases the water too. If a landowner like this one doesn't want people hunting, but is ok with fishing, the signs should then read "fishing permitted, no hunting" or something to that effect.

 

[troutbert]

IM Leary,
Thanks for the info on the Dyberry regs area.

Here's my take on this. Some of the regs areas put in place in the last 20 years or so were located where they are basically to try to keep land open, in cases where the landowners were getting ready to post, or had already posted, because they were irritated by bad behaviors such as littering, tree cutting, etc.

In some of these places, the PFBC talked the landowners into keeping the land open by convincing them to agree to a special regs area, telling them that the anglers who go to these regs areas are better behaved, less likely to litter and damage property, etc. And the landowner agrees to give it a try. And sometimes it works out and the regs area stays in place for a long time.

But in many cases these are landowners who really are sort of conflicted about whether or not they want the land open or closed. So, in these situations the regs area and the public access are temporary. The regs areas in these situations often just delays the closure of the land for a few more years.

 

[PoconoPuke]

During the '60's an old man used to take me along on hunting and fishing trips. It was his habit to bring a garbage bag for the litter he found in parking areas. My friend could pretty much fill that bag nearly every trip.
All this land posting has been a long time coming.
The wife's uncle once caught some clown dumping garbage bags on the family farm. Unfortunately for the dirt bag the uncle was coming off his deer stand and caught him while still in possession of his 30--06. He was made to load all the garbage back into his vehicle and had the audacity to complain that a lot of the garbage wasn't his. None of it was ours, but a low life like this can't appreciate that.