What is Tim Schaeffer (PFBC) thinking?-- Class A stocking exemptions proposal

[The Rodfather]

I am deeply concerned after yesterday's meeting.

From my understanding of the meeting, he is wanting to add 5 new Class A stocking exemptions as well as renewing 8 current exemptions that are set to expire.

The most troubling part that I saw out of this is that several of the new exemptions are stretches of water near properties owned by the "Homewaters" Trout club.

This club has a long history of putting fish where they don't belong and now we are granting permission to the pay-for-play club to do what they wish with it?

This is a Christmas gift to them and is a very bad look for PFBC and the shiny new executive powers that he has to do this by himself with no checks.

Here are the proposed exemptions from the meeting yesterday.

This is not good folks.

The Rodfather
Dauphin County League of Chubsmen

 

[Andrwhite610]

So they want to add section 3 on the Wyo which i believe is through the wyomissing park? Thats really disappointing. Annoying enough they stock it for the kids rodeo which brings trash and lines in the trees after the rodeo. now it will be a huge draw.

There’s already a strong population of trout. wasting time and money adding more dumb stocked trout is so stupid . Go put them in the Tully 2x

 

[troutbert]

Your post says that these proposals are coming specifically from Tim Schaeffer. Is that true? Or are these proposals coming from private landowners / clubs?

Regarding the stream sections listed, I believe most of those are wild brown trout sections.

Do you all see sections with native brook trout? I'm guessing Marvin Creek section 1 would have native brook trout and also, Beaver Run, section 1, Clearfield County. But I'm not certain.

 

[nd1001]

Disappointing, but predictable to see this play out after the Freeman Run situation.

Edit to add: Thanks for bringing this up… I think it is important that those of us who oppose these stocking measures continue to make our voices heard. While it can be disheartening to protest without result, if complaints stop coming in due to fatigue, the PFBC will have more justification to continue this trajectory.

 

[Mike]

So they want to add section 3 on the Wyo which i believe is through the wyomissing park? Thats really disappointing. Annoying enough they stock it for the kids rodeo which brings trash and lines in the trees after the rodeo. now it will be a huge draw.

There’s already a strong population of trout. wasting time and money adding more dumb stocked trout is so stupid . Go put them in the Tully 2x

This (Wyomissing Ck) has nothing to do with a PFBC stocking. The PFBC stocks Section 02. Wyomissing Ck Section 03, a Class A wild brown section, has traditionally had a very short stretch. perhaps 100 yds or less, stocked for a kids’ rodeo. I have no reason to think that it is anything else; it’s simply a renewal of an existing exemption. If readers here carefully check the two screen shots provided, the new exemptions say “new exemption” next to the respective stream names. The remaining ones are renewals, which I think must be done every 5 yrs. Wyomissing Ck, Section 03, is not a new exemption.

I would add that at yesterday’s meeting there was another stream that was eligible for a renewal, but the group that had been stocking the stream for whatever reason had stopped stocking and did not ask for a renewal.

 

[CRB]

Most of areas used for kids, vets and disabled derby sites.
These are very popular with locals and politics so... gl.

 

[Mike]

Most of areas used for kids, vets and disabled derby sites.
These are very popular with locals and politics so... gl.

I think that’s largely true and in my observation and review of derbies, etc from some yrs ago, they usually involve very short pieces of water that represent a minor portion of a stream section. There are exceptions for sure, but I think I am largely correct.

 

[jifigz]

Homewaters has beats on Yellow and Penns. Do they have any stretches on other streams on the list? Is section 1 of Penns the section that runs down through Spring Mills? That's been stocked my whole life, and I've fished it a bunch. It also has a great head of wild browns, but I'm not sure when it was certified Class A, but I know it was at some point. Does this mean they stopped stocking it for a time, or has stocking always continued there?

Yes, I know I could probably answer my question through browsing the web. I pretty much oppose all stocking over wild trout.

 

[rrt]

I think Section 3 of Clover Creek is now unstocked. The upper half of Clover is stocked; the lower half is not. Homewaters has a beat on lower Clover. This would be another tragedy for Clover, which has pretty much lost its sulphur hatch to pollution, most likely liquid manure and other farm chemicals. Clover also suffers from thermal issues in the summer. Clover is already a sick creek; it doesn't need to be stocked on top of its other problems.

 

[JG63]

I am deeply concerned after yesterday's meeting.

From my understanding of the meeting, he is wanting to add 5 new Class A stocking exemptions as well as renewing 8 current exemptions that are set to expire.

The most troubling part that I saw out of this is that several of the new exemptions are stretches of water near properties owned by the "Homewaters" Trout club.

This club has a long history of putting fish where they don't belong and now we are granting permission to the pay-for-play club to do what they wish with it?

This is a Christmas gift to them and is a very bad look for PFBC and the shiny new executive powers that he has to do this by himself with no checks.

Here are the proposed exemptions from the meeting yesterday.

This is not good folks.

The Rodfather
Dauphin County League of Chubsmen

Some pretty bold strokes there - almost like they’re spot burning to renew interest in these “fished out” creeks/rivers - let the bank yank, corn storm, and crawler haulers “reclaim” what they think was once theirs … 🙃

 

[troutbert]

Some pretty bold strokes there - almost like they’re spot burning to renew interest in these “fished out” creeks/rivers - let the bank yank, corn storm, and crawler haulers “reclaim” what they think was once theirs … 🙃

I don't think the PFBC is proposing to stock these sections. I think that private parties or clubs want to stock these Class A sections and are asking the PFBC for permission to do that.

 

[Mike]

The stream listed above as the Unnamed Trib to Tulpehocken Ck (Womelsdorf) is a wild brown trout stream.

 

[GANGGREEN]

I don't think the PFBC is proposing to stock these sections. I think that private parties or clubs want to stock these Class A sections and are asking the PFBC for permission to do that.

Well, the end result is the same. I don't think anyone on the planet (well, darn few) are opposed to kids' fishing derbies or wounded warrior events, if that's what this is about, but why do those events have to occur on a Class A trout stream if the intent is to load the stream up with stockers anyway? Find some regulated trout water or a pond somewhere and have at it, stock a million of them, but not on Class A streams.

It does seem odd that at least some of the waters involved appear to be exemptions for private clubs. Again, if a private club wants to stock the living bejeezus out of a pond/lake or some regulated trout water, have at it, but........

I think this can be a complicated issue with some nuance and of course context means everything, but I really don't think the PFBC is making a lot of friends with this sort of action.

 

[wgmiller]

The stream listed above as the Unnamed Trib to Tulpehocken Ck (Womelsdorf) is a wild brown trout stream.

That's interesting. I fished that stretch a few years back and didn't find it particularly noteworthy. I looked back through my archives, but couldn't find any documentation of it (which tells me how unnoteworthy it actually was). Perhaps I'll give it another go in the spring...