Fish and Game on the Web
* You missed Centre County’s only Hunter Trapper Education classes for 2002 — they were held in September.
* The section of stream near Hartle’s Bridge gives any Spring Creek angler the best chance (by a long shot) to catch a 14-inch or larger brown trout.
* The Pennsylvania Game Commission is looking for college students to be wildlife technician interns for next summer. The pay is $9.96/hour.
* Clayton Blose of Altoona used a nightcrawler to catch a 1 lb., 6 oz. Rock Bass from Dunnings Creek in Bedford County. It was the second largest rock bass caught in the state last year.
* During the last 50 years, Pennsylvania had a bear season every year except 1970, 1977 and 1978.
Computers and the Internet continue to open up vast bodies of information to anglers, hunters and other outdoor types. Good examples are right here in the Keystone State. The above tidbits of information came from the different websites managed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the PA Game Commission. Thousands and thousands of other relevant pieces of information are attractively illustrated with photos, drawings and maps on websites by our two state wildlife agencies.
ON THE WEB:
Pennsylvania Game Commission www.pgc.state.pa.us
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission www.fish.state.pa.us
The Game Commission
Visitors to the Game Commission website will find a well-designed home page with many clear choices. You could click on “Newsroom” and read the most recent PGC news releases or go back to the 1996 release #43 to learn how many bears were harvested that year. Recently added to the website are maps of most of the commission’s State Game Lands. A couple of clicks can have you studying the details of any SGL in the state.
The “County Information” section gives visitors county harvest information for big game species in all 67 counties as well as Hunter Safety Classes. Much of the commission’s magazine, [italics] Pennsylvania Game News, can also be read online. The “Hunting Information” section contains a multitude of information to benefit both experienced and beginning hunters. Employment opportunities are also posted.
Want a great wildlife calendar to enjoy all year long – order it online at “The Outdoor Shop.” As I write this week’s column, I’m looking at a beautiful color photo that was taken of a ruffed grouse by Bedford County Wildlife Conservation Officer Tim Flanigan. That photo illustrates October on the 2002 PGC calendar that I ordered online for $8.95 last November. If you visit their website, you’ll learn that the new 2003 calendars are now in and ready for order. I also used the “Outdoor Shop” to enter the elk lottery each of the past two years.
My favorite part of the website is “Wildlife.” Want to know the latest about biological research being done by the PGC – this is the place to find out. Have a student doing an animal report for school – the PGC “Wildlife Notes,” covering over 50 species, are a good place to start. The wildlife section also has extensive information about deer, elk and black bears.
As an added bonus, the PGC site has links to the websites of all 49 other state wildlife agencies. Other links lead the web surfer to sites on West Nile Virus, Lyme Disease, and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as well as to the PA Fish and Boat Commission, which is where I’ll take you now.
The Fish & Boat Commission
Visitors to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission website will always find the “Question of the Week” answered by someone from their staff. It could be about the finer points of a new fishing regulation or whether it was legal to fish for trout with corn – a question that I get from readers about once a year. The questions and answers are headed by cute blue letters that have water sloshing around inside. Silly, but they kind of intrigue me. Last week the answer thoroughly covered the laws pertaining to displaying your fishing license while angling or collecting bait.
One of the most useful sections that can be accessed on the PFBC website by any wild trout angler is the complete list of all Class A Wild Trout Streams. It used to be that any fisherman who managed to wrangle a list guarded it like gold. Now it’s available to all, as it should be. It’s the commission’s guide to all of the best trout streams in the state.
Like the Game Commission, the Fish Commission provides an online file of all recent news releases – a good source of information for any angler. They also provide stocking information and all Fish Consumption Advisories.
I have yet to visit all parts of either agency’s website, so I’m always checking out something new. I recently noticed the “Biggest Fish of 2001” section, where I discovered a listing of Clayton Blose’s nice catch. Other area waters and anglers show up on the list, such as Milesburg’s Clyde McKinley, who landed one of the top ten rock bass for 2001 from Sayers Lake. The eighth heaviest largemouth bass weighed nearly seven pounds and was caught from Black Moshannon Lake by Nathan Ziegler. I didn’t notice any Tyrone or Bellwood anglers on the lists.
Trends clearly show up on this list, too. Lake Raystown, once “King of the Stripers” only placed one fish in the top ten in 2001, but it was a 30-lb., 3-oz. brute. If you want a trophy smallmouth bass, then Lake Erie must be the place. Ten different anglers each scored with one of the top ten smallmouths, and they were all caught in Lake Erie.
I frequently check the “Fisheries Management Field Reports” for new additions. An extensive survey was done on Spring Creek in July of 2000. The PFBC’s Cold water Unit has all the data neatly displayed on a spreadsheet. That confirmed my suspicions about the quality of the Hartle’s Bridge section. Also posted are recent fisheries reports on Penns Creek, Black Moshannon Lake and Little Fishing Creek.
If you are a hunter, an angler or just someone interested in nature, there is a lot to explore and learn by visiting the websites maintained by our two wildlife agencies. If you’ve never visited them, you’re missing something truly worthwhile.
Mark Nale can be reached at MarkAngler@aol.com
