Pymatuning is seeing a lot of early activity

Compare the deer harvest by the annual numbers

• 2008-09 - 336,000
• 2007-08 - 324,000
• 2006-07 - 362,000
• 2005-06 - 354,000
• 2004-05 - 409,000

It is doesn’t take a statistician to see the downward trend.  I am not convinced yet that our increase is not simply due to the terrible weather that hampered the first day in 2007-08. 

The second piece of good news is one that I am more excited about.  Hunting license sales were up by about 5,000 from last year (656,474 compared to 651,589).  Again, this number does not prove that the downward trend of hunting license sales is over but it is a positive sign.  In my past writings about the issue, I have always acknowledged that there is a base number of hunters in Pennsylvania that will always hunt.  I would be very happy and encouraged if we have found that base at its current level.

But there is some bad news mixed in these numbers.  Junior and non-resident hunting license sales were both down.  I am very concerned about the junior numbers.  The drop in junior license sales is an indicator that the potential base of 650,000 hunters is on shaky ground.

Only time will tell on both of these issues, but I am choosing to look at the glass as half full (at least for the moment). 

The smooth water slides down the beach sprawling out like black ink until it meets the moonless, charred horizon haze.  Eyes shutter to dilate, sucking in what little light the stars offer, struggling to put form to figures.  First steps into the endless black slick are met by squeaking pebbles rolling to conform to the foot.  The other four senses are heightening as the eyes continually struggle with black.  Surf salt fills the air, warm breezes swirl the body, and a faint wash slips up and down the water’s edge.  The whole body strains and yearns to identify conventional signs of quarry.  Void of the long-established guidance, fingers begin to sense the warn cork grip which settles and re-centers the mind.  Instinctually, the fluid casting motion begins, soliciting the line to jump off the arbor into a sea of nothing.  The line lays motionless somewhere in the night.  A methodic slow, steady cadence begins retrieving the temptation across the black glass.  Seconds feel like hours as the unhurried retrieval continues and the body anticipates a shattering of silence.  Feeling one cast end begins the relaxing, familiar motion of the next.  Repeating the silent casts and feeling the rhythmic retrieve lulls the mind, bringing forth serenity that is only felt in absence.  That serenity continues as silence canvases the water.

THA-THUP!  Shivers streak up the legs, across the chest, ending in a pounding heart; struck by the guttural eeriness.  Again, THA-THUMP!  The mind fights to regain composure.  Again, THA-THUMP!  The ears tense, straining to identify direction. 

Gripping the rod handle a quick natural snap of the wrist occurs, almost void of thought.  Hands quiver as the wrists struggle to maintain the methodically lethargic presentation required.  The creature swirls and slurps far from the surface!

THA-THUMP, Zip… Zip…. Zip!  Line tenses with fervor as it peals though fingers and drag with ease.   The rod presses into the hip and forearm under the sheer strength of the monster’s desire to escape his miscalculation.  Adrenaline pumps as eyes search for any indication, but fail in the absence of light.  Splash, Zip… Zip.  The massive prey dances without an audience.  He battles to find rocks, a ledge, strong current, or anything to release himself.  Biceps start to ball and the shoulders begins to burn.  Zip… Zip… Zip the gladiator fights on, challenging its pursuer with persistent action.  The rod begins working up and sliding down in a common motion that wears the prey while pulling line back inch by inch.  Every inch is met with unwavering resistance.  Zip… Zip… splash! A glint of light reflecting off the water spray encourages a resultant pursuit and reinvigorates the legs.  Feet begin to dig into the sand and push against the creature’s insistent force.  An arduous retreat back the beach produces splashes in the wash; somewhat seen by the eye, but mostly felt through a dancing rod.

Perching the beast on the sand provides a moment to restore the senses and clear the mind.  The break is hurried by the monster’s tail flap and push to find new waters.  Rapidly, feet push towards the quarry while the hands retrieve the last remaining inches of line.  With the battle concluded, a long anticipated flick of the head lamp switch reveals the creature that goes THA-THUP in the night.

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Matthew Risser with 35” Striped Bass

Licensed Pennsylvania anglers fishing the Delaware River and Estuary can now harvest striped bass and hybrid striped bass from April 1 through May 31, a season which has been closed by the Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) since 1992.

Under the new regulations, adopted by the PFBC at its January quarterly meeting, anglers can harvest two striped bass per day between 20-26 inches during the two-month season. The change is the result of the successful restoration of the striped bass population along the Atlantic Coast. The regulations are designed to allow some harvest of male striped bass, while still protecting most of the spawning female striped bass. For the rest of the year, there is a 28-inch minimum length and a two fish per day creel limit.

The following seasons, sizes and creel limits apply to the Delaware River from the Pennsylvania line upstream to the Calhoun Street Bridge.

Jan. 1 - March 31 and June 1 - Dec. 31: Minimum - 28 inches, creel limit - 2 per day

April 1 through May 31: Size - 20-26 inches, creel limit - 2 per day

The PFBC reminds anglers that these regulations differ from the striped bass regulations enforced by the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife in the four months January, February, April and May.

Information on N.J. regulations can be found at: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/.

For more information, visit our website at www.fishandboat.com.

Spring stocking on the lower section (Section 2) of Chappel Fork in McKean County has been cancelled due to lingering problems associated with an oil spill that occurred during the 2008 season, according to the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC). A February survey of the stream showed that oil still remains in the water.

The PFBC was scheduled to stock the section of stream on March 23, April 22 and May 11. Section 02 is approximately 2.2 miles and flows from the confluence of the North Fork Chappel Fork downstream to the mouth.

Stocking will continue as scheduled on the 4.7 mile Section 01 of Chappel Fork, which lies upstream of the area impacted by the oil spill.

Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today offered his praise to the House of Representatives for its overwhelming and bi-partisan support of House Bill 92, which will enable the agency to fully transition to an electronic, point-of-sale license system, commonly referred to as Pennsylvania Automated License System (PALS).

Roe specifically noted his appreciation to House Game and Fisheries Committee Majority Chairman Edward Staback (D-60), who sponsored the bill, and to House Game and Fisheries Committee Minority Chairman Craig A. Dally (R-168), who co-sponsored the bill.

“Transitioning to PALS has been something that our license buyers and members of the General Assembly have been urging the Game Commission to do for a number of years,” Roe said.  “We are excited about the many benefits that this new license sale system will provide to our license buying customers, our issuing agents and the agency.

“I want to thank Reps. Staback and Dally, as well as all of the House members who voted in favor of this measure.  Also, I look forward to working with Senate Game and Fisheries Committee Majority Chairman Richard Alloway II (R-33) and Minority Chairman Richard A. Kasunic (D-32) to gain approval for this bill in the Senate so it can be sent to the Governor for action soon.”

Under House Bill 92, license buyers would be assessed the actual transaction fee costs associated with implementing PALS.  Presently, the transaction fee is 70-cents per license or stamp purchased.  This fee would be paid directly to ALS, the Nashville-based company contracted to provide an electronic license sale system for the Game Commission, as well as the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

The biggest bear hunted during the 2008 bear season in Pennsylvania was found in the Poconos — same as 2007.

And the Pennsylvania Game Commission said it probably won’t be the last time either.

“The Poconos is one of the last two holdouts for bear populations in the state,” commission spokesman Jerry Feaser said. “It’s one of the primary arrangements of bears in the state.”

The PGC said Wednesday the bear season of 2008 yielded a 716-pound bear killed in Tobyhanna Township.

In 2007, the state’s biggest bear was killed in Dingmans Township. It was 727 pounds.

At its January meeting, the Board gave final approval to a regulatory change to permit the use of crossbows in archery deer and bear seasons.  Prior to that vote, however, the Board accepted an amendment to prohibit the use of magnifying scopes during the archery deer and bear seasons.

“The agency has received significant public comment about that vote, the Board decided it would be appropriate to revisit this aspect of the recently approved use of crossbows in the state’s archery seasons,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director.  “This notational vote will require final adoption at a future meeting of the Board, and we are hoping to have that vote take place at the Board’s scheduled public meeting in April.”

The Board will meeting on April 20 and 21, in the auditorium of the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters at 2001 Elmerton Ave., just off the Progress Avenue exit of Interstate 81 in Harrisburg. A copy of the agenda for the upcoming meeting will be posted on the agency’s website prior to the meeting.