Afield: There’s some good and bad news for hunters and anglers in Centre County
First, the good news: An exciting new trout fishing opportunity is likely to be available for Centre County anglers next year. At its July 21 meeting, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat commissioners unanimously approved the passage of an experimental special regulation for a for a .86-mile section of Bald Eagle Creek between Port Matilda and Julian.
This “Miscellaneous Special Regulation” is designed to enhance stocked trout management. The regulations here will be almost identical to the current Delayed-Harvest-Artificial-Lures-Only regulations. However, all terminal tackle types (bait, lures and flies) will be permitted. Only flies and lures are permitted in all other delayed harvest areas.
In 2016, the commission kicked off the Keystone Select Stocked Trout Waters program with eight stream sections. Under the program, large trout — 14 to 20 inches in length — are stocked at a rate of up to 250 trout per mile. This is comparable to the abundance of similar-sized fish residing in Pennsylvania’s best wild trout waters, such as Penns Creek.
Due to its immense popularity among trout anglers, the program was expanded to include 23 stream sections. However, none are in Centre County or even close. The other good news — this experimental section of Bald Eagle Creek will be stocked as if it were part of the Keystone Select program, which normally only allows flies and lures. As a result, local anglers will get to experience what has made this program so popular — large numbers of big stocked trout .
The regulations for this section of Bald Eagle Creek will permit year-round angling with all tackle types, as well as harvest of up to three trout (at least nine inches in length) per day from June 15 through Labor Day. There is no harvest permitted the remainder of the year.
The regulation is designed to provide for harvesting trout under the reduced creel limit when stream conditions are less favorable for trout survival due to typically decreased summer flow and elevated water temperatures. Apart from that, anglers will be permitted to fish for stocked trout for an extended period of catch and release angling with all tackle types. Then, as stream conditions become less favorable for trout survival, harvest will be permitted under a reduced creel limit.
The exact delineation of the specially regulated water on Bald Eagle Creek will be from 0.38 miles upstream of Steel Hollow Run to 0.48 miles downstream of Steel Hollow Run. Because of the location of the railroad line, this section of stream is most easily accessed from the Soaring Eagle Wetland (formerly the Gov. Tom Ridge Wetland Preserve) parking lot, where anglers are always welcome. Most of the stream section is owned by the Wildlife for Everyone Foundation.
“I view this as a win-win for the commission and local trout anglers,” said Kris Kuhn, director of the Bureau of Fisheries. According to Kuhn, including this section of Bald Eagle Creek in the Keystone Select Stocked Trout Waters program and allowing the use of bait will give agency staff an opportunity to compare angler opinions, usage, catch, and preferences as compared to other Keystone streams that are managed with traditional artificial-lures-only restrictions.
The new regulations will also be a win for the Wildlife for Everyone Foundation.
“We are excited to host this experimental water,” board member Jerry Regan said. “It ties in well with our plans to build a larger parking area, as well as an ADA-compliant boardwalk trail, fishing platform and other amenities that make this reach of stream accessible to all anglers regardless of physical abilities.
“A stream habitat improvement project completed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the summer of 2019 has already enhanced the fish habitat in this area and the new regulations, along with increased stocking of larger trout, should make the fishing even better.”
Notice of this proposed change will be posted in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, followed by a 30-day comment period. If passed again at their October meeting, the new regulation will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.
Hunting
And now the bad news: Chronic Wasting Disease has been spreading in the deer population each year from affected areas of the state. The disease, which can be found in both deer and elk, is always fatal. Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced that the zig-zagging northern boundary of Disease Management Area 2 has been expanded north to include parts of Centre County in three areas.
For the past two years, DMA 2 ended at Route 453 as it runs through Tyrone. The new boundary moves northward to Route 350. It follows Route 350 from Route 45 south of Warriors Mark northward through the Village of Bald Eagle to Sandy Ridge. It then follows Route 970 northwest to Osceola Mills. In Centre County, this takes in the western corner of Taylor Township, as well as the southwestern end of Rush Township.
The line tracks Route 45 northeast out of Huntingdon County into Ferguson Township and dips back out of the county, following Route 26 south from Pine Grove Mills. This includes much of the Penn State property southwest of Pine Grove Mills.
DMA 2 includes a much larger chunk of Centre County as it again comes north, following U.S Route 322 to Potters Mills and along Route 144 until it again meets Route 45. The boundary follows Route 45 northeast until leaving the county. As a result, DMA 2 now includes large parts of Potter, Gregg, Penn and Haines townships.
Egg Hill, Georges Valley, Big Poe Mountain, Coburn, Ingleby, Poe Valley State Park and Paddy Mountain, to name a few, are within DMA 2.
Hunters adhering to Game Commission rules helps to slow the spread of CWD. Consult the regulation booklet that comes with your hunting license to learn the details. The new map on the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website clearly delineates the boundaries, and can be found by going to pagame.maps.arcgis.com and clicking on Chronic Wasting Disease.
Stay tuned for more details as we approach hunting season.