HARRISBURG — With the Southeast Region trout season under way for a week and the statewide opener just six days away, some may find it difficult to believe that in Pennsylvania — like many other states — the most popular fish species targeted by anglers is bass.
For all the negative publicity and concerns for its health and the smallmouth bass population, the Susquehanna River remains one of the most productive fisheries and points of destination in the Northeast. That is true for both instate residents and out-of-state anglers who travel to spend a day on the river or fill campgrounds for a mini fishing getaway.
“Just about everywhere I go, someone asks me about the Susquehanna River,” Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission executive director John Arway said. “In October, we joined DEP and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to begin a Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System process to help identify causes of health issues with smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna and its tributaries.
“A broader workgroup of agency and academic experts was formed to assist with the analysis. This will be a more formal approach to what the group has been doing as part of an interagency technical committee that has worked together in recent years.
“CADDIS process is ongoing and will culminate in September with a collaborative report of the group’s findings on causative factors associated with the reduction in recruitment and abundance of smallmouth bass in the middle Susquehanna River and lower Juniata River. This report can then be used to provide direction and support for factors for DEP to include in their Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report in January 2016.”
Arway said project leaders from EPA are facilitating the process and providing support with statistical analysis. He is optimistic that this effort will provide the necessary evidence to declare the river impaired and put the PFBC on a path for recovering the river.
When not targeting Susquehanna bass on their “home” river, many of the have-boat-will-travel angling fraternity have for decades been traveling north and south on Interstate 81 to fish the St. Lawrence and Potomac rivers. In recent years, however, many bass anglers have learned of the excellent fishing to be had by heading west to Allegheny County.
Some of the largest river bass in Pennsylvania can be taken consistently on the Allegheny River during the early spring and throughout the fall. The river is also worth targeting on summer vacation trips. To assure the future of quality bass fishing in western Pennsylvania, the PFBC has designated several bodies of water to be governed under the Big Bass Special Regulations beginning Jan. 1, 2016.
The 14.3-acre Marshall Lake in Allegheny County has been designated in order to increase the number of larger largemouth bass and to increase predation on gizzard shad and small panfish. In Washington County, the 40.4-acre Peters Lake Reservoir No. 2 has been designated to enhance both largemouth and crappie bass fishing. Indian Lake in Westmoreland County has been designated to enhance crappie bass fishing.
Not to be overlooked are the regulations that have gone into effect this spring relating to striped bass regulations on the Delaware River and Delaware Estuary to meet requirements of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. These changes apply only to the Pennsylvania side of the river and estuary. In Pennsylvania, for the purposes of striped bass management, the Delaware River and the Delaware Estuary are divided into two sections for better management.
From now through May 31, the creel limit for striped bass in the estuary, as defined from the Pennsylvania/Delaware state line upstream to the Calhoun Street Bridge, is two fish with a slot length of 21-25 inches. Beginning June 1 through Dec. 31, the creel limit is one fish with a minimum length of 28 inches.
The creel limit for striped bass had been reduced from two fish to one on the Delaware River upstream of the estuary at the Calhoun Street Bridge. This portion of the river is open year-round with a minimum size of 28 inches.
“This action is being taken to meet the requirements of ASMFC’s management plan for striped bass, which calls for management actions when the coast-wide spawning stock biomass or fishing mortality rates reach thresholds set within the plan,” PFBC Bureau of Fisheries director Leroy Young said. “Currently the SSB threshold is 127 million pounds, and the current SSB is just over this at 128 million pounds.
“At the current fishing mortality rates, there is concern that the SSB will fall below the threshold in the near future. In addition to these concerns, recruitment of young fish has been relatively low in many of the years since 2004.
“In response to these concerns, the ASFMC Striped Bass Management Board, which includes the PFBC as a member, has directed all coastal states to reduce fishing mortality rates by 25 percent beginning in 2015. These revised length and creel limits are designed to meet those requirements.”