Any time you introduce a new species into an ecosystem, there will be disruption, but we don't know what that disruption will be. |
Different properties have been brought to our attention, although it's a limited universe as to what's along a stream. At this point, we honestly don't know what, say, half a mile of public access would cost us. |
Everyone agrees that the spillway was heavily damaged, but that's where we part ways. The problem is you can't replace the spillway and have a functional dam again. The dam does not meet the requirements for a possible maximum flood. The entire dam needs to be replaced. |
Given the landowner situation in Erie, property rights isn't a fight we're going to pick, at least for now. It would have a positive benefit once you're on the water, but it wouldn't get you to the water. |
I usually tell people 'low and slow,' meaning to add weight to their lines so they stay low in the streams and move more slowly in swift waters. That's my advice for how they're going to catch fish in high-moving waters. This year, low and slow definitely describes the streams. |
If everyone [there] posted tomorrow, it would end fishing as we know it. |
If you think about it, the guys at the hatchery aren't going to stand there and count 1,000 trout when they load them. |
It was a very nice fish. Whether it was an actual state record we'll never know because as soon as we realized it wasn't caught from an approved trout water in season, we stopped the verification process although we did have some doubts about the size. |
It's a safe bet to say with special regulations, it's more about managing people than managing fish. It's often more social than biological, putting streams into a Catch and Release or any other program. |
It's impossible to say whether a life jacket would have made a difference for Mr. Seidel, but certainly it would have helped. Had this individual had a life jacket on, he certainly would have improved his odds. |
It's not a particularly large program in terms of the number of waters or the number of trout stocked, but it's generally been pretty well received. Particularly in instances like this winter, where you've got a lot of open water, if the conditions are right, it's great because people can fish knowing there are fresh trout out there. |
It's not the first time something like this has happened. There's something about big fish that makes people throw out rhyme or reason. They get so excited, they lose sight of reality. |
It's still something we feel, as a staff, is viable. That's especially so if the money it raises gets plowed right back into supporting youth programs that get kids fishing. |
Mussels may be invisible to most folks, including anglers. But if you don't protect them they're gone, and with them a critical link in the whole chain of natural resources. |
Nature does not treat mutations very well. |