Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2014 - Cover2

Straight

TALK
by John A. Arway

Executive Director
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission

Tail Water Trout
Hopefully, the photos associated with this article
caught your attention since they certainly did mine
when I created them. As your Director, I get the
opportunity to travel the Commonwealth quite a bit.
In my travels, I try to sample the waters that I visit.
When I was a biologist, I usually did this with an
electrofisher, which was probably more effective in
catching fish than the sampling sticks (fly, spinning
and bait casting rods) that I use now to evaluate fish
populations. I tell our Board and my staff that I have
to periodically "check the pulse of the fish" that we are
entrusted to protect and manage. As you can see from
the photos, the fish are doing pretty well in some of the
waters that I have personally sampled. However, my
greater motivation is to work with others on changes
that will allow these tail waters to achieve their greatest
potential based upon factors that we can control.
In 2012, our Commissioners created a Tail
Water Workgroup to "evaluate the possibilities
for enhancement of coldwater tail water fisheries
throughout Pennsylvania." Staff compiled data on all of
our tail water trout fisheries and prioritized them based
on the potential to effect some change that would create
improvement. The focus of our efforts continues to be
on the following reservoirs:
* Quemahoning Reservoir, Somerset County
Owner: Public
Size: 845 acres
Tail Water Management: Fingerling trout
beginning 2013
Distance of Cold Water Influence: 1.3 miles
Current Activity: Water temperatures are suitable
for trout. Habitat is a major limiting factor. The
conservation district is leading the way on habitat
improvement below the reservoir. The Pennsylvania
Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) stocked Rainbow
Trout and Brown Trout fingerings in 2013.

2

Youghiogheny River tail water

photo-Mike Steiner

* Francis E. Walter Reservoir, Luzerne County
Owner: United States Army Corps of Engineers
Size: 80/482 acres
Tail Water Management: Catchable and fingerling trout
Distance of Cold Water Influence: 7.5 miles
Current Activity: Working with the United States Army
Corps of Engineers and other stakeholder groups on the
implementation of a flow management plan.
* Lake Wallenpaupack, Wayne and Pike counties
Owner: PPL
Size: 5,698 acres
Tail Water Management: Catchable and fingerling trout
Distance of Cold Water Influence: 6 miles
Current Activity: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission relicense through 2045 requires PPL to
maintain coldwater release. Fine-tuning of the system
continues with assistance from PFBC.
* Cannonsville Reservoir, New York
Owner: New York City
Size: 4,703 acres
Tail Water Management: Wild trout
Distance of Cold Water Influence: West Branch of the
Delaware River, 18 miles; Mainstem, 15 miles
Current Activity: The PFBC continues to work with the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
and decree parties from the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation, New York City and New
Jersey to negotiate fisheries management objectives and
improve releases from New York City reservoirs.
* Raystown Lake, Huntingdon County
Owner: United States Army Corps of Engineers
Size: 8,297 acres
Tail Water Management: Catchable trout and
warmwater/coolwater species
Distance of Cold Water Influence: None
Current Activity: The PFBC continues to advocate to
the United States Army Corps of Engineers for cold water
releases from the lake.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * September/October 2014

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