Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 37
photo-Mark Giovannetti
Paddlefish
www.fishandboat.com
2,000 miles in river systems, navigating even the most
brackish of waters. So, it comes as no surprise, this fish
could have swam across state lines.
Part of me, the dreamer, likes to think there is a
possibility the Paddlefish was stocked as a fry when I was
a boy, mischievous and good-natured like Tom Sawyer
and Huck Finn. Either way, all subsequent trips to the
river have been innately enhanced, just knowing such
wild places are clean and healthy enough to grow giants,
haunting the waters below.
photo-PFBC archives
The Paddlefish's native habitat is the Mississippi River
Basin and its tributaries. More abundant in the Midwest
to the South, a few states even offer Paddlefish seasons.
Pennsylvania does not host such a season. In Pennsylvania,
Paddlefish were once found in Lake Erie, the Allegheny
River and the Clarion River. People had negative impacts
and lasting repercussions. Dams altered natural flows and
overfishing decimated populations. By 1919, the species
was extirpated in Pennsylvania.
To examine the current state of Paddlefish in
Pennsylvania, look to the progressive actions of the early
1990s. In 1991, PFBC launched the Paddlefish Restoration
Plan, resulting in 75,000 fingerlings successfully stocked.
Now, Paddlefish may swim in the Ohio, Allegheny, and
Monongahela rivers.
Upon returning from my memorable fishing trip, I
contacted Brian Ensign, PFBC's Area 2 Fisheries Biologist.
Ensign was delighted to receive the Allegheny River report
of a Paddlefish.
"Thank you for the information, it will go into the
Reliable Source Reports (RSRs). RSRs are valuable as
a current status indicator that adults are in the rivers
and reproduction is still possible toward restoration in
Pennsylvania. Paddlefish stocking was stopped in 2012,
and grant work was eliminated in 2016," said Ensign.
From the vast experiences of Ensign, I learned that
there is a chance the Paddlefish migrated from New York's
Allegheny Reservoir or Conewango Creek. Migratory
by nature, Paddlefish have been recorded traveling up to
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission stocking Paddlefish into
the Ohio River in 2008.
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * July/August 2019
37
http://www.fishandboat.com
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August
Contents
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Cover1
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Cover2
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Contents
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 4
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 5
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 6
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 7
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 8
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 9
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 10
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 11
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 12
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 13
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 14
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 15
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 16
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 17
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 18
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 19
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 20
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 21
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 22
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 23
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 24
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 25
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 26
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 27
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 28
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 29
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 30
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 31
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 32
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 33
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 34
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 35
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 36
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 37
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 38
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 39
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 40
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 41
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 42
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 43
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 44
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 45
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 46
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 47
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 48
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 49
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 50
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 51
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 52
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 53
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 54
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 55
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 56
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 57
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 58
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 59
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 60
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 61
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 62
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 63
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 64
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Cover3
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Cover4
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