WCO Weekly Fishing Report 4/18/01: Erie area, PA,
Fishing Report Posted: April 18, 2001

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Posted by WCO John Bowser on April 18, 2001 at 08:42:23:

In Season Saturday Stocking of Gravel Pit…
The Fairview Gravel Pit will be stocked this Saturday at 9:30. This is part
of the Pa. Fish & Boat Commission Program of announced in-season Saturday
stockings. It is a great opportunity for children to participate in the
actually stocking that they are otherwise unable to because of school.
Officers will have extra buckets along so everyone should have a chance to
participate. Don't miss out on this event…. Stocking the fish and then being
able to fish for them is a great experience. Just ask the officer for a
bucket and they will be sure to fix you up with one.

Cold Water Boating…
As amazing as it sounds, five boaters were prevented from launching at the
Gravel Pit on Opening Day of Trout because they did not have life jackets
with them. We do not check boats to get violations… we do it to save lives.
To boat in warm water temperatures without the required PFD's is not an
intelligent choice, to do it in cold water is just suicidal. To do it with
children on board is unforgivable. All children age 12 or under are required
to "WEAR" a PFD in boats 20' or less while underway.

Vehicle Parking…
One of the more common complaints of Trout Season come from vehicle parking.
In their hurry to get to the streams, anglers will block driveways,
mailboxes, or even State Highways. Route 5 at Elk Creek was choked down to
one lane this past weekend because of vehicles not being parked entirely off
the roadway. PSP was notified and were in the process of having vehicles
towed when Fish & Boat Commission officers were informed of the problem.
Rather than have anglers end their day of fishing wondering where their cars
& trucks disappeared to, pay the towing costs, and a hefty Vehicle Code fine
… PFBC officers offered to address the problem for PSP by running the
registrations and with that list of names, proceed upstream & downstream to
locate the owners to move their vehicles. Fines were assessed but the final
cost to anglers was much lower than the alternative. This is one reason that
the heaviest stocking points are those with the most off road parking. It
doesn't bode well on the image of sportsmen when the general public &
landowners have roadways blocked.

Pymatuming Report ... WCO Joe Russell (Western Crawford County)

PCB's in Stocked Trout (what it really means)..
To put the risks associated with eating trout with low levels of PCBs into
context, let's follow a typical angler on a routine fishing trip.
Our angler gets up early in the morning, before sunrise. Slipping out of the
covers, he steps out of bed.(The odds of getting out of bed, falling and
suffering a fatal skull fracture have been calculated at 1 in 20,000.)He
showers(the lifetime death risk of dying in the bathtub are 1 in 12,800) and
shaves (the odds of injuring yourself while shaving seriously enough to
require medical attention are 1 in 7,000).Going downstairs, (the stairs are
considered the riskiest part of the house with some 2,000,000 Americans
taking a serious fall each year.) he heads for the kitchen.
Household accidents are widespread and the kitchen is common location. (Small
kitchen appliances and ovens account for almost 97,000 injury accidents each
year according to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.) Our angler eats a
hearty breakfast (lifetime odds of choking to death = 1 in 1,087) that
includes eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, hot cakes, syrup and coffee. There are
health risks associated with many foods. This includes the risks related to
heart disease, cholesterol, high blood pressure and many others. (According
to the Center for Disease Control, heart disease is the leading cause of
death in the United States, accounting for more than 2,000,000 fatalities
annually.)
Our angler hops in his car and drives down the interstate to pick up his
fishing buddy before heading to their favorite stream deep in the woods.(In
1997, 41,967 people were killed in the estimated 6,764,000 police-reported
motor vehicle traffic crashes; 3,399,000 others were injured - US Department
of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration .) Our
angler parks and hikes about a mile through the woods with his buddy.
Although snake bites and other woodland accidents are rare, there are some
risks associated with these activities. (In fact, the National Safety Council
computes your odds of dying by reaction to venomous animals, insects or
plants are 1 in 51,265.)
When the angler gets to the stream, he pulls on his waders, enters the stream
and begins to fish. Slipping while wading is a common occurrence. Most of the
time, the response is to get up, have a laugh and keep fishing. Sometimes,
though, injuries occur. (In general, falls kill some 15,000 Americans per
year. Another 3,500 die in submersion drownings - National Safety Council)
To dry off, our fearless angler and his buddy light a fire. ( More than
1,700,000 burns occur in the United States each year.)The anglers wash a
sandwich (odds of death from eating peanut butter are 1 in 3,300) with a six
pack of beer and each smokes a couple of cigarettes. Whoa! Alcohol and
tobacco are the subjects of health warnings that are much stronger and much
more closely based on documented scientific evidence than any health risks
associated with PCBs in fish. (Based on research from the American Cancer
Society, each year smoking claims more than 400,000 lives in the US. )
Assuming nothing drops on them along the way(odds for a fatality caused by
falling objects is 1 on 4,400) they're able to walk back to their cars. They
drive home, taking all the same risks they took getting to the stream. To
finish a fine day in the outdoors, our angler enjoys with a meal of fresh
caught trout. The point of all this is that we all take some "risks"
everyday.
Eating his catch of trout with low levels of PCBs
is probably one of the least risky things our angler did this day.

The Bottom Line is clear: No one should be frightened to go fishing and have
fun. And no one should be afraid to eat their catch in moderation. Fishing is
a safe sport, and consuming fresh fish is a healthy thing to do.

A complete report on the PCB Issue is available at the PFBC Website. Fish
Consumption Advisories are listed in your Pa. Fishing Summary Book.

Pymatuming Report ... WCO Joe Russell (Western Crawford County)
Large numbers of fish are being caught. North side of the Causeway at night,
Manning Boat launch area, and Jamestown Beach are all producing fish.
Fishing is so good that even Assistant Regional Manager Frank Parise caught
three walleye the other night!!





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