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WESTERN CRAWFORD COUNTY, WCO Joe Russell The cold weather is a great time for tying flys. Pymatuning/ Conneaut Lake: Still not much fishing pressure this week but we have had some pretty severe storms at times with heavy rains and extremely high winds. We even had the first snow of the year this last week so it has not been that conducive to fishing. Now would be a good time to get that boat ready for next year and make sure everything is in shape for the upcoming season. If you store your boat outside also don’t forget to pull your fire extinguisher inside since changes in temperatures over the winter can drastically shorten its life. My Final Report:
I never thought that over three years ago when John Bowser asked me if there was anything that I might have to add to the Erie WCO Report, that it would turn into a weekly writing assignment. Or that so many sportsmen and women would read the articles almost religiously every week. If you were to ask my bosses they would tell you that one of my weaknesses is report writing and if it wasn’t for spelling and grammar check on Microsoft word I would be lost and you probably would not be able to read them. When I first started John would call me just about every week and say “come on Russell am I the only one working in this region get your damn report up here so I can go to bed!” Well unfortunately all good things must come to an end and this will be my final report from the Western Crawford County district. I have put in for and been given a district closer to where I am originally from and as of the beginning of the year I will be taking over the Wyoming/Susquehanna district in the Northeast region. What John started with this report has been widely accepted by everyone, and even used as a model for the rest of the state, to get the word to the fishing and boating public. I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me over the last three years and asked if I was Fishcop and thanked me for writing in and being part of this. To those of you who have taken the time to write and send in notes of encouragement, or stopped me along the stream, I want to say Thank You. It makes this assignment much easier for the officers who have to write it knowing that it is read and looked forward to by the fishing and boating community we serve. I have met some wonderful sportsmen and women through this report and it has been an honor to be a part of it. I also want to thank some of the best officers in the state, that I have had the pleasure of working with. Erie and the Northwest Region have an exemplary officer force and I am not just talking about full time people. Without the deputy force that we have statewide our job would be close to impossible and we certainly would not have the protection of our resources that we have now. My E-mail will probably be online for about another month while I wrap things up and prepare to move and my cell is good until the end of December. My pager will be off after the end of November and my state line is good until the middle of December. Once I get into my new district I will be sure to contact Randy Leighton and pass on my new contact information should anyone want to keep in touch. Once again thanks for everything and I hope to see you along the streams. By the way should anybody be looking for a house within minutes of some of the best fishing and hunting the state of Pennsylvania has to offer, I have one for sale just contact me and we will work something out. WCO Joe Russell
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