Pennsylvania loans fishing tackle for free

From the Poat Gazette...

Sunday, July 11, 2010
By John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


The kids say they want to go fishing. But as with most hobbies, newcomers can fork over a significant investment -- often not knowing what they need -- before deciding whether fishing is right for them.

Faced with the prospect of perhaps wasting money, some folks just tell the kids to do something else instead.

But through a quiet little program of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, fishing rods, reels and tackle boxes filled with equipment are available on loan to anyone who asks.

The 5-year-old Borrow a Rod and Reel Fishing Tackle Loaner Program works like a library. At dozens of loaner sites, anyone -- from beginners to those returning to the sport -- can simply show ID, fill out a card, borrow the gear and bring it back when they're finished. Fishing license regulations, seasons and creel limits apply. Equipment can not be reserved.

"What we want to do is get people exposed to fishing and the outdoors," said Fish and Boat southwest region education director Denny Tubbs, "and by providing the equipment we can get that exposure."

The loaner program is a partnership of the Fish and Boat Commission, the American Sportfishing Association, and local sponsors of individual loaner sites. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources helps by providing loaner tackle at many state parks.

As well as loans made to individuals, the equipment can also be borrowed by groups conducting angler education programs. The equipment is purchased by Fish and Boat through its education wing.


"We have a lot of partners like Zebco, Pure Fishing and others, and they give us a good price," said Tubbs. "It's good quality."

In southwest Pennsylvania, loaner sites are located at Keystone State Park in Westmoreland County, Raccoon Creek State Park in Beaver County, Yellow Creek State Park in Indiana County and Mahoning Creek Lake Park, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project in Armstrong County.

"When Fish and Boat started doing this, we volunteered to provide loaner sites," said Chris Kemmerer, DCNR natural resource specialist. "We're doing this because we want to get people using the resource and enjoying their parks."

Each state park loaner site gets about 20 rods, reels and small tackle boxes filled with hooks, line, bobbers, sinkers and assorted gear. Kemmerer said the parks often incorporate the loaner equipment in their own fishing workshops and programs.

"It's part of our programming repertoire to do fishing programs," he said. "We do an average statewide of 25 fishing programs a month in spring and summer. ... People come out and enjoy fishing for free, see if they like it. If they do, they might make the next step."

Encouraging new anglers to take that next step to investment in fishing licenses and equipment is an important part of the program.

"We're funded through license sales and boat registration," said Tubbs. The agency also gets federal funding through a the Dingle-Johnson Act excise tax on purchases of fishing equipment. "So it definitely helps us."

As with most hobbies, high end gear can cost a fortune. But Tubbs recommends that anglers progressing from borrowed tackle to their own gear start small.

"I wouldn't recommend going out and buying the least expensive gear," he said. "It's frustrating because it doesn't work right, and then you give up on fishing. Get something in the midrange -- $20, $30 or more."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10192/1071967-358.stm

Adventure Just Around the Bend on Overnight Trip on the Clarion River

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

BELLTOWN, Pa. -- Every paddler has her moment when the only thing on her mind is placing her water shoes on dry land. For me, it came about five hours into the overnight kayaking trip my husband and I took a few weeks ago on the Clarion River.

We'd slid our boats into the water under sunny, late-morning skies about 12 miles upriver under the bridge at Arroyo, Pa. Having kayaked the family-friendly Clarion on a number of occasions, we figured we'd travel at least 4 mph -- maybe 5 mph if we put some muscle behind the paddling -- a pace that would take us through this tiny crossroads in Elk County not long after we'd eaten our picnic lunch on one of the many giant rocks at the river's edge. From there, it's be an easy 5 miles to camp at Clear Creek State Park, leaving us plenty of time for a walk through the woods before a grilled steak dinner.

Talk about miscalculations. We wouldn't pull our boats to shore at Clear Creek until well after 6 p.m., more than three shoulder-aching hours off schedule.

Don't get me wrong -- it was a gorgeous, meandering ride as the Clarion zigzags through narrow valleys of old-growth hardwood forests bustling with wildlife. (We spied several hawks and a blue heron.) Virtually alone on the water, with nothing but the occasional ripple of whitewater or a jumping fish to break the solitude, we were totally immersed in its natural beauty.

Read the rest here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10178/1068400-140.stm

Doe tag fees unchanged, available July 12

From the Post Gazette...

Sunday, June 27, 2010

By John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Beginning July 12, county treasurers will accept doe tag applications from resident hunters. Nonresident applications will be accepted starting July 26. Residents and nonresidents can apply for the first round of unsold antlerless deer licenses on August 2, and residents and nonresidents apply for the second round of unsold antlerless deer licenses on August 16.


Doe tag fees for the 2010 license year have remained flat since 1999, with the exception of the 70 cent fee attached to each licence and permit transaction, paid to the Nashville company that runs the Pennsylvania Automated License System, whether the transaction is made through the mail or at a treasurer's office. By state law, antlerless tags can be sold only by county treasurers. License applicants must send separate applications to each county. Resident's checks must be payable to "County Treasurer" for $6.70, nonresidents pay $26.70.


County treasurer addresses are available on the Pennsylvania Game Commission's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) and in the 2010-11 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest. Addresses for the Adams, Lancaster and Montgomery county treasurers were changed after publication of the Digest. The correct addresses are as follows: Adams County Treasurer, 117 Baltimore St., Room 101, Gettysburg PA 17325-2390; Lancaster County Treasurer, PO Box 1447, Lancaster PA 17608-1447; Montgomery County Treasurer, PO Box 311, Norristown PA 19404-0311.


"As county treasurers are set up with PALS, hunters will be able to submit an application to any county treasurer," said executive director Carl Roe. "Additionally, hunters have the option of listing up to three choices, in order of preference, for a specific Wildlife Management Unit antlerless deer license. If an applicant's first choice of WMU has exhausted its allocation of antlerless deer licenses, the county treasurer will move to the second preference -- and third, if necessary. This process will nearly eliminate the chance that a hunter will not be able to receive at least one antlerless deer license during the processing of regular antlerless deer licenses. However, hunters are not required to list more than one choice of WMU."


A special deal for Wildlife Management Units with high deer populations -- 2B, 5C and 5D -- starts August 2, when there will be no limit to the number of unsold antlerless deer license applications an individual can submit until all of the allocations are sold.

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Hunter Education Class To Be Held August 6th and 7th, Register Now!

Next Hunter-Trapper education class to be held in August 6th and 7th here at the club. All registration must be done online at the game commission website. Here's a direct link.

HUNTER-TRAPPER EDUCATION CLASSES

All Hunter Education classes MUST be registered for online (click here)


Class times Friday 6-9PM and Saturday 8AM to 4:30PM

The Class is FREE, but you must pre-register. Space is limited to 40 students! Please register early!

Bull Creek Rod and Gun Club's Hunter-Trapper Education classes are held twice a year, in early spring and late summer. Our last class was held in March, 2010. Classes are taught by 4 or 5 certified instructors who are both Bull Creek club members and trained by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  For more details click on the Hunter Trapper link to the left on this page or register using the link above.

May Monthly update

The next monthly membership meeting will be Thursday, June 3rd at 7PM. 

Some updates from the May meeting and from the Board of Directors meeting are:

The restroom remodeling is now complete.  Both the men's and women's restrooms have been expanded to accommodate wheelchairs and are designed to meet all handicap requirements. Bull Creek's grounds are now completely handicapped accessible. 

The next capital improvement project approved by the Board is the parking lot expansion.  Three options are being considered:   A) Only expanding out about 75 feet beyond the end of the current parking lot.                      B). Doing "A" PLUS adding a short road and parking expansion behind the archery range. C) Doing "B" PLUS dressing (flattening) the area above (uphill from) the current parking lot for more capacity.

The wheel Horse tractor will be replaced shortly as the 30+ year old machine has seen it's last mow. The Board is leaning toward a zero turn tractor.  This should be acquired before June.

The field planting has been completed with corn for wildlife.  The Board held lengthy discussion on long term habitat improvement for the upper field areas.  This will take a few years and of course money to accomplish but the end result will be upland hunting areas that will hold game birds for the club membership to enjoy!  More updates at the June meeting.

The West Deer Police cannot hold their annual Hunter Safety course in August this year due to date conflicts with their Community Days event.  Bull Creek has partnered with them for the past 10 years or so.  The Board voted to move this course to Bull Creek tentatively on August 6th and 7th.  The date will be confirmed shortly and posted here.  Sign-ups for Hunter Safety Courses are all done online now at the game Commission's website.

2010 Bull Creek Annual Picnic; Last years picnic chairman cannot run the event this year.  We need someone to step up to help out.  On the plus side, it was decided we were too close to the event (August) to try and sell fundraising tickets so the Board voted to approve all monies from the general fund.  If you are able to chair the picnic committee this year you will not have to worry about tickets.

The clubhouse water quality was addressed (again).  With the new restrooms completed it was decided to look into a new Culligan Water system (or update the old one) ASAP.  the new fixtures are already showing discoloration due to the high sulfur content of the well water. One of the Board members has volunteered  to head this up.

New red traffic lights are now installed on the shooting ranges. Use these when going out to hang targets. This is a new safety feature! The 30 yard range has a new wire mesh backstop. We are experimenting with it to see if it is more durable. Please hang targets with wood clothes pins.

The Youth Rifle Shoot will be held on August 29th from12 noon to 5PM. If you would like to volunteer to help please email bullcreekinfo@gmail.com.  This will be open to kids age 8 to 16 and will use .22 caliber only.  Sign up information will be posted soon.

Valley Trap League At Bull Creek

Just a quick reminder that Bull Creek is at home the next 2 weeks in the valley Trap League.  The league shoots Tuesday's with sign up times 5PM to 8PM.