Groups dispute angling’s impact

Greg Smith feels that what groups such as the Falls Lions Club do on the river is having a negative impact.

Bob Cingolani, a member of the club, feels their actions are fine and don’t harm anything.

Now, it’s up to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to determine who is right.

During its meeting last week, the Fish and Boat Commission Board of Commissioners voted to consider a new rule that would ban all bass fishing tournaments on the Susquehanna River that permit the harvest of fish.

Commission spokesman Dan Tredinnick said anglers have raised concerns about the tournaments and their impact to the bass population. According to agency records, five of the past seven years represented weak recruitment for bass on the river, meaning fewer young fish were surviving to replace the older ones. Tredinnick said the weak recruitment can be attributed to two areas: poor river conditions during the spring spawn and high rates of disease in 2005 and 2006.

“A few anglers approached us and said if we’re worried about the smallmouth bass, then why are we allowing these events,” Tredinnick said. “Biologically, this (tournaments) isn’t something we can say is a problem, but it’s something the commissioners will have to consider.”

A special activities permit, or tournament permit, is required from the Fish and Boat Commission for any organized fishing event with 10 or more anglers that is sponsored by an individual or group or awards trophies or prizes. Under the permit, daily creel limits still apply to each participant and the tournament organizer is required to report the number of fish harvested.

Under the proposal, a tournament permit would be denied for any event that calls for bass to be harvested.

Big effect claimed

Smith, who owns North Branch Outfitters, a fishing guide service on the river in Tunkhannock, feels the tournaments are having a drastic impact on the smallmouth bass population.

“You can see a discernible difference in the size of the fish in the northern section of the river, which is where most of the harvest tournaments are held, compared to other sections,” he said. “It’s impacting the river and the fishery.”

Smith said he knows of at least seven tournaments that harvest fish from the river every year. One club had 106 participants who harvested more than 300 fish for a fish fry after the tournament, he said.

The figures reported to the Fish and Boat Commission regarding the number of fish taken in the tournaments are extremely low and not a good indicator of what is actually being taken from the river, Smith said.

Smith said the tournaments damage smallmouth bass populations because the participants target the larger, older fish and cull the small ones, which usually won’t survive after being placed on a stringer.

“I would like to see a stop to all-kill tournaments. They should be catch-and-release only,” Smith said.

“I don’t have a problem with people keeping a few fish, but to put as much pressure as a tournament puts on the population is a shame. We could have a world-class fishery here.”

Cingolani feels a world-class fishery already exists on the river and tournaments do nothing to harm it. The Falls Lions Club has held an annual river tournament and subsequent fish fry for the past five years as a fundraiser for the group. It usually attracts 50 to 60 anglers, but this year’s event, held in August in Wyoming County, drew 131 anglers who brought in more than 100 fish.

Most of the anglers bring in one or two fish and others practice catch-and-release, Cingolani said. While the tournament is based in Wyoming County, participants fish all over the river, from Falls to West Pittston, thus the angler pressure is dispersed, he added.

“Most of the guys in the tournament fish the river almost daily. Whether we have a tournament or not, they are going to be out there taking fish,” Cingolani said. “I don’t see where it’s having a great impact.”

It takes about 50 fish for the Falls Lions Club to hold the fish fry at the end of its tournament. Cingolani said the club is considering telling anglers not to bring in an excessive number of fish next year. Even so, he feels if the tournament did affect the fishery, it would’ve resulted in a decline in the number of fish brought in over the years.

“This proposed rule would affect our tournament because a lot of guys look forward to the fish fry. It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year and it gets kids, families and communities involved,” Cingolani said. “It doesn’t hurt the resource.”

Tredinnick said once the proposal is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, a 30-day public comment period will begin. The commission could vote on the proposed ban at its spring meeting. If it passes, the law would take effect when bass season opens in June.