The Hokendauqua Chapter of Trout Unlimited is offering a free "Fly Fishing Basics for Women" clinic7/13/2024 ![]() Fly fishing is the ultimate fishing experience especially when a trout slurps a fly off the water and the tug on the line coming from a long and limber fly rod is unlike any sensation of a spinning or baitcasting rod. It’s a fish and angler battle that is second to none. And although most fly fishermen are males, there are a few women who opt to enjoy the sport. Not only is fly fishing an enjoyable experience, it requires finesse and patience. Traits women seem to have better than their male counterparts. As such, and for ladies who would like to give this life-long sport a try but don’t know where to start, the Hokendauqua Chapter of Trout Unlimited will host a “Fly Fishing Basics for Women” clinic that will provide expert training from experienced, veteran fly fishers. The clinic will take place on Saturday, September 21 in the Social Hall and on the lawn of Egypt Fire Company No. 1, located at 4099 Kuhn Lane, Whitehall. While the clinic is still two months away, it’s limited to 15 participants so as to insure each lady gets one-on-one instruction. So first come, first served. The clinic will run from 8 a.m. and will end at noon. It’s free and will offer bottled water, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and donuts for those in attendance. Covered will be a short introduction to fly fishing and will include equipment needed, natural trout food, hand-tied flies, necessary knots and fly casting. And according to Dale Ott, long time TU member and instructor, all equipment will be provided. To register, contact Dave Abraham at 610-844-3459 or email him at [email protected]. Additional information can be found on the Hokendauqua Chapter’s website (Hokendauqua.tu.org/Hokendauqua/current-events. Or simply go to “Hokendauqua Trout.” Trout Unlimited is a national organization with 150,000 members and 400 chapters whose mission is to conserve, protect and restore North American’s cold-water fisheries and watersheds. Their goal is to ensure that robust populations of native and wild cold-water fish will once again thrive in their North American range so future generations can enjoy healthy fisheries in their home waters. The Hokendauqua Chapter was officially chartered in 1987 and their primary focus is on the Hokendauqua Creek and its tributaries in Northampton County, and this has expanded to the Coplay Creek in Lehigh County. One aspect of their work is local stream-bank stabilization and restoration. But that’s not all chapter members do. It has sponsored Eagle Scout and Girl Scout projects along the banks of the Hokey Creek, as it’s known, and sponsors at least one student per summer to the Rivers Conservation and Fly-Fishing Youth Camp at Boiling Springs, PA. The chapter has also been in schools with their First Cast program that instructs youths to pond fish during the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Jakes Youth Field Day at Ontelaunee Rod & Gun Club each August. For adults, the chapters’ Project Healing Waters benefits disabled veterans through fly tying and fly-fishing instructions. This also includes first responders. For the ladies, they are involved in the fishing segment for Women in the Outdoors program along with weekend fly fishing retreats for women who have had breast cancer. In addition, they hold refresher fly tying classes at Northampton Middle School on Saturday mornings in January and February. It’s an active chapter that promotes and perpetuates the sport of fishing, especially fly fishing.
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![]() Since 1883 the Lil-Le-Hi Trout Nursery has been a family and educational attraction in the Lehigh Valley. Located on most appropriately Fish Hatchery Road in Allentown, the nursery is a place families gather to feed the trout and see the different stages of their growth from fingerlings to lunker breeders that take a few years to grow for stocking in area streams. The Pennsylvania Fish Commission provides the fingerlings from their hatcheries and an initial amount of food that the trout were accustomed to eating at the hatcheries. Then, the Lil-Le-Hi nursery volunteers from Lehigh County Fish and Game, Pioneer Fish and Game and Trout Creek Fish and Game associations continue feeding and maintaining the ponds that the trout are raised in. The City of Allentown maintains the property but all the other work is done by these three sportsmen groups. At the brief meeting this past Saturday, Herb Gottschall, Lehigh F&G President and Harry Monk, nursery manager, convened a meeting to announce that the three clubs have merged their volunteer services that will be known as Queen City Sportsmen’s Association. The benefit, said Monk, is that when it’s time to clean the rearing ponds generally in the past only four or five members from a club would show up to do the chores. But today, the nursery had the benefit of 20 members from all three clubs that met to scrub, wash and rinse the ponds in preparation for a new batch of fingerlings to arrive later this month from a fish commission hatchery. The holding ponds are normally cleaned twice a week so the combined member volunteers can get the job done quicker in a cooperative effort. And to do so the trout are moved from one pond to a cleaned one so that pond can be cleaned. The fish are rotated this way to maintain a healthy environment and to prevent diseases. When asked if there will be another stocking from the nursery a club member said they have 2,000 trout to stock, but are waiting for cooler weather and higher water levels, two conditions that trout prefer. So the next time you visit the nursery, keep in mind it’s the three volunteer clubs that provide this Lehigh County attraction which is one of the oldest continuously operated trout nurseries in the country. It’s a gem that we took our children to when they were youngsters and until this day, they make periodic visits there to feed the trout the nourishing pellets that the volunteer club members bag for sale to visitors. ![]() With July 4 being a Fish for Free Day in Pennsylvania, when a fishing license is not needed, those fishing trout streams need to take precautions when fishing for them during summer heat conditions. According to the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, trout thrive in cool (below 68 degrees), clean, well-oxygenated water. They go on to explain that during summer months, when water levels and flows decrease due to lack of rainfall, water temperatures rise and dissolved oxygen decreases, which in turn causes additional stress on trout. As such, anglers are reminded to consider these conditions and take some personal responsibility when fishing or trout during these periods of stress. The PFBC recommends the following practices. *Fish early in the morning when water temperatures are cooler. *Land a hooked fish quickly – do not “play” the fish. *After landing a fish, release it as quickly as possible without removing it from the water. *Avoid fishing when water temperatures are above 67 degrees. One area stream that maintains a decent temperature year-round is the Little Lehigh. And despite not being stocked since the last inseason stocking, there are still some trout remaining and anglers who fish in cool morning hours often fish the deep holes and catch a trout or two. Fly fishermen also work the riffles, where water is more oxygenated, with fly’s that match the hatch. The upper Jordan Creek is productive especially near the game lands. There are also native trout in Cedar Creek in the Rose Garden stretch where one fly angler customarily fishes it but releases them. If going to the South Jersey shore for the July 4 holiday, the best bet says On the Water Magazine is to target some kingfish off the beaches with small pieces of worms tipped on rigs. The Delaware Bay and Cape May beaches are probably the best spots to look for these fish. But it’s recommended you bring a few different soft plastics like Fin-S Fish or Zoom Flukes for potential weakfish. Anglers looking for sheepshead should grab some crabs or sand fleas and hit the backwater bridges. Fluke fishing on the other hand seems to be slower everywhere last week. If you have a hankering for Old Bay steamed crabs, pick up some bunker from a local tackle shop and hit the bays or tidal creeks for Jersey blue claws. Crabbing has been on fire! Opting to fish North Jersey, Kyle Tanger at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach, said fluking in the Manasquan River has been really good especially farther back with fish up to 22 inches being caught. Cold water has hurt the surf fishing somewhat, except for those targeting sharks as that bite is pretty good. One South Whitehall restaurant used to have shark bites on the menu and they are delightful. There’s also good fluking reports from the Sea Girt Reef, along with some bonito being caught offshore on jigs. The offshore tuna bite has been spotty because of the weather. Tanger added that there are loads of sand eels at Little Italy where anglers have been sight fishing for cobia. If you’re an avid birder, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) is looking to hire you as a volunteer to count birds. The PGC, along with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, have partnered to conduct the third Pennsylvania Bird Atlas in Pennsylvania. And the birds they’re talking about are the birds you see in your backyard, around camp, while hiking or just making outside observations. The PGC said those numbers are more important than you think. The count between now and Feb. 2029, will document what birds live in Pennsylvania, where and in what numbers. The agency goes on to explain that the Atlas will provide a snapshot of the population status and distribution of birds in the Commonwealth. PGC Ornithologist Sean Murphy said, “No other bird surveys are as comprehensive, and the results are critical to the establishment of conservation priorities for Pennsylvania birds.” The PGC and Hawk Mountain are asking volunteers to look for birds, and report those at eBird (https://ebird.org/atlaspa. Step one to getting started is visiting the site and creating an account. Then, volunteers can access the information and tools to participate, including a handbook and other printable handouts. It will also enable you to see what others are seeing in real time. Amber Wiewel, of Hawk Mountain, is the atlas full-time coordinator but there are paid bird counters as well. Atlas data comes from volunteers ranging from hard-core birders to more casual lovers of wildlife. “Results of the atlas are useful only if the data is plentiful as more checklists the better,” says the PGC. And volunteers are needed from all areas of the state, especially from people living in more remote parts where there are fewer birds. This data is valuable as it helps fill in holes on the map where birds would otherwise go unreported. And one of these areas are state game lands that can be hard to access and challenging to survey. Historically, Pennsylvania did its first atlas in the 1980s and the second followed in early 2000s. The results showed good and bad news. The good news was that catbirds were doing well as 12 percent of the world’s population lives in Pennsylvania – as are woodpeckers of all sorts. On the bad side, American goshawks and northern harriers are struggling. In this respect, I’ve noticed fewer robins here compared to 10 years ago. But perhaps it’s my location. Same with kestrels. On the other hand, blue jays appear to be plentiful. Breeding birds are also a focus of the Atlas as are birds overwintering in the state. It’s the PGC’s contention that we have much to learn about the distribution and abundance of birds in Pennsylvania, especially in winter. And whether an observer submits data for one nesting species or 100, it all goes towards the Atlas. REPORT TURKEY SIGHTINGS And while you’re counting birds, the PGC is again asking the public to report seeing wild turkeys this summer. The Annual Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey that runs July 1 through Aug. 31. This information is important for determining wild turkey population management and wild turkey productivity for long-term reproductive success. Turkey sightings can be reported through the PGC’s website at https://pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/TurkeyBrood Survey. Participants are asked to report the number of wild turkeys they see, along with the county, township, wildlife management unit, date and contact information, in the event PGC biologists have any questions.
![]() Around this time of year, young wildlife begin to appear be it in backyards, woodlands and mountainous areas. And according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, folks who encounter these wildlife may think that they are abandoned, but most time they are not as a watchful parent is nearby and most likely gathering food for them. And the wildlife could be a bird, deer fawn, opossum, gosling, squirrel, fox, raccoon or even a newborn bear cub that could be an especially dangerous situation as its foraging mother can charge you unexpectedly. “Well intentioned folks might step in to help a young animal or bird that appears to be alone, not realizing its mother is nearby and it’s not in need of help,” said Matthew Schnupp, PGC wildlife management director. “That’s one reason why leaving young wildlife alone in the wild.” Schnupp goes on to say that adult animals often leave their young while they search for food, but they don’t go far and they do return. Wildlife often rely on a natural defensive tactic called the “hider strategy,” where young animals will remain motionless and “hide” in surrounding cover while adults draw the attention of potential predators or other intruders away from their young. Deer use this strategy as deer fawns sometimes are assumed to be abandoned, when in fact the mothers are nearby. Added to this, deer fawns have spots to better conceal them in the wild. Approach a Canada goose nest where the female is laying on eggs and the mother, or nearby father, or both, will charge an intruder. Schnupp advises that such contact can be harmful to both people and wildlife. Wild animals can lose their natural fear of humans, making it difficult, even impossible, for them to live normally ever again in the wild. And anytime wildlife is handled, there’s always a risk people could contract diseases or parasites such as fleas, ticks and lice. Wildlife that becomes habituated to humans also can pose a public safety risk. Schupp recalls that some years ago a yearling buck attacked and severely injured two people. An investigation revealed a neighboring family had illegally taken the deer into their home to feed it as a fawn. Then continued to feed the deer right up until the time of the attack. Bothering wildlife can also have other consequences since it’s illegal to take or possess wildlife from the wild. And under state law, the penalty for such a violation is a fine of up to $1,500 per animal. The law states that under no circumstances will anyone who illegally takes wildlife into captivity, be allowed to keep that animal and under a working agreement with state health officials, any “high risk’ rabies vector species confiscated after human contact must be euthanized and tested; none can be returned to the wild because the risk of spreading disease is too high. Folks need to know that animals infected with rabies might not show obvious symptoms, but still might be able to transmit the disease. Though any mammal might carry rabies, the rabies vector species identified in the agreement are skunks, raccoons, foxes, bats, coyotes and groundhogs. Schnupp warns that people can get rabies from the saliva of a rabid animal if they are bitten or scratched, of if saliva gets into the person’s eyes, mouth or a fresh wound. Only wildlife rehabilitators, who are licensed the PGC, are permitted to care for injured or orphaned wildlife, for the purposes of eventual release back into the wild. If you find such an animal, the PGC recommends contacting a wildlife rehabilitator on the Pennsylvania Association of Wildlife Rehabilitators website, www.pawr.com. If you have trouble finding that then contact the PGC by phone at 833-PGC-WILD or 833-PGC-HUNT. ![]() For all you waterfowl hunters, the Pennsylvania Game Commission in conjunction with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have set Pennsylvania’s 2024-25 migratory game bird hunting seasons with one change that will affect local hunters. Amanda Hoyt, Pennsylvania Game Commissions Waterfowl Biologist, said the most significant change for the upcoming season is that the regular season length for Canada geese in the Atlantic Population has been decreased from 45 to 30 days, but the daily bag limit remains at three. The reason for this said Hoyt, “Is that the population fell below the threshold for a liberal season, hence the harvest strategy mandates a shorter hunting season for this population.” For several years we’d see loads of Canada geese on Trexler Park, Dorney Park and Cedar Creek ponds plus Leaser and Minsi lakes. But recently the numbers there seem to be surprisingly low. So Hoyt’s call seems to be appropriate. During the upcoming seasons, if hunters bag banded birds be it ducks, geese, doves and woodcock, sportsmen are encouraged to report their banded harvest online at www.reportband.gov. On it you’ll be asked information on where, when and what species of migratory banded birds were taken as well as the band number. Your information helps the Fish and Wildlife Service to learn migratory bird movements, survival and harvest rates which are critical to population management and setting of hunting regulations. The new seasons are as follows: *North Zone: Ducks, sea ducks, coots and mergansers, Oct. 12-26 and Nov. 19-Jan. 11. *South Zone: Ducks, sea ducks, coots and mergansers, Oct. 12-19, and Nov. 19-Jan. 18. Total Duck Bag Limits. 6 daily, 18 in possession of any species except for the following restrictions: daily limit may not include more than 4 mallards including no more than 2 hen mallards, 2 black ducks, 3 wood ducks, 2 redheads, 2 canvasbacks, 1 pintail, 4 sea ducks; including no more than 3 eiders and no more than 1 female eider, 3 long-tailed ducks, and 3 scoters. *Resident Population Goose Zone: This includes all of Pennsylvania except for the Atlantic Population zone; Sept. 2-25 (8 goose daily bag limit); and Oct. 26-Nov. 29, Dec. 16-Jan. 18 and Jan. 31-Feb. 22 (5 goose limit in latter 3 segments). *Atlantic Population Zone: This area is from east of SR 97 from Maryland State Line to the intersection of SR 194, east of SR 194 to the intersection of US Route 30, south of US Route 30 to SR 441, east of SR 441 to SR 743, east of SR 743 to intersection of I-81, east of I-81 to intersection of I-80, and south of I-80 to NJ state line: Sept, 2-25 (8-goose daily bag limit); and Nov. 23-29 and Dec. 23-Jan. 18 (3 goose limit in latter two segments. *Light Geese (Snow Geese and Ross’ Geese) Atlantic Population Zone: Regular season; Oct. 22-Feb. 22; 25 daily, no possession limit. Conservation Order: Feb. 24-April 25; 25 daily, no possession limit. This is the longest season and highest possession limit of any waterfowl species mainly because there are too many snow geese and they are literally eating their breeding grounds out of house-and-home as the old saying goes. That, and when they do arrive here in the Lehigh/Northampton counties, they can devour an entire winter wheat crop field in short order. ![]() Despite the rainy weather we’ve been having, avid anglers are braving the wetness an continue to catch trout in local streams. On 4-29, the Little Lehigh and Swabia creeks were stocked and on 5-6, Coplay and Trout creeks were freshly stocked with trout. A friend fished Coplay Creek before the rains came and managed to catch and release three nice trout and one smaller one that he had to keep because it swallowed the hook. And while trout action continues, shad are still coming up the Delaware River. On Thursday, May 10, Steve Meserve of the Lewis Fishery, a commercial shad operation in the lower Delaware, put out 200 yards of netting and the result, he admitted, was a slow night as they only netted 7 buck and 5 roe shad. They also returned 11 shad, one smallmouth bass, one sucker, four gizzard shad, a carp and two quillbacks. But down at the New Jersey shore, jumbo stripers and black drum are hitting. On the Water Magazine reports large 40-inch bass are taking clams in the surf, while black drum up to 60 pounds are also hitting clams. Bluefish too are there and hitting minnow plugs in the surf and local rivers. Backwater fluke action remains steady after the season opener. Phil Sciortino from the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported big bass showed up on the ocean front and guys are crushing them by trolling eels with planer boards. One customer had 22 fish from 35-48 pounds from newly arriving stripers that are coming from either the Chesapeake or Delaware. He added that fluking started out good off Sandy Hook with fish up to 25 inches that are being taken on spearing, killies and bucktails tipped with Gulp bait. There is also a fair amount of bluefish around and being caught on almost anything be it chunks, metals, poppers and minnow plugs. Joe Julian at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands, said the keeper fluke bite has been good around Bug Light on squid, spearing and live killies. Julian said there are some big stripers around so look to bays for keeper size fish. Blues are in the Manasquan Inlet and are falling for metals and topwaters. He expects more blues to come. Mike Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright, reported the plug bite for bass is good. There are more keeper size fish in the mix than in weeks past. The plug bite he reports seems to be more productive in the surf at night and over-slot fish are being caught on swimming plugs after dark. There are also a healthy mix of gator blues in the surf and rivers and they’re hitting mostly minnow plugs like SP Minnows and Mag Darters, so he recommends boosting your leader strength to avoid losing lures to the yellow-eyed demons. If going to the shore, they recommend seeking out some sandy structure or keep an eye out for tailing bluefish, then start throwing pencils and minnow plugs. ![]() If you were one of the hunters who had to wait a long time for an antlerless deer hunting license last year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission says that shouldn’t happen this year as they have a new sales plan. In fact, they’re guaranteeing that most resident hunters will get an antlerless license in the Wildlife Management Unit of their choice, as long as they do so before sales to nonresidents begin. The PGC explains the new plan as such: Antlerless licenses again will be sold over the counter and online. But when 2024-25 general hunting licenses go on sale to residents at 8 a.m. Monday, June 24, antlerless licenses for only WMUs 1B, 2G and 3A will be sold. For three days, antlerless licenses only will be available for these WMUs which typically sell out the fastest and drive much of the customer demand seen at the start of sales. However, there is no guarantee in getting a license in these WMUs as they’ll be sold on a first come basis until the allocated number of licenses is exhausted. On Thursday, June 27, antlerless licenses for the remaining 19 WMUs will go on sale to residents. Residents seeking licenses in any of these WMUs won’t need to wait in line for them; they’ll be guaranteed to get one, as long as they buy before 7 a.m. on Monday, July 8, when the resident-only portion of the first round of sales ends. Once the nonresident portion of the first round begins at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 8, all remaining licenses will be sold on a first come, first serve basis until the allocated number of licenses is exhausted. The PGC says these changes to the sales schedule and process should work in tandem to reduce wait times for hunters buying licenses throughout the first round. They contend that by opening antlerless license sales initially in the three WMUs that are likely to sell out the fastest, and taking the others out of the mix, demand can be better met for those license buyers who need it most. And by guaranteeing an antlerless license to a resident hunter in any other WMU from June 27 to July 8, it largely eliminates the need to stand in line, allows demand to be spread out over more than a week and gives hunters greater flexibility to buy at a time that’s convenient for them. The agency goes on to says that even then, there are sure to be plenty of licenses left in most WMUs. Last year, when antlerless sales were sold over the counter and online for the first time, only WMU 2G sold out before sales to nonresidents began. WMUs 1B and 3A sold out on the final days of the first round. Licenses for every other WMU were available into the second round. Some WMUs sold out quickly thereafter while others made it to a third or fourth round of sales. Aside from high-demand WMUs first, the sales schedule and process is similar to last year where a hunter is limited to buying one antlerless license per round in the first three rounds. Sales begin at 8 a.m. on the first day of any round, and there will be no sales between 7 a.m. and 7:59 a.m. on the first day a round opens. This allows for online customers to join the buying queue. The second round of sales begins on Monday, July 22 at 8 a.m. and the third round begins Monday, Aug. 12, at 8 a.m.
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AuthorNick Hromiak has been an outdoors and automotive writer for over 30 years. He's been published in numerous national and state-wide outdoor magazines and newspapers.
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