Spring Creek Angler Use Survey 2014 A Spring Creek Chapter Project
In the Spring and early Summer of 2014, the chapter conducted a comprehensive survey of the fishing activity on Spring Creek in conjunction with the PA Fish and Boat Commission.
This study covered 8 miles of Spring Creek over a 4 ½ month period. Seventeen volunteers covered 154, two hour shifts putting in a total of 308 hours. Some anglers were interviewed to determine how many fish they caught, size, species, how long they fished, etc.
2014 Survey Results Slide Show
1976 Angler Survey
The first angler survey on Spring Creek was
conducted by James Hartzler, a graduate student at Penn State. He
surveyed anglers on a 3-mile reach from Benner Spring to the upstream
boundary of Fisherman’s Paradise. The survey ran from opening day in
April to June 20, 1976. This reach had been stocked with 6,268
hatchery trout. There were no tackle restrictions, and the daily bag
limit was 8 trout.
Fishing pressure during the early part of the
1976 was intense, but gradually fell to low levels by mid June. Catch
rates of trout were rather modest – 0.22 trout/hr. Nearly all angled
trout were stocked, and most of them were harvested.
1988-1989 Angler Survey
The next angler survey was conducted by the
Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Penn State.
The survey ran from June 1 to November 30, 1988 and from March 15 to May 31,
1989. Three stream reaches were surveyed: upstream of Highway 550 to
Hartle’s bridge, Fisherman’s Paradise, and Benner Spring.
Conditions on Spring Creek were much different
during this survey than during the 1976 survey. Owing to pollution of
Spring Creek with kepone and mirex, trout stocking was greatly reduced in
1978 and completely eliminated by 1981. Chemical pollution prompted
the Fish and Boat Commission to institute a new pollution regulation in
1982, which prohibited harvest of any fish from Spring Creek. The
stream was open to year-round fishing and there were no tackle restrictions,
except at Fisherman’s Paradise, where flies-only regulations remained in
effect.
The elimination of harvest and the cessation of
stocking along with environmental improvements apparently benefitted wild
brown trout. Between 1980 and 1988 density and biomass of wild brown
trout more than doubled in Spring Creek. This remarkable increase in
wild brown trout was evident in the results of the 1988-1989 angler survey.
During this survey, fishing pressure was spread
more evenly across all months, compared to the 1976. Perhaps, more
importantly, catch rates of wild trout were much improved over those when
fishery relied on stocked trout. Data in the following table
compare fishery statistics at Benner Spring from April to June.
Anglers in 1988-1989
|
|
Hours/mile |
Trout/hour |
Catch/mile |
|
1976 |
7,150 |
0.22
|
856 |
|
1988-1989 |
3,106 |
1.35
|
4,193 |
were faced with much lower fishing pressure than
in 1976, and at same time had much greater catch rates.
Fishery statistics for the entire 1988-1989
survey period were rather impressive.
|
|
Hours/mile |
Trout/hour |
Catch/mile |
|
Benner Spring |
6,908 |
1.25 |
8,702 |
|
Fisherman’s Paradise |
8,579 |
0.77 |
7,019 |
|
Highway 550 |
2,695 |
1.29 |
3,835 |
Fishing pressure was highest at Fisherman’s
Paradise, but catch rates were substantially lower than at the other
reaches. Fishing pressure was lowest in the Highway 550 reach, because
of limited access. At that time there was no public access and parking
was limited. The Benner Spring reach was entirely on public land and
access was good; hence, fishing pressure was rather high.
At the same time that anglers were being
surveyed, the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife-Research Unit was
conducting studies to estimate the number of wild brown in each of these
survey reaches. With both population data and fishery data in hand,
one can compute how often each age-1 and older trout (>6”) was caught by
anglers. The computation is simply catch/mile divided by estimated
numbers of trout/mile. At Fisherman’s Paradise, each brown trout was
caught on average 5.4 times during the survey period. In the Benner
Spring reach, trout were captured 6.4 times. It is noteworthy that
there were no tackle restrictions at the Benner Spring reach and bait
anglers accounted for 52% of the fishing pressure. This was one of
the first studies to demonstrate that successful catch-and-release trout
fisheries can be maintained while still allowing the use of bait.
2006 Angler Survey
The Spring Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited
sponsored an angler-use survey on two reaches of Spring Creek starting on
opening day and ending June 30, 2006. The purpose of the survey was to
estimate fishing pressure (angler hours) and compare results to those
collected during a survey in 1988 and 1989. One stream reach extended
from the Highway 550 bridge upstream to the next bridge. The other
reach was Fisherman’s Paradise.
The goal of the survey was to count all anglers
in each reach once per day during the 78-day survey period. Times of
day, when counts were made, were randomly chosen. Counts were made by
volunteers. A total of 60 counts were made on the State Highway 550
reach and 50 counts at Fisherman’s
Fishing pressure in 2006 was substantially higher
than in 1988-1989. The increase was most dramatic in the State Highway
550 reach where angler-use increased from 1,318 hours/mile to 6,989
hours/mile - a 430% increase. A change in ownership and improved
access surely contributed to some of this increase. In 1988 and 1989,
all land along the State Highway 550 reach was in private ownership, though
there was no posting. Now most of the reach is owned by the PA Fish
and Boat Commission, and there is ample parking. At Fisherman’s
Paradise, use increased from 4,068 to 8,146 angler-hours/mile - a 100%
increase. Of course here, all lands surrounding the
Volunteers did not interview anglers; hence, we do not know the length of
each fishing trip. In 1988 and 1989, trip length ranged from
Clearly, fishing pressure on Spring Creek is
quite high. To put these data in perspective, we can compare results
with a statewide survey of wild trout streams that was conducted by the Fish
and Boat Commission in 2004. They surveyed two size classes of streams
- those less than 6 meters (about 20 feet) wide and those more than 6 meters
wide, which included Spring Creek. From a survey that included 200
stream segments, it was estimated that the larger streams had 239
angler-hours/mile from opening day to
Why
expend so much effort and time on this project?
One of the most compelling reasons we can use to
justify the protection and enhancement of Spring Creek is the positive
economic impact angling has on the surrounding communities. To
estimate economic benefits of a fishery, one must know how many anglers
participate and have a measure of how much they spend. One such
measure of expenditures is distance traveled. Angler use surveys can
provide these kinds of data.
Results of angler use surveys can provide a great
deal of other kinds of data that will help the Fish and Boat Commission
better manage this resource. The last intensive angler survey was
conducted in 1988-1989. Although the angling regulations have not
changed since then, there have been many changes in land ownership, access,
habitat improvements, and fishing pressure. We need up-to-date
information on this fishery to determine how it may have changed over the
past 25 years, to assess the quality of the fishery, and to measure angler
opinions of the fishery.
Robert Carline
Article on Angler Survey March 16, 2014 in Centre Daily Times by Mark Nale - Click Here
