Fourmile Run Moneymaker for Commission

By Bob Frye

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission loses money each year on opening weekend of trout season when it dumps fish into Long Run in Tioga County. But Fourmile Run in Westmoreland County is a veritable gold mine.

According to a new cost-benefit analysis of the 2007 trout season, anglers spent an estimated $3,107 to take 42 trips to Long Run on the first two days of trout season in 2007. The commission, though, spent $3,969 — at $1.89 per fish — to stock the stream with 2,100 trout in the preseason.

The commission “lost” $952 those first two days there. None of the other 75 waters sampled in the state did that poorly.

Westmoreland County’s Fourmile Run, by comparison, was a moneymaker.

There, anglers spent an estimated $64,391 on 380 fishing trips opening weekend. Because the commission spent just $4,158 to stock the stream in the preseason with 2,000 fish, the result was a “profit” of $60,233.

Only one other waterway — Jordan Creek in Lehigh County — did better, profiting $92,71 on opening weekend last year.

The commission did the survey as part of an ongoing effort to make the best use of stocked trout.

The commission plans to stock just more than 3.44 million adult trout this year. That’s down from more than 5.1 million a half dozen years ago.

It’s unlikely, given hatchery constraints, that the commission will ever be able to reach that higher figure again, so it needs to maximize the value of its fish, commission president Bill Sabatose of Jefferson County said at a recent meeting.

“I think we’ve got to do everything we can to get the most we can from our fish and not waste them,” Sabatose said.

Others agree. Russell Greene and Robert Weber of the commission’s coldwater unit did the cost-benefit analysis. Their chief recommendation is for the commission to scale back, and in some cases, eliminate, preseason stockings on the 7.9 percent of waters that show a negative cost-benefit ratio on opening weekend.

Any such changes would have to be approved by commissioners at a future meeting.

Money streams

No streams in Western Pennsylvania wound up on the negative side of the ledger during an analysis of the costs and benefits of stocking trout for opening weekend of the 2007 season.

Here is a look at exactly how much some of those streams “profited” the Fish and Boat Commission and anglers.

Dunbar Creek, Fayette County: $11,348.

Oil Creek, Crawford County: $14,137.

Cowanshannock Creek, Armstrong County: $15,098.

Brush Creek, Indiana County: $17,565.

Cush Creek, Indiana County: $18,891.

Buffalo Creek, Butler County: $24,756.

Little Chartiers Creek, Washington County: $41,720.

Whiteley Creek, Greene County: $46,763.

Statewide, the median “profit” of the 76 streams sampled was $7,158.

(c) 2008 Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.