Annual Little Mahoning Creek Spring Macroinvertebrate and Water Quality Sampling

May 11th @ 6:00pm the Ken Sink Trout Unlimited Chapter will meet at the Millstone pullout on East Creek Road, east of Rochester Mills, for our “Annual Little Mahoning Creek Spring Macroinvertebrate and Water Quality Sampling”. All members are welcome to participate and are asked to observe current CDC protocols for outdoor activities based on your current vaccination status. Please contact Keith Ewing at goirish50@gmail.com with any questions.

Turn east off SR 119 onto East Creek Road toward Rochester Mills. Follow East Creek Road past Rochester Mills and look for the Millstone pullout on the right hand side of the road. If you cross over Cessna Run you have gone too far! See you there!

PFBC information on statewide trout opening day...

 

TROUT SEASON - 2021

STATEWIDE OPENING DAY

April 3, 2021 (one opening day in 2021)

(How these dates are determined)

Regional Opening Day Counties (same opening day for all counties in 2021)
All waters in Adams, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill and York counties (County Guide).

Streams on county borders that are part of Regional Opening Day:

• Mahantango Creek, between Northumberland and Dauphin counties. This is the ONLY stream in Northumberland Co. opening on the earlier date.
• West Branch Mahantango Creek, between Snyder and Juniata counties. This is the ONLY stream in Snyder Co. opening on the earlier date.
• Two streams in Carbon County -- Lizard Creek and Mahoning Creek.

TIME: 8 a.m.
MINIMUM SIZE: Seven (7) inches
FISHING HOURS: 24 hours a day, after the 8 a.m. opener
CREEL LIMITS:

Regular season (opening day thru Labor Day)

• 5 (combined species)

Extended season (Jan. 1-Feb. 15) & (day after Labor Day-Dec. 31)

• 3 (combined species)

Creel limits apply to the majority of trout fishing waters. Other rules apply for Special Regulation Areas. Anglers should consult the Summary of PA Fishing Laws and Regulations for more details.

PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION: SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION

 Good article on forest reclamation of abandoned mining sites.

Pennsylvania Fish nd Boat Commission sponsored “Women’s Intro to Fly Fishing (2-Part) Program” !

 “Women’s Intro to Fly Fishing (2-Part) Program” !

Because of the interest, PFBC is offering ANOTHER free VIRTUAL REGISTRATION OPENS – March 17, 2021 8a.m. EST

Program Details –

WHEN – April 21st and 22nd , 2021 (6:15p.m.-8:30p.m. both nights) – Participants MUST attend both evenings.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, as we mail out a booklet to those of you who register. REGISTER BY March 26, 2021.

REGISTRATION LINK - https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/166093

ALL who complete the 2 part virtual program will be invited to participate in future on-water fly fishing program opportunities.

PART 1 – April 21, 2021 6:15 p.m.-8:30p.m.

Participants learn about the basics of fly fishing equipment (rod, reel, line, leader), how it all goes together, 2 basic knots, 2 basic casts.

PART 2 – April 22, 2021 6:15p.m. - 8:30p.m.

Participants learn about the basics of aquatic insect identification, comparing live insects to the artificial fly, basics on the difference between dry flies, nymphs and streams, how to "read" the water (where to find fish)and how to catch and release your fish.

KSTU "Two Lick Creek Macroinvertebrate Survey Project" - Spring 2021

Here are some photos from a macro survey conducted March 22, 2021, on Two Lick Creek by members of KSTU. Samples were taken at 3 locations by the kick net method. We found great numbers and great diversity in 2 of the spots. Stoneflies, hellgrammites, caddis larvae, and mayfly nymphs were especially abundant. Thanks to everyone that participated.

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Diving into science helps one young angler appreciate fishing.

Read a great article here (Diving into science helps one young angler appreciate fishing.) written by a Youth Member of our chapter, Lily Palfrey. I met her at our 2020 Fly Tying Class last January (pre Covid-19). She and her sisters were great young people, attentive to instruction and coming out as fine beginning fly-tiers. Hopefully our class will return in the future. in the meantime, enjoy this fine bit of writing by a great young lady.

Little Mahoning Creek Canoe/Kayak Launch Rehabilitation and Improvement Project

 KSTU has received a grant from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in the amount of $3260.00. This grant is to help in the cost of the rehabilitation and improvement of the Little Mahoning Creek Canoe/Kayak Public Access Site. This launch is located just east of State Route 119 on State Route 1038 (the road to Rochester, also known as East Creek Road). The plan is to expand parking space and improve the trail and the water entry. Site work should begin this spring/summer, though it is both weather and water level dependent to accomplish. At this time any volunteer in-kind work by KSTU members has not been clearly defined. We will put out a call should there be such a need. Watch this blog for updates as we proceed.

KSTU Board Meeting Minutes

Playing a little catch-up here as we enter spring. The following links will take you to the minutes of the board meetings that have been held on Zoom for the past few months. Hopefully, we will soon be enabling member meetings again, virtually speaking. Any questions on the minutes, email Keith Ewing or Bob Sagely and we will do our best to answer them.

December 2020

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

The Story of Ken Sink

As a member of the Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and as a fairly recent resident of Indiana County, I have often wondered who the man was that was deemed important enough to have a chapter of a national organization like Trout Unlimited named for him. So, I did some digging. This is what I found out about the man named Ken Sink.

Ken Sink is what we would call an activist. He was extremely active in the cause of conservation and was a man who didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk. He distinguished himself by providing personal outstanding service in support of conservation, not only of Pennsylvania’s aquatic resources, but also on a national scale. He organized and helped structure TU chapters throughout Pennsylvania to achieve better habitat, improve water conditions and better fishing wherever he went. He served as state and national president of Trout Unlimited and as National Chairman of Trout Unlimited. During his lifetime he was Mr. Trout Unlimited.

However, Ken Sink didn’t just limit himself to TU activities. He was active in youth organizations and garnered the Silver Beaver and Antelope awards from the Boy Scouts of America. He also was active in educating young people on the outdoors and spent countless hours doing so through such organizations as United Way, Camp William Penn, The Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club and the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recognized Ken for all his work in conservation and with the youth of Pennsylvania by awarding him the Ralph W. Abele Conservation Heritage award in 1991. Ken was the first recipient of this annual award. The accolades that came with the award demonstrated the life long effort of Ken’s support for the environment stating Ken, “... played a leading role in reclaiming and enhancing a major significant natural water resource within the Commonwealth”.

So now you know a little bit more about who Ken Sink was and what he stood for. We at the TU chapter that carries his name are working diligently to maintain the work Ken showed us what needed to be done back then. It still needs done today. Can you help? Sure! We’d love to have you join us in maintaining the work to keep our pristine waters open and available to all who wish to use them.

Like us on our Facebook page if you’ve a mind. If you are interested in joining our chapter leave a comment and our secretary will contact you with the “how-to”information you’ll need. And if you have a personal story about Ken you would like to share, by all means do by leaving a comment about that!

Tight lines, go fishing and remember: “Catching fish is just a bonus!”

About the author: Alexander “Barrie” Mann is currently serving as KSTU Vice-president and has been a valuable and active member. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our chapter and is much appreciated by his fellow officers and board members.

KSTU FACEBOOK

 Looking for another good fly fishing resource and additional information on the Ken Sink Chapter... look no further! Visit this link and enjoy!

Winter 2021 Tributaries newsletter

 Click this link for the latest KSTU Tributaries newsletter.