Working to improve
Pennsylvania Steelhead fishing for all !

Important notice: The PSA monthly Membership meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, will now be held at 7:00pm!

The next Fall Run PSA Banquet is on

Sat. October 26th! Save the date!

At the Colony Restaurant & Banquet

facility on W. 12th St.!

2018 Fall Run Banquet Highlights:

On November 3rd, the PSA held it’s annual Fall Run Banquet at the Colony Banquet and Catering Center. We honored a number of people and organizations that were truly deserving of recognition.

The first groups and individuals honored were part of organizations that have successfully acquired Access for our Steelhead fishery. The individuals honored representing these organizations are hard working and dedicated people that are driven by a passion to keep our beautiful streams and lands open to the public.

Honored Guest and First District Commissioner of the PFBC, Ed Mascharka, spoke about the herculean job these groups have done to work with and find individuals that would be willing to sell property or easements to the PFBC , the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the Lake Erie Region Conservancy. These groups often work with the PFBC to be the Stewards of these properties once maintained.

Commissioner Mascharka introduced Dave Skellie, Coastal Land Use & Economic Specialist from Pennsylvania Sea Grant , who along with Tom Cermak, work hand in hand with Scott Bollinger, (Statewide Public Access Program Manager) of the PFBC, contact land owners and start the process of attaining easement or buying land. They then have to procure all the financing and do appraisals, pre and post, to obtaining the lands.

Also instrumental in the procurement of lands are the Lake Erie Region Conservancy who’s Executive Director is long time are public land steward, Tom Fuhrman. Tom has worked on projects like acquiring the land that became The Bluffs State Park!

Last to mention, but a group that plays a huge role in both land acquisition and stream restoration projects is the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and their Watershed Manager for the Upper Allegheny & Lake Erie, Kylie Maland. “The Western PA Conservancy protects and restores exceptional places to provide our region with CLEAN WATERS and healthy forest, wildlife and NATURAL AREAS for the benefit of present and future generations.” Kylie spoke of the many projects in which the Western Pa Conservancy has been involved in Erie county. Included are the Stop Sign Hole at the Walnut Creek Access Area and the ongoing project of stream restoration on the Conservancy property off of North Creek Road above the railroad tubes.

The Pennsylvania Steelhead Association is very appreciative of all their efforts to enhance our fishery and again wishes to say THANK YOU!

Karl Weixlmann was awarded the PSA Angler Award for 2018!

All were featured in the December 2018 TightLines newsletter.

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Lake Erie International Coastal Cleanup

The 17th Annual Pennsylvania will be held on Saturday September 21, 2019

Once again the PSA will be the site manager at the Walnut Creek Access and Marina during the ICC for at least the 6^th year in a row (this year on Sept. 21^st). Join us at 8:45am to give back a little to help clean up our environment that gives us so much pleasure!

Over 13,000 volunteers from 39 counties across Pennsylvania canvassed their communities to remove over 523,000 pounds of trash and debris from Pennsylvania’s waterways and coastal regions during the 2018 International Coastal Cleanup event.

ICC, the oldest and largest volunteer driven cleanup effort of its kind across the world, is an annual litter and trash cleanup that takes place on the 3rd Saturday of September. Beginning in 1986, with 12 sites on the Texas coastline, ICC has grown to over 6000 sites in over 90 countries with more than 500,000 annual participating volunteers. This is an effort to engage residents, community leaders, organizations and businesses to help keep our waterways clean and trash free for the enjoyment of all. During this wide-spread effort, data is gathered to count the types of trash found and used to develop targeted strategies and education to lessen the amount of trash entering our waterways.

Here in Erie County, local volunteers conduct litter clean-ups along the PA Lake Erie coastline, as well as other waterways in Erie County. The PA Lake Erie ICC was established in 2003 at Presque Isle State Park and has grown through partnerships to be a Lake Erie watershed and Erie County wide event. For the past 16 years, over 17,000 dedicated volunteers at 17 or more sites each year have removed more than 64 tons of trash and 3 tons of recyclables from the Lake Erie shoreline and Erie County water-ways. Last year 692 volunteers at 17 locations picked up 3,184 lbs. of trash in over 300 garbage bags. Also, 26 local schools had cleanup days registered to the ICC with 1912 students picking up an additional 1377 lbs. of trash.

2018 International Cleanup at Walnut Creek Access

So thankful for the 15 volunteers that showed up Saturday September 15 to help with International Coastal Cleanup effort at Walnut Creek Marina today. We picked up 127.7 lbs of trash including 3 or 4 heavy construction material items. The group pictured here includes the first 11 to show up. Many of these guys have been regulars for years!

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At the March 13th, 2019 General Membership meeting the Election of officers resulted in the following:

Office Name

President Marty Grzasko

Vice President Karl Weixlmann

Treasurer Chris Fatica

Secretary Ryan Novatnack

Board Members

Dan Beck Roger Latimer

Ron Miller Frank Sicicchitano

Harold (Skip) Simmons Al Warner

Sam Zacour

The Pennsylvania Steelhead Association is a nonprofit 501(C)3 organization established to enhance and preserve the Steelhead fishery in Pennsylvania including improving public access for Steelhead fishing, encouraging private landowners to maintain public access for Steelhead fishing, implementing stream enhancement and habitat improvement projects for Steelhead, and assisting nonprofit organizations which operate nurseries for spawning or raising Steelhead, or which acquire land or access easements for Steelhead fishing, or which engage in activities which complement the purposes and activities of the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association.

The pages in the Members-only section of the Website are viewable ONLY by PSA Members.

In this Members-only Section you can:

See Past editions of TIGHT LINES (the PSA Newsletter)
Look up contact information for fellow PSA Members
See Member Fishing Reports

You must first log in to access these pages! (See How to Log In in column on left)

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* Check out the photo gallery link in the left column for some nice member fish pics!

Our TightLines newsletters are now sent out in digital form with an email blast. You may print all or part of any newsletter if you prefer to read a hard copy. All recent TightLines are available to read in digital format in the Members Only Content area of the web site. Some examples of our newsletter are listed below. Click on the link of the TightLines newsletter issue below to read the digital version:

March 2017 TightLines 12 Page Newsletter Publication.pdf

April 2017 TightLines 12 Page Newsletter Publication.pdf

October 2017 TightLines Newsletter Publication.pdf

November 2017 TightLines Newsletter Publication.pdf

January 2018 TightLines Newsletter Publication.pdf

February 2018 TightLines Newsletter Publication.pdf

The newest TightLines Digital newsletter, the August 2019 issue is now available in the Member-Only Content area along with 50 other older newsletters! Sign in with your email address and Password to access them.

Meetings are typically held at 7:00 pm on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, August through April @ American Legion Post #773,  4109 West 12th Street, Erie, PA.

There are no meetings scheduled in May, June, or July. The next meeting is September 11th, 2019!

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There has been a change in programs for our fall meetings!

August 14^th Meeting Presenter: Bobby Fragale owner of BF Fly Fishing.

Bobby Fragale has graciously agreed to be our program presenter to kick off the fall Steelhead season. B F Fly Fishing is owned and operated by Bobby. He was born and raised on Steelhead Alley, just a few minutes from Elk Creek. He has been guiding for many years and has spent the last 20 years dialing in the water he guides on today.

At B F Fly Fishing, they try to do more than just put you on fish; they pride themselves on teaching and having you become a better and more confident angler. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned angler, there is always something new to learn or improve on.  B F Fly Fishing has expanded its guide service to include our warm water fishery. Some of the best Smallmouth, Pike, Musky and Trout waters are right in Erie County’s back yard.

In Bobby’s down time, he travels to different fisheries and he’s been lucky enough to grow relationships all over the world. Within his travels, he has had the opportunity to explore many destinations with pristine fisheries, such as Belize, British Columbia and the Olympic Peninsula.

Bobby will discuss all the fishing opportunities available to us in our area! He welcomes discussion and questions as well.

Bobby, at left, participating at our PSA site during the International Coastal Cleanup at Walnut Creek Marina

September 11th Meeting speaker

Zack Klan, Kayak specialist at Fish USA. He will be our presenter at the September 11 meeting. Zack started at FishUSA in Fairview, Pa in January 2016.

Kayak Fishing Presentation

My name is Zack Klan and I am the Kayak Fishing Specialist at FishUSA. I have been kayak fishing for 6 years now and have been fishing competitively for the past 2 years. I primarily fish for bass, both Largemouth and Smallmouth, but will cross over into other species from time to time. Erie has been called home my entire life. I fish all over the county and even managed to travel to a few other states to fish out of a kayak; New York, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Locally, you can always find me on Lake Erie, Presque Isle, Lake Pleasant, Eaton Reservoir, Edinboro Lake, and French Creek. I have experienced all types of weather conditions while fishing from a kayak, even snow! From a competitive side, I fish tournaments put on by a couple organizations, Kayak Angler of Western PA and KBF (Kayak Bass Fishing). To date, my best tournament was held on Lake George in upstate New York. There were 143 anglers and I finished in 43^rd place. I was not able to cut a check from that one but it was the trip, the experience, and the ability to do what I love that makes it all worth while.

During the Kayak Fishing presentation, I will touch on how I got started with kayaking, my set-up, kayak safety, fishing from a kayak, the benefits that a kayak can provide, along with answering any and all questions. There are many fishing techniques that can be utilized on a kayak such as using conventional gear, fly fishing gear, and even trolling gear. As long as there is just a few inches of water to float on, you can go kayaking and catch a fish for yourself!

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Past Programs:

April 10th Presenter:

Senator Dan Laughlin -

Senate Game & Fisheries committee chair.

Senator Dan Laughlin was our guest speaker at the April monthly membership meeting. The Senator is Chair of the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee. He discussed the legislative process, the roles of committees and led a discussion of bills before the House Game & Fisheries Committee. He concluded by graciously answering members questions on some of the bills and issues facing outdoorsman.

First off Senator Laughlin revealed he is an avid outdoorsman and hunter. He explained how he gave up opportunities to be on more powerful committees because he is committed to outdoor recreation and activities. There are a number of bills in committee concerning fishing and hunting. The Senator explained how it takes a long time to get bills passed and that there is a lot of back and forth in the process.

Some of the bills he discussed were:

House Bill 584 which includes a waiver on fishing licenses for therapeutic activities.

House Bill 617 which would discount licenses for those that teach hunter safety courses.

House Bill 752 that would remove the current $400.00 cap per acre for buying land that restricts the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

House Bill 514 that would merge the Fish and Boat Commission with the Hunting Commission

House Bill 929 that would increase resident fishing licenses incrementally over 3 years from $21 to $30, as well as raising the Trout & Salmon permits and non-resident licenses.

Senate Bill 315 which would honor veterans and active military with discounted licenses.

Senate Bill 377 which would increase Penalty for Killing Bald or Golden Eagles.

Senate Bill 147 which would make Sunday hunting legal.

Senate Bill 485 authorizing the Sale of Anterless Deer Licenses through the Pennsylvania Automated Licensing System.

Senator Laughlin gave his views on many of these bills and asked the membership for input on some of those that would impact fishermen. He also discussed the concerns the legislature has about the number of licenses sold dropping and how a price increase could further impact the totals.

The PSA Board of Directors thanks Senator Laughlin for taking the time to attend our meeting and inform us of ongoing issues and how they are being addressed.

March 13th Program Presenter

Craig Lucas - Tionesta/Fairview State Fish Hatchery Manager for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission gave a presentation of how our Steelhead are raised!

The following is from the May/June 2015 Pennsyvania Angler and Boater Magazine:
“Annually, Tionesta the Tionesta State Fish Hatchery (SFH raises approximately 75 percent of the 1.1 million steelhead yearlings stocked into the tributaries of Lake Erie every spring. Once released they migrate into the main body of the lake and return at 3-years-old ready to spawn. Unfortunately, they are not successful spawning in the shale bottomed Erie tributaries and need the hatcheries to keep this program going. Starting in November, staff from five regional hatcheries, Including Tionesta SFH, converges to Trout Run in Erie to collect
adults for spawning. These adult; steelhead are transported to the Fairview SFH where the eggs are stripped and fertilized. Once spawned, the eggs are transported to Tionesta SFH to be hatched and raised to yearlings for the following season. The PFBC Lake Erie Steelhead Program is a success story, attracting anglers from all over Pennsylvania and generating more than 10 million dollars annually for the Erie area economy.”
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At our January 9th meeting Aaron Benjamin from FishUSA was our speaker and gave a presentation on ice fishing.

Aaron is a customer service rep and Product Specialist for FishUSA. Aaron did a nice presentation on tools, techniques, and new gear for 2019 with a special concentration on targeting the fish of Lake Erie including steelhead.

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At our December 2018 membership meeting, Eric Peterson showed us how to spin, stack & pack deer hair for bass poppers! It was an entertaining and informative presentation! Thanks to Eric for a lesson on how to tie like a pro.

The PA Steelhead Association holds meetings each month except May, June, and July usually at 7:30 pm on the second Wednesday of the month . Meetings are held at the American Legion Post 773. The Legion is located at 4109 West 12th Street (State Route 5), just east of the Erie Airport.

We meet in the banquet room to the left when you walk in.

Next membership meeting is Wednesday September 11th at 7:00p.m.!

PA Steelhead Associaton Facebook page link below:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pa-Steelhead-Association/136804763021961