News and Notes
Saturday trout stockings to begin Don’t forget to take note of the pre-announced Saturday trout stockings on selected area lakes.
Fayette County’s first Saturday stocking will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Dunlap Creek Lake.
Saturday, May 4, Dunlap Creek Lake and Virgin Run Dam will be stocked at 10:30 a.m., and the final Saturday stocking for the county will take place at 10:30 a.m. on May 11 at Virgin Run.
Duke Lake in Greene County will be stocked this week and Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m. each day.
Other area Saturday stockings include:
Somerset County – Kooser Lake and Laurel Hill Lake, April 27 and May 18. All stockings, 10 a.m.
Washington County – Canonsburg Lake, April 20 (1:30 p.m.) and May 11 (4 p.m.) and Dutch Fork Lake, April 20 (4 p.m.) and May 11 (2 p.m.).
Westmoreland County – Donegal Lake, April 27 and May 11 (12:30 p.m.); Keystone Lake, May 4 and May 11 (12 p.m.); Mammoth Dam, April 27 and May 11 (1:45 p.m.) and Northmoreland Lake, April 20 and May 11 ( 12:30 p.m.).
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TAGGED TROUT: Al Packan at Captain Al’s Bait and Tackle on Dunlap Creek Lake wants to alert anglers anglers to look for certain red-tagged fish caught at the lake.
Packan said that Pittsburgh Brewing Company, in conjunction with Gander Mountain and others, has released 1,000 trout in area lakes and streams, bearing tags numbered 000 to 999.
Locally, tagged trout were to be released at Dunlap, the Youghiogheny River and Mill Run.
Persons catching tagged fish will receive $5 off a $25 purchase at Gander Mountain, plus they will be eligible for prizes of $1,500 if their tag number matches the Pennsylvania Daily Lottery number on any day from May 6 through May 10. One lucky winner will win a $1,500 shopping spree.
All tags must be registered before May 5.
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WALLEYE INVITATIONAL: The Yough Walleye Association will hold its 8th annual Walleye Invitational team tournament Saturday, May 11 at the Youghiogheny Reservoir.
The tournament will run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition to 10 cash place awards, food, refreshments and consolation prizes will be available at the conclusion of the of the tournament.
Applications are available at Z’s Sports Shop, Marra’s Mountaineer Sport Shop, Yough Lake Sport Shop, Lakeside Marina, Nicklow’s Bait Shop and Minnies-N-More Bait Shop.
Drawings for positions will be held at the regular monthly meeting of the Association Tuesday, May 11 at Hutchinson Sportsmen’s Club.
For more information contact any off the following Association officers: President, Joe Daveler at 724-439-0817, Vice President Paul Horwath at 724-564-0422, Treasurer Todd Vecchiolla at 724-437-9643 or Secretary Tom Sieger at 412-881-6775.
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WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA ANGLERS: The Western Pennsylvania Anglers kicked off their tournament season this weekend with bass and walleye events.
They have a series of bass and walleye events scheduled through the end of July.
Any interested bass or walleye fishermen can join and take part in the tournaments.
Membership dues are $20 for a single member or $30 for a family membership.
Interested fishermen can write the WPA at P.O. Box 121, Hopwood, Pa. 15445 or call 724-438-5070 or 724-438-6909.
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FISHING TOURNAMENT: Confluence Volunteer Fire Company will host a fishing tournament Saturday, May 4.
Registration begins at 6 a.m. at the Confluence Bicycle/pedestrian Bridge on the Yough.
Two $100 and a $50 prize will be awarded, along with fishing equipment and other prizes donated by local businesses.
Entry fee is $10 for fishermen 12 and over and $5 for youngsters under 12. Fishermen must register with the fire department to receive a prize.
Bait and refreshments will be available at the registration area.
For more information contact Bill Conn Jr. at 814-395-5945.
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W. VA. GOBBLER FORECAST: The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources expects a harvest of 14,000 to 19,000 turkeys during the spring gobbler season, which gets under way Monday, April 22.
The DNR report said that due to the outstanding production in 1999, there should be some 3-year-old birds in the population, but 2-year-old gobblers are not expected to be as common as last year because of less than average production in 2000. The year 2001 was a good brood year so hunters should see an abundance of juvenile gobblers this spring.
The magnitude of the harvest this spring, in comparison to last year, will depend on how many hunters choose to harvest jakes and the weather conditions during the four-week season that ends May 18.
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FREE FISHING DERBY: A free fishing derby will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 21 at Mammoth Park.
Trophies and other prizes will be awarded to youngsters and adults for catching trout, carp and the “best catch of the day.”
For more information call the Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation at 724-830-3950.
Rod Schoener is the Herald-Standard outdoor editor. He can be reached on line at rschoener@heraldstandard.com.