Thread: Pymatuning

I wouldnt let anybody tell me what I can take and what I cannot take. I can almost gaurentee that if his clients are amish they are taking every fish that they can get some meat off of

I never keep any thing under ten, crappie wise. Don't let him get under your skin. He is only looking out for himself. Heard the Amish are plundering the fish there again this year. My neighbor was up there camping this past weekend, on the Ohio side, and saw their boats loaded with fish.

Originally Posted by flyfisher2

I wouldnt let anybody tell me what I can take and what I cannot take. I can almost gaurentee that if his clients are amish they are taking every fish that they can get some meat off of

They do the same here in central Pa. They take bucket loads of fish that are 6 to 9 inches and have all but ruined many of our small, productive crappie lakes.

I see all this complaining about the amish here online all the time but how many of you guys have actually called the hotline number to report what you're seeing at that present time? Doesn't and wont do a bit of good to come on here and post about it days or weeks after you've witnessed it. If you have positive proof of what they're doing, call the authorities. At least then you've tried to do something about it. NOTHING gets done by just posting on a message board. NOTHING.
As for keeping fish, some lakes, like shenango lake for example, need to be weeded out yearly by keeping those 8 and 9"ers. If not, the lake will be over run by them. Who throws 8 and 9" bluegills back? Crappies that size have more meat and the younger fish are safer to eat as they haven't had as much time for the toxins to form in them. Been fishing Pymy for close to forty years and Shenango over 45.

Well I can't speak for Pymy because I've never fished it but I can speak for a few of my local lakes. Chaunc...you asked how many people call the authorities. Here's an example of Faylor Lake here in Central Pa.
There is NO size limit on the lake, so what could any authorities possibly do? I've seen four or five Amish in a boat keep every single fish they would catch regardless of size. Can you honestly tell me that's not going to ruin that lake? Four years ago, we were pulling twelve and thirteen inch crappie from this lake on a regular basis. As of last year, it's almost impossible to catch a single crappie of any size. There is nothing to report anything about because there are no laws being broken.
It is however worth complaining about when you have groups of Amish taking two to three hundred crappie per day that are nothing more than fingerlings from our waters.
I myself have confronted them on a regular basis and it does absolutely nothing. They will laugh in your face.

Your right Chaunc, they should be reported. I have never been a witness to it, but hear others talking about it. If they are in a boat, all you need is the boat number to turn in. Really, I think the guy was trying to get Savedbygrace and his buddy to leave by being a total jerk, and doubt that he is getting paid by them to take them. More like he is in cahoots with them.

people posting pictures of every sink full of fish they catch doesn't help either. its like look what I did, look at what I did, shenango has gone down hill because of this type of posting, the quality of the crappy has really changed because of this

Originally Posted by shaved ice

people posting pictures of every sink full of fish they catch doesn't help either. its like look what I did, look at what I did, shenango has gone down hill because of this type of posting, the quality of the crappy has really changed because of this

If you really believe that i'm hurting the lake by keeping so many fish, legally, show me proof. The fact that YOU may not be able to catch the bigger ones is not because they aren't there. You just may not know how or where to find them. Spend some time on the lake as I have and you'll be able to do it like I do. The pictures are to let some people know that the fish are biting. And if you think my freezer is over-flowing, you're wrong. My daughters and grandkids fish my freezer like they have a pole in their hands. Sometimes it doen't have a chance to freeze before it's gone. And there's no change in the quality of crappies. You just have to be a good fisherman, not lucky fisherman, to get em.


With 3 posts in over a year here, you don't seem to be helping very much if at all. Be nice if you'd really be a part of the group and post some reports from your local lake. That is if you aren't afraid someone will take all your fish.