march, 1968 - Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

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A Monthly Feature About Cooperative Nursery Projects By Bill PortBP A HAPPY MARRIAGE OF A PHILANTHROPIST, a benevolent city government and three fishing clubs combine to form the Lil-Le-Hi Nursery, truly one of the show places of the cooperative nursery program—and it's no wonder. To begin with, the hatchery itself has had a long history as a commercial enterprise as part of the Trexler holdings. Some firsts in fish culture for the state occurred there, according to some fine reminiscences from Guy "Foxy" Moyer, a 44-year retired veteran of the Fish Commission who accompanied us to Allentown. For one thing, the hatchery at one time raised salmon—incidentally, there were a few of the silver kings in one of the show ponds for visitors to ogle. A federal carp rearing program was part of the operation a good many years ago before it was abandoned and the state had an interest in the hatchery at one time. Finally the Fish Commission, a decade or so ago, received brook trout eggs from the hatchery in exchange for other eggs or species. But getting back to the present arrangement, the city of Allentown inherited the property along with much additional acreage from the Trexler estate. Picking up the ball, the city fathers now employ a full time nursery caretaker, Ernie Massini, to look after things and work with the cooperating clubs. And Ernie does just that as verified by the well-manicured lawns and landscaping, the healthy trout in the holding ponds, and the extremely low mortality rate as attested by the records. But Ernie doesn't do it all. Three cooperating fishing clubs, referred to above, have combined their efforts and interests in the project. The Lehigh County Fish and Game, The Pioneer Fish and Game, and the Trout Creek Fish and Game work together on the cooperative nursery activities. One of the key men coming out of this triumvirate is Ken Crilley, a very active nursery manager and our host along with Ernie for the day. Ken seemed pleased with the project and its product. His experienced eye roved over a batch of three-year-old rainbows with the fondness of a man who has a liking and a knowledge of his work. Then he and "Foxy" were off on some mutual nostalgia that would fill a book in its own way that would be of value to the fish culturist and the naturalist. In the meantime Joe Samusevich, well-known local angler, picked up the story of the Lil-Le-Hi Nursery. "We stock nothing but older fish—two, three, and four year olds," he said with a grin of pride. "Last year there were about 18,000 stocked with the bulk of them going into the Little Lehigh Creek. The others go into Cedar Creek and Jordan Creek." "We're holding about 45,000 right now," chimed in Ernie. "Care to see them?" We cared and we saw. Big JOE SAMUSEVICH, an unidentified club member, and Ernie Massini, nursery supervisor, stop in front of sign at Lil-Le-Hi Trout Nursery. browns and big rainbows and nice brooks were all there. The cement raceways and ponds were neatly painted, water temperature and quality was good; the whole nursery smelled of success. "We get thousands of visitors every year," Ernie was doing the talking, "and most help support the project;" and he pointed to a wishing well where visitors could deposit a donation and receive a bag of pellets to feed the trout. "It's a little late in the season and pretty cold today for people to stop, but there'll be some." And on cue, two cars pulled into the parking area and a handful of tourists began to make the rounds. A variety of projects feature the Lil-Le-Hi Nursery each > year. The Litde Lehigh Creek, at least a portion of it near the nursery, is a fish-for-fun area and is supplied with trout throughout the year. "There's always someone wetting a line," said Ernie, "even cold blustery days such as this one." And again on cue, a couple of fly fishermen moved in and began to work a pool at the lower end of the nursery grounds. The trout were there but uncooperative and so it was back to the discussion of other projects. Outstanding among the various activities are the fishing derbies held each year. Thousands of anglers line the banks of the Little Lehigh as it wends its way through the public parks system; many thousands more simply come to watch. Fish are caught, lost, measured, kept, released; prizes are awarded and sad and glad tales are told at the end of the day. And it's all made possible through the cooperative effort of a lot of people organized under the I heading of the Lil-Le-Hi Nursery who are dedicated to the premise that a lot of people can have a lot of fun Casting with the Co-ops. 32 PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER I
CATCH A TROPHY FISH AND RECEIVE A PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER FISHING CITATION MINIMUM SIZES—RULES SENIOR: Species of Fish Minimum Length in inches American Shad 25 in. Bluegill 11 in. Brook Trout 17 in. Brown Trout 28 in. Bullhead 15 in. Carp 36 in. Chain Pickerel 25 in. Channel Catfish 30 in. Crappies (includes black and white) 15 in. Eel 40 in. JUNIOR: Species of Fish Minimum Length in inches American Shad 20 in. Bluegill 10 in. Brook Trout 14 in. Brown Trout 18 in. Bullhead, Catfish 14 in. Carp 25 in. Chain Pickerel 23 in. Channel Catfish Crappies (includes black 20 in. and white) 14 in. Eel 30 in. Species of Minimum Length Fish in inches Fallfish 18 in. Lake Trout 30 in. Largemouth Bass 23 in. Muskellunge 45 in. Northern Pike 36 in. Rainbow Trout 27 in. Rock Bass 11 in. Smallmouth Bass 20 in. Walleye 30 in. Yellow Perch 14 in. Species of Minimum Length Fish in inches Fallfish 14 in. Lake Trout 24 in. Largemouth Bass 18 in. Muskellunge 30 in. Northern Pike 25 in. Rainbow Trout 18 in. Rock Bass 10 in. Sheepshead 20 in. Smallmouth Bass 18 in. Walleye 22 in. Yellow Perch 12 in. Fish must be caught in Pennsylvania public waters by legal methods during seasons open for the taking of the species involved. Fish must be measured, weighed and recorded by fishing license issuing agent or tackle store within the state by the owner, manager, or an authorized agent of the respective establishment. Photographs are desirable as further proof of catch but are not required. Non-residents as well as residents are eligible for citations if fish are caught under the above conditions. Only fishing citation applications received within 90 days from date of catch will be honored. HOW TO MEASURE Actual applications for a Citation may be secured by contacting any district fish warden, regional office of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission, or by writing the Public Relations Division of the Commission in Harrisburg (Zip Code 17120). Application blanks are also carried from time to time in the Angler.
Page 1 and 2: NNSYLVANIA MARCH, 1968 ceA
Page 3 and 4: CALIFORNIA FAN Gentlemen, One of my
Page 5 and 6: LEAKY BOOTS continued from page 1 T
Page 7 and 8: HERE'S a dandy for the pan. SPRING
Page 9 and 10: More Pennsylvania women follow "fat
Page 11 and 12: were geared with 75 or 100 horsepow
Page 13 and 14: OIL BOOM days found wooden derrick
Page 15 and 16: MM\ . ^fi r^f ~ f. ^*"Z T
Page 17 and 18: the basin and the sperm and eggs ar
Page 19 and 20: THE TRAIN used for stocking Muddy C
Page 21 and 22: BOATING with ROBERT G. MILLER DIREC
Page 23 and 24: Anna had a mark under one eye after
Page 25 and 26: continued front page 7 When I first
Page 27 and 28: the spot because the fish were biti
Page 29 and 30: FALSE SALMON EGG FEAST? by Courtney
Page 31 and 32: "FISHING FATHER" HONORED BY HOUSE T
Page 33: ANN MICHELE proves the girls can ca

march, 1968 - Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

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