HARRISBURG, Pa (October 26) – During its quarterly business meeting today, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) encouraged anglers and boaters to take advantage of the many fall and winter fishing and boating opportunities available across the Commonwealth and reminded everyone to make safety a priority while enjoying the water.
Executive Director’s Report
In his report to the Board of Commissioners, Executive Director Tim Schaeffer reinforced the importance of Pennsylvania’s Annual Cold Weather Life Jacket Requirement, which goes into effect on November 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027.
“Since its inception over ten years ago, this requirement has indisputably saved lives,” said Schaeffer. “While I always wear my life jacket, it is the law for everyone to do the same this time of year on all kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, and boats under 16 feet. Pennsylvania has thousands of miles of boatable water that can be enjoyed all year long. If you boat, please wear your life jacket.”
Schaeffer also highlighted the completion of the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan. The 2025-2035 Plan is a blueprint to prevent Species of Greatest Conservation Need from requiring federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
“We are required to update the Wildlife Action Plan every ten years to remain eligible to receive State Wildlife Grant funding to support Species of Greatest Conservation Need,” explained Schaeffer. “Developed in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and partners across the Commonwealth, the plan is a proactive, non-regulatory guide to identify, understand, and protect priority species, including 47 fishes, 19 amphibians, and 18 reptiles, with the dual goals of keeping common species common and recovering vulnerable species.”
Pennsylvania’s State Wildlife Action Plan is available on the PFBC website (Fish and Boat.com).
Executive
Commissioners voted to give final approval to regulations pertaining to Administrative Provisions. Under this change, 58 Pa. § Code 51 will be amended to provide a clear, streamlined process (General Appeals Provisions) tailored to the needs of the PFBC and to better serve the needs of those who wish to appeal an adverse action that is not otherwise addressed by PFBC regulations. Previously, PFBC regulations provided specific appeal provisions for certain matters but did not provide a general internal appeals process for parties otherwise aggrieved by an adverse action of the PFBC. Without these changes, the default appeal process for a party aggrieved by the action of a Commonwealth agency was set forth in the General Rules of Administrative Practice and Procedure (GRAPP) at Title 1 Pa. Code Part II. E. The GRAPP appeal provisions are overly complicated and difficult to navigate for parties without legal counsel. This amendment will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Commissioners voted to approve an amendment to a grant agreement with Thornhurst Township, Lackawanna County, related to a Boating Facility Grant Program project. In April 2025, the Executive Director approved a grant to the Township not to exceed $85,000 for the construction of a new, non-motorized boat access along the Lehigh River. During construction, unsuitable subsurface conditions were discovered which led to increased project costs of $149,700. This item required Board approval because the total amount of the project now exceeds $100,000. Under the amended agreement, the Township will be eligible to receive $74,850 in additional funding from the PFBC to complete the project, and the Township will provide matching funds.
The Board voted to approve an amendment to a grant agreement with the Schuylkill River Greenway Association related to a Boating Facility Grant Program project. In April 2025, Commissioners approved a grant to the Association not to exceed $115,900 for the development of a new boat launch for motorized and non-motorized boats at Reeser’s Landing along the Schuylkill River in Berks County. During construction, unsuitable subsurface conditions were discovered which led to increased project costs of $40,000. Under the amended agreement, the Association will be eligible to receive $24,000 in additional funding from the PFBC to complete the project, and the Association will provide matching funds.
Commissioners voted to grant a permanent right-of-way and temporary construction easement to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) in Penn Township, Cumberland County. PennDOT intends to replace the State Route 3006 bridge over Irishtown Gap Hollow Run, which runs through the PFBC’s Huntsdale State Fish Hatchery property. Under this agreement, the PFBC will receive $3,100 for a 0.051-acre permanent right-of-way and a 0.302-acre temporary construction easement that will allow PennDOT to complete its project, which is expected to last four months, improve public safety, and not interfere with hatchery operations. Upon completion of the project, PennDOT will restore the disturbed areas to the PFBC’s satisfaction.
Boating
The Board voted to approve the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to special regulations in Centre County (58 Pa. Code § 111.14). Currently, at Foster Joseph Sayers Lake, located within Bald Eagle State Park, PFBC regulations restrict boating to slow, no wake speed in the vicinity of the boat launches in the southern and northern sections of Hunters Run Cove. The cove is a 100-acre section of the lake which offers secluded fishing and boating opportunities and currently leaves approximately 50 acres of the cove unrestricted. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), which owns the lake, has requested that the PFBC amend these regulations to extend the slow, no wake restriction to the entire cove and remove the prohibition of waterskiing, which would no longer be relevant. If adopted on final rulemaking at a future meeting, this amendment will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Fisheries
Commissioners voted to approve the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to Prohibited Species (58 Pa. Code § 71a.11). Under this proposal, the Golden Mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) and group of fish collectively known as Asian Swamp Eels (family Synobranchidae) would be added to the list of prohibited species, making it unlawful to introduce, import, possess or transport in or through this Commonwealth, or the waters of this Commonwealth, any of these species. An evaluation of the technical Aquatic Invasive Species Workgroup consisting of staff representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, PFBC, DCNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and Pennsylvania Sea Grant, suggested that Golden Mussels and Asian Swamp Eels are high-risk invasive species of concern for the Commonwealth. If adopted on final rulemaking at a future meeting, this amendment will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Commissioners voted to approve the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to Fishing in the vicinity of fishways (58 Pa. Code § 63.16). Currently, the PFBC prohibits fishing both within a fishway and within 100 feet of the entrance and exit points of a fishway or any other fish passage facility located on or in connection with a dam. This regulation addresses needs at technical fishways including vertical slot fish ladders or Denil fish ladders that are engineered fish passage solutions that pass fish through constricted passage routes making them easy targets for anglers. However, at recently completed nature-like fishways, such as the structure added on the western side of the the Adam T. Bower Memorial Inflatable Dam (or Fabridam) on the Susquehanna River, these restrictions may not be necessary. Nature-like fishways, as the name implies, are fish passage solutions that mimic a natural stream channel where the diversity of habitat allows fish using the fishway to utilize cover as they would in a natural setting and disperse throughout the channel and not be easily targeted and caught by anglers. Under this proposal, a provision would be added to the regulation allowing for signs to be posted at fishways that permit angling, where appropriate. If adopted on final rulemaking at a future meeting, this amendment will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The Board voted to approve the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to Tournament and Fishing Derby Permits (58 Pa. Code § 53.24) and Fishing Tournaments and Fishing Derbies (58 Pa. Code § 63.40). Currently, the PFBC has a Cooperative Fisheries Agreement with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) on two shared waters, Conowingo Reservoir and Youghiogheny Reservoir. Under the agreement, MD DNR sets regulations for Conowingo Reservoir and PFBC sets regulations on Youghiogheny Reservoir. Under this proposal, the PFBC would amend regulations, which currently prohibit any fishing tournament or derby involving the catch or attempted catch of a particular species of fish during the closed season for that species. This change would add an exception to those regulations when regulatory authority on a waterway is ceded to another state through a cooperative agreement. If adopted on final rulemaking at a future meeting, this amendment will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Commissioners voted to approve the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to Miscellaneous Special Regulations (58 Pa. Code § 65.24). Under this proposal, the PFBC would be able to set special regulations on waters being considered for a rebranded community fishing initiative beginning in 2027 which aims to utilize improved hatchery operations to provide a cost-effective option for stocking juvenile and adult warm-water and trout species in small impoundments within or adjacent to urban, metropolitan, or densely populated communities. The waters under consideration for the special regulations include Rainbow Pond, Crawford County; Harbor Creek Community Park Pond, Erie County; Phifers Ice Dam, Lehigh County; Montoursville Borough Community Park Pond, Lycoming County; FDR Park Lake, Philadelphia County; Kennedy Park Pond, Susquehanna County; B-Y Park Pond, Westmoreland County; and Kiwanis Lake, York County. If adopted on final rulemaking at a future meeting, this amendment will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Commissioners voted to add Caroline Lake, Bucks County, to the Stocked Trout Waters Open to Year-round Fishing Program (58 Pa. Code § 65.19). Caroline Lake is an eight-acre impoundment owned by Bucks County in Falls Township and was added to the Stocked Trout Waters program in 2024 to provide seasonal opportunities for adult hatchery-reared trout. In addition to hatchery trout, Caroline Lake supports popular warm-water fisheries for Black Crappie, Bluegill, catfish and Largemouth Bass. Under this change, Caroline Lake would be added to the Stocked Trout Waters Open to Year-round Fishing program to allow for trout angling on a catch-and-release basis as well as angling for resident warm-water and cool-water species during the current closed period. Waters in this program are managed with Commonwealth Inland Waters regulations (58 Pa. Code § 61.1) for the remainder of the year. This designation will go into effect January 1, 2027.
The Board voted to revise the limits of one section of Oil Creek, Crawford and Venango counties, managed as a Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only Area (DHALO) (58 Pa. Code § 65.6). Oil Creek is a 40-mile-long stream that originates near the community of Lincolnville and flows southeast to its confluence with the Allegheny River near the City of Oil City. The stream is currently managed as nine stream sections for fisheries management purposes. Sections 02-08, which total 39.4 miles in length, are included in the Stocked Trout Waters program. Sections 02, 03, 04, 06 and 08 are managed under Commonwealth Inland Waters angling regulations (58 Pa. Code § 61.1), while sections 05 and 07 are managed under DHALO regulations. Under this change, the upstream limit of Section 05 will be extended by 0.34 miles to the Drake Well Road bridge downstream to the Oil Creek hiking trail bridge, to provide a clear indicator of the line between Sections 04 and 05, and the difference in fishing regulations. This designation will go into effect January 1, 2027.
Commissioners voted to remove the Unnamed Tributary (UNT) to Yellow Breeches Creek, Section 01, Cumberland County, from the Catch and Release Artificial Lures Only program (CR-ALO) (58 Pa. Code § 65.5). At the July 2026 Commission meeting, the PFBC removed Yellow Breeches Creek, Section 03, which extends one mile downstream from the mouth of the UNT to Yellow Breeches Creek, Section 01, from the CR-ALO program. However, action was not taken to remove the UNT to Yellow Breeches Creek, Section 01, from the CR-ALO program. Since the UNT to Yellow Breeches Creek is no longer included in the STW program, and to align regulations with adjacent waters angling regulations (i.e., Yellow Breeches Creek, Section 03, and Childrens Lake), which are managed under Commonwealth Inland Waters (58 Pa. Code § 61.1), the UNT to Yellow Breeches Creek must also be removed from the CR-ALO program. This designation will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The Board voted to remove a portion of Powell Creek, Section 01, Dauphin County, from the Waters Limited to Specific Purposes—Exclusive Use Fishing Areas Program (58 Pa. Code § 65.21). Powell Creek is a 16.78-mile-long tributary to the Susquehanna River and is divided into four sections by the PFBC for fisheries management purposes. Section 01 extends 6.84 miles from the confluence of the North Fork and South Fork of Powell Creek downstream to the bridge crossing Powell Creek on Back Road (T-551) near the Village of Waynesville. This portion of stream is included in the Stocked Trout Waters (STW) program. A 0.35-mile portion of Powell Creek, Section 01, is designated as an Exclusive Use Fishing Area for Children and Special Population as outlined in 58 Pa. Code § 65.21. The Exclusive Use Fishing Area extends from 0.10 miles upstream from Lebo Road downstream to 0.25 miles downstream from Lebo Road. The property owner of the portion of Powell Creek flowing through the Exclusive Use Fishing Area posted their property and no longer allows anglers to access the stream. This designation will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Commissioners voted to approve the addition of five new waters to the PFBC's list of Class A wild trout streams and 11 waters to the PFBC’s list of wild trout streams. A list of waters proposed for Class A wild trout and wild trout stream designation can be found in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. These additions and revisions will go into effect upon publication of a second notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Special Announcements
The Board approved the following dates for its quarterly business meetings in 2027:
· January 25, 2027
· April 26, 2027
· July 26, 2027
· October 25, 2027
The January and July 2027 meetings will be held at the PFBC headquarters located at 1601 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110. The locations of the April and October 2025 meetings will be announced at a later date.