Notice to all interested fishermen who enjoy the TLFA stocking Twin Lakes

NOTICE
WE AT THE TWIN LAKES FISHING ASSOCIATION ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF MORE PARTICIPATION  FROM OUR MEMBERS IN THE FORM OF BEING AN OFFICER, GETTING DONATIONS FOR TAGS, STOCKING OF FISH AND IN GENERAL COMING TO OUR MEETINGS TO HELP IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE.
OUR MEETINGS ARE THE 3RD SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 4:15 P.M. AT THE BOATHOUSE. BELOW IS A SCHEDULE OF 2014 MEETINGS.
AFTER 26 YEARS, 2014 COULD POSSIBLY BE OUR LAST YEAR OF OPERATION, UNLESS WE HAVE MORE VOLUNTEERS TO KEEP THE TWIN LAKES FISHING ASSOCIATION OPEN!   

THANK YOU,
OFFICERS & TRUSTEES OF THE
 TWIN LAKES FISHING ASSOCIATION

I don't have a dog in this fight, but it sure sounds like a little diversity might possibly save this lake. As it now stands, you will be extinct if you do not change.

rsquared, There is nothing to stop anyone from getting permission from the Cnty. & the PF&BC to start a club or whatever,to raise money & get help to create habitat & buy some other fish to stock with. The state already stocks Channel Cat fingerlings or fry occasionaly & the bass,Crappie, Gills & perch reproduce pretty well as recent surveys show. However on lakes this small you can't have overharvesting & expect the fish to magicaly appear. Whether some people admit it or not, the main focas in this area is TROUT. If you doubt that go to any of the CNTY or State parks on first day of Trout, then go on the first day of Bass & tell me where the intrest is. I have never had anyone whether they were club members or not ask us to stock smaller Trout. The main reason I believe that people join is to raise money to buy bigger trout & to buy prizes for the tagged Trout. As for the people that say their time is too valuable,do you really think that our time is of less value? We are doing something that we believe in ,Are you? btw Twin Lakes is no Lake Arthur,but I have seen Channel Cats up to 34" caught there,also some nice Bullheads & probably some of the biggest Carp in the area. Also Crappie up to 17" are caught occasionaly. We are still catching nice Crappie although the gills seem to have gone deep. And some of us are still having fun with the Trout using jigs. Not too shabby I would say.  sam

Sam, I mean no disrespect towards you. You are one of the most knowledgable and helpful members on this board. No matter the species or location it always seems youre there to help. When i say its not worth my time or money to help stock trout its because i dont fish for trout. Why would i pay to stock a species that i dont even fish for?

Sure, most people around here want to catch trout. But thats because thats all they know. Its the only fish that gets stocked around here in adult form. When other species get stocked as fingerlings, i doubt many of them survive amongst the adult bass already present.

My problem is not with trout fishermen. My problem is with the narrow mindset of trout being the only fish out there. Trout are relatively easy to catch so every Apr you get all these jackoffs who go to walmart, buy a trout stamp, $20 combo, and a couple jars of powerbait and then surround the local lakes and streams shoulder to shoulder til mid may, harvesting tbe hell out of whatever was stocked. Meanwhile these guys dont know the first thing about fishing. I cant help but think if some of these people actually took it upon themselves to learn how to fish and discover other species they probably wouldnt bother with trout again!

If we started catering less to the "powerbait smearers" and more to actual true fishermen, i think the quality and variety of fishing available to us would greatly improve. But i get it. Trout is the money fish. Its not about the fishermen, its not about the quality/overall diversity of the fishing, its about the money. Opening up to stocking different species could keep the club alive and bring more money down the road but i get it, its about money now.

If the club truly is in danger of having to close, then maybe its time for the people in charge to open up to new ideas before its too late.

I'm far from a biologist, or even playing one on TV.  But I do read a good bit of biological reports that I feel will help in my quest to be a better angler.  In doing so, I have learned that trout and other species that have either no or little reproduction are prefered for stocking, for help for human control of sizes, population, other species, ect.  Simple logic would suggest to stock something like largemouth, panfish, ect. that will reproduce on their own, and cheaper in the long run.  This doesn't take into account, over production, leading to stunted growth or any time a new species is added or "helped", it completely changes the biodiverse flow of the underwater hierarchy.  The biologists can't control the environment, so some years there may be perfect breeding conditions, others there are floods, droughts, or extended ice that can lead to extremely limited reproduction.  This leads to either not enough fish to keep angling viable or too small of fish to do the same.  Simply adding a species that can reproduce, isn't always going to give a desired result.  I would expect that the club works with the PFBC on their stockings to make sure there is some sort of balance in order.  Trust me, I am not a trout lover by any means, but there is much more to having them around than to keep the trout worshipers happy.  They are a good, relatively inexpensive fish to stock for put and take purposes.  The PFBC also has it marketed in a way that they make too much money from trout to change anything, until they aren't making that money...  I would much rather fish for crappie, perch or walleye when looking to "take" myself, but that is mostly taking from a naturally reproducing stock.  Although walleye on the most part are stocked in most PA inland waters, and many are a true put and take as well.  The real dilema that I see in SW PA, are the limited amounts of reservoirs.  Many that are open to fishing, end up with trout as their put and take focus.  The others are on the most part, are natural reproduction with varied stocking determined by biological studies, to keep the desired balance.  IMO, it would be nice to have a put and take walleye fishery, like Pymatuning is, south of I-80.  They wouldn't be able to stock as many keeper sized fish per reservoir (15" vs. 7"), so catch rates would be much lower, and wouldn't get the turn out that opening day of trout would get.  I don't see another species that could be stocked like trout, to give the return and not have to worry about natural reproduction overtaking a body of water. 
 
This does not include some streams or even some reservoirs with feeder streams with perfect breeding conditions.  I don't think there are many in SWPA that can produce enough natural reproduction of trout to overrun.  There might be some, but not enough to take over.  Much like walleye in Pymie or even circusheads in the Erie ditches.

No more comments??  
 
Meeting  Dec 15  4:15 at boathouse.
 
Officer voting.  And discussion about the future.

Good luck with your efforts.  I've had many great times fishing at Twin Lakes as a teenager, although it was always and only for trout.  My comments below do not apply entirely to Twin Lakes, but I felt the need to respond to Mr. Crappie and Jug's posts. 
 
Stocked trout are extremely easy to catch - PERIOD.  I too would rather see better and bigger populations of walleye, bass, catfish, panfish and even striper at the same lakes, reservoirs, etc. that receive a stocking or even multiple storckings throughout the year.  I don't have any data to prove this, but I would also think that most people keep the trout that they catch so there is a one time "catch" and one time "fun factor" if you will.  Even though some fisherman will catch and keep walleye, panfish, etc., I believe that many would be returned and at least have the chance to get bigger and reproduce.  This would allow for multiple people to experience "the catch" or "fun factor".  These populations of fish would also at least have a chance of reproducing unlike the stocked trout.  I have heard many times that the population of walleye, panfish or even bass, is struggling here or the size isn't what it once used to be at this lake or that lake.  And as far as the fear of stunted growth or over production, slot limits could be put into place to help control this.  I too believe that too much money, time and effort is spent on stocking trout.  There is no doubt in my mind that kids, families, groups of fishermen or whomever would be able to find just as much enjoyment catching other species of fish if there were better numbers at some lakes or better size catch were found at other lakes.  There most definitely needs to be more money, time and attention spent on these other species of fish.