yakin

lookin for some new places to kayak this summer....  Im a little confused about regulations if i need to register or not and where.    Little rapids are cool with me... ive done the beaver up to the 2nd dam, downtown pitts, chartiers crk...
 
any fellow yakers out there?   I saw a guy in the paper the other day on canonsburg... do you need a permit for that?

 
Shmoe, plenty of yakers around the area and a ton of great places to go as CJ mentioned. Definitely get a launch permit. 
 
We just started a club, check out the FB page and the website below. We're planning an event for 4/20 on more throughout the summer, probably even get a few one day tournaments going. Lots of good guys with a ton of fishing knowledge.
 
Hope to see ya on the water.
 
Facebook.com/kayakanglers
 
http://kayak-anglers.com/
 
 
 

it's not SouthWest PA - but you'd be hard pressed to find a better trip than Tionesta Creek from Kelletville to Nebraska.
Great scenery, great fishing and scarcely another person in sight for 15 miles.
 
****in my experience, generally after the first week of June, the water gets too low - be prepared for some portage (but great fishing opportunities in the deeper holes)
 

I would recommend getting your yak registered instead of getting a launch permit.  They cost about the same price, but you get more benefit from registering.  Launch permits seem to only give you rights to launch from a PA state boat launchs only.  Registration permits you to launch from pretty much anywhere AND supposedly all other states and be pretty much anywhere on the water.  Also with registation, your boat is on record, so in case it is ever lost, stolen, etc and some else tries to take claim on it, they will get busted and you will get your boat back (in theory).  Launch permits do not go on record and you will not benefit in that situation.  Better to go with registering in my opinion.  Happy yakin'!!!  See ya out there!

Yes, you would be able to do state parks as well as county with registration and will not need a county permit.  I got my yak about 3 years ago and did the same research you are trying to do and you are right, it is not as strait forward as it should be.  I talked to fish commision officer and they pretty much laid it out as I am now if my memory serves me correctly.  Some exclusions could be private lakes and stuff like that, but I've been pretty much everywhere and have not had any problems any time by having my yak registered.  Never been approached, but either way no problems.  Oh, you only need an "unpowered" registration as well.
 
Post any other questions and I will try to answer to the best of my ability.  Consider calling the fish commission yourself and ask any further questions so you can get answers right from them.  The main number appears to be
Boat Registration help line 
866-BoatReg
(866-262-8734)

Chris Johnson

I'm pretty sure you need a launch permit on any public water.  Here's the PFBC FAQ re registration.  It's 10$/year or 18 for 2 years.

 
You don't need a permit for the public waterway itself, you need a launch permit from any fish commission ramp or launch or state park as mentioned above.   It's the ramps, not the waterway per se.   For example, on the Allegheny River at Franklin.  If you use the launch ramp on the west side of the river, you need a permit, if you launch on the east side at the local park along the bike trail you do not.  You don't need any permit to float the river.
 
Unless you're powering the boat, you do not need a registration at all so I'd suggest getting the launch sticker.   That should keep you covered if you're going to use state and county parks and the occasional commission ramp to launch.  

who needs a boat launch! lol   i fell in the ohio river once while jumping in my yak... was very unpleasant 

BTW, there used to be a kayak fishing forum specific to Pa or the Pittsburgh area. I was a member but I'll be darned if I can find it now. Anybody have any ideas where I could find that board?

Thanks!

Wow.. Where did u go on a week long trip?

The dealers that sell the permits charge the extra $2 for the processing fee.  The permit costs $18, but the processing is $2, which you would get charged by the PFBC as well.  
 
That is the only permit that I use, but there might be permits for specific county lakes.  Anything that is state or federal, you are good to go.

we got charged 20$ for the processing fee =( thanks for the info! We're never going back there unless its to throw my fist into the employee's face

Any suggestion on a good versatile kayak to fish with for somebody who has never kayaked before?

I'm a wilderness guy myself. Tarpon and Ride are fantastic in my opinion. Jackson Cuda is supposed to be awesome too but never paddled one.

It all depends on what you want though and what kind of budget you're working with. And I'd suggest paddling a few before you take the plunge.

I can't remember the name of the yak I have but I just put a fish finder rig in a couple months ago and it works pretty good... If you want I could text or email you pics... I've never tried posting pics on here before haha