First, I'd support a total Catch and Release on musky. Second a confession. I was that kid who caught a 38 incher at Tionesta and took it home 30 years ago. If my son caught that same fish today...it would go back after a nice digital picture (as long as I remembered the camera). Bass and walleye populations in the river are much more affected by water level fluctuations that anything else unless you count fisherman and I otfen wonder how much we matter in the equation. Entire year classes of fish are wiped out if the dam corps or the weather mess with water levels during the spawn. I've fished the same stretch of the lower Allegheny for years with my dad and some years its great, others it stinks. The river at tionesta is the same although my trips there have diminished in recent years. Think of this...is the walleye fishing in the river going to be better next year since ice has eliminated the fishing pressure? I once thought that but it never seemed to matter in the past if memory serves me right.

ppalko