A downsized Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission board voted last week on a mixed bag of items affecting angling in the state, including licensing for fishing guides and charter captains, and a reclassification of popular trout waters.

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The board voted to change 13.5 miles of the Little Juniata River and 8.5 miles of the Clarion River from All Tackle Trophy Trout to All Tackle Catch and Release, effective next year.

The other waters in the All Tackle Catch and Release program are portions of Spring Creek in Centre County and Valley Creek in Chester County. The reclassification of the Little Juniata in particular was motivated by "social preference," according to commission spokesman Dan Tredinnick, who said the agency received about 300 letters in favor of the change.

The board acted to remove a section of Bermudian Creek from the Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only program, at the request of a landowner who plans to post his property, blaming litter and poor angler behavior. Bermudian is Adams County's only Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only stream.

Guides to pay

The board also gave the commission the OK to license Pennsylvania based fishing guides and charter captains, beginning next year.

Pennsylvania-based guides will have to pay $100 annually for a license and out of state guides who work here, $400 a year. They must be at least 16 years old, have first aid and CPR training and carry up to $500,000 in liability insurance, including at least $250,000 per occurrence.

Tredinnick said the new licensing will help establish uniform standards among guides and captains, and will give the commission information about how many people are working in the charter and guide industry, and where.

"One complaint we hear frequently is that people profiting from waterways should have to pay more," Tredinnick said.

In other action ...

The board eliminated the rule that boats on Pennsylvania lakes must travel in a counter clockwise manner.

It approved doubling the commission's support of the Coldwater Heritage Partnership to $10,000 a year plus in-kind services. The partnership is made up of the commission, Trout Unlimited and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which jointly give grant money to watershed groups that work to improve trout streams.

Budget review

The board reviewed the commission's budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year beginning in July, that commission executive director Doug Austen will present to Gov. Ed Rendell this month. The spending plan is expected to show that the new Lake Erie stamp and half the Lake Erie/trout combo stamp have generated $450,000 for purchasing easements and other stream access in the Erie area, although specific projects haven't been identified yet, Tredinnick said.

The budget will total about $40 million and will reflect a projected license sale decline of about 11 percent, which is consistent with the decrease this year, said Tredinnick. Trout stamp sales were down this year by 14 percent. Even so, fee increases this year generated $4 million more than last year.

For all board action, visit www.fish.state.pa.us

Board numbers down

When the board meets again in January, it will be down to six members, since north-central Pennsylvania representative Ted Keir's term expires this month. Six is the minimum number required for a quorum, though the board normally seats 10.

With south-central Pennsylvania's Gary Pflugfelder and at large commission Paul Mann set to complete their terms early next year, the board could drop to four members, which is too few to conduct business. The deaths this year of Leon Reed and Ross Huhn have left seats vacant in the northeast and southwest parts of the state, and the southcentral board seat has been empty for more than two years, since Len Lichvar, the governor's nominee, keeps getting stonewalled in the Senate over politics and landowner issues.

The Governor's Advisory Council on Fishing, Hunting and Conservation has been advertising for board candidates.

Anyone interested should contact the council in care of Robb Miller, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St., 7th Floor, Box 8767, Harrisburg, Pa., 17106-8767, by Oct. 21.