The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Tellico Trout Farms of Franklin, N.C., are at odds over what caused 5,000 fish to die after they were stocked Oct. 14 in four area lakes.

Fish Commission spokesman Dan Tredinnick said tests of fish and water quality have proved "inconclusive," and "there's no smoking gun, no one cause," while Tellico manager Tom Ort is pointing to "substandard water quality," and "low levels of dissolved oxygen" as the culprit in the fish die-offs at North Park, Hereford Manor, and Upper and Middle Deer lakes.

"There's nothing to say this was a dissolved oxygen problem," said Tredinnick, who indicated that the 36-hour journey from North Carolina may have contributed to the fishes' demise. He also said "a good bit of time had passed" between Friday night, when water samples were taken, and Monday morning, when analyses began at a State College area lab.

Ort has billed the commission more than $13,000 for the dead fish and for a replacement batch planted three days later, although Tredinnick said the commission is obligated to pay only for healthy fish.

"The contract says Tellico needs to provide us with fish that are viable for anglers to catch," Tredinnick said. "Not fish ready for the frying pan." He also said the commission will not pay for 700 fish scheduled for Raccoon Creek that had to be euthanized on the truck.

Classes scheduled

Family Tyes, the Baldwin based fishing club, will preview a rod building class at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 in the Baldwin High School north cafeteria.

Besides watching a rod building demonstration, attendees will be able to order the rod blank -- whether spin-casting or fly fishing -- they want to work on. Actual classes will begin Dec. 7 and run through January in the same location. Cost is about $85, including rod blank.

For more, contact Chuck McKinney at 412-884-5866 or at fmlytys@juno.com or Rich Jones at 412-882-1873 or iguy.flyfsh@verizon.net. Forms can be downloaded at www.familytyes.com.

Fund raiser underway

Family Tyes is raising money through a national contest it is sponsoring with "Fly Fisherman Magazine," which awards prizes with a random drawing every day at 12:01 a.m. for the next five months to those who sign up for a one-year subscription.

There is no obligation to purchase the magazine, however, Family Tyes' only return is half the money from each $19.95 subscription sold, said Family Tyes director Chuck McKinney. "All of the money will go into family club and school programming."

Trout relocated

About 100,000 fingerling rainbow and brook trout infected with a common virus at the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery in Warren County earlier this month have been relocated to waters where the virus already exists, according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

About 40,000 rainbows were planted in the Allegheny River in Warren, 15,000 brook into the Beaverdam Run Reservoir in Cambria County, another 25,000 into Keystone Lake in Armstrong County and 20,000 more into the East Branch of the Clarion River Lake in Elk County.

The fish survived Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis (IPN), which can destroy fry and is highly contagious.

Featured performer

Well-known fly-tier Kieran Frye of Uniontown will be the featured speaker at Penn's Woods West Trout Unlimited's monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Brentwood VFW on Route 51.

Meetings are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.pwwtu.org.

Nine Mile's progress

The restoration of Nine Mile Run on the Monongahela River is expected to resume next month.

Phase one, which includes native plantings and a stream re-channelization in Frick Park, has been completed. Phase two will encompass a commercial road to the Monongahela.

The watershed association will sponsor a public art and design workshop featuring internationally recognized artist Herbert Dreseitl Dec. 2-3 at the Center for Creative Play in Regent Square.

The event is part of the larger Regent Square Gateway Project that will transform the Braddock Trail entrance of Frick Park from a concrete parking lot and culvert into a landscaped public space designed to manage storm water.

For more information, visit www.ninemilerun.org.