Finsylvania – Details, episodes & analysis

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Finsylvania

cmxrhbt65h

Science

Frequency: 1 episode/13d. Total Eps: 25

Finsylvania is a podcast dedicated to covering the state of fisheries management, conservation, and related topics. There are action alerts in many episodes to drive stakeholder engagement with elected officials, members of the media, and fish managers. The goal is to educate the public on important fisheries management issues and get them engaged to make change that benefits wild native fish! Tune in, take action, and lets improve fisheries management!

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#pafishing #stockingreform #conservation #pennsylvaniaflyfishing #stopstockingoverwildfish #blueliner #nativefish #pafishandboat #fisheriesmanagement #brooktrout #hellbenders #nativebrooktrout #flyfishing #fishing

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Bad News for PA Stream Acces: Mike Evanko Interview

Sunday, September 27, 2026 • Duration 01:11:14

Pennsylvania Stream Access Update with Mike Evanko: A sad year in review.

Last Fall Mike Evanko and I were getting anecdotal reports from anglers all over the state of stream access being loat to posting. Cherished and historic streams rich in the fishing history of our state and this country are having large sections poated where it is no llnger legal to fish. As always Mike and I disclose we are NOT blaming landowners for posting their private land. Instead we take a critical look at the factors behind why Fish and Boat has ignored public stream access easements for so long. We have Data this year folks, and it doesn’t paint a good picture for the future of this sport. The amount of miles of stream access we lose every year in PA vastly exceeds the tiny amounts added every few years(mostly in Erie). We are in a full on access crisis. Fishing opportunity shrinks, private pay for play trout clubs swoop in like vultures to capitalize off scarcity of access, and all the state can do is waste money on hatchery fish many don’t want instead of spent on access. Folks, we are watching the slow death of our sport. If you think thats hyperbolic or sensationalist then consider the following. You can’t sustain huge net loses of stream access every year in perpetuity. There is no arguing that is happening state wide. Tune in, learn what’s happening, and use the below resources to fight for stream access by advocating to policymakers and the media for more coverage.

We also list off some of the noteable postings across the state as well as speculate about politicians motives for not intervening for years despite getting hundreds of E-mails.

ROADLESS RULE! CALL, E-MAIL, AND GET YOUR FRIENDS TO DO SO!!!

Do both if these we need it!

Call the Capital Switch Board and say your zip code to talk to YOUR elected official about protecting the roadles rule! (202) 224-3121

TU comment portal-

https://www.tu.org/roadless-areas-defending-americas-sporting-lands/#take-action

AMENDMENT 2 to reduce menheden harvest, protect striped bass, and protect native brook trout from menheden fed stocked trout!! Comment here!

Comments@Asmfc.org

Copy and paste this address list and write your e-mail advocating for public stream access over stocking on wild trout!!

Senator Rothman-grothman@pasen.gov

Josh Shapiro- governor@pa.gov

Kulik-Astorino- RepKulik@pahouse.net

Penn Live- tbonner@pennlive.com

Philly Inquirer-jnark@inquirer.com

Pittsburgh Post Gazette- swischnowski@post-gazette.com

NPR- news@witf.org asia_tabb@witf.org

Dark Skies Fly Fishing Magazine- Less than a cup of coffee per issue!! Check out my Column “Fly Fishing After Dark” for all things night fishing!! Also check out Mike Evanko’s Writings on a number of fishing topics!

https://darkskiesflyfishing.com/product/1-year-digital-subscription/?srsltid=AU7gw4WbXY7p-pVdhM3V0qlleivk5db4XfW8ru3J3oQRDQvwaenrsecA

Statements and views on The Finsylvania Podcast are the personal views and best understandings of myself abd guests. These statements and views do not represent any employers, they are the very ownnof the private citizens on the podcast. We are speaking to our best recollection and understanding. Thus statements are not meant to be used as legal fact and should not be interpreted as such

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PA Fish & Broke: Trout Hatcheries in “Financial Crisis”

Saturday, September 12, 2026 • Duration 01:06:15

PA Fish & Broke: WMI report suggests hunters pay for bailiut of trout hatcheries

In this episode fellow PA Wild Trout Coalition board member Philip Light and I talk about multiple media outlets like Penn Live and Go Erie breaking the story that PA Fish and Boat is in “Financial Crisis.” This was prompted by a report from the WMI(Wild Life Management Institute) projecting Pennsylvania Fish and Boat commission be insolvent before 2034. The report also (falsely)claims the game commission is in trouble financially and will be tapping into its reserves. However, we discuss why thats not really true and what critical revenue sources were omitted from the WMI’s representation of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s fiscal health. There were several concerning aspects of the WMI report. Despite hatcheries being 48% of every dollar spent at The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat commission the WMI report did not address runaway hatchery costs being largely responsible for the agency’s poor fiscal health once. And finally possibly the most concerning portion of the report is that WMI recommended that the funding between Fish & Boat and Game Commission be combined for “cost sharing.” This is a round about way of saying they recommend PGC/hunters prevent fish and boat from becoming insolvent and bailing out their reckless hatchery spending that broke the bank to begin with. This will be at the expense of hunting programs or funds since PA Fish and Boat is already operating in a deficit due to hatcheries. We talk about the hurdles of and what kind of legislative steps will be taken to attenptt to take hunters funds. Ultimately we have to ask ourselves should hunter programs, state game land purchases, and deer management take cuts to pay for Tim Schaeffer’s hatchery trout spending addiction? We talk about “leaders” who have ignored hundreds of e-mails about this issue for years and even enable waste, fraud, and abuse at fish & boat. Josh Shapiro, Greg Rothman, and Anita Kulik-Astorino have watched this reckless spending happen and done nothing despite being asked to reign it in for years. We discuss how menheden harvest regulations could make feeding hatchery trout much more expensive and bankrupt PFBC sooner. We talk about why politicians always seem to want to avoid public land purchases and instead favor polluting our streams with enormously expensive hatchery non-native trout. Finally, Phil and I talk about how you can visit PAWTC.org and take action by engaging your elected officials. Don’t forget to comment against repealing the roadless rule! Also sign your name supporting proposed menheden protections(for stripers and making trout stocking more expensive and harder to not cut). Also don’t forget to support StopPAX-1.com as the legal fight for the conodoguinet & Letort’s future begins as local residents try to prevent their community from being invaded by the Data center senator Greg Rothman profited from a land deal with.

All About The Brown Trout

Monday, August 31, 2026 • Duration 02:38:39

In this two part podcast we dive in to everything Brown Trout. In part on we discuss the various brown trout species, their relatives, and thier distribution across Eurasia with James Suleski of the Finsylvania Podcast. In part two we dive into the history of the brown trout as well as their genetic lineages across time and their native range with geneticist Steve Weiss.

Check out the Finsylvania Podcast here.

https://www.youtube.com/@UCMz_PXVNMtunyqt32gVdi-g

Check out the Steve Weiss' latest music here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7tvZPainq4&list=RDn7tvZPainq4&start_radio=1

Check out our Book: Journey For The World's Trout, where we find, catch, and document many of these species discussed in this podcast around the world.

https://www.georgiawildtrout.com/product-page/journey-for-the-world-s-trout

Learn more about the Salmo family in this book.

https://amzn.to/4qHe8Py

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Adirondack Pond Brook Trout Conservation: Scott Daskiewich

Monday, August 24, 2026 • Duration 01:13:24

Ever wanted to explore remote wilderness native brook trout ponds in the Adirondaks? Well this is the podcast for you! In this episode I interview Scott Daskiewich the chair of the New York Chapter of Native Fish Coalition on native brook trout conservation and threats in the Adirondak region. We talk about the harms from non-native northern pike, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, yellow perch, golden shiner, Atlantic Salmon, Brown trout, and rainbow trout. We also talk about climate projections for adirondak ponds as well as the phenomenon known as “browning” that threatens many brook trout ponds. scott details some of his own adventures and how dragging a boat or tube miles into a remote stillwater bative brook trout fishery off grid is different than what we have in Pennsylvania. We talk about New York DEC’s new native brook trout pond management plan. All in all this epsiode will take you on a journey to one of the most special and pristine environments on the east coast where a unique native brook trout fishing experience exists. We also talk about opportunities for more native lake trout management in the Adirondaks.

#adirondacks #brooktrout #conservation

Find Scott and NY NFC here!

https://nativefishcoalition.org/new-york

FIGHT FOR THE ROADLESS RULE! CLICK HERE TO COMMENT

https://www.sierraclub.org/save-roadless-rule-protect-our-forests

CALL THE WASHINGTON SWITCHBOARD AND GIVE YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS A PEICE OF YOUR MIND ABOUT THE ROADLESS RULE REPEAL!!!(directs you to your local politician by area code)

(202) 224-3121

Why we should end King Salmon Stocking in Lake Ontario & Salmon River with Dr. Kathryn Peiman

Monday, August 10, 2026 • Duration 01:15:23

Lake Ontario & Salmon River: Why Ending King Salmon Stocking could benefit everyone with Dr. Kathryn Peiman

In this episode of the Finsylvania Podcast Road Trip Series we sit down with fisheries scientist Dr. Kathryn Peiman to discuss why stocking non-native King Salmon in Lake Ontario and its tributaries is likely just wasting miney at this point wince the fishery is dominated by natural reproduction. We talk about the harms to the ecosystem that the artificial and unnatural human balancing act between non-native salmon and non-native alweives cause. One of the original motivations of introducing non-native king salmon being controlling alweives. We discuss the bizarre practice of manipulating salmon stocking to protect the alweives population that currently takes place. We discuss alweives causing lake wide thiamine deficiency in native salmonids like Atlantic salmon and lake trout. We discuss the cold hard truth that managing for alweives and pacifics is “incompatible” with successful Landlocked Atlantic Salmon Restoration. We talk about how fisheries managers around Lake Ontario are engaged in double speak by simultaneously claiming to make efforts to restore native fish populations while knowingly continuing to prop up invasive fish populations that make such native fish recovery efforts near impossible. We talk about how anglers make up an extreme minority of Lake Ontario stakeholders and users yet stocking programs not based in science that pander to this minority are forced on every stakeholder group. Maybe most surprisingly, hatchery salmon hurting the overall king salmon fishery by delaying thiamine deficiency adaptation and eating wild king salmon fry. We discuss the most likely scenario if salmon stocking stopped tomorrow, no change in the amount of king salmon. Yes thats right you read that correctly, we are spending millions and millions of dollars in environmentally destructive aquaculture to do what nature could likely do for free. Why are we wasting this money? The answer is simply because anglers that have not been adequately informed on the science share a false belief their non-native salmon fishing experience or Bussiness would go away without stocking. We discuss why these fears are unfounded in reality yet so very pervasive. We call for more honest science communication to ALL great lakes stakeholders, recreationalists, anglers and the public that pays taxes going into the great lakes. Openly espousing managers are seriously invested in native fish recovery while stocking the one of the largest barriers to recovery is dishonest and must stop. Its time for a watershed gut check moment in Lake Ontario, Pulaski, Oswego, and on the Canadian side about the quality of our current expensive hatchery based fisheries management model. From New York to Canada we can do better. Finsylvania listeners will see many parallels between hatchery based fisheries management issues at Pennsylvania Fish and Boat as well as many other states where trout stocking exists purely for tradition and not fiscal or environmental pragmatism. We also talk about how all this money wasted on stocking non-native salmonids could be going to access easements instead that have conservation plantings and best management practices on them instead. This would further enhance natural reproduction, watershed protection, and fishing access. Making hatchery cuts to fund stream access/conservation easements is a better way forward for the sport of fishing, conservation, water quality, and great lakes restoration.

Introducing PA Wild Trout Coalition: A unifying voice for stocking reform!

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 01:05:35

LEAVE A MESSAGE IN COMMENT SECTION IF YOU WANT TO SEND AN E-MAIL FOR THE STOCKING REFORM CAMPAIGN!

In today’s elisode we introduce The Pennsylvania Wild Trout Coalition, an organization dedicated to getting the white hatchery truck off wild trout streams. The organization’s founder James(Jim) Neely comes on the podcast to discuss the laser focus of the organization on stocking reform, small/ nimble leadership group, and lack of traditional entanglements that often slow down large traditional conservation non-profits. We are not a 501c3, we don’t stock trout, we don’t teach kids to stock trout in school, and we don’t have banquets or raffles. We are purely driven by the angling publics overwhelming desire for both excellent wild non-native brown trout fisheries and wild native brook trout management areas. We feel public angling opportunity/recreation would be better served by focusing on the big issue of loss of stream access rather than stocking over wild trout and wasting enormous sums of money. We talk about how the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has gotten so far off mission and over its budget. We talk about the proposed merger with the game commission to bailout hatcheries burning cash yet again. We also discuss the failures of Josh Shapiro, Greg Rothman, and Anita Kulik-Astorino to reign in the fish commissiony wreckless behavior. Jim Neely also discusses his Native Brook Trout initiative in the Allegheny National Forest. We discuss the importance of the Finsylvania E-mail Stocking Reform Campaign and the importance of becoming an official Bussiness or organizational partner with PA Wild Trout Coalition. So “Let Nature raise the fish” and please go check out the PAWTC website that has tools to contact your senator, a mission statement, details on our leadership team, a petition, and so much more! We don’t want your money we want your voice!

PA Wild Trout Coalition Website

https://pawtc.org/

Finsylvania Stocking Reform E-mail Campaign Action Center(if you would rather copy and paste the e-mails into one address and send message me or leave a comment and I can send them to you!) Click below and demand stocking over wild trout be addressed by the media and politicians!

The Stocking Reform Campaign: Phil and I kick it off!

Monday, July 13, 2026 • Duration 37:11

Hey everyone,

Thanks for participating in the Finsylvania Stocking Reform Campaign!

Here is the link to the action center built by Philip Light from UnicornBrookies.com where you can send e-mails to hundreds of politicians and the journalists who cover them.

👉 https://www.unicornbrookies.com/campaign/

Please try to personalize your message if you can, and only use the AI email text generator as a starting point to add to or change to your desired wording.(suggested talking points at bottom of e-mail)

AFTER YOU SEND YOUR E-MAIL CALL POLITICIANS & JOURNALISTS TOO!!!

Here are phone numbers to call and advocate for stocking reform!

Politicians

Call Josh Shapiro

717-787-2500

Call Greg Rothman’s office(Chair of senate game and fish committee)

7177871377

PA Fish & Boat: Off Mission and Over Budget- Getting it back on the rails with Eric Hussar

Monday, June 22, 2026 • Duration 01:12:54

this special episode, I interview Fish Commissioner Eric Hussar of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission about the agency’s ballooning hatchery costs and its failure to make cuts recommended by the Penn State Smeal College of Business a decade ago—cuts that could have avoided these issues entirely. We discuss the agency’s transition from the 'Operation Future' era, to the stocking-cut pragmatism under John Arway, to its more recent abandonment of its stated 'resource first' mission in favor of doubling down on commercial-scale, invasive fish farming that is spending it into oblivion.

Eric gets candid about the lack of leadership regarding the agency’s true mandated mission in the PA Code, and how much of the board has lost its way. We discuss the shameful—but completely legal in PA—stocking of Australian Barramundi in the Delaware River this year, which was uncovered via notice of stocking in PFBC Right-to-Know requests. We also talk about the urgent need for a stocking authorization before shared watersheds in New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York get permanently harmed by Pennsylvania's 'Wild West' approach to private stocking.

Furthermore, we cover the long history of overspending on hatcheries and the many off-ramps we could have taken, using Freeman Run and other examples. We discuss Governor Josh Shapiro’s recent, unfortunate decision to bring back Commissioner William Brock, who has a history of conflicts of interest, failing the agency's mission, and arguing for sweetheart stocking exemptions that threaten high-conservation-value aquatic ecosystems. I also bring up DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn’s long history of looking the other way on stocking inside DCNR Wild and Natural Areas, which are legally supposed to 'protect native biodiversity.' She, Josh Shapiro, Greg Rothman, and Anita Kulik Astorino, among many others, have ignored hundreds of letters for years from people calling to protect taxpayer infrastructure grants and our state fish from seemingly limitless hatchery spending.

How do we fix it? Tune in and find out.

#pennsylvania #brooktrout #troutstocking #pafishing #pawilds

(Video On YouTube)Coverage of Current Big Spring Stream Project Construction

Tuesday, June 9, 2026 • Duration 10:20

I dropped by the Big Spring in Cumberland County Pennsylvania to film the newly constructed engineered habitat structures for you guys. I walk you through alot of them and talk about some of the research, case studies, and anecdotal examples of the effects of engineered instream structures on native brook trout populations in streams highly invaded by non-native trout. We found some friendly PA fish and boat commission staff who explained the surveys before the habitat project and the funding/permiting for this work. One thing I was thankful for atleast was they were aware of some of this research and tried to limit depth to 2 feet since more depth seems to correlate with worse outcomes for brook trout in some case studies and anecdotal examples. A survey is planned in the future, we will be covering that as well.

#brooktrout

#flyfishing

#bigspring

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Coaster Brook Trout Genetics, Life History, and Management with Minnesota DNR’s Nick Peterson

Monday, June 8, 2026 • Duration 01:14:14

In this episode I talk to Minnesota DNR scientist Nicholas Peterson who specializes in managing Lake Superior Native Coaster Brook Trout. You will learn alot about the amazing life history of coaster brook trout, their resilience, genetics, and many many fisheries management lessons/initiatives we can apply here in Pennsylvania. We may not have Lake Superior in Pennsylvania but we have deep lakes connected to brook trout streams that have similar adfluvial life histories. We can learn a lot from Minnesota DNR’s focus on brook trout conservation genetics, thermal refuge mapping, stocking reform, university/non-profit brook trout research partnerships, and just generally their commitment to so much more than just stocking hatchery trout. We will also talk briefly about how brook trout often are found living in places they “shouldn’t be” such as streams in the upper 70’s and other places we don’t think they can survive yet have thermal micro habitat. We also talk about Nick’s experience holding 25 inch coaster brook trout at night electro surveying in the livht of the Aurora Borealis(northern lights). There is plenty of discussion about historical human impacts that harmed Minnesota coaster brook trout as well as the 2018 recovery of coasters that was helped along by forward thinking coaster brook trout harvest regs enacted in 2006. Minnesota’s north shore is a magical place with magical fish!

Check out my Fly Fishing After Dark column in Dark Skies Fly Fishing Magazine!!!

https://darkskiesflyfishing.com/magazine/?srsltid=AfmBOorkaTITiDCQvc53i3399mUrzVoaonT_DaAT7DTr2WaHm9ZwrRCb

Check out Philip Light’s Unicornbrookies.com for the most science based blog on PA’s native brook trout and their management

https://www.unicornbrookies.com/

Finsylvania – Details, episodes & analysis

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Finsylvania – Details, episodes & analysis

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