Enter the one that didn’t get away in the GoErie.com Trout of the Year Contest.

Trout fishing season in most of Pennsylvania starts April 13, and from that day through April 30 you can upload a photo of you and your best trout. The public will vote on their favorites, and we’ll announce the public vote winner and an editor’s choice winner May 19 on the NWPA Outdoors page in the Erie Times-News.

Winners will receive a fish platter from Allen Stoneware Gallery.

The contest is open only to licensed anglers who are 16 or older at the time of entry, as well as to anglers 16 and under whose parents or guardians enter their photos. Participants must have either caught their trout in Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Forest or Warren counties, or reside in one of those counties and have caught their trout in Pennsylvania.

Good luck.

Pennsylvania’s limit for Lake Erie yellow perch will remain at 30 per day and the creel limit for walleye will still be six per day, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission said today.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recently announced changes to its adult trout stocking programs for 2013, including three in northwestern Pennsylvania waters:

1. Buhl Lake, in Mercer County, near Sharon, has been added to the stocking list. The 7-acre lake will be stocked with rainbow trout during the preseason and inseason periods.

2. A section of Caldwell Creek, in Warren County, will no longer receive adult trout. Finglering trout will be stocked during the fall from 2012 to 2014 in the Catch and Release Fly-Fishing Only section that runs 1.4 miles from Selkirk Bridge downstream to Stony Hollow Run, half a mile upstream of Dotyville Bridge.

3. Little Sandy Creek, in Venango County, also will see only finglering stocked in a Catch and Release Fly Fishing Only section of stream. The stretch is 1.3 miles, from the old bridge at Polk Center Pump House downstream to the Route 3024 bridge on Savannah Road.

The sixth in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Lisa Danko

Age: 56

Lisa Danko.

Family: Married 33 years, with two adult children, two grandchildren and a third on the way.

Lives in: Harborcreek Township.

College: Masters in Entomology from Pennsylvania State University.

Profession: Adjunct instructior of Biology,  Gannon University and Butler Community College.

Originally from: Buffalo, N.Y.

I got into birding …: I attended the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage over 30 years ago and was surrounded by families who loved and shared nature. That was back in my college days.  So once I married, my husband and I shared a love of nature. This led us to join Presque Isle Audubon Society. We became active there, holding many post including both of us as past presidents. Once we bought our house we started with backyard bird feeding and identification. Our travels always involve wild life watching.

Spark birds: Puffins in breeding plumage in Maine and veery  in the forest — sounds like a flute, and I remember hearing this when I was a child. Woodcocks and snipe  in my yard, they are a sure sign of spring returning.

Favorite bird: Colorful birds , but bluebirds are my favorites.

Favorite places to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Fields off all the back roads.

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The nation’s longest hiking trail is just miles from Erie, but I wonder how many Erie County residents ever have stepped foot on it.

The North Country Trail enters Pennsylvania at State Game Lands 285 in Beaver County and arcs northeast, as the crow flies, until it reaches the New York state line near Willow Bay in the Allegheny National Forest. I wrote this about the trail in 2011:

“The NCT stretches 4,600 miles — more than twice the length of the more celebrated Georgia-to-Maine Appalachian Trail — through seven states, from Lake Sakakawea in western North Dakota to Lake Champlain in New York. That includes  300 miles through Pennsylvania in an arc roughly describing the northwestern corner of the state. Step into McConnell’s Mill State Park, Moraine State Park, Cook Forest State Park or the Allegheny National Forest, among other public lands, and you’re never far from the trail.”

The Allegheny National Forest Chapter of the North Country Trail Association is particularly active in helping hikers discover and utilize the trail. If you’re in the market for an introduction to opportunities on the ANF chapter’s stretch of the NCT, visit them at the Erie Sport & Travel Expo March 1-3 at the Bayfront Convention Center.

Chapter officials Keith and Karen Klos also will give a presentation, “All about the North Country Trail,” March 1 at 4:30 p.m., March 2 at noon and March 3 at 1 p.m. Stop in and say hi to them.

The fifth in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Julie Dell

Age: 61

Julie Dell.

Family: Husband and three grown sons; three grandchildren

Lives in: Franklin Township

Profession: Reference assistant at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania library

Originally from: Erie

I got into birding ..: We moved to the country 34 years ago and there were birds here that I had never seen before. I was curious as to their names, so I bought a bird guide and resurrected an old set of binoculars. It grew from there to buying better binocs … putting up bluebird houses … feeding 600 pounds of seed all winter … taking the binocs when we would travel … taking trips JUST to bird … paying for birding classes … joining Audubon, etc. My latest venture is becoming a Purple Martin “landlord” this spring.

Spark bird: Bluebird

Favorite bird: Snowy Owl

Favorite place to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Presque Isle State Park

Strangest place I’ve gone birding: In Germany, while hiking up a hillside to view a historic grave site. I was not even thinking about “birding” but saw a “water dipper” working a stream. I had never seen this type of bird and was amazed. I had no idea what it was and tried to get an idea from a German couple. Needless to say, because I didn’t speak German and they didn’t speak English it was not too successful. We all had fun trying. They seemed pleased that I was excited about “their” bird.

Rarest birds I’ve seen: Snowy plover and piping plover

Birding gear and equipment I take everywhere: Binocs, spotting scope, birding guide (book and most recently birding app with calls). Insect repellent. 

Favorite birding field guide or app: Peterson field guide. Got a mini iPad for Christmas and am looking forward to using the Sibley birding book I downloaded for it this spring. It has the bird calls on it so you can check them when you are in the field!

What I like most about birding: The beauty of the birds! Time spent outdoors.   Meeting people that love the birds as much as I do.

The best bird watching day I’ve ever had: I went to Arizona expressly to see hummingbirds. Southeastern Arizona is the “hummingbird flyway” for almost all species of hummingbirds found in the United States. I planned a trip with my sister-in-law, who lives in Scottsdale, to drive to Miller Canyon. We stayed at Beatty’s Miller Canyon Guest Ranch and had an amazing time! Hummingbirds like fairies in the trees, everywhere! So many different species at one time that people were calling out the ones they saw and it was hard to keep track or now where to look first! In one day I saw 12 different species of hummingbirds ! 

The worst birding day I’ve ever had: No such thing.

Dream birding destination: The Monterey California Audubon birding festival. Four days of guided hikes and boat tours! 

Best birding advice you ever got: Don’t always reach for the binocs first. Watch the behavior, flight pattern, body shape. Sometimes the bird is gone before you can get the binocs to your eyes!

Your advice to beginning birders: Get out there! Meet other people who are birding too! You will meet some great people and learn a lot. Take a field class if you can. There is nothing better than having someone who knows for sure what bird you are seeing.

Should a sighting be counted if you’ve only heard an identifiable bird call but not seen the bird itself?: That is an individual thing. Personally I won’t count a life bird for myself unless I see it. If you were participating a “big year” competition I would think that it would depend on the rules for that competition.

Do you keep a life list? Yes, I keep a life list … sort of. I am not obsessive about it, and probably have not recorded everything. Best count is 276. 

Do you approve of the idea of competitions such as a Big Year or Big Day?     Sure … people can bird and have fun any way they want!

Previous entries in the NWPA Outdoors Birder Bio series:

No. 1: Shawn Collins

No. 2: Bonnie Ginader

No. 3: Michele Rundquist-Franz

No. 4: Lee Ann Reiners

Interested in participating in the Birder Bio profiles series? E-mail matt.martin@timesnews.com for details.

The fourth in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Lee Ann Reiners, Field trip director, Presque Isle Audubon Society

Lee Ann Reiners, of Tidioute, encounters a Nazca booby on one of the Galapagos Islands in March 2012. Contributed photo

Age: 62

Lives in: Tidioute, Warren County, and Leesburg, Fla.

Profession: Retired library assistant, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

Originally from: Pittsburgh

I got into birding …: I don’t remember how old I was. My parents gave my brother and me a little Herbert Zim bird field guide and we used it till it fell apart. Although we lived in Pittsburgh, we had a summer cottage near Cambridge Springs in Crawford County. My brother and I roamed the woods and fields exploring all sorts of habitats and their wildlife. When I was 20, I began birding with a nature group and learned about keeping lists.

Spark birds: All birds fascinated me, so I really can’t single out that one special bird that actually sparked my interest. Possibly cagebirds, parakeets and canaries, which my grandmother raised and I loved to play with, and the feeder birds in our back yard.

Favorite birds: Hummingbirds, chickadees, woodpeckers.

Nemesis bird: Currently, LeConte’s Sparrow. Plus I’d love to see an ivory-billed woodpecker if there are still any alive. I got to hold one in my hand – it was Roger Tory Peterson’s from his skins collection. Unfortunately, long deceased.)

Favorite place(s) to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Land o’ Lakes state game lands near Cambridge Springs; Tidioute Bird Trail;  and while canoeing on French Creek, Conneaut Marsh and the Allegheny River.

Strangest place I’ve gone birding: In Trinidad we were taken to a cave where Oilbirds lived. They sleep in the dark cave during the day and come out at night. We were allowed into the cave one person at a time to catch a glimpse of the roosting birds and take a picture by flashlight.

Rarest bird I’ve seen: North America, Whooping Crane; South America, San Isidro Owl

Usual birding partner: My husband, Charles Houpt

Birding gear and equipment I take everywhere: 15×50 Canon IS binoculars; various Canon cameras and lenses; Sibley Field Guide to Birds; monopod walking stick; iPod for ID’ing some of the bird calls I might hear.

Favorite birding field guide or app: Sibley’s

What I like most about birding: The birds, of course! I can sit and watch a chickadee for hours on end. I love to settle in beside a babbling brook and watch whatever flies into my view. Better than jelly donuts!

The best birdwatching day I’ve ever had: A day at Hummingbird Lodge in Ecuador in March 2012 when I actually reached out and touched a hummingbird on its soft little tummy.

The worst birding day I’ve ever had: I am a first responder for Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, which means I can transport injured wildlife to the center. Last September I got a call to transport a Bald Eagle from Althom in Warren County to the center. En route I could hear its labored breathing and low moans of pain. That is something I will never forget – the sounds of pain from that magnificent bird. He was showing signs of lead poisoning and a blood test was run. His lead level was so high that it was off the meter. The pain was caused by the lead eating away his internal organs. I watched this bird die. Eagles are opportunistic feeders and will eat already-dead animals they might find. If the animal is killed by lead ammunition, the eagle will ingest the lead, which travels rapidly into their bloodstream. (More information can be seen at http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/lead_poisoning/ & http://www.tamarackwildlife.org/2011/12/bald-eagles-and-lead-poisoning.html )

Dream birding destination: I’ve been to my dream destinations, but would love to go back to Hawai’i to see what I missed the first time, when I was traveling with a non-birder and missed a lot.

Best birding advice you ever got: It was actually canoeing advice that I applied to birding: find the best paddler as you enter the whitewater and follow him, do what he does. With birding, it’s pick out the best birder in the group and stick close by!

Your advice to beginning birders: Join the Audubon Society and attend meetings and field trips so you can learn as you go. And learn birding etiquette, so you won’t be disturbing the birds in their habitat, especially during breeding season.

Should a sighting be counted if you’ve only heard an identifiable bird call but not seen the bird itself? I mark it down as a “heard bird,” but don’t count it on my list till I’ve seen one.

Do you keep a life list? Yes, I do. My current total is 1,083, and I passed the 1,000 mark last month in Ecuador — my husband presented me with a “1,000” applique to sew onto my birding hat! (He also passed 1,000 on that trip!)

Do you approve of the idea of competitions such as a Big Year or Big Day? Yes, because info gathered from those events can be used for statistics in research. And they are fun, as long as the participants aren’t interfering with the natural routine of the birds. (Plus, the Big Year competition inspired a fun movie! We in Presque Isle Audubon Society made the opening night in Erie one of our field trips and we went to it as a group.)

Etc: I post many of my photos to http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeann-charlie/sets/

Previous entries in the Birder Bio series:

No. 1: Shawn Collins

No. 2: Bonnie Ginader

No. 3: Michele Rundquist-Franz

Interested in participating in the Birder Bio profiles series? E-mail matt.martin@timesnews.com for details.

Erie County figures prominently into the fish that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission says were the largest reported caught in Pennsylvania in 2012.

Anglers from Erie County and other northwestern Pennsylvania counties caught the first-, second- or third-largest fish in 11 different species categories last year. Lake Erie figured into more trophy catches than any other water, but Kinzua Dam, Justus Lake, Blue Jay Creek and Conewango Creek also made the list.

Erie’s Robert Einodshofer doubled up; he caught the state’s biggest known rock bass and the No. 3 northern pike, both out of Lake Erie.

Listed are only the leading catches by Erie-area anglers, or by anglers from out of the area who fished in northwestern Pennsylvania waters; the full list is here. The Fish and Boat Commission issues the list each year based on entries to its Angler Award program.

One oddity: The state-record lake trout that Todd Young, of Nazareth, caught on Lake Erie in May 2012 is not included on the list of the year’s biggest lake trout.

Jack McGill tries his luck on the ice near Fry’s Landing on Misery Bay at Presque Isle State Park in Erie on Feb. 5. McGill, 60, of Fairview Township, caught the largest white perch in Pennsylvania in 2012. CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/Erie Times-News

Rock bass: No. 1 Robert Einodshofer, Erie, 1 pound 4 ounces, Lake Erie

Smallmouth bass: No. 2 Andrew Schell, Halifax, 7 pounds 9 ounces, Lake Erie

White bass: No. 1, Kathy Sisk, Warren, 2 pounds 9 ounces, Lake Erie

Bullhead catfish: No. 2, Ryan J. Norr, Guys Mills, 2 pounds 2 ounces, Justus Lake

Channel catfish: No. 2, David T. Bishoff, Erie, 17 pounds 7.5 ounces, Lake Erie

Freshwater drum: No. 1, Edward F. Sieminski, Youngsville, 14 pounds 2 ounces, Kinzua Dam tailwaters

Muskie: No. 1, Robert M. Sprankle, Mentcle, 44 pounds 4 ounces, Kinzua Dam

White perch: No. 1, Jack McGill, Fairview, 1 pound 11.5 ounces, Lake Erie

Yellow perch: No. 1, John B. Alexander, Erie, 2 pounds 8 ounces, Lake Erie

Northern pike: No. 3, Robert L. Einodshofer, Erie, 15 pounds, Lake Erie

Chinook salmon: No. 1, Gary Rohal, Verona, 14 pounds, Lake Erie

Coho salmon: No. 1, Mark D. Johnson, Hawk Run, 11 pounds, Lake Erie

Pink salmon: No. 1, Robert Schoeller, Erie, 4 pounds 8 ounces, Lake Erie

Steelhead: No. 1, Allan M. Povanda, Greensburg, 15 pounds 9 ounces, Lake Erie

Brook trout: No. 2, Scott Baldi, Erie, 4 pounds 2 ounces, Blue Jay Creek

Brown trout: No. 2, Melissa Rogowski, Erie, 14 pounds 5 ounces, Lake Erie

Golden palomino trout: No. 2, Cody Lyons, Bainbridge, 8 pounds 4 ounces, Conewango Creek

Lake trout: No. 1, Emma Pritchard, Rimersburg, 16 pounds 14 ounces, Lake Erie

Walleye: No. 3, Dennis M. Weaver, Nicktown, 11 pounds 12 ounces, Lake Erie

The second in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Bonnie Ginader

Bonnie Ginader/Contributed photo

Family: daughter, Aimee Gevirtz, and son, Geoff Ginader. Four grandchildren, one great-granddaughter.

Lives in: Millcreek Township

College: B.S., mathematics, Grove City College

Profession: Realtor^R, Pennington Lines Real Estate.

Originally from: Erie

Favorite bird: Woodcock

Favorite places to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Presque Isle State Park, Erie Bluffs State Park, Siegel Marsh, Pymatuning State Park.

Rarest bird I’ve seen: Piping Plover

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Hunters killed 30 fewer bears in 2012 than they did in 2011 in the Northwest Region, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission final harvest results released today.

There were 365 bears shot in the nine-county region including a high of 94 in Warren County. There were 395 bears killed in 2011 including 119 in Warren County.

Hunters killed seven bears in Erie County, the same number as in 2011. Clarion, Venango, Jefferson and Butler each had more reported kills in 2012 than a year earlier; Forest, Crawford and Mercer counties had fewer — 34 fewer in the Venango, which had 90 kills in 2011 and 56 this past year.

Robert A. Pitts, of Meadville, shot a 620-pound male Nov. 17 in Roulette Township,
Potter County, that is the fifth-largest harvested during the 2012 season.

The overall state harvest was 3,632 bears, the third-most in Pennsylvania history. The record is 4,350 in 2011.

Wildlife Management Unit 1B had 38 recorded kills, or 26 fewer than in 2011. WMU 1B includes all of Erie County, most of Crawford County and parts of Warren and Venango counties.

The final bear harvests by Wildlife Management Unit (with final 2011 figures in parentheses): WMU 1A, 4 (13); WMU 1B, 38 (64); WMU 2B, 6 (1): WMU 2C, 268 (226); WMU 2D, 162 (150); WMU 2E, 50 (79); WMU 2F, 285 (345); WMU 2G, 829 (1,086); WMU 3A, 342 (564); WMU 3B, 279 (479); WMU 3C, 146 (299); WMU 3D, 305 (318); WMU 4A, 139 (72); WMU 4B, 84 (70); WMU 4C, 163 (148); WMU 4D, 403 (355); WMU 4E, 110 (79); WMU 5A, 1 (1); WMU 5B, 2 (0); and WMU 5C, 16 (1).

Final county harvests by region (with 2011 figures in parentheses):

Northwest: Warren, 94 (119); Clarion, 77 (47); Venango, 62 (56); Forest, 56 (90); Jefferson, 51 (45); Butler, 11 (9); Erie, 7 (7); Crawford, 6 (16); and Mercer, 1 (6).

Southwest: Somerset, 94 (75); Fayette, 79 (67); Westmoreland, 37 (24); Armstrong, 35 (66); Indiana, 24 (33); Cambria, 11 (35); and Allegheny, 4 (1).

Northcentral: Lycoming, 341 (336); Clinton, 265 (205); Tioga, 227 (381); Potter 179 (399); Centre, 143 (129); McKean, 134 (258); Clearfield, 102 (154); Union, 82 (49); Elk, 76 (153); and Cameron, 67 (100).

Southcentral: Huntingdon, 125 (73); Bedford, 86 (44); Mifflin, 62 (48); Blair, 50 (32); Juniata, 37 (33); Perry, 32 (13); Fulton, 25 (15); Franklin, 14 (13); Snyder, 14 (29); Adams, 2 (0); and Cumberland, 2 (4).

Northeast: Pike, 108 (116); Monroe, 102 (88); Luzerne, 100 (99); Bradford, 86 (126); Wayne, 73 (208); Carbon, 67 (45); Sullivan, 60 (180); Wyoming, 57 (57); Susquehanna, 41 (92); Lackawanna, 37 (25); Columbia, 36 (26); Northumberland, 26 (11); and Montour, 3 (0).

Southeast: Dauphin, 48 (46); Schuylkill, 39 (34); Northampton, 21 (4); Lehigh 3 (3); Berks, 7 (2); and Lebanon, 4 (13).