The allowable catch for walleye and yellow perch in Lake Erie has been set at lower totals than in 2012.

The Lake Erie Committee announced the total allowable catch after its meeting Thursday in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The committee includes fishery managers from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario.

The recommended total allowable catch is 3.356 million walleye and 12.237 million pounds of yellow perch. Fishery managers said they decreased the TAC to “reflect fish hatches in recent years that have been weak.”

Total allowable catch represents the number or weight of fish recommended to be caught by sport and commercial fishers without putting the fisheries at risk.

The 2012 total allowable catch for walley was 3.487 million.

Ohio will be entitled to 1.715 million fish, Ontario to 1.445 million fish and Michigan 0.196 million fish. Limits in Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario are set separately by those jurisdictions because the majority of the walleye harvest occurs in western Lake Erie.

“Due to a series of poor year classes, the population in 2014 is expected to decliine, potentially leading to lower TACs in future years as the fish from the strong year classes age and the total size of the walleye stock decreases,” the Lake Erie Committee said in a news release. “The decreased TAC recommendation for 2013 reflects the committee’s goal to manage the lakewide fish stocks sustainably, recognizing stakeholder input.”

The yellow perch TAC is a 10 percent decrease from the 13.637 allocated in 2012. The committee said it believes “harvestable stocks are lower than last year; the TAC for 2013 reflects the committee’s consideration of the importance of relative stability of harvest.”

Pennsylvania will receive .949 million pounds of the allocation. Ontario will receive 5.969 million pounds, Ohio 4.896 million pounds, Michigan 0.164 million pounds and New York 0.259 million pounds.

The Lake Erie Committee works with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a Canadian and U.S. agency.

The North Coast Fly Fishers are hosts for a great winter road trip idea Saturday, Jan. 12 — the Northern Ohio Fly Tying Expo.

The event is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Building Y at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland Ohio, just 90 minutes from Erie on Interstate 90. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for youths 13 to 18, and free for those under 12. Scouts in uniform also get in for free.

There’ll be plenty of tying, especially Dennis Potter’s all-day seminar. And beginners will be able take their turns at tying.

But there also are many Great Lakes-specific seminars on topics such as steelhead fishing, fishing for smallmouth bass, trout fishing in Pennsylvania, strike indicator fishing, inland Ohio trout fisheries and more.

Ohio saw a sharp drop in its statewide deer harvest during the 2011-12 seasons, registering 20,000 fewer reported kills than during the 2010-11 seasons.

Pennsylvania’s preliminary harvest report is due in mid-March.

Brian Kightlinger, of Venango, scored not one but two trophy bucks during archery seasons in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Kightlinger killed his Pennsylvania buck Oct. 19 from 12 yards.The 8-point dressed out at 185 pounds and green scored 114 0/8 inches.

Kightlinger shot his Ohio buck Nov. 4 from 18 yards. The 9-point that dressed out at 185 pounds and had a green score of 125 2/8.

Kightlinger is the Pennsylvania regional scorer for the Northeast Big Buck Club. Anyone interested in having their buck scored for the NBBC Record books can contact him at Kighty7@gmail.com or visit http://nbbcpa.wikispaces.com.

Union City resident Dave Lefebre finished 23rd Friday after two days of fishing on Lake Erie in the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open out of Sandusky, Ohio. Keith DiLuzio of North East finished 62nd among co-anglers.

The top 12 anglers and co-anglers qualified for today’s final tournament round.

Watch Saturday’s weigh-in at 3:30 p.m.

The New York deer harvest for the 2010-11 seasons was up by around 3 percent, following Pennsylvania’s report of a 2 percent increase during the same seasons.

Hunters in New York killed more than 230,000 total deer and 107,000 adult bucks — around 5,000 more bucks than in 2009.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission showed an estimated 122,930 antlered deer kills this past fall and winter, a 13 percent increase over the 108,330 killed in 2009-10.

Ohio reported a harvest of 239,260 deer.

An Ohio sheriff’s department involved in the 2009 rescue of more than 100 ice anglers from deteriorating ice on Lake Erie believes he’s found a way to help finance future, costly rescues.

The News-Messenger reports that Bob Bratton wouldn’t mind adopting a Colorado method in which each hunting license and fishing license sold includes a 25-cent search-and-rescue fee. That helps cover rescues such as the one on Lake Erie, which the Coast Guard said cost it nearly $250,000. Other emergency personnel also were involved, adding to the cost.

The sheriff might have a fight on his hands if he intends to see the idea through. The newspaper contacted the ODNR’s Gino Barna for comment:

“The Division of Wildlife would never be interested in that,” said Barna, law enforcement officer for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, Lake Erie Law Enforcement Unit. “That would never happen.”

The Legislature would have to approve any license fee increase if such funding ever were proposed in Pennsylvania. Would you support such an increase if it came to that in our state?

Ron Ames with his Ohio 10-point:

The Mock Scrape Buck

This week’s fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

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