The Pennsylvania Steelhead Association will have a general membership meeting Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at American Legion Post 773, 4109 W. 12th St.

Bradford resident Steve Skvarka, a partner in the annual Kinzua Fly Fishing School, will speak about fighting and handling big trout and steelhead.

The public and new members are invited. The gathering is free of charge.

From largemouth bass to walleye, Pennsylvania anglers target and catch a grand variety of fish every year, and every year some of those anglers’ best catches end up on the list of Pennsylvania’s biggest fish.

Northwestern Pennsylvania, with its proximity to the great fishing in Lake Erie, Pymatuning, Shenango Lake and other prime waters, always is well represented on that list. That’s particularly true of the 2011 list that was recently published on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission web site.

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The Pennsylvania Steelhead Association‘s Tom Morrison Steelhead Catch-and-Release Tournament is scheduled for March 31 from 7a.m. to 4 p.m.

Want to participate? You have to become a PSA member, which costs just $15 for an individual. Tournament fishing is allowed only in Pennsylvania waters and will be done in two-person teams. Awards will be determined by length and by time caught. Plaques will be awarded to the top three catches.

The tournament is followed by the annual PSA Spring Run Banquet from 6-9 p.m. at American Legion Post 773, 4109 W. 12th St. A meet-and-greet from 5:30-6 p.m. will offer beverages and appetizers.

After a short business meeting and election of PSA officers and directors, a buffet style dinner will be served. Tournament winners’ plaque presentations follow dinner, as will raffles for fishing tackle, three fly-tying boards and gift certificates to are restaurants and businesses.

Four days. Four rivers. 1,150 road miles. One old dog. Enjoy a Pacific Northwest trout fishing road trip in 10 minutes from the comfort of your desk chair.

Mission Possible from Hooked Up Films on Vimeo.

The Pennsylvania Steelhead Association‘s monthly meeting is scheduled for March 14 at 7 p.m. at American Legion Millcreek Post 773, 4019 W. 12th St.

The public and new members are invited.

It’s also a chance to get details about the association’s annual Tom Morrison Catch and Release Tournament and Spring Run Banquet March 31.

S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie hatchery manager Bob Zawadzki explains how steelhead are reared at the facility on the Bayfront Parkway. Love the “Quiet: Fish being born” sign” in the background.

Erie native Kevin Pora, 35, caught a citation steelhead among the 18 he hooked while fishing Sunday in Erie County. Pora’s trophy, weighed and measured at Poor Richards Bait and Tackle, weighed 12 pounds 1 ounce, was 31 inches long, and had a girth of 17 3/4 inches. It was the largest steelhead he’s caught since taking up fishing as a child.

Kevin Shaffer, left, and Marc Hammond,12 caught three steelhead near Albion on Feb. 4.

fishing fun

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

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