The Susquehanna River is the lifeblood of local communities throughout central Pennsylvania. Residents rely on the river for drinking water, recreation, and economic opportunities. It’s no surprise that there has been an outpouring of concern in recent years as anglers and biologists have seen declines in fish populations, especially in young smallmouth bass. Join the discussion to understand what the fish and water quality are telling us about the Susquehanna and parallel concerns in the Shenandoah, Potomac and Juniata Rivers.

1. Presented by John Stygler
Owner of Snagler Tackle Company/Guide for Life outdoors Unlimited

2. Table 1. Estimates of economic activity and trip estimates on the Susquehanna River
and Lower Juniata River (Shields 2010, Smucker et al. 2010).
Species
Target Strata
Angler
Trips
Estimated
Economic
Contribution
Estimated
Economic
Impact
Economic
Contribution
Statistic
adjusted by
the Consumer
Price Index to
2012 US
Dollars
All Fish
Susquehanna and lower
Juniata Rivers 126,201 $3,352,974 $1,426,949 $3,700,170
lower Juniata River 16,524 $500,595 $319,771 $552,430
Susquehanna River 109,677 $2,852,955 $1,167,502 $3,148,374
Smallmouth
bass
Susquehanna and lower
Juniata Rivers 66,871 $1,975,842 $864,161 $2,180,437

3. State
Days
Fishing by
Non
Resident
Percent of
Total Days
Fished in
State Rank
Days
Fishing by
Residents
in other
States
Percent of
Resident
Days in
Other States Rank
Total
Days
Fishing in
State
Fishing
Total Days of
Fishing in
State and
Out of state
Net
Gain/Loss
NY 3,178 15% 4 1,389 5% 18 21,187 22,576 1,789
PA 1,648 8% 16 5,031 21% 3 20,600 25,631 -3,383
MD 1,775 17% 14 1,594 16% 16 10,441 12,035 181
VA 1,163 8% 21 2,848 18% 5 14,538 17,386 -1,685
WV 391 8% 45 1,030 18% 24 4,888 5,918 -639
MN 6,726 25% 1 961 5% 26 26,904 27,865 5,765
IA 138 2% 49 1,752 20% 13 6,900 8,652 -1,614
WY 1,148 48% 23 145 10% 46 2,392 2,537 1,003
IL 463 2% 39 6,751 25% 1 23,150 29,901 -6,288
AK 2,146 40% 7 33 1% 50 5,365 5,398 2,113
NV 204 47% 10 1,128 39% 22 434 1,562 -924
Days of fishing numbers in thousands
Recreational Fishing Tourism, Robert Ditton, Stephen Holland, David Anderson, 2002

4. • Small business to include:
• Restaurants/Diners/Deli/Pizza
• Convenience stores/grocery stores
• Fuel stations
• Tackle Shops
• Motels/Hotels/Campgrounds
• Other area attractions
• Local and state tax base
• Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

5. • Ken Penrod’s Life Outdoors Unlimited
provided 92 guided days on the river from
Mid March to May 1, 2013
• Around 80% of the clients were from out
of state
• Using the Impact Guide, the local
economy benefited nearly $72,000 from
those out of state trips and another
$12,000 from in state customers.

6. • There are roughly 30 plus guide
services on the Susquehanna River.
•Even if each guide service did 20
trips, this is nearly a $543,000 in
economic impact for 8 weeks of
business.
• If each guide service could do 75
trips per year, this would be $2.0
million per year in economic impact to
the river communities.

8. • http://www.csu.edu/cerc/documents/RecreationalFishingasTourism.pdf
• http://www.cbf.org/document.doc?id=591
• http://www.rural.palegislature.us/hunting.pdf
• http://fishandboat.com/chboat.htm

9. John Stygler
Snagler Tackle Company
Ken Penrod’s Life Outdoors Unlimited
Snaglertackle@aol.com
www.snaglertackle.com
www.penrodsguides.com