I thought I detected a snub to Susquehanna River anglers when I read that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recently floated the idea of allowing catch-and-relase angling for American shad on the Lehigh and Schuylkill rivers.

On the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, the season on shad is closed.

That means it's not only illegal to keep a shad there, it's against the law to even fish for them.

A lot of fish swim in the Susquehanna, so it is possible you could be fishing for, let's say, smallmouth bass and you inadvertently catch an American shad.

That doesn't mean you're going to be cuffed and hauled off to jail.

By declaring the shad season closed on the Susquehanna, the PFBC is saying it is illegal to specifically target shad.

For example, if the fish warden swings by and you are catching shad after shad below the Holtwood Dam, and your tackle consists solely of a box of shad darts and flutter spoons, you're probably going to have a tough time convincing The Man you're after smallies.

Follow the Susquehanna south into Maryland, and the rules change. South of the Pennsylvania line, catch-and-release shad angling is allowed.

And it's very popular.

Currently, shad angling on the Lehigh and Schuylkill rivers and their tributaries is allowed all year long, with a one-fish-per-day limit.

According to Denver resident Bob Bachman, who is a member of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's board of commissioners, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recently told the PFBC shad populations on the two rivers are not considered "sustainable."

Because of that, Bachman said, the commission wants no one harvesting shad in those watersheds.

So the PFBC has two options. It could close the shad season, as it has on the Susquehanna, or it could institute catch-and-release fishing.

On the Lehigh and Schuylkill, agency biologists have recommended the latter.

"Basically, we want to protect the fish, but we want to keep interest in fishing for shad there up," Bachman said. "There's going to be some hooking mortality, but we're saying it would be acceptable."

So why not do the same thing on the Susquehanna?

"There's not much of a fishery on the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, and we definitely want to protect every last shad we can," Bachman said.

The proposed shad-fishing rule change in the Lehigh and Schuylkill watersheds is up for public comment now.

It must be revisited by the PFBC commissioners for final adoption.

preilly@lnpnews.com