The president of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and owner of a major tackle retailer shares why anglers need more access to fishing locations as the agency works to create more opportunities and simplify regulations.
Dan Pastore, 65, owner of FishUSA in Fairview, Erie County, is an avid angler who is serving as the president of the Fish and Boat Commission through June.
He was first appointed to the Fish and Boat Commission’s volunteer-based board in 2019 to represent the counties of Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango and Warren.
“One of the local clubs encouraged me to apply when there was an opening. I wasn’t even aware there was an open position,” he said.
Since being on the board of a state-wide organization for several years, he has realized how big of a task it is to monitor and improve the waterways.
“Just seeing what a great job they do all over the state. I wasn’t nearly familiar with what the commission does outside of our region here. Primarily, I fish up in the northwest part of Pennsylvania,” he said. “I do trout fish in central Pa. But there is such diversity. Places like the Susquehanna and the Delaware River watersheds, I didn’t appreciate how diverse those are and how different they are from here. I also didn’t realize that the commission manages reptiles and amphibians which a lot of people probably don’t realize.”