An End to Tossing Bread to the Carp in Pymatuning

The Hubbard Press reports that the 70 year tradition of throwing bread to the carp at the Linesville Spillway is being curtailed next January by park officials. Instead, tourists will only be allowed to throw food pellets sold at the concession stand to the big carp. The park manager, John Houghton, says the problem isn't with the stale white bread being thrown to the fish but rather other food items such as moldy bread, baked goods and other items. In the article he states that the area has become a dumping ground for some people, but not the tourists. In fact, state law prohibits feeding animals in state parks but an exception is made for the fish at the spillway due to the cultural significance of the tradition.

So a few bozos have ruined it for the rest of us.

I appreciate that the state will sell fish food pellets so people can continue to feed the carp but now this will be one more activity that costs money. When you could just save up some old bread and take a drive out to the spillway, you had a chance to enjoy the weather, your family and do it on the cheap. Now this will become one more activity that will require a few bucks to enjoy.

So an area tradition will change. As I recounted a few months ago, a few hours at the spillway can be fun. Watching the carp climb all over each other to eat bread is a simple pleasure. I sure hope food pellets have the same effect.

Feeding the Fish at the Linesville Spillway

The rebuilt Linesville Spillway in Pymatuning, PA is a far cry from the small, crowded attraction my folks took me to as a kid. Instead of a small outcrop of concrete on the side of the road, the area has been built up into a large area where folks can park their cars, get something to eat and buy bread to feed the unbelievable number of carp, ducks and geese that call the reservoir home.

If you are looking for someplace to take a nice little drive this summer, the spillway makes a great destination. Kids will enjoy throwing bread to the fat carp and mom and dad can relax on a bench overlooking the water. Grab a Coke and something to eat from the concession stand and you have a relaxing couple of hours.

There is plenty to do once you watch the carp crawl all over each other trying to score some bread. And if you watch the video, you will see that they literally crawl over one another for those tasty morsels.



It's about 45 minutes from Youngstown and the surrounding area. Go straight north up Route 7 to Andover, turn right on Oh 85, cross over the reservoir, turn left on Church Rd. (follow the Spillway signs because there isn't a road sign for Church Rd.) and turn left on Linesville-Hartstown Rd. The Spillway is on the right. Just look for the jumping carp.