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Posted on 04/11/2003 1:38:16 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
As fishermen try their luck on opening day of trout season tomorrow, they can expect at least one thing: more.
That is how Dan Tredinnick, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, characterized this year's season.
Tredinnick said the commission has stocked about 4 million trout throughout the state this year, 200,000 more than last year. Seventy streams were added to the stock list, including Poe Creek and White Deer Creek in Centre County.
"With the level of stocking that has taken place, I fully expect there will be a lot of satisfied fishermen," Theodore Trostle, president of the Spring Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said.
Streams will also have more water than the past few years, Tredinnick said.
Steve Sywensky, owner of Fly Fisher's Paradise, added that the area received four or five more inches of precipitation than average this year.
"We have some serious water," Sywensky said.
The temperature of the water also affects fishing. Because the weather has been colder, Jeffrey Weaver, manager of the commission's Bellefonte fish culture station, said he expects streams to be somewhat cold. Some trout may be feeding and moving slower because of this.
Trostle said he expects water temperatures to be in the high 40s, which is a bit colder than the ideal 55 degrees.
Weaver said anglers will have to be more patient with the colder temperatures.
"The fish have to eat, so it's one of these things where they can be caught, but people are going to have to be a little more patient," Weaver said.
Greg Hoover, adviser of Penn State's Fly Fishing Club, said people will have better success if they can get their bait or fly close to the bottom, where most trout will likely be found.
Despite the slightly cold water temperatures, the quality of the water should be mostly good, according to Brian Burger, manager of the commission's Northcentral region. Burger said with high water flow there will be sediment loading and pollutants present, but the pollutants will be more diluted because of high water volume.
Tredinnick said if the water is somewhat off-color, fishermen should consider using live bait because trout have a keen sense of smell.
Mark Belden, Penn State fly fishing instructor and intramural director, expects good conditions for tomorrow and for the season in general.
"This year, environmentally, we're primed for a long season," he said. "This weekend, it will start to warm up, and we've got good water volume."
He said Bald Eagle Creek, which runs parallel to U.S. Route 220, is loaded with stock trout. Belden suggested Spring Creek, which is catch-and-release fishing only, for wild trout.
Although fly fishermen can fish year-round at places such as Fly Fisher's Paradise, Hoover said there is still opening-day enthusiasm. He said the high stocking by the commission, and the general fishermen's ritual of opening day, maintains this enthusiasm.
Kyle Ziegler (sophomore-wildlife and fishery science) said he drives home to New Jersey for this tradition, but not because the streams are better there.
"I've been fishing there since I was little. I grew up there so I go back to fish with the guys I know," Ziegler said.
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My brother says the streams are high and green, but not muddy. Spring Creek is my favorite, along with Fishing Creek above Lamar, a good choice when the water is high. The Bald Eagle, mentioned here, warms quickly and does not sustain trout throughout the year.
I've spent many hours and dollars at Fly Fishers Paradise, and know Steve Sywensky very well, along with his partner Dan Shields. In their old location in Lamont, I tied flies with George Harvey and practiced casting with Joe Humphreys.
I won't be returning to PA until August when my nephew is getting hitched, so the best I can expect is Trico hatches in the morning on Spring Creek and a white fly hatch in the evenings on the Little Juniata. Next month we are fishing in Colorado on the South Platte in South Park as well as the Arkansas River, then on the North Platte in Wyoming.
The most rediculous opening day has to be in Missouri in March when thousands of people line the banks in Bennett Springs literally elbow to elbow to catch stalkies put in the previous day. They stand there flinging hardware at the people on the opposite side, with fish often dangling in the air as lines become entangled. Reminds me of when Jimmy Carter was learning to flyfish and hooked Amy in the ear.
That's the part that had me stumped.
I've certainly heard of "Fishermen's Paradise", but not "Fly Fisher's Paradise".
But then, I'm stictly a spincast fisher...
I can only catch trout for maybe the first 3~4 weeks after Opening Day.
After that, the dang little SOBs get too fussy about what they'll hit.
Anyway, I never heard of "Fly Fishers Paradise".
Is that some kind of tackle shop geared to fly fishing only?
Is it different than "Fishermans Paradise"???
Is my memory flakey? or is the article wrong? or are they two different places?
The name is from Fishermans Paradise, the fish commission's hatchery and fishery on Spring Creek.
Thanks for the info!
It had me a bit confused.
Their website says they're starting their 29th year of business, so I would've been a student at PSU when they had their Grand Opening.
(Gads! Was it THAT long ago???)
But it's not surprising that I never heard of them.
Back then, I could barely afford bait without it cutting into my beer budget. Come to think of it, I didn't even own a tackle box, just a K-Mart blue-light-special Zebco spincast rig. Everything else was just in a little paper bag I could stuff in my pocket: a couple little packs of salmon egg hooks (we used niblets corn), split shot, snaps & swivels, a couple little bobbers, a rope stringer... that's about it (It wasn't much.) I can remember splurging for a couple little spinner lures that had treble hooks on 'em. They didn't work too well and kept snagging on the rocky bottom. I had much better luck just using a pull-tab off a beer can as a lure.
But I still caught some fish now and then and had a lot of fun.
(Thinking about it makes me wonder why I spent all that money on all the other fishing gear I've accumulated over the years! LOL!)
LOL! It's always good to be flexible and have contingency plans made in advance!!!
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