Trout Season Beings
The camera was rolling Saturday as a flash of orange glistened and thrashed in the sparkling water of Slippery Rock Creek in McConnells Mill State Park.
“I was drifting some flies, and the indicator went down,” said Craig Thompson of Mars. “I started fighting the fish. It didn't take me too long to realize it was a big palomino.”
Thompson, an avid fly fisherman, said he has his own YouTube channel called Wild Blue Discovery, and he managed to capture the catch on video. He said he hoped to post the video soon.
Fishermen such as Thompson flocked to streams around the county, hoping to be the early birds on Saturday's opening day for the state's trout season.
In January, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission set one statewide date for the opener, as opposed to regional rollouts at varying times.
“The move to an earlier statewide schedule for trout season ensures that we can preserve our cherished fishing traditions while reducing the amount of travel across multiple opening days,” said Tim Schaeffer, the commission's executive director, in a January announcement.
Fisheries began sending this season's stock into waters in February.“The commission did a nice job at stocking the Slippery Rock Creek,” said angler Patrick Keller of Portersville.Keller, his brother Tim Keller and his son-in-law Jon Balint, spent the entire day wading Slippery Rock Creek. They each caught their fill, but they also released them all.“From sun up to sunset,” Keller said. “We also caught a few small-mouth bass. They were bonuses.”Keller said his largest catch was a 21-inch rainbow trout. He said he used the same lure all day, and he had great success with it.“It was a homemade lure that my very good friend calls a Harlansburg Harasser,” Keller aid.Though differing in styles, Thompson had success with a particular fly too.Thompson said he hooked all of his fish with a Lively Legz fly, which he noted are made in Western Pennsylvania.It was with that fly that he caught the 18-inch palomino.The palomino trout is a hybrid species of trout made through crossing golden and rainbow trout. Because of this, it is typically raised in fisheries and released through stocking methods.
“It was really cool,” he said. “It put up a pretty nice fight, and then I released it for somebody else to catch.”The commission will continue to stock select streams periodically through the season, the locations of which they make available on its website and phone application.This year, anglers will have an extra two weeks tacked onto their season to take care of these stocked streams.The season ends Sept. 6, Labor Day weekend.Keller said he liked the extra time on the water, but he hopes in the future opening day won't conflict with Easter like it did this year.“There's a conflict there, but the more time they can give families on the water, I'm all for it,” Keller said.Thompson said he also enjoyed the extra time on the water. He said he and his son Blake got to spend some quality time together, and he caught around seven or eight fish Saturday, all of which were released.“Certainly with all the COVID craziness, it was good for people to get out and get some Vitamin D and some mental relief,” he said.
