Catch of the Day
Good things come to those who wait.
It’s certainly good advice for anglers, but Julian Varlotta’s patience was not tested on a recent trip to Forest County.
The 14-year old Cranberry Township resident’s catch came just minutes after casting his line into Tom’s Run, a tributary of the Allegheny River near Tionesta, on the morning of the first day of trout season April 2.
“It put up a fight for about a minute. Then my brother, Gianni, used a net to bring it out of the water,” said Julian, who was standing on a rock alongside the stream. “When I saw it, I was blown out of my mind. I’d caught about 50 fish before, but nothing like this.”
Using a green trout magnet and bobber, Julian had caught a rainbow trout, 19¾ inches in length.
“I don’t fish myself,” said Julian and Gianni’s father, Mark Varlotta, “but there were some other people with us, guys who have been fishing for a long time, and they said they’d never seen one that big.
“Julian was very excited.”
Joe Joswiak, a Mars resident and friend of the Varlotta family who has fished for 45 years, also made the trip.
“An average stocked rainbow trout is about 10 to 12 inches,” he said. “I caught one later that day and it was 12 inches. For a young kid to catch one that big, that’s pretty neat.”
Julian got his picture taken with the fish, which was filleted and enjoyed by several members of the camp.
Mark Varlotta has coached a number of sports in the Mars Area School District, including serving as a tennis coach at the high school for over two decades. His sons both run track and cross country along with competing in triathlons during the summer. But a pond behind the family’s house, home to bass and bluegill, sparked the boys’ interest in fishing.
“We started fishing back there a few years ago and it evolved into going other places,” Julian said. “We fish a few times per week, if we can.”
Fishing provides a distinct challenge for Julian.
“I’ve caught some trout before, but they were really small,” he said. “I like to try and catch big fish and different species.“
