The opening day of trout season is just around the corner and will open in Butler County at 8 a.m April 13.

It’s important for fishermen to remember that starting time because casting too early will catch you a fine. Years ago, I was fishing the North Branch of the Slippery Rock Creek and was heading for one of my favorite stretches when I came upon a group that was not only fishing early but had made a campfire on some private property and had littered as well.

These were not good citizens and likely would get this property closed to future anglers because of their actions. As luck would have it, the area was under the watchful eye of the local fish warden and the scofflaws ended up with a fistful of tickets.

You would think it would have ended there with the issuance of citations … but no, the group tried to move on to another area and continue fishing without regard of the laws and caught another land owner’s attention when they drove onto his closed lane and blocked the access.

A few calls later, both the State Police and the Fish Commission were back on the scene. The fines were doubling up and they finally got the message that respecting land owners actually was a big deal!

Without the cooperation of property owners, many prime fishing areas would be closed to the fishing public. Many prime areas are now off limits to the general fishing population because of the transgressions of slob sportsmen. Breaking fences, unlatching gates, littering, driving on fields, burning fires made and left unattended and using unacceptable behaviors are just a few of the complaints the PFBC officers hear.

One of my friends made it a point to send a thank you note or a small gift whenever he had access to private property as an act of appreciation. One year, my wife and I did a litter pickup along a stretch of road that I was given permission to hunt and fish on. We ended up with plenty of cans, bottles, tires and even a television.

It is shameful that people treat our environment in this manner. Do something to show a land owner that you respect his property as if it was yours and you may find a few doors open to you on your next outdoor journey.

The real opening of spring takes place when we have the annual Trout Opening Day! This year the opener is April 13 and not far off according to my calendar.

The streams are stocked and many of my friends are looking forward to sharing some time along the PA waterways. While fishing some of the streams and creeks, the PFBC is asking the help of all anglers. Pennsylvania is home to two giant salamanders that are accidently caught by anglers fishing for trout.

The salamanders are the Eastern Hellbender and the Common Mudpuppy. Both species are in our area and caught on fishing hooks with live bait or in minnow traps. PFBC herpetologists are trying to figure out the distribution and status of these species. Simply take a picture of any specimens encountered and e-mail the picture, date, time, and location of the observation to info@machac.org.

The Common Mudpuppy is found in the Ohio River and Lake Erie Drainages, in the western third of Pennsylvania. Mudpuppies have large, feathery gills on either side of the head and can grow to 19 inches in length.

The Eastern Hellbender was historically found in the Susquehanna and Ohio Drainages, covering two thirds of Pennsylvania. Hellbenders do not have external gills as adults and look wrinkled due to skin folds used for respiration. Adults grow to 29 inches in length.

While trout fishing the Slippery Rock Gorge with friends, I happened upon an Eastern Hellbender while drifting redworms through a slow riffle. My rod tip bent like I had Moby Dick on the line and a great fight ensued.

I was sure that I had a trophy trout and slowly worked my way to a gravel bank less I lost my trophy. When the prize reeled in closer to me, I wasn’t sure what kind of critter I had at the end of my line. As it turned out, it was my first encounter with an Eastern Hellbender, it was big, heavy, not too pretty and awful mad at me.

A quick decision was made to cut him loose and get out of that riffle. I suppose I missed out on an interesting observation because of my ignorance about giant salamanders.

I’m not sure I still want to get too close, but I would try to take a picture and send it to the herpetologists. Until we meet again, get the slack out of your line and be ready for anything on the First Day of Trout!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle