Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2013 - 56

illustration-Ron Kuhn

Trout Anticipation
by Ron Kuhn

The dark flowing stream was teeming with brook trout,
rainbow trout, brown trout and an occasional golden
rainbow trout. As darkness fell over the valley, campfires
dotted the landscape marking gatherings of anglers telling
stories from seasons past. Tomorrow would be the first day
of the Pennsylvania trout season, a time honored tradition
among locals and out-of-state visitors.
For some, the first day of trout is a good reason to visit
relatives who they haven’t seen since the last holiday. The
Carter family with cousins Josh and Jamie and Uncle John
are home to visit. Uncle John pulled up the drive to sleep
over for the night.
“Greetings anglers,” Jack exclaimed as he opened the front
door to their home. After catching up on family happenings,
the fishing party made their way to bed, so they could rise
early the next morning.
The first day of trout season always seems like the night
before Christmas for kids as well as adults. There’s always
the anticipation of getting up the next morning with the rest
of the family to catch that first trout.
Miles and miles of stream host anglers and onlookers
on opening day. The stream at an old cow pasture that had
grown into a wooded area would be the Carter family fish
camp for the 2013 trout opener. Jack parked the van at the
end of an old farm lane that used to lead to the creek. A

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • March/April 2013

short hike through the opening of a barbed wire fence and a
riparian buffer zone led the fishing party to the edge of the
stream. The familiar uprooted red oak lay next to the rustic,
locust fencepost where it had been for years, marking the
pool where Jack and the kids had caught trout successfully
for many seasons.
All of the children watched Jack intently as he stared at the
time on his phone for the precise minute to begin fishing.
With a nod, the kids cast their lines in hopes of earning the
bragging rights of catching the first trout of the day. Jack ate
one of the bacon and egg sandwiches they packed while he
waited for the first line to get tangled or the first fish that
needed unhooked. Within 30 minutes, Jamie, the youngest
of the crew, had a fallfish on her line, which was released
back into the pool.
About mid-day an old man with a fly rod and a worm
made his way past the family and proceeded to catch several
trout. Jack made his way down to talk to the old angler. After
talking about the area and fishing, Jack realized that the old
man and his grandfather used to hunt, trap and fish together
in that very area. After hearing some of his stories, Jack
walked back upstream with a smile on his face.
As the afternoon progressed, the excitement gave
way to thoughts of fresh fish on the grill with homemade
side dishes.
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2013

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