Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2020 - 21

NOTES from theStreams
angler had a license displayed, but the
other angler did not. As I approached
the anglers, I noticed the man without
a license displayed shake his head
slowly and curse softly under his
breath. I identified myself and asked
the angler for his fishing license. He
said that he did not purchase one. I
asked for his identification, and he
provided me with his driver's license.
I explained that he would be getting a
citation for fishing without a license,
and I would be back to explain the
process to him shortly. As I finished
writing the citation, I walked over to
the angler, who was clearly frustrated.
He said that he was not mad at me,
he was mad at himself, because he
knew he needed a license. He went on
to explain that he did not expect to
see me today. He heard that I did not
patrol on Tuesdays, because it was one
of my scheduled days off during the
week. I explained that our patrol shifts,
schedules and days off widely vary
given the nature of our work. After
explaining and issuing the citation, the
man shook my hand and said, "I am
not going to listen to any more fake
news when it comes to WCO patrol
schedules."-WCO Matthew Raetsch,
Western Allegheny County.

Sorry, but I do not
believe you

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Bringing anglers luck

When I am on patrol, the first
thing I typically ask an angler is how
the fish are biting. I am always eager
for an angler to reply that he or she
is catching a lot of nice-sized fish.
However, the common replies are
that the angler just started, the bite
is slow or the fishing was better the
previous week. Often, during the
interaction or immediately after, the
angler catches a fish. I believe there is
a correlation to this phenomenon, as
it usually happens after he or she told
me that the fishing was slow. Maybe,
the angler puts the rod down for a
second, and the stoppage of the lure
or bait triggers a strike. Maybe, he
or she tries to show off, but I think it
is probably the luck WCOs bring.-
WCO David Raulfs Jr., Wyoming and
southwestern Susquehanna counties.

Everyone likes steelhead
Patrolling for steelhead is an
important part of being a WCO in
Erie County. Overall, it dominates
the work schedule from September
to December. We see anglers from all
over the country, and some from other
countries, visiting Erie for steelhead
fishing. Some people like steelhead so
much that they are willing to do crazy
and illegal things to get these fish.

Alpaca or llama?

When stocking Sacony Creek,
Berks County, we stop the stocking
truck at the end of a farmer's lane
to take some buckets of fish to the
stream. For the last few years, the
handsome fella in the photograph
below runs over to greet us. As a
WCO, I am trained in different fields
relating to fishing and boating. I
can identify species of fish, frogs,
lizards, toads, turtles and snakes.
However, we do not receive training
on identifying livestock. So, when we
make this stop, someone always asks,
"Is that an alpaca
or a llama?"
And, every
year, I shrug my
shoulders and
say, "I have no
idea. It's not a
fish. I know that
for sure."-WCO
Chase Rhoades,
Northern
Montgomery
County.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * January/February 2020

21

photo-WCO Rhoades

While patrolling with WCO Chase
Rhoades, we stopped by Scotts Run
Lake, Berks County, to see the progress
of the dam repairs and gauge any
impact to the spring trout stocking
dates. As we finished checking the
status of the project and drove out of
the access road, we saw a pile of grocery
bags filled with trash and two pieces
of mail. Lucky for me (unlucky for the
litterer), the name and address, which
had been crossed out on the two pieces
of mail, was not completely crossed out.
The trash was recently discarded
since it was not wet, as it had rained
earlier in the morning. We made our
way to the address on the mail with a
few questions. I rang the doorbell, and
an elderly female answered the door. I
told her our names and why we were
there to speak with her.

Usually, this is the point in the
conversation where the false statements
tend to pour out, but this time, it
was the opposite. I asked the lady in
question how the bags of trash ended
up at the access. She looked at me with
disgust and said, "I threw them out of
the car." I was taken aback by the blatant
honesty, looked at WCO Rhoades,
then back at the lady. I explained the
violation for littering and told her she
would be receiving a citation today.
After filling out the citation and
explaining it to her, she looked at me
and said, "You probably won't believe
me, but I don't even throw a gum
wrapper out the window." I tried to
keep a straight face as I replied, "You are
correct ma'am, I do not believe you."-
WCO Troy Merrell, Berks County.

The locals also like to fish for
steelhead. One December day, I
was assisting our biologist and
hatchery workers with stocking
Brown Trout into some of the Lake
Erie tributaries. There were a few
anglers from West Virginia near
where we were stocking the Brown
Trout. We told one of the anglers
what we were doing, and the angler
was impressed by the fish being
stocked. He volunteered to assist
with stocking. As we were preparing
to leave, I asked the other anglers if
they had any success. They caught
a few steelhead and apologized
for not helping with stocking. The
anglers said they were watching a
local-a river otter -so they didn't
want to leave the stream. The anglers
observed the river otter take one of
the steelhead they had on a stringer,
eat the fish and swim away. Most
people like to prepare steelhead by
smoking them first. However, the
river otter preferred these fish raw.-
WCO Tyler Soety, Eastern Erie County.
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2020

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