Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2020 - 44

PURE
GOLD
by Tyler Frantz
photos by the author

Waking to bitter mid-30s air temperatures, icy wind
chills, and swollen, chocolate-brown creeks on the
morning of the Southeast Region's 2019 Mentored Youth
Trout Day did not seem like a golden opportunity for a
boy, not yet 4-years-old, to catch trout. However, after
a light breakfast and heavy bundling by Mother Frantz,
our son Foster was eager to hit the stream and give it a
try, despite Mother Nature's best efforts to spoil the fun.
Around 8:30 a.m., we arrived late to the scene at
"Pappy's Farm," which hosts a Pennsylvania Fish &
Boat Commission stocked trout waters section of
the Lower Little Swatara Creek near Rock, Schuylkill
County. My father maintains a handicap-accessible
fishing ramp, which we recently repaired from winter
flood damage a few weeks earlier, so the public could
enjoy the Mentored Youth Trout Day and the regional
opening day of trout season.
This was a nice, easy-access location to get my fishloving son out for a bit, with the added insurance of a
nearby retreat to Grandma's warm and cozy living room
if required.
Approaching the ramp deck, we encountered a man
in his early twenties, mentoring his grade-school aged
brother. The younger sibling wasted no time in proudly
lifting his metal stringer from the rushing water to reveal
a beautiful golden rainbow trout he landed a short time
before our arrival.
My son's eyes lit up with delight as he gazed upon the
trophy fish. Its glistening, writhing body rattled the chain

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * March/April 2020

link clasps. Sunlight illuminated its pink, striped flank.
It was a gorgeous fish.
"Daddy, I want to catch an orange fish," he
announced with youthful enthusiasm.
Apprehensively, I glanced at the high, muddy water
and back at the fish on the stringer. It was the only bite
anyone experienced here all morning. The odds were
against us.
"Ok, buddy, we will try, but these water conditions
are tough," I explained. "And, it is called a golden
rainbow trout. You caught Rainbow Trout before.
These are similar but a different color. They can be
tricky to catch."
"Golden rainbow," he repeated without hesitation. "I
am going to catch a golden rainbow, and we are going
to mount it to hang on my bedroom wall."
The boy spoke with conviction, and I was nervous. I
did not want to break his spirit, but I doubted we would
have any luck, and I did not want to give him false
hope. The water visibility was nearly non-existent. I
had no idea if another golden rainbow trout was in the
creek, and my hands were already numb.
"We will give it our best shot, bud," I said with
forced optimism.
I eyed the creek again as I balled up a dab of the
smelliest dough bait in my vest-garlic-scented with
glitter to catch the light-and added it to his hook. Two
splitshots completed the rig. I tossed it over the wooden
railing and handed my son the rod.
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2020

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