Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2021 - 12

NOTES from theStreams
Lucky vs. good

Some days I would rather be
lucky than good when it comes to
fishing. When I showed up to stock
Letterkenny Reservoir, Franklin
County, there was gentleman about
to leave. I asked him how his fishing
was going, and he said not very
good. I told him that today was
his lucky day as the stocking truck
pulled down the road. He got a
big smile on his face. He ended up
catching his limit of trout.-WCO
Sean D. Lake, Franklin and Eastern
Fulton counties.

Furry snake?

While patrolling the Delaware
River with national park rangers,
we saw a couple fishing waist-deep
in the water along the shoreline.
They saw us as we made our way
downstream. To cloak their activity,
the couple quickly submerged
their rods and reels in the water
and nonchalantly walked back to
shore, then tossed their gear into
the brush. We pulled our patrol
boat up to the shoreline, and I
asked if they caught any fish. The
one angler sighed and looked
down, not answering. I
asked if they had their

fishing licenses. The man shook
his head. I asked for identification
and he retrieved his driver's license
from a canoe, then waited alongside
our patrol boat hip-deep in water.
As I was about halfway through
filling out the citation, the man
began screaming, " Snake! Snake! "
He clamored to get out of the water.
Seeing a watersnake swimming in
the Delaware River is not a rare
occurrence, so neither I nor the park
rangers turned to look. The man,
now standing on the shore, safely
out of the water, started yelling how
big the snake was in size and for us
to look. At which point, the rangers
and I turned to look, then looked at
each other, and in unison addressed
his concern. We told the man, " that
is not a snake, it is a squirrel. " There

was a gray squirrel, this one all black,
swimming to the shoreline past our
boat. " Squirrels can't swim, " the man
exclaimed, still excited. The rangers
and I commented that for an animal
that cannot swim, this one was doing
pretty well.-WCO T. Curt Tereschak,
Southern Pike and Northeastern
Monroe counties.

Location request

Steelhead anglers fishing the
Erie tributaries come from all over
Pennsylvania, and some even come
from all over the country. I have heard
some anglers say that this is their first
time fishing in Erie. The Pennsylvania
Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC)
Access on Walnut Creek may be the
hub of steelhead fishing in Erie. The
Walnut Creek Access and launch sits
right on Lake Erie and the northern
side of the property is Lake Erie. This
past steelhead season, I was checking
anglers for fishing licenses, and I was
at the stop sign hole on Walnut Creek.
This spot is the closest hole to Lake
Erie except for the marina wall at the
mouth. I had an angler ask me, " Where
is Lake Erie? " I was a bit dumbfounded,
because he could almost throw a
baseball into Lake Erie from where
he was fishing. I said from where he
parked, if he would have looked up,
he would have been looking right at
Lake Erie.-WCO Matthew J. Visosky,
Central Erie County.

The perfect shot

One day late in October, I was
working a steelhead detail at one of
the streams in Erie. Late in the day, I
observed a male and female fishing.
The male angler caught a fish and
placed it on a stringer. The female was
not fishing and appeared to be along
for the day observing. Some time
had passed, and the male hooked

illustration-Andrea Feeney

12

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * March/April 2021	

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