Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2021 - 15

NOTES
iPhone. The angler found it on the
lake but did not want to hold onto it
in case the owner was still out on the
lake. I proceeded back to my patrol
vehicle. The phone was locked, which
meant I had no way of getting the
owner's information. I started asking
anglers as they arrived if they were
missing a phone. I kept receiving
negative answers. At this point, I had
the choice of walking the 338-acre
lake or to just keep waiting.
As I was sitting in my vehicle,
warming up, the iPhone started
to ring. That was all I needed to
get the phone back to its owner. I
quickly realized that it was not a
normal phone call but rather a video
call. I thought, this is going to be
interesting. I answered the phone,
and a young girl was on the screen.
Her face was priceless-her mouth
dropped. I laughed and quickly
explained who I was and why I had
the phone. She stated it was her dad's
phone, and she would try to get ahold
of her dad's fishing friend. Time went
on and the owner still did not come to
claim his phone. It was getting close
to the end of my shift, and I checked
two more anglers. Luckily, the last
angler was the owner of the phone.
I told him the story, and he thanked
me as we shared a good laugh at his
daughter's surprise video chat guest.
I guess it is not always a bad thing to
have an officer on the other side of
the phone.-WCO Dina M. Cable,
Southern Somerset County.
Gold fever
While patrolling the trout streams,
anglers often share stories of catching
trout, how the trout were hitting, or
the best bait or lure to use. Although
not uncommon, a few anglers will
sometimes even share stories about
their family, work, or health.
One day during my patrol along the
Mahoning Creek, after an in-season
trout stocking, I came across a group
of young anglers I encountered on
different occasions during my patrols
in the district. Upon speaking with
the anglers, they began to tell me that
they came to the stream as a group and
www.fishandboat.com
quickly spotted a lot of trout in a deep
hole. Some of the anglers in the group
were just getting their equipment ready
to cast their lines when one angler said
they had to leave, because their friend
was suffering from gold fever.
Although I have heard different
names for certain fevers, I was
unfamiliar with what they meant by
gold fever at that moment, so I asked
a member of the group. An angler in
the group informed me that his friend
developed the gold fever a few years
ago. Every trout season, his friend's
fever seems to get worse. The young
angler explained that his friend was
overcome by the fever as a result
of his interest of only pursuing and
catching golden Rainbow Trout. The
young angler continued to tell me
that although the stream could have
been recently stocked or still had a lot
of trout from the previous stockings,
his friend would quickly become
discouraged about fishing if he did not
see a golden Rainbow Trout. Then,
his friend's fever would kick in, and
the group would have to move on to
other areas of the stream or to another
stream even if the other anglers in the
group did not get a chance to fish until
his friend could spot a golden Rainbow
Trout. But, when his friend would
spot these fish, the group would have
a chance to fish and stay fishing in that
area until their friend did his best to
catch the golden Rainbow Trout and
get over his gold fever.
Well, upon learning about gold fever,
I believe the best therapeutic treatment
for it is to go out and try to catch a
golden Rainbow Trout-WCO Scott
J. Christman, Southern Carbon and
Southwestern Monroe counties.
Dedicated angler
While on patrol, on a cold,
January day, my state vehicle outside
temperature read 29 degrees F. The
wind was steady and bone chilling,
making it seem much colder. I entered
Mangan Cove at Lake Wallenpaupack,
Pike and Wayne counties, and quickly
noticed the cove was covered with a
layer of ice. I progressed to the boat
launch area and was astonished to
see a pickup truck with an empty
boat trailer in the parking lot. As I
gazed toward the lake, I noticed a
boat recently launched and cut an
approximate 100 yard path through
the ice to enter the main portion
of the lake. Talk about a dedicated
angler.-Sergeant Walter A. Buckman,
Northeast Region.
Let's put these back
While on patrol of the West Branch
Susquehanna River in the Lock Haven
area, I noticed a few individuals fishing
at the dam spillway. As I approached, it
became obvious that the three anglers
were young boys. In speaking with
the anglers, I learned they were not
from the immediate area and that their
parents dropped them off to fish for
a few hours to return and pick them
up later. After talking with one of the
boys, I noticed he had a bait bucket
next to him. I asked if he was catching
anything and what species he and his
friends were targeting. He said, " Well,
I am fishing for catfish, and my friends
are going for whatever bites. " He
continued on to say that he caught a
few bass and some Bluegills. I followed
with, " Are you keeping anything? " To
which he replied, " Yeah, I have two
bass and some Bluegill in the bait
bucket. " While checking the bucket, I
quickly learned the two bass he kept
were significantly under the size limit.
When questioning the boy about the
bass, he calmly replied, " I kept them
to use as cutbait for the catfish. " As
I took the bass from the bucket and
explained why he could not keep the
fish, I said, " Let's put these back, " and
returned the bass safely to the river.
Following the release, the young boy
and I had a conversation about the
rules and regulations associated with
fishing. He was apologetic about his
error and thanked me for the lesson.
http://www.fishandboat.com
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2021
