Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2022 - 15

NOTES
Searching for
Brook Trout
One of the enjoyable things we
get to do as WCOs is tag along with
biologists and offer some help as
they sample streams for Brook Trout.
In August, we spent a few days in
Schuylkill County sampling streams
that were never (to my knowledge)
electrofished. While the habitat looked
great on a few of the streams, the low
pH was a limiting factor for Brook
Trout survival and reproduction.
Unfortunately, we did not find a
healthy population where I was
hopeful we would.
This changed on the second day as
we sampled an extremely small stream
that ran nearly parallel with a power
line. The stream had little overhead
cover to provide shade and small
pockets that held little water. Yet to my
surprise, we found a thriving Brook
Trout population existing in the entire
stretch we sampled.
You never know what the water
holds, whether it looks like a
drainage ditch or a pristine mountain
stream. I would like to thank the
PFBC's team of biologists who
invest their time and effort to find
these streams and populations, so
we can protect the waterways and
develop a better understanding of
the trout reproduction occurring in
Pennsylvania's streams.-WCO Troy
W. Merrell, Eastern Schuylkill County.
Raining snakes
I get several calls every year from people
complaining that a snake or a family of
snakes have taken up residence under
their porch or somewhere in the yard.
Occasionally, the complaint is about
a snake that is inside the house. My
most memorable snake call came from
a frantic woman who said that there
were several giant snakes residing
in her bedroom. I am not afraid of
snakes, but I could empathize with the
woman since I also prefer a snake-free
environment while sleeping. I arrived
at the woman's house to find her sitting
on the porch waiting for me. The
woman immediately led me into the
FishandBoat.com
house to the bedroom, but she refused
to enter the room herself and stood just
outside the door. It looked like a normal
bedroom. I asked her where she last saw
the snakes. She pointed to the ceiling. I
looked up and noticed a typical white
painted drywall ceiling. However, just
above the bed, a section of drywall
was missing and was replaced by a 4x8
transparent piece of plastic. Sometime
in the recent past, the roof above the
bedroom leaked, allowing rainwater
to drip onto the bedroom ceiling,
destroying that piece of drywall. The
landlord repaired the roof, removed
the damaged drywall, and stapled
the piece of plastic there until proper
repairs could be made. So, essentially,
the plastic acted as a 4x8 window into
the attic. Unfortunately, for him and his
tenant, not only was the attic dark and
scary, but was also a favored hangout
for about a six large Eastern Ratsnakes.
This poor woman was in bed, looking
directly up at the snakes slowly crawling
across the piece of plastic directly above
her, terrified that at any moment, the
plastic would tear allowing the snakes
to fall through onto her and her bed,
literally raining snakes.-WCO Scott
D. Opfer, Fayette County.
Oh yeah?
While on patrol at one of the local
state parks, I was conversing with park
staff in the park office when I heard an
individual enter the outer office and
ask the Administrative Assistant at
the desk what type of fish were in the
lake. She answered his question and
asked if he had a Pennsylvania fishing
license.
" No, and I am not getting one. I
tried to get one on my phone, but I
guess I do not have a good enough
signal from here, " said the man.
" Well sir, you do need a license
to fish in Pennsylvania, " said the
Administrative Assistant.
" You only have to 'attempt' to buy a
license. The attempt is good enough, "
said the man.
" That is not true, sir, " said the
Administrative Assistant.
" It is. I know the law, " said the man.
It was at this point I opened the
door separating us, revealing my
presence. " I assure you she is correct, "
I told the gentleman.
" What are they going to do if they
catch me? " he asked, shrugging.
" Well, they is me, and if you
insist on fishing without purchasing
a license, I will be issuing you a
citation. "
" Yeah? How much is the fine? "
" Where are you from? " I asked.
" Queens, " replied the man.
" $227.25 with court costs and,
quite possibly, your fishing gear being
seized as evidence, " I replied.
" Where can I buy a license? " the
man asked.
I directed him to the nearest place
just a few miles down the road.-
WCO T. Curt Tereschak, Southern
Pike and Northeast Monroe counties.
Be sure before you
jump overboard
While working as a WCO along
the Delaware River, you never know
what the next call is going to be. One
day during the summer, a call came
across the radio for a marine rescue.
This is not an unusual occurrence,
but the cause for this particular
rescue turned out to be quite
interesting. A boater floating down
the river claimed to see an alligator
swimming in the river next to him.
He was so shocked and scared that
he jumped out of the boat and
tried to swim away. Not being a
strong swimmer, the boater clung
to the boat and continued to float
downstream. While all of this was
occurring, a local Fire Department
had launched their rescue boats and
continued upriver to the location
of the boater. The " alligator, " which
caused the man to jump out of his
boat, turned out to be just a tree.
Luckily, the man was rescued and
the day turned out to be a good
training exercise.-WCO Peter N.
Labosh, Northern Bucks County.
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * January/February 2022
15
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2022

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