Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - May/June 2022 - 19

NOTES
forever.-WCO Frank J. Mehalko III,
Northern Montgomery and Eastern
Berks counties.
Shaken
During the course of my patrol at
Beltzville Lake, Carbon County, on a
warm fall afternoon, I encountered
two young anglers fishing from
the shore in the vicinity of the Pine
Run Cove. Upon approaching the
anglers, one of them immediately
informed me that he just missed a
large Striped Bass while attempting
to bring it to the shore. Both of the
anglers were using chicken liver as
bait. As the anglers were speaking
to me, I observed that one of the
anglers had his fishing pole resting
on a clump of grass with the line in
the water, and his fishing pole was
about to be dragged into the lake as a
result of a fish taking the bait. When
I told him he was about to lose his
fishing rod, he immediately set the
hook. After a good fight, the angler
landed a Striped Bass measuring
approximately 27 inches.
After the angler removed,
measured, and secured the fish, he
said, " I guess you want to see my
fishing license? " Upon observing him
retrieve his fishing license, I noticed
he was now visibly shaking, which
made me suspicions that maybe his
fishing license was expired, or maybe
he would be holding a fishing license
that was not his own, or he was afraid
to reveal his identity.
I checked and verified his fishing
license and his identification and
asked him why he was so nervous.
He immediately explained that he
was not shaking or nervous because
of my presence, but because of the
excitement of catching, fighting, and
landing the biggest fish he ever caught.
After congratulating him on his prized
catch, I wished him well and luck on
trying to catch an even larger Striped
Bass. I hoped it would not make him
any more nervous.-WCO Scott J.
Christman, Southern Carbon and
Southwestern Monroe counties.
Bucket list
As spring stocking was nearing an
end in 2021, I was filling in for WCO
Lupacchini, covering a stocking of
the South Branch Roaring Creek,
Columbia County. Due to some
traffic issues, I arrived a few minutes
after the posted meeting time. After
hurriedly confirming the stops, an
excited woman came up to the Fish
Culturist and myself. She was happy
to be following along as she used to
assist with her father when she was
younger. After I gave her and the rest
of the volunteers a safety briefing, we
headed to the first stop a couple of
miles away.
As we were in process of getting
everyone organized at the first
stocking point, the woman was
hovering on the periphery of
the group. Since she seemed a
bit reticent about stepping up, I
approached her to help carry the
trout to the stream. She was excited
at the prospect.
After giving her brief instructions,
she set off for the water exclaiming,
" This was on my bucket list! "
At every stop on the stream,
she would take a bucket and head
streamside to distribute the fish
repeating, " this is on my bucket list! "
I smiled every time I heard her.
This is a perfect example of how
something that may seem mundane
to one person, may be a special,
significant joy to another. We all
need reminders like this every so
often.-Sergeant Bryan C. Bendock,
Northeast Region.
What is in the bucket?
One day, WCO Colian and I
were patrolling Keystone Lake,
Armstrong County. We were paying
close attention to Keystone Lake
because of some suspicious activity
and vandalism around one of the
boat launch accesses. We noticed a
pile of garbage next to the access. As
we were picking up the garbage, an
older man approached us to help.
In conversation, we agreed that
it is unfortunate when people
litter and do not take care of the
environment. He went on to teach
WCO Colian and I a lesson that
will stick with us for the rest of
our lives. When he was a young
kid, his grandfather would take
him fishing. They would both
carry a bucket down to the stream
to put their day's catch in. His
grandfather taught him that you
should never carry an empty
bucket back to the house. If you
had a bad day fishing, on your way
back home, you should fill your
bucket with garbage. The man told
us that as a kid he hated it, because
he just wanted to catch a fish. But,
as he grew up, he was grateful for
the lesson his grandfather taught
him. He passed this lesson down
to his kids with the hopes that they
will follow in his grandfather's
footsteps. He said to this day, his
kids will come home from hunting
or fishing and pull garbage from
their pockets.-WCO Nathaniel J.
Yingling, Cambria County.
8-feet deep
I stopped in at a state access
area and approached a couple
taking kayaks out of their
vehicles, preparing to launch. I
asked if they had life jackets, and
the gentleman told me he did
not need a life jacket, because
the water was only 8-feet deep. I
made sure to note that he was not
8-feet tall and requested that they
obtain life jackets before going
out on the water.
A woman coming off the lake
offered to allow them to borrow
her two life jackets to take out with
them. As the gentleman went to
retrieve the life jackets to borrow,
his wife whispered to me, " Thank
you. I told him when we walked
past the life jackets in the garage
that we need them, but he did not
want to listen to me. " -WCO Emily
R. Borger, Northern Wallenpaupack.
May/June 2022
19
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - May/June 2022

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