Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2022 - 9

NOTES
Lessons learned
As I prepare for upcoming trout
stocking seasons, I often reflect on
past stockings.
One such memory was during
my first year in the district, fresh
out of the training school.
It had been a long winter with
ice remaining into March.
As I approached the first stop
on Big Wapwallopen Creek,
Luzerne County, I saw the
majority of the creek was still
iced over, adding an additional
challenge to the already long day
of stocking ahead of me.
As I got closer, I could see the
ice was thick in spots but was open
several yards downstream as it
approached some riffles. However,
that section was too shallow to
effectively stock trout.
I decided to walk onto the ice
to determine the best spot to stock
fish and whether stocking would
require the use of an auger to drill
a hole.
I remember telling myself, " I
should probably put on some
cleats before heading out. "
However, I then thought, " only
going a few feet, I should be okay. "
There were about 24 people
present that day to help stock fish,
and it was very cold.
I stepped on the ice, lost my
footing, and slid down the frozen
creek approximately 25 feet before
ending up in open water.
After verifying the only thing
injured was my pride, I rose to
a crowd of onlookers obviously
amused at the rookie mistake and
laughing at the now soaking wet
Waterways Conservation Officer
(WCO) standing before them.
Thankfully, I had a change of
clothes in my patrol vehicle.
I am periodically reminded of
that day from some of my regular
stocking volunteers. We have a good
chuckle, and I can only shake my
head. Lesson learned.
I now wear cleats every time I
step onto the ice.-WCO Aaron B.
Lupacchini, Southern Luzerne and
Columbia counties.
Caught on camera
One day, I was patrolling a section
of Tobyhanna Lake, Monroe County.
Tobyhanna Lake in Tobyhanna
State Park notoriously gets ice early,
typically by the middle of December.
However, it is not usually safe to
ice fish that early. When I pulled
into the park, I noticed a vehicle in
the lot and an individual standing
about 30 yards offshore of the lake.
I found this odd, as I did not think
there could be any more than about
2- to 3-inches of ice. The individual
walked over to my truck to make
sure it was okay to fish here. As he
walked over, I noticed he was talking
to himself. When he got closer, I
could see a camera mounted to his
hat. It became apparent that he was
making a video of his fishing trip.
I never saw this individual before,
and he was not from the area, so I
did not think
much of it. We
talked for a
few minutes,
and we
determined
that the ice
was safe
before going
back to his day
of fishing.
A few
months later,
I received
a message
from a fellow WCO with a link to a
video. I opened the link and quickly
remembered what I was watching.
It did not take long for me to notice
that the interaction I had with this
gentlemen made his homemade
fishing trip video, which was
posted online.
Working in law enforcement, it is
not uncommon to be filmed, but this
was a nice variation to being caught
on camera.-WCO Matthew B.
Deitrich, Southern Wallenpaupack.
Who is counting?
Finally, some good ice for fishing.
It had been a while in the southwest
part of Pennsylvania. I loaded up
the ice fishing equipment, and my
daughter and I headed to the lake.
We found our spot, unpacked all
the equipment, set up our shelter,
and drilled some holes. The bite
was slow at first. Then, the fish
started cooperating. We practice
catch and release, so I was not
counting who was catching what
fish. But, guess who was counting?
And, guess who had to hear about
who caught the most fish all the
way home? Yep, she outfished me
again!-WCO Jeremiah D. Allen,
Beaver County.
illustration-Andrea Feeney
November/December 2022
9
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2022

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