Sharing the water: Fishing with a little help from friends
Ben Moyer
Nate Barndt of Connellsville served two tours in Iraq with the National Guard. He caught this nice rainbow trout during the Veteran无毛视频檚 Fly-Fishing Weekend held May 17-19 at Ohiopyle State Park and Beaver Creek Anglers.
Ben Moyer
A无毛视频橺hiyah Belt (10) of Uniontown with a trout she caught during a fishing experience offered to East End Community Center in Uniontown by the Chestnut Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited. The event was held May 24 at Ohiopyle State Park.
Fishing is often considered a solitary pursuit, but, as the Beatles advised back in 1967, it无毛视频檚 good to get by with a little help from your friends. Through a lot of help and among a lot of friends无毛视频搉ew and old无毛视频揳 lot of fishing happened this month in the Fayette County mountains.
Ohiopyle State Park, in cooperation with Beaver Creek Anglers and the Chestnut Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited once again offered its Veterans Fly-Fishing Weekend. More than a dozen veterans from across the region assembled at the park on Friday evening, May 17. The vets bivouacked in the 无毛视频渙ld stone house,无毛视频� a scenic spot near where Meadow Run enters the Youghiogheny. State park environmental education staff, commanded by environmental education specialist Barb Wallace manned the mess hall for the weekend, preparing all the fly-fishers无毛视频� meals.
On Saturday, the state park also provided fishing on Meadow Run, on public water where anyone with a license is welcome to fish. Beaver Creek Anglers sweetened the experience by offering access to some otherwise private water where the American heroes enjoyed more fishing on Sunday. Members of Chestnut Ridge Chapter, Trout Unlimited served as guides throughout the experience, marshalling enough volunteers to offer personal one-on-one instruction.
无毛视频淚t was a fantastic experience, even for someone who had no fly-fishing experience. We were catching trout the first day out,无毛视频� said veteran Nate Barndt of Connellsville.
Most of the veterans participating had done some fly-fishing in the past but hoped to glean tips and knowledge from Trout Unlimited members.
无毛视频淚 tried to pick this up by watching You Tube, especially how to read the water to tell where a trout might be holding,无毛视频� Barndt said. 无毛视频淏ut there无毛视频檚 no way a video can teach you like standing in a stream with someone who takes an interest in you, personally, and knows what they无毛视频檙e talking about.无毛视频�
Barndt served two deployments in Iraq with the National Guard and now works as a truck mechanic, so he doesn无毛视频檛 get a lot of time to fish. But he feels a lot of incentive to fish when he can. He plans to take his kids fishing, and he attended the Veterans Fly-Fishing Weekend with his dad, Richard Barndt, also a vet. They hope to get new equipment together and fish as a family in the local mountains any time the opportunity comes their way.
无毛视频淲e learned about this through Ohiopyle State Park无毛视频檚 webpage,无毛视频� Nate Barndt said. 无毛视频淢y dad and I were both learning something new, and we did it together.无毛视频�
One week later, the fishing focus shifted to kids, again within Ohiopyle State Park. The Chestnut Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited teamed with East End Community Center in Uniontown to offer a fishing experience to kids who had never gone fishing before.
无毛视频淎 lot of kids无毛视频� fishing events, though entirely positive and well-intentioned, are enjoyed by kids who would likely get to go fishing at some point anyway, because somebody in their family already fishes and is tuned in to that kind of opportunity,无毛视频� observed a Trout Unlimited member. 无毛视频淲e wanted to offer the joy of fishing, and a day in our mountains, to kids who might otherwise never get the chance to go.无毛视频�
Chestnut Ridge TU stocked a remote pond within Ohiopyle State Park with trout raised in the organization无毛视频檚 nursery in the Yough Dam tailrace, operated under an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and D&R Hydro. The Fish and Boat Commission provides fingerling trout, which the organization raises for release in approved trout waters open to public fishing, and for special youth events like that offered to East End Community Center.
S&S Bait and Tackle of Chalk Hill offered kids无毛视频� rod-and-reel combos to TU at a discount for the East End Community event and future kids无毛视频� outings. Wilderness Voyageurs Outfitters of Ohiopyle provided life-jackets to the kids just in case someone took an unplanned dip in the pond.
Trout Unlimited volunteers John Gulya, Paul Gulya, Carol Gulya, Dennis Croft, and John Kreuzer strapped on the kids无毛视频� life-vests and spaced the youngsters around the pond to reduce the chance of tangles, which was somewhat successful. After a lot of patient coaching, every one of the 12 participating youngsters caught at least one trout. One young girl caught on to catching fast, pulling eight fish to the net wielded by TU volunteers.
Paul and Carol Gulya then fired up a grill and cooked hotdogs for all the young anglers.
无毛视频淚 can无毛视频檛 wait to tell everyone at school I caught a fish,无毛视频� one boy gushed while he gripped a 无毛视频榙og.
无毛视频淭his was a wonderful experience for these kids,无毛视频� said Marilyn Calloway, East End Community Center administrative assistant, who accompanied the kids to Ohiopyle.
More help from fishing friends is still to come. The Uniontown Chapter of the Izaak Walton League will hold its annual Kids无毛视频� Fishing Day tomorrow, June 1, at the League无毛视频檚 beautiful park along Meadow Run in Farmington. The event starts at 9:00 a.m. but families with kids who want to fish are advised to arrive early to register. The Izaak Walton Park is one mile north of Rte. 40 along Rte. 381 in Farmington.
无毛视频淏ring your kids and grandkids. It无毛视频檚 always loads of fun and it无毛视频檚 all free,无毛视频� said Joe Schiffbauer, Uniontown Izaak Walton League president.
Ben Moyer is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.