Outdoorsmen have too many choices and too little time in the spring
There are just not enough days in the week. With spring gobbler season in full swing, trout biting like bulldogs and morels starting to poke their heads out of the ground, the dyed-in-the wool outdoorsmen has to make choices.
To make matters worse, most of us still have a job, plus lawn work.
Any more, I’m looking forward to the day I can retire and spend more time afield.
I’ve been hearing some good reports from the gobbler hunters, and trout fishermen are having some great days with many taking limits.
Fly fishermen have been doing extremely well on the Fly Fishing Catch and Release Only area of Dunbar Creek.
With trout still feeding mostly on the bottom, nymphs and streamers have been most productive.
Dunbar area native Tom Crist, who is Waterway’s Conservation Officer for Greene and Southern Washington Counties said that he has been extremely busy.
“The fishing has been good, and is has sure kept me busy,” Crist said when I caught up with him on his day off.
“Last week, I put in a 66-hour week,” he said. “They are catching trout everywhere, and everybody seems to be pleased with the trout that were stocked.
“The weather has been great, and the creeks are full of water.”
I asked Tom if Lake Wilma was being utilized more than last year.
The newest fishery for Greene County anglers is located on the state line near Blacksville, W.Va., but it is worth the trip for those who want to spend a relaxing day fishing for trout or any species that happen to be in season.
Crist was hoping to see a better turnout at the lake once fishermen discovered it.
“It (pressure) is still about the same as last year,” Crist said. “There is decent pressure on the weekends, but it is not overwhelming.
“It should be a really good place to fish during the week.”
Crist said, “All the streams in my area are full of trout. There was decent pressure on Browns Creek after we stocked it, and Ten Mile was packed after I stocked it. This year was the first time the state started to announce the time and date of the Ten Mile stocking because of a lack of parking and traffic problems in the past.
“Once people found out we were stocking, they came out and were catching fish. It went really well. There were many limits taken.”
Crist said red worms and mealworms have been very productive on the streams with many anglers also doing well with spinnerbaits.
He also noted that catfish anglers are starting to catch channel cats in the Mon near Gray’s Landing and Alicia, where cats are reportedly taking small Rapalas.
He noted that the crappies are also starting to hit in the river and said that white bass should have started to run up Ten Mile Creek. He has not run into too many anglers as yet near Ten Mile Park, which is an local hotspot once the white bass run begins.
“They usually do well on white bass in Ten Mile from the mouth of the river to the trailer park,” Crist noted.
He noticed some boats on the river already, especially some fishing boats, which he said, “tells me they must be catching something.”
When walleye comes in, it will really get busy on the river.
A couple of weeks ago Crist was filling in for Fayette County Waterway’s Conservation Officer Scott Opfer at a couple of stockings.
The stocking truck broke down while stocking Virgin Run Dam and South Connellsville Rod and Gun Club came to the rescue with their stocking trucks and ferried the trout to the lake.
“I can’t thank them enough,” Crist said. “I sure appreciated their help.”
Crist said he would like to have an area for kids in his district. He is also still hoping to find a club to adopt Enlow Fork and develop it to its full potential of becoming one of the area’s finer trout streams.
“One local chapter of Trout Unlimited is showing some interest. I would sure like to see them adopt the stream,” Crist said. “It is a real popular area.
“We’re stocking it Saturday (yesterday). I expect a really big turnout if the weather is nice. Due to a wildflower walk, I stayed a way from there last weekend.”
With fishing activity picking up, Crist said that he would be putting the patrol boat on the Mon before long.
“It won’t be long before boating season begins. Then things will really start to get busy.”
Coyote hunting seminar
Coyote hunting expert Tom Bechdel will present a coyote hunting seminar at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 3 at the Fairbank Rod and Gun Club.
Bechdel is a nationally-known predator hunter from Saegertown, Pa.
A hunter for more than 40 years, Bechdel’s coyote hunting seminar includes information about the life of the coyote, how to find them, and how to call them with electronic and mouth calls.
He also explains how to use decoys effectively when hunting coyotes.
The seminar is not only for hunters. Pet owners and farmers can learn how to protect their pets and livestock.
Bechdel will explain how large a coyote can become and what it will and will not eat.
He says, “This will be time well spent to learn about your new neighbor.”
During a three-year period, he has harvested 257 coyotes in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The largest weighed 72 pounds, and the most he ever killed in one day was eight.
During the seminar, he will detail the 12 months of a coyote’s life, explaining what a coyote does, why he does it and how he does it.
The cost of this informative seminar is $6 for adults. Children under 12 are admitted for free.
For more information on the seminar, call Bob Valente at 724-246-9828.
Herald-Standard Outdoor Editor Rod Schoener can be reached on line at rschoener@heraldstandard.com.