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Record trout makes for memorable season opener

By Olivia Goudy 3 min read

For me, trout season is less about the actual fishing, and more about the tradition and memories.

I love to tell stories about trout fishing trips of years past, and always look forward to the camaraderie of the weekend, whether it’s with family or friends, with traditions both new and old.

Last year, I wrote about making new traditions with my fiance, Jake — a tradition we carried on this year by heading to Whites Creek in Somerset County early Saturday followed by a later visit to Big Sandy with my cousins, Gage and Wade.

It was a beautiful day, with the sun high above and temperatures around 80 — a welcomed feeling after a stretch of cold, dreary days.

There were a number of highlights — laughing with Jake when he hooked a trout, only to have it flop off the hook when he hauled it from the stream, seeing the excitement on Wade’s face when he’d see a large trout chase his Powerbait, downing venison burgers with my brother, my dad and his friends while they swapped stories that most often started with, “Hey, remember that time?” — but the one highlight that stood out in my book certainly stood out for my dad, Fred Goudy, as well.

He landed the largest trout he’s ever caught, a massive 19-inch brown trout — an endeavor that took no less than ten minutes to finally wear down and net the stunning trout.

Jake and I came up the creek to see my dad, ankle-deep with his waders in a swift-moving pool, his green net in one hand and his fly rod and orange line in the other — the latter of which was bent at a pretty good angle into the rapids below.

It was evident he had a fish on by the way the end darted back and forth while my dad looked on, trying to retrieve the net that had managed to get tangled in someone else’s discarded fishing line. Talk about bad timing.

He walked the feisty fish down stream, all the while watching his step on the slick river rock below, and finally dipped the net below the heavy fish.

It was evident by the grin he wore that he was quite proud of his catch as he walked down the dusty, crowded road along Whites Creek with other anglers commenting on the trophy-sized fish.

It’s always a treat to spend the opening day of trout season outdoors with my family or friends — or any day fishing or outdoors for that matter — but it was especially endearing to watch my dad thoroughly enjoy himself on a day that he treasures and has countless memories of.

I’m thankful for days like that, and look forward to having many more like them in the future.

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