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Fishing: Creek cleanup will not happen overnight
Fifty years ago, Green Drakes disappeared from Spring Creek in Centre County after someone from a Penn State University chemistry lab dumped cyanide into the water. The big mayflies haven't been seen there since. "A bunch of us tried to reintroduce them by planting nymphs in the stream and duns in the foliage," said Dan Shields, of Lamont, Pa., who wrote about the incident in his book "Fly Fishing Pennsylvania's Spring Creek." "We even netted thousands of spinners from another stream, but they never took hold. We tried for three or four years, but it was no use." Although the recent train derailment and chemical spill on Sinnemahoning Portage Creek in Mc-Kean and Cameron counties was much bigger and more deadly, experts are cautiously optimistic that insects will rebound on what had been pristine, wild trout water, but predict a long, slow process.
Gearing up: It's tiny, light and casts well; whether it catches fish is up to you
At first blush, the Compact Pen-Sized Collapsible Fishing Rod and Reel from gofastandlight.com looks like something Ron Popeil would hawk on an infomercial. Though it costs about the same as the Pocket Fisherman (Pocket Fisherman is $20; Pen-Sized Collapsible is $19, including a choice of reels: spin, fly or casting), this tiny gizmo might really have some backpacking applications. We took it along on a six-mile hike into the Echo Lake chain and cast it a few times. It fits quite nicely into a pack, and the rod expands to 36 inches. It weighs only 2 ounces (about the same as nine quarters, according to a news release). Granted, this isn't something you're going to use at a Bassmaster's fishing derby, but its compact size and light weight underscore the company name: Go Fast and Light. Did we catch anything with it yet? Well, uh, no.
All systems go for trout season
Finally, thousands of wader-wearing Vermont anglers will have the chance to dance on the grave of Old Man Winter when trout season opens Saturday morning.
"It seems like people have a lot of desire and demand to get outside and do something than going skiing," said Roger Ranz, owner of the Classic Outfitters tackle shop in South Burlington. "Everybody is primed for a good season."
Opening-day trout fishing in Vermont usually means more freezing fingers than fish. Rivers and streams swollen with rain and melting snow and near-freezing water temperatures conspire to make catching trout an iffy proposition.
"The water will be high and it will be cold," said John Hall, a spokesman for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. "The trout are going to be down deep and not as active as they will be later in the year.
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