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鈥檚 Fly-Fishing Weekend held May 17-19 at Ohiopyle State Park and Beaver Creek Anglers.
Ben Moyer
A鈥橺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鈥檚 good to get by with a little help from your friends. Through a lot of help and among a lot of friends鈥搉ew and old鈥揳 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 鈥渙ld stone house,鈥� 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鈥� 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.
鈥淚t was a fantastic experience, even for someone who had no fly-fishing experience. We were catching trout the first day out,鈥� 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.
鈥淚 tried to pick this up by watching You Tube, especially how to read the water to tell where a trout might be holding,鈥� Barndt said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 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鈥檙e talking about.鈥�
Barndt served two deployments in Iraq with the National Guard and now works as a truck mechanic, so he doesn鈥檛 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.
鈥淲e learned about this through Ohiopyle State Park鈥檚 webpage,鈥� Nate Barndt said. 鈥淢y dad and I were both learning something new, and we did it together.鈥�
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.
鈥淎 lot of kids鈥� 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,鈥� observed a Trout Unlimited member. 鈥淲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.鈥�
Chestnut Ridge TU stocked a remote pond within Ohiopyle State Park with trout raised in the organization鈥檚 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鈥� rod-and-reel combos to TU at a discount for the East End Community event and future kids鈥� 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鈥� 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.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to tell everyone at school I caught a fish,鈥� one boy gushed while he gripped a 鈥榙og.
鈥淭his was a wonderful experience for these kids,鈥� 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鈥� Fishing Day tomorrow, June 1, at the League鈥檚 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.
鈥淏ring your kids and grandkids. It鈥檚 always loads of fun and it鈥檚 all free,鈥� 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.