Technically it wasn’t the first time I ever fished or went out fishing – but it was the first time I went with my dad alone on a stream with waders. It was pretty exciting – as I was bugging him for some time to let me go with him. I was about 9 or 10 at the time and he was worried about my safety – having waders and all, and the hazards associated with being on a stream.
It's been so long ago I'm not sure where we went. It could have been either the Connoquenessing or Neshannock Creeks as they sound somewhat familiar. They are located north of Pittsburgh and there are a lot of small creeks, streams, and small and large lakes in that area. And we went in that direction a lot over the years.
Once we were geared up with our spin casting setup (my dad despised fly fishermen because he thought they were arrogant and rich) we went to the stream. Uncharacteristic of my dad – he was pointing out all the hazards along the stream – watch this, watch that, don’t step there, don't step there, etc. It was uncharacteristic of him only because he usually would let me figure stuff out on my own – as long as I wasn’t going to hurt myself. So maybe that’s what it was – he thought I would hurt myself. Anyway it got very annoying!
Pennsylvania has distinct fishing seasons and opening day for trout fishing is sometime in in either March or April. Opening day draws big crowds to the lakes and streams – it’s not uncommon to see fishermen almost elbow to elbow! This trip wasn’t on opening day, but there were quite a few fishermen on the stream none the less. It was about mid-day and my dad was climbing over a downed tree on the side of the stream bank – and as he stepped on a branch, it broke. When it broke, it sounded like a gunshot – a very loud bang! And he went sideways into the stream – with a loud WOOOOOOOOO – then a splash. (I’m laughing as I write this!). Luckily it was only a foot or two deep where he went in – deep enough though that he was soaked from head to toe. Of course the other fishermen all looked to see what happened – and this did not please my dad. He was muttering something like “what the hell are those bastards looking at”. I had to look away and hold back my laughter…..or he probably would have thrown me in too!!
Him bugging me with all the safety advice and his falling into the stream were the only things I can distinctly remember from the trip. I’m not even sure if we caught a fish.
Since then we had many other trips over the years and a lot of them had “things” happen – what memories!
Here's a picture of my dad - Charlie- with a nice Pink Salmon taken out of the Kenai River in Alaska. We went on this trip in July 1988.
Here's me with a couple more. He didn't like these pictures because he thought my fish looked bigger than his!!
We brought home 70 lbs of salmon and halibut each. My dad caught the only halibut - it was a small one - I'm guessing about 40 lbs undressed.
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