For those not familiar with this kind of license, it is issued by authority of the Executive Director of the Fish & Boat Commission to medical and rehabilitative institutions who have patients that may benefit from recreational fishing during the course of their treatment.

These heroes had served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both of them had sustained injuries during their tour of duty, and were now patients at the local VA hospital.

Having served in combat myself with the US Army’s First Cavalry Division, I had a strong connection with these vets, and was anxious to help them in any way I could. They were not having much luck where they were fishing and asked me for some other places to go.

Now, as a conservation officer I have some “secret” spots that few anglers know of. This was the perfect time to divulge a couple of those secret places to get these guys into the fish. I asked them to pack up their equipment, and follow me. Within 15 minutes, I had them at one of those secret locations; knee-deep in trout. Let me tell you, those were two happy guys!

It was a privilege to meet those soldiers and to thank them for their service and sacrifices for our freedoms here at home. Although it wasn’t much, I was happy to do what I could as an officer and as a citizen to show my appreciation.

During the course of our patrol we encountered several roadside obstructions that needed cleared from the roadway before disaster would strike. These obstructions consisted of three map turtles, one common snapping turtle and one painted turtle. We also encountered one other turtle that was not successful in making its journey across a busy roadway to potentially lay its eggs.

As Waterways Conservation Officers we are tasked with the protection of the Commonwealth’s reptiles and amphibians. During this particular day I believe we were for the most part successful at fulfilling that obligation and it was a nice change of pace to take our minds off of some of the more serious law enforcement errands that day.

But, now I can say that I’ve seen the ”Best of the Best” in that regard.  While on routine patrol, I pulled into the PFBC boating access at Black Rock, which is located on the Schuylkill River in Phoenixville.  As I did, I found myself looking at an enormous pile of trash sitting next to the launch area.  I counted four tires, 8 very large plastic bags filled with trash, a five-gallon bucket loaded with glass bottles and a large plastic trash container, also filled with trash.  At first I thought the worst; someone had dumped his or her unwanted trash in our lot in lieu of the hassle and expense of taking it to the dump.

Upon further inspection, I found that several individuals from the 7th Wonder, a local organization headed up by Jessica Sanchez of Phoenixville, had spent the entire hot and humid morning wading through the weeds and thick underbrush cleaning up a 200-yard stretch of riverbank along the Schuylkill.  Additionally, Jessica had already made arrangements for the trash to be picked up the following morning and hauled to the landfill.  This goes way above and beyond in my book and deserves to be recognized.

In another instance, I was on routine patrol on the East Brandywine Creek in the area of the low head dam near the Rt. 30 By-Pass, which is a favorite area with local fishermen and a problem area for littering and dumping.  I observed a vehicle in the gravel parking area, so I pulled in to see what was up.  This area is privately owned, and the property owner allows fishing, but swimming is not allowed due to the aforementioned trash problem.  Expecting to see someone swimming, I was surprised to find a gentleman, Larry Palmer of Glenmoore, picking up trash.  Mr. Palmer stated that he enjoyed coming there and decided to clean it up.  I thanked Mr. Palmer and went about my patrol feeling pretty good about what I had just observed.

On another occasion, I was working in Philadelphia at our access at the Frankford Arsenal, when a man walking around with a large plastic bag caught my attention.  I watched with curiosity wondering what he was up to.  The gentleman began to pick up trash from the ground and place it into his bag.  Wondering why he was doing this, I decided to introduce myself.  When I inquired as to why he was picking up litter, he stated that he enjoyed coming to our boating access, but didn’t like all the trash, which was continually left behind by inconsiderate people.  He told me his name was Richard E. Johnson, that he lived nearby, was retired, and he followed this routine five days a week.  I thanked Mr. Johnson for his service to the community and the PFBC and walked away in amazement.

If more sportsmen/women were of the mindset of these individuals, there would be, in my humble opinion, more places for those of us who enjoy the beauty of the outdoors to recreate in.  More places to bike, fish, hunt, hike, or simply sit and relax.  In short, more private property would be open to the public.

Thank you to these individuals who gave generously of their time, you are the “Best of the Best.”  I applaud you.  I encourage all of you to follow their lead in helping to Protect – Conserve – Enhance Pennsylvania’s Waters.

I drove to the location on 20 Mile Creek and there was an individual fishing in the posted area. I parked my vehicle and spent the next half hour watching him. He was attempting to snag fish but was not very good at it. He started to work his way back to the bridge, an area that is open to fishing. I decided to drive down to the bridge and talk with this individual and explain how expensive it can be to fish on posted property. I parked the truck and walked down the path that leads to the area under the bridge.

Just before I stepped into the open I heard two individuals talking, one was the guy that was fishing in the posted area. They did not see me, so I listened to the conversation, “lets go up to the big hole and snag some fish and head home”. I backed out and followed the two individuals. They talked about being on posted property and said we better not get caught.

I stepped out from behind the trees and identified myself. I instructed them to take the three fish they snagged down to the bridge and I will meet them there. They had three fish on a stringer under the bridge and I found two fish in a cooler in their truck. I asked who caught these fish; we caught those two fish yesterday. I asked, when did you arrive in Erie? They told me 2 o’clock this morning and we caught those two fish in the lake. I confirmed that they meant 2 o’clock this morning? Yea, they replied. I said, well that is still today, so you are over the limit.

I issued several citations and seized the fish. After talking to the landowner these were the two individuals trespassing earlier in the day.

I summoned him to pull into shore and proceeded to conduct a safety inspection of his vessel as well as a fishing license check. The male individual did have a Type II Personal Flotation Device on board but decided not to comply with the mandatory wear requirements in that it was uncomfortable for him to fish with it on. I explained to him the various types of PFD’s on the market today to meet the needs of boat-based angling. This gentleman was also short the required sound producing device. A citation was issued for the PFD violation and we parted company on pretty cordial terms.

The very next day, my day off, I was shopping at the local Wal-Mart and while cruising thru the sporting goods section, I took notice of the same gentleman that I had encountered the day before actively trying on different types of Personal Flotation Devices. We made brief eye contact and to this day I am not sure if he recognized me out of uniform, either way I believe that I actually got the messages thru to this gentleman in that a Personal Flotation Device can only save your life if you wear it and if it’s not comfortable to wear chances are you won’t wear it.

There were numerous WCO's working a late night detail for poaching. After a long night we finally had the incident we were there for, three individuals fishing nursery waters and keeping out of season walleye. One of the individuals there had a warrant for his arrest. WCO Giardina and I transported the individual to Crawford County jail. This was my first time in taking someone to jail. I knew where the jail was but at 0200 hours in the morning I was unsure where the drop off for the prisoner was. This is where my unexpected help came into play.

The prisoner, while it was our first time, it was not his. The prisoner gave me detailed directions and instructions on how to get him into the jail. He even went so far to say that he could recognize the voice over the intercom before entering the jail. Needless to say, like always, we got the job done and the prisoner was entered into the jail without incident. I am not ashamed to say that sometimes I need help, but sometimes you never know where you are going to get it. Thank you Mr. Prisoner, I couldn't have done it without you.

People are always complaining, "you didn't put any fish in my spot", but he recently had a different kind of complaint. They were stocking a small creek in a rural area and they drove past an elderly fellow trying his hand at catching a fish in one of the very few, bigger holes on that creek. They drove about 75 yards past him and stopped and put trout in four buckets which they emptied into the creek. As they were loading the buckets back on the truck they noticed the angler, who was now very agitated, storming toward them.

When he got to them he barked, why did you have to ruin my fishing? After getting confused looks from the stockers the fisherman said, where do you think all those fish went? Because the water is pretty shallow where you put all those fish they all came right down the creek and into the hole that I was fishing and spooked all my fish!

I guess we’ll never please everyone.

We located the anglers in question below the bridge on the other side of the boat launch and stood above them for several minutes just watching. However, I did observe one trout about 30’ in front of them that was belly-up. After about ten minutes, where they didn’t catch any fish, I decided to go down and check for licenses.

Just as I went over the guardrail the one fisherman caught a trout. So I stopped to watch what he did when he got the trout to shore and sure enough he began to violently shake the line until the fish flopped back into the lake.

Both anglers had their fishing licenses and after explaining the immediately release provision of the year round fishing designation I awarded the shaker a coupon worth $108.50 to be redeemed at the local magistrate.

However, it is the other side of that coin that I will never forget. These are the desirable people I have encountered along the waterways of Northern Wayne County.

• Outflow of Prompton Dam- This man’s presence was desired in Arizona for an outstanding felony arrest warrant.
• West Branch Lackawaxen River- This man’s presence was desired by the Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Department for a misdemeanor arrest warrant.
• Miller Pond- This man’s presence was desired by the State of New Mexico for an outstanding felony arrest warrant.
• Prompton Dam- This man’s presence was desired by the Carbondale Police Department for an outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrant.
• Outflow of Prompton Dam- This man’s presence was desired by the Pa. State Police Gibson barracks for an outstanding felony warrant.
• Delaware River- This man’s presence was desired for an outstanding felony warrant out of the state of Florida.
• Van Auken Creek- This man’s presence was desired by Waymart Borough Police for an outstanding felony arrest warrant.

All of these desirable people reached their desired destinations.

They were very cooperative and freely admitted that they had failed to purchase a current license. As we finished with the paperwork, I thanked them for their honesty and cooperation, and informed them that even if they lied to us, we would have caught up to them eventually through the process.

One of the individuals then spoke up and told us, "See you do learn something from TV." When we asked him what he meant, he stated: "I watch the Wardens show on TV, and the one thing I learned from that show is if we lie to you we'll get it twenty-times worse by the time it is done!" Who says current TV isn't educational?

This year (2012) on Friday, April 13 (day before the opening day of trout season) I was scheduled to help WCO Dave Kaneski with stocking the East Branch of Dyberry Creek and Dyberry Creek. Since there were two trucks scheduled, I was to take one and Kaneski the other. Meeting with Kaneski at the Pleasant Mount Hatchery prior to going to the meeting location we received some bad news. One of the trucks had broken down on the NE extension of the Turnpike and was unable to make the meeting point/time. The other, driven by Al Boyles, a fish culturist from the Pleasant Mount Hatchery (who because of CDL restrictions had driven to Bellefonte the night before and stayed overnight), was still on it’s way.

Hatchery Manager Tom Pekarski dispatched Steve Richner, the maintenance repairman, to load up what he thought he might need to get the disabled vehicle road-worthy since we were closer to the truck than the Benner Spring crew from which it originated. The only other option was to send another truck from Benner Spring, transfer the fish and water [by hand along the turnpike] to the good unit and hope we could make it to the stream before dark. Going back to the hatchery was not an option (there are no “reschedule” days when tomorrow is opening day). As the meeting time of 1:00 p.m. was drawing nigh Kaneski and I headed out, unsure of how the day would end.

Being an exceptionally nice spring day, coupled with the season opening in less than 24 hrs. the attendant crowd of volunteers was greater than normal. After telling the news to the helpers and with cell service marginal in this area of Wayne County, a few of the volunteers agreed to stay at the meeting point in case the truck made it before we got done with Boyles’ truckload.

Working as quickly as possible, we returned to the meeting point in time to see the second truck just limping in. Richner had gotten it going, however the clutch was nearly inoperable. In addition the driver was now almost out of his legal time to be on the road.

Manager Pekarski pressed into service Pleasant Mount Fish Culturist Doug Smoyer to drive so the Benner Spring culturist could immediately head back to Benner Spring. After one stop along the stream the truck’s clutch was now totally inoperable.

As luck would have it Doug’s father Bill, who is also a Culturist at Pleasant Mt., was with us on his own time helping to stock the trout. Bill possessed the knowledge and ability to drive without a clutch [I have some trouble driving standard with a clutch]. Bill was now pressed into service! As darkness was approaching and the last stop in sight Tom Pekarski and his wife came to check on us, thoughtfully making sure we had enough help.

So the next time you think getting a few fish from point A to point B is a simple task....there might be more to the story.

After waiting a few seconds for more of an explanation, and receiving none , I responded by asking “What has that got to do with it?” The gentleman looked at me and explained “Well, I’m sure there are things about plumbing I know that you do not – just like there are things about fishing you know that I don’t.”

I quickly nodded in agreement and countered with “You’re right. But when I buy a faucet I read the instruction booklet and when you buy a license you should do the same thing.” While I did get a less than friendly look from him, the angler decided not to argue any further.

During the next week or so I mulled it over. However, I had to can the idea when something much better came up. You see, while checking a special regulations area, in full uniform, I caught someone in possession of several items just before they started to fish. I opted to point out the infraction and ask him to simply take the items back to his truck. The man got pretty upset and somewhat mouthy. A second angler I see frequently thought he should join us to make sure the upset angler didn’t do anything foolish thinking we were alone. He said nothing and just stood back.

To our surprise, the nearly irate man shouted, “I know Jim Vatter and he told me this stuff is okay to use here.” Hearing this remark, the second man’s face was hilarious. He started to speak up and I cut him off with a quick wink and a slight shake of the head. I replied, “Well, I know him too and I guess you misunderstood him about these jars of bait.” The angler calmed a bit and said something like that was a possibility.

When he departed to take his four jars of paste-bait to the truck, the second angler quickly asked why I didn’t tell him who I was. I simply smiled and told him most people drop names like that for a reason and I was anxiously anticipating the sequel!

In addition to the blatant wake violation, the canvas cover of the boat was intact on the forward portion of the craft, obscuring the registration numbers and validation stickers.

Before the boater got too far we were able to untie the patrol boat and effect a stop. The reason for the operator’s inattention were clear as we pulled up alongside: he was engrossed in a cell phone call. Many states have made it illegal to drive a motor vehicle on the roadway while talking or texting on a mobile device, but I have yet to be aware of one making it unlawful to operate a boat while talking or texting. This person was paying so very little attention to what was going on around him that he was oblivious to four foot tall buoys. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that a similar law may not be far off.

I have always suspected that many of these fish end up as food for the river’s abundant adult trout and smallmouth bass populations. I have also seen kingfishers and other types of fish eating birds take advantage of the sudden appearance of these young trout. I’m sure that all of these predators take their fair share, but it wasn’t until a recent stocking that I was reminded of yet another type of fish eating animal.

We had just put several thousand fingerlings in the river near the mouth of Meadow Run. I walked out onto a large flat rock that allowed a good view into the crystal clear water and within seconds observed dozens of water snakes with fingerlings in their mouths. The snakes disappeared with their prey just as suddenly as they had appeared only to be replaced with other snakes which also quickly grabbed the defenseless trout.

The majority of the snakes were between 12 and 20 inches long and during the couple of minutes that I watched, I estimate that I witnessed the demise of over 50 fingerlings due to the marauding water snakes.

While walking away it occurred to me that this was probably not the first time that these snakes had feasted on stocked fish. Since there are a lot of people that look forward to seeing the stocking truck headed toward their favorite stream, It seems reasonable to conclude that one or two of the more intelligent water snakes occasionally cast an eye toward shore, anxiously anticipating the arrival of that big white truck.

After all, Pavlov proved that it worked with dogs, why not snakes.