By Jason Say, Owner Pennsylvania Sportsmen Portal soma hernandez

As a youngster, I remember being about 7 or 8 and listening to my dad and uncle George relive stories of going down a small native stream in Western PA and catching over a 100 native trout in a day with 3 or 4 of my uncles.  I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to go with the guys.  Well we don’t catch over a 100 anymore, but the anticipation and family bonds are still there.

Beautiful Colors

My cousin Gary getting ready to string up his minnow.

My Uncle George with typical native trout.

George pitching some minnows

The task of refreshing that minnow water to keep the minnows alive during the 7 mile walk. alabama seroquel attorney

Me with my whopper.  I could catch these guys all day.  Don’t make fun of the glasses!

Not getting the chance to fish this stream for a couple of years, my uncle George and his son Gary decided to go down the stream last year and had a ball.  After hearing all their great stories, I asked if they would mind if I tagged along next year.

Well next year came and unfortunately I was out of town the opening weekend of trout, traditionally the annual trip date.  With a little pleading and begging, I was able to convince George and Gary to wait a week and make the trip on April 20th.  It actually turned out that the opening weekend of trout was miserable with rain and cold weather.  The weekend of the 20th was the exact opposite.  You could not have asked for a better day.

We always get started early in the morning as it is a 7 mile walk.  I arrived at George’s house at 7:00 am and we were on the stream by 8. George and Gary were fishing with the traditional minnows that we have always used on this stream.  This year, I was going to use a 4 weight fly rod. I was a little concerned because the entire first half of this stream is very tight and I knew using my fly rod for the first half was going to by trying.

All in all we had a great day catching many fish, and sharing stories from the past.  The only negative of the entire day was we all wished that my father could have been along.  The man who taught both George and I, as well as countless others, how to fish.  Being a Vietnam vet, my father now has a disorder that effects his nervous system which causes him some difficulty walking long distances and some difficulty with fine motor skills.  We missed him immensely and talked about him all day.

So many times in life we get so busy that we don’t take the time to
appreciate the ones around us.  I don’t get to see my cousin Gary and Uncle George often and I used this day just to get caught up. On a day like this, it wasn’t even about the fish, it was about getting back to my roots and enjoying those who mean the most to me, family.