The opening day of trout season in Southeastern Pennsylvania is this Saturday. Truthfully there is no “off season” in PA, you can (& I do) go trout fishing year round, however this is when the state dumps thousands of trout into creeks, streams, and rivers and fisherman come in droves to claim their limit.
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1952 Field & Stream Cover
(Reprinted in the April 2010 Issue)
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I’ll be meeting up with 3 childhood friends (I’m talking since elementary school) on Saturday this year. Despite the sizable opening day crowds (which should be amplified this year with warm temperatures), I’m really looking forward to it. Sure, we’ll see each other around holidays, but it’s been a few years since we’ve all gotten together to go fishing.
I think my favorite part of the morning is trash talking & slinging B.S. back and forth recalling old times as we stand shoulder to shoulder – fiercely jockeying for position with other “dudes” we don’t know – all waiting for the imaginary 8AM starting bell to ring.
For me, the excitement & anticipation surrounding opening day is definitely more about the camaraderie between good friends than it is about the fish.
Do you tie? because saturday would be an awesome chance to wow your childhood friends by tying some weird stuff for the stockers,,, I did this once with some red and purple prince nymphs… you should tie a red tail and a green wing prince or something they wouldnt think the fish want, give it a name that suites the mood of the day and they will talk about it for years to come… have fun tugging on turds
That's a great idea! I actually just started tying, but I'm sure I could pretty much tie up anything with some bulk and flash and the stockies would jump all over it. My friends are going to be using spinning tackle though, so it would just be for me.
Ah – the shoulder-to-shoulder jockeying. The anticipation. Watching some guy upstream cast at 7:55 and start the attack mode.It's been a lot of years since I was on a PA water for the opening day, but the memories will always remain!Let us know how you did.
Oh! dude even better,,, remember why you switched to the fly and make em cry,,, name one, after one of their spinners!!@! like a stocker martin or a mass caster!!! how fun……maybe go with some size 20 miracles and call em tears.
Wow…Man that takes me back to the days when I used to do the same thing, in high school before Virginia went to “year round” trout fishing; as much of an oxymoron as jumbo shrimp. It was sometimes frustrating but always fun. Good luck man.
I can't handle the insanity. When the opener arrives over on this side of the state I hope to be up in the mountains catching some wild fish. Have fun though!
Love the pic! I hope you guys have a great day in spite of the crowds.