Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2018 - 19

second fish weighed 24 pounds for a
total of 50 pounds at one time. I was
very impressed.-WCO Patrick W.
Ferko, Northern Somerset County.

Blame it on boat noise

After a very hot day of boat patrol
on the Susquehanna River, DWCO
Carl Books and I were in the process
of returning to the launch ramp
when an elderly gentleman waived
us to shore. He spoke softly but not
always distinctly. The gentleman
was addressing his boating concern
with DWCO Books and I when
he stated that he was "rewired."
Misunderstanding the gentleman
and not noticing anything unusual
about him, surprised, I stated, "You're
joking, right?" The older man paused
for a moment, then continued
with his story, saying that he had
an incident at work and had since
moved on to other things. Finally,
I thought to myself, this makes
sense. Upon leaving the gentleman,
DWCO Books, not hearing the
entire conversation, questioned why
I asked the man if he was kidding.
I replied, "The gentleman said he
was rewired." DWCO Books then
said, with a big laugh, "He did not
say he was rewired. He said he
was RETIRED!"-WCO Mark A.
Sweppenhiser, Northern Dauphin and
Northumberland counties.

Eagle vs. osprey

A few years ago, while stocking
trout at Hunters Lake, Sullivan
County, a group of volunteers and
anglers witnessed a rare nature scene
play out right before their eyes. An
osprey plunged into the lake, grabbed
a fish and headed out for a late
afternoon snack. Suddenly, an eagle,
who had been watching the fishing
osprey, had other plans. The eagle
swooped in at the osprey, and the
osprey dropped the fish. The eagle
retrieved the fish and headed off to
enjoy its stolen fish.
A few years later, I was patrolling
Hunters Lake again. I had the chance,
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along with several anglers and
boaters, to witness another round of
osprey vs. eagle. This event started
out much like the first. The osprey
plunged into the lake and arose
with a nice fish. The eagle figured
it had an easy meal and swooped in
at the osprey. It took flight over our
heads from a tree near the parking
area and flew toward the osprey.
The osprey cried out, flew away
and began to rise on a thermal. The
eagle pursued the osprey and its
catch for some time, but finally gave
up and decided to do some fishing
on its own.
With binoculars, I watched the
osprey return with its well-earned
catch. Round 2 goes to the osprey!-
WCO Jeremy Yohe, Western Bradford
and Sullivan counties.

What did you say?

While patrolling the Cementon
Dam on the Lehigh River, I observed
an angler catch and release a less
than legal size Smallmouth Bass.
The individual did not have a fishing
license displayed, so I approached
him to verify that he was lawfully
fishing. When I was in sight, the
angler pulled the flap of his fishing
vest out displaying his license. As
I was verifying his license, I asked
if he was having any luck today.
He stated that he had only caught
one fish so far. Behind him was a
small pool of water with a fishing
basket surrounded by rocks sitting
in it. Inside the basket were three
Rock Bass, two Bluegills, and 10
Smallmouth Bass, all of which were
less than 12 inches long. I asked if
the basket was his. The angler, who
moments before said that he only
caught one fish, acknowledged that
the basket was his and asked me if
there was a problem. I informed him
that he was in possession of 10 less
than legal size Smallmouth Bass and
was also four over the daily creel
limit. Thankfully, the bass were still
alive, so after measuring the bass

and taking photos, I released them
back into the river. The angler was
issued citations for possessing 10 less
than legal size Smallmouth Bass and
for possessing four over the daily creel
limit. It's not unusual for an officer to
get conflicting answers from someone
who is breaking the law, but the
conflicting answers usually don't come
within seconds apart.-WCO Travis D.
Miller, Lehigh County.

Stolen rod returned

While on patrol at a Washington
County Lake, on a summer night, I
approached two anglers. They were
sitting in chairs with their rods resting
on rod holders and their fishing
lines in the water. I asked them both
if they were getting any bites. They
replied that they were there for hours
without any luck. The first angler had
his license displayed, and I checked
it. His fishing partner had to search
for his license in his wallet. While the
angler was searching for his license, he
turned his back to the water. Seconds
later, while still searching for his
license, his fishing rod was suddenly
being pulled into the water. The rod
accelerated into the water where it was
almost out of reach. I immediately
told him to grab his rod since he was
the closest to it. As he made his way
toward the edge of the water to try to
reach his fleeing fishing rod, it was
apparent that the fish was faster. We
both shook our heads in disbelief.
Minutes later, the angler's other fishing
line started moving, as if he had a bite,
so he started to reel in. He felt a slight
resistance as he began to reel in. As I
shined my flashlight toward the water,
a white glow of an attached fishing rod
was seen coming through the water.
The angler retrieved the first fishing
rod that he caught with his second
fishing line. After all this commotion,
would the fish still be hooked? The
battle continued and he eventually
landed the 25-inch carp.-WCO
David Raulfs Jr., Washington County.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * January/February 2018

19
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