Mountain Home, April 2017

E E R F he wind

as t

Hero at the Headwaters

When Pine Creek Was Dying, Bob McCullough Stood Up to Save It

By Dave Wonderlich

Our annual FISHUE: Bassmasters, Streams, Vernal Pools, Old Rods, and Errant Catches APRIL 20171

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Mother Earth

By Gayle Morrow

What’s in a name? (And what direction does it flow?)

Hero at the Headwaters

By David Wonderlich

20

When Pine Creek was dying, Bob McCullough stood up to save it.

Hooking the Big One

By Maggie Barnes

Local fisherman Mark Fabrizi puts his spin on Houston as a Bassmaster Classic marshal.

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Catch of the Day

Ol’ Ever Ready

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By Don Knaus Warm regard for a relic rod.

Landing a full-grown man is easier than it should be.

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Back of the Mountain

By Nigel P. Kent

In the wake of the tempest.

12 The Secret World of Vernal Pools

Cover by Tucker Worthington; top photo courtesy Dave Wonderlich; center, By UW Digital Collections [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons; bottom photo courtesy Chris Yearick.

By Peter Petokas In forest brigadoons, habitats come and go, and life is born.

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HERO AT THE

Gray line: Bob McCullough fishes Grays Run, a Lycoming County stream.

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HEADWATERS When Pine Creek Was Dying, Bob McCullough Stood Up to Save It

By Dave Wonderlich

of addressing mine acid and pollution on our trout waters. Bob was an environmental planner for Lycoming County; he was a director of national Trout Unlimited and past state and Lycoming chapter president. Bob was chairman of the Pennsylvania Defense Foundation, a member of the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Citizen’s Advisory Council, DEP’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee, the Heinz Foundation, where his knowledge helped the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Group, and he was chairman of the board of directors of the Babb Creek Watershed Association, Inc. Bob would not like it that I just listed all that about him—he was the first to give credit to everyone else who made it possible for him to work toward his hopes and dreams of the environment being all that it could be.

During the 1970s and 80s anglers began to notice a change in the flies present on Pine Creek below Blackwell. It was nothing you could put an exact date on, or even a particular year. It was an event that was cumulative and took a toll over ten to twelve years. Fly fishing people tend to live by the rhythms dictated by their favorite aquatic hatches. The typical seasons at that time started with the early spring stone flies and progressed through the Hendricksons, Red Quills, Quill Gordons, Paraleps, Blue-Winged Olives, and caddis. The big March Browns came on and all was well in the lives of the fishermen and fisherwomen. Coming quickly after were the Drakes: Brown, Slate, Green, and Yellow—people came from all around to experience the legendary Pine Creek hatches. There were good fall hatches as well but back then few fished after fall leaves started to change. In the first few years, individuals thought the decline in flies in any given hatch was a part of a normal cycle dictated by abnormally warm water in the summer, a bad winter with a lot of anchor ice, or just a poor reproductive season for the aquatic insects. After a few years of the cycle not reversing itself, anglers began to notice the lack of numbers of flies within hatches, they noticed a lack of peak-hatch, and they started to be aware that some hatches were actually disappearing altogether.

courtesy Aaron Munzer

G

reat trout fishing on Pine Creek didn’t happen by accident.

It took incredible work on the part of an individual with a dream of not only what could be but what should be. It took irrepressible stamina and willpower to persist. Oh, and one more thing—it took someone with an unwavering appreciation and love of Pine Creek and its hallowed valleys with hidden pools, runs, glides, and cold-water tributaries to bring the degraded water back to its original glory. The person who did all this, almost single-handedly, was Bob McCullough.

The whole story began many years before the decreasing fly hatches and the Babb Creek acid mine drainage problem took center stage. There was a group of night trout fishermen from back in the lumbering era who lived in Jersey Shore; Bob’s grandfather was one of them. Bob related to me that, “He took me along one night, and I enjoyed it. I’ve been night fishing ever since.” My friendship with Bob started in the late 1960s at a Susquehanna Valley Trout Unlimited (TU) meeting. The individuals at the meeting divided up into fishing teams whereby two anglers would go to the various watersheds and, along with fishing, would document obvious practices of individuals polluting the creeks. Pictures were taken and team members would witness and corroborate the occurrence. Back at the next TU meeting member lawyers would put the complaints together. I remember one infraction involved a cabin that had the inhabitants’ washing machine on the back porch simply pumping the soapy water directly into Lycoming Creek! It was a very impressive group of leaders to this twenty-one-year-old—one I’ll never forget as some of the names are still sharp in my mind: Horace Hand, Bill O’Connor, Justice Baum, and, of course Bob, the leader.

Not only was Bob’s understanding of trout and aquatic insects legendary, his ability, in the dark, to get them fastened to the business end of his line was the stuff of national fame. And, this knowledge and skill was honed even further through his lifelong vocation and extensive volunteer work to fit the challenge

Hero on SeeSee Mooney on page page 88 7

Hero continued from page 7

Tom Finkbiner, owner of Wolfe’s General Store and Slate Run Tackle Shop, used to take a short ride with Nick Niklaus around three or threethirty in the afternoons during the Brown Drake emergence. They would look at the shade the hemlocks made on the west side of Pine; there the Brown Drakes would dance in the shadow in preparation for the mating that would occur that evening. These were Tom’s and Nick’s scouting trips to find out where the action would be that evening.

One of those days in the late 80s, Tom went on his trip to the Dutchman Pool and stood at the edge of the water in disbelief: he saw only one Brown Drake.

He told me he felt like he was observing the last carrier pigeon. It couldn’t be, he thought, but the writing was on the wall for the need to act.

The meeting that really started the ball rolling was held in the Tioga District Forestry Office at the forestry building on Nessmuk Lane in Wellsboro. McCullough was his usual smiling, flamboyant self and greeted everyone as they filled the room. After the pleasantries, he introduced the purpose, objectives, and direction of the meeting. Bob then asked each of the major Pennsylvania state agency representatives to give their input on taking action to clean up Babb Creek.

Some comments were: “Bob, this was studied extensively, there are hotspots we haven’t even recorded yet.” “This problem is so massive, you are not going to see it accomplished in your lifetime.”

It didn’t take long to see what the individual and group attitude was. The similar comments came from one person then another, up one side of the room then back down the other. “Bob, this has been going on for over 100 years, there is no way we can do anything with a problem so widespread.” “Bob, our budgets are spread so thin, I don’t see any way we can commit to a project that is so involved and encompassing.”

“Bob, there is just no way this is going to happen, we don’t even know if there is a way to reconcile this, even in the years ahead.” “It just can’t be done Bob!” The comments worked their way completely around the table of agency heads without one positive response.

8

Bob had had no comment or facial expression during the first once-around— not one. Now everyone could see his face getting red, blood pressure rising.

Bob stood. He leaned on the table and looked at each individual with cutting-edge expectancy. He apologized and said he had made a mistake in his introductory directions to the group. He said he was very sorry, that they were going to go around the room again and every person was going to come up with something each could do to help restore Babb Creek from an acid drainage waterway to a thriving trout stream.

There was an immediate response, “But Bob…” “Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen, don’t ‘but Bob’ me,” McCullough shot back, “I asked what we can do to save Pine Creek.

Not one came up with a positive idea. We are going around again and everyone will come up with something your agency can do!” He directed his gaze to the first man on his right and, after some mumbling, the representative said, “I have an intern coming who could be used to monitor the acid.”

“I’ll take that,” Bob said quickly. As they went around the group once again, it was as if new air had been pumped into the room.

One individual did ask, “Where will we get all this money?” and Bob responded, “We’ll get it.” The attitudes not only changed, but one at a time each person appeared to be filled with hope for the possibilities. Tom Finkbiner was seated at the head table next to McCullough and just shook his head in amazement at Bob’s incredible leadership ability. McCullough was masterful, and he made the difference not only for his beloved Pine Creek, but for Muncy Creek, the Loyalsock, Lycoming Creek, most of the tributaries, and the Susquehanna River.

And what happened? Let me give you a quick listing of the avalanche of events, with a synopsis of facts from Restored: A History of the Reclamation of the Babb Creek Watershed from Acid Mine Drainage Pollution by James Barr, the vice chairman of the Babb Creek Watershed Association: • 1989 – Environmental Defense Foundation allowed pressure to be exerted on Wellsboro and Galeton to correct problems with sewage treatment systems.

• Foundation Legal Counsel, John E. Childe Jr., filed a complaint in Federal District Court alleging Antrim Mining punctured into

Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean: Through Bob’s lifelong mission and extensive volunteer work, he was instrumental in removing pollutants from our trout waters.

deep mines under their strip mines, increasing mine acid affecting Babb and Pine Creeks.

• 1990 – Antrim Mining agreed to quit mining and reclaim its mine site.

• McCullough and Jim Barr contacted Joseph Schueck, a DER (Department of Environmental Resources, the precursor to DEP) mine inspector, leading to research on the Babb Creek mine acid being undertaken (along with Schueck’s colleague, Michael Smith). Penn State was also contacted and Dr. Dean Arnold, an aquatic ecologist, joined the team.

• October 8, 1990 – Bob and Jim pulled in the expertise of Dauphin County TU and PA National Guard under Captain Chris Cleaver, also Dale Schwalm, to build two diversion wells south of Arnot, using Dr. Arnold’s knowledge of new successful technology from Scandinavia. Raised stream pH 4.5 to 6.

• 1991 – New lime-dosing system treated 50 percent of acid flowing down Wilson Creek into Babb. Huge immediate impact on Pine Creek.

• 1994 – Summer construction of a small diversion well to treat the Klondike deep mine discharge.

• 1995 – Tom Finkbiner noted “Sustained, prolific mayfly hatches

on Pine below Blackwell. In May there were large hatches of Brown and Green Drakes—the first in fifteen years. The flies were back in 1996.”

• Two more wells were constructed on Red Run, a tributary to Lick Run— Red Run pH went from 4.2 to 6.5-7.

• 1995 – Arnot Sportsman’s Club released trout into Babb Creek.

• 1995 – Artificial Wetland System developed at the Arnot #2 deep mine. pH went from 3.5 to 7!

• 1996 – Antrim Mining completed new treatment system for Antrim #1 discharge.

• 1997 – Second wetlands constructed.

• 1998 – Large spoil pile at Klondike Mine reclaimed—now a lush sevenacre green meadow.

• Babb Creek Watershed Association (BCWA) formed to see completion and maintain into future.

• BCWA prepares to take over Antrim #1 Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Plant at Antrim.

• 1999 – Antrim Mining Co. deeded Antrim Treatment Plant and 100 acres of land to the state of Pennsylvania and $1.5 million to cover operating costs for fifty years. April 1 BCWA began operating the plant with DEP. • Pe n n s y l v a n i a Fi s h a n d B o a t See Hero on page 10 9

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Hoops continued from page 9

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Aquatic accolade: A plaque commemorating McCullough’s work and that of others can be found on a bridge overlooking Pine Creek in the community of Blackwell.

Hero continued from page 9

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Commission surveyed Babb Creek and found large numbers of fish with stream-born brook and brown trout!

• 1999 – DEP removed five miles of Pine Creek, below the Babb Creek confluence, from the list of the state’s impaired streams. “Fish and aquatic insect life recovered to levels similar to those in unaffected sections upstream of Blackwell.” Success.

• 2000 – Two more large wetlands constructed to treat discharge from Bear Run mine complex.

• Growing Greener Program gets grants to help Arnot #2 mine complex and Rattler Mine Project.

• 2001-2004 – Growing Greener Grant: $2.2 million to treat four discharges from the Anna S mine. Seven acres of wetlands were constructed, ponds built, and sediment basins created. This formed the largest passive treatment complex in Pennsylvania.

And here we are today; Babb Creek is a trout stream once again. It has natural reproduction of both brown and brook trout and sports an ever-increasing diversity of strong mayfly, caddisfly, and stonefly hatches. Babb, in being restored, has made a huge difference in Pine Creek below Blackwell. Instead of the bad days when fly hatches were disappearing or gone, aquatic insects have not just rebounded, but are increasing in numbers beyond even optimistic dreams. Because of Bob McCullough and the army of great people behind him, we also have some flies that are showing up that have been off the radar for many anglers until now. It could be that the numbers of these particular aquatic insects were so low because of poorer water conditions that they were not noticed, or it might be that many more people are fishing now in the fall and winter and on the stream to see these flies. One example is the red stonefly (looks like a black stonefly but has a wide, bright-red ring around its abdomen). Another fly is the Nectosyche (white miller)—they are a nighttime fly, which many anglers have never seen. Hexagenia Limbata has increased in recent years on Pine in early September—it is a very large fly and attracts the largest trout to the surface. And the last is the Gray Drake. It is a big drake that emerges like a rocket and heads straight for the treetops. Its most

Mooney continued from page 9

important stage may be as an emerger and again as a spinner. Actually, the Gray Drake dun looks a lot like a BlueWinged Olive in a size ten or twelve.

The Gray Drake hatch is much like the Slate Drake and takes months for the whole population to cycle through adulthood. It is very exciting to watch for all these flies and add the knowledge of their habits to our bag of tricks along the stream.

I would be remiss if I didn’t divulge a few of McCullough’s trout fishing secrets for his nighttime success. Bob did not typically use a flashlight. I remember asking him how I was going to tie a blood knot in the dark. “If you’re going to fish with me you’ll learn to tie it in the dark,” he said. It took some time (you use the feel of the end of your tongue to guide you), but I finally got it, and so much more—it seemed after you went night fly fishing with Bob a few times, everything he did fit together and made sense. Bob liked the bottom of riffs or runs where they emerge into the deeper water of the pools. He got to his spot when all vestiges of light had succumbed to the night (usually he fished from 10 p.m. until 4:30 or 5 a.m.). He knew where he was by the outline of the trees against the sky—he knew his favorite areas intimately. His favorite night had bright stars with no moon. Bob once told me, “A nighttime trout fisherman’s best friend might be a thermometer. If you find areas where

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Ol’ Ever Ready Warm Regard for a Relic Rod

By Don Knaus

W

e got spring about two months early for a few days this year.

Temperate days in February always remind me of my Grandpa. He’d get overwhelmed by the warm winds, take a long sniff of the air, and smile, “By God, that air reminds me of my old Model T… just enough spring in it to make yer ass ache.” As much as we wished for an early end to winter, we all knew it was going to get cold again.

The good thing was, spring fishing was right around the corner. Trout season finally arrived, fighting off cold, bluster and blizzard. It wasn’t too cold to keep me off the streams, though. I’ve seen worse. I remember times when I actually had to slide the guides of my fishing rod into my mouth to melt the ice that formed. Or wind so cold beads of ice formed on my line. (New York always opens their trout season on 12

April 1st. This year, I joined the April Fools and fished Catherine’s Creek. The creek is named for Catherine Montour, the savage Iroquois leader. The banks along her stream are usually lined with eager anglers standing elbow to elbow who hope to hook a rainbow trout working upstream to spawn. It is a sight, indeed. I’ve seen breeding ’bows in water so shallow nearly half the body was above the surface of the water.

On that first day, I followed tradition, just as I will follow the practice in Pennsylvania. I took along my favorite brook trout rod, Ol’ Ever Ready. I named the stick that because it is always ready to catch trout. Whenever companions chuckle at the sight of Ol’ Ever Ready, I snap back, “Laugh all ya want. If I had all the trout this rod has caught, they wouldn’t fit in the back of my pick-up.” And I meant it.

Yes, she ain’t pretty but I love her. Ol’

Ever Ready might have been called “Ugly Stick” if a fishing pole company hadn’t already appropriated the name. The rod is, indeed, ugly. It’s a white, fiberglass rod. (You can’t hardly find a fiberglass rod anymore.)

The rod stays ready to go year ’round. It stands at attention in my garage with the reel attached and the monofilament line strung through the guides. Maybe the ferrules have rusted together. I don’t know.

The rod has been “put together” for years.

The tip guide is worn and rutted with grooves where it has had miles and miles of line drawn through it. It’s obvious on first sight that a small section was broken off at one time. So Ol’ Ever Ready was cobbled together and wrapped and glued so that she was still serviceable. But, ugly as she is, I love her.

How I came about owning Ol’ Ever Ready is a story in itself. She isn’t a family See Hoops on page 15

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heirloom. No, I didn’t use the rod when I was a kid. I found Ol’ Ever Ready at a yard sale. There she stood, in a corner, all kind of sad and droopy. Cobwebs held the two sections together but she caught my eye. A guy can’t explain how a gun or a fishing rod, or a woman for that matter, can catch your eye. But it was love at first sight. There she stood, propped in a corner. But I noticed a dusty red price tag tied to the bottom guide. Ol’ Ever Ready had obviously been in yard sales for years with no takers. The tag read six dollars. I bought the old gal right away. I fished into my pocket, found a five, and dickered for the extra buck.

When I got Ol’ Ever Ready to my garage, I noticed that another angler had once loved her. A little cleaning revealed the break near the ferrule. Someone had lovingly put her back together, taken off the old guides, and rewound the old gal in pretty orange and black thread. The yard sale proprietor had hailed from Galeton at one time, and I guessed that the wrapping was a tribute to the Galeton Tigers school colors. I wiped the dust and spider webbing off Ol’ Ever Ready and she shined like new. She’s been my fishing buddy ever since.

At first, I mistreated her. You know how it is. I figured that she was happy somebody picked her out of the corner and cleaned her up. I didn’t worry about scratching her up as I bushwhacked along a brookie stream. I yanked until the line broke when I got hung up on a rock or a limb in the creek. I figured that at the six dollar price, I’d gotten my use out of her. But over the years, she got attached to me and me to her. Ol’ Ever Ready was as much a part of my fishin’ as … well, as a can of worms or scarred up hip boots or a frayed vest. She got prettier by the year.

I never changed her line unless I had to. I’d keep the old familiar line running through her guides until I’d had a few breaks when I was hung up on a stick in a nice trout hole. I never broke the line on a trout, but rocks and limbs would snap an old worn out line. I replaced it when I had to. Oh, once in awhile, I tried a bypass. I’d tie a new section of line to the older line to save time.

But about once every couple of years I gave her new line. It took Ol’ Ever Ready a few weeks to break in her new line. I could feel her muscles move, and it felt like she was wearing a stiff, new, pair of shoes.

I began to worry that I might someday lose Ol’ Ever Ready.

She’d been a fine companion for about twenty years, but I knew that she could break in two anytime. I started searching for another fiberglass rod to have in reserve in case Ol’ Ever Ready just gave it her last shot. The newer fiberglass rod cost twice as much as Ol’ Ever Ready, and I found it behind the line-up of rifles at a gun show. My future everyday rod just doesn’t look as pretty as the old gal. I tried it once, but I could tell she was jealous when the gears on her reel turned green. I promised Ol’ Ever Ready that I would remain faithful to her. Her replacement rod has been relegated to reserve duty in a dusty corner of my garage. I just can’t break Ol’ Ever Ready’s heart and take another rod after brookies. I’ll stick with her as long as we both shall live. I will.

Retired teacher, principal, coach, and life-long sportsman Don Knaus is an award-winning outdoor writer and author of Of Woods and Wild Things, a collection of short stories on hunting, fishing, and the outdoors.

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Mother Earth

What’s in a Name?

(And What Direction Does it Flow?)

By Gayle Morrow

F

or twenty-five years Pine Creek has enjoyed designation under the state’s Scenic Rivers Act as—you guessed it—a scenic river. Of the twelve other waterways also named as scenic rivers, only two have the word river in their name—three are runs and the rest are creeks.

How can it be a scenic river if it’s a creek, I’d always wondered?

Why is the Tioga River, which in most places is narrower and shallower than Pine Creek, a river and not a creek? (And flows north to boot—more on that in a minute.) What about brooks and branches, mill races and licks? And kill (think Schuylkill River)— where in the world did that term come from?

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) database (who knew such a thing existed?), which is the official repository of geographic names in the United States, classifies all “linear flowing bodies of water” as streams. When it comes to these streams there are at least 121 other generic terms to fit a “broad category.” The GNIS database goes on to say it uses sixty-three broad categories of features and feature types to aid in the retrieval of entries with similar characteristics from the database. Then, in 1952, a professor from Columbia University came up with a twelve-part identification system for streams. Whew! Sounds way more complicated than it needs to be.

Over at the United States Geological Survey, where scientists

study the country’s landscape, natural resources, and the hazards that threaten them, the consensus is that there are no official definitions for generic terms as applied to geographic features. I think that means, in a nutshell (nutshell is not an official definition), that we don’t all agree on “official classification standards” for things like moving water and large upright chunks of land (how big does a hill have to be to be considered a mountain, anyway?). We can, however, usually understand what the other guy is talking about.

Regional linguistic anomalies and vernacular peculiarities give us cricks and runs and billabongs and courses—they’re all flowing water, precious and beautiful and full of life.

And, yes, by the way, water does flow north. There are more than thirty rivers—or streams, creeks, etc.—in the United States with that directional oddity, including our own Tioga River. The Tioga actually starts out flowing southwest from Bradford County, then takes a little jog in Blossburg and heads north toward the New York border. Other well-known north-flowing waterways are the Willamette River in Oregon and the Monongahela in West Virginia.

Egypt’s Nile and Germany’s Rhine also flow north.

Oh, and remember kill? It is from the Middle Dutch word kille meaning riverbed or water channel.

Time for a swim!

17

Curt Weinhold

Roger Kingsley

Mandy Applin

Nigel P. Kent

Curt Weinhold

Nigel P. Kent

18

Linda Stager

Nigel P. Kent

Roger Kingsley

Nigel P. Kent

Beginnings...

W

e don’t know for certain where the name April comes from—it could be a derivation of the Latin aperire, meaning open. We do know the Greeks, Romans, Etruscans, Anglo-Saxons, and Celts all had their own names for it. We do know it was originally the second month in the Roman calendar; it moved to fourth place about 450 B.C. We do know that in April, in our mountain home, when we see a clutch of eggs or a strutting gobbler or a single trillium, we know about life, we know life has found a way, we know it’s spring no matter what the calendar says.

Sarah Wagaman

Curt Weinhold

Mandy Applin

19

Hooking the Big One

Local Fisherman Mark Fabrizi Puts His Spin on Houston as a Bassmaster Classic Marshal

By Maggie Barnes

I

magine finding out that you had been selected to be a referee in the Super Bowl. In the world of bass fishing, that is pretty much what has happened to Mark Fabrizi of Hector, New York.

A lifelong angler, Mark is a passionate supporter of bass fishing. He and wife Coleen have restored a 1988 Ranger bass boat and have spent countless hours on the lakes and waterways throughout New York.

Following the professional circuit three years ago, Mark threw his hat into the ring to be considered as a Bassmaster Marshal for a tournament on Cayuga Lake.

“It was close to home and I figured, ‘Why not?’” Mark remembers.

20

A Bassmaster Marshal is a tournament monitor who rides along with the competing professional to ensure that all the rules of the sport are followed. As longtime tournament director Trip Weldon says, they are “our eyes and ears on the water.” Each boat has a marshal, selected by lottery in Bassmaster’s Elite Series events, of which there are about ten a year. Mark has been a marshal three times now, twice on Cayuga and once on the St. Lawrence River.

But the granddaddy of them all is the Bassmaster Classic, the World Series of bass fishing. This year, the annual event takes place on Lake Conroe, near Houston, Texas. Mark had no idea he was in the

running to be a marshal. Wife Coleen had submitted his name, and the registration fee, to be considered. An email informed Mark that he was expected in Texas on the last weekend in March.

At this level, marshals are selected by a combination of past performance and lottery. Each day of the four-day tournament, he will be assigned to a different professional. “I am really looking forward to this,” says Mark.

Like any sport, bass fishing has rules.

Among them, the fish must be hooked in the mouth, which Mark says can be tricky.

“Sometimes, he gets close to the hook, See Bass on page 23

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then twists away from it and gets snagged at mid-body.” Those catches cannot be counted towards the day’s weigh-in. There is a minimum length to consider, in most states around twelve inches.

A contestant submits his top five catches to be weighed, and the fisherman with the highest weight total wins the tournament.

Being a marshal doesn’t involve a lot of penalty calling, Mark says. “These professionals are very trustworthy, and 99.9 percent of the time they will self-report a violation. It’s rare that a marshal has to penalize the contestant.” That leaves time for some of the other marshal duties, which can include helping to launch the boat and taking photos and videos for the many media outlets that cover bass fishing.

One of the aspects of the sport Mark admires most is the conservation of fish. “The industry works hard to save 100 percent of the bass caught in a tournament. Each boat has a live well onboard and, after weigh-in, the fish are treated for any shock and returned to the water. Bass fishing is always catch and release.”

That connection to the sport was born in Mark on his seventh birthday. “My birthday is on the fourth of July, and my Dad took me fishing off Long Island. I caught a blue fish, my first, and I remember Dad holding the fish and me up to show a neighboring boat and announcing my catch. That was the beginning.”

Mark spent a lot of time on lakes and rivers with his father; hours he counts among his happiest. When he and Coleen married in 1981 and relocated to upstate New York, he shared his love of fishing with her.

“One of the greatest gifts he has given me is to teach me to bass fish,” she says. That restored Ranger is admired at tournaments, a point of pride for both husband and wife.

Back to his stint as a marshal, Mark says the chance to watch the pros up close makes all the travel and expense worth it. “These guys have so much integrity in their sport. Their temperaments and work ethics are really amazing. The focus and concentration that is needed for casting, over and over again, thousands of times, is incredible.”

Talent and experience aside, some aspects of snagging a good bass are simply in the lap of the fishing gods. “I’ve seen a pro lose a trophy fish, the hook just sets wrong or something and away it goes. These guys are so calm and patient with a $300,000 first prize on the line. I’m not sure I could keep my temper in check like they do.” He learns with every ride.

Mark and Coleen are excited about the wrap-around events in Texas. “There are clinics and demonstrations, kid’s activities, and a huge product show. There will be a lot to see,” he says.

The love of the sport has been instilled in the next generation of Fabrizis, with Mark and Coleen’s two children and seven grandchildren plying the waters. Patience, integrity, and love of nature all come from fishing, Mark says, and the world is a little short of its limit in those areas.

“I think the world needs more kids walking to the pond with a pole on their shoulder.”

Maggie Barnes is a recipient of both the IRMA and the Keystone Press Award for her columns in Mountain Home. She lives in Waverly, New York.

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Catch of the Day

Landing a Full-Grown Man is Easier Than It Should Be

By Roger Kingsley

F

or the past several years, Ocean City, New Jersey, has become our family vacation destination. My wife and I get together with our two daughters and their families, rent an apartment, and, for one full week in June, do what many other vacationing families do there—relax on the white-sand beaches, stroll the legendary boardwalk, and dine out at a variety of restaurants.

Promoted as America’s Greatest Family Resort, Ocean City lies on a barrier island off the eastern shore of New Jersey in Cape May County. The city’s list of awards is about as long as its eight miles of beaches, winning such prestigious recognition as: Best Beach in America; Best Destination for Family Vacations; Top Ten Boardwalks in America; and, No. 1 in the Most Wanted ‘Second Home’ Spots in the U.S. To the west of the island lie the waters of Great Egg Harbor Bay, which isolates Ocean City from the mainland of Somers Point. Connecting these two seaside communities over the bay is a nearly three-mile long engineering marvel known

primarily as the Rt. 52 Causeway, which carries the nickname Ninth Street Bridge.

With a total width of eighty-four feet, and a fifty-five foot water clearance in key spots, the massive causeway is traversed by four lanes of traffic separated by a shared-use pedestrian and biker’s pathway.

One fine morning, my daughter Jennifer and I (pictured above) set out from our 13th and Wesley Avenue rental to bike the causeway to Somers Point and back.

While the rest of our family was occupied with other activities, we rode out through the alley, then steered toward Ninth Street via West Avenue, which accommodates a bike path. Summer days in Ocean City create an influx of tourists and second homeowners that pushes its population many times above the off-season numbers.

Hence, traffic congestion, especially on a weekend, and especially on Ninth Street.

The reason is two-fold: nine city avenues intersect Ninth Street, plus it’s the entrance and exit for tons of vehicles crossing Egg Harbor.

Weaving our way in, around, through, See Catch on page 26

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Catch continued from page 25

alongside, and across traffic, we pedaled past the welcome sign and started up the first incline of the causeway and out of Ocean City. Our first point of interest partway across was the Welcome Center overlooking an island refuge. Several species of nesting birds and other wildlife that reside there are frequent subjects for birdwatchers and photographers. We took it in then continued on.

The splendor of the June day had lured many people out to enjoy the atmosphere of the causeway: young and old, walkers and runners, loners and lovers, and bikers.

Bikers exercising or pushing their physical abilities, while just across the divide tires pounded the pavement as the flush of tourists and workers motored by.

The temperature had reached the upper seventies by the time Jenny and I arrived at the mainland of Somers Point.

We gulped some water, spent a few minutes reading a marker commemorating the amazing structure we had just ridden over, then headed back to Ocean City. During construction of the Rt. 52 Causeway, four piers were specifically built into its framework to accommodate fishing and crabbing enthusiasts. Shallow waters combined with deep channels in the bay provide ideal habitat for such species as sea bass, croaker, flounder, striper, tautog, and crabs.

Jenny and I had pedaled a fair distance back when a long downhill stretch played into view. Switching gears, we intentionally picked up speed. Jenny was about thirty yards in the lead as we cruised past one of the fishing piers. That’s when I suddenly felt an eerie resistance against my torso, like some bizarre force was actually lifting me off the bicycle seat. Though I had slowed somewhat, the momentum of the bike kept pushing me deeper into the invisible force until finally I began feeling a burning sensation on both arms just below the shoulders. For a moment I thought something was stinging me.

In the mere seconds that it took for me to hit the brakes, whatever had attacked me had now slowed me considerably.

That’s when the invisible force became visible—fishing line. I’d been caught in someone’s fishing line that had somehow been stretched across the bike path! The line had at that point cut through my skin on both arms just under the short sleeves of

my tee shirt. With both hands I pulled the extremely tight line away and up over my head, releasing its incredible tension. That’s when I let out a holler to Jenny.

Looking back, I noticed other bikers fast approaching the scene. I dumped the bike and ran toward them waving my now bloody arms and yelling “stop, stop” above the noise of the four-lane. Running to the edge of the causeway, I looked down over the side, to the fishing pier, and noticed two fishermen amongst the others waving their arms, gesturing for me to free their line. “I got caught in it!” I shouted with a scolding voice. “Look what it did!” I said as I exposed my arms. “We’re sorry, we’re sorry,” was their reply. Obviously right after Jenny had cruised by, the line was accidentally cast up over the upper deck and across the bikeway where it had snagged on something and I became its first victim.

Pulling it tight, I traced the line to the guardrails where I jumped over, exposing myself to the rushing traffic. The line lead me to a storm drain where I discovered the hook—baited with a piece of chicken— and its massive sinker were lodged in the grates. Gathering it all up, I walked to the side and gave it a toss over the edge toward the appreciative, but undoubtedly very inexperienced, anglers.

Jenny was stunned when she saw the wounds from my untimely accident, and naturally I was still “reeling” from it all when she arrived on the scene. While my arms were hurting, I just felt extremely lucky that the lead sinker—at that casting velocity—had missed my noggin.

Jenny and I made it back to our rental without any other incidents. The bikes were stowed, the story was shared with the rest of the family, who listened in disbelief, and my wounds were doctored. I’ve often wondered what those fishermen told their families when they arrived back home. I can just hear somebody asking them how the fishing was, and I can also conjure up their laughing reply: “You’ll never guess what our ‘catch of the day’ was.”

A hunter and photographer, award-winning writer Roger Kingsley’s articles and photos have appeared in Deer & Deer Hunting, and Pennsylvania Game News, among others.

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Photos courtesy Peter Petokas and Chris Yearick

The Secret World of Vernal Pools In Forest Brigadoons, Habitats Come and Go, and Life is Born

By Peter Petokas

M

arch 1 is when I anticipate the earliest arrival of amphibians at shallow, ephemeral forest pools in northcentral Pennsylvania. In some years, when I make the first daytime visit to these vernal pools, I find the ground frozen and snow-covered. Then, on an early March night, Jefferson salamanders begin their migration across that snow-covered landscape toward frozen pools. When a warm day melts the ice at the pool margins, the sallies slither beneath the ice to begin an annual ritual that brings new life and ensures the continued existence of these large, beautiful salamanders, their battleship-gray skin adorned with blue speckles. The males always appear first to lay packets of sperm atop soggy leaves on the bottom of the pools. Then the females arrive, picking up the sperm packets with their cloacal (a multi-functional

28

posterior orifice) “lips,” fertilizing the eggs inside their swollen abdomens, then releasing and wrapping the eggs in a mass around a twig or stick protruding from the bottom of the pool. One year, I could see all of this happening through clear ice. Usually, though, what goes on beneath the ice is largely unnoticed, except, perhaps, by the salamanders themselves.

Forest—or vernal—pools are actually small, seasonal wetlands that serve an important role in the forest ecosystem. It is in the vernal or spring season that they serve as the sole breeding sites for some amphibians and invertebrates, and as an optional breeding site for others. Energy and nutrients are exchanged between the pools and the forest, each contributing to the success of the other.

The forest shades the pools, keeping the water cool and slowing

evaporation. Leaves serve as sites for attaching sperm packets and providing hiding places for the emerging tadpoles and l a r v a e . Fa l l e n t w i g s hold the eggs of most amphibian species until they hatch. Emerging tadpoles and salamander larvae enter the forest, contributing energy and nutrients to the forest community.

Back to the spring activities at the pools, another migration begins as the ice vanishes—a hoard of hopping masked frogs that seem to appear out of nowhere. The male wood frogs arrive first and initiate a chorus of quacks that from a distance sounds like ducks. These noisy males dive for cover during the day, but sit quietly by the pool and they reappear, entertaining with their quacking cacophony. When the females arrive, the males beckon them to mate and yield their large clusters of floating egg masses. The eggs, being near the warm surface of the pool, will, out of necessity, develop and hatch quickly. As spring advances into summer, the water evaporates, leaving the tadpoles high and dry if they do not develop hopping legs with great haste.

Another momentous but easily missed happening takes place on the first warm spring night with heavy rainfall. Spotted salamanders—dark blue skin and bright yellow spots—charge to the pools. Grab a flashlight, don a raincoat, and be patient. About two hours after dark the male sallies arrive, depositing their whitish sperm packets atop leaves. They’re followed by the females, who pick up the packets and wrap the fertile eggs in a mass around a convenient stick or twig, much like the Jefferson salamanders.

The salamander larvae remain in the pool until they, too, develop legs and venture into the forest.

One unique ephemeral pool species is the fairy shrimp, a freshwater crustacean found nowhere else. Swimming upside down, fairy shrimps deposit their eggs among the leaves, where they will survive the summer dry season. When the rains return in autumn, the eggs hatch.

Vernal pools are miniature ecosystems within the forested landscape, and each should be treasured. They are great places to take children for a wildlife adventure, but take care not to disturb the animals, their eggs, or that delicate aquatic system that seemingly disappears with the warmth of summer, only to magically reappear again the following spring.

Photos on facing page (top to bottom, left to right): An ephemeral forest pool in north-central Pennsylvania; an adult Jefferson salamander on its migration to a forest pool; a Jefferson salamander depositing an egg mass on a woody stem beneath the ice of an ephemeral forest pool; a male wood frog with paired inflated vocal sacs emitting duck-like quacks to attract receptive females; a spotted salamander arriving at an ephemeral forest pool late at night during the first warm spring rain storm; whitish sperm packets attached to submerged leaves in a forest pool by male spotted salamanders; spotted salamander egg masses (both clear and cottony masses are produced by this species); spotted salamander eggs are sometimes green due to the presence of photosynthetic algae; an adult spotted salamander.

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Former high school English teacher Dave Wonderlich is an originator and a former editor of Shooting Sportsman magazine and Game Country Magazine. He writes frequently for national magazines and produces the email newsletter for the Slate Run Tackle Shop.

Nigel P. Kent

Hero continued from page 11

the water temperature is fifty-eight to sixty-five degrees, you are going to get pretty consistent trout feeding.” He liked June best because, “they usually haven’t dispersed out of their normal areas of feeding and there is a lot of night action with big caddis flies, hellgrammites, moths, and all kinds of things that are flying or swimming in the night.” He had his fly rod rigged with huge wet flies on a six-pound tippet. When I asked him what his favorite flies were, he said, “If I had to be limited to four flies, I would take a Professor, a Royal Coachman, a Heather Moth, and a Light Cahill—all wet flies. You could replace the Royal Coachman with a Governor and the Professor with a stonefly nymph with a yellow body—there are a lot of stone flies. I go with 2s, 4s, 6s, and 8s with a long shank hook.” Bob particularly liked the Green Drake hatch because it was his time to catch really large trout after dark on a big yellow stonefly. He’d cast cross and downstream and let the imitations drift in the current, sometimes slowly retrieving, and sometimes giving a twitch of the rod to produce quick, enticing movements to the fly. He’d always smile and say, “Hang on after you twitch it!”

The conservation gifts Bob McCullough gave to our region will keep giving into the distant future. By cleaning up Babb he not only recovered severely impacted water, but restored the creek to what it was meant to be. As a result, he also brought back Pine to surpass its previous status—it is now recognized as one of the finest Eastern trout streams. Bob was a guide to presidents and senators, negotiated county solid waste management plans, was a primary advocate for the Susquehanna River Flood Forecasting System, and developed the Lycoming County Flood Warning System, which was featured in the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Training Video. Bob spearheaded the cleanup of 231 roadside and streamside dumps in Lycoming County, resulting in municipalities adopting restrictive dumping ordinances. Another result was a system of municipal trash collections (green boxes) that are still used today. And Bob was instrumental in drafting legislation to regulate the drilling and closeout of oil and natural gas wells. Through his testimony, legislation passed in 1986 helped reduce environmental damage from well drilling operations.

All these actions of which Bob was a part helped to make our water and forest resources what they are today. I believe the pain I feel in my shoulder might be a punch Bob is giving me because of the recognition this article gives him; he was never comfortable receiving much credit. Well Bob, I’ll just take the hit, because you definitely deserve the accolades and much more.

Along with McCullough, the individuals, groups, companies, and agencies that made the resurgence of Babb Creek and Pine Creek possible were and continue to be legion in number. Thank you all, for all for the work you did, for what is still being accomplished as the result of your actions, for a brighter future in the decades to come, and for the lesson that conservation success requires hope, a dream, and a lot of work.

REAL ESTATE how do you build your walls?

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Architect: Nathalie Tremblay

When you build your walls you should expect to get more out of a building product.

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With NUDURA’s 6-in-1 building step, you can build faster and more efficiently, while When you build your walls you offering should your expect to get out clients an more eco-friendly of a building product. Buildings todaystructure demand withreliable, substantialenergy benefits efficient building envelopes that providethatsuperior performance contribute to long-term benefits to minimize energy costs, reduce carbon energy savings.emissions, and maximize property value. NUDURA structures offer greater

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1-866-468-6299 nudura.com 866.468.6299 www.nudura.com 31

REAL ESTATE

Bill Chambers

Don’t Assume Your Best Deal Comes From The Big Home Center...

Protecting Homes and Businesses Since 1977

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Start Planning

your

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Come see your local cabinet makers!

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www.hearthstonehomes.com 32

We are a family business with over 25 years experience manufacturing custom cabinets, doors, moldings, and furniture.

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B A C K O F T H E M O U N TA I N

In the Wake of the Tempest

By Nigel P. Kent

Y

ou’d never know it, but a few minutes before I took this picture I was sheltering from a heavy rain storm under a pine tree. A fisherman, who had been sheltering in a cove on the other side of the lake, began to paddle back to the boat ramp as the sky cleared, the lake calmed, and the sunset painted the sky.

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Legal Notice: Manufacturer Name, Logo and Model Information are Registered Trademarks of the Manufacturer. Specifications and other information are subject to change without notice. No representation of accuracy is made. Image is believed to be in the public domain or used with permission. *Price, if shown, is Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) and does not include government fees, taxes, dealer vehicle freight/preparation, dealer document preparation charges or any finance charges (if applicable). MSRP and/or final actual sales price will vary depending on options or accessories selected.

ATVs are recommended for those aged 16 years and older. YAMAHA recommends an approved training course. See your dealer or call 1-800-887-2887. ATV’s can be hazardous to operate.

Professional driver on closed course. Always protect the environment and wear your seat belt, helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Read the owner’s manual and product warning labels before operation.

Model shown with optional accessories. Vehicle specifications subject to change.

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Together means a network of world-class physicians.

At Susquehanna Health, we have a proud history of caring for the community and putting the needs of our patients first. That tradition of service and excellence continues as we merge with UPMC. Our affiliation with UPMC, one of the best hospitals in the nation, is based on shared values and a mission to provide compassionate, personalized care to the people we serve. Now as UPMC Susquehanna, we are able to bring a new level of innovation and advanced care to you and your family — with an even stronger healthcare team.

For more information, visit UPMCSusquehanna.org.

*Accepting most major insurances including GHP and Highmark.

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