Early risers score big on trout season opening day

The alarm clock rattled West Bradford’s Bob Gabe from a sound sleep as Saturday’s 3:00 a.m. wakeup call sounded. It was time for Gabe and his son, Rob Junior, to load up their fishing gear and head out to West Valley Creek in quest of opening day trout. Joining the Gabes in the wee hours was fishing buddy Paul Grabowski of Drexel Hill who also answered an early alarm. The three arrived at the banks of Chester County’s West Valley Creek at 5:00 a.m., a good three hours before the opener’s 8:00 a.m. starting gun would sound.

Gabe and Grabowski, both avid anglers and hunters, first met at a U.S. Marine recruiting center in 1982 and have remained fast friends ever since. At West Valley, the Gabes and Grabowski claimed their prime fishing spot and set up a makeshift trout camp complete with lounge chairs, hammocks, music, and a camp stove where they would soon be cooking breakfast. Imagine a tailgate party on Eagle’s game day, minus the alcohol (a streamside no-no), and you get the picture. “It was a brisk 38 degrees this morning when we got here,” Gabe reported.

Also staking out his favored stream site even earlier and well before dawn was Downingtown’s Gary Ware who set his alarm his 4:00 a.m. that morning and arrived at the stream at 4:45 a.m.. He reserved spots for his fishing family, Nicole Moore and her three children, who would show up an hour later.

After all, for the state’s fishing fraternity, opening day of trout season is a cherished rite of spring and a timehonored outdoors tradition. Getting to the stream many hours ahead of time to secure that primo streamside position might be considered a tradition within that tradition. And although Ware arrived at 4:45 a.m. and Gabe and Grabowski showed up at 5:00 a.m., they were not the first anglers on the stream that morning. Not by a long shot.

That dubious distinction went to Pottstown’s Robert Kirkner who arrived at the stream at 12:30 a.m., a whopping seven and a half hours before legal fishing would begin. “I got up at midnight just to get this spot,” declared Kirkner, age 63. “The early bird gets the worm, you know.” The bulk of other anglers who came to fish that stretch of West Valley showed up around 7:30 a.m., jockeying for the best leftover positions the earlier arrivals had left vacant.

But to paraphrase Kirkner’s adage, the early anglers definitely got Opening day father and son fishing team Bob Gabe (left) and Rob Jr. of West Bradford arrived at their West Valley Creek fishin’ hole at 5 in the morning and were rewarded with their daily limits of trout. the trout, most of them promptly filling their stringers with their five fish daily limits. As a bright sun rose in the sky the temperatures climbed and by late morning, most of the latecomers also boasted full stringers. Robert Gabe Jr., age 25, collected his limit without a problem. “He’s been fishing since he could hold a rod,” the elder Gabe reported. “He’s been in the water since he was two years old.”

Gabe and his crew were using a variety of baits, with PowerBait and Trout Magnets in gold or white at the top of the list. Gabe hooked up with the first trout of the morning, a little brook trout, the moment his first cast hit the water. Opening day anglers on other area streams were also having good success. West Chester’s Ron Dill scored a fast five-fish daily limit on Beaver Creek and Jim Jordan of Yorklyn, DE, fishing with Unionville’s Ron Blevins, found plenty of action on White Clay Creek.

Jordan’s and Blevins’ predawn excursion to the White Clay also paid off. “We arrived at the stream at 6:00 a.m. and were streamside by 6:15, hoping to beat the crowd, both from a parking and fishing spot perspective,” Jordan reported. “I had caught seven trout by nine 0’clock, releasing two while Ron did about the same. All the trout we caught were rainbows and very nice trout. We opted to leave the stream fairly early by keeping our fifth fish as it started to get crowded and, in fairness, we wanted to give others an opportunity.”

Opening day anglers throughout the region enjoyed excellent water conditions and gorgeous sunny weather. At the end of the day Gabe reported, “Paul, Rob Junior, and I all caught our limits and, between the three of us, probably caught another fifty trout that we released.” No doubt Gabe spoke for every opening day angler when he declared, “A great day was had by all.”

One great thing about Pennsylvania’s opening day is that there are two of them -- one the regional opener for our eighteen counties here in the southeast and one for the rest of the state two weeks later. The statewide edition is set for April 14, and it should be no surprise that many of our area’s serious trout anglers will be heading upstate to take advantage. Bob Gabe and his son plan to fish Blair County’s Spruce Creek that day. We suspect they’ll get a very early start.

TROUT STOCKINGS THIS WEEK

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s “Great White Fleet” begins making its in-season stocking rounds this week with designated stretches of the following streams in our area slated to get fresh batches of trout: Berks County: Tulpehocken Creek (4/2), Mill Creek (4/3), Manatawny Creek (4/9), and Swabia Creek (4/9). Chester County: French Creek(4/3),Pickering Creek (4/3), West Valley Creek (4/3), Beaver Creek (4/5), East Branch Octoraro Creek (4/5), West Branch Brandywine Creek (4/5), East Branch Brandywine Creek (4/9), and Pocopson Creek (4/9). Montgomery County: Kepner Creek (4/2), Loch Alsh Reservoir (4/2), Stony Creek (4/2),Pennypack Creek (4/4) and Skippack Creek (4/9).

SPRING GOBBLER SEMINAR

With spring gobbler season right around the corner (Youth hunt on April 21 and regular season starting April 28) the Myrick Conservation Center at 1760 Unionville Wawaset Road in West Chester will present a turkey hunting seminar on Sunday, April 8, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The program will feature presentations by guest experts and hands-on lessons in calling, decoy setup, camouflage techniques, and hunting strategies. All participants will receive a free guide to turkey hunting tactics and helpful tips for improving the hunting experience. This program is free but will be limited to the first 50 registered participants. To register, contact Game Commission Hunting Outreach Coordinator, Derek Stoner at 717-787-4250 x3319.

TRAPPER’S BANQUET

The PA District 12 Trappers state Banquet will be held on Saturday, April 12, at the Ludwig’s Corner Fire Company. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:00 p.m.. Tickets are $30.00 each or $50.00 per couple. To purchase tickets or for more information, call Steve Senn at 610-637-5775.