Many anglers rose before the sun in search of the best spot. See PHOTOS.
Before the sun rose this morning, Tucker Messinger, Carson Groner and their families headed out to the Bushkill Creek for opening day of the region's trout season.
For the 8- and 9-year-old best friends, it was the fourth opening day alongside their dads. And this year, 5-year-old Ross Groner joined them and reeled in his first catch.
The Messingers and Groners, both of Bethlehem Township, Pa., were doing much better at their fishing hole in Penn Pump Park in Palmer Township than neighboring anglers.
By afternoon, each family had five trout to show for their efforts. The boys were excitedly planning their upcoming fish fry, a tradition Carson and Ross' mom, Julie, brought from her native South Carolina.
Tucker enjoyed the fishing but also the doughnuts he had for breakfast, he said.
Tucker's dad, Phil Messinger, said he thinks this was their best year yet. Previously, there's been flooding just before opening day that seemed to push the fish down stream after stocking, he said.
Phil Messinger and the other dad, Evan Groner, said they come back to their spot, near an old rope swing, since it's so kid-friendly.
Just a little way downstream, Rick Johnson, of Hellertown, pined for the opening days of yesteryear. Johnson and his son, Brett, 13, this afternoon had nabbed only two fish thus far in their two stops, first at the Saucon Creek and then the Bushkill.
But Johnson remembers as a child coming out at dinner time and camping out to get the best spot on opening day because it was so crowded. Yet you still came home with lots of fish, he said.
He used to be the first guy at the bait shop five weeks ahead of opening day. Instead, he went Friday night and found plenty left, he said.
Johnson wants to keep the tradition alive for his son in some form but thinks the fish being stocked are getting smaller and fewer.
"It could be better with the price of a license," Johnson said.
Easton resident Brandon Tigar kept his own family tradition alive, heading out around 6 a.m. with his uncle and brother to fish the Bushkill at Seventh Street in Easton.
"For a lot of people, it's a tradition," he said. "Rain, sleet or snow, they're out here."
But by 2 p.m., he was the only one of his group still fishing, now fishing the Bushkill at Penn Pump Park. His uncle had hit his five-fish limit and his brother was at work.
Tigar so far had three fish and was feeling good about his haul, unlike some other nearby fishermen who had only one catch after hours of effort.
"It's a great day," he said. "It's about time for spring to get here."
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N.J. FISHING
New Jersey’s fishing season starts 8 a.m. Saturday.
The state Division of Fish and Wildlife on March 18 began stocking 600,000 trout from its Pequest Trout Hatchery in Warren County.