WEST MAHANOY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- It was opening day of trout season in parts of southern Pennsylvania, including Schuylkill County, and a busy day it was.
Dozens lined the shores at the Whippoorwill Dam near Frackville to cast their lines and bring home dinner or just to catch and release and have fun.
"Well, it's a good time, a little crowded, but get out and do it, that's all," said William Goodrich of Benton.
"That's how it always is first day here though," said Lee Strause Jr. of Port Carbon.
"Usually opening day is combat fishing conditions where everybody's side by side and lines get crossed and tempers flare, but everybody's had good humor today, and it's been a good day," said Mark Sterling of Mahanoy City.
Anglers tell Newswatch 16 they come out to Whippoorwill Dam near Frackville because the state stocks it with brook trout, and that's exactly what they caught.
"Slimy and colorful," said Abel Kakol of Frackville. "One's big, one's small, one's medium."
"It's been real fun, and it's just basically casting out the rod and then reeling in and letting it sink in and then catching it right away," said Josh Honus of Shenandoah.
"They're fair size. They're not monsters, but we get some monsters in here," said Sterling.
People fishing here say the weather this year is on their side which doesn't only make it a successful day for anglers but for Scout Pack 790, too. The scouts use this annual event as their biggest fundraiser.
"Last year, it was really snowy and rainy, and it wasn't such a good year. We had 50 quarts of bean soup left over. This year, we're down to six, so we sold a lot of soup today," explained Mark Matthews of Frackville.
Even though many left the lake with their daily limit, they tell Newswatch 16 this is not the end of their trout fishing this season.
"Oh no, this is just the start," said Goodrich.
Saturday was the start for trout season in Schuylkill County, as well as certain creeks in the southern part of central Pennsylvania, and one in Carbon County. Trout season for the rest of the state opens in two weeks, on April 13.
More information can be found on the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission website.