PALMERTON, Pa. — Casting out along Buckwha Creek in Carbon County, Jake Gogno said this opening day for trout season has been unlike any other with way fewer fishermen and women on the waters.
"It would be pretty chaotic, it would be shoulder-to-shoulder, more or less, so this is actually kind of nice," Gogno said.
Opening day was supposed to be on Saturday the 18th. However, the Fish and Boat Commission wanted to discourage big groups of people from getting together to fish in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's a smart thing, get it over with, so there's no big crowd on that Saturday it would open. Get it over with real quick," Michael Holmes of Lower Towamensing Township said.
"To have this as kind of a surprise, we didn't know it was going to happen, so this is a good thing out of all the bad things going on," Angela Gogno said.
The Fish and Boat Commission has also posted signs in front of some waterways to remind people to fish waters within 15 minutes of their homes and stay at least six feet apart while fishing.
"Family and friends, it seems like they are getting closer together, but we haven't had issues with anyone getting close to us, and for the first day of trout, this not crowded at all," Jake Gogno said.
"Every time we got close to people, we just walk somewhere else," Holmes said.
The Fish and Boat Commission will continue stocking trout throughout the spring. However, it will not be providing a stocking schedule. This is in an effort to prevent people from getting together in big groups when a new waterway is stocked.