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<p>PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP &#8212; David Fassett Jr. didn&#8217;t get a lot of sleep on Friday and he woke up his uncle at 4 a.m.</p><p>The reason?</p><p>&#8220;I just wanted to catch some fish,&#8221; said the 7-year-old who went trout fishing for the first time on Saturday&#8217;s opening day. Fassett and his uncle, Larry Leiby, spent the morning on Harveys Creek. Leiby, who is a member of the Nanticoke Conservation Club, helped float stock the creek on April 2 so he knew the trout were there.</p><p>The problem was they weren&#8217;t biting.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the slowest year I&#8217;ve had,&#8221; Leiby said. &#8220;Usually when the season starts at 8 a.m. guys are catching trout right away. It wasn&#8217;t like that today.&#8221;</p><p>Despite warm temperatures and sunny skies, the action was slow on many area lakes and streams on Saturday. Waterways Conservation Officer John Cummings spent the morning with stops at Harveys Lake, Kitchen Creek, Pine Creek, Huntington Creek and Fishing Creek in Benton and said the fish weren&#8217;t hitting at most places.</p><p>&#8220;At Harveys Lake right at 8 a.m. there were 20 or 30 boats and it was loaded with fish. You could see them swimming under the boats,&#8221; Cummings said.</p><p>There may be a few reasons for the slow start, according to Cummings.</p><p>On streams such as Kitchen Creek and Pine Creek, trout movement is an issue, he said. Trout naturally migrate from the areas where they were stocked, making them hard to find on opening day.</p><p>But Cummings also pointed out the fish were hitting fairly well at Huntington Creek.</p><p>Another possible explanation for the lack of action may be the nice weather.</p><p>&#8220;These beautiful, clear sunny days are the days the fish don&#8217;t seem to want to hit for some reason,&#8221; Cummings said.</p><p>WCO Aaron Lupacchini said angler turnout was very high through his district in southern Luzerne County, but the fish weren&#8217;t hitting and those who were catching trout had to work for them.</p><p>&#8220;The cars were just packed along the road at Nescopeck Creek,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I actually saw people fishing streams that weren&#8217;t stocked.&#8221;</p><p>At Moon Lake in the morning anglers in boats were catching a few trout, but those along shore found the action a bit slower.</p><p>Nanticoke resident Sarah Bobrowski arrived at Moon Lake at 4 a.m. to claim a spot along the shore to fish, but it turned out the initiative didn&#8217;t pay off.</p><p>&#8220;I never had such a bad opening day as far as the fish biting. I&#8217;ve tried every bait,&#8221; Bobrowski said. &#8220;We&#8217;re still having fun, but a lot of people are leaving and heading to the creeks.&#8221;</p><p>The story was the same at Lily Lake where no one along shore caught fish and those in boats reported a catch here and there.</p><p>One reason anglers gave for the slow day at both Lily Lake and Moon Lake was a change by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to allow year round fishing on certain stocked waterways. While the change was meant to allow anglers to fish for panfish and other species before the trout opener, many caught and released trout after they were stocked.</p><p>Bobrowski felt that allowing anglers to catch-and-release trout during the preseason had an impact on opening day.</p><p>&#8220;Absolutely. Usually you see them swimming by along shore but today you don&#8217;t see anything,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s very unusual.&#8221;</p><p>Lupacchini said the year round fishing on some waterways coupled with a strong turnout for the mentored youth day resulted in a lot of pressure on the fish, which may have led to a slow bite on Saturday.</p><p>&#8220;I saw a few guys catching a fish or two, but very few limits. You could see the trout in the water, but the anglers really had to work for them,&#8221; Lupacchini said.</p><p>Morgan Luton of Wilkes-Barre did catch two trout in the morning at Moon Lake - his first coming right after 8 a.m., but he agreed with Bobrowski that the action was much slower.</p><p>He said the mentored youth day last Saturday may have had an impact as a lot of bait remained in the water and trout just weren&#8217;t as eager to bite. Luton planned on returning to the lake during the week.</p><p>&#8220;There will be tons of trout holding over into next week,&#8221; he said.</p><p>At Lily Lake, Reggie Cobb of Wilkes-Barre didn&#8217;t have a bite in the morning and by 10 a.m. he was packing up to try his luck at Moon Lake and then Lake Took-a-While.</p><p>Cobb felt the catch-and-release in the preseason had an impact, as did water temperature.</p><p>&#8220;We had that cold snap not long ago and the water is still pretty cold,&#8221; Cobb said. &#8220;It might be warm out today, but the water didn&#8217;t get warmer yet.&#8221;</p><p>Still, Cobb wasn&#8217;t discouraged with the opening day, saying it&#8217;s something he looks forward to every year.</p><p>&#8220;I just like getting out here and talking with different people,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When you&#8217;re out fishing, there&#8217;s always a story you haven&#8217;t heard.&#8221;</p><p>But on Saturday, the story was the same at most places where trout were stocked.</p><p>Tony Androkitis fished for the first time in seven years on Saturday, joining his girlfriend and friends at Fishing Creek in Benton. When 8 a.m. rolled around, the fish weren&#8217;t hitting and it continued that way through the morning.</p><p>&#8220;It was surprising. No one was catching anything,&#8221; Androkitis said. &#8220;There was a decent turnout of anglers, but it was cold this morning if that had anything to do with it.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kyle Swetz of Hazleton gets away from the crowded banks of Lake Francis in Dennison Township and uses a flotation device to fish the deeper waters of the lake on Saturday during opening day of the fishing season in Luzerne County. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_firstdayfishing02.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kyle Swetz of Hazleton gets away from the crowded banks of Lake Francis in Dennison Township and uses a flotation device to fish the deeper waters of the lake on Saturday during opening day of the fishing season in Luzerne County. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_firstdayfishing01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Armando Zippo, 4, of Glen Lyon shows his catch while fishing with his dad Gerard on Saturday at Nescopeck State Park in Dennison Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_firstdayfishing01.jpg</photo1><caption1>Armando Zippo, 4, of Glen Lyon shows his catch while fishing with his dad Gerard on Saturday at Nescopeck State Park in Dennison Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_firstdayfishing04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">David Griscom of Drums releases a brook trout he caught on Saturday in the Little Nescopeck Creek on opening day of the fishing season in Luzerne County. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_firstdayfishing04.jpg</photo2><caption2>David Griscom of Drums releases a brook trout he caught on Saturday in the Little Nescopeck Creek on opening day of the fishing season in Luzerne County. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_firstdayfishing03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Trout fishermen fish the Little Nescopeck Creek in Butler Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_firstdayfishing03.jpg</photo3><caption3>Trout fishermen fish the Little Nescopeck Creek in Butler Township on Saturday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Action was slow on many lakes and streams in the area</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Don&#8217;t forget a life jacket</strong></p><p>WCO John Cummings arrived at Harveys Lake and spent the morning reminding boaters of a law that requires anyone in a canoe, kayak or boat less than 16 feet in length must wear a life jacket from Nov. 1 to April 30. The requirement was made due to cold water temperatures that last through the spring. Cold water shock is a major factor in boating fatalities.</p><p>WCO Aaron Lupacchini said he encountered several violations on Saturday, including anglers starting before 8 a.m. and fishing without a trout stamp, but failure to wear a life jacket topped the list.</p><p>&#8220;At Lily Lake that was the biggest violation. Some people started out wearing them and took them off, and a lot said they weren&#8217;t aware of the law,&#8221; Lupacchini said. &#8220;It&#8217;s posted on the board right next to the boat launch, but they&#8217;re just not reading it.&#8221;</p></factboxMeta></div>

Action slow on opening day of trout season