Whitehall-Coplay Press

Not only did the recent heavy rains and flooding affect Musikfest events and Das Awk Fescht car show, but it created a deadly trout kill at the Lil’ Le-Hi Trout Nursery.

According to Herb Gottschall, president of Lehigh County Fish & Game Association, a few hundred sizable, chunky trout in the 12-14-inch range were killed when heavy rains flooded portions of the popular Lil’ Le-Hi Trout Nursery off Fish Hatchery Road in Allentown.

Last Thursday, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission transported 15,800 brown and brook trout fingerlings from their Bellefonte Hatchery to the Lil’ Le-Hi Trout Nursery, located on Fish Hatchery Road in Allentown.

The latter is often referred to by many as the Lil’ Le-Hi fish hatchery, but it’s really not. A hatchery, by definition, hatches baby trout from eggs while a nursery receives the baby fish, feeds them and takes care of them while they grow to legal size to be stocked in area waters.

Three weeks ago there was one, two and three. The next week there were five to ten. This week, yards are aglow with their yellow flashes from whence they got their nickname.

As this is the July Fourth holiday week, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced that their waterways conservation officers (WCO) will be focusing on keeping boaters safe by cracking down on boating under the influence (BUI).

The PFBC, in partnership with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, is working to increase boater awareness of the hazards associated with boating under the influence, and to decrease the number of accidents and deaths attributed to impaired boating and other unsafe boating practices.

Last weekend (June 16) was the reopening of bass season in most Pennsylvania waters. As usual, and unlike the trout opener, bass season opens with little fanfare. But unlike trout season, very few anglers keep bass they catch as most practice catch-and-release so they can fool them into biting another day.

Mark Rabenold, a friend of mine from Allentown, took his mother for a ride last Tuesday afternoon to visit his grandparents’ grave site at Jordan Lutheran Church’s cemetery in Upper Macungie Township. When he pulled up into the cemetery he couldn’t believe what his eyes saw.

No, it wasn’t a ghost like something you’d see in a horror movie. But a more realistic figure.

If you’re an avid bird watcher (birder), have you noticed an unusually large number of turkey vultures soaring local skies?

And not just in rural areas, but in the city of Allentown as well.

Often referred to as buzzards, or chicken hawks, there are seven species of vultures in North America, but Pennsylvania has but two; the black vulture and more common turkey vulture.

As Memorial Day weekend traditionally kicks off the pleasure boating season, power boat owners in particular should be aware of a new survey done by Boating Industry magazine.

It says that those in the boating industry that manufacture, sell, repair and store recreational vessels are seeing a growing number of problems caused by ethanol-related fuels. Said one boat dealer in the survey, “Ethanol fuels are great for our service department but bad for our customers!”

Steelstacks in Bethlehem is again hosting their fourth Step Outdoors Lehigh Valley program that is two-days of presentations, hands-on activities, educational programs for the entire family. It’s an effort to promote what the great outdoors has to offer. The program is set for June 2-3 at Steelstacks.

If you’re hankering to fish for some hard fighting and tasty striped bass, head over to New Jersey.