Keystone State's Official FISHING BOATING Magazine... J
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AUGUST—1979 Keystone State's Official FISHING BOATING { Magazine... J On May 15, 1979 a great man died with his boots on. Dr. Roger M. Latham fell to his death in the Swiss Alps and the world lost an irreplaceable great man. We lost a dear friend. The following was written for the Pittsburgh Press by Roger just before his tragic death and we think it should be shared by as many as possible. Ralph W. Abele How Wonderful Life Is by Roger M. Latham "Little flower — if I could understand what you are, root and all, and all in all, I would know what God and man is." Lord Tennyson (1807-1892) What a wondrous thing life is. How remarkable is the capacity of all living things to perpetuate their kind, from the microscopic single cell to the leviathans of the oceans. Anyone who studies life has to marvel at its appalling complexity and its unbelievable variability. And living things introduce a dimension called behavior — a quality similarly diverse and unpredictable. Yet, because of its complexity, the study of life may be the most fascinating and most significant of all disciplines. The knowledge gained can lead to a better understanding of, and usually to an acceptance of, the doctrine that life was created by a Supreme Being. It is not difficult to see a master plan at work when nature is studied intimately. We see an acorn or other tree seed which has been subjected to severe freezing and soaked in many rains come to life at the proper time in the spring. First, it sends down a root to serve as an anchor and to prepare for the task of feeding the plant above ground. Then a sprout emerges to reach above the soil and produce the first pair of leaves. The remarkable drama of life continues as the green leaves almost immediately begin photosynthesis, that marvelous process whereby carbon dioxide and water are combined in the presence of light to produce carbohydrates. With all his knowledge, man has never been able to duplicate this process artificially. Animal life is just as amazing. The Arctic tern flies 22,000 miles roundtrip annually on its migrations, from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again. On the return trip, it flies unerringly to the place of its birth. The salmon after several years at sea returns to its home stream. Often this journey involves hundreds of miles of travel. The bat flies on the darkest night and avoids obstacles through a sonar system. Its "squeaks" are echoed back to it from any object, even the finest wire and it literally "sees" with its ears. A woodchuck fattens in the fall and sleeps away the cold months because it would be unable to survive the winter otherwise. During its long sleep its respiration rate is reduced to about one breath every four minutes and its body temperature drops to about 42 degrees. In somewhat the same way, a resting stage of the moth (the pupa) survives the severe temperatures of winter encased in a silken cocoon. Protected by an antifreeze within its body and the meager insulation of the cocoon, it remains dormant until the warm days of late spring. Then the arrested development continues and a beautiful winged creature emerges. Ants, termites and bees live in large colonies where different individuals have functions in these insect societies. Some serve as workers, others as soldiers, air-conditioners, nursemaids and a few as drones — males with no duties except to fertilize the eggs of the queen bee. The queen is the only insect in the entire hive to lay eggs. The snowshoe hare and the ptarmigan turn white in the winter and back to brown in the summer. The goose, the hawk, the songbird and other birds lose all their feathers and grow new ones periodically. The deer sheds all of its hair twice a year and dons a new coat spring and fall. The deer keeps warm in winter by insulation provided by air-filled hair. The goose can sit for hours in ice- cold water because it is protected by specialized feathers called down, the beaver swims under the ice and feels no cold because it is protected by water-proof fur, and the seal that lives among the ice floes keeps warm because it is insulated with a heavy layer of fat. I h The "designs" of nature are remarkable. Animals are governed by an internal force called instinct and % both plants and animals follow patterns dictated by external stimuli of many kinds, including light, temperature f)r and moisture. ^ This pattern of life, this scheme of things, can never be fully fathomed by mortal man, anymore than he re, can fathom the awesome distances of the universe or the infinite duration of eternity. f>i Yet, he should recognize that life, the universe and eternity are organized and regulated and exist as a part ' of a great master plan devised by One who created all things. Pennsylvania Angler Pennsylvania's Official Fishing & Boating Magazine Published Monthly by the PENNSYLVANIA FISH COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Richard L. Thornburgh, Governor MEMBERS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA FISH COMMISSION Jerome E. Southerton, President Honesdale John A. Hugya, Vice President Johnstown William Cox Elysburg Sam Guaglianone Johnsonburg Walter F. Gibbs Reno William O. Hill Erie Leonard A. Green Carlisle Calvin J. Kern Whitehall James J. Stumpf Laughlintown MEMBERS OF THE BOATING ADVISORY BOARD Nicholas Apfl, Chairman Fairless Hills Clayton Buchanan Pittsburgh Sherwood Krum Hawley Charles Chattaway Monongahela Leon Lyon Bellefonte Volume 48 - No. 8 CONTENTS August, 1979 Fairmount Dam Fish Ladder Dedicated 9 The Peaceful Fisherman by Loring D. Wilson ... 10 Dry Fly Carp by Rich Faler 13 Return to Conodoguinet by David R. Thompson 16 Sailing — Photo Feature 20 Walleye Trolling by Bob Chandler 22 Aids to Anglers & Boaters 24 Bass Lures Old & New by Clayton L. Peters 26 ON THE COVERS Summertime ... the waters of the Commonwealth beckon one and all. Anglers, boaters, swimmers ... all can find relaxing recreation afloat or at waterside. Front Cover: Lefty Kreh Back Cover: Raymond Meloy MONTHLY COLUMNS LEAKY BOOTS. 2 ANGLER'S NOTEBOOK 25 BRIEF BITS 4 STREAM NOTES 28 WATERSIDE WANDERINGS 6 ASHORE & AFLOAT 30 James F. Yoder, Editor fw•CHASTrtisbnnSylvaniE R:a AlAnl e357ler-9 (ISSformNs to 0031-434X) be returned, toCopyrigh the offict e1979 of th, ei sPennsylvani published monthla Fish yCommission by the Pennsylvani, P.O. Boax Fis1673h ,Commission Harrisburg,, 353Pennsylvania2 Walnut, Street17120,. IV y UrS. Pennsylvania. Second Class postage paid at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates: 01 Se r84-00'Three years—$10.00; 40 cents per single copy. Send check or money order payable to the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. Do '^ivjJ1 Cash. Changes of address should reach us promptly giving both old and new addresses, including both zip codes. Subscriptions ai ^spon ., }d processed by the end of the month will begin with the second month following. The Pennsylvania Fish Commission will not assume |!agazi„ y f°r unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or illustrations while in their possession or in transit. Communications pertaining to the "soli,.-,6 sn°uld be addressed to: The Editor, Pennsylvania Angler, Pennsylvania Fish Commission, P.O. Box 1673, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 'wl materials, manuscripts, or photos will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope for their return. Noting only scar tissue made by the so with a tight line and then lower •' ring, I carefully removed the ring, stuck it slack line. Repeat this with patience- M into my pocket, and released the trout. I may take 5 minutes or more to free ' am positive that he survived. Several weeks plug but this system will work nine tif later, fishing the spot of my release. I again out of ten and is certainly worth the tf° caught that trout. He was easy to identify. ble In my imagination I have conjured " •** Some tackle stores sell the rig descD^v several ways in which my trout may have above already made up but they af6 acquired that "necklace." Did some simple to make, why buy 'em? "joker" deliberately place that ring? Attracted by the bright reflection of the Yours for good fishing CLIFTON W. RUSSELL , glistening ring, did he inadvertently "las 5> WANTS "NATURALS" — so" himself as he inspected the bright Mt. Vernon, N.Y. 1<> object? Did he stick his nose into a I just got done looking through the discarded, cardboard container of grated March, 1979 issue of the Angler and I cheese (The ring is the correct size for such enjoyed it a lot. I especially enjoyed Jim a cheese container) with the cardboard "SUGGESTION" Hayes' article, "Pennsylvania Wilderness eventually disintegrating, leaving him with A suggestion, if I may. Could, or v/0u , Trout." I've noticed that most of your the "ring around his collar"? articles on trout fishing are about using it be possible that printing the rene I am partial to the latter explanation. st flies. I don't fly fish though I enjoy reading coupon for the Pennsylvania Angler ju ,, Proof of two instances of trout encircled by about the sport. In the near future could inserted somewhere in the magazine metal rings leads one to believe that other you please try to print an article about that it would not be necessary to cut m instances of this phenomenal "accident" using salmon eggs and natural bait in the an article such as the January issue. S° may exist. Angler. I receive other outdoor magazines of the articles are referred to later in I year; so, behold, when this happens thef but I always look forward to the Angler CLARENCE GLESSNER more than any other.