I just finished reading your column about Charlie Foster's incident with the PGC.  It reminded me of an experience that I had last year with an officer of the Fish and Boat Commission, although the outcome in my case was not nearly as serious as Mr. Foster's.  I thought you might be interested in hearing it - you can add it to your growing archives of

 stories about the activities of these "public servants."

 

 I was interested in taking my three young grandchildren on a trout fishing trip on one of Pennsylvania's streams.  My objective was to attempt to foster in them at an early age an appreciation for fishing.  They were 6, 5, and 3 years old at the time.  I decided to take them to Ole Bull State Park in Potter County and fish the section of Kettle Creek there that was designated for children under twelve.  I purchased a license and we wenton the second weekend of trout season in order to avoid the opening day crowds.  After staying overnight in a local historic hotel, we had breakfast and proceeded to the park to fish.

 

 When we arrived at the park, there were only several kids fishing in the designated area, including what appeared to be a mother with her  son who was about ten years old.  I also noticed that two uniformed Fish and Boat Commission officers were there, one male and one female.  I did not notice anyone having much luck catching fish.

 

 We got our gear out and made our way to the stream.  I baited the hooks and assisted the kids with casting, reeling, un-snagging, and untangling their lines.  With three young, rambunctious kids attempting to learn how to fish  I felt like a one-armed paperhanger at times.  In the midst of this barely controlled chaos, I noticed that the mother and son were now at a picnic table back away from the stream talking to the two officers.

 

 The male officer walked down toward me along the stream and told me in a somewhat threatening tone that I had better be careful as to what I was doing.  I was confused and asked him for a clarification.  He stated that this area of the stream was designated for fishing by children and that if I assisted my grandchildren too much I would end up getting a $75 citation just like the lady back at the picnic table was now being assessed.  I could hardly believe what he was telling me and tried to explain that the kids were quite young, on their first trout fishing trip, and needed assistance just to get the line in the water.  He told me that if the kids were too young to fish without assistance, I should take them back to the park's playground area where they could play on the swings.  I "thanked" him for the warning and assured him that I did not want to do something that would garner me a $75 fine. The woman who they had cited and her son got into their vehicle and left.  We too packed up our gear and headed out without having caught any fish.

 

 I strongly believe that it is this type of heavy-handed enforcement tactics that discourages many people from participating in outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing.  In this instance, that mother did an admirable

bit  of parenting by taking the time to take her young son out for a day of fishing and what does she get as a reward - a $75 fine from the very people who are supposed to be promoting fishing!!! I'm quite certain that those

 officers have deterred both her and her son from participating in fishing for a long time if not forever.  With "ambassadors of good will" such as this, it is no wonder that the number of people getting or staying

involved in hunting and fishing is declining.