They’re slippery, they’re fast, and – in Nanty Glo – they draw a crowd. 

 

Locals stocked around 200 fish in the South Branch of the Blacklick Creek Friday.  They plan to stock about 800 more. 

 

“Over this year, our efforts, we were able to stock four times, put about 1,000 trout in over that year,” said South Branch Fishing Club President Dennis Palko. “This is the first of what we’re expecting to be four or five stockings this year.”

 

For the older crowd, it’s a symbol of how far the town has come. 

 

“When we were all kids it was sulfur,” Nanty Glo native Jay Evans said. “Some of these guys standing over here are all about my age. They all remember the same thing, saying the same thing. I can’t believe we’re actually putting fish in here.”

 

“This creek was orange,” Palko said, “and instead of calling it the south branch of the Blacklick, we called it the local sulfur creek.”

 

For the kids, it’s just a good time. 

 

“It’s a good time to come fishin’,” said young Collin Nedrich. “You do your best, have fun, whoever you’re coming fishing with and see how big the fish you can catch.”

 

But for this community stocking the creek means much more than just being able to go fishing in their own back yard.

 

“Nanty Glo has had some recent deaths, overdoses due to the heroin epidemic,” Palko said. “So we’re kind of hoping that we see some youth and possibly they’re finding their career choices by fishing down here.”

 

It’s the result of years of cleanup and community. 

 

“You can come down here on any evening and just kind of walk the levy and you’ll see kids fishing,” Palko said.

 

Just like that, the town is ready for fishing season.