march, 1968 - Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

A Monthly Feature About Cooperative Nursery Projects By Bill PortBP
A HAPPY MARRIAGE OF A PHILANTHROPIST, a
benevolent city government and three fishing clubs combine
to form the Lil-Le-Hi Nursery, truly one of the show
places of the cooperative nursery program—and it's no
wonder.
To begin with, the hatchery itself has had a long history
as a commercial enterprise as part of the Trexler holdings.
Some firsts in fish culture for the state occurred there,
according to some fine reminiscences from Guy "Foxy"
Moyer, a 44-year retired veteran of the Fish Commission
who accompanied us to Allentown. For one thing, the
hatchery at one time raised salmon—incidentally, there
were a few of the silver kings in one of the show ponds for
visitors to ogle. A federal carp rearing program was part
of the operation a good many years ago before it was
abandoned and the state had an interest in the hatchery at
one time. Finally the Fish Commission, a decade or so
ago, received brook trout eggs from the hatchery in exchange
for other eggs or species.
But getting back to the present arrangement, the city of
Allentown inherited the property along with much additional
acreage from the Trexler estate. Picking up the ball,
the city fathers now employ a full time nursery caretaker,
Ernie Massini, to look after things and work with the cooperating
clubs. And Ernie does just that as verified by
the well-manicured lawns and landscaping, the healthy
trout in the holding ponds, and the extremely low mortality
rate as attested by the records.
But Ernie doesn't do it all. Three cooperating fishing
clubs, referred to above, have combined their efforts and
interests in the project. The Lehigh County Fish and
Game, The Pioneer Fish and Game, and the Trout Creek
Fish and Game work together on the cooperative nursery
activities.
One of the key men coming out of this triumvirate is
Ken Crilley, a very active nursery manager and our host
along with Ernie for the day. Ken seemed pleased with
the project and its product. His experienced eye roved
over a batch of three-year-old rainbows with the fondness
of a man who has a liking and a knowledge of his work.
Then he and "Foxy" were off on some mutual nostalgia
that would fill a book in its own way that would be of
value to the fish culturist and the naturalist.
In the meantime Joe Samusevich, well-known local
angler, picked up the story of the Lil-Le-Hi Nursery. "We
stock nothing but older fish—two, three, and four year
olds," he said with a grin of pride. "Last year there were
about 18,000 stocked with the bulk of them going into
the Little Lehigh Creek. The others go into Cedar Creek
and Jordan Creek."
"We're holding about 45,000 right now," chimed in
Ernie. "Care to see them?" We cared and we saw. Big
JOE SAMUSEVICH, an unidentified club member, and Ernie
Massini, nursery supervisor, stop in front of sign at Lil-Le-Hi
Trout Nursery.
browns and big rainbows and nice brooks were all there.
The cement raceways and ponds were neatly painted,
water temperature and quality was good; the whole nursery
smelled of success.
"We get thousands of visitors every year," Ernie was
doing the talking, "and most help support the project;"
and he pointed to a wishing well where visitors could deposit
a donation and receive a bag of pellets to feed the
trout. "It's a little late in the season and pretty cold today
for people to stop, but there'll be some." And on cue, two
cars pulled into the parking area and a handful of tourists
began to make the rounds.
A variety of projects feature the Lil-Le-Hi Nursery each >
year. The Litde Lehigh Creek, at least a portion of it near
the nursery, is a fish-for-fun area and is supplied with trout
throughout the year. "There's always someone wetting a
line," said Ernie, "even cold blustery days such as this
one." And again on cue, a couple of fly fishermen moved
in and began to work a pool at the lower end of the
nursery grounds. The trout were there but uncooperative
and so it was back to the discussion of other projects.
Outstanding among the various activities are the fishing
derbies held each year. Thousands of anglers line the banks
of the Little Lehigh as it wends its way through the public
parks system; many thousands more simply come to
watch. Fish are caught, lost, measured, kept, released;
prizes are awarded and sad and glad tales are told at the
end of the day. And it's all made possible through the
cooperative effort of a lot of people organized under the I
heading of the Lil-Le-Hi Nursery who are dedicated to
the premise that a lot of people can have a lot of fun
Casting with the Co-ops.
32 PENNSYLVANIA ANGLER
I