Trout Season Attracts Levittown-Area Fishermen For COVID-Safe Activity

On Saturday afternoon at Levittown Lake, over 20 cars were parked as fishermen were walking with fishing rods and dragging their boats towards the water. 

The reason? Opening day of trout season. 

In January, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced that they would consolidate the 2021 season into a single, statewide schedule for all Pennsylvania counties. 

To prepare for that consolidated schedule, the PFBC began pre-season trout stocking on February 15. 

But on Saturday, Levittown Lake was packed with eager fishermen looking to get lucky on the water. One of those fishermen was Johnny La, 33, of Croydon. 

La said that he usually fishes three days a week, but with trout season officially beginning, he said he’d be fishing at least five times a week at various locations, including in Levittown. And, with the pandemic, he has seen more and more people fishing. 

That is both a good thing and a bad thing, La said. 

“I want as many people to learn how to fish and I think that’s great. But they don’t get the whole fishing etiquette thing, and they’ll step over people’s lines or bring their kayaks and then run over people’s lines,” La said. “But I want everyone to open their minds to fishing. People think fishing is a baby boomer sport, but I think getting more young people involved is never a bad thing. And during a time like this with the pandemic, it’s a nice activity.” 

A few yards back, Joe Pizza, 68, of Levittown, was overlooking the entire lake. Pizza said he comes out to the lake every week with a buddy, and has been since the start of the pandemic. But on opening day of trout season, Pizza was just observing the crowd. 

“I’ll wait until less people are here in a week and start fishing,” he said. 

Pizza remembers when he was a kid and the lake would be filled with fisherman, shoulder to shoulder. On Saturday, the total amount of people still gave each fisherman at least six feet of distance. 

“And that’s nice. People can be distant here and stay safe,” Pizza said. 

Around 12:45 p.m., Andrew Kubitsky and his son Toby were driving their boat into shore. The two had been out on the water since 8 a.m. and caught a couple strings of trout. They reached their limit and it was time to head home. 

Kubitsky, of Yardley, said opening day is always the busiest day on the lake. 

“You’ll see the most people here today and then it’ll slow back down next week,” he said. 

Kubitsky has been fishing for over 30 years and has fished in Levittown on opening day for 20 years. He said that since the PFBC had been stocking the lake slowly since the beginning of the year, some fishermen have taken advantage of catch and release and the fish have gotten used to it. 

“So that sucks,” he said with a laugh.

But Kubitsky knows he’s lucky to have his boat – a purchase he made this year so he could have a COVID-safe activity. He plans on fishing down the shore and out on the Delaware River. But as his son hitched the boat to his truck, Kubitsky said they were heading over to visit his friend fishing at another spot. 

“I think they were catching more of a buzz than fish,” he laughed as he drove off. 

As Kubitsky drove off, Johnny La was still standing on the shore with his line in the water.

He said he hopes more and more people come out throughout trout season. 

“If you’ve ever caught a fish, and you struggle with reeling it in, and then you finally catch it? It’s beyond a feeling I can even explain,” La said.

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