Pocono News Section

Fish Stolen From Nursery Near Benton

Fish Stolen From Nursery Near Benton - Friday, June 5, 2009 at 5:37PM EST

Benton Township, Columbia County-
There’s something fishy going on in one part of Columbia County. Thieves swiped thousands of trout from a fish nursery near Benton.

Fishing Creek Sportsmen’s Association President Clair Harvey noted, “(It’s) for the kids, it takes a low person to do this.”

The Fishing Creek Sportsmen’s Association stocks tens of thousands of fish into local streams each year. That includes a couple thousand trout for their annual children’s fishing derby, which is coming up this Sunday.

Harvey explained, “We probably have 300-400 children ages 4-12 to fish. Every child gets a prize.”

Wednesday night, someone stole nearly 2,000 trout from the sportsmen’s association nursery. Fish worth nearly $5,000 that were meant for kids from around the area.

Bill Rupko, of Sugarloaf Township, said, “We needed 2,000 fish, 2,500 fish for the derby, and this cuts us awful short. My thought is it’s a dirty trick.”

The sportsmen’s association believes it would have taken several people, or at least one person making quite a few trips, to capture and steal that many fish.

Harvey added, “We really don’t know who did it. They came in Wednesday night. They didn’t break the lock. Apparently they know the combination of the lock to get in.”

The Fishing Creek Sportsmen’s Association is offering a cash reward for information leading to the thieves’ arrest.

Luckily, they say they have enough extra fish for the children’s derby to go on as scheduled this Sunday.

Anyone with information on the alleged trout thieves should contact State Police at Bloomsburg.