As I watched trout flow through a pipe and into Lily Lake during a Feb. 25 preseason stocking, I glanced at an empty corner next to the boat launch and reflected on the time I met a hero at that very spot.
For years, I’ve made Lily Lake, in southern Luzerne County, a routine stop as I gather story material in advance of trout season. It’s just a short drive from my home, and whenever the popular lake is stocked, the event always draws a crowd of anglers willing to offer interesting insight about the upcoming opening day.
And every year, as the white stocking trucks pull up and trout pour into the lake, the crowd of onlookers scrutinize the fish and offer analysis and expert opinions.
During a preseason stocking in 2016, however, someone special with an expert opinion unlike no other came out to watch the trout.
It was sunny, mild day in March when the lake was stocked, and the crowd was a bit larger than usual. Most of the eager anglers packed along the concrete walls surrounding the boat launch, peering into the clear water as newly released trout darted beneath the surface. Preseason stockings are always exciting affairs, and the talkative crowd oohed and aahed every time a large golden rainbow swam by the concrete wall.
While anglers buzzed with excitement, I noticed an older gentleman off to the side, seated in a wheelchair.
A half-hour later, after I wrapped up my interviews and the stocking trucks pulled away, the man in the wheelchair remained, his gaze focused on the water.
There was something interesting about him, so I walked up and introduced myself. Wearing a black cap embroidered with “World War II Veteran” across the front, the man shook my hand and told me his name.
“Steve Repotski. Nice to meet you.”
I knew he had a story to tell.
As Repotski redirected his gaze back on the trout dabbing the surface, he told me a little bit about himself.
Repotski, who was 96 at the time, said he drove from his home in Mocanaqua – about five miles away – unloaded his wheelchair and maneuvered it through the grass just before the stocking trucks arrived. He stopped fishing 2 years ago because it was just too much, but he still liked to be a part of the angling atmosphere.
“I miss it. But sometimes, I’ll still come up here and watch others fish. Watch the lake,” Repotski said.
Then he told me about his fascinating connection with Lily Lake.
Repotski said he began fishing in 1928 when he was 8 years old, and Lily Lake was always one of his favorite spots. He talked about how the bass fishing always seemed to be better in the shallower waters on the backside of the lake, the panfish could always be found in the depths at the base of Penobscot Mountain and he predicted the trout being stocked on this day – as is the case every year – would disperse throughout the entire waterway before opening day.
Lily Lake is a natural, glacial lake that was later swelled to 160 acres with the addition of a dam. Repotski figured he has been fishing Lily Lake for 70 or 80 years.
“Since the beginning,” he joked.
Repotski purchased a senior resident lifetime license in 1985 at a cost of $10.50. By 2016, it had cost Repotski a little over 3 cents annually to fish.
When he was physically able, Repotski was one of those eager anglers who turned out to help the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stock trout in Lily Lake. Many years ago, he said, trout weren’t piped into the lake but they were deposited by volunteer anglers carrying buckets – similar to how it’s done on a stream.
“We would walk up and down the shoreline with buckets, spreading the fish out,” Repotski said. “It was a fun way to stock.”
As we continued to talk and watch trout swim by, I asked Repotski about his hat.
His tone changed.
Instead of speaking with the excitement of an angler waiting for opening day, Repotski now spoke with pride.
He told me he joined the Army in 1942, deployed to France and 2 years later fought in the Battle of the Bulge – one of the deadliest battles fought by the United States during World War II. Then, Repotski became silent, until a trout splashed the surface – redirecting our conversation back to fishing.
Still, on this day in 2016 – 72 years after Repotski fought in the Battle of the Bulge – he now sat along the shoreline of Lily Lake, watching stocked trout swim by and listening to the banter of excited anglers.
Repotski was happy that, at the age of 96 and in a wheelchair, he was still able to drive himself to the lake and take in the atmosphere of a preseason trout stocking – even if he no longer fished.
“It’s a sure sign of spring,” Repotski said, before turning his wheelchair and slowly maneuvering back to his car.
Repotski passed away in 2018, and I don’t know if he ever made it back to Lily Lake again.
But every time I’m at the lake taking my kids fishing or watching trout being stocked, I always look at the corner of the boat launch and remember the time I met a dedicated, lifelong angler and a true hero.
Great story Tom.