One of my favorite “sporting” weeks just came to a close. Yes. There is so much going on these first few days of April, and it shows. Congrats to VA as they claimed the NCAA title Monday. I am a huge fan of the Cavaliers and give them a ton of credit. They were bounced in the first round by a 16th seed last year, and found a way to persevere. The game tipped at 9:45 p.m., which is way past my bedtime. Perhaps they should consider moving the Final Four to Thursday and Saturday. More folks would watch.

Little League Baseball is now underway. My son’s SMG squad recently split two games. Jensen is on the DL for the first month of the season. Long story short — he was playing with some friends and decided to jump. Now Jensen is on crutches and wearing a boot. Lesson learned.

Webb Weekly needs their copy before Friday, making it impossible to predict who will win the coveted green jacket. I did get a chance to watch some of the first round action. Several of the game’s top names are on the first page on the leaderboard. Tiger Woods opened with a solid 70, a few strokes behind the pace. I don’t have any favorites, but I’m hoping for a lovely Sunday afternoon finish at Augusta. The Masters is the first major of the year, and it usually kick starts our local obsession. I have yet to tee it up in 2019, but I have hit some putts on the living room carpet. Golf remains a hot topic with the upcoming election. More on that later.

Saturday, April 13 marks the traditional opening day of trout season. Thousands of anglers and their kin from all over the Commonwealth flocked to our region for an opportunity to catch the millions of stocked trout. Yes. It’s a scary time of year, and I am still on the fence about sneaking out for a few casts. I don’t do well fishing with crowds.

I’ve mentioned to you before that I am one of North Central PAs biggest fans. Seriously. What’s not to love about the 570? This place is just splendid, and this beautiful area is the perfect backdrop for an outdoor enthusiast like me. Lycoming County provides hundreds of exceptional fishing opportunities. We are so very blessed with several different types of water to target all kinds of species. I am still waiting on a call from the Visitors Bureau.

A few of my favorite spots are just a short drive or walk from the house. I do my very best to fish them year round, and unfortunately, my expeditions have been non-existent of late. Work and chores seem to get in the way. I’m not as adventurous as I once was.

There seems to be some confusion and controversy with me fishing in the hood. I’ve always thought that you were able to fish 365 days in non-trout-stocked waters. It has caused a major stir and heated online debate. People have been blowing up my phone ever since I posted that healthy brown caught near Elm Park.

You see a majority of our waterways are actually closed from March 1st to this weekend’s opener. But that doesn’t include anything downstream from the confluence of Hoaglands on Lycoming Creek. Am I Right? I reached out to a good friend who is in the know. He is a big wig with PA Fish & Boat. I send him questions and pictures all of the time. Perhaps he could help with my dilemma.

“Dude. You have the wrong number. And PLEASE STOP sending pictures of fish.” To be continued. I just want to fish at BB&T Stadium at Historic Bowman Field.

Best of luck to my fellow fishing friends. Cheers.