Ichthyology 101 - A Favorite Undergrad Course Offering
Posted: Monday, June 14, 2010
by Dave Potchak
PO's Peek at the Past
I'm not certain that it was Shippensburg's first-ever course offering in the area of Fisheries Biology, but I am certain that no course before it came close to meeting Ichthyology 101's objectives. The class rolls and attendance sheets have long been forgotten. Grades were never given nor recorded. You could take the course as an audit, but absolutely no credit was given for those that successfully completed the requirements.
Pre-course requirements? None. No registration, no fees, no texts, and no material fees were mandated.
We met just after dusk on a Friday evening under the bridge, like trolls, close to the town library. The library location was by chance it had nothing to do with research.
The professor, Emeritus Yours Trulyous, brought the monofilament line, assorted hooks, and some bread crusts (courtesy of Esther, assistant manager of Kriner Diner on campus).
Course Objective: To catch and later cook up as many of the hand-fed, monstrous trout that lived under that bridge as we could and still sneak out of the area without being caught. Another unforeseen challenge, we soon learned, was to try to do this quietly and not cause any disturbances in the quiet town of Shippensburg.
Don't ask me how we accomplished our course goals, but we did. Within an hour or so, we had over a dozen colossal trout in our burlap bag and pillow case and were on our way to our apartment at 31 North Earl Street, where the bathroom shower floor would serve as our temporary holding station. The butchering took place out back on the small lawn, and the final cleaning was done in the kitchen sink.
We baked the fish in shifts because the apartment oven could only hold four or five brown giants at a time.
Keeping with the high academic standards of our school, we managed to do some noteworthy research regarding both fishing and culinary aptitude. If anyone ever told you that tame, bread-fed fish growing to gigantic size in protective waters don't taste particularly good, we were proud to discover the falsity of that statement. Seasoned with only salt and pepper, the white flesh was a taste bud delight, worth every second of our extensive labor.
We were fairly certain, too, that the camaraderie, the challenge, and the quantity of quarts of National Bohemian all played vital parts in the success of the feast.
I will forever remember Ichthyology 101 as one of my all-time favorite courses. Always a firm believer in life-time learning, I hope to contact some of my former classmates only to compare research notes, of course.
Dave Potchak, SHIP, alumnus 74
Feel free to visit www.pospeek.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)I have been a fan of Dave's stories for a long time. A lot of them are about his childhood as a young boy in the fifties and sixties, but sometimes he grows up a bit to become a high school football star to a college lover of fun and periodic antics. It's always interesting to read his recollections as he is maturing and experiencing life. Truth, humor, and wit always enter into his stories. In this college remembrance, once again the reader is transported back to the time and place, almost smelling and tasting the fruits of the labor. Great job yet again, DavePo!Thanks Sherry, always good to hear from you.
Another great yarn, Dave. Of course I grew up 10 miles South of Shippensburg, and I spent many long days fishing the Conococheague Creek. (I had to learn to spell that in first grade! pronounced: 'Konikahjig')I needed that course in Ichthyology because I rarely caught anything. I remember the Summer when I was 12, I went fishing almost every weekday and didn't catch one fish all Summer. I don't know why I stuck with it so long. I decided there were plenty of other fish in the sea, but not the Conococheague.Bruce, I fished the Conococheague while at the Ship, but fished it more often after I graduated. I'll give you a full day's attention the next time you are in PA, and take you to my cabin, along Bedford County's Yellow Creek, a class AAAA trout stream. Can't guarantee a lot of fish, but I think we'll do better than you did when you were 12. We have small mouth and rock bass here too, which are easier to catch than those trout. Thanks for your comments.Sounds great, Dave!
I wish all classes could be like this - I always learned far more from what I did outside of class than sitting at a desk.Ken, isn't that the truth? My dad always said, you learn more by doing, than by studying and reading...he was years ahead of his time. He never even graduated from high school either. Good to hear from you.
Very essential education! V. important to meet up and compare notes - in case any essential information has been forgotten... :) I enjoyed your article, thanks!Thanks for taking the time to comment, Jennifer. Always enjoy comparing notes and meeting new people.
I bet the class of Ichthyology 101-1973 would have one heck of a good time at a reunion. Great article Dave. I didn't much care for the visual though of the bathroom shower floor. (Yuck.)My mom felt the same way Brianna. In the two years I lived in that apartment, my mom had never come inside once. My dad would knock on the door, (surprise or planned visits), and say, "your mom is in the car, let's go out to get a bite to eat," or whatever..but she never came in. Apparently Dad's description of our living quarters was enough of a "visual" for her. It wasn't that bad either, at least I didn't think so, lol
Interesting article! Maybe I will take this class next semester. Can't wait to catch those tasty lil monsters.
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