Fish, Gump, Fish!

Wellsboro’s Colegan Stiner is Already a Champion Afishionado

By Don Kelly

The fog lifts on Nessmuk Lake as Colegan Stiner sends a topwater frog soaring through the air. Through polarized sunglasses, the sixteen-year-old Wellsboro Area High School sophomore—those who know him best call him Gump— watches as it splats into the weed mats. His rod tip twitches back and forth, walking the frog through floating vegetation. Beneath the surface, a hungry bass lurks, waiting for an easy meal. The frog stops, lying motionless for just a few seconds. Another twitch, and the water erupts as a bucket-mouthed beast breaks the surface, engulfing the lure. Colegan pauses a second, reels in the slack and yanks, setting the hook on a largemouth bass. What looks like a scene straight from the Outdoor Channel is just an average day in the life of this Tioga County local and 2022 Pennsylvania State Champion Bass Angler.

See Gump on page 12

Calm, cool, and collected, Colegan wrestles the bass out of the weeds like he’s done so many times before. His dad, Jan Stiner, quickly grabs the net and scoops up the catch. His son’s humble demeaner magnifies a big smile as he reaches into the net and hoists the bass up for a quick picture before releasing it back to the lake. For Route 287 travelers passing by Nessmuk, seeing Colegan working a shoreline with a frog or dragging a jig on deep offshore rock piles is a common sight. Born with a love of water, Colegan spends every spare minute that he can pursuing fish with his family and friends. When he’s not in school or working at Dunham’s Do-It Center hardware store in Wellsboro, he immerses himself, sometimes literally, in the local fisheries.

Fishing gets him up in the morning, and it’s what he dreams about at night. He’s up at the crack of dawn and on the water until someone says, “Hey, we gotta go.” “Sure thing, just one more cast,” he’ll likely reply. Another hour will pass as that last cast turns into dozens more. A real angler knows they can’t leave the fish when they’re biting. And if they’re not? Well, maybe that next cast might be the one. If not that one, then maybe the next. Some might call it an addiction, but this one clears the mind and is good for the soul.

Traveling the river of time: Jan Stiner takes young Colegan fishing (top); a brown trout caught with one of Colegan’s Customs jigs (center); Colegan Stiner and Connor Kapp (l to r) make up the 2022 Wellsboro Bassmasters, the state champion high school team that is headed to nationals this summer.

Colegan loves bass fishing and the waters where he can find those fish. Second to that, he loves trout fishing, and his favorite place to fish for trout is Pine Creek. Particularly the catch and release stretch around the village of Slate Run. No matter the conditions, whether spring or the middle of winter, Colegan loves wading the canyon armed with his trusty centerpin setups. His rods measure more than twice his own height, and curious observers often watch in disbelief as he propels a float through the air with perfect timing and a unique motion. Although a common tactic for steelhead and salmon, float fishing like this on Pine Creek isn’t familiar to most anglers. Just ask, though, and Colegan willingly shares his technique and leader setups. The rigging methods match the water conditions perfectly, and as the line slowly peels off the reel it’s easy to see how fish can’t resist his offering. Watching his float drop time and time again quickly proves to skeptics that it’s a deadly tactic here.

Especially when paired with his hand-tied “Colegan’s Customs” jigs.

Like fly anglers tie their own flies, Colegan lashes feathers to a bead-headed hook, thereby creating his own custom marabou jigs. While other teens play video games, Colegan spends many of his evenings patiently refilling his boxes one jig at a time, prepping for the adventures ahead. Box after box overflows with myriad color combinations in different weights and sizes. Many are crafted for catching Pine Creek’s big browns and rainbows. Others are specifically tied to tempt salmon, steelhead, and lake-run browns on the Great Lakes tributaries. While most stay tucked away in his personal boxes, Colegan is starting to dabble in selling some commercially. Soon, he plans to have small assortments available in local sporting goods stores.

What started as simply some relaxing time out on the water has turned into a full-blown passion for chasing fish and for the intimate details that go into successfully catching them. That’s his favorite part about it, too.

“The result of catching a fish directly depends on the work you put in,” Colegan says. “It’s a reflection of the time you spend. Persistence and determination lead to good results.”

After one of last year’s trout tournaments with his son, Colegan’s father, Jan, reported on his Facebook page that “…he kept me on my toes all day...he caught six fish in the first hour and then the trout stopped biting completely for everyone! Gump flipped a switch and went to work on a half-mile stretch...and started picking off trout behind every big rock on the stream in six inches of shaded water. A guy told me this weekend… ‘in my seventy years, I’ve never seen a man, let alone a fifteen-yearold kid read water like that kid does.’”

Be True to Your School

That persistence and determination was undeniable as he started chasing dreams in the tournament scenes. His smiling face and focused gaze became a staple at local kids’ derbies and trout tournaments across Pennsylvania, where he competed successfully. Then, in the summer of 2021, Colegan dipped his toes into the competitive bass fishing world, getting involved with the PA B.A.S.S. Nation High School and Junior High Fishing Series.

Competitive bass fishing is relatively new to high school sports, particularly in Pennsylvania. Though not the most publicized sport, its popularity continues to expand nationwide. The concept is simple. Two-person teams gather at a given lake and compete to bring the five biggest bass back to the scales in a specified time frame. Anglers must catch their fish using artificial lures, and fish are expected to be released after the event. Teams earn points throughout the season based on their finishes. At the end of the regular season, points leaders move on to regional and national events.

With the help of his parents, Jan and Dinate Stiner, and support of the community, Wellsboro Bassmasters was founded as the first high school competitive fishing team in the region. The team is completely self-funded, and

See Gump on page 10 they work hard to collect donations and solicit sponsors. Their locally made fishing jerseys are adorned with the logos and names of their supporters.