Pymatuning Spillway
6.22.2008
Linesville, PA - The Pymatuning Spillway was probably my favorite stop this weekend. I can’t exactly explain why, but there is something so absolutely revolting, but utterly fascinating about it at the same time.
To get to the spillway I needed to ask directions, which made me come to the following revelation. If you need directions to any offbeat attraction, just stop at the nearest convenience store and ask the teenager behind the counter. They know where all of the strange stuff is. In my head I pictured the teens of Linesville parking their cars at the spillway and making out on Friday nights. This is a disturbing thought. And let me tell you why.
As part of Pymatuning State Park the spillway is a freshwater hatchery for carp. And with a hatchery comes thousands of carp in a tiny amount of space. Linesville likes to boast that because the fish are so plentiful the ducks can actually walk on water. I saw no ducks with this divine ability, but I did see a number that seemed to be wading rather than swimming about the reservoir.
This place is amazing. It’s so vile you can’t help but look. And look. And look. Seriously, I can’t wait to go back. I don’t know when that will be, but I will and I’ll continue to be attracted and repelled at the same time. You see, the fish are so plentiful that they can’t help but swim over each other, making a walkway of carp. It’s insane.
In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if the fish were insane. I have no idea how you would tell, but with so many so tightly packed it would be a miracle if at least one of them wasn’t off it’s rocker. As you walk toward the spillway you can see little fishy mouths peaking above the water. They’re almost like baby birds with their mouths wide open, begging for food.
And kids loooooooove the spillway. At the gift shoppe you can buy, along with Pymatuning t-shirts, shot glasses, and postcards, loaves of stale bread. They call it “fish food” and they make a killing. Stale bread as good, if not better, than a Tickle Me Elmo to the kiddies at the spillway. Parents buy loaf after loaf just so their kids can toss pieces of Wonder Bread into the throngs of waiting fish. They scream and giggle as the fish fall over each other to try and get some morsel of bread. In fact, the entire time I was there it was drizzling, and then it started thundering. None of this deterred the children. Their parents, equipped with umbrellas, ponchos and stern voices were no match for their offspring as they grabbed the loaf and ran to the closest body of water to see the fish attack a loaf of bread. Perhaps it’s my advanced level of maturity that allows me to enjoy the spillway as much as children do.
Oh, and the next time I’m looking for a spot to park my car and make out I’m totally driving up to the spillway!
