Monday, July 14, 2014

The Pymatuning Spillway in Linesville


I say it every year - you have to see it to believe it. I'm not sure what's more fascinating - the giant carp at Pymatuning's Spillway in Linesville or the fact that thousands of people visit each year. According to this internet article, it's the second most popular attraction in Pennsylvania (the Liberty Bell is number one). That's probably a stretch, but it is remarkable that this draws such a crowd.




Visitors (or 'hurlers', according to Roadside America), throw bread to the seemingly ravenous fish. The larger carp can weigh 40 or 50 pounds!  The competition between the fish and ducks (or geese) for the bread isn't always pretty. One of our cousins saw a bird being eaten by the fish.



In 2008, officials decided that the bread wasn't healthy for the carp and visitors could only feed pellets to the fish. You can see the New York Times article here. As you can imagine, that didn't go over well. Within a few months, the bread was back, and the New York Times wrote about the Spillway again (here).  

The Wall Street Journal also wrote about the Spillway (here). In case you're curious, yes people do fall in each year, and no the fish do not eat them. 





In case you're hungry after all of that, there is a little stand that sells food. Fudge anyone?


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