A painting by the late Pennsylvania wildlife artist Ned Smith has been selected to appear on the 2006 Pennsylvania Trout/Salmon Stamp.

“Sting of the Hook,” an acrylic depicting a brook trout – the state fish – surging for freedom against a fly expertly hooked in the corner of its mouth, was created for the 50th anniversary edition of the-then Fish and Boat Commission’s Pennsylvania Angler magazine in 1981.

In homage to its roots, the painting will also again grace the cover of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s magazine when the 75th anniversary issue of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater is published in the fall of 2006.

The PFBC has teamed with the non-profit Ned Smith Center for Nature & Art for this endeavor. As part of the partnership, the center will offer a six-month gallery showing of the complete Trout/Salmon Stamp artwork dating from the program’s inception in 1991.

To kick off the public opening of this art exhibit, the center will host a special event on its grounds in Millersburg from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on September 10.

In addition to viewing the art exhibit, attendees can join representatives from the center, the PFBC, Bass Pro Shops, the Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum and the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited for a variety of exhibits, demonstrations and hands-on activities. Casting demonstrations, fish print making, and a fly tying seminar will all be part of the fun.

The Wiconisco Creek, a stocked trout stream, borders the site so anglers can bring their rods. The Commission recently designated a 0.74-mile section of stream starting at the center’s western border for inclusion in the Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only special trout regulation program beginning in 2006.

9/2/2005