HARRISBURG, Pa. (May 4) – The opening days of trout season may have passed, but the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is reminding anglers that the stocking season is still going strong and the spring season offers plenty of opportunities to catch brook, brown and rainbow trout.
The PFBC will stock 400,000 more trout into 445 water sections through the end of May, according to Brian Wisner, Director of the PFBC Bureau of Hatcheries.
“The annual buildup to the Mentored Youth Trout days and the opening days of trout season is always fun and generates a lot of excitement with adult anglers and kids,” he said. “But we want anglers to know that great trout fishing continues through spring and into June and picks up again in fall when water temperatures start to cool.”
Included in this year’s stocking lists are the Keystone Select Stocked Trout Waters, a new program where one water in each of the eight commissioner districts will be stocked with large 14”-20” trout. Select here for more information about this exciting new program.
The PFBC annually stocks approximately 3.2 million adult trout in more than 700 streams and 120 lakes open to public angling. These figures include approximately 2 million rainbow trout; 642,000 brown trout; and 522,000 brook trout. As with past practice, the average size of the trout produced for stocking is 11 inches in length.
In addition to these fish, the PFBC has stocked about 8,500 trophy golden rainbow trout that weigh an average of 1.5 pounds and measure at least 14 inches long. Also, PFBC cooperative nurseries run by sportsmen’s clubs across the state stock another 1 million trout to waters close to them.
Wisner added that anglers can easily search the trout stocking schedules for locations and dates of interest by using the PFBC’s mobile app “FishBoatPA,” which is available for free on both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store. The app has been downloaded more than 48,500 times.
When the FishBoatPA app opens, the first item anglers see is an “Upcoming Trout Stocking” link, which updates in real-time. Users can sort stocking schedules by county. The app is tied directly into the PFBC’s online stocking schedule, so anglers can see past and upcoming stockings and the type of trout placed in a water. GIS coordinates allow users to use mapping apps installed on their phones to get directions to their favorite stocking site.
The “Near Me” feature uses a phone’s GIS coordinates to locate and display trout waters within 5, 15, 25 and 50 miles of the user.
Anglers also can view stocking schedules by visiting the PFBC website and clicking on the link for Trout Stocking Schedules. Select a county and enter start and end dates from the calendars at the top of the page. Then press “Go.”
In addition to the PFBC’s extensive hatchery trout stocking program, Pennsylvania also has thousands of wild trout streams. At present, there are 3,700 miles of streams containing some level of wild trout and 1,644 miles of Class A wild trout streams. Class A streams are the Commonwealth’s best wild trout streams and they offer a different challenge and reward for anglers.
These waters are not listed on the app at this time but can be found on the PFBC website at http://fishandboat.com/waters_trout.htm.
“These fish and the streams that contain them are some of Pennsylvania’s most treasured resources that all trout anglers need to experience,” said Wisner. “Enjoy the in-season stockings and make this the year that you branch out from your favorite stocked water and add some wild trout fishing to your ‘to do’ list!”
Media Contact
Eric Levis, Press Secretary
717-705-7806
elevis@pa.gov