Here is the scoop on the 2008 PA Trout Stocking and Opening Day schedules from the PFBC. My trout gear is ready–is yours?                                      

Harrisburg, PA — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is stocking adult trout in a variety of lakes and streams that are open to public angling throughout Pennsylvania in 2008 and has posted “where” and “when” those fish will be released at www.fishandboat.com.The service allows anglers to execute a quick search for trout stocking locations and dates of interest. To make the list, simply go to PFBC, click on the stocking schedule link, select a county and start and end date from the calendars at the top of the page, then press go. The search results will provide you with each body of water within a county that is scheduled for stocking, the section of water, the date, the species of trout, the meeting place and time, the hatchery stocking the section, the regulations that apply, and the latitude/longitude number. Stockings began on March 1 and will continue throughout the spring, fall and winter months.

The Commission will stock some 3.4 million adult trout in Pennsylvania waters open to public angling. This figure includes trout produced at state fish hatcheries, trout obtained from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service as part of a cooperative agreement, and trout obtained through a purchase contract with a commercial hatchery. The average length will be 11 inches – with more than a few trophy-sized fish mixed in as well.

The 2008 trout season will open at 8 a.m. March 29 in waters located in Adams, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill and York counties. The regular trout season starts at 8 a.m. on April 12 in the rest of the state.

The rationale for providing two opening days of trout season is based on the differences that exist in climate across Pennsylvania and the timeframe for providing optimum conditions for trout angling during the spring arrives earlier in portions of southern Pennsylvania. Warmer temperatures there offer conditions better suited for trout angling at an earlier time in the spring. However, these same warming conditions also can limit trout angling opportunities by mid-spring. The combination of a mid-April opening day and the potential for these waters to become too warm for trout angling by mid-May constricts the amount of time that trout angling can be provided.