In-Season Trout Stockings Still Going Strong

| May 1, 2015

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is reminding anglers that the stocking season is still going strong and plenty of opportunities are available to catch brook, brown and rainbow trout.

The PFBC will stock more than 944,000 trout into 870 water sections through Mid-June, according to Andy Shiels, PFBC Deputy Director of Field Operations.

“The buildup to the Mentored Youth Trout days and the opening days of trout season is always fun and generates a lot of excitement among kids and adults,” he said. “But we want anglers to know that great trout fishing continues through most of June and picks up again in fall when water temperatures start to cool.”

This year the PFBC will stock approximately 3.2 million adult trout in 725 streams and 132 lakes open to public angling. These figures include approximately 2.01 million rainbow trout; 641,000 brown trout; and 525,000 brook trout. The average size of the trout produced for stocking is 11 inches in length.

Mobile app screen shotShiels added that anglers can easily search the trout stocking schedules for locations and dates of interest by using the PFBC’s new mobile app “FishBoatPA,” which is available for free on both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

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 also 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.”

The search results will provide 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.

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 https://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 Shiels. “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!”


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