| 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 www.fishandboat.com,
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.
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