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Stocking up: Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission prepares state for trout season

Fish and Boat Commission prepares state for trout season

By John Hartsock 5 min read

Outdoor sports enthusiasts are enjoying a splendid choice of recreational outlets this month, with archery hunting season for deer now in full swing seven days a week, and lakes and streams throughout the state being stocked with trout for the extended fall and upcoming winter ice fishing seasons.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is again stocking about 116,500 rainbow, brown and brook trout in 118 lakes and stream sections throughout the state this fall. The stockings began on Oct. 1 and will extend into mid-December in some areas.

In the month of October alone, the commission will stock about 89,000 adult trout into 93 waters, including 53 lakes and 40 stream sections.

Most streams and lakes are now open to fishermen using bait of all kinds -- from lures to natural bait to flies -- with a creel limit of three trout per day measuring at least seven inches.

Optimal fall fishing opportunities will abound for anglers within a short drive of Blair County, with the lake at Canoe Creek having received its annual fall stocking of trout this past Thursday morning, and two Cambria County lakes -- Rowena and Duman in and near Ebensburg, respectively -- due to get stocked exclusively with rainbow trout on Tuesday morning, Oct. 21.

Cambria County Waterways Conservation Officer Nathaniel Yingling said that while he is not at liberty to divulge the exact number of trout that will be stocked into Lake Rowena and Lake Duman, the total this year will be similar to what it has been for fall stockings there in past years.

Cooler, brisk fall temperatures and smaller fishing crowds add to the appeal of trout fishing in the fall.

"In the fall, you're going to get your (fishing) regulars,” Yingling said. "Obviously, archery (season for deer hunters) is in right now, so there won't be as big of a (fishing) crowd.

"But you will still get guys who will go out in the morning for archery, do a little bit of fishing in the afternoon, then go back out for archery in the evening,” Yingling added.

The fish hatchery at Pleasant Gap will provide the rainbow trout for the two Cambria lakes. The size of the trout stocked varies from year to year.

"It just depends on what the hatcheries bring,” Yingling said. "Some years, a lot of (the trout) will all be 15 or 16 inches, and other years, the fish will only be 12 or 13 inches. It depends on what the hatcheries have, and how well that the fish there are growing.”

Ice fishermen are an even more rare breed than fall trout fishermen, but this month's trout stockings will serve them as well.

"There will obviously be a lot of holdover (trout) from the fall stockings that will still be in the water this winter for people who are ice fishing,” Yingling said.

Unseasonably warm air and water temperatures adversely affected stocking in some areas this month. At Janesville Dam near Houtzdale in Clearfield County, a large group of dead stocked trout was spotted in the water earlier this month due to the hot weather.

Some fishermen were still seen catching trout at Janesville the day after the dam was stocked on Friday, Oct. 3.

Over the past two weeks, however, the air and water temperatures have moderated and have become more suitable for fall trout stocking.

Brian Niewinski, the director of the PFBC Bureau of Hatcheries, was quoted in an article on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania website as saying that "many species of fish will remain active as waters get cooler, and the addition of stocked trout just adds something else to look forward to this fall and winter.”

Along with the lake stockings in Blair and Cambria counties, trout were also scheduled to be stocked into waters in Centre, Huntingdon and Indiana counties earlier this month. Stockings were scheduled at Greenwood Lake in Huntingdon County, Poe Lake at Poe Valley State Park, and Cold Stream Dam in Centre County and Cummings Reservoir (also known as Blue Spruce Lake) in Indiana County.

One of the state's earliest fall trout stockings by the fish commission occurred on Oct. 2 at Little Buffalo State Park in Perry County near the town of Newport. A total of 1,200 rainbow trout was placed into Holman Lake at the park that day.

"Fishing in the fall is actually really good,” Perry County Waterways Conservation Officer Seth Strawser said in an article that was published on the WGAL-TV website. "There are fewer crowds, cooler temperatures and the fish seem to be really active as the temperatures do start to cool down a bit.”

Along with the great fishing, the fall season in Pennsylvania also offers surroundings that feature unparalleled natural beauty.

"Anglers who take advantage of stocked trout opportunities during the fall are treated to beautiful scenery and some of the most comfortable temperatures of the year,” Niewinski said.

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