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Trout stocking schedule available

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recently announced recently that the 2019 adult trout stocking schedules are now available online and on the PFBC’s “FishBoatPA” mobile app.

Anglers can easily search the trout stocking schedules for locations and dates of interest. To view the list, go to www.fishandboat.com, click on the link “Fish” in the upper right corner, then select Stocking Schedules. From there, select a county and enter start and end dates from the calendars at the top of the page. Then press “Go.”

For anglers with smartphones, view the schedules through the FishBoatPA app, which is available for free from the Apple App and Google Play stores.

The PFBC continues to stock approximately 3.2 million adult trout in 707 streams and 127 lakes open to public angling. These figures include approximately 2.1 million rainbow trout; 640,000 brown trout; and 440,000 brook trout. As with past practice, the average size of the trout produced for stocking is 11 inches in length. The PFBC also plans to stock about 9,600 trophy golden rainbow trout that weigh an average of 1.5 pounds and measure at least 14 inches long. Thousands of trophy size brood trout are also stocked throughout state waters.

In 2019, the number of trout that will be stocked remains consistent with previous years over the past decade.

“Our hatcheries are bustling with activity every day of the year, but especially in those last few weeks leading up to trout season,” Brian Wisner, Director of the PFBC Bureau of Hatcheries, said. “We know how important opening days are to Pennsylvanians, especially for families who will be making lifelong memories. As we grow these trout from eggs to adults, we not only aim to produce the quantity that anglers expect, but we take great pride in stocking high quality fish.”

In addition to trout raised at state fish hatcheries, PFBC cooperative nurseries operated by sportsmen’s clubs across the state will add another 1 million trout to waters open to public angling.

Once again included in this year’s stocking lists are the Keystone Select Stocked Trout Waters, a program where sections of 21 streams across the state are stocked with large “14” to “20” trout. Under the program, approximately 6,500 large trout will be distributed among the streams. The trout will be stocked at a rate of 175 to 225 per mile of stream, which is comparable to the numbers of similarly sized fish in Pennsylvania’s best wild trout waters. Locate Keystone Select waters here.

The 2019 season will open Saturday, March 23 with the Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day program in 18 southeastern counties, including: Adams, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill and York.

The following weekend — Saturday, March 30 — kicks off the Regional Opening Day of Trout Season in the same 18 southeastern counties.

A second Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day will be held on April 6, the Saturday before the April 13 regular statewide opening day of trout season.

To participate in the mentored youth program, adult anglers (16 years or older) must have a valid fishing license and trout permit and be accompanied by a youth. Youth anglers must obtain a free PFBC-issued permit, or a voluntary youth fishing license (only $2.90 including all fees). Both are available at www.GoneFishingPA.com or at any of the more than 700 licensing agents across the state.

For every voluntary youth license sold, the PFBC receives approximately $5 in federal revenue from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sport Fish Restoration Act program, which provides funds to states based on a formula that includes the number of licenses a state sells. All revenues earned from a voluntary youth fishing license are dedicated to youth fishing programs.

Each year, the PFBC adjusts its adult trout stocking program based on several factors. A waterway may be added, extended, reinstated or removed depending on existing or pending changes to angler access, changes to designations on streams managed for wild trout populations, water quality issues that may threaten the survival of stocked trout, and maintenance being performed to dams and other infrastructure that result in the drawdown of impoundments or decreased water flow.

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