In-Season Trout Stockings Still Going Strong, Wild Trout Offer a Change of Pace

“So far, Commission hatcheries have stocked about 2.5 million adult trout this year but it’s not over yet,” said Brian Wisner, Director of the PFBC Bureau of Hatcheries. “May provides some of the best trout fishing weather of the year and hatchery staff will be stocking almost 600,000 more adult trout into Commonwealth waters this month.”

Included in this year’s stocking lists are the Keystone Select Stocked Trout Waters, a program where 22 stream sections across the state are stocked with large 14” – 20” trout. Under the program, approximately 6,500 large trout will be distributed among the waters. The trout will be stocked at a rate of 175 to 225 per mile, which is comparable to the numbers of similarly sized fish in Pennsylvania’s best wild trout waters.

Select here to see the list of waters.

The PFBC annually stocks approximately 3.15 million adult trout in 720 streams and 126 lakes open to public angling. These figures include approximately 2 million rainbow trout; 640,000 brown trout; and 500,000 brook trout. As with past practice, the average size of the trout produced for stocking is 11 inches in length.

The PFBC also stocks about 8,700 trophy golden rainbow trout that weigh an average of 1.5 pounds and measure at least 14 inches long. PFBC cooperative nurseries run by sportsmen’s clubs across the state will add another 1 million trout to waters open to public angling.

In addition to the PFBC’s extensive hatchery trout stocking program, Pennsylvania also has thousands of wild trout streams. At present, there are approximately 15,343 miles of streams containing some level of wild trout and 2,322 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 can be found on the PFBC website.

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

“We’ve been seeing lots of great angler pictures with their catch being posted on social media and we want people to keep sharing those pictures,” Wisner added. “We encourage people to get out on the water and enjoy the opportunities that are out there. Whether you’re fishing for stocked trout or wild trout, May is a terrific time of year to enjoy Pennsylvania’s waters.”

Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.