Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2020 - 38

OPENING DAY OPTIONS

by Richard Tate

photos by the author

Pennsylvania offers two opening days for trout season-one
in the southeastern counties and another statewide. No
matter which opening day a trout angler chooses as the
beginning of the traditional trout fishing year, there are
several options to begin the season.
Probably the most common way for a trout angler
to begin the season is to visit a trout stream that has
been stocked with hatchery trout. For many years, these
stocked trout included Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, and
Brook Trout. However, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat
Commission eliminated Brook Trout from the stocking
program, because stocked Brook Trout can spread gill
lice to wild trout. So, this year, stocked trout waters will
be stocked with Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout, mainly
Rainbow Trout.
When an angler chooses to begin his or her trout season
on a stocked trout water, the angler needs to recognize
that he or she will be sharing the water with many other
anglers. This is especially true in more urban areas.
When fishing a stocked trout water, it is helpful to
know the locations trout are stocked. These are often
pools near bridges or near other roadside pull-offs, where
it is generally easy to stock trout in the water. However,
these are not the only locations where stocked trout will
be found. Trout often migrate upstream or downstream

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * March/April 2020

from stocking locations. If there is high water, the trout
may migrate away from stocking areas. Two years ago,
I found a large golden rainbow trout more than 1 mile
downstream from the last bridge where trout are stocked
on that stream. Though I failed to catch it, I did manage to
land several Rainbow Trout that were probably stocked at
the same time.
The option of fishing a stocked trout water on opening
day allows an angler a number of opportunities for
catching trout. The most popular live bait is still probably
the worm in sizes ranging from small red worms to large
nightcrawlers. Earthworms probably account for more
opening day trout than any other bait. Even so, some
first-day anglers prefer to use smaller mealworms that they
believe are more effective on stocked trout. Some livebait anglers prefer to use minnows for their opening day
exploits, hoping to catch larger-than-average fish.
Other baits that are popular on opening day are
Powerbait and salmon eggs. Some anglers vow that one
color of egg is more effective than another and like to
attach kernels of corn to their hook for opening day trout.
Besides stocked trout waters, many Pennsylvania
lakes and ponds are also stocked with hatchery-raised
trout. When fishing these still waters, set up along the
shoreline and cast to areas where you suspect there may
be trout. On larger lakes, it is advantageous to have a boat
where you can escape the crowded conditions that exist
along the banks of many stocked lakes. For instance, this
is true of Blair County's popular Canoe Lake. Anglers
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2020

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