Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2022 - 4

Opening Day is Back
by Timothy D. Schaeffer
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
The opening day of trout season is back! It was never
really gone, but what is back is a single opening day for all
of Pennsylvania. And, after two years of COVID-19-related
adjustments to minimize crowding as trout enthusiasts took to
the streams and lakes in the spring, it is clear that our anglers are
looking forward to April 2.
For decades, the opening day of trout season statewide
took place on the first Saturday after April 11. It was a
time-tested tradition that many of us looked forward to each
year. Few things rival the anticipation and excitement of
opening day.
In 2007, in response to waters warming earlier in the
southeastern part of Pennsylvania, opening day in 18 counties
was moved up to the first Saturday after March 28-2 weeks
before the statewide opener that remained the first Saturday after
April 11. Opening day traditions continued, albeit on two different
dates each year. Many people would take advantage of the two
dates and fish both openers, at times resulting in complaints of
overcrowding in some areas, particularly in those counties along
the border of the two regions.
Then, COVID-19 hit. As the world grappled with the emerging
realities of the pandemic in March 2020, the Pennsylvania Fish
and Boat Commission was forced to figure out how to move
over 3 million trout out of our state fish hatcheries as quickly
as possible amid rapidly evolving travel and work restrictions
that we feared may put a stop to the whole operation. At the
same time, we were looking at the prospect of people standing
shoulder-to-shoulder on the two opening days while everyone
was learning the term " social distancing. "
After extensive consultation with the Pennsylvania
Department of Health and the Governor's Office, we opened
trout season on April 7, 2020, without advance notice. The
purpose was to spread out the opening day pressure and keep
people close to home-and it worked. While some were initially
irked by the decision, most understood the rationale, and
everyone was happy to be out on the water.
In late 2020, with COVID-19 still impacting many aspects of
life, concerns continued to persist about the upcoming opening
day crowds and travel. Remember, that was when kids were mostly
learning remotely from home, we were watching sporting events
from empty stadiums and arenas, and vaccines were only just
starting to roll out.
So, in January 2021, again working with public health experts,
our Board of Commissioners endorsed a single opening day
to take place on April 3. Acting nearly 3 months in advance
returned a level of predictability and normalcy to the opening
4
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * January/February 2022
Richie Williard with daughters Callie, age 6, and Kirah, age 11, while
fishing Mahantango Creek, Schuylkill County, on opening day, 2021.
day experience, and it gave people in most of Pennsylvania an
extra 2 weeks of trout season.
An unintended and pleasant outcome of stocking earlier in
2020 was that our staff were able to get back to the hatcheries
earlier to start working on the trout that anglers enjoyed in 2021.
We received lots of compliments on the quality of the fish, which
was helped by the extra time our staff had to work with them in
the spring of 2020.
With two consecutive years of a single opening day under
our belts, we took advantage of the opportunity to evaluate
whether it was time to return to a single opening day statewide
or maintain the pre-COVID-19 practice of two opening
days. Staff thoroughly evaluated the options and settled on a
recommendation to the Board of Commissioners to return to
a single opening day. This was strongly supported by feedback
from anglers in the field and through survey tools that clearly
revealed a preference for a single opener.
In October, the Board voted to officially return to a single
opening day of trout season to occur on the first Saturday in
April every year. This year, that will be April 2. We will continue
to offer the highly popular Mentored Youth Trout Day a week
before opening day, which will also take place on a single day
statewide and will be March 26 in 2022.
Returning to a single opening day on the first Saturday in
April simplifies the regulations, minimizes confusion among
new anglers, is easy to remember, reduces conflicts in border
counties that existed under the dual opener model, allows our
staff to get back to the hatcheries sooner to start working on the
next generation of stocked trout, and lets businesses plan for the
annual sales surge of gear and licenses.
But, the best part is that trout season will start 2 weeks
earlier and open up additional fishing opportunities in most
of Pennsylvania! At a time when residents and visitors to the
Commonwealth continue to enjoy, discover, and, in some cases,
rediscover the joys of fishing, who could argue with more time
on the water?
On behalf of our Board and staff, thank you for your patience
over the past two trout seasons as we made decisions and adapted
in the best interest of public health.
We are happy to be able to restore predictability to the
forthcoming and future trout seasons and set Pennsylvania on
the course for generations of anglers to again keep their eyes on
the calendar for that magical first Saturday in April.
FishandBoat.com
photo-Mike Parker
http://www.FishandBoat.com
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2022

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