Get your wading boots ready as trout season begins in Pennsylvania

One of the hallowed traditions of spring in Lancaster County for generations returns next Saturday with the opening of trout season statewide.

Kids holding hardware store-bought rods with kernels of corn on hooks will plant themselves in shallow streams next to their moms and dads in waders for a chance at a wiggling battle with one, two, three, four, maybe even five, trout to take home to fry.

On Saturday, all roads in Lancaster County lead to a stocked trout stream for the 8 a.m. opening for first casts. Lurking in 24 streams and Muddy Run Recreation Lake will be around 29,000 brook, rainbow and brown trout meticulously planted and float-stocked by volunteers in recent weeks for the free-for-all.

The average size of state-stocked trout is 11 inches.

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Also mixed in here and there will be trophy-size golden rainbow trout, as big as they are colorful. All will be at least 14 inches, and many stretch 20 inches or more.

To round out the potpourri, more than 1,000 brood rainbows and browns measuring 14 to 20 inches have been planted.

Get skunked opening day? Not to worry. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission as well as local sportsmen’s clubs will be stocking another 22,000 trout during the month of April.

For details on the sections of each of the streams that are stocked, go online to the Fish and Boat Commissions website, fishandboat.com/fishing. Click on “Stocking” then click on the “Trout Stocking” box. Then click on the link that reads “View these waters on our county guide interactive map.”

There are some local restrictions on stocked portions of local streams the public should be aware of. According to Jeffrey Schmidt, the Fish and Boat Commission’s district officer, Little Beaver Creek is posted to prohibit fishing on Sunday. On Big Beaver Creek, a section at 1930 Beaver Valley Pike will no longer be stocked. And a property at 153 Smithville Road remains posted. On the West Branch of Octoraro Creek, the property at 95 Hollow Road, Quarryville, is posted. Also, the riparian land bordering the creek near the new Pumping Station Road bridge at the parking pull-off, formerly owned by PA American Water Co., has been posted.

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A reminder that fishing in local stream sections stocked with trout is prohibited until Saturday’s opener. Schmidt recently issued citations to three anglers fishing in a stocked section. Schmidt noted all three had valid fishing licenses and trout stamps but said they were unaware of the moratorium on fishing in the weeks before the official trout season.

On the good news front, healthy flows of local streams allowed volunteers to float-stock longer sections. Among those wading the streams to better distribute trout are students at Lampeter-Strasburg, Penn Manor and Solanco high schools.

It’s part of classroom program Schmidt brings to each of the high schools where he talks about trout culture and the physical mechanics of stocking.

The float stocking dispels the sometimes common misconception that trout are just dumped in buckets at select stocking points.

“When local anglers express that they opt to not take advantage of local trout fishing opportunities, stating emphatically that it is too crowded, they are misinformed,” Schmidt said. “Considerable float stocking is accomplished throughout southern Lancaster County’s 11 stocked trout waters. Even on the opening day, for the angler who is willing to park and walk, you can be directed to water where you can enjoy a solitary fishing experience.”

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This is the third year the Fish and Boat Commission has held a statewide trout season opener after years of a split opener in which Lancaster and 17 other counties in the southeast opened two weeks before the rest of the state. A survey of anglers showed a clear preference for a statewide opening under the belief it tended to spread out anglers more and relieved crowded conditions on certain waters.

How many fishers are we talking about? In 2023, 446,291 trout stamps were sold around the state, down from 500,000 in 2021. In Lancaster County, the number of fishing licenses sold in 2023 was 12,888, compared to 15,000 in 2021.

Just in case you catch a whopper, here are the current state records for trout: brook trout, 7 pounds; brown trout, 20 pounds, 9 ounces; rainbow trout, 15 pounds, 6 ounces; golden rainbow trout, 13 pounds, 8 ounces.

Ad Crable is an LNP | LancasterOnline outdoors writer. Email him at acrable@lnpnews.com.