Trout opener remains unchanged, but ‘many options on the table’

• PFBC stocked 1.6 million trout so far, 400,000 ahead of last year’s pace
• Agency discussing status of season opener on a daily basis
• Warm weather could limit ability to push season back

The move by President Trump to extend social distancing guidelines to April 30 has yet to impact the planned opener for trout season in Pennsylvania.

As of Wednesday, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Communications Director Mike Parker said the mentored youth season is still set for April 11, and the statewide opener remains on for April 18.

But those dates could change.

“We’re talking about it every day,” Parker said. “If something had to change further, we’d want to do it as soon as possible. There are many options on the table right now.”

Parker said the agency has been in contact with Delaware, where trout season opened on March 31, and will be talking to New York to see how their opener went on April 1. Currently, fishing is permitted in Pennsylvania, except on streams, rivers and lakes designated as “stocked trout waters,” as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.

The PFBC’s Harrisburg headquarters has received an increase in calls regarding suspected poaching incidents of trout, but Parker said that doesn’t mean there are more problems with people fishing early during the CORVID-19 situation. Instead, he attributed the increase in calls to the fact that the region offices are closed, so all of the reports are coming into Harrisburg.

If Pennsylvania’s trout season does open as scheduled, Parker emphasized that social distancing recommendations need to be followed by anglers and Waterways Conservation Officers will be monitoring locations and asking groups to spread out.

“When you’re walking on a trail or in the aisle of a grocery store, you have to be 6 feet apart. There’s no exception for fishing,” he said. “It’s inconvenient and it will interfere with traditions, but if we’re going to fish we must abide by the same guidelines.”

As the April 11 and 18^th opening days are approaching, the window of time for the PFBC to push trout season back even further is narrowing. Some waterways stocked with trout don’t stay cold enough to support populations during the late spring and early summer, so a later start date might not be feasible.

Still, the PFBC is continuing its accelerated stocking program and as of March 31 they had stocked 1.6 million trout, Parker said, about 400,000 more than were stocked at the same time last year. He added that the majority of the 3.2 million trout stocked by the agency will be released before opening day as the preseason and in-season allocations for some waters have been combined.

“We’re filling the trucks to capacity with fish by combining the preseason and in-season allocation, and that’s to cut down on the number of truck trips and visits to waterways,” Parker said. “We still have a ways to go, and that will also factor into our decision in moving the (opening day) dates.”

Stocked locations will be released after the fact, he said, to avoid attracting spectators to a stocking event and cut down on poaching incidents.

In the meantime, WCOs are patrolling as usual and deputies are assisting as they investigate poaching reports and check anglers for fishing licenses, Parker added.

And if, or when, trout season does open, he acknowledged it might have a different vibe this year.

“We have the opportunity to fish, and that’s a good thing. But we need to adjust,” Parker said. “It’s going to be different this season and we hope it’s only for this year.

“You’re going to have to spread out if you go fishing, and we think anglers will adjust to that.”