Afield: Ready for trout season in Centre County? What to know ahead of opening day

The last trout stockings will soon be taking place to ready Centre County’s streams for opening day on Saturday. The section of Penns Creek immediately above Elk Creek is scheduled to be stocked by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission with rainbow and golden rainbow trout on Monday. The three sections of Black Moshannon Creek, beginning below the dam in Black Moshannon State Park, will be stocked with brown, rainbow and golden rainbow trout on Tuesday. White Deer Creek will be stocked with rainbow trout, and Pine Creek will be stocked with brown, rainbow and golden rainbow trout on Wednesday.

In total, the Fish Commission have already placed or will stock approximately 3.2 million trout in 696 streams and 128 lakes open to public fishing. This includes 70,000 trophy trout measuring 14 to 20 inches and approximately 13,000 golden rainbow trout. Area cooperative nurseries, such as Three Point Sportsmen and the Bald Eagle Sportsmen stock a good share of an additional one million trout. There are 17 streams stocked by the Commission in Centre County.

Three of the fish hatcheries that raise those millions of trout are located in Centre County — Bellefonte, Pleasant Gap and Benner Spring. A fourth Commission hatchery is located in Tylersville, just east of the Centre County line.

An earlier start to opening day

If you are used to the opening day of trout season being in mid-April, that will be no more. In response to angler surveys, the Commission has ended their practice of holding two opening days for stocked trout. In 2007, they started to have split opening days — one mid-April date for most counties, including Centre, and an earlier one for 18 southeastern counties. Due to COVID-19, the opening days followed no set pattern the past two Aprils.

Last fall, the commissioners voted to abolish the two-opening-day system and move to make one statewide opening day — to always be held on the first Saturday in April. This year, that falls on April 2. The mentored youth day was held the Saturday before, on March 26.

During my 60 mid-April opening days, I have experienced finger-numbing cold with ice freezing on my rod guides, three inches of snow, as well as sunny, T-shirt temperatures. One year, a 7 a.m. thunderstorm dropped more than an inch of rain in a half hour, sending streams over their banks — with fishing next to impossible. On several occasions, streams have been very low. However, most openers have been on the cold side with good stream flows. No one knows what weather and stream conditions will greet anglers on April 2, 2022.

Having an earlier start for trout season increases the chance that weather conditions will be colder for the mentored youth day and also for the April 2 opening. On the plus side, it increases the chance for favorable water levels. As I write this, stream levels and water temperatures are excellent.

Stocking changes in Centre County

County anglers should be aware of several stocking changes that could affect your fishing. Stocking ended on two streams and trout numbers were increased in two other locations.

A decrease in stream access has led to the removal of a 3.2-mile section of Eddy Lick Run from the stocking list. Eddy Lick Run is located south of Route 144 in Sproul State Forest, in northern Centre County. As reported previously in the Centre Daily Times, a 1.27-mile section of Cold Stream, near Philipsburg, was also removed from the stocking list because stream surveys indicated that it holds a Class A population of naturally-reproduced trout.

According to the Commission, all of the trout that had been stocked in Eddy Lick Run and some of the trout originally allocated for Cold Stream will be stocked in Black Moshannon Creek. The remaining Cold Stream trout will be stocked in Cold Stream Dam.

Trout season officially opens at 8 a.m. on Saturday. If you are a state resident and 16 or older, you need both a fishing license ($22.97) and a trout permit ($9.97) in order to participate. Multi-year versions are available, offering some savings. Non-resident, voluntary youth and senior licenses are also available. Licenses can be obtained online at www.fishandboat.com, or through many of the local businesses that sell fishing tackle.

Although trout season officially opens on Saturday, it is actually stocked trout season that opens then. Centre County is blessed with a multitude of other trout fishing options and those destinations are open for trout fishing.

If you just cannot wait until Saturday

County special regulation waters include the section of Spring Creek called Fisherman’s Paradise, open to fly fishing only. A section of Bald Eagle Creek north of Port Matilda is a Keystone Select Trout Water, which is stocked with a large number of trophy trout. This all-tackle delayed harvest area can be accessed through the Soaring Eagle Wetland. Most of the remainder of Spring Creek (over 16 miles) is Catch and Release All Tackle. There is a 1.3-mile section of Black Moshannon Creek that is Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only. Lick Run, a tributary to Sayers Dam, is Trophy Trout Artificial Lures Only. All of these streams are open for fishing right now on a catch-and-release basis.

There are also dozens of other wild trout streams that are open to catch-and-release fishing. So, get your license and trout permit, study your regulation booklet, and start fishing.