Petitioning to Protect and Manage Brown Trout in PA

Would you, as a Pennsylvania trout angler, like to see our trout and waters achieve their greatest potential?

Would you like to have the opportunity to pursue large wild brown trout year-round? Would you like to see our valley floor cold-water streams and our larger streams, which are now considered warm-water bass streams, become trout streams during the colder months of the year?

A petition has been created to ask your support in proposing a study for consideration to Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission that would lead to a change in the Extended Season Regulation and the harvest limits from 3 over 7 inches to 3 under 14 inches. The end goal is to protect and manage the sizeable Brown trout ‘population planters’ both in cold-water and warm-water streams.

Outline of our proposed study:

  • Select a cold-water stocked stream that is considered a nursery stream
  • Do a baseline survey noting young of the year and age class structure on the selected stocked stream
  • Stop further stocking
  • Survey twice annually, pre-spawn and post-spawn, noting age class and size.
  • Include genetic sampling for identification and to distinguish between migratory (movers) and other resident Brown trout

Click here to read more on the rationale for the changes proposed above.