"During that early-season program, we are usually dealing with die-hard anglers who keep that catch rate up," Greene said.

Pennsylvania has no trout management program specifically aimed at ice-fishing.

"We don't manage for ice-fishing because conditions can vary. We can't really say that we're managing any water specifically for ice-fishing," Greene explained.

Trout stocked during both the winter stocking program and the early-season stocking program are, of course, caught through the ice, but not always. It would be unusual for there to be ice when the first trout are stocked on Nov. 1 for the winter stocking program, even at Justus Lake in the cold Northwest Region. Likewise, it would be quite unusual for all of the lakes stocked during the early-season stocking program to be frozen over when the latter stockings are made in late February.

"Most of the waters that are stocked in the early-season program are stocked in early to mid-February," Greene pointed out. "There's a pretty big difference between those two time frames. There is a lot of variation in ice conditions."

The intention of the Fish and Boat Commission is to provide a variety of trout-fishing opportunities throughout the year. Certainly ice-fishing fits into this scheme. But things work out just as nicely if winter weather is on the warm side and we have an open-water fishery.

Each year, lakes are added to or removed from the winter and early-season trout stocking lists. Lakes may be taken off the lists because repairs need to be made to dams. Lakes could be added because of renewed interest by anglers or because water conditions have changed.

In some cases, lakes are added to trout stocking lists to attract anglers interested in a multi-species winter fishery.

For example, last year, East Basin Pond and West Basin Pond in Erie County, Lily Lake in Luzerne County and Upper Twin Lake in Westmoreland County were added to the Early-Season Trout-Stocked Waters program. This year, Quaker Lake in Susquehanna County and Deep Creek Dam in Montgomery County have been added.

Bradford Reservoir No. 3 in McKean County and Dutch Fork Lake in Washington County were removed from the stocking lists last year for dam repairs. Bradford Reservoir No. 3, also known locally as Marilla Reservoir, was a particularly devastating loss because it is one of the first lakes in the Commonwealth to form safe ice. This 20-acre impoundment is just three miles from Pennsylvania's northern border.

NORTHWEST REGION
Although the winter trout stockings start in the Northwest Region Nov. 1 at Justus Lake, do not anticipate safe ice for several weeks after this. Typically, ice-fishing does not get underway until Christmas.

The first lake with safe ice may be Chapman Lake in Warren County, which occasionally freezes over by early December in colder winters. It covers 68 acres and is no more than 7 feet deep in most places.

This is one of the lakes that is stocked both in the winter and early- season periods, so fishing remains good throughout most of the winter. It is part of the Early-Season Trout-Stocked Waters Program. The last stocking was Dec. 13, and the next stocking will be Feb. 6.

Access is excellent all around the lake, with main parking areas at each end and smaller pull-offs along the west side. Typically, stocked trout tend to remain in the area where they were stocked for a while, so these should be some of the better fishing areas.

Chapman Lake is part of Chapman State Park. More information is available from the Chapman State Park office, R.R. 2, Box 1610, Clarendon, PA 16313; call (814) 723-0250, or e-mail chapmansp@state.pa.us.

Tackle, bait and lodging are available nearby in Warren.