Special regulations on an 8.75-mile section from the outflow of Kinzua Dam to the mouth of Conewango Creek in Warren allow trout fishing year ‘round.

From Labor Day though the opening of the regular trout season, the fishing is strictly catch-and-release. From 8 a.m. on the opening day of the regular trout season through Labor Day, the minimum size for trout is 14 inches and the daily creel limit is two trout (combined species).

Browns and rainbows weighing more than 6 pounds are caught here on a fairly regular basis.

“Another water that’s coming on is the Schuylkill River,” Greene said.

This fishery has been developed with brown, rainbow and brook trout fingerlings. The trout fishery is primarily upstream from Schuylkill Haven. Brook trout are stocked in the upper reaches.

The river gets a good supply of cool water from mine drainage which, in the past, had been too polluted for trout.

Tulpehocken Creek, a tributary of the Schuylkill River in Berks County downstream from the primary trout fishery, has a good fishery thanks to cool discharges from Blue Marsh Lake. The temperature is not perfect, but at about 71 degrees, it’s adequate to sustain a good trout fishery.

Among the newest regulations affecting trout anglers is a change voted on during the fall 2007 Fish and Boat Commission meeting. Before, anglers floating from one Special Regulations Area through another section with more conservative special regulations had become subject to fines.

This problem was addressed by a new rule allowing an angler in a boat to possess bait and fish caught in compliance with the seasons, sizes and creel limits in effect for the waters from which the fish was taken, provided that the boat angler floats through the Special Regulations Area without stopping or engaging in the act of fishing or takes out his boat at an access point within the specially regulated area.

Anglers are reminded that this rule was moved on initially and must be voted on again to confirm.

A fourth tagged, stocked trout was located on Day 16 in the West Branch Susquehanna River, 123.1 miles from the stocking point!

“I don’t expect opponents to this,” said Dan Tredinnick, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s press secretary.

Other trout-related rules moved on at that meeting were the additions of several stream sections to the list of Class A Waters. These include two sections of Wapwallopen Creek and one section of Big Wapwallopen Creek, both of which are inhabited by wild brook trout and wild brown trout; a section of Billiet Run, which holds wild brown trout; and Bow Creek, which holds wild brown trout.

All of these stream sections are in Luzerne County.

An emerging statewide issue is the privatization of streams. The battle for fishing rights at the Little Juniata River has been widely publicized. But this debate will not end at the Little Juniata. Anglers are encouraged to attend all meetings relevant to privatization if they want to continue to enjoy access to the better fishing streams in their area.

For more information about trout-fishing opportunities in the Keystone State, contact the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, 1601 Elmerton Avenue, P.O. Box 67000, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000. Or you can phone (717) 705-7800; or log onto www.fish.state.pa.us.

Check that Web site for the latest trout-stocking schedule.

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