Pennsylvania holds a very special place in American Trout fly fishing culture. Terrestrials were developed on the limestone spring creeks in the state’s central region, and though the Adirondacks claim to be the birthplace of American fly fishing, this author thinks that PA may have perfected it.
Although the brook trout holds the honor of being listed at the Official State Fish, if you ask most trout anglers, they’ll tell you the Keystone State’s wild brown trout truly take the cake. PA boasts the second most cold, flowing water in the nation behind Alaska, and now a group of anglers is petitioning the state Fish and Boat Commission to study more waters and add protections for the largest of the wild trout, the migratory river Brown.
From the petition’s author Russ Collins:
“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? Read on!
The purpose of this petition is 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
Learn more about the petition’s goals, here!
Sign the Petition, here!
