Anglers looking ahead to spring fishing opportunities statewide have an incredible resource available beginning today, as the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission makes its 2025 adult trout stocking schedule available online at FishandBoat.com.
“Anticipation is already beginning to build for the many spring fishing opportunities just around the corner here in Pennsylvania, and every angler can benefit from knowing when their favorite stream or lake will be stocked with trout, starting in just a few weeks,” said Brian Niewinski, director of the PFBC’s Bureau of Hatcheries. “Whether you’re looking to volunteer to help stock trout, or you just want to plan ahead for statewide Mentored Youth Trout Day, Opening Day or some early trout fishing along a special regulation water, reviewing the stocking schedule in advance will help set you up for a successful trip.”
The trout stocking schedule is searchable by county, lists the waterways in alphabetical order, and indicates stocking dates, meeting locations for volunteers, and the species of trout that are planned to be stocked at each location. In 2025, Pennsylvania’s statewide Opening Day of Trout Season will be Saturday, April 5. A single, statewide Mentored Youth Trout Day will take place on Saturday, March 29.
To prepare for the start of the season, stocking operations are set to begin during the week of Feb. 17. Anglers should note that fishing is not permitted on lakes and streams designated as Stocked Trout Waters from Feb. 17 to 8 a.m. on the opening day of trout season (April 5), with the exception of the Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day (March 29), unless waters are included in the Stocked Trout Waters Open to Year-Round Fishing program.
3.2 million trout
In 2025, the PFBC will stock approximately 3.2 million adult trout in 691 streams and 130 lakes open to public angling. These figures, which are consistent with the number of trout stocked over the past decade, include approximately 2.4 million rainbow trout; 693,000 brown trout; and 125,000 brook trout. As with past practice, the average size of the trout produced for stocking is 11 inches in length with an average weight of .58 pounds.
Once again, this year, anglers will have an excellent chance to catch large, trophy-sized trout. During 2025, the PFBC will stock approximately 72,000 trophy-sized brood fish, which are 2 ½ year-old and 3 ½ year-old hatchery-raised rainbow trout, brown trout and brook trout measuring 14-20 inches. Roughly 70 percent of these large fish will be stocked into streams and lakes during the preseason prior to opening day of trout season, and 30 percent will be stocked during in-season replenishment stockings.
In 2025, the PFBC will stock approximately 14,000 golden rainbow trout. In addition to being stocked during the preseason period before opening day, these highly prized fish featuring vibrant golden-orange pigmentation and weighing an average of 1.5 pounds will be stocked during in-season replenishment stockings. Approximately 75 percent of golden rainbow trout will be stocked during the preseason, and approximately 25 percent will be stocked in-season.
In addition to trout raised at state fish hatcheries, PFBC cooperative nurseries operated by sportsmen’s clubs and other groups across the state will add another 1.2 million trout to waters open to public angling throughout the year.
Anglers looking for stocked trout fishing opportunities ahead of the opening day should explore Keystone Select Stocked Trout Waters, a program where sections of 24 streams across the state are stocked with large trout measuring 14-20 inches and managed under Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only or Miscellaneous Special regulations. Under the program, approximately 10,000 large trout will be distributed among the streams. The trout will be stocked at a rate of 175 to 225 per mile of stream, which is comparable to the numbers of similarly sized fish in Pennsylvania’s best wild trout waters.
Volunteers
The PFBC will be welcoming volunteers to help distribute approximately 3.2 million hatchery-raised adult trout to hundreds of waterways statewide throughout the 2025 season. The PFBC is proud to partner with conservation groups, schools and walk-up volunteers to help spread out the trout in local waterways. Volunteers are asked to keep the safety of PFBC staff and other volunteers in mind and obey traffic laws while following stocking vehicles. Individuals or small groups of volunteers (1-4 people) do not need to register to help stock trout, but larger groups should coordinate stocking plans in advance by contacting their regional PFBC law enforcement office to ensure they can be accommodated.
Licenses and permits
To participate in trout fishing and keep trout, anglers ages 16 and older are required to possess both a fishing license and a trout permit. Anglers and boaters can start preparing for opening day of trout season right now by purchasing their 2025 Pennsylvania fishing licenses, launch permits and boat registration renewals using the HuntFishPA online portal or by visiting one of approximately 700 retail license issuing agents. By purchasing licenses and permits online, customers can save time and avoid long lines in stores when waiting to purchase a license closer to the start of trout season. Anglers may store an image of their license digitally on their phones as proof of possession.
The PFBC thanks anglers for supporting aquatic resource conservation and recreation programs through the purchase of their fishing licenses. The PFBC is a user-funded agency that receives no Pennsylvania general fund tax revenue. Funding generated through the sale of fishing licenses supports hatchery operations, fisheries management, law enforcement and infrastructure improvements to provide high-quality and convenient public access to fishing and boating opportunities.
2025 adult trout stocking program changes
Each year, the PFBC adjusts its adult trout stocking program based on several factors. A waterway may be added, extended, reinstated or removed depending on existing or pending changes to angler access, changes to designations on streams managed for wild trout populations, water quality issues that may threaten the survival of stocked trout and maintenance being performed to dams and other infrastructure that result in the drawdown of impoundments or decreased water flow.
