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I’ve heard a lot of complaints from anglers during the first weekend of trout season who came up empty.

On the first day, anglers were leaving Lily Lake and Moon Lake, for example, after not even getting a bite. At Harveys Creek I saw several anglers with a trout or two, but many more waiting to reel one in.

Lake Took-a-While? Slow on opening day.

Fishing Creek in Benton? Same thing, according to anglers I spoke to.

It’s concerning that such trout fishing hotspots in the area were anything but on opening day. I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the first day of trout season, and I can never remember a year when things were so slow, especially at the lakes where the stocked fish are there to stay.

But it’s not the end of the world and anglers shouldn’t throw in the towel and abandon the sport. There are reasons why the trout weren’t biting, or in some cases didn’t even seem to be there on opening day.

Here’s my take:

– A new regulation that changed some stocked waterways to open to year round fishing (as opposed to remaining closed from March 1 to opening day) allowed people to catch-and-release trout right after they were stocked, and every day thereafter to the season opener. The intent of the change was to allow anglers to fish for panfish when the bite is on in the early spring. I’m sure some took advantage of the opportunity, but many simply fished for trout. And even though they may have released them, it still put a lot of pressure on the fishery in those waters. Basically, by the time opening day rolled around, many of those stocked trout had already been caught once. Stocked trout waters that were open to year round fishing in Luzerne County included Frances Slocum Lake, Lake Irena, Lake Took-a-While, Lehigh River, Lily Lake and Moon Lake.

– The Mentored Youth Trout Day was held statewide on April 9. Kids under the age of 16 got first crack at stocked trout and they could keep two. They also had to be accompanied by a mentor – an adult angler. The program is a great idea and there’s no better way to get kids interested in fishing than to give them their own opening day. But here’s the problem – the adult mentors can fish as well. They can no longer keep any trout, but in some cases adults do most of the fishing when the intent should be about teaching a young angler. By allowing the adults to fish along with the kids on the mentored days adds up to even more trout caught, and released, before opening day.

Combine those two components and that equals quite a bit of pressure on stocked trout in several waterways before opening day even begins. Those trout at places like Moon Lake and Lily Lake had already seen quite a few lines in the water and perhaps weren’t as eager to bite, or even make their presence known on opening day.

The complaints about a lack of trout that I heard from anglers on the opening day reminded me of those I hear from hunters who don’t see any deer during the rifle season.

I’m not saying those disgruntled hunters and anglers are wrong, but there’s a big difference between the two groups. While it may take time for deer numbers to rebound in an area, trout numbers are replenished with in-season stockings and a new crop of several million fish the following year from Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission hatcheries.

The agency has some flexibility when it comes to trout numbers.

If there’s an issue that’s causing anglers to not even feel a tug on their lines during opening day, a regulation change perhaps, the PFBC can fix it and stock more trout to see how it works.

When it comes to trout, one bad opening day doesn’t mean the tradition is done.

But it does mean there’s room for improvement. In this case, a bit less pressure on the fish prior to opening day would be a good place to start.

Venesky
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By Tom Venesky

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Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky