PA Opening Day

[mcwillja]

I am a long time PA resident and have been living in NY now for about 15 years and for the life of me i can't understand why the opening day of trout season is April 1st ( I agree 100%) and PA has a later opening day. PA opening day should be no later than April 1st. In warmer springs there are hatches already going on now in PA. Can someone please tell me why PA has a later opening than NY?

 

[salmonoid]

The majority of opening day chasers don't even know what a hatch is.. But even if they did, warmer/colder springs probably average out to the date that opening day is. From my purely anecdotal experience, it seems like a pretty standard bell curve of really cold weather (snow, even), really warm weather (75 degrees and sunny) and a good chunk in between.

Regional opening day is this Saturday (southeastern part of the state), so before April 1. Normal opening day is always the first Saturday after April 11, because, that's what they've done for the past few whiles

 

[Swattie87]

I think the respective regional dates are reasonable averages of when the weather turns and is consistently halfway decent, most days, most years. Late March/early April in PA can run the gamut though.

We usually go to camp (Potter Co.) the first week in April for a Spring work trip, and to help with the local stockings of the creeks near the cabin. My Dad and I have stayed a couple extra days the last few years to try to fish the special regs areas, but the weather's been garbage. VERY cold, below freezing, and snowy more often than not. VERY high flows too. We've ended up not fishing much, and when we did, the conditions were rough. We bailed on that this year and are just going up for a couple days to do a little work and help stock. Figured it makes more sense to save the couple extra vacation days for better weather/conditions.

In the northern tier counties, you can make a good case I think that it's not consistently above freezing until the second half of April many years. (I saw low's in the upper teens across the northern tier of PA when looking at weather reports this morning.) In the SC and SE portions of PA, it's probably closer to April 1. Overall, what's in place makes sense I think.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

It is designed to catch people trout fishing out of season, thus a little more revenue for the state.

 

[Brianh]

Don't know if it's true but my father always said NY, NJ & PA have their opening days separately so fisherman can fish opening day in all 3 states. I actually fished all 3 openers quite a bit growing up.

 

[Millsertime]

mcwillja wrote:
In warmer springs there are hatches already going on now in PA.

So true...I've been catching wild browns on small BWO's regularly this past week. When spring arrives early, there are great hatches prior to the season opener. Early spring wild trout are typically easier to catch as well. There are some stocked streams that will likely have great hatches the next 5+ days due to warming weather. Wish I could fish them as well. Some years I don't even get to fish blue duns or hendricksons on stocked streams because it's too late.

 

[Fredrick]

mcwillja wrote:
I am a long time PA resident and have been living in NY now for about 15 years and for the life of me i can't understand why the opening day of trout season is April 1st ( I agree 100%) and PA has a later opening day. PA opening day should be no later than April 1st. In warmer springs there are hatches already going on now in PA. Can someone please tell me why PA has a later opening than NY?

For a serious angler there is no opening day there always a place that you can fish year round

 

[Mike]

I disagree with that assessment. There are many serious anglers who fish year around for multiple species and still appreciate opening day. The day's popularity with anglers has been demonstrated in every angler survey in which anglers across Pa have been randomly selected to participate.

 

[foxfire]

Completely agree Mike. I host an opening day event for my childhood buddies who are not AVID fly fishers. Takes us back to our childhood when opening day was literally a holiday akin to Christmas and of 4th July!! Without that demarcation, we probably would rarely see each other due to jobs, lifestyles, etc.

 

[RLeep2]

I agree with Foxfire. Although we seldom trout fish together otherwise, my brother and I always open the season on a brushy little NWPA stocked stream, not nearly so much because of the quality of the fishing experience but rather because it is the place where our Dad taught us how to fish for trout 50-plus years ago. Homage to the finest man either of us ever knew. Compared to this, hatches and their timing aren't very important.

Change for change's sake is not always good just because it is change. There are some things that need to remain just as they are because to change them would be an insult to something that is higher and more elemental.

 

[afishinado]

Fredrick wrote:

For a serious angler there is no opening day there always a place that you can fish year round

Here's a copy of a post I made last year right about at this time >

I fish through the winter when the weather permits, but the opening day of trout is the official beginning of a fishing new season for me and is a great tradition. I Haven't missed one since my Dad took me out on my first trout fishing trip when I was 7 years old, and I always think of him on every opening day.

I remember going to buy my first set of rubber hip boots and new Eagle Claw fishing rod the night before my first season in a tiny sporting goods store (Zambors on Main St. in Pittston). The store was standing room only, crowded with guys buying bait and tackle for the big day. I recall catching one skinny little trout the next day from Ransom Creek (actually called Gardner Creek by most) and was very proud to bring it home for my Mom to see.

Now I can certainly take a trip to a wild trout stream like I do all winter, but choose to fish a stocked stream on opening day instead, like I fished when I was a kid. So I'll drive 20 minutes or so up the road to French Creek in the early afternoon sometime, when the crowds thin.

I fish in spots where no one else fishes because the "stream is fished out" and/or "that water don't hold any fish." Most opening days I C&R a 15 or 20 fish before heading home.

Like Mike said in the OP, conditions should be near perfect for anglers this year. Can't wait!

Good luck to all.

 

[mattwolf]

The only people that need an opening date for fishing season are the ones fishing for stocked fish or fishing stocked streams. The April opening dates give more time to stock fish. If they had to stock fish in central/norther PA in Feb/early March the stock trucks couldn't get to a lot of the places. Also, NY stocks most of their fish after opening day, thus why NY doesn't have a lot of fisher people on April 1 going out. I lived in central/upstate, NY for 10 years and always went out April 1 for something to do, but not with high expectations to catch fish.

 

[silverfox]

I posted in the other thread something along these lines, but I think it got buried in the heated discussion.

Basically, I wish there was no closed season and no posted stocking dates. This is close to what Maryland does. They do post stocking dates, and they do have minimal closures on certain sections of stream (2 weeks on some and 1 week on others), but you can (if you wanted to) fish right out of the buckets basically. For example, they stocked the Savage on the 13th, but it's part of "closure 2" (Closure 2—Sunday March 24, 2019 to Saturday March 30, 2019.) So you could fish right after they stocked. I'm not quite sure I understand why they close it for a week but don't stock that week.

Some are 0 closure though. For example, the NB was stocked on the 12th but there is no closed season there for put-n-take. They also stocked it on 2/14/19, so you could have viewed that day as the season opener to stock the freezer w/ pelletheads.

I think this approach diffuses interest. Its not a mad dash to the stream at daybreak on April 1st (or whenever). There are opportunities throughout the year to fish freshly stocked fish (if that's your thing). It also creates several "opening day" type opportunities throughout the year.

I should qualify that I haven't fished a season opener in about 20 years (maybe more). I mostly fish wild fish/brookies, so none of this really applies to me. I just think it would reduce or spread out the pressure.

It's weird how PA has always been this huge event in April where the streams get overrun with all kinds of colorful folks and then 2 weeks later there's nothing. It's like people have been trained to think of fishing here as 1 week in april when the trout all show up and you have to go get em before the next guy does.

 

[CRB]

The only day it is no fishing in Erie County is the Friday before the opening day great tradition of stocking the tribs Friday before.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Georgia has no closed season in Trout waters. There are a few Special Regulation Streams the rest are open year round. They post Stocking Dates and Stream Names on the internet. I'd guess they figured out that it's easier to manage than the old way. It makes sense to me. GG

 

[tomgamber]

mattwolf wrote:
The only people that need an opening date for fishing season are the ones fishing for stocked fish or fishing stocked streams. The April opening dates give more time to stock fish. If they had to stock fish in central/norther PA in Feb/early March the stock trucks couldn't get to a lot of the places. Also, NY stocks most of their fish after opening day, thus why NY doesn't have a lot of fisher people on April 1 going out. I lived in central/upstate, NY for 10 years and always went out April 1 for something to do, but not with high expectations to catch fish.

False.

I need opening day for another excuse to go to camp. Sometimes we drink. sometimes we fish. sometimes we fix stuff. Without opening day, much of that doesn't happen.

and who give a crap about NY :lol:

Let me know when you guys are ready to climb down off your high horses. I'll buy you a beer. int:

 

[steve98]

If you fly-fish why do u even care when opening day is!!!!
In PA if u fly-fish everyday is opening day.!!!

Steve98

 

[jifigz]

I think that opening day is a neat tradition when it comes to trout fishing. When else can you see so many young people/kids having so much fun. Sure, there are inconsiderate people in the crowd but the majority have fun and are respectful, I'd say. I usually don't fish opening day and if I do I tend to fish a Class A water or go bass fishing, but I often drive around and check out the circus. I enjoy posting up in a popular spot and observing.

 

[Dave_W]

jifigz wrote:
I think that opening day is a neat tradition when it comes to trout fishing. When else can you see so many young people/kids having so much fun. Sure, there are inconsiderate people in the crowd but the majority have fun and are respectful, I'd say. I usually don't fish opening day and if I do I tend to fish a Class A water or go bass fishing, but I often drive around and check out the circus. I enjoy posting up in a popular spot and observing.

Me too.
I enjoy the tradition and usually spend some time out on the "open" water and keep some stocked trout. Opening day has its charm and I can check out some local creeks where I've been fishing since a kid.

 

[kobalt335]

jifigz wrote:
I think that opening day is a neat tradition when it comes to trout fishing. When else can you see so many young people/kids having so much fun. Sure, there are inconsiderate people in the crowd but the majority have fun and are respectful, I'd say. I usually don't fish opening day and if I do I tend to fish a Class A water or go bass fishing, but I often drive around and check out the circus. I enjoy posting up in a popular spot and observing.

Same here. My family and I normally go to a state park to camp for opening day weekend. It's nice to just relax and people watch for the weekend. I will pick up a rod and go for a few hours, but many times it's just a walk. It's really one of the few times a bunch of us get together to camp and hangout.