Why doesn't PA Fish Commission stock marginal streams in the late fall?

[wildtrout2]

How would that have worked with March Easters?

Not well. My long term memory must be failing me. I believe that's only happened 3 times since 1978, so that's my excuse.😉

 

[dudemanspecial]

Not well. My long term memory must be failing me. I believe that's only happened 3 times since 1978, so that's my excuse.😉

I didn't realize they were that infrequent so ill buy your excuse!

 

[Bamboozle]

Back in the day, I think I remembered it always being the Saturday before Easter Sunday, no?

I remember it being that date on occasion because Easter is all over the map but not on a regular basis. The date I remember the most was the 2nd Saturday in April, every year for a LONG time.

 

[Bamboozle]

I disliked this. If you lived in a border county like I did, pressure was out of control in Juniata County, which opened a week earlier, and then pressure was also amped up in Mifflin County, which opened the following week or two after. I think that helped concentrate people. Not good.

It worked for me because I used to do an early spring trip to the Poconos every year to coincide with the Regional Opening Day in the southern counties.

All of the locals headed south to fish the Approved Trout Waters while we headed north and fished Class A's & Wilderness Streams and had them all to ourselves.

The only problem was in the years when the Regional Opening Day was in March as it was cold as a witch's +!+ in the Poconos.

 

[wildtrout2]

The date I remember the most was the 2nd Saturday in April, every year for a LONG time.

More specifically, that's what I recall as well.

 

[Bamboozle]

I just ran across this "Mike" post from December 2023 about the fall stocking program which I saved like the other stuff he has explained over the years.

While the OP was talking about a Dec 1 stocking date versus the typical Fall Stocking commencement, it still is good stuff as usual and has implications as to the "whys:"

The original fall stocking program was only for lakes…lakes with good angler use. Years later, streams were initially added in two counties where there weren’t any lakes near-by and where angler use was expected to be high. Those counties were Philly and Delaware, both with high population densities that were expected to produce good fall angler use.​

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Based on measured high angler use at the time on the Wissahickon the program (stream) was expanded to other regions. Unfortunately, years later it was learned that angler use was low on a number of these streams and measurements of use confirmed that. Low use streams were removed from the fall program with fish allocated to the fall program generally being returned to the spring program in the streams.​

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A key point is that the fall stocking program for a given stream acquires its fish from the spring stocking program for that stream. Many streams don’t receive enough fish in spring to be suitable for allocating fish to a fall program and generally speaking, spring use is usually higher than fall use, so AFM’s need to use good judgement in selecting streams for the fall program…ones that 1) can afford to lose some fish without substantially depleting the spring program and 2) those that are expected to receive good fall use and typically have adequate fall flows despite the fall period often being a time of low flow. Low use isn’t good because the fall program carries extra expense. Holding fish from spring until fall is not a one to one proposition, as there is mortality over the summer.​

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As for lakes, an advantage is that even if fall use is only low or moderate, the fish apparently survive fairly well based on spring creel surveys that have detected marked fall stocked fish. Likewise, early spring electrofishing surveys for warmwater/coolwater species have at times detected good numbers of fall or late fall stocked fish. Such survival provides the opportunity for not only fall anglers to catch these fish, but also ice anglers and some early spring anglers as well. Survival in streams is generally not very good based on other past studies in northcentral PA. - Mike Kaufmann​

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[JMP]

I remember when opening day was the first Saturday after April 11. Easter occurs on the weekend after the first full moon following the first day of spring. That is why it can occur in March, but most likely in April. In 2025, the first full moon after the equinox is 4/12/25 and Easter is 4/20/25.

 

[JimKennedy]

Maryland has mostly marginal creeks (though many have a few wild browns) and stocks in the autumn, typically in October.

It’s typically a few fish per spot (250 ish) and they’re mainly surplus from spring stockings, so a little bigger than average.

It’s nice if you just want to get out and catch and easy trout. Our creeks may be marginal as trout habitat, but they are still in beautiful places, for the most part.

All in all, I can live without the fall stockings. Nine times out of ten I’m going to get after wild trout. We’ve got some great creeks in Maryland, and keystone streams are close by.

If it were up to me, I’d grow those fall stockers for another few months and give the guys at the meat hole something to talk about come springtime.