Trout fishing season kicks off with Mentored Youth Trout Day for kids on March 29

Saturday, March 29, marks Pennsylvania’s Mentored Youth Trout Day when youths under 16 can fish for trout with a licensed adult mentor. And they may do so with either a Voluntary License or Mentored Youth Permit that allows youths to catch and keep two trout ahead of the April 6 statewide trout opener that’s always jammed with anglers.  

The Voluntary Youth Fishing License costs $2.97 while the Mentored Youth Fishing Permit is free. Both can be obtained at licensing agency, at a tackle shop that sells licenses, or online at www.HuntFishPa.gov.

Local streams have been stocked with trout and last Friday,Leaser Lake was stocked. Hopefully, the giant muskies there won’t devour the tasty trout before Youth Day or the statewide opener. And if fishing there, the dock at the middle parking lot may be a good place to take youths as it’s over a bit deeper water. 

And if you are taking a Mentored Youth and plan on fishing the upper Jordan Creek or Leaser Lake and are looking for a convenient and local bait and tackle shop, Bob’s Taxidermy on Kernsville Road, has opened for the fishing season. Bob offers redworms, night crawlers, baby night crawlers, fathead minnows, shiners, PowerBait and basic tackle. Shop hours are Monday-Wednesday, 9-7, Thursday-Friday 9-5, and for weekends, call the shop at 610-398-7609.

As for the April 6 statewide trout opener, a total of 700 streams and 120 lakes will have been stocked with trout. Of the 3.2 million trout to be planted, 2.01 million were rainbow trout, 641,000 were brown trout and 535,000 were brookies. The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission says they also included about 8,000 trophy golden trout (aka Palomino trout) that weigh an average of 1.5 pounds and measure at least 14 inches long. Added to this, PFBC cooperative nurseries, like our own Lil Lehigh Trout Nursery, will stock another one million in local waters after the opener. 

Trout anglers should not overlook the Lehigh River that customarily gets stocked by Lehigh River Stocking Association a week or so after the statewide trout opener by the Lehigh River Stocking Association.The association often stocks spots between Northampton through Walnutport up to Jim Thorpe. Avid trout anglers should consider joining this group as they stock sizable trout and more member money means more trout to stock.

Handicapped anglers are reminded that there’s a handicap dock on Coplay Creek at the Whitehall Parkway section and by the maintenance barn off Chestnut Street, a short distance off MacArthur Road and across from the Sheetz service station. There’s also a special section on the upper Jordan Creek in the Trexler Zoo (formerly Trexler Game Preserve) that is set-aside for kids and handicap. 

As a reminder, for seniors who purchased a Senior Lifetime license after Jan. 1, 2015, you must also have a trout/salmon ($14.07) stamp to fish for trout. It wasn’t needed for those who bought theirs prior to that date. Regular adult licenses are $27.97 plus the trout/salmon stamp. 

If you missed the inseason stocking schedule we ran two weeks ago, go to the Pennsylvania Fish Commission’s website and click on the county or counties you wish to fish and the dates and streams are listed. 
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