It’s hard to believe, but some of my ice-fishing buddies were still walking on a frozen lake the first week of March, and now some of us are thinking about donning a pair of chest waders and heading to a nearby stream for some trout fishing. Those streams are already being stocked with some pretty good numbers of trout.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will stock 3.2 million trout in 691 streams and 130 lakes this season. Of that total, 2.4 million will be rainbows, 639,000 will be browns, and 125,000 will be brookies, all with an average length of about 11 inches. In addition, 72,000 of those trout will be in the 14-20-inch range.

The statewide opening of trout season is April 5 at 8 a.m., typically the first Saturday in April, and the season runs through to September 1.

Be aware, however, that the 2025 Mentored Youth Trout Day is March 29 statewide from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Youth anglers must obtain a current year Mentored Youth Permit or a Voluntary Youth Fishing License, and they must be accompanied by a licensed adult — only one licensed angler per actively fishing mentored youth. On a few occasions, I’ve seen the mentor take advantage of the situation and wander off to fish on their own; remember, the mentor should be within arm’s reach or 6 feet from the actively fishing mentored youth.

Now that we’ve taken a close look at opening day and times be aware that there are a number of exceptions to those times and dates. Mentored Youth Trout Day isn’t the only exception; there’s more, but I don’t have room to list them all and the special regulations that go with each of them.

Eight areas are listed as “Special Regulation Areas,” and each has its own set of regulations, so I would advise that you check your 2025 Pennsylvania Fishing Summary; you should have gotten one when you bought your fishing license.

There are two of those special regulation areas that I take advantage of each year: Catch and Release Artificial Lures Only and Catch and Release Fly-Fishing Only. Note that in both cases, no trout may be killed or had in possession. That’s not a problem for me since I rarely have an interest in keeping a trout — I put them back so I can catch them again.

These and the other special regulation areas are open to fishing year-round, and fishing is permitted on a 24-hour basis. The Catch and Release Artificial Lures Only, of course, means that no bait of any kind is permitted, artificial lures only. Spinners and lures made of metal, plastic, wood, and rubber, and flies and streamers made of natural or synthetic materials.

The Catch and Release Fly-Fishing Only obviously means that fishing must be done with fly-fishing equipment and artificial flies.

Of course, one of the key regulations in the two areas mentioned in the previously is that all fish must be released. Something that’s important here is that they should be released with as little harm to the fish as possible. Fortunately, fish taken on artificial lures and flies seldom get hooked deep; it’s almost always a mouth hook that can easily be removed. It’s probably a good idea to have a pair of hook removers handy to speed up the process. Also, have a wet hand when handling your catch so there is minimal damage to the fish. If possible, I try to keep the trout in the water during the release.

Well, it’s time to get the waders out and start checking out some of those special regulation areas — see you on the stream.