Trout season opens; PFBC stocking 3.2 million trout across Pennsylvania
Apr. 6—The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) reminds anglers that the statewide opening day of trout season opened Saturday
, April 5,
with anglers across the state heading to lakes and streams.
Throughout the 2025 season, the PFBC will stock approximately 3.2 million adult trout in 691 streams and 130 lakes open to public angling.
These figures, which are consistent with the number of trout stocked over the past decade, include approximately 2.4 million Rainbow Trout; 693,000 Brown Trout; and 125,000 Brook Trout.
As with past practice, the average size of the trout produced for stocking is 11 inches in length with an average weight of .58 pounds.
The PFBC will also stock approximately 72,000 trophy-sized trout measuring 14-20 inches. Approximately 14,000 golden Rainbow Trout, weighing an average of 1.5 pounds, will also be stocked during preseason and in-season stockings.
PFBC partner cooperative nurseries sponsored by sportsmen's groups and other organizations will combine to raise an additional one million trout that will be stocked into public waterways throughout the trout season.
During the regular trout season (Opening Day through Labor Day), anglers may keep up to five trout (combined species) per day measuring at least seven inches long. During an extended season from Sept. 2, 2025, through Feb. 16, 2026, the daily limit is three trout.
Find stocked trout waters
To locate waters that have been stocked with trout, anglers can review the 2025 Trout Stocking Schedule on the PFBC website at Fishandboat.com. Trout fishing opportunities will continue to be abundant statewide with replenishment stockings occurring throughout the spring.
Get your licenses and permits
Permits and licenses are available using the HuntFishPA online portal and in-person at nearly 700 license issuing agents. All anglers, including youth, are required to have their own account within the licensing system, which can be created either online or at a retail license issuing location.
Upon creation of an account, anglers are issued a permanent, individual Customer Identification Number (CID#) that can be used for an improved, user-friendly experience during future transactions.
Fishing from a boat?
Anglers who plan to fish from a boat on Opening Day of Trout Season are reminded that the PFBC's cold weather life jacket requirement is in effect from November 1 through April 30. Under this rule, anyone aboard a boat 16 feet or less, including all canoes and kayaks, is required to wear a life jacket.
Children ages 12 and under are always required to wear a life jacket while boating in Pennsylvania.
A surge in reservations
As several federal campgrounds close due to staffing shortages, Pennsylvania's state parks and forests remain open and ready for visitors — and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is launching a new tourism campaign to encourage Pennsylvania residents and visitors to choose state parks and forests for their next outdoor adventure.
DCNR is seeing a nearly 30% increase in campsite reservations, compared to the same time last year, signaling strong demand for outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania.
To encourage more residents and visitors to explore the state's natural beauty, DCNR launched the "Still Open Still Awesome" campaign, reinforcing Pennsylvania's commitment to accessible and affordable outdoor experiences.
"From breathtaking hiking trails to peaceful lakeside campsites, Pennsylvania's parks are the perfect escape for those looking to unplug, unwind and reconnect with nature," said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. "With warmer temperatures on the way, now is the time to plan your next outdoor getaway."
Pennsylvania's 124 state parks and 2.2 million acres of state forests offer free, year-round recreation with no entrance fees. With more than 7,100 campsites — including tent sites, modern cabins, and yurts — there's an option for every level of camper. Many state parks also welcome pets, and locations like Promised Land State Park provide overnight accommodations for horseback riders.
Spotted lanternfly quarantine expanded
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding this week announced that Bradford, Sullivan, Venango and Wyoming counties have been added to the Pennsylvania counties quarantined due to confirmed populations of the invasive pest spotted lanternfly.
Redding encouraged Pennsylvanians to look for and destroy lanternfly eggs prior to the spring hatch to help slow the destructive pest's spread.
"As you clean up your yard or just enjoy beautiful Pennsylvania spring days, you can help keep lanternflies from becoming a summer nuisance and harming our valuable grape and nursery industries," Redding said. "Every spotted lanternfly egg mass you scrape and squash is 30-50 damage-causing insects that won't hatch in May."
The invasive spotted lanternfly was first discovered in the U.S. in Berks County in 2014. While aggressive, coordinated efforts among states and industry have slowed its spread, the insect, which spreads largely by hitching rides on and in cars and other vehicles, continues to threaten valuable food and ornamental crops.
In 2024, the department expanded the quarantine area by one county to 52 counties, although more than half of those counties have relatively small, isolated populations of lanternflies. The quarantine expansion comes after extensive surveys by Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in concert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in every Pennsylvania county, with a major emphasis on Erie County, where much of the state's $1.77 billion wine and grape industry is concentrated.
In his 2025-26 budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed continued funding to combat lanternflies and other invasive pests and pathogens and to support producers whose livelihoods they threaten.
The lanternfly quarantine prohibits moving lanternflies at any stage of life, as well as infested items like firewood, brush and other debris. Among other measures, it requires those who operate businesses or travel for business in and out of quarantined counties to get a permit.
More than 33,300 businesses across the U.S. and Canada have gotten permits for more than 1.42 million employees, demonstrating that they know how to recognize lanternflies and avoid transporting them.
Adult insects die off over the winter after laying tiny rows of eggs, covering them with a putty-colored protective coating. The egg masses, which can be on any outdoor surface, from trees and rocks to equipment and law furniture, each contain 30-50 eggs approximately the size of a pinhead and have survived winters in sustained sub-zero temperatures. Scraping and smashing them is easy and requires no special tools.
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