On March 16, the Fish and Boat Commission announced there will be a single, statewide opening day for trout season-- April 18-- instead of two regional opening days, in response to Coronavirus concerns.

These changes, effective immediately, also include accelerating trout stocking operations and eliminating volunteer participation; and adding more convenient ways to purchase fishing licenses online and display proof of a fishing license and boating documents on a digital device.

"Thank you to the anglers and boaters of Pennsylvania for their understanding as we all experience these changes together," said Tim Schaeffer, PFBC Executive Director. "While our calendars may start to look a little different, one thing we can count on is that there will be a trout season and there will still be plenty of fish out there to enjoy. Working under unprecedented circumstances, our staff is committed to providing the quality fishing experience that we all expect."

Trout Stocking

2020 trout stocking will be conducted on an accelerated schedule, and volunteers will not be permitted to assist with stocking activities.

"We realize that many of our stocking volunteers look forward to helping us, but we must take these necessary precautions to ensure public safety during this vital period," said Schaeffer. "Just as we've counted on our volunteers for decades to help us stock trout, we're counting on them now to play it safe and stay home. We appreciate their service throughout the years, and we hope that we can invite them back to join us again very soon."

To complete trout stocking operations without the assistance of the public, the PFBC will modify stocking methods for this year. Many PFBC staff are being reassigned from their normal work duties to assist with stocking fish into lakes and streams.

In some cases, pre-season and in-season allocations of trout will be combined into single stocking events to increase the efficiency of stocking trips.

Initially, stockings will be prioritized to deliver trout to regions of the Commonwealth that are predicted to be affected most severely by COVID-19 that could result in restrictions on travel.

Moving forward this season, trout stockings will be announced upon their completion, rather than in advance on the FishBoatPA mobile app and PFBC website.

The change in stocking procedures will not result in any reduction in the approximately 3.2 million trout scheduled to be stocked statewide in 2020, and stocking will occur seven days a week until further notice.

"This change in our stocking approach is necessary to fulfill a critical mission of our agency and our obligation to anglers," added Rick Kauffman, PFBC District 6 Commissioner. "We're trying to get as many fish in the water as possible as quickly as possible while we still have the best access to waterways and available staff. While our methods may be different this season, people will have the same opportunity to get outdoors and fish, which has proven benefits to our physical and mental health."

Mentored Youth Trout Day

There will also be a single Mentored Youth Trout Day on April 11. As a result of these changes, separate, earlier regional mentored youth and opening days will no longer occur in the 18 southeastern counties, including: Adams, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill and York.

Anglers in these areas should revise their plans as necessary to adjust to the statewide schedule.

Fishing Licenses

To reduce unnecessary travel and social contact amid health concerns, anglers and boaters will be able to display their fishing license, launch permit, or boat registration renewal digitally on a phone or other mobile device as proof of possession.

This change will allow customers who may be unable to, or feel uncomfortable visiting a store to purchase a fishing license, launch permit, or boat registration renewal to make the purchase using the FishBoatPA app or computer through The Outdoor Shop and not have to possess a printed copy of the document.

Upon purchase of a fishing license, a .pdf file containing an image of your license is provided via email.

Similarly, with each boating related transaction, customers will receive a digital receipt that serves a temporary permit or registration valid for immediate use.

Eventually, customers will receive validation decals and registration cards in the mail from the PFBC, which can take several weeks.

If approached by a Waterways Conservation Officer (WCO) in the field, the angler or boater would only have to produce the digital image of the license, permit or registration on their phone or mobile device.

A digital copy of the .pdf, photo, or screenshot of your fishing license, launch permit or boat registration on your phone or mobile device will all be accepted as proof of possession.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

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[Posted: March 16, 2020]

3/23/2020