Pennsylvania anglers ready for start of trout fishing season

Anglers are making last minute preparations ahead of Saturday's start of trout fishing season in Pennsylvania. 

At Harmar Bait and Tackle, there was a steady stream of customers either buying bait or getting trout fishing licenses. 

"The weather's breaking," owner Nathan Ecker said. "Finally, things are turning green. It's time to wet a line. It's time to catch some fish. We've been packing bait, counting worms, weighing minnows all day long."

Normally, he'd be one of the thousands fishing on Saturday. With the opening of the shop this January, he has to skip out on the fun this year.

"It's gonna be a curveball for me," Ecker said. 

At nearby Deer Creek, anglers had set up tents, camping out in anticipation of Saturday. 

"It means a lot just because I've been doing it ever since I was a little kid," said one of the customers at Harmar Bait and Tackle who said they plan to go fishing Saturday at Deer Creek.

Pennsylvania waterways are stocked with trout by the state Fish and Boat Commission. In southwestern Pennsylvania, streams and creeks don't have the right elements for natural trout reproduction, said Tim Schaeffer, the commission's executive director.

"But those streams throughout southwestern Pennsylvania make for a great stock trout fishery," Schaeffer said. "So while you're not going to have trout reproduce naturally, we can raise them and put them out there for the anglers to enjoy. It creates a recreational fishery where one wouldn't exist."

In total, they stock 3.2 million trout.

For fisherman, he said Saturday is like Christmas morning and the Daytona 500 all rolled into one. 

"I have twin boys who are about to graduate from college, and I can remember opening days with them when they were small," Schaeffer said. "They're really cherished family memories. And so get out and build some tomorrow."

It's the same idea that led Ecker to open a bait and tackle shop in his community, five years after the last one closed. 

"It brings people together," Ecker said. "Fishing is one of the, you know, for me, one of the most fundamental things that I've ever done."

He knows the shop allows his neighbors to have an easier opportunity to share in that fun, adding they are community oriented. They serve different types of fishing and have a wide selection of bait, he said. 

They have expanded hours for the start of the season, staying open until 11 p.m. on Friday and opening on Saturday at 5 a.m.

Schaeffer said he's noticed a pattern over the past few years where more trout are being caught and released. 

He added for those who can't make it to a shop to get a license, you can get it online and keep it on your phone. 

Anglers can begin fishing Saturday at 8 a.m. The season runs through Labor Day.