Reviews are mixed on the new southeastern regional opening day of trout season, which, in a break with tradition, occurred March 30.

Mild, dry weather drew fishermen to lakes and streams in Lancaster, Lebanon and 15 other counties, but not all gave high marks to the catch rates.

If opening day was anything, it was inconsistent, said Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission spokesman Dan Tredinnick.

"It was all over the board. In some places, the fishing was great. In other places, people couldn't buy a bite and pointed to reduced stockings. Pressure varied from more to less, not just from one water to another, but from county to county."

Anglers statewide have fewer trout to target this year, since the Fish Commission has cut its stock by 800,000 fish. The plan was to grow trout 30 percent larger, with 11 inches and a little over a half pound the projected average, and Tredinnick believes the agency generally hit those marks.

"As far as the bigger trout part of it, people commented favorably, at least those who caught fish," he said. "Not everyone caught an 11-inch fish. That was the average we were shooting for, although there were a few 9 inchers in there, too."

Besides accommodating warm stream conditions in the state's southern tier, the Fish Commission hoped that a regional opening day would increase angler participation. Tredinnick said March 30 creel surveys on select streams indicated that 10 to 15 percent of the anglers had traveled from other parts of the state.

"From how far or where, we don't know," he said, "but we did see some crossover."

He hopes the same will occur Saturday, when Pennsylvania's other 46 counties kick off the season.

Anglers may be casting in extra clothes, given the weekend's forecast.

"Chances are we'll see rain, although it might not be enough to blow out streams," said Accu-Weather meteorologist Dave Samuhel. "We'll be in a transitional pattern. Temperatures will probably be colder than normal, which is 60 degrees for this time of year, but we could be lucky enough to get a warm day over the four-day weekend."

Lakes, typically, are a big early-season draw, because they fish well regardless of weather. The state stocks most of its 128 trout lakes and 745 streams, some with multiple sections, for opening day, and all get stocked in-season. Larger streams attract big numbers of anglers because they provide elbow room, said Fish Commission southwest regional law enforcement chief Emil Svetahor.

"You have Laurel Hill, Buffalo Creek, Chartiers, Chest Creek and Little Mahoning, which are less crowded than your small mountain streams, although the small streams tend to come down faster if they get a lot of rain," he said.

"Headwater streams would be the most fishable following any storm," said Tom Finkbiner of Slate Run Tackle Shop in Lycoming County, where Pine and Little Pine creeks, Slate and Cedar runs and other rustic waters, attract a loyal opening day following. "If you have a rain event, it can take about three days for runoff to drop, but you can almost always find some fishing in the headwaters."

Nymphs and streamers are classic early season flies, and flow would determine how much weight to use. If the water is muddy, fish black and other dark colors; in clear conditions, fish yellow or white, Finkbiner said.

"One of the best presentations in the early season," he said, "is a weighted nymph on the bottom, with an emerger, like a Quill Gordon, above it."

Although water temperatures around Philadelphia were 50-plus degrees last weekend, streams in central Pennsylvania and other areas may be considerably colder.

"If you're fly fishing, you'll find more activity in the early afternoon, what we call the heat of the day," Finkbiner said. "In colder water, you want to present your fly more slowly."

Anglers who prefer artificials typically rely on spinners, such as Rooster Tails, Mepps and Panther Martens, in normal conditions.

"If water is high and unruly, go to a heavier spoon, like an Al's Goldfish," Finkbiner said. "If you're fishing bait, put a big old crawler or a minnow on a hook and drift it through an eddy."

By opening day, the Fish and Boat Commission will have stocked about half of the 3.2 million trout it expected to raise this year, although it has stopped its practice of revealing specific numbers for individual streams. The majority will be rainbows and the smallest percentage, brookies. Efforts are being made to stock as close to opening day as possible since trout movement has been a problem on a small number of trout waters, according to southwest regional fisheries manager, biologist Rick Lorson, who has surveyed four undisclosed streams in recent days to gauge post-stocking return rates.

"We know fish move. That's especially true of rainbows, which tend to move downstream in high cold conditions," he said. "But movement is a particular issue in a small percentage of streams where we find 90 percent of fish leave, die or otherwise disappear. We don't know whether it's water quality or some other problem, but we're hoping to solve the mystery. We're already looking ahead to next year."

As for what happens opening weekend, both Lorson and Svetahor think anglers will be pleased with the quality of fish.

"If I had stocked the trout we're stocking now back in the 1980s, I'd have been a hero," Svetahor said.

For a detailed schedule of pre- and in-season stockings and other opening day news, visit www.fish.state.pa.us.