The number of stocked trout in Pennsylvania waters will stay the same over the next five years, but anglers will see a redistribution of the resource and perhaps some regulatory changes.

At the recent fall meeting of the state Fish and Boat Commission, board members adopted and approved implementation of the "Strategic Plan for Management of Trout Fisheries in Pennsylvania 2010-2014," a re-evaluation two years in the making that will dictate how the agency classifies trout waters, protects high-value streams, insures access for recreational anglers and distributes stocked trout.

The plan is posted on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Web site at www.fish.state.pa.us.

"The goal of the program is specifically based on what to do with wild trout, stocked trout, lakes and Erie," said Dave Miko, chief of the agency's Division of Fisheries Management.

Under the plan, the agency will evaluate approximately 45,000 unassessed waters, categorize their viability as trout streams and protect high-value waters from excess development.

Waters with native trout populations determined to be substantial and healthy will not be stocked. Those with marginal native populations will be stocked, and stocking numbers and locations will be adjusted to compensate for fish migration.

Miko said as part of the program, special-regulation fishing areas, now established strictly for recreational purposes, could be set up in ways and locations that would aid in management goals.

"We manage just over 15,000 miles of water in Pennsylvania; about 10,400 of those miles are managed solely for wild trout," said Miko.

"Another 4,200 miles have some levels of wild trout in them, but we also stock catchable trout or fingerlings [there] because the number of wild trout is not sufficient to create a fishery for trout anglers. We're going to look at Class Bs and see if they could become Class As."

Miko said statewide "about 10" Class B streams could be reclassified as Class A, meaning the stocking of legal-size trout would be curtailed in those waters.

Fishing for native trout would be permitted on those streams, and stricter U.S. Department of Environmental Protection regulations would restrict but not ban nearby development.

On streams where post-stocking migration levels are high, stocking dates could be shifted to near opening day or in-season, or stocking trucks could be redirected to lakes and ponds where there is no migration.

Miko stressed that a scenario feared by some anglers -- the commission stops stocking a stream such as Loyalhanna Creek because of some native reproduction in headwaters and tributaries -- could not happen as a part of this program.

"We're not looking to decrease the number of fish we stock," said Miko. "We want to protect the resource and enhance recreational fishing."

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