The “great white fleet,” as it’s known, is rolling through Lebanon County as well as the rest of the state.
Those are the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s tanker trucks toting loads of hatchery-raised trout for release into waterways – 691 streams and 130 lakes – in preparation for the season. Opening day – the single busiest fishing day by participation in Pennsylvania annually – begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 5 (though there’s a one-day mentored youth trout season the Saturday before, on March 29, with hours from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.).
The commission will stock 3.2 million trout before it’s all said and done. That includes 2.4 million rainbow trout – eager biters most likely to stay close to home when and where stocked – along with 693,000 brown trout and 125,000 brook trout. All those fish will average 11 inches in length and weigh about 0.58 pounds each.
But the commission is also stocking 72,000 “brood” trout and 14,000 golden rainbows, the orange creamsicle-colored fish commonly referred to palominos.
The brooders are 2.5- to 3.5-year-old fish. A mix of rainbows, browns and brooks, they average 14 to 20 inches in length and will weigh 5 pounds and up. The golden rainbows will average 1.5 pounds, though there will be some “super healthy” and much larger ones of those, too, said Brian Niewinski, chief of the Fish and Boat Commission’s Bureau of Hatcheries.
“They’re a beautiful orange color, but they still have that rainbow stripe down the side, which is really cool,” he said.
Roughly three-quarters of the brood fish and golden rainbows are being stocked now, prior to opening day. The rest will go out after.
The commission is stocking all of the usual waters in Lebanon County, except one: Lions Lake. North Lebanon Township, using a mix of local and grant money, is refurbishing the lake and the park around it. The lake work in particular includes shoreline restoration, as well as removing its island. That all necessitates partially drawing down the lake.
Read More: North Lebanon Township to undertake Lion’s Lake, Jay Wall projects in 2025
Because that work won’t be done and the lake allowed to fully refill until later this year, it’s off the stocking list until 2026.
“The good thing about our stocked trout waters program is that there are stocked waters in every county of the state, including multiple waters in Lebanon County, so there are still opportunities around,” said Dave Nihart, director of the commission’s Division of Fisheries Management.
The Lebanon County waters that are getting stocked with trout this year are: Bachman Run, Conewago Creek, Hammer Creek, Indiantown Run, Lakeside Quarry, Quittapahilla Creek, Snitz Creek, Stony Creek, Stovers Lake, Trout Run, Tulpehocken Creek, and Mill Creek, a tributary to Tulpehocken.
Anglers can see just when each water is getting fish – before the season opens and after – by visiting the commission’s trout stocking page at https://fbweb.pa.gov/TroutStocking. Listed for each water is when it’s getting stocked, what kind of trout are going in, what regulations govern that waterway, the GPS coordinates identifying the upper and lower limits of a stocked stream section, and when and where anglers can meet the stocking truck.
That doesn’t mean fishermen can meet the truck, release fish, and then cast to them right away. Not before opening day, anyway.
Rather, the information is there in case anyone wants to meet the truck and help stock fish. That’s a fun activity in itself, Niewinski said.
There’s no cost to help stock fish and anyone can do it simply by showing up. If you plan to bring a group, though – say scouts or a school group – he recommends calling the commission ahead of time to coordinate things. For Lebanon County, that means reaching out to the agency’s southcentral region office at 717-486-7087 or 717-705-7919.
Volunteers will have more fun helping out stocking a stream than a lake, he suggested. At he latter, it’s generally more efficient to flush fish from the truck into the water through a tube. Those who turn out to watch that are mostly bystanders, he said.
But on streams, volunteers are handed a 5-gallon bucket full of fish that they carry to the water and dump in. Just don’t expect to stay dry, he said.
“Typically, what the drivers will do is they’ll net some fish into a bucket, and then the helpers up on the truck will put a lid on the bucket and hand it down to the volunteers. When you wind up taking a lid off, those fish are usually pretty excited, plashing around, and you’re going to get wet,” Niewinski said.
It’s a good idea to dress for the weather, too, and perhaps wear or take along waterproof boots, if not even hip boots or chest waders.
Stocking events can sometimes draw crowds. Opening day of trout season always does. This year should be no different, if history holds. More than 500,000 people – two of every three people who buy a Pennsylvania fishing license in any given year – fish for stocked trout.
The fish released for them are not meant to jumpstart wild populations, but to give fishermen the chance to bend a rod, Nihart said. That’s why the commission encourages people who want to release trout or keep them, if they prefer, to eat.
“You’ve got to go back to what the goal of the program is, and it’s to provide recreational opportunity,” he said.
That opportunity is almost here, thanks to the deliveries of the great white fleet.
License requirements
To fish for stocked trout, anglers 16 and older need a general fishing license as well as a trout stamp or trout/Lake Erie combo permit. All can be purchased online at huntfish.pa.gov or at any in-person licensing issuing agent (find a list of them by county here).
Resident licenses are $27.97 for adults or $14.97 for seniors 65 and older. Trout permits are $14.97, while trout/Lake Erie combo permits are $20.97.
The daily creel limit during trout season is five fish per person per day. All must be at least 7 inches long.
To participate in the one-day mentored youth trout day, kids younger than 16 – with a free mentored trout permit or a voluntary license, available for $2.97 – can fish any stocked trout water. They can keep two fish. Licensed adults 16 and older can fish with them, but are not permitted to harvest any trout.
For more information on the mentored youth trout day, visit the Fish and Boat Commission’s website.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Join our community of local news champions.
Cancel anytime.
Monthly
🌟 Annual
- Fewer ads
- Member newsletters
- Exclusive events
- All monthly benefits
- Most popular option
- Make a bigger impact
Already a member? Log in here to hide these messages
An informed community is a stronger community. LebTown covers the local government meetings, breaking news, and community stories that shape Lebanon County’s future. Help us expand our coverage by becoming a monthly or annual member, or support our work with a one-time contribution. Cancel anytime.
