Sent this to the PA Fish and Boat Commission

To whom this may concern,
I am an avid angler who enjoys fishing a lot and very regularly. I am constantly looking at where the next stockings are happening and staying informed of regulations for each stream.
Recently I have purchased a West Virginia fishing license because the trout stocking program there is much better. I think that Pennsylvania should try to implement a much better stocking program, such as like the one West Virginia does.
First, I am not real sure why here in PA trout season does not start until mid April every year. By this time the water has already started to warm giving the trout season only about a month and a half before the waters are too warm for trout. In West Virginia trout season begins at the very beginning of the year and trout are heavily stocked. Starting to stock in January means that trout season is a lot longer because the waters are still cold.
I understand that PA has delayed harvest and even year-round fishing areas, but even these are either few and far between. Also, delayed harvest does not even start until March. I am not really sure why there are not stockings before this when the water is cold for the trout.
Second, I live in Washington county and the streams that do get stocked only get stocked at most maybe 3 times. In West Virginia some of the streams I go to, such as Shavers Fork, are stocked once a week from March - May and have already received 3 stockings before that.
Another thing is that Ten Mile Creek in the Marianna section is stocked by the community every year and tons of people go there to fish it yet the state does not. I doubt water quality in this stream is any different from some of the others that are stocked. Small streams such as Pike Run are stocked but Ten Mile which is a large stream with better holes and depth are not stocked. I do not understand this. Yes, Ten Mile is stocked higher up but why not this section? Tons of people fish there.
Every year the fishing license price and trout stamp seem to get more expensive, but I am yet to see an improvement in stocking amounts and places.
Lastly, I never see any fish and game officers when there needs to be one. I constantly see people fishing places that are not in season yet, people using bait in delayed harvest, people keeping more than the creel limit. It is discouraging because I fish according to the regulations, but then there are other people sitting there illegally fishing.
Something needs to be done to improve the trout stocking program in PA. Other states such as West Virginia have been stocking since January already and in great numbers. The license price rises every year, but I still see no improvement in the amount of fish stocked or places stocked. Please get back to me on this issue as I am willing to provide help, more information, and listen to improve trout stocking and fishing in PA.
Thanks,
Charles Hines

If they are that worried about the marketing aspect of the first day they can still call the day in April the "First Day" but the streams can get stocked and allowed to be fished starting in Jan. PAs trout stocking program is just awful. Another way to cut down on the amount of people on the first day (which I think needs to happen) because you can barely fish it's so crowded is to start stocking early and allowing fishing. I understand they want this, but it's just so annoying. To be honest if they would just eliminate "First Day" concept and start stocking in Jan and stocking more frequently I would be willing to pay more for my trout stamp which would make up for some loss of sales. I'm totally willing to pay more if they're going to improve my experience. As for trout stocking in lakes, just stop. Please PA, please I'm begging you to stop stocking trout in lakes. It's not fun, it's basically pointless (they swim to places that can't be caught, and are eaten by bigger fish), and it caters towards still bait presentations which like I saw a conversation before on here about, allows the fish to swallow hooks easier. JUST STOP STOCKING LAKES WITH TROUT!

I would like for trout season to start in Jan with more frequent stockings. No delayed harvest crap, none of that. Just like in WV. Yeah people can keep trout, but with more frequent stockings that won't matter. More frequent stockings can be achieved by a higher price on the trout stamp which I would be fine with as long as the previous criteria is met. 
 
As for the lakes, ok, understandable that older folks may not be able to hike along streams, but is it fair that almost every "All Year Round" fishing area is a lake? If most of the people that fish the lakes are older people or people that cannot get around very well then most likely they will not be fishing in the winter anyway when I or any other avid young fisherman is fishing. They will probably head out when the weather gets better in the spring.
 
This plays in well with what I'm saying they do to maintain their marketing strategy. Just name it the "Official First Day" so people will still want to go get their license and fish this day/week. With the higher trout stamp price more trout can be stocked and more frequently so you could have a fresh stocking the week of the "Official Opener."

Couldn't agree more! haha I was thinking that same thing. Like, everyone says it's because of the money here in PA, but everyone complains about it. It makes no sense. Then, because the people are getting fed up with PAs trout stocking program they are going to WV to fish which is setup exactly how people are saying PA will lose money. Seems to me WV is making a lot of money. They are making resident and non-resident income because people like their trout stocking program. Then, like you said, because it starts in Jan and runs through May and is stocked frequently there is not a huge crowd on "Opening Day" because people know they can wait and go different times during the trout season which spreads people out more.

Can't please everyone...

i dont disagree with you, i just dont see it changing.  id like it do...  
 
and its not just old dudes that fish lakes, plenty of kids get their start.  again, not all of us have the luxury of rolling out of the car and hiking way way into pristine waters.

Hit it out of the ball park again Chab, but ya won't see the trout anglers banding together for a common cause.  Too many trout fishers have their own desires and dreams.   I can remember when the starting time of the first day was changed from sunrise to 8:00 Am.  I guess the trout don't eat til that hour on opening day???
 
However, a few years ago the first day was changed to a different date in the south east region because the waters warmed much quicker then the rest of the state.  All these years, opening day was around April 16 and suddenly somebody realized the south east waters warmed quicker then the rest of the state?
 
BTW, last I read in a journal focused on PA. fishing, the trout stocking program is being throttled back in PA.   Who knows, maybe year round trout fishing and regular stockings across the state could be on the horizon.