Trout stocking is underway. Here's how the Westmoreland fishing community is preparing for the upcoming season

There’s something fishy in Westmoreland County’s waters.

During the next three months, hatchery-raised rainbow, brown and brook trout will be released into the county’s waters for anglers to catch during trout season, which opens statewide April 2.

Locally, the first trout of 2022 were released Tuesday in Loyalhanna Creek. Throughout the week, more were released in Indian Creek, Indian Lake, Keystone Lake, Northmoreland Lake and Sewickley Creek.

The full stocking schedule for Westmoreland County can be viewed here.

Trout hatcheries and stocking were introduced in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s, according to the state Fish and Boat Commission.

This year, the fish commission will stock about 2.2 million rainbow trout, 686,000 brown trout and 293,000 brook trout statewide.

Pennsylvania’s trout season thrives only because of trout stocking, according to Larry Myers, president of the Westmoreland County-based Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Trout need to live in cold waters with high levels of dissolved oxygen. As the summer heat warms Pennsylvania’s waters, it becomes difficult for trout to survive. Stocking, therefore, provides trout for local anglers to catch.

Last October, the commission established that trout season would open on the first Saturday in April each year. Opening day previously was a regional decision. But Myers said he understands why a statewide date was established.

Years ago, the eastern side of the state would warm up quicker than the western side, Myers said. Now, the western side warms up earlier than it once did.

The statewide date aims to avoid highly concentrated areas of freshly stocked fish, Myers said.

As an angler, Myers said he is excited to spend a “nice day out on the water” enjoying natural resources with family and friends. For many Pennsylvanians, trout fishing is a tradition, he said.

Myers and Trout Unlimited hope to educate locals about fishing and cold-water conservation. This year, Myers is teaching students at Ligonier Valley Middle School.

During the last day of the program, students will visit Loyalhanna Creek to fish.

“At Trout Unlimited, we’re trying to groom the next generation of conservationists, not just fishers,” Myers said. “That’s why we have such a strong interest in working with the schools (and) the younger generations. (We’re) trying to find replacements for ourselves. We teach not just how to catch a fish but how to release it safely and appreciate the streams and the ecology of the streams.”

Though anglers reap the primary benefits of trout stocking and fishing, economic and environmental benefits also are involved, according to Susan Huba, executive director of the Loyalhanna Watershed Association.

Fishing attracts many people to the area, which boosts the local economy.

Additionally, Huba said, anglers take note of stream and ecological health while fishing and often inform the association of the “bad and good.”

“I think awareness is the most beneficial thing for our organization in particular,” Huba said. “People appreciate clean water and the ability to go in their backyard or go a short distance to spend time outside with their family or friends.”

Anglers age 16 and older who wish to fish and keep trout must have a fishing license and a trout permit. More information can be found on PFBC’s website.

Myers encouraged people to learn more about trout fishing by visiting one of the Forbes Trail Chapter’s monthly meetings.

“We’re trying to get more ladies involved (and) more families involved,” he said. “We don’t just want this to be an old guy’s club. We want the whole family involved.”