Trout season in Pennsylvania is almost upon us again and fishermen throughout the state will begin to start thinking about where and how they will catch these cunning fish this year.  The first day in 18 southeastern counties including Juniata, Perry, Dauphin, Schuylkill, Lehigh, Cumberland, Franklin, Adams, York, Lebanon, Berks, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia to the 3rd of April 2010.  The rest of Pennsylvania the opening day is still the 17th of April 2010.  This change was due to the change in climate in the southeastern counties in which the weather gets warmer sooner than it does in the rest of the state. 

Trout Fishing Tips and Tricks - Catch more trout 

• Locate a hole (a deeper section of the creek) to fish generally trout like to hold in the head, belly, or tailout of the hole. In the morning focus your efforts on the faster sections of the hole at the head.  Fish with minnow imitations or minnows early in morning good imitations include streamers, spinners, and small spoons.  Trout tend to like faster water to lie in but often will get spooked to gut or belly of the hole later in the day due to heavy fishing pressure from anglers. Later in the day towards the evening hours focus on the tailout of a hole.  Often you will see trout rising in section towards nightfall.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to fish your baits with an erratic motion.  For example if fishing with a fly rod and a streamer strip or rip your fly line to make a jerking motion with your streamer.  This will make your fly look as if it is crippled and darting to get out of harms way and will often causes a reaction strike. Or if you fish with spinning gear jerk your rod with quick short jerks while reeling to make your spinner or spoon dart while going through the water.  Also don’t be afraid to reel fast causing your spinner to burn just below the surface of the water which will often result in a very impressive strike from a hungry trout.
  
  
• Afternoon + Sun = Dry Flies – If you are a fly fisherman you know what I mean.  Often there are some mighty big hatches that take place during trout season and all it takes usually to kick it off is a little sun.  I usually do the best using Adams, Blue Quills, Red Quills, and Wolfs in a variety of colors.  Remember to try to match the size and color of the flies that are landing on the water during a hatch.  Also you may want to try incorporating a dropper fly such as a small nymph like a prince or hairs ear.  This can be an extremely effective method to catch trout.
  
  
• Attention Bait Fisherman - Remember to use the appropriate amount of sinkers when fishing with bait.  You should only feel your sinkers tapping the bottom every once in a while if you are fishing a location with current.  Also you should only be using 6 lb test line or lighter, with 4 lb being preferred.  Trout can be very sensitive to line diameter and you may want to give a fluorocarbon line a try this year.  Fluorocarbon lines are invisible underwater, which will allow you to use a heavier line diameter, however this line can be a little expensive.

Hopefully if you use some of these techniques you will be more successful this 2010 Trout Season.

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PA Trout Stocking Schedule