Opening day of Trout Season is quickly approaching, and with it will come one of the busiest days Pennsylvania streams will see all year. But catching trout does not have to mean standing shoulder to shoulder casting into the same pool as a dozen other anglers. There are still plenty of trout to be caught after opening day if you can find them.

During all my years of stocking trout, it never ceased to amaze me how many anglers would only fish on opening day. They would put everything they had into securing a good spot and catching their limit on that one day, never to be seen again — until next year. Why? Because they claimed there were no more fish after that one day.

Of course, their claim that there were no fish after opening day did not consider in-season stockings. But even as the season continued, I often arrived at a stocking point to find anglers eagerly awaiting the truck’s arrival, all while ignoring the fish that were already there. Sometimes, I could even see fish swimming nearby without a single line being cast in their direction.

Both groups shared a common belief: that after opening day, fish could not be caught unless they came off a stocking truck. While standing next to the stocking tube does make catching your limit easier, it is by no means the only way to catch in-season trout.

To catch in-season trout, you first need to change your tactics. No standing shoulder to shoulder, no plopping a glob of Power Bait in and pulling out a fish. Plus, you can not just fish the stocking hole. What worked on opening day will not work after it is over.

Stocking holes are not ideal fishing locations. Although some may be suitable long-term trout habitats, they are not selected based on ideal conditions; they are selected based on location and accessibility. This means that the trout placed in these holes will often move. This movement could take a few days or a few weeks. The new location could be anywhere from a few hundred yards to over a mile away; it all depends on where the best water can be found.

Trout also adapt quickly to their new surroundings. The first couple of days, they are confused. One day, they were in the raceways, the only home they have ever known, being fed pellets out of the back of a truck. Now, they are in a wide-open stream with no walls or screen. Food is whatever they can find. When this happens, they will initially strike at anything that looks edible. However, they will soon start relying on their instincts by hiding and hunting natural food sources such as bugs, smaller fish, and terrestrials falling from the nearby trees.

To target these trout, you must stop thinking of them as hatchery trout and start thinking of them as soon-to-be wild trout. Stop dropping big hunks of paste bait on their heads; this will only send them into hiding. Stop stomping around the bank, peaking into every hole you find. They can see you and will flee. Stop expecting them to spend the day hanging out in the open waters.

Instead, through some natural-looking baits — spinners, worms, or even small jerkbaits. Stay a few feet back and move with stealth. Wade slowly upstream, casting to likely holding spots with as little disturbance as possible. Likely locations will include undercut areas of the bank, large rocks or depressions that over ambush points, and the tail end of fast water that offers extra oxygen.

While many stocked trout waters may not be suitable for year-round trout habitat, they can undoubtedly hold trout past opening day.