Besides helping to create the impression that you might actually know something about one of your favorite pastimes, knowing how to identify the various trout species and what makes them tick may also help put a bend in your rod more often.

I was fishing on Fishing Creek near Benton last year with some friends and we were not doing anything on our usual fly patterns. Upon further questioning I learned that a recent stocking of trout actually included a fairly large number of rainbows and not browns like I had suspected.

Knowing that rainbows are partial to fish eggs I switched my offering to a fly that imitates a salmon egg and I immediately began picking up fish where for an hour before I couldn’t even get a strike. A half-dozen rainbows later I called it a day — a successful day at that. It pays to know your quarry.

With that in mind let’s take a brief look at the trout you will find in central Pennsylvania’s trout streams and lakes this April. The only trout native to the area is the brook trout. Most of the brook trout that we catch today are reared in fish hatcheries and are not as colorful as our native brookies. The background color is brownish to greenish with light wormlike markings on the back and sides. Colorful orange fins with a white and black edge set this trout off from the others although these colors are not as obvious in the stocked fish. Their sides may also display red spots with light blue halos. These trout prefer faster moving water and temperatures in the lower 50s. Brookies are probably the least picky eaters and will respond to a variety of insects and minnows. They are often found in the headwaters of streams. Native brookies are becoming increasingly threatened and I would highly recommend their release.

Another trout you will likely encounter in our waters is the brown trout. The brown was originally imported to Pennsylvania from Europe and is not native. We do have some natural reproduction of browns in some streams in Pennsylvania. Their sides are light brown to yellowish with dark brown spots. Some browns will also have orange or red spots on the sides. Browns prefer temperatures in the low 60s and will often inhabit the slower moving water at the middle of the pool or at the tail. They can also be taken in the riffles. Browns can be pickier than other trout but a variety of lures and baits will work. Sometimes fly-fishing is the best way to take browns although live minnows and spinners are also good choices.

The third most common trout that you will likely encounter is the rainbow. Rainbows were imported from out west and prefer water temperatures in the upper 50s. They have silvery to pink sides with numerous black spots. The spots cover the dorsal and tail fins, as well. The pink stripe becomes more obvious in trout that have been in the stream for longer periods of time. Rainbows will most often inhabit the faster water of a pool, sometimes right into the upper portion of the riffle. They eat insects and minnows so the usual flies and lures will work but they can also be fooled with more colorful imitations that represent things like salmon eggs.

Another trout that is showing up increasingly in Pennsylvania streams and lakes is the golden rainbow formally known as a palomino. It’s actually a cross between a brown and a rainbow. These are hatchery raised and stocked trout. Their orange or yellowish color makes them easy to spot and thus they become the target of many fishermen as well as predators. For the most part golden rainbows behave much like rainbows. The Commission will often stock these trout in large sizes — the large breeders for which they no longer have need.

Weber said, “The Fish and Boat Commission gathers angler assessment in various ways — open meetings, issue/comment periods, letter writing, telephone surveys, and angler surveys. When anglers participate, it helps with management decisions based on their input.