Pennsylvania trout anglers can expect to enjoy a variety of choices when the season opener arrives in two months.

Changes have been made to the stocking program that will affect those who fish for hatchery trout. The outlook is also a promising one for wild trout.

Tom Greene, a Fish and Boat Commission coldwater unit leader, said the biggest change in the program will be a switch to fewer but larger fish.

This is being done, he said, at the request of the angling public.

"This year, the commission will be stocking about 30 percent fewer catchable-size trout," the biologist said. "The average size will increase by about 20 percent. This goes hand in hand with what the angling public has indicated it wants."

In terms of size, anglers can expect the average stocked trout to run about 11 inches long and be significantly heavier than the run-of-the-mill hatchery product of a year ago. About 3.2 million adult trout will be used during preseason and in-season stockings.

"Our hatcheries have the ability to produce only so many pounds of trout," said Greene. "Basically, we have three options. We could have allowed things to remain the same, stocking the same basic numbers of fish of the same size. Or we could have raised and stocked more but smaller trout. Option three was to decrease the overall number of fish but increase the average size. This is what most anglers wanted, and this is the direction we are going."

Greene noted that no changes have been made in any of the special regulations programs that apply to trout.

For many trout anglers, one of the major concerns is that of stream access. On a statewide level, each year some waters are removed from the stocking list while others are added. In general, it seems the removal list is a longer one that the added-to list.

In many cases, poor behavior by the public has been a reason for a ban on access to a stream. Anglers can do their part to see to it their favorite streams remain open by treating the privilege of fishing them with the respect it deserves.

In Lawrence County, the major change has been on Big Run, a tributary to the Shenango River. Fish biologist Freeman Johns said about three miles of water has been added to the stocking list.

"The additional section is located near New Castle," Johns said. "One of the really nice things about this addition is that it will have a children's area on it.

"Three of the local sportsmen's groups, as well as Joe Morris, the Lawrence County conservation officer, have been instrumental in creating this children's area, which will involve about 1000 feet of creek. Plans are for the spot to possibly include a handicapped area also," he added.

Johns explained that the lower portion of Big Run, which flows through Cascade Park, has been an established approved trout water. The additional three miles are located above the lower section and extend up to the Route 388 Bridge.

"There are limited trout fishing opportunities in the district I work, but following the first two weeks, angler attention really tails off," Johns said.

"The lower two-thirds of Cool Spring Creek, near Mercer, has some really nice water. Yellow Creek goes into the stream, and there is a delayed-harvest area," he added.

Neshannock Creek is the most significant trout water in this district, with the special regulations area found below Volant being the focus of much attention.

However, Johns said that the section upstream from Volant, an area that falls under standard trout regulations, has an unexpected ability to carry trout late in the season.

"About three years ago, we shocked the section of Neshannock above Volant," he said. "I was surprised by the number of trout we found there."

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.