The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) will consider increasing the minimum size of trout that anglers can keep and reduce two catfish limits during its April 27 meeting in Harrisburg.
The agency’s board meeting agenda includes an item that would increase the minimum size from 7 inches to 9 inches in most waterways starting in 2027.
The standard size trout stocked by the agency is about 11 inches long. The move is designed to offer more protection for wild brook trout across the state. The 7-inch limit has been in place since 1983.
The 7-inch limit is proposed to remain in special miscellaneous waterways, including waters with catch and release only protections for brown trout.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is stocking about 3.2 million trout across Pennsylvania in 2026. The average length is 11 inches long.
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Catfish in the Ohio River Basin
The board will also consider implementing new regulations for keeping catfish from the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in western Pennsylvania. The proposal for the Ohio River Basin will make blue catfish catch and release, and flatheads will have a daily limit of four fish and only one can be longer than 35 inches. Blue cats were reintroduced to these rivers four years ago.
Presently, catfish across the state have a daily creel limit of 50 per day.
Fisheries Biologist Aide Rhett Pletcher holds a large flathead catfish from the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh.
Fishing and boating facility grants
The meeting agenda includes five grants to improve boating access areas across Pennsylvania.
The board will consider a $170,400 grant to create an access area in the Duryea Wetlands Recreation Area in Luzerne County. The project will consist of two non-motorized boat launches and a parking area. The total estimated cost of the project is $379,000.
The board will consider a $148,200 grant to improve the Buena Vista Boat Launch along the Youghiogheny River in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County. The enhancements will include improvements to the boat ramp, expanded parking and a gangway to a new non-motorized launch area. The project is estimated at $317,400.
The board will vote on a $148,300 grant to replace the west launch ramp and wooden dock along Chestnut Street on Lake Erie in Erie County by the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority. The project, which includes a structural evaluation of a 300-foot concrete pier, is estimated at $296,500.
The board received a $157,500 grant proposal from the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers to continue its Statewide Waterway Access Grants (SWAG) program. The organization provides mini-grants of up to $30,000 to support community lead projects that enhance non-motorized access to Pennsylvania waterways. The total costs of all projects being funded by the organization is $315,000.
The board will consider a $238,500 grant to replace and widen the existing Tidioute boat ramp and install a separate non-motorized launch along the Allegheny River in Warren County. The project is estimated to cost $484,300.
The PFBC’s public meeting on April 27 begins at 10 a.m. in its Harrisburg headquarters, located at 1601 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg.
The agenda, and instructions for joining a webinar to view this meeting remotely are available on the Meetings page of the PFBC website Fishandboat.com. Public comments will be accepted in person.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website’s homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: PA fishing creel limits and sizes may change for trout, some catfish