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Legendary Species · Pennsylvania

Brook trout in Pennsylvania

Salvelinus fontinalis[1]

41 Pennsylvania waters whose agency species list names brook trout. Each links to its water page (gauge, regulations, access map, guides and shops) and to the agency list it comes from.

  • 41waters list it
  • 2destination hubs
Illustration of a brook trout: dark green back with pale wavy markings, red spots with blue halos and white-edged lower fins
Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Artwork: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pennsylvania waters

Most fished first. A species missing from an agency list does not mean it is absent; this page lists only waters whose list names it (at least 5 are needed for a page).

All Pennsylvania watersBrook trout: every state

Identification

  • Brook trout have worm-like markings (vermiculations) on the back and red spots, sometimes with blue halos, on the sides. The lower fins have a white front edge, then black, then reddish orange.[1]
    What the source says
    “Color variations include olive, blue-gray or black above with a silvery white belly and wormlike markings (vermiculation pattern) along the back. They have red spots sometimes surrounded by bluish halos on their sides. The lower fins have a white front edge followed by black and the remainder being reddish orange.”
  • In California, the brook trout is the only trout with wavy, maze-like lines (vermiculations) on its back and upper sides.[2]
    What the source says
    “Only trout in California with vermiculation pattern (wavy, maze-like lines) on back and upper sides.”
  • Brook trout belong to the char family and are often confused with bull trout. Brook trout have vermiculations and black spots on the dorsal fin, which bull trout lack.[3]
    What the source says
    “Closely related to and commonly misidentified as brook trout (both are members of the char family). A distinguishing characteristic is the lack of black spots on the dorsal fin. Do not have vermiculations that occur on brook trout.”

More on identifying brook trout

Status, protections and rules

As each agency stated them on the date read; a rule applies only where its agency says so. Check the current regulations for the water before you fish.

  • In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the brook trout is the only native trout species.[4]
    What the source says
    “The brook trout is the only native species of trout in the Smokies.”
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park reopened brook trout fishing in 2006 after a 30-year ban.[5]
    What the source says
    “As a result of research and successful restoration efforts, park management reopened brook trout fishing in 2006 after a 30-year ban.”

Water temperature in Pennsylvania

  • In or under PFBC's preferred rangeThe Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: “The preferred temperature range for trout is between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.”
  • Above the preferred rangeWarmer than the 50 to 60°F the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission gives as preferred for trout, but not over the 70°F at which it asks anglers to take extra care landing them.
  • Over 70°F: land fish fastThe Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: “Try to land your fish as quickly as possible and don't play the fish to exhaustion. This is particularly important when fishing for trout in periods of warmer water temperatures (greater than 70 degrees F).” “Fish are subject to stress and exhaustion in a much shorter period of time at 70 degrees compared to 55-degree water temperatures.”
  • Over 72°FThe Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission gives the upper temperature limit as “about 78 F for brown and rainbow trout and 72 F for brook trout.”

Sources: PFBC position statement on closing coldwater tributary mouths to angling in summer (2006) (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission).

Destination hubs

Hubs that list one of these waters, or that a water page is near: each has guides, shops, licences and trip planning for the area.

Hatch & season charts

Sources

Every fact on this page is our paraphrase of the page cited beside it, read on the date shown. Rules and seasons change: check the agency's current regulations before you fish.

  1. Brook trout Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
  2. Fishing for Brook Trout (non-native) California Department of Fish and Wildlife, read Oct 24, 2026.
  3. Fishing for Bull Trout (native) California Department of Fish and Wildlife, read Oct 24, 2026.
  4. Fishing - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service, read Oct 24, 2026.
  5. Fish - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service, read Oct 24, 2026.