A new study clearly explains the projected impact of climate change on trout fishing.
The eastern brook trout occurs in small cold-water streams and lakes, and self-sustaining populations support angling throughout the Appalachian Mountains, from Maine to Georgia. However, warming air temperatures are expected to reduce available cold-water habitat and result in a smaller brook trout distribution and fewer angling opportunities.
Building on recent research at Penn State, Tyler Wagner, adjunct professor of fisheries ecology and Tyrell DeWeber, now a postdoctoral scholar at Oregon State University, used two models they previously developed—one predicting stream temperature and one predicting where brook trout might occur—to identify streams likely to support wild brook trout under current and future climate scenarios.
