Yesterday was the start of a new month and the first day of the 2004 spring trout-stocking season.

As in years past, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has issued an advisory recommending that fishermen only eat one half-pound serving per week of the fish they catch. The advisory is based on tests for mercury and PCBs, (polychlorinated biphenyls).

"These type of advisories are not uncommon at all," said Bob Carline, adjunct professor of fisheries at Penn State. "At first it caused concern among anglers, but it's not that big of a deal. A lot of Great Lake states have similar guidelines."

Despite the 52,000 rainbow trout that died at the Bellefonte fish hatchery due to lack of oxygen, the white trucks of the PFBC were still out in force yesterday as they began the long process of stocking the state's streams.

Creeks will be stocked from now until the Friday before the season, which begins April 17, to assure good fishing conditions for anglers. Each year, hundreds of volunteers statewide come out to help the PFBC ready the rivers.

"For our 4,600 miles of stream we will be doing in the next couple weeks, if we had to rely only on our staff, we would never get it done. We couldn't afford to," PFBC spokesman Dan Tredinnick said.

The squads of volunteers from local sportsmen's clubs and the multitudes of interested anglers make this massive undertaking possible each year.

Tom Greene, cold water unit leader of the PFBC fisheries management division, said, "Most of our help comes from volunteers in the beginning. They have cabin fever and want to see some of the fish."

The fish released in streams are mostly rainbow trout, Greene said, with browns and brook trout comprising the rest. These fish are a short-term opportunity, specifically for recreational fishermen. "Very few make it year to year," Greene said. "The chance of one of the fish stocked today making it to next spring is very slim -- maybe 1 or 2 percent."

The consumption warnings have not hampered fishermen's appetites for the sport. "I probably ate more last year than I did in the last couple years," Greene said.

Fish stocking continues, even though the Bellefonte fishery lost so many fish on Feb. 21. These casualties are a loss, but represent only 1 percent of the 4.2 million fish to be released in Pennsylvania, Tredinnick said. Fishing authorities said they are enthusiastic about this year's trout season.

"It should be more of a normal spring," Tredinnick said. "We do have a small snow cover left, but the melting snow is keeping the rivers recharged."

Even though Carline said he is excited about opening day, he will not be at his favorite Spring Creek location come April 17. "I won't be out opening day," Carline said. "It's just too busy. I am going to wait for the second day."