HUDSON VALLEY – Trout anglers across the Mid Hudson Region should be thankful, that heavy and persistent rains have passed through. The water level in most local trout steams has receded to fishable levels, according to Dutchess County resident and avid outdoorsman, Bill “Mr. Outdoors” Conners, who has submitted the following editorial on trout fishing to coincide with the April 1, 2024 opening day of trout season in New York.
The following is the explanation Conners has provided to Mid-Hudson News regarding the state’s distribution of trout into local waterways in advance of the opening day of trout season. Conners also provides some basic tips for anglers hoping to catch trout this year.
Though Monday’s Opening Day forecast calls for chilly temps and light rain, it is not likely to discourage those who can spare the time to take advantage of one of our most popular early rites of spring.
In Dutchess County, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has stocked all of the streams with their annual allocation of trout under the Department’s current stocking protocols. Additionally, Wappingers Creek is also scheduled to be stocked three more times during the next month. Other counties in the region are also receiving allocations of trout from the state hatcheries. While most of the fish are one-year-olds, streams that qualify for them will receive up to 10 percent of their allocations in two-year-old fish.
Changes to the state’s stocking program may leave some anglers disappointed. It has been decades since there has been a formal effort made to ensure that the fish coming from the state hatchery system are being stocked in places that make them available to the public. Agreements between landowners and DEC are not formal unless there has been a Public Fishing Rights Easement (PFR) purchased from the landowner by the state, in which case anglers may access the stream using the PFR, but they must limit their activity to the stream corridor, and access is for fishing only.
It is this informal access that the state DEC is now addressing. If there is no formal access agreement, there may not be trout stocked in stream sections that have historically been receiving fish. Staff members from the DEC’s Bureau of Fisheries and volunteers from the New York State Fish and Wildlife Boards are in the process of approaching landowners to secure permission to continue stocking. If landowners do not respond to the DEC’s inquiry or refuse access, then it is not likely that those sections of streams will be receiving trout in the future. According to DEC, PFR holdings in NYS currently total over 1,300 equivalent miles on over 400 streams, many of which are right here in the Hudson Valley.
Anyone stream fishing for trout should study the freshwater regulations published by the DEC. For the last 30 years, allocations were based on a system of Catch Rate Oriented Trout Stocking, based largely on the fishing pressure estimated on the stream and the desired catch rate per hour per angler. The new system is based on acre feet of water, fishing pressure and the carrying capacity of a stream or section of stream. Under the new regulations, size and daily creel limits can change from one section of the stream to the next. In some cases, regulations are the same for the entire length of the stream. In any case pay attention to not just which stream you are fishing, but which section of stream you are fishing.
As for what gear you should anticipate needing, unless you are a flyfisher a lightweight spinning outfit loaded with four to six-pound test line should suffice for the typical stream here in the Hudson Valley. Just use enough weight to get your bait down to the fish, but not so much as to have it hanging up on the bottom every time you cast.
As for which bait to use, Mother Nature’s gift to anglers, the common earthworm, as a rule, is just as likely to produce as anything else you can throw at early-season trout. On the other hand, there are hundreds of artificial lures you can entice them with.
Dress warm, stay dry, and enjoy your day on the water. You might also consider keeping one or two fish for dinner.
New York State fishing resources can be found at the links below (Links continue below advertisements).
Tips on trout fishing including stream slated to receive hatchery trout
New York’s Trout Stream Management Plan
Guidance on equipment, baits lures, and more.
