Cast Away: Get Ready For Upstate NY Trout Fishing Year-Round

Instead of dreading the end of trout season on October 15th, get ready to spend plenty of days on New York streams.

Start singing it now: "I'm gonna miss her, when I get home." That's right, starting next weekend you will have the opportunity to keep fishing New York waters for trout past the usual October 15th end date for fall trout season.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced a new catch and release trout fishing season on state streams from October 16th through March 31st. Trout fishing in lakes and ponds will end on October 15th. The new catch and release season will create the opportunity to fish for trout year-round. All fishing in the new season must be done with artificial lures. The new season is all part of a DEC trout management plan "...to improve and modernize the State's management of its trout stream fishing resources." Trout fishing was initially shut off after October 15th so it would not interfere with spawning, but the DEC has found it does not have a "negative impact."

This is the second major fish and game season to get extended this fall. Last month the DEC also announced new rules for deer and bear hunting season, which extended both the deer harvest in the New York southern zone and bear hunting season in the Adirondacks. Those new DEC rules that were announced also included new apparel requirements for hunters to include "...a solid or patterned fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink hat, vest, or jacket."

New York DEC New Rules For Deer and Bear Hunting

As you prepare for the fall deer and bear hunting season, you need to be aware of these new rules just adopted by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

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