Trout fishing in New York State is some of the best in the country. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation [DEC] maintains fish hatcheries throughout the state for two main purposes -- to enhance recreational fishing and to restore native species to waters they formerly occupied. The DEC runs 12 fish hatcheries, each specializing in raising one or more species of fish, including brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, lake trout, steelhead, chinook salmon, coho salmon, landlocked salmon, walleye, muskellunge and tiger muskellunge.
Each year DEC releases approximately 900,000 pounds of fish into more than 1,200 public streams, rivers, lakes and ponds across the state.
Many of those streams and lakes are right here in Livingston county as well as the surrounding counties. For sheer fun, and if so inclined, great eating, trout fishing is a great way to spend some time outdoors, with family and friends or in perfect solitude in a region of great natural beauty.
I recently was heading out to do a bit of trout fishing myself and was heading towards one of my favorite spots on Poags Hole Rd, Canaseraga Creek, just outside of Dansville when I came across a DEC truck parked and a few pickups around it. I inquired if they were stocking and asked to tag along.
Stocking is all done by unpaid volunteers. These folks carry buckets of fish from the truck to the stream and get them into the water for our enjoyment. I want to say thank you to these volunteers, and encourage them to keep up the great work. I also want to thank the DEC for providing fishermen with countless hours of outdoors enjoyment.
I would like to acknowledge the following volunteers that I met:
Ted Scott, Dan Severson, Kevin Walsh, and Rick Fisk. I would also like to thank Aaron Day, Fish Culturer with the DEC, for allowing me to tag along and record this.
By the way, the fishing that afternoon was great!