After working with the state on trout stocking for months, Orange County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs volunteers are now onto the “county fish.”
On May 23, the first day of county-funded trout stocking, more than 1,200 fish were tossed into the Neversink River, Shawangunk Kill, and Rutgers Creek.
A total of about 4,000 trout are planned for the three-day county operation, according to the federation chairman and longtime fishermen Jack Michulski.
He handpicked the dozen or so stocking sites based on fishing spots favored by locals for decades; most are close to bridges for easy access by volunteers.
“In the old days, we used to carry them all the way down, but we all get old now,” Michulski told The Epoch Times. “These fish have instincts. As soon as we put them in, they can smell the water and are going to go where they want.”
Michael Torelli, the special assistant to County Executive Steven Neuhaus, joined volunteers on May 23 and emptied several buckets of trout into local streams.
“We do this every year with the Orange County Sportsmen’s Federation to help restock the population of the trout in the area,” Torelli told The Epoch Times. “It allows people to bring their kids to fish and do stuff in the outdoors; it is also great for the environment.”
Fishing is also a tourism draw for the area, as fly fishing was born in Hudson Valley with a rich history preserved in several local museums, he said.
Torelli said the county trout stockings would help replenish areas overfished or not touched by the state operation.
The fish were supplied by Beaver Trout Hatchery, a five-generation family business based in Livingston Manor, New York; each cost about $3.65.
Before the county operation, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released about 30,000 trout into streams and lakes in the county.
Major stocking sites were along Moodna Creek, Neversink River, Ramapo River, Shawangunk Kill, and Walton Lake.
Statewide, nearly 1.9 million trout were planned for stocking this year.
The trout season officially kicked off in New York state on April 1 and runs through Oct. 15.
Catch-and-release trout fishing is still allowed between Oct. 16 and March 31 with artificial lures only.
Different daily catch limits and fish length requirements can apply depending on the kind of streams one fishes in.
A license is required for most freshwater fishing activities in the open areas.
