April 1 Marks Trout Fishing Season Opening In New York: What Anglers Need To Know

April 1. What comes to mind? Warmer weather (hopefully?) Spring cleaning? April Fool's Day? One month closer to camping season? (My thoughts.) Well, for many, it means something else.

That something else is day one of Trout Fishing Season in New York State. For those of you who live in the Keystone State, regular trout fishing season begins at 8 a.m. on the first Saturday in April, which is April 5th this year, running through midnight on Labor day, September 2nd, 2025. 

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You can thank the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for the abundance of trout in various streams throughout the Empire State, due to their annual stocking program and wild trout fisheries.

According to the NYS DEC, spring stocking includes almost 1.9 million catchable-size brook, brown, and rainbow trout stocked in New York State ponds and streams from mid-March through early June.

While anglers willing to brave the cold can enjoy catch-and-release fishing for inland trout all year, the April 1 opener of the harvest season is still a much-anticipated date in New York.This is the true beginning of a long-awaited spring and a perfect time to get outside and enjoy time along a waterway near you. - NYS DEC Acting Commissioner Lefton

The NYS DEC notes that while state hatcheries met the production target for rainbow and brown trout, drought conditions last year (2024) caused water supply constraints at some hatcheries, inhibiting brown trout growth.

The result is that many stocked brown trout will be less than nine inches in length at the time of stocking. Also, brook trout production was affected by an outbreak of whirling disease at the Randolph hatchery and related DEC actions at the Bath hatchery in Steuben County this month.

The NYS DEC says that several streams will receive fewer brook trout this season, but they note that some ponds will receive surplus brown trout and rainbow trout. For more information about the 2025 Trout Fishing Season, the regulation guide, and safe fish consumption, visit the NYS DEC website.

Happy Fishing!