TOWN OF WORTH, New York (WWNY) – Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll be gone all weekend. That’s the hope for the state Department of Environmental Conservation as it restocks rivers and streams across the north country.
Nearly 3,000 fish made the journey Friday morning from the Chateauguay Fish Hatchery to the town of Worth.
The DEC is replenishing streams across the north country to increase the number of anglers taking part in the spring trout fishing season.
“This morning I loaded up with brook trout from the Chateauguay State Fish Hatchery that’s up in Franklin County and then transported them down here to Jefferson County and we stock Felts Mill Creek, Jacobs Creek, and South Sandy,” said Luke Renne, fish culturist, Salmon River Fish Hatchery.
“We’re trying to get more people into the sport. We’re putting a lot of effort into our website, our social media,” said Les Resseguie, fisheries biologist.
The summer trout season runs from April 1 through October 15. Anglers can still fish for trout after October 15 as long as they are using artificial lures while using catch and release practices.
“Fishing is pretty important to a lot of these northern communities. At some point, some town in the area is going to have some sort of fishing-related monies into their local economy,” said Resseguie.
The DEC reports that sportfishing contributes $65 million to the regional economy with nearly 3 million anglers taking advantage of the area.
“People are getting the itch to just get out in the springtime. It gives us an extended opportunity for anglers to do what they love,” said Resseguie.
A freshwater fishing license is required to cast a line into a north country creek. Anglers can go to any local sporting goods store, or directly to the DEC website to obtain one.
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