Why Are Fish Falling from Helicopters in New York?

April. It's the beginning of spring. April Fool's Day (does anyone still pull pranks on this day?) The month of 4-20 (whatever that means!) And it's the beginning of trout season.

For those of you who fish, you've been waiting a long time for this month, am I correct? I come from a family who loves to fish. April 1st is a special day every year. It may be a bit cold, but the streams are a beautiful thing to be around and you can smell spring in the air.

All outfitted with your fishing gear and ready to take to the stream, creek, river, or lake and catch some trout. What a great time of the year. Another thing I remember doing when I was a kid, was watching one of the local creeks being stocked with trout from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Trout are stocked from various fish hatcheries across the Empire State.

It would be fun to watch the trout spill out from the truck into the creek. Check out the video from the NYS DEC here. While this is the common way to stock waterways in our area, how does the NYS DEC handle harder-to-reach areas of New York State?

The answer is by the air, of course! That means by airplane and helicopters. According to the NYS DEC, about 900,000 pounds of fish are stocked into 1200 public waterways in New York State to enhance recreational fishing and to restore native species to water that they formerly occupied. Check out the video below.

So, where are trout being stocked in Broome and Tioga Counties this spring?

In Broome County, Rainbow and Brown Trout are stocked in various waterways from March through May. Areas include Artic, Greenwood, and Chenango lakes, Dudley, Oquaga, Nanticoke, and East Branch Nanticoke Creek, along with Palmers Pond, Little Choconut, and Finch Hollow Site 1 (Overbrook).

In Tioga County, it's Catatonk, Cayuga, Owego, East Branch, and West Branch Owego Creeks, in addition to Tri-County Pond. For more information on trout stocking throughout New York State, visit the DEC website, and enjoy the 2024 trout fishing season!