You Think You’re Hot, Try Being a Fish! NY Anglers Asked to Avoid Some Spots

As the heat and humidity turn the volume up to 11, we all begin to lag in performance. The same can be said of fish, especially cold water varieties like trout and salmon. The NY Department of Environmental Conservation is asking anglers to avoid some fishing spots because of heat-stressed fish.

The DEC says once water temperatures get above 70, the stress levels on salmon and trout start to become serious.

Heat-stressed fish often seek pockets of cold water created by upwelling groundwater, small feeder streams, or water released from deep reservoirs. These refuges allow trout to avoid or recover from potentially fatal levels of heat stress.

Fishing When It's Hot

• Avoid catch and release Trout already weakened by heat stress are at risk of death no matter how carefully they are handled.
• Do Not disturb avoid trout gathered in unusually high numbers. They are likely to be suffering from heat stress and seeking relief.  Don't take unfair advantage.
• Fish Early Stream temperatures are at their coolest in the early morning.
• Have a Plan B Consider fishing a water body that is less prone to heat stress or fishing for a more heat tolerant species like smallmouth bass.

New Fishing Regulations

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced new recreational saltwater fishing regulations for black sea bass and scup in New York's Marine and Coastal District.

Black Sea Bass

The season for black sea bass begins on June 23 with size and daily limit changes. The minimum size limit is now 16 inches, up one inch. Anglers may possess three black sea bass per day from June 23 through August 31. The limit goes up to six per day from September 1 through December 31, a decrease of one from the previous regulation.

Scup

The size of scup is going up too.

The recreational minimum size limit for scup in New York is 10 inches and the season is open year-round. Recreational anglers may possess 30 fish per day and anglers aboard licensed party/charter boats may possess 50 fish from September 1 through October 31.

Free Fishing Weekends

There are two free fishing weekends left in 2022, where anyone can fish the fresh waters of New York State without a fishing license.

• September 24, 2022
• November 11, 2022

So grab your rod and plan to spend a day on the water. You never know what you may reel in.