“Try trolling or fishing chunk bait on bottom,” McShane suggested. For shoreline access, he suggested visiting local marinas and tackle shops to ask about rights of way to the water.

As waters warm up, Newburgh Bay is the next hotspot, and then Kingston. “There are a lot of small sweet spots in between,” McShane said.

Anglers will find plentiful marinas, boat launches and tackle shops in Catskill where Catskill Creek runs into the Hudson.

“The fish stack up at Troy Dam,” McShane said. “In May, they turn around and leave. But people do catch them into mid- to late June as the bass are headed out.

“After June, there probably won’t be any big bass north of Haverstraw,” he noted. “This migratory species does a big loop, going up north and swinging out into the ocean, then coming back toward the coast in fall.

“They spend the winter in North Carolina, so there is a fall run in September, October and November in the saltier areas of the Hudson and along both coasts of Long Island.

“We also have resident stripers --usually younger males in the 2- to 5-year range that will live in the more brackish, southern portion of the Hudson,” McShane concluded.

“In fall, some of the big ones come back upriver to feed on small herring and shad.”

For more marine fishing information, call the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bureau of Marine Fisheries at (631) 444-0488. You can also visit www.dec.ny.gov/ outdoor/7894.html.

For travel information, you can visit www.iloveNY.com , or call 1-800-225-5697