In a completely separate initiative, Elliot’s staff saw to it that Sylvan Lake in Dutchess County was added to the state’s roster of trout lakes on which ice-fishing is permitted, effective last Oct. 1. Elliot said the change was made because local sportsmen’s clubs recently opened a public fishing access site on the lake.

Along with the legendary rivers of the Beamoc watershed, McBride touts the upper East Branch Delaware above the Pepacton Reservoir in Delaware County as a stream that has big brown trout and relatively little angling pressure. He also likes numerous small streams in the Catskills region, including some so tiny their names don’t show on regional maps.

“Almost all of our trout streams are underutilized,” McBride declared. “Not just the little ones, but some of the bigger rivers, too. On weekdays, especially, you won’t run into too many other fishermen.”

Elliot said he is “personally in love” with Esopus Creek, a rainbow trout-rich stream in Ulster County west of Kingston. He also gives high marks to the smooth-flowing, crystalline section of the Neversink below Neversink Reservoir in eastern Sullivan County.

The aura surrounding Catskill trout fishing sometimes blinds downstate anglers to the fine sport available on Long Island.

“We have trout fishing year ’round,” said “Chart” Guthrie, the Region 1 fisheries manager. “Because the weather is conducive, we stock a lot of nice fish in the fall to supply fishing through the winter.”

The autumn stockers are mostly 12- to 14-inch brown trout.

Laurel Lake in Southhold on Long Island’s North Fork, is one beneficiary of the fall planting. Although it’s only about 30 acres in size, Laurel Lake has a rich forage base consisting of snails, killifish and mayflies, and trout stocked there grow at a fast pace.

Like other New Yorkers, Long Island residents put up with lots of rain and cool summer temperatures in 2004. As a result, Guthrie expects more trout than usual will carry over from last season to this year.

The pre-eminent trout streams on the island are the Nissequogue, Connetquot and Carman’s rivers. Fans of the Nissequogue in Caleb Smith Park and the Connetquot in the Suffolk County park of the same name pay daily user fees to fish for stocked brookies, browns and rainbows on assigned beats.

Guthrie prefers the Carman’s, which has wild brook trout up to 10 inches and no beat restrictions where it flows through Southhaven Park.

For more information on New York’s trout management program, contact the New York Department of Environmental Conservation at www.dec.state.ny.us; or call (845) 256-3161.