Photo by Rod Cochran.

If the 2008 trout season is anywhere near as good as last year’s, Empire State fishermen who fish the Catskill streams will find the fishing absolutely phenomenal.

Across the state, informal reports indicate that last year, fishing success was at least above average. Upstate, however, a late-summer drought became a problem, especially in smaller headwaters. By the end of August, the seasonal rainfall was two inches short of the average, and Lake Ontario was nine inches below normal.

During September, low water levels in the Salmon River stressed spawning salmon, resulting in higher mortality -- and a one-month delay in the opening of the annual fly-fishing-only, catch-and-release season at Altmar.

Historically, floods or drought rarely have lasting effects on trout populations. At press time, expectations were for another great season, according to Jim Daley, head of the Cold Water Unit for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

Here’s a brief look at current trout-management operations across the state, followed by regional fishing recommendations by fisheries biologists for the upcoming season:

Of most interest to trout fishermen is the major trout-management program carried out by the DEC -- the annual stocking of approximately 2.3 million catchable-size trout in some 3,100 miles of streams, and 300 lakes and ponds (exclusive of the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie programs).

Last season, for example, 1.8 million brown trout, 392,00 rainbow trout and 151,000 brook trout were released. Stockings of 2-year-old brown trout continue to increase, with enthusiastic support from fishermen. Last season, approximately 89,000 browns from 12 to 13 inches in length were planted, with some as large as 15 inches long.

Additionally, the DEC conducts a trout and salmon fingerling-stocking program aimed at producing catchable-sized fish during succeeding years. More than 2 million lake trout, steelhead, landlocked salmon, splake and coho salmon are stocked in appropriate waters exclusive of lakes Ontario and Erie.

For anglers seeking quiet wilderness-like settings, the DEC stocked 340,000 brook trout fingerlings in 335 ponds. With this expansive stocking program well established, DEC fisheries managers are quick to point out that New York’s thousands of miles of wild trout streams provide excellent fishing, a real treasure in today’s fishing world.

Highlights of other trout-management programs include the Public Fishing Rights (PFR) program on coldwater streams, a high-priority project that receives money from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund to provide public fishing easements on private land. PFR signs designate these stretches. But fishermen are cautioned that landowners may post these parcels against other activities besides fishing.