Lengthening open seasons and permitting year-round, catch-and-release trout fishing are standard procedure on waters where ecological conditions and fishing pressure permit.

The Delaware River system -- which can be considered to include the Beaver Kill and Willowemoc Creek and the other major rivers including Esopus and Schoharie creeks and the Neversink River -- has dominated trout fishing in this region for many decades.

These are among the state’s top trout waters and should be on every angler’s list to sample this season.

This year, incidentally, the border stretches of the Delaware and West Branch do not open to catch-and-release trout fishing until April 12.

In addition to these famous rivers, you have many other opportunities for angling excursions, ranging from heavily stocked suburban streams to remote mountain headwaters that offer fishing for wild trout.

Some of the recommended lower Hudson Valley streams include Wappinger Creek, East Branch Croton River, the Ramapo River and the Mongaup River below the Rio Dam downstream to the Route 97 bridge.

In the northern Catskills and reaching up to the Capital District, where more severe weather conditions may be encountered, trout stocking is not likely to be completed until late April. However, some of the best bets for the trout opener, however, include Kinderhook Creek, the Hoosic and Little Hoosic River system, Poesten and Wynants kills, Roeliff Kill and Jansen Kill, the upper stretches of Catskill Creek and Onesquethaw Creek, and Batavia Kill.

These streams are slated to receive plantings of yearling and 2-year-old brown trout once the weather permits full-scale stocking operations.

In this region, 21 New York City water-supply reservoirs offer unparalleled trout-fishing opportunities. In addition to fishing licenses, free public-access permits are required.

The Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County, for example, is noted for producing trophy-sized rainbows, which also run up Esopus Creek. Rondout and Kenisco reservoirs are recommended this year for lake trout.

Most anglers will be trolling for brown trout in the Neversink Reservoir and West Branch Croton Reservoir in Putnam County. A modest population of landlocked salmon provides occasional surprises in both impoundments.

For information about public access permits and boating tags on these reservoirs, call the New York City Department of Environmental Protection at 1-800-575-5263.

LONG ISLAND
Excellent early-season trout fishing is offered on short steams in three Long Island parks governed by unique, special regulations designed to manage this region’s immense fishing pressure. These are the Connetquot River in Connetquot River State Park, the Nissequogue River in Caleb Smith State Park and the Carmans River in Southaven County Park, all of which are heavily stocked during the season.

The tidal sections of these and other streams are hotspots for sea-run wallhangers. Ponds recommended for trout include Laurel and East lakes in Suffolk County, and Massapequa Reservoir in Nassau County.

Find more about New York fishing and hunting at NewYorkGameandFish.com