The Fishing Line - June 12th Issue

Freshwater Fishing, Fisheries Management, and Fishing Access News

In This Issue:

• Bass Season Opens June 15
• Walleye - Coming to a Water Near You
• ICYMI - Conesus Lake Pike Netting
• DEC Fisheries Staff Spotlight - Katie Williams, Salmon River Fish Hatchery

Bass Season Opens June 15

The open season for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass, collectively known as black bass, begins on June 15 and extends through November 30. Not only are there plentiful waters to fish for them, but many provide outstanding opportunities to catch trophies. There's a reason why New York draws national-level bass fishing tournaments every year!

Special fishing regulations exist for some waters, so be sure to check the current fishing regulations before heading out to fish.

If you're interested in taking that next step and going "beyond the bobber," give bass fishing a try! A spincasting (push-button) or medium action spinning rod rigged with a soft stick bait "wacky-style," (PDF) is very popular and can be pretty effective in catching both species. It's great for kids too because fishing the wacky rig really just involves casting it out, letting it sink to the bottom, and reeling it in with a twitch-pause action. Most times, bass will strike on the drop. Some other popular lures include crank baits, spinner baits, and tube jigs.

Our website is a great source of information for learning how to get started in fishing and where to go. Some helpful links are included below:

Fishing the Wacky Rig (PDF) 
Beginning Fishing Information 
Where to Go Fishing 
Freshwater Fishing Regulations 

Walleye - Coming to a Water Near You

Staff at the South Otselic Hatchery are currently harvesting walleye fingerlings that have been growing in their 10 earthen ponds since late April. The good news - the 1½ inch long fingerlings are in excellent condition and early returns suggest that survival is high. The great news - over the next two weeks they’ll be stocked in over a dozen waters throughout the state to maintain New York’s valuable walleye fisheries!

Fishing for Walleye

2022 Walleye Stocking Numbers

ICYMI - Conesus Lake Pike Netting

A couple of Fishing Line issues ago we profiled a recent fisheries survey on Conesus Lake where our staff were assessing the northern pike population. Now you can see the highlights from that survey in a 45-second clip available on YouTube "shorts."

Check out the video, along with a host of other interesting quick video clips produced by DEC.

DEC YouTube Shorts

DEC Fisheries Staff Spotlight - Katie Williams, Salmon River Fish Hatchery

Growing up, I knew I always wanted to do something that involved the outdoors. In my spare time, I like to camp, fish, and hike with my dog. Fish, however, have always piqued my interest, and I later found out there are many different jobs working with fish.

I spent a few summers working in the Cortland office as a seasonal fisheries technician. My responsibilities included surveying gamefish populations by electrofishing, trap netting, and gill netting. In 2018, I graduated from SUNY Cobleskill with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture. I had always wanted to go to Alaska, so I thought to myself, what better way to expand my experience in the fisheries world, so I moved up there for the summer. I ended up working two summers at two different hatcheries, Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp. and Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association, as a fisheries technician, spawning and rearing many fish species including Chum, Pink, Sockeye, Chinook salmon, and Triploid steelhead.

After two summers, I decided to move back to NY to be with family, and the position as a Fish Culturist 1 became available at the Salmon River Fish Hatchery. Some of my favorite tasks here include spawning salmon and steelhead to help increase populations, as well as driving the big stocking trucks and stocking the fish I helped raise across New York State, then seeing them return back to the hatchery in a few years time.