NY Announces Opening Day For Fishing Coolwater Species

For anglers, social distancing was a way of life before the pandemic.

And if you are itching to get out to fish  Governor Cuomo announced earlier today "...the fishing season for popular cool water species such as walleye, northern pike, pickerel, and tiger muskellunge begins on Saturday, May 1."

I did not know this, but apparently, walleye are pretty sought after in the state of New York and according to the Governor's office they not only make for a great fishing challenge but they also make for good eating. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has a whole list of lakes nearby in the Adirondacks that are great for walleye, pike, and all the species listed above to plan your next fishing trip.

Now if you are a more casual angler, you can always wait for New York's free fishing days to plan your next excursion. These are your opportunity to go freshwater fishing without a license. So if you are just strapped for time and don't want to fully commit to a  fishing license, or if you just want to try angling to see if is something you want to invest more time in, these free days are a great opportunity to et out on the lake. The next set of free fishing days are coming Saturday, June 26th, and Sunday, June 27th and you can see a full schedule of these special days for the year here.

For info and details on how to purchase a fishing license, you can visit the NY DEC website.