It’s trout season. Things are lining up to get out there and enjoy the great outdoors. The wood ducks are back and I’ve heard some peepers. Soon white suckers will start to spawn up in our creeks. Did you know white suckers spawn in the same creek where they were hatched? It’s a very overlooked native fish.
I did some calculations on our area regarding the DEC stocking of trout. Within an hour’s drive, over 33,000 trout will be stocked in just a cup of coffee’s drive away. Last year, we had Josh and Julia, DEC Region 4 biologists, as guest speakers. They’re responsible for many more miles of streams and more fish right in our area! Looks to me like they’re still hard at work.
Here is a short summary of the 2026 trout stocking in our area:
• Basswood Pond-510 rainbow and brown trout.
• Elk Creek, town of Maryland-1600 brown trout.
• Gilbert Lake-720 rainbow and brown trout
• Otego Creek-2490 brown trout
• Schenevus Creek-3250 brown trout
• Wharton Creek-4,280 brown trout
• Arnold’s Lake-780 rainbow and brown trout
• Charlotte Creek-1,280 brown trout
• Delaware River, from South Kortright to Walton-18,000 brown trout
That’s approximately 33,000 trout within an hour from Oneonta; and that’s not counting our Chapter stocking the “Trout in the Classroom” fish.
* We are in need of donations of usable and salable, new or pre-owned fishing tackle or other outdoor sporting goods for our fall sale or meeting raffles. No guns, ammo, books or junk. Call Tom Trelease at 607-434-7211 or Steve Eichler at 607 643-1516
Steve Eichler is the co-president of The Dave Brandt Chapter of Trout Unlimited
