New York goes online with fishing access sites

If you want to fish in New York, you can scout out public fishing areas before you head out on your trip.

The state has placed online fishing access directories at two department World Wide Web sites, those of the New York State Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Visitors can use a map showing general locations of access sites, and then use a listing of access points organized by counties, including highway, and stream or lake locations.

The posting is part of the state's environmental initiative. The DOT has been working with the DEC to identify more access locations and to construct more fishing sites and boat launching facilities along state highways.

The announcement coincided with the start of the trout season on April 1.