About Adirondack Brook Trout Ponds
In the United States pond dwelling populations of brook trout are extremely rare outside the Adirondack region of New York and the state of Maine. This makes the brook trout ponds of the Adirondacks an integral component of the natural heritage of New York State, offering a unique angling opportunity in an often-secluded location.
Why DEC Manages Adirondack Brook Trout Ponds
Fishing for brook trout in a remote pond is prized by anglers from around the world as an iconic Adirondack experience. However, these ponds are vulnerable to several serious threats that can render them inhospitable to brook trout, including climate change, lingering effects of acid precipitation, and invasion by incompatible or detrimental fish species commonly used as bait. Given their recreational and conservation importance to the native ecosystems of the Adirondack Forest Preserve, DEC has an obligation to conserve and, where possible, restore healthy populations of pond-dwelling brook trout.
Management Efforts
- Biological surveys are conducted to assess brook trout population status.
- Water chemistry surveys are conducted to assess habitat suitability for brook trout.
- Fish barriers are maintained to exclude incompatible and detrimental fish species from brook trout ponds.
- Reclamations are conducted to eliminate incompatible and detrimental fish species from ponds for reestablishing brook trout populations.
- Multiple strains of brook trout are propagated and stocked for restoration and recreational purposes.
Management Plan
Draft Adirondack Brook Trout Pond Management Plan, 2025-2040 (PDF)
DEC has drafted a new 15-year plan that:
- Builds upon the lessons learned from implementing the 1979 management plan.
- Incorporates current science.
- Addresses emerging challenges to pond-dwelling Adirondack brook trout.
- Provides common technical guidance to DEC fisheries biologists.
- Establishes consistent management across the Adirondacks.
- Seeks to reduce the spread of detrimental and incompatible fish species, including baitfish.
- Creates a learning environment to support adaptive management.
The development of the new plan reflects a deliberative approach that included:
- Administering an online survey of brook trout anglers: Angler Perspectives on Brook Trout Pond Fishing in New York State (2022) (PDF),
- Documenting the lessons learned under the 1979 management plan: Historical Perspectives on Brook Trout Management (PDF),
- Obtaining input from a focus group of anglers, researchers, and conservation stakeholders, and
- Collecting public feedback on the key features of the plan through three public information sessions.
