VIDEO: Watch the Fishmobile in Action in New York State

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) is all about fish this spring. Many of the trout that you pull out of rivers and streams in the Empire State came from a NYS DEC stocking mission. If you're extra lucky, they came from one of their fishmobiles.

There's a lot of thought and research that goes into maintaining healthy trout populations in New York state. Earlier this year, NYS DEC scientists spent days clipping the fins of certain trout species for a special study on the health of the Rome and Romiskany variants of brown trout, but the real fun is how they get put back into the water.

Trout Stocking in New York State

"DEC staff continue to stock New York’s waterways with various species of trout. Take a peek at how it’s done, and get hooked on fishing!", read a recent post. In addition to tossing literal buckets of fish into local waterways (above) there's also the (informally named) fishmobile, which holds the aquatic creatures in a large tank before they're "spit" out of an evacuation tube (below).

The massive trucks help with the equally massive project. The NYS DEC estimated that nearly 2 million trout from local hatcheries are stocked in New York waters each year. Locally in the Mid-Hudson Valley, Ulster County receives most of the stocked trout, with Plattekill Creek, Rondout Creek, and the Rondout Reservoir being a few of the planned stocking locations this month. You can see the tanker truck in action below.

There's plenty of ways to enjoy Hudson Valley nature, and the NYS DEC hopes that fishing is just one of the ways New Yorkers get out in the wilderness. More options include taking advantage of some of the best hiking in the country (below), and keep scrolling to check out the "hiking therapy animals" you can enjoy them with.