I guess thats the difference between States with natural repro and those with put and take fishing. In Connecticut we actually gave up on the closing for most streams and have kept the traditional "opening day" primarily for the Shops and because of the popularity of it.
You can generally fish year round here and with the fewer fishermen we now have there is some great late season fishing as well as holdovers. During a portion of the year you may fish some streams but not keep any - it works great for die hards.
Unfortunatly because of put and take there are a lot of very popular smaller brooks and streams where the trout all die off during the summer only to be replaced the next spring. Like most states however good knowledge of the BOOK is imperative as rules will vary from place to place.