October 09, 2006
Jersey Trout
I associate “New Jersey” with chemical plants, crowded beaches, and gridlocked traffic. So I was glad to visit the northwestern corner of the state where rolling hills and secluded forests are still the norm. TUers here are doing big things for their trout and I visited with them on one of their prettiest streams…
TU volunteers electrofishing in Ken Lockwood Gorge, NJ
The South Branch of the Raritan River in Ken Lockwood Gorge is a popular place to fish. The boulder-strewn river offers great trout cover and wild and stocked trout await anglers’ flies. Even when the fish aren’t biting, the scenic surroundings make the experience well worthwhile.
Maintaining such a fine fishery in a densely populated state is not automatic. Water quantity and quality must be protected. The health of the watershed and the streamside riparian corridor must be maintained. The state Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife needs to understand the fishery to set the appropriate regulations and stocking schedule.
Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups make sure these considerations are taken and our remaining trout streams are protected. New Jersey TUers cooperate closely across chapter lines to push for responsible development and mitigate past damages.
Last year, TUers completed a massive streambank restoration effort on the South Branch of the Raritan. By tapering and re-vegetating 11,000 feet of bank, they stabilized a highly erosive area, preventing sediment from accumulating in the stream.
New Jersey TUers volunteer to assist the Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife with electrofishing surveys and stocking. The state fisheries biologists are appreciative of the volunteer support. On big streams including the South Branch, it would be difficult for them to complete an electrofishing survey without the extra hands.
I joined well over a dozen TUers at Ken Lockwood Gorge to see them in action. Three chapter presidents and other “regulars” were on hand along with a few first time volunteers. The crew spread out across the river and marched up stream stunning and netting fish as they went.
The collection buckets were filled with a menagerie of fish species including sunfish, smallmouth bass, eels, and, of course, trout. The data will be used to better manage the fishery. I’m sure a few of the volunteers also took mental notes about where those big wild browns were found.
Elsewhere throughout the state, TU is active in conservation education. New Jersey chapters sponsor Trout in the Classroom (TIC) programs in 33 schools! If you haven’t already read about my visit with TIC in New York, please CLICK HERE.
No matter where you live, if you volunteer a little time to TU, you can help your favorite trout fisheries… and someday you might learn exactly where “the big ones” live.
CLICK HERE to see a couple photos from Ken Lockwood Gorge.
CLICK HERE to visit NJ TU's hompage
CLICK HERE to use TU’s chapter search to find your local chapter. Autumn is a great time to get involved.
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October 05, 2006
Bogs and Brookies
No time to stop for breakfast. I ate dried cranberries and sipped motel coffee on the drive to Plymouth. Little did I know that I’d learn a lot about where those tasty “Craisins” came from…
A Red Brook Salter Brook Trout
Cranberry farming is highly labor intensive. The berry bushes require just the right combination of sand and water, particularly in the fall when an early frost can damage the crop. So I’m told by Peter Motyka, Secretary of the Southeast Massachusetts Chapter of TU.
Peter grew up playing hockey on frozen cranberry bogs. Now he is working to get his TU chapter involved in a large-scale restoration effort at a fallow cranberry bog near his home.
The bog was cultivated for 100 years before it lost its productivity and was donated to the town of Plymouth. The fast growing community is looking to set aside the land as an American white cedar preserve. Favored for shingles and other products, eastern seaboard cedar forests are now few and far between. Along with the trees, we lost a unique ecological community when we cleared most of the white cedar forest.
Transforming the cranberry bog into a more natural ecosystem will require a lot of work. The first step will be removing 100 years worth of sand, exposing the peat below. While the town and Inter Fluve, an environmental engineering firm, will be doing most of the work, Peter hopes the Southeast Massachusetts chapter will be able to assist the effort.
The Eel River flows through the bog and part of the overall restoration plan would call for a stream improvement project. With a little work, the Eel River may support a viable population of native brook trout once again.
After spending the summer visiting completed and near-completed projects, it was enjoyable to visit a potential project site in the initial planning phase. I hope that Peter and the Southeast Chapter are able to pull it off.
This particular TU chapter has a history completing large-scale projects. After visiting Eel River, Peter took me to Red Brook, the site of an acclaimed salter brook trout restoration. Salters are rare sea-running brook trout.
The chapter, along with the Massachusetts-Rhode Island TU Council, has spent decades restoring and protecting this beautiful coastal stream. Click HERE to read more.
A beadhead nymph tempted a few salters. Peter and I marveled at these unique specimens before gently releasing them back into their natal waters.
Click HERE to see my photos.
Click HERE to visit the Southeast Mass Chapter website
Click HERE to visit the MA-RI TU council website
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Good Water
Three months ago, Charlie Shadan fulfilled a long-time dream and opened a fly shop in Pepperell, MA. Through the business, Charlie hopes to attract new members to the Squan-a-tissit Chapter of Trout Unlimited…
TU information displayed at The Evening Sun Fly Shop
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many fly shop owners and guides who are ardent conservationists. TU depends on the volunteer hours, the donated tackle and the publicity generated by the angling business world.
Fishing professionals are in a unique position to attract new TU members. Charlie signed his business, The Evening Sun Fly Shop, up for a TU Outfitters, Guides, and Business membership. Whether you own a pizza parlor or a fly shop, this program is a great way to support TU.
Charlie has dedicated a corner of his store to conservation information, including handouts from TU. He also encourages customers to join the organization and chooses products, such as Hodgman waders, that include a TU membership with each purchase.
As Charlie puts it, his business depends on clean water. He can’t understand why any fishing professional wouldn’t actively support TU.
The members who sign up through Charlie’s shop will join to the ranks of the Squan-a-tissit Chapter. One of the chapter’s ongoing efforts is stream monitoring. Squan-a-tissit TUers work closely with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to keep track of water quantity and temperature as well as search for unrecorded populations of native brook trout.
Past chapter president Russ Schott took me to Gulf Brook, a diminutive stream that flows through a tight, wooded gorge. Chapter members discovered brook trout here in 1999. Gulf Brook is spring-fed. The springs were bottled by the Pepperell Springs Water Company for years and the product was awarded “best tasting water” at the World Fair in the early 1900s.
The bottling company recently went defunct and the chapter helped the town of Pepperell and the Trust for Public Land purchase the property, preserving over ½ mile of creek frontage and a sizeable chunk of the watershed.
With the springs now protected, the resident brook trout will benefit from clean, not to mention tasty, water for years to come.
To learn more about the Squan-a-tissit Chapter, visit their website at www.squanatissit.org.
To read more about the Outfitters, Guides, and Business Members program, CLICK HERE.
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September 29, 2006
The Batten Kill: Past, Present, and Future
Manchester, Vermont is ensconced in trout angling history. The quaint town is home to Orvis, the American Museum of Fly Fishing, and the renowned Batten Kill. Unfortunately, the Batten Kill’s celebrated wild brown trout population has declined severely. Restoration efforts are in the works, but the state’s plan to stock the river threatens these efforts and the health of the fishery. I made a pilgrimage to the Batten Kill to meet with the local TUers, learn about the recovery plan, and try my luck in the famous river…
Angling the Batten Kill, VT
The Batten Kill has clean and cold water. Ample spawning gravels and healthy tributaries ensure successful trout reproduction. Strong populations of aquatic insects and forage fish provide a buffet line for the native brook trout and wild brown trout. The Batten Kill has every component of a world class wild trout stream except for one.
If I were running for mayor in Manchester, my motto would be, “It’s the habitat, stupid.” A comprehensive study of every aspect of river health revealed that the Batten Kill lacks the in-stream structures (such as logs, undercut banks, and deep pools) essential for trout survival.
As a result, Vermont Fish and Wildlife biologist Ken Cox has found that the trout population is “bottlenecked” and few trout survive past the 6-12” mark.
The lack of in-stream habitat is a result of 150 years of human disturbance. The river has been straightened, channelized, and cleared of logs and other “obstructions.”
Still today, canoeists and even a few anglers remove woody debris to make floating the river easier. As Cox describes it, the lack of habitat is a chronic situation that reached a tipping point in the mid 90s. The population of adult brown trout crashed.
Of course, the solution is obvious. Restore the in-stream habitat.
The state of Vermont, the Battenkill Watershed Alliance (BWA), and the Southwestern Vermont Chapter of TU aim to do just that. These groups have cooperated to install root wads and other habitat structures in recent years.
They are currently working on an impressive project called the Twin Rivers Farm Habitat Enhancement. Vermont Fish and Wildlife and the US Forest Service are handling the design and implementation of this project while BWA is spearheading the landowner relations and the fundraising.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Orvis Company tripled private donations, making the project financially feasible.
The end result will be 28 new in-stream structures at the confluence of the Green River and the Batten Kill.
In a recently proposed Interim Management Plan, Vermont Fish and Wildlife outlines four “action items” to restore the Batten Kill. The state’s number one priority is to establish partnerships with groups including TU and BWA to “protect, restore, and enhance” in-stream and riparian habitat.
A partnership between government agencies, non-profits, and private corporations seems like a great way to make big changes on the Batten Kill. All summer I’ve visited projects where cooperation fuels amazing results. The success of the Twin Rivers Farm effort shows that this type of cooperative work is the best course of action on the Batten Kill as well.
Unfortunately, the fourth item in the state’s Interim Management Plan threatens to derail the entire effort. Fish and Wildlife has proposed stocking up to 1000 sterile rainbows per year.
The state held a public hearing about their Interim Management Plan last week. I attended the meeting and listened to a large contingent of TUers and like-minded anglers make it clear that the public wants to keep the Batten Kill wild.
About four out of every five speakers opposed the stocking plan. The Southwestern Vermont TU Chapter did a tremendous job at informing concerned anglers about the meeting and collecting letters from those who couldn’t attend to make sure the public was heard.
Here is what the public said:
The input of even 1000 catchable-sized hatchery fish a year would likely harm the river’s wild trout. Given that the 6-12” wild trout are already dying because of a lack of habitat, it doesn’t make any sense to throw in 1000 more 12” fish.
Not only might these stockies compete with the wild fish, but a stocked fishery would turn this catch-and-release area into a catch-to-keep destination. While the river would remain catch-and-release for brown and brook trout, uninformed anglers might not differentiate between species of trout and keep wild fish. The use of bait could increase unintentional mortality as well.
The Batten Kill is one of only 5 wild trout streams in the state. Perk Perkins, CEO of Orvis, pointed out that stocking is a slippery slope and that it would be difficult for the state to stop stocking after it started. One fishing guide asked, “Where’s the exit strategy?”
Many expressed their concern that stocking would provide a “quick fix,” detracting attention from habitat improvement, the real solution.
“This is about treating an unusually beautiful river how it should be treated,” Perkins said.
While stocking would undoubtedly improve business for Orvis, the company has decided to pull its funding for habitat improvement efforts on the Batten Kill if the state stocks the river. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation would also seriously reconsider their donations.
The loss of financial support from Orvis and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation would destroy the positive momentum of the recent habitat improvement projects. If the state wants to maintain the number one goal, habitat restoration, they are going to have to abandon this short-sighted attempt to provide easily catchable adult trout immediately.
And it isn’t as if the Batten Kill is devoid of trout today. The lack of competition has allowed the brown trout that survive the bottleneck to grow quite large. Expert anglers enjoy hunting these elusive leviathans. Smaller brook trout offer fine angling when the big browns are hiding in their lairs.
Two Southwestern Vermont Chapter TUers, Peter Bellamy and Doug Lyons, took me fishing and I can report that the river offers a fine angling experience.
The bucolic setting is reason enough to wade in the Batten Kill. Covered bridges and old farmhouses complement the clear water and vibrant foliage. The fall colors were just starting to turn during my visit and the green hillsides had a faint glint of red, reminding me of the color of a ripening apple.
The trout were rising during the middle of the day to tricos and small blue-winged olive emergers. I’m sure the last sentence excited some of you and caused others to shudder. I love fishing tricos and we had a blast giving the river’s brook trout sore lips.
If the fishing is slow on the Batten Kill, there is still plenty for the angler to do. Nearby small streams, including the Mettawee, are a lot of fun. After the trico activity ended, we headed up to the Mettawee where Doug showed me how he fishes large dun variants in the stream’s deep pockets.
Off-the-water attractions include the large Orvis flagship store and the American Museum of Fly Fishing.
The museum is the largest repository for fly fishing gear in the world. The exhibits focus on the progression of the sport, fly tying, and famous anglers including Wulff, Williams, Hemingway. The museum also has a library where you can peruse over 7,000 titles! Even Vermont winters aren’t that long.
Depending on where you stay, sitting by the fire and reading is a good option. I stayed at the Battenkill Inn, a beautifully restored 1840 farmhouse operated by TUers Judy and Alan Edmunds. Despite rising trout out the backdoor, I was half tempted to sit in their cozy living room all day.
When you are lodged in a 19th century farmhouse after a day of fishing amongst covered bridges, it is hard to avoid thinking about the history of trout angling. And by looking at the past, we can formulate a vision for the future. The historically robust wild trout population in the Batten Kill offers a great restoration goal.
Recent articles in Southern Vermont newspapers imply that the state has decided not to stock the river. I hope these rumors are correct. If we can unify our efforts to improve habitat, the wild trout in the Batten Kill will have a bright future.
I took some good photos on the Batten Kill. Please click HERE to see them.
Thanks to Peter Bellamy, the Southwestern Vermont Chapter has a tremendous website. At their site you can read more about the Batten Kill, submit a comment to Vermont Fish and Wildlife about their Interim Management Plan, and learn how to help habitat restoration efforts. Please click HERE.
The American Museum of Fly Fishing also has a website that is worth visiting. Click HERE.
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September 25, 2006
The Candlewood Valley Chapter
The Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited is a little chapter doing big things to protect and restore their local trout waters. With only eight self-sustaining, “Class 1” wild trout fisheries left in Connecticut, the chapter’s work is both timely and important…
A Connecticut Brook Trout
Deep Brook and the Pootatuck River converge near downtown Newtown, CT. Favorable geology and good vegetative cover allow these streams to support a wild trout fishery. Unfortunately, the streams are affected by many of the problems associated with the semi-urban environment.
Invasive plants in the riparian zone, oil spills in the watershed, pollutants in stormwater runoff, poaching, and eroding streambanks are just a few of the challenges that the wild trout must overcome. As James Belden puts it, the streams are at risk of “death by a thousand cuts.”
James is the President of the local Candlewood Valley Chapter of TU (CVTU) as well as the Pootatuck Watershed Association. Thanks to the hard work of these two groups, the future looks bright for both Deep Brook and the Pootatuck.
In the last few years, CVTU has used funds from Embrace-A-Stream and other sources to restore hundreds of feet of streambank, plant thousands of trees, and remove non-native plants. These projects aim to stabilize eroding streambanks and restore a riparian buffer zone between the stream and developed land.
From what I saw, their efforts are working marvelously. Logs protect the banks and offer trout habitat and the new trees are taking hold. Over 200 school kids and scouts have assisted the chapter with invasive plants removal and tree plantings.
In addition to teaching the next generation about conservation through on-the-ground work, CVTU supports Trout in the Classroom programs in half a dozen towns. If you haven’t read about my visit with Trout in the Classroom in New York, CLICK HERE.
Now that the chapter has completed the habitat work on Deep Brook, they are turning their focus towards watershed level water quality issues. Two oil spills in the last few years have been a detriment to water quality. The daily input of fertilizer and chemicals from fields, yards, and roads is less dramatic, but arguably more detrimental in the long run.
CVTU cooperates with the town and the state to collect water and soil samples as well as monitor water temperature and aquatic macroinvertebrates. The monitoring effort is the first step towards a watershed-wide effort to improve water quality.
These achievements are entirely due to the hard work of James and the chapter’s other active volunteers. If you live near Danbury, CT, get involved! You’ll meet nice people like James and you will help improve your community.
CLICK HERE to see my photos of CVTU project sites.
CLICK HERE to visit CVTU’s website.
If you are a TUer elsewhere in the country, ’tis the season to apply for Embrace-A-Stream grants. CLICK HERE to find out more.
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September 23, 2006
Secret Brooks
What’s more fun than fishing? Searching for an undocumented population of native trout in a mountain stream just might be. Trout Unlimited’s Kirt Mayland wondered if a beautiful creek near his house held brookies. He called Mike Humphreys, Connecticut’s wild trout biologist, and we hit the woods to find out…
A small Connecticut stream
The stream sure looked like it should hold trout. The water was clear and cold. Pools and boulders provided ample holding water. Some of the pools were over 6 feet deep. The stream was surrounded by forest, but this was not always the case.
The forests of Connecticut have been cleared twice during the last few hundred years. Evidence of old farms is scattered throughout the woods. We walked through a network of stone walls and old building foundations, skeletons of early America.
It is hard to picture the buildings that stood here over 200 years ago. It is even harder to comprehend the timeline of the brook trout. For thousands upon thousands of years, brook trout have thrived here. It is scary how quickly we extirpated the brook trout from watersheds up and down the eastern seaboard.
Fortunately, brook trout still find refuge in small streams. Just moments after the electrofishing probes touched the water, we learned that Kirt’s little creek is one such place.
Humans, particularly anglers, find brook trout aesthetically pleasing. Just seeing one is sure to brighten your mood for the day, or even the entire week. The knowledge that these fish are good indicators of clean water and an intact ecosystem makes each sighting more exciting. We all live downstream.
Trout Unlimited and numerous government and non-profit partners have undertaken the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture in 17 states, including Connecticut. The Venture aims to identify the current status of the brookie as well as the threats to remaining populations. This information will provide a foundation of knowledge for preservation and restoration efforts. To learn more, click HERE.
If brook trout bring a smile to your face, take a look at my photos by clicking HERE.
Fishing the Housatonic
After our morning chasing brook trout, Kirt and I headed downstream to the Housatonic. One of the most famous fisheries in Southern New England, the Housy is a great place to catch a few trout and meet new fishing buddies.
We arrived to find scattered risers slurping small mayfly emergers. We also ran into Len, an active TUer affiliated with Danbury’s Candlewood Valley Chapter. Len left us with the proper ammunition for the day, a small snowshoe hare emerger that worked wonders on the brown trout.
I left the Housatonic for Newtown, CT, where I met with other members of the Candlewood Valley Chapter and toured their tremendous restoration efforts. Keep checking back regularly! I’ll write about these projects soon.
If you haven’t already, please take a look at these PHOTOS.
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September 20, 2006
Back East
From large tailwater rivers to small backwoods ponds, the Northeast has something for every trout angler. Unfortunately, a long legacy of disturbance has greatly reduced native trout and salmon populations. The constant threat of poorly planned land development confounds the situation. In the face of these challenges, TUers are doing great things for their trout and their communities…
Autumn on a CT Stream
I drove across the nation once this summer, so I decided to fly east for “round two.” I am always amazed at how fast one can get from Bozeman to Washington D.C. It is a small country when you travel at several hundred miles per hour!
While the flight was quick, it took me ten hours to drive from D.C. to Connecticut. The traffic in Northern New Jersey was horrendous. I got a dose of what it is like to be an east coast commuter. Yuck.
I finally made it to Lakeville, CT, a vacation hamlet for city folks who are sick of their commutes. Kirt Mayland, the director of TU’s Eastern Water Project, grew up in this southern bastion of New England. After a stint in New York City, Kirt returned to Lakeville where he works out of his small but charming home, surrounded by hardwood forest. Kirt specializes in water law and his knowledge has been invaluable to TU’s cause in New England.
I always assumed that water law was almost entirely a western issue. There is a lot more water and a lot less demand for irrigation in the east. This assumption is incorrect and it is becoming less true every day.
Increased development is catching up with the amount of available fresh water. Heavy withdrawal from underground aquifers is affecting the quantity of surface water. Small streams are drying up. These streams are important habitat for amphibians, insects, and fish. They provide the cold water that trout depend on.
Archaic dams and water diversions also leave streams dry. Some utility companies stubbornly refuse to adopt the best available technology, exacerbating the impacts of water withdrawal.
Of course, more water provides more habitat for fish and other creatures. But healthy water flows are also important to mitigate the impacts of chemicals and excess nutrient loads. As they say, “dilution is the solution to water pollution.” The negative effects of golf courses, roads, and malfunctioning septic tanks are more pronounced when water flows are low.
Of course, folks need roads and septic tanks and they like their putting greens and lush lawns. With a little imagination, forethought, and commitment, we can conserve enough water to take care of both trout and people.
This is the crux of Kirt’s job. Kirt works with policymakers and utility companies to enact legislation that keeps water in the streams and provides realistic water conservation goals.
Rather than simply setting a minimum base flow, TU advocates restoring the natural hydrograph. Seasonal variations in flow are a crucial, but often overlooked, component of stream health.
Healthy streams mean more trout. And anglers aren’t the only ones who should care about more trout. Sensitive native species such as brook trout are important indicators of high water quality and an intact ecosystem. Even those people who think trout are just “icky, slimy fish” should be glad that their kids’ drinking water is pure.
Kirt and the other TUers working on New England water law have been highly successful. They have pushed legislation in Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts.
I’d rather bang my head against the wall than deal with politics all day, so I am particularly impressed by Kirt’s successes! We all benefit when hard working folks like Kirt are using the political system to improve the future for our streams.
This is just the first of many blog entries about the Northeast, so “stay TUned.” Tomorrow I’ll write about searching for an undocumented population of native brook trout in a small Connecticut stream as well as fishing on the Housatonic River.
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May 22, 2006
Trout in the Classroom, Students in the Water
If your 2nd grade class had raised and studied trout, would you have been a more engaged pupil? Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a national program that educates kids of all ages about trout, ecology, conservation, and the outdoors. In the process, TIC makes school fun!
Two TIC students prepare to release a trout fingerling
If a kid in New York City has ever seen a trout, chances are it was on ice in the supermarket. Thanks to TIC, more NYC children are seeing trout alive. The idea is simple, put trout eggs into an aquarium and allow students to observe and care for the young trout. The rewards are unrivaled.
These kids learn a lot, and not only about trout. As it turns out, these fish provide the perfect medium to teach about water quality, ecological interactions, and outdoor activities. Furthermore, students learn responsibility while caring for the fish and they can even gain self confidence.
Kids who are failing math, spelling, or other traditional subjects may be great with the trout. When these students experience this success, it can boost their self-esteem and literally change the path of their entire life.
I was fortunate enough to attend a TIC trout release. After raising their fish all school year, the students release them into a nearby stream or reservoir (with the approval of the State, of course). As they let them go, they say goodbye to the trout, which they have named “Sport,” “Elvis,” and the like. In addition to placing the fish in a natural environment, the release provides the kids with an opportunity to see a stream first hand.
Rochelle Gandour, the tireless coordinator for TIC, assembled a group of volunteers to help with the release. A State Forester, a Department of Environmental Protection employee, and TU volunteers taught the kids about everything from trees, to macroinvertebrates. We had two classes throughout the day, second graders and high school students. One of the great things about TIC is that it can be tailored to any age group. Trout engage the attention of 8 year olds and 18 year olds alike.
Trout in the Classroom not only puts students in touch with nature, it connects them to something they depend on daily, their water supply. Residents of New York City enjoy some of the cleanest drinking water in the nation. While most New Yorkers would be disgusted to find out there are aquatic macroinvertebrates (a.k.a. “bugs”) in their water, TIC students now know better. The presence of these indicator species is important to both the city and the resident trout, including “Sport” and “Elvis.”
CLICK HERE to see the photos
NOTE: TIC was started by the Theodore Gordon Fly Fishers in New York City. Now, TU chapters and angling clubs across the country are contributing to this program financially and with volunteer hours. Starting a TIC tank in a local classroom is a great use of your chapter’s funds. Visit http://www.tu.org/site/pp.asp?c=7dJEKTNuFmG&b=404755 to find out more about TIC.
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May 21, 2006
Best in the East
I’ve heard that the West Branch of the Delaware is the "best in the east" because it fishes like a western river. They say the West Branch resembles the Madison. This begs the question, why would I drive 3,000+ miles from the banks of the Madison River to fish here? I found that the West Branch offers a world class trout fishing experience with a uniquely eastern flavor. This river is worth the trip, no matter where you live…
Yours Truly with a West Branch Delaware Brown Trout
If someone tells you that the West Branch is like the Maddy, it’s because they haven’t spent much time on the Madison. The only similarity I noticed is that both rivers hold flowing water. The flowing water in the West Branch is largely due to the strong work of Trout Unlimited and the Delaware River Foundation (DRF), two groups that have lobbied to ensure minimum flows in the Delaware River System.
Reservoirs on the West and East Branches of the Delaware as well as the Neversink River provide water for New York City. In the late 1980s and early 90s, the city’s thirst reduced these rivers to the volume of a grizzly bear’s tinkle. TU, DRF, and other groups went to work, convincing the state and the city to increase flows during low water periods. In 2002, a new minimum flow pilot program was implemented on the West Branch, ensuring 225 cubic feet per second in the river. This minimum flow is great for the local economy (which reaps significant benefits from visiting anglers), the coldwater ecosystem, as well as the striped bass and shad in the lower river. Unfortunately, these improvements are still threatened by political whim and will require continuous effort to protect. Please get involved by supporting TU and the DRF for the sake of the environment, the trout, and the local communities.
The Delaware River system offers the angler great hatches and large wild trout. Right now it’s prime time for the hendrickson hatch. In addition to hendricksons, I saw march browns, a gray caddis, sulphurs, blue-winged olives, and midges. The river is often coated with a mat of emergers, duns, and spinners and the trick is figuring out the insect and the life form that the fish are keying in on. Delaware River fish see a lot of flies, both natural and artificial, and they demand fine tippets and realistic imitations. Also, your drift has to be just about perfect, so make sure you can cast proficiently before going head-to-head with these fish.
A drift boat is a great way to access the West Branch and a local guide, almost like a good golf caddy, is invaluable for locating feeding fish and selecting a fly. I had a great day on the water with guide Wayne Aldridge of the West Branch Angler. The morning started out really slow, but things picked up in the mid afternoon. While sight fishing rising trout in front of a bedrock outcropping, we boated our biggest trout of the day, an 18-20” brown taken on a cdc hendrickson comparadun and 6x fluorocarbon.
By evening, the hendrickson spinner fall was in full swing and the fishing became epic. Large browns were feeding voraciously, chomping bugs like Pac-man. Sometimes it took a few casts to get my fly in the right spot at the right time, but our efforts were rewarded by these strong and beautiful trout (see the photos HERE).
In addition to the three unique rivers that compose the Delaware, rivers and streams in the Catskill Mountains are of interest to the angler. American fly fishing originated here, on the Beaverkill and the Willowemoc. TU has worked hard on local and national levels to protect these rivers for the sake of our natural and cultural heritage.
These rivers are located in the heart of the eastern seaboard and are easily accessible to millions of people. I wonder how many east coast anglers have traveled thousands of miles to fish the Madison, but have yet to experience the Delaware. After all, I’ve heard the Madison is the Delaware of the West…
Please look at my photos CLICK HERE
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