FISH T H E U LT I M AT E F I S H I N G G U I D E F O R T H E U P P E R D E L A W A R E R I V E R V A L L E Y
2015
Sharing a love of fishing
If fish thrive in it, it’s good for you to drink
A RIVER REPORTER LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
Water flows &
healthy fish
Letter from the Editor Some fish are very adaptable and will live almost anywhere there is sufficient oxygen in the water and food to eat. Some, like the Death Valley pupfish, are extremely restricted, found only in small remnants, less than an acre in size, of their prehistoric domain. In our region, we enjoy plentiful habitat for selective fish species like trout that rely on cold, clean water to thrive. FISH 2015, the fourth annual issue, focuses on fish, their environment and how we can work together to ensure that the exceptional water quality trout enjoy is also available for people to drink now and in the future. Stef Kroll of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Photo by Susan Ferguson Drexel University, in “If fish thrive in it, it’s good for you to drink,” introduces us to the science-based decision-making behind the Delaware River WaterSteven Schwartz shed Initiative and how finding fish and other indilives on the Delaware River cator species in our waters is a good thing. in Equinunk, PA, and owns In “The confluence of fishing, economy, and Delaware Valley Ramps, river protection,” Jeff Skelding discusses the role providing wild forest foraged fish play in helping to organize people to protect foods to restaurants and their environment. Prized trout, though they’re wholesalers. He also helps unaware, attract people who care about the rivers. conserve private lands Peter Kolesar has spent years divining the numin the Upper Delaware bers seeking common ground between the politiRiver Watershed through cal, economic, and municipal interests of New York his consulting work with City water users and the multiple interests of river the Delaware Highlands dwellers, animal, vegetable and human. “Of river Conservancy and the flows, fish and interstate politics” dives into these Delaware River Watershed waters, explaining how decisions made in NYC and Initiative. Trenton affect our river and our lives. Getting back to fish as the object of our desire, Judd Weisberg in “Sharing my love of fly fishing” describes how he got hooked as a young boy and how he passes it along to new generations of fisherwomen and fishermen in his guiding and instruction. This year we feature a centerfold map of the entire Delaware River Main Stem and branches targeted by trout fisherman from the Cannonsville and Pepacton Dams down to Mill Rift. Useful information includes access points, parking areas and local merchants serving you as you enjoy the river. Get wet with FISH and see the world as fish do. Steven Schwartz Section editor
FISH
Contents
Sharing a love of fishing Passing along the lore by Judd Weisberg
page 4
If fish thrive in it, it’s good for you to drink Improving water quality for the entire food chain Stefanie Kroll
Upper Delaware River Fishing Access
page 8
page 12
Of river flows, fish and interstate politics A coalition of fishermen strives to keep trout cool and healthy Peter J. Kolesar
page 16
Fishing, the economy and river protection A vision for the future of the Upper Delaware watershed Jeff Skelding
page 20
A RIVER REPORTER LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
PUBLICATION DATE: MARCH 26, 2015
FISH, a special publication of The River Reporter, is published by Stuart Communications, Inc. Entire contents ©2015 by Stuart Communications, Inc. Mailing Address: PO Box 150, Narrowsburg, NY 12764 Phone: 845/252-7414 • Fax: 845/252-3298 Have a comment or idea for the magazine? Contact: Anne Willard at 845/252-7414, ext. 29 or copyeditor@riverreporter.com
Publisher: Laurie Stuart Section Editor: Steve Schwartz Production Manager: Amanda Reed Sales Manager: Tanya Hubbert, ext. 34, tanya@riverreporter.com Ad Sales Associates: Eileen Hennessy, ext. 35, eileen@riverreporter.com Michelle Labatte, ext. 25, michelle@riverreporter.com
The best and worst of the Upper Delaware A TRR Best of 40 reprint by a beloved fishing columnist Harold Novick
page 22
If you would like copies for your place of business? Contact: Amanda at 845/252-7414, ext. 23 or amanda@riverreporter.com
Cover photo by Peter J. Kolesar 2 FISH • 2015
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Sharing a love of fly fishing Passing along the lore
By Judd S. Weisberg I received my earliest lessons from local neighbors along the Schoharie Creek in Lexington, NY. The first was Walt Bailey Jr. of Bailey’s General Store across the creek from where I live today, who invited me to watch him fishing from the bridge. He generously offered me his rod one day, pointed out where the fish would likely hold and how to work the flies in an enticing manner. Then there was an old farmer, Dunk Dunham, who fished a string of wet flies from his “buggy whip” bamboo fly rod. He stopped me as I clomped through a pool one day and suggested I get out of the water and join him on the bank. When I got up to his perch along the river, I could see that his rod had a permanent set from being hung from a couple of nails on his barn wall. He had three flies snelled on loops on his stout leader, which he claimed were all you needed to catch trout: a Black Gnat, a Cowdung and a Light Cahill. When a fly got too beaten up, he would go to Baileys and get another. He kept almost all the fish he caught and froze them for later consumption. Dunk’s method, as he explained to me, was to offer three different flies at different places in the water column. There was a deep runner, a mid-runner and one that skipped on the surface. Dunk shared his technique with me and coached me through catching a nice trout on the “skipper.” “Make it jig in the riffle water and look like a bug dancing on the water,” he chuckled. Chug! Splash! And another fish was on. Dunk taught me an important lesson: that the action of the fly imparted through the rod was what this fly fishing was all about. Dunk Dunham could not wade due to a severe farming injury to his leg. He caught many trout by staying hidden on the bank. His stealth paid off. One
of the first mottos I share with students in my “Elements of Fly Fishing” course is “stealth is wealth.” Entering the fragile world of the trout very carefully is an important lesson. Keeping shadows off their waters, entering gently into their world, and staying out of the water as long as possible will yield the most fishing opportunities. How old do you have to be to learn to fly fish? I used to say that seven years old was the youngest, and there is no upper age limit. One of my most enjoyable teaching assignments happened a few years ago, when I taught a young couple to fly fish on the Upper Beaverkill. Both husband and wife are very vigorous and athletic. Mrs. T was quite pregnant with their first son, GT. They had a wonderful time and were a delight to teach. Customarily I start with learning to cast accurately. We covered overhand, roll cast, left and right hook casts, and steeple cast. Managing the line, imparting a lifelike action with the rod came next. I told them the story of Dunk Dunham to illustrate my points. We played and landed some lovely trout, as we continued to learn where to find fish and which fly to use to imitate their foods. At day’s end, Mrs. T exclaimed that she wanted me to teach their child when he was of age. Years later I received a call asking me whether GT was old enough to be taught.”How old is GT?” I asked. “Well, I know your minimum age is seven, but he is a very mature six. Couldn’t you make an exception in this case?”After a moment’s thought, I agreed. We made a date in June. A day later I received a call that there was a problem. GT had told his four-year-old brother YT that he, GT, was going to learn to fly fish. Young YT was dismayed and in despair. Mrs. T asked if we could include YT. I replied that it would be a challenge for the little fellow to hold the rod, but I was willing to try. Continued on page 6
4 FISH • 2015
GT, front, and brother YT pose with their dad.
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A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 5
SHARING A LOVE Continued from page 4
The family was ready to go at 9:30 a.m. on our appointed date. Everyone was required to have eye protection and a sun hat. When I arrived at the inn, the kids were dressed in miniature waders, sunglasses, sun hats and two perfect short fly rods. I asked the boys if they had slept the night before. “No,” they said, shaking their heads. We tried an overhand cast. “Hold onto the rod with both hands,” I told YT. I held him around the waist, and he became a “handle extension.” YT shrieked with excitement as the line sailed through the air. We went to the stream to continue our lessons. We approached the pool with great stealth. The boys spotted some trout flashing in the currents. GT crept closer and, with some help from his father, tied on a Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear nymph and rolled out a cast. The little nymph swam into
the emerald green currents and was seized by a hungry trout. After much chaos and excitement, I slipped a net under the fish. These moments were precious to me as well as to the young budding anglers. Over the many years, I have guided and instructed a wide range of ages, and received great pleasure in sharing my love of fly fishing. While introducing my young anglers to the delicate and fragile, secret world of the trout, I have made good friends, and I hope they will become good stewards of the waters they fish. [Judd Weisberg is a licensed New York State fishing guide. He guides and instructs anglers on all the waters of the Catskills, wading and from boats. Visit www.fishwithjudd.com. To contact Weisberg, call 518/9896583 (home) or 518/965-1164 (cell).]
GT’s first trout is in the net, with brother YT seen leaning on their dad.
Contributed photos
GT experiences a tight loop, with the help of author and fishing guide Judd Weisberg.
6 FISH • 2015
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A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 7
If fish thrive in it, it’s good for you to drink
Improving water quality for the entire food chain By Stefanie Kroll I probably shouldn’t be surprised every time someone asks me if we can drink our tap water, but I am. I tend to forget that not everyone is paying attention to water quality standards and reports, and most people are not thinking about where their water comes from. But I’m always happy to tell them “yes,” and to promote the use of our tap water instead of wasting plastic bottles, which may—in some cases—actually be filled with the same water that goes to their taps. It also gives me a chance to talk about what I and others like me do for a living, which is biological monitoring in streams. To protect and improve the quality of the water in the Delaware River Basin, consumed by millions of people, there have been extensive investments in agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) and stormwater control measures over the past few decades. These initiatives have been growing each year, and they all have a goal of improving the quality of regional waterways as well as mitigating floods by reducing the quantity of water that moves into streams through overland runoff during storm events. But how do we know whether they are having their intended effect? Where should we focus these actions, and what are the right combinations of activities that will yield the best results for healthy watersheds? These questions are guiding the monitoring work being done by our research group at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (ANS) in collaboration with Stroud Water Research Center (SWRC) as part of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI). Kickstarted by the William Penn Foundation, the DRWI is a collaborative program involving over 50 conservation non-profit groups, including practitioners, outreach groups, scientists and professionals in restoration and preservation. In 2014, the first round of funding was awarded for on-the-ground actions aimed at improving degraded streams and protecting healthy streams. A major strength of the DRWI is in establishing a baseline by measuring the in-stream conditions before projects are implemented, with plans to continue monitoring afterward to assess ecosystem responses to conservation actions. Though the conservation effects may take years to measure, in most cases, the information generated in this program will be publicly available, so it can be used
8 FISH • 2015
Photo copyright David B. Soete
Rich Horwitz (left) of the Academy of Natural Sciences (ANS) at Drexel University, a leader of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI) water quality monitoring initiative, and crew, collect fish species at the 2014 Upper Delaware BioBlitz. by funders and practitioners down the line, and will hopefully be able to inform future decision-making for conservation actions. Within the field of restoration ecology, monitoring before and after project installment is still a relatively new component. Several academic articles have emphasized a need to sufficiently plan and monitor stream restorations and to make information available to inform future work, and there are guidelines for assessing whether restoration actions have their intended effect on the ecosystem. But in recent years we have seen a lot of spending cuts for agencies and other groups that are monitoring the quality of our waterways, which poses new challenges for state and other bio-monitoring groups. The DRWI helps fill this gap and highlights the
need for science-based conservation activities. We can take water samples to a chemistry lab to see what might be happening in the river’s recent history (days prior), but if we also collect organisms living in the water year-round, we can see what the conditions are over longer time periods and in more detail, which is what we need to make small, constant gains in ecosystem recovery and water quality. These so-called “Bioindicators” can be any such group of living things (think of the canary in the coal mine), but we focus on fish, macroinvertebrates, algae and salamanders because each group of organisms can tell a different piece of the story on what is happening upstream. Used together, Continued on page 10
A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 9
IF FISH THRIVE Continued from page 8
they can tell us which human activities are impacting a stream the most, how far downstream the effect persists, and how much of an impact individual and combined restoration actions can have to counteract degradation. A healthy stream supports a diverse community of biota, which works to keep the ecosystem functioning properly. Algae can be heavily impacted by stormwater flows, but their communities can also bounce back relatively quickly. Algae also have well-known tolerances for specific pollutants, which make them useful for studying areas where agricultural and urban runoff bring nutrients, metals and other contaminants into streams. Macroinvertebrates and fish are sensitive to human disturbance through degradation of water quality and instream habitat, often related to land use for agriculture and residential development.
Photos by Roy Morsch
At the 2014 Upper Delaware BioBlitz, Faith Zerbe of the Delaware Rivekeeper Network explains the lifecycle of aquatic macroinvertebrates to budding naturalists like those sampled by the various teams doing water quality monitoring under the DRWI.
Rich Horwitz of ANS, a leader of the DRWI water quality monitoring initiative, explains the lifecycle of a fish species at the 2013 Upper Delaware BioBlitz. Different species of fish, macroinvertebrates and algae require different habitat types, and these bio-indicators can be used to determine levels of water quality. However, changes in an aquatic community can be hard to detect right away, and can vary depending on where you are in the world and the magnitude of the disturbance or improvement. This is part of the reason that our team of scientists at ABS and SWRC are focusing such a large effort on monitoring. We are applying very precise methods to give a complete picture before conservation, so we have the best chance to detecting small changes, which we hope will lead to pronounced improvement of regional water quality over time. FISH editor Steven Schwartz reminded me of the W.C. Fields quote: “I don’t drink water. You know what fish do in it.” Well, Fields couldn’t have had it more wrong—the fish can tell us a great deal about water quality just from being caught in a stream. And although we shouldn’t get our cup out right there on the river bank, we can have confidence that if the aquatic community is sustained, the water will be good enough to drink from our taps.
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Rich Horwitz of ANS, a leader of the DRWI water quality monitoring initiative, collects fish species at the 2013 Upper Delaware BioBlitz.
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The Delaware River Basin is home to many High Quality and Exceptional Value streams, but approximately 11% of the basin’s 23,557 stream miles are impaired. So there is still room for improving streams within the region to make more habitat available to sensitive fish and macroinvertebrates. And we’ll be looking for those improvements in the creatures living in our waters as our partners work with landowners, practitioners and communities throughout the basin to preserve and restore water quality. [Stefanie Kroll is the project science director for the ANS DRWI, where she designed a monitoring plan that provides information on project conditions and contributes to research around the initiative as well as working with cluster group organizations to interconnect their monitoring with ANS. She has a Ph.D. in ecology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in her hometown, Syracuse, NY.]
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A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 15
Of river flows, fish and interstate politics
A coalition of fifishermen strives to keep trout cool and healthy By Peter J. Kolesar Water releases from three New York City reservoirs on the headwaters of the Delaware have a profound impact on fish in the upper river, particularly on trout, a cold-water species. In most summers, dense, cold water released from the bottom of the reservoirs sustains the trout fishery downstream to about Lordville on the Main Stem of the Delaware. In the springtime, when cold waters persist further downriver, trout fishing can be excellent as far south as Cochecton. But all is not always rosy, and a complaint from the fishing community, going back 30 years, is that summertime releases from the reservoirs have been at times too low and too erratic. When the river is too low, the fish have less habitat and the water can easily become too warm. When the city drops water levels suddenly, fish and the insects they feed on can get marooned and die.
How did we get here? New York City built its Delaware watershed dams in the 1950s and ‘60s to enhance its supply of water, and gets about half its total consumption from the reservoirs. The resulting burden on the river is considerable, as the city, which is outside the Delaware basin, withdraws about half of the water that flows into the reservoirs.
The remainder is released into the river and must be rationed according to rules that emanate from two U.S. Supreme Court decisions that limit the city to diverting not more than 800 million gallons per day. At the same time, it requires the city to release enough water into the river to maintain a minimum flow of 1,750 cubic feet per second (cfs) at Montague, NJ, just south of Port Jervis. Per the Supreme Court Decree, the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware and New York City all share decision rights about reservoir releases and how Delaware River water is allocated. Hence the detailed release regulations are complex. In one notorious example of the negative impact that an unfair allocation can have, during a heat wave in July of 2004, water temperatures in the Upper Delaware soared above 80°F, a level lethal to trout. This dire situation was exacerbated by the city’s stingy release of only 125 cfs of water into the Delaware, despite the fact that the reservoirs then stood at a totally safe water supply storage level. The magnitude of the shortfall in the river can be understood from the fact that it takes 300 cfs of water to simply wet the river from bank to bank. The river was getting only 40% of what was minimally needed, and you could have crossed the river at Lordville with your ankles dry.
The beginnings of a solution In reaction to this crisis and the many that had preceded it, a coalition led by Jim Serio of the Delaware River Foundation, Colin Apse of the Nature Conservancy and the author of this article, from the Water Center of Columbia University, devised a more ecologically responsible, statistically based release policy. After computer demonstrations of its benefits for the fishery and its harmlessness to the city—and lots of lobbying by the community—it was adopted by the parties to the Supreme Court decree in 2007. The new Flexible Flow Management Plan, or FFMP, increased the river flows, and the standard summertime release Map courtesy of Fred Hensen of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
This map is from the January 12, 2010 white paper by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Bureau of Fisheries and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Bureau of Fish, Wildlife & Marine Resources that led to many of the improvements in water release policy discussed in this article. The map’s color coding shows the quality of the trout fishery that the white paper aimed to achieve in the various stretches of water in the system. Much of the focus of the Upper Delaware Tailwaters Coalition has been to further improve the Hancock to Lordville section from “green or good” to “blue or excellent.” 16 FISH • 2015
Photos courtesy Lee Hartman
These two photos show the impact of low reservoir releases on water levels at Lordville. The sudden change from reservoir releases of 800 cfs on September 4, 2008 to 100 cfs on September 6, 2008 stranded fish and the insects they feed on. from Cannonsville Reservoir is now a much more beneficial 525 cfs. Importantly, as predicted by the researchers, since the FFMP’s introduction in 2007 there have been no negative consequences for the city.
Where do we go from here? Though river conditions have definitely improved under the FFMP, important enhancements for the fishery can still be made by further modifying the release policy in ways that do no harm to New York City’s water supply or to down-river stakeholders in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. One push is to eliminate the sudden drops in releases that do so much damage to the insect life on which the trout depend. But arguably, the biggest outstanding issue is that, despite the improved base releases from the reservoirs, the Delaware can still heat up to lethal temperatures during heat waves. Our computerbased research has demonstrated that short-term pulses of additional cold water can correct such situations. Based on these findings, the Delaware Watershed Conservation Coalition, with the Friends of the Upper Delaware River Continued on page 18
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A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 17
OF RIVER FLOWS
You can help:
Continued from page 16
(FUDR) frequently playing a leading role, and with support from the Upper Delaware Council, has pushed for the adoption of a thermal relief program. Here in a nutshell is how it would work. The U.S. Weather Bureau has consistently done a good job of forecasting heat waves—often with a week’s lead time. Given a heat-wave forecast and knowledge of the current conditions in the river, the computer model can estimate how much additional water should be released from the dams to compensate, and fishery experts from New York State and Pennsylvania can determine to the hour when such releases should begin and end. Historical statistics demonstrate conclusively that there is enough water in the reservoirs in most summers to run such a thermal relief program at no significant water supply risk. But the city and the decree party states, which are responsible for Delaware water policy, have so far declined to implement the proposal. It is particularly frustrating that they have never denied its validity. It appears that this good idea
has fallen victim to bickering among the decree parties on unrelated issues. Additional support from the Upper Delaware community and its fisherman could influence the decision makers. Additional background on water release policy and its history is posted on the website of the Delaware River Master at water.usgs.gov/osw/odrm. To learn more about FUDR’s Fair Share Request – 2015 visit http://goo.gl/6VQhTs [Peter Kolesar is professor emeritus at the Columbia University. His mathematical research, often in partnership with Jim Serio of Hancock, NY, led to the original 2007 FFMP and to several improvements since. Kolesar has done path-breaking research in many fields including the deployment of New York City fire companies and police patrol, early glaucoma diagnosis, congestion in telephone call centers and counter-IED warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.]
The current water release rules for the NYC Delaware River Basin reservoirs expire on June 1, 2015 and a revision is under active negotiation by the parties to the 1954 Supreme Court Decree (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York City). As described in the articles by Peter Kolesar (page 16) and Jeff Skelding (page 18), these rules strongly impact the health of the Upper Delaware fishery. Please contact key decision makers and urge them to: 1) Adopt a “Thermal Relief Protocol” that ensures water temperatures at the Lordville USGS gauge are kept below levels that are lethal to trout during summer heat waves. 2) Involve all stakeholders, including the public and conservation organizations, in the negotiations leading up to the final plan. 3) Inform the general public of the flow plan so that everyone has a better understanding of the plan’s impact on the natural environment, local economies, and recreational opportunities in the Upper Delaware River region. Correspondence should be directed to: The Honorable Bill DiBlasio New York City Mayor City Hall New York, NY 10007
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 The Honorable Tom Wolf Governor of Pennsylvania Main Capitol Building Harrisburg, PA 17120
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www.thecarriagehouseny.com A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 19
Fishing, the economy and river protection A vision for the future of the Upper Delaware River watershed By Jeff Skelding They will never know how or why, but the wild trout of the Upper Delaware River are playing a pivotal role in an emerging awareness about how healthy rivers can provide a much-needed shot in the arm for local economies in the Upper Delaware watershed. Elected officials, government agencies, landowners, businesses, conservation organizations and the fishing community are beginning to rally around a common message that butters everybody’s bread: “protect the river, restore the economy.” In the 1950s and ‘60s, construction of two New York City Delaware basin reservoirs (Cannonsville and Pepacton), inadvertently (and virtually overnight) created a world-class cold-water trout fishery in the river’s East and West Branch, and a sizable portion of the Main Stem below Hancock, NY. The water released from the bottom of the dams is cold and clean, exactly the conditions trout need to thrive. Every year, big, wild, streambred rainbow and brown trout delight and confound travelling anglers from across the globe. If you fish this river with any frequency, chances are you will hear experienced Upper Delaware anglers proudly assert that it rivals many of the legendary Western trout streams. Management of water releases from the reservoirs is increasingly being scrutinized through the lens of economic potential for the towns and villages below the dams. In 2014, Delaware County, Friends of the Upper Delaware River, the Town of Hancock, NY, and the Upper Delaware Council partnered on a groundbreaking study (“UDR Coldwater Fishing and Boating Economic Impact Study,” April 2014) that illustrated just how valuable the river is to the local economy. The report went on to demonstrate how improved water releases from the reservoirs could dramatically improve economic conditions in the region.
On the heels of the economic report, local governments, elected officials and non-profit organizations came together to form the Upper Delaware River Tailwaters Coalition (UDRTC). For the first time ever, riverprotection advocates and local governments are now unified around a common message: that protecting rivers goes hand in hand with repairing battered local economies. With the economic report as its anchor, the new coalition set its sights on two priorities: 1) Improved water releases (more water at the right time) from the NYC reservoirs that will keep the river healthy, maximize recreational opportunities and revitalize struggling economies below the dams. 2) Restore the health of the tributaries below the dams to protect people, communities, infrastructure and aquatic habitat. While the dams created a truly outstanding fishery,
Upper Delaware tributaries have become increasingly unstable during the past decade due to flooding and stream channelization. As a result of storms many streams become blocked at the mouth of the river making them impassable for spawning fish
Photos by Lee Hartman
Volunteers engage in West Branch clean-up work, a collaboration of Trout Unlimited, Friends of the Upper Delaware River and Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, and the West Branch Angler which donated equipment and trash containers. some finer management points still need to be worked out (see Peter Kolesar’s article on page 16). Soon, capital improvements in other parts of the city water-supply operation (Croton System in the Hudson Valley) will make additional water available to the entire system. This should reduce the disproportionate reliance on the Delaware system for drinking water diversions to NYC and make more water is available for people, communities and fishing the river below the dams. When this happens, it won’t just be the fish that are happier, but also businesses and local governments that derive economic benefits from the significant recreational attributes of the river. While the UDRTC works to improve water releases from the reservoirs, coalition members also recognize Continued on page 21
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20 FISH • 2015
FISHING, THE ECONOMY Continued from page 20
the need to take care of their own backyard by protecting and restoring tributaries in the towns and villages below the dams. The Delaware watershed may look pristine to the casual observer, but historic and modern-day land uses have punished these tributaries, resulting in highly erosive stream systems. Destabilized tributaries, like weakened arteries unable to protect the heart, are incapable of protecting the river. The number-one water-quality problem in the watershed is sediment pollution. Stand at the mouth of any tributary when it rains, and it won’t be long until a coffee-colored plume of muddy water (often laden with nutrients) descends upon the Main Stem of the river. Sediment transport is a natural tributary function, but highly erosive systems mobilize sediment at alarmingly accelerated rates, even during the mildest rain events. Over time, enormous rock, cobble and fine sediment deposits build steadily at the bottom of the tributaries, forming giant piles that push out into the river, choking off insect life and fish habitat and elevating water temperatures. Low water levels in the river’s main channel (often a result of low water releases from the reservoirs) can’t move these materials downstream, and the trout are cut off from their spawning grounds. Changing weather patterns threaten to exacerbate this situation. According to a recent report on climate change, implications for the Upper Delaware watershed published by the Common Waters Partnership and the Pinchot Institute, the severity and frequency of flash storm events has steadily increased in the region over the past 100 years. This will place more pressure on already compromised tributary systems and exacerbate aquatic habitat and fishery impacts in the upper basin. Despite these increasingly alarming threats, fishermen and other UDR rec-
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reationists will be surprised to know that financial investments in protecting the Delaware watershed have virtually ignored the cold water fishery section of the river. For decades, NYC has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to fund water quality protection above the dams to keep their primary source of drinking water clean. More recently, private foundations and non-profit groups have united behind a groundbreaking effort to implement priority restoration projects throughout the entire watershed from the Delaware Bay to Sullivan County, NY. These investments are highly laudable. They not only protect water quality, they also improve local and regional economic conditions through capital investments in infrastructure, job creation and enhancement of recreational opportunities that attract people to the region. However, one of the most ecologically and economically important sections of the entire Delaware River—the internationally recognized cold water fishery— got left out of the funding picture. As multiple watershed stakeholders unite around an emerging vision of a riverbased economy for the communities along the cold water portion of the river, change is in the air—. and the water. Like trout moving upstream seeking cold water as spring gives way to summer, the conservation funding community needs to follow in their wake to help ensure the long-term protection and restoration of this magnificent natural resource. [Jeff Skelding is the executive director of Friends of the Upper Delaware River, a community-based watershed protection organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of natural resources and economic conditions in the Upper Delaware River region. For more information, visit www.fudr.org.]
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607-498-5220 A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 21
BEST OF
April 15, 1992
Fishing the Upper Delaware The River Reporter
The best and worst of the Upper Delaware
By HAROLD NOVICK The picture insert showing Ron Moretz of Vestal holding his 29”, 10-lb., 1-oz. brown trout, taken from the East Branch on April 1, is the best way to illustrate the best of what the Upper Delaware has to offer. Ron took this gorgeous specimen on a 935-weight Sage fly rod using one of his home-tied Matukas. Ron tied it the night before opening day using badger hackle with a touch of red. It’s the type of fish that most of us dream about but never see. It also is at least a possibility for anyone fishing the Upper Delaware and just one of the reasons why the Upper Delaware is so exciting. That’s the good news. The worst of the Delaware concerns a series of events on the West Branch. The releases from Cannonsville Reservoir have been reduced to their minimum winter flow, which is hardly more than a trickle. As a result, significant parts of the stream bed are exposed from the dam to its junction with Oquaga Creek where, thank God, the flows are- substantially increased. The minimum reservoir release is at the insistence of New
Contributed photo
22 FISH • 2015
York City in an attempt to retain as much water as possible in Cannonsville before the early summer level starts its downward trend. This low level has resulted in a heavy concentration of trout in the deeper pools, such as the one by the Deposit bridge. As a result, anglers have been hammering away in a manner not unlike shooting fish in a barrel. Bill Fraser took some pictures of this problem. He also counted 11 dead trout at the bottom of the pool. While originally a fish kill was suspected due to some problem in the water, there appears to be no evidence of that at all. Lloyd Hornbeck feels it’s the result of carelessness on the part of anglers in ripping out hooks and throwing back undersized fish. There is also speculation that after some anglers reach their limit, they’ll throw the smaller fish back if they catch a larger one. Either way, the result is a dead fish and a horrible lack of sportsmanship. Compounding the problem has been some excessive fish-taking by game hogs. Lloyd has narrated some shabby tales about this law breaking. Unfortunately, there just does not appear to be sufficient law enforcement available. Apparently some supplementary enforcement, and pressure by other anglers, is needed to eliminate these travesties. On top of this, I couldn’t help but notice six cabins newly erected side by side in a campground on the Pennsylvania side of the West Branch. I understand from Bill Fraser that it’s the result of an investor buying the campground and promoting floating and fishing. This will bring new guides to the river, new boats, and, of course, new fishing pressure. All of this is, unfortunately, a probable peek into the future. Getting back to river conditions: while we’re all hoping for some heavy rains
to replenish the reservoirs, the coming opening day this Saturday, April 18, in Pennsylvania on the main river and both branches should provide top action. Just about every spot on the rivers and streams will be accessible, with reasonable flows. Unless there are heavy rains this week, it should be one of the better opening days in years. Trout populations should be excellent. There should even be some hatches, as the water temperature at 6 p.m. on April 11 below the Buckingham access was 46°. It was pushing 50° a little earlier in the day. Look for blue quills, quill gordons, blue wing olives, caddis and early stoneflies. Early afternoon should be the time for a good hatch, presuming it’s warm enough. For the shad anglers, conditions are perfect for a fast migration upriver. Shad fishing has been excellent in the lower Delaware, particularly between Flemington and Easton. Commercial anglers well out into the bay are still hauling in major numbers of shad, which suggests that we’ll have another excellent run this year. As the lower-than-normal water levels mean that the average temperature in the river will rise a little quicker, conditions should remain conducive to speed these outstanding fighters upriver. For conditions in the lower Delaware and reports on action, call the shad hotline at 215/838-9777 or 215/838-9778. Bob Meyers of the Sportsman’s Rendezvous hasn’t reported the first shad in the Milford area. However, as they reached Easton last week, school fish should be at Milford no later than the last week of April. In addition, a number of early bucks typically find their way all the way up to Hancock by that week. Assuming weather conditions are reasonable, we should be looking forward to one of the better if not the best shad runs of late.
TRR file photo
Harold Novick
Harold Novick Harold Novick lived in a house perched on the bank of the Delaware River at Buckingham, PA, just downstream from where I live today, and fished the riff s below Buckingham access almost every day. When I first started coming up from New York City to fish the Delaware over 25 years ago, one of the first things I did was find a copy of The River Reporter and turn to Harold’s column. I valued his sincere, earnest, almost patrician POV on all matters related to fishing the river, from conditions and tips to the contemporary political and administrative issues affecting the fishery. Many of the issues he identified, addressed in policy changes incrementally over the years, remain salient, and his love of fishing still rings true today. — Steve Schwartz
A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 23
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24 FISH â&#x20AC;¢ 2015