Environment DEC
From the November 2007 issue
Due to Drought, DEC Closes or Delays Fishing in Some Areas
Because of dry conditions and low water levels in Hinckley Reservoir, flows into West Canada Creek have been reduced to record low levels. As a result, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will be issuing emergency regulations closing this renowned trout stream to all fishing from its mouth (the Mohawk River) upstream to the dam at Trenton Falls.
The regulations affect a 28-mile section of the creek, take effect immediately and run through Nov. 30, the end of the regular season. However, catch-and-release fishing will be allowed beginning Dec. 1 on a stretch of the creek beginning at Trenton Falls Dam and running downstream for 2.5 miles to the Cincinnati Creek.
Although regular fishing has been banned through November 30, anglers may do catch-and-release fishing as of December 1
Low water in the riffles of West Canada Creek impede fish passage, and, as a result, trout and other fish are forced to concentrate in deeper pools. This makes them vulnerable to warmer water temperatures, reduced food supplies and, potentially, low oxygen levels. The trout population also would be subjected to increased levels of angler catch rates and harvest.
Season Opening for Salmon Delayed
DEC also will be extending the delayed opening of the fly-fishing, catch-and-release season along ¼ of a mile on the Salmon River in Altmar, Oswego County. The extended closure through November 14 is necessary to ensure that sufficient numbers of salmon eggs will be collected to support DEC's Salmon River Hatchery production for the coming year. The start date for the 2007 lower Salmon River fly fishing catch-and-release area is delayed until November 15 for this small portion of the river. The lower 15 miles of the Salmon River will remain open to angling.
Drought conditions have left the Salmon River Reservoir more than 14 feet below dam crest
The quarter mile long lower fly-fishing area runs from the County Route 52 bridge in Altmar upstream to just below the mouth of Beaverdam Brook and is the staging area for trout and salmon waiting to enter DEC's Salmon River Hatchery. As a result, there are an unusually large number of fish in the area. DEC is concerned that catch-and-release mortality would be significant under the current river conditions and that conditions are not conducive to ethical fly fishing at this time. While water temperatures have lowered, low river flows continue, contributing to stressful conditions for the fish.
The Chinook salmon egg take has been delayed because of fewer numbers of the fish entering the hatchery intake area. It had been scheduled to begin on October 9. The upper Salmon River special regulations fly-fishing area located above the hatchery remains open to anglers.
DEC's fishing regulations guide, http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7917.html, provides information about this and other special regulations. The section of the guide pertaining to the upper and lower Salmon River fly-fishing, catch-and-release season can be found at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/31420.html.
DEC's Salmon River Fish Hatchery supplies almost all the trout and salmon for New York's world-renown Great Lakes fisheries. Each year, the hatchery stocks 3.5 million trout and salmon and nine million walleye fry. Serving an 11-county area, hatchery personnel travel many miles delivering fish to their designated stocking sites. For more information about DEC's Salmon River Hatchery, go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/21663.html.
