For Release: Friday, October 12, 2007
DEC Extends Delay Of Fishing Season Opening For A Portion Of The Salmon River Through Nov. 14
Drought Conditions Continue To Affect Fish Entering DEC Hatchery
Despite some rain and lower temperatures during recent days, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) 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 14th 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. As a result of the recent drought, the start date for the 2007 lower Salmon River fly fishing catch-and-release area will be delayed to November 15 for this small portion of the river. The lower 15 miles of the Salmon River will remain open to angling.
The ¼ -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 the 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 recent drought has continued to leave the Salmon River Reservoir at more than 14 feet below dam crest and base flows to the river remain at 100 cfs - the same as last month when the initial delay was implemented.
DEC will be filing emergency regulations to delay the season opening in order to provide necessary protection to the fish in the lower fly area to ensure that enough fish will enter the hatchery to meet salmon egg requirements for hatchery production. 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, but is now not anticipated until sometime next week. DEC stocks approximately 1.5 million Chinook salmon into the Lake Ontario system annually.
Anglers are reminded that the upper Salmon River special regulations fly-fishing area which is 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 eleven-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 on the DEC website.
