Angling For Charity

This is one of those organizations you run into that is purely grassroots and just doing a lot of good. Check them out: www.anglingforcharity.org

AFC originated from a 2007 Noreast.com sponsored charter fishing trip. It was the idea of the original chartermaster, Mike 'Obtuseangler' Dubroff, and Captain Phil Eastman to hold a fishing charter where all the fish caught on the charter be given to the NH Foodbank and so the Foodbank charter trip was born. This generous action led to the creation of Angling For Charity that now holds raffles, auctions and coordinates food drives to help not just the hungry but also aids The Make A Wish Foundation.

Nice End to the Delaware River Season

The last day of my scheduled guiding season on the Upper Delaware River was October 18, 2008...

Andrew Cirigliano put a fine touch to the day with this 18" wild rainbow taken on a rusty spinner.

Friends of the Upper Delaware River

FUDR PRESS RELEASE 9/7/08

The Upper Delaware River trout fishery is again under serious threat despite high reservoir storage levels which are currently at 80% of capacity, with the Cannonsville reservoir over 70% capacity. The lack of adequate releases this summer for the fishery has resulted in a nearly full reservoir placing the entire upper Delaware River in eminent danger of floods, especially during this current hurricane season. On average, the Cannonsville reservoir has less than 50% capacity this time of the year.

The current Flexible Flow Management Program (FFMP), introduced on an interim basis on October 1st, 2007, has been a complete failure protecting the trout fishery. Temperatures rose to lethal proportions at the Lordville, NY USGS gage as early as June 11, 2008. The readings at Lordville often exceeded 75F degree instantaneous and 72F degree continuous, deadly for
trout. Continuous hot water temperatures continued through the summer due to the insufficient FFMP releases despite an abnormally cool summer temperature.

The situation more recent September is even worse. Releases on September 5th at Cannonsville went from 900 cfs to 100 cfs in a matter of hours (see chart attached). The FFMP schedule calls for a low 115 cfs release out of Cannonsville (400 - 600cfs constant flow is needed for a healthy fishery environment) in September and will further drop releases to 80 cfs in the West Branch October 1st, devastating for the spawning brown trout runs in the West Branch. Releases were also lowered for the Pepacton and Neversink Reservoirs with similar results.

These low releases come at a time when mandated releases directed out of Cannonsville can no longer be relied upon as new downriver power generating operations and recreational releases are counted toward the Montague flow requirements. FFMP is a dismal failure and will further deteriorate the mainstem of the river and further contribute to the disappearing rainbow trout population as well as endanger the entire area from floods.

FFMP is currently a temporary plan put in place by the Decree Parties on October 1st, 2007. This plan has the full support of NYC and will be made permanent pending approval of changes to the Water Code at the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) meeting September 24th, 2008. The approval to change the Water Code that legalizes FFMP will need a unanimous vote by all decree parties from NY, NJ, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Please let your voices be heard before September 24th to all state and local Agencies (below) that include NJDEP; NYDEC, NYCDEP: PADEP; PA Fish & Boat Commission and the DRBC and tell them NO to any Water Code changes and NO to FFMP!

NOAA Proposes Rule to Require Saltwater Angler Registration

NOAA’s Fisheries Service is seeking comment on a proposed rule that requires anglers and spearfishers who fish recreationally in federal ocean waters to be registered before fishing in 2009.

The rule would also require registration by those who may catch anadromous species anywhere, including striped bass, salmon and shad that spawn in rivers and streams and spend their adult lives in estuaries and the ocean.

The proposed rule satisfies the National Academy of Science National Research Council recommendations to establish a national database of saltwater anglers, and meets the requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The proposed rule is a part of a larger initiative of NOAA’s Fisheries Service to improve the quality and accuracy of data on marine recreational fishing and catches. The registry will also help measure the economic effects of recreational fishing on the national and local economies.

“The national registry of saltwater anglers is the key to closing a major gap in information on recreational fishing,” said Jim Balsiger, NOAA acting assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “It will help us conduct surveys to get a more complete picture of how recreational fishing by an estimated 14 million people is affecting fish stocks. This will lead to better stock assessments and more effective regulations to rebuild and manage these valuable fish.”

NOAA may exempt anglers from registration if they already have a state-issued saltwater fishing license or registration, and the state provides sufficiently complete information to place in the national registry. In certain instances, anglers in states participating in regional surveys of marine recreational fishing may also be exempted. The new rule allows states to apply for exemptions.

States on the West Coast (including Alaska), the Gulf Coast, and the South Atlantic offer saltwater fishing licenses. Hawaii and the states from New Jersey to Maine do not.

“States without saltwater licenses have a strong incentive to adopt licenses,” said Balsiger. “Any fee that a state collects through a license can be used for restoration and fishery management in the state. By law, the registry fee taken by NOAA will offset the cost of issuing the registration. It can not be specifically directed to fisheries management.”

Fishermen would be required to be registered annually and NOAA will not charge a registration fee in the first two years. Beginning in 2011, the annual fee will be an estimated $15 to $25 per angler. Anglers under the age of 16 would be exempt from registering and fees would be waived for indigenous people, such as members of federally recognized tribes. NOAA’s Fisheries Service recognizes that many indigenous people fish for food as part of ancient cultural traditions.

Anglers who fish only on licensed party, charter, or guide boats would also be exempt, since these vessels are surveyed separately from the angler surveys. Also, persons who hold commercial fishing licenses or permits, and are legally fishing under them, will be exempt from the registration requirement.

Registrations will include an angler’s name, address, telephone number, and the regions where fishing is conducted. This information will not be made public; it will be used only by NOAA to conduct surveys.

The National Academy of Science’s National Research Council advised NOAA’s Fisheries Service in 2006 to redesign its surveys of recreational fishermen for more accuracy, precision, and transparency. The NRC’s independent scientific review resulted in more than 200 recommendations for improving marine recreational surveys, including the recommendation to establish a national database of saltwater anglers. This recommendation became law in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary fisheries law for U.S. ocean waters, which was reauthorized in 2007. Please see http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/mrip for additional information on this effort, the Marine Recreational Information Program.

For the last 28 years, NOAA’s Fisheries Service has conducted recreational fishing surveys through random telephone interviews with residents living in coastal counties. NOAA and its regional and state partners conduct an extensive program of dockside interviews of anglers to obtain data on their catch.

The national saltwater registry will enable surveyors to interview only those people who fish, and will reach all anglers, not only those who live near the coast. To read the proposed rule, go to http://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov.
Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until Aug. 11. They can be mailed to:

John Boreman
Director, Office of Science and Technology
NMFS
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Attn.: Gordon Colvin
Comments can also be submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov.

2008 Mid-Summer Fishing Report & Update

The West Branch of the Delaware is still fishing at its technical finest with sulfurs, blue wing olives, isonychias, Cahills and some terrestrials.. The water has been mostly on the low side, except for most Fridays and Saturdays when there have been water releases, with the best fishing concentrated on the upper section of the river. Light tippets are the norm and landing a jumbo brown on 7 or 8X is a very cool experience.

I've added a Dave Scadden Three Man Pontoon Boat to my fleet which has been allowing me to float the West Branch even with the low water flows we've been having. The way this whole water release game goes is that we've been seeing water released on Fridays and Saturdays for reasons too complicated to get into here. So mostly on Friday and Saturday there's been enough water to use a drift boat. On other days the pontoon comes into play.

The Main Stem smallmouth bass fishing has been pretty sweet the past couple of weeks and should stay that way well into October. We've been seeing big numbers of fish and a good number of big ones. As always, the spin rod produces the most fish, while the fly rod produces the most challenge. Either way, it's just plain fun!

Saltwater fishing off Northern New Jersey has been very good with big bluefish leading the way. Fluke fishing has been good too with enough keepers mixed in with the shorts to make for some tasty dining. Stripers are mostly done for the summer, although fish are still hitting baits from time to time. Striper fishing should pick back up again in the fall.

Bluefish on the fly are savage fighters and a great fish for the fly fisherman new to the saltwater. Looking forward to the albies...

Orvis Saltwater Helios 10 wt.

Last Fall I fished a Helios 10 weight in the salt for stripers, bluefish and false albacore. The rod performed beautifully. It's light weight, lighter than many five weights, made casting all day long very easy. Casting this rod is distance made easy.

The wind didn't matter as this rod generated tight loops and line speed to slice through the up to twenty knot winds we encountered. I have to admit that initially I had some reservations about the fish fighting ability of such a light rod. That concern was put to rest after the first fish was hooked. This rod is no light weight, it just doesn't weigh much. With the drag cranked down the rods backbone and muscle were put to the test on big North Carolina false albacore and New Jersey's chopper blues and striped bass.

The five weight Helios spent a whole season with me on trout and smallmouth bass. Scroll down to read about that rod.

Smallmouth Bass

From late June through October the smallmouth bass fishing really turns on in parts of the Upper Delaware. Last July this fishery was placed on Field & Stream magazine's top five list of smallmouth rivers. The section of river I fish is not just loaded with bass, but it's among the most scenic in the system.

Each year this fishery is becoming more and more popular with my clients, so if you've never done it and would like to give it a try call or email me. I'm sure you'll get hooked just like the fish! FlyFishTheDelaware.com

Summer Trout Fishing

Last year we saw some excellent sulfur hatches. With the higher flows this past winter there should be some excellent summer hatches again this season. No anchor ice and bank to bank water in the river means high nymph survival rates not just for the Spring hatches, but for the Summer hatches too.

Now is the time to make plans for this coming season. Drop me an email at crosscurrent@optonline.net or visit www.FlyFishTheDelaware.com

Upper Delaware Current Conditions & Forecast

Upper Delaware Current Conditions & Forecast

The Upper Delaware reservoirs are currently at more than 100% of capacity. Couple that with the remaining snow pack in the higher elevations and the typical spring rains that have yet to come and we should be looking at some normal to above normal river flows for this Spring. The river remained higher than normal all winter due to scheduled water releases form NYC and rain and snow fall. With no anchor ice, it should mean some better than decent bug hatches and a high fish survival rate. The brown trout also had to have had an excellent spawning season with a higher than usual redd survival rate.

America's Sportsmen Take Aim at Congress:

Global Warming Threatens Hunting, Fishing Traditions

More than 670 Groups From All 50 States Call for Cap-and-Trade Climate Legislation To Protect America's Wildlife Legacy


Washington, DC (February 12) – More than 670 hunting and fishing organizations from all 50 states, representing the millions of Americans who share America's sporting tradition, are urging their U.S. Senators and Representatives to target global warming with strong climate legislation.

Read the rest of the article: Click here

Learn more about global warming at targetglobalwarming.org