_ritter_
Gadfly
To all,
An article appeared this past week in The River Reporter (Narrowsburg, New York) regarding the smallmouth bass fishery in the Upper Delaware River.
Mr. Serio, a frequent poster of this board, is quoted in the article as saying:
"Jim Serio, chairman of the Delaware River Foundation and also a guide, sees it differently. He said the reason {the smallmouth bass fishing} fishing is better now is due to higher and more consistent flows. He {Mr. Serio} wrote in an email, “Much of this flow is natural, as the floods and full reservoirs are testament to. The other regime change that has resulted in better and more consistent flows is the ‘Spill Mitigation Release’ (SMR) program we have had the last couple of winters. Low winter flows are the main reason that fish die in this system.”
In reality, smallmouth thrive when the water temperatures are in the 70's - not the 50's or 60's - which is what the main stem UDR has been receiving south of Lordville - and for many months - south of Hancock in 2006 and 2007.
So, how Mr. Serio thinks that "higher and more consisitent flows" - as he stated in this interview - have led to better smallmouth bass fishing is bewildering unless he wants to confuse others with this spin promoted his party's line.
What we have had during the past two summers is really lower flows - compared to year's past - which, in turn, have led to warmer water reaching the upper portions of the Main Stem UDR when in the past they ran higher and cooler.
Kindest regards,
Tony Ritter
Narrowsburg, NY
::Fishing Report for the Upper Delaware River - Catskills - Poconos:: New York and Pennsylvania
--------------------------
Online at:
Smallmouth bass in the Upper Delaware
Smallmouth bass in the Upper Delaware
National magazine says the river is full of them
By FRITZ MAYER
UPPER DELAWARE VALLEY — If you’re looking to catch a smallmouth bass, the Upper Delaware River is one of the best places to find them. That’s according to the July issue of the sportsman’s magazine Field & Stream.
The magazine reports that the river is one of the top five in the United States for fishing for smallmouth. The other four are Maine’s Androscoggin River, West Virginia’s New River, the John Day River in Oregon and Minnesota’s Upper Mississippi River.
The magazine explained, “The Upper Delaware River’s reputation as an excellent smallmouth bass fishery has until now, remained mostly local knowledge. From late June to the end of October the smallmouth bass is king. The deep pools, riffles, small rapids and deep runs of the Delaware provide an ideal home for these river residents.”
Most fishing writers agree that smallmouth are fun to catch because, pound for pound, they are the hardest fighting fresh-water fish in the country.
There is a perception among some in the river community that smallmouth in the river were almost nonexistent five or six years ago. So is this something new, or have the smallmouth always been plenty and active?
Narrowsburg fishing guide Tony Ritter said the fish are definitely more plentiful than in years past, and his customers can catch up to 50 fish in a day on the river, many of them smallmouth. His theory is that because the New York City reservoirs are releasing less cold water from the reservoirs, the river is reverting to the way it used to be before the reservoirs were built in the ’50s and ’60s, which is a habitat more favorable for smallmouth.
Jim Serio, chairman of the Delaware River Foundation and also a guide, sees it differently. He said the reason fishing is better now is due to higher and more consistent flows. He wrote in an email, “Much of this flow is natural, as the floods and full reservoirs are testament to. The other regime change that has resulted in better and more consistent flows is the ‘Spill Mitigation Release’ (SMR) program we have had the last couple of winters. Low winter flows are the main reason that fish die in this system.”
He added, “The size [of the smallmouth] does seem to have improved the last couple of years. Better survival due to better winter flows? That would be my guess.”
(The origins of the SMR program, which is administered by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), date to April 2004, and the program is due to be changed or replaced in the coming months by the controversial, complex and much-debated Flexible Flow Management Plan (FFMP). According to the DRBC website, an informational hearing and public comment period on the revised FFMP, scheduled for August 14, was cancelled because information regarding related regulatory changes was not yet available. A new meeting and public comment period will be scheduled once the DRBC has the necessary information.)
Dave Angyal of the New York State Department of Conservation said the rule for the size of smallmouth that can be kept by anglers was changed in the spring of 2006. Before that, any fish larger than nine inches could be kept. Now the size limit is 12 inches; anything smaller must be thrown back. However, he said, there have been no studies done to determine whether this has resulted in more or larger smallmouth in the river.
An article appeared this past week in The River Reporter (Narrowsburg, New York) regarding the smallmouth bass fishery in the Upper Delaware River.
Mr. Serio, a frequent poster of this board, is quoted in the article as saying:
"Jim Serio, chairman of the Delaware River Foundation and also a guide, sees it differently. He said the reason {the smallmouth bass fishing} fishing is better now is due to higher and more consistent flows. He {Mr. Serio} wrote in an email, “Much of this flow is natural, as the floods and full reservoirs are testament to. The other regime change that has resulted in better and more consistent flows is the ‘Spill Mitigation Release’ (SMR) program we have had the last couple of winters. Low winter flows are the main reason that fish die in this system.”
In reality, smallmouth thrive when the water temperatures are in the 70's - not the 50's or 60's - which is what the main stem UDR has been receiving south of Lordville - and for many months - south of Hancock in 2006 and 2007.
So, how Mr. Serio thinks that "higher and more consisitent flows" - as he stated in this interview - have led to better smallmouth bass fishing is bewildering unless he wants to confuse others with this spin promoted his party's line.
What we have had during the past two summers is really lower flows - compared to year's past - which, in turn, have led to warmer water reaching the upper portions of the Main Stem UDR when in the past they ran higher and cooler.
Kindest regards,
Tony Ritter
Narrowsburg, NY
::Fishing Report for the Upper Delaware River - Catskills - Poconos:: New York and Pennsylvania
--------------------------
Online at:
Smallmouth bass in the Upper Delaware
Smallmouth bass in the Upper Delaware
National magazine says the river is full of them
By FRITZ MAYER
UPPER DELAWARE VALLEY — If you’re looking to catch a smallmouth bass, the Upper Delaware River is one of the best places to find them. That’s according to the July issue of the sportsman’s magazine Field & Stream.
The magazine reports that the river is one of the top five in the United States for fishing for smallmouth. The other four are Maine’s Androscoggin River, West Virginia’s New River, the John Day River in Oregon and Minnesota’s Upper Mississippi River.
The magazine explained, “The Upper Delaware River’s reputation as an excellent smallmouth bass fishery has until now, remained mostly local knowledge. From late June to the end of October the smallmouth bass is king. The deep pools, riffles, small rapids and deep runs of the Delaware provide an ideal home for these river residents.”
Most fishing writers agree that smallmouth are fun to catch because, pound for pound, they are the hardest fighting fresh-water fish in the country.
There is a perception among some in the river community that smallmouth in the river were almost nonexistent five or six years ago. So is this something new, or have the smallmouth always been plenty and active?
Narrowsburg fishing guide Tony Ritter said the fish are definitely more plentiful than in years past, and his customers can catch up to 50 fish in a day on the river, many of them smallmouth. His theory is that because the New York City reservoirs are releasing less cold water from the reservoirs, the river is reverting to the way it used to be before the reservoirs were built in the ’50s and ’60s, which is a habitat more favorable for smallmouth.
Jim Serio, chairman of the Delaware River Foundation and also a guide, sees it differently. He said the reason fishing is better now is due to higher and more consistent flows. He wrote in an email, “Much of this flow is natural, as the floods and full reservoirs are testament to. The other regime change that has resulted in better and more consistent flows is the ‘Spill Mitigation Release’ (SMR) program we have had the last couple of winters. Low winter flows are the main reason that fish die in this system.”
He added, “The size [of the smallmouth] does seem to have improved the last couple of years. Better survival due to better winter flows? That would be my guess.”
(The origins of the SMR program, which is administered by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), date to April 2004, and the program is due to be changed or replaced in the coming months by the controversial, complex and much-debated Flexible Flow Management Plan (FFMP). According to the DRBC website, an informational hearing and public comment period on the revised FFMP, scheduled for August 14, was cancelled because information regarding related regulatory changes was not yet available. A new meeting and public comment period will be scheduled once the DRBC has the necessary information.)
Dave Angyal of the New York State Department of Conservation said the rule for the size of smallmouth that can be kept by anglers was changed in the spring of 2006. Before that, any fish larger than nine inches could be kept. Now the size limit is 12 inches; anything smaller must be thrown back. However, he said, there have been no studies done to determine whether this has resulted in more or larger smallmouth in the river.
