Trout season opens; wins and losses for sportsmen in state budget
Last Thursday, renowned local flytyer Sam Scafidi and I took a run down to check on the water at the West Branch of the Delaware, East Branch of the Delaware, the Willowemoc and the Beaverkill. Waters were very low and running crystal clear. The temperature was near 70 at mid day. This was unheard of for this time of year. The lack of snow and subsequent runoff has dropped the water to summertime levels. Not good for the trout.
Sam ties thousands of flies, and our secondary mission that day was to make deliveries to Marino's Sport Shop in Deposit, Fur Fin and Feather in Livingston Manor, and Al's Sport Shop in Downsville. So from the diminutive and obscure #37 Dobson to a Muddler tied on a very large #2/0 hook, Sam plied his trade and I enjoyed perusing the guns, tackle, and gear these shops had to offer. Those of you who want any custom tied flies should contact Sam, right here in Norwich, at (607) 334-3197. Sam is also the President of the Chenango Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter. The chapter is holding a flyfishing class on April 14-15 at the Sherburne Middle School. I attended last year to brush up on some things, and can vouch for its superb content and educational value for novice and seasoned angler alike. Contact Tony Savitsky for more info at (607) 336-5945 on the course.
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Sunday's April 1 traditional opening of trout season in New York was a little more like years past, with freezing temperatures and ice on my guides as I made my first cast into the pool where the old trestle used to pass over Lyon Brook in Oxford. While many other anglers sought out the stocked, bigger waters of the Otselic River and Genegansalet Creek, I opted to remain close to home and catch (and release) a few fingerling-size brook trout.
This was the first year in a long memory that fish were stocked in Chenango County prior to the opener. It has been usually the case that trout stocking happens a few days after, as the hatchery trucks are concentrated on stocking waters in Region 7 that have a bigger following. For me, as a writer and angler, I have mixed emotions about publicizing the stocking dates. I have been out with the truck many times as the previous volunteer stocking coordinator, and have seen quite a few fellows just following the truck so they can get in and catch their limit of hungry trout in no time flat. That’s never sat well with me. But on the other hand, to bucket the fish off the truck into the streams at desolate places takes a lot of manpower, and so there is a need to spread the word to get volunteers out to lend a hand. It sure is a double-edged sword.
Bill Au of the Chenango Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter has been the volunteer stocking coordinator since I stepped down. It seems like just yesterday that I was out there with waders and buckets when gas was "just" $2 a gallon. It’s doubled now...so kudos to Bill for continuing to step up to the plate to make sure that our county's allotment of brookies, browns and rainbows get stocked. Now, without further ado, here is the stocking list compiled by Bill. I hope you come out to lend a hand with the "bucket brigade"...and help until all fish are stocked, then go back and catch some if you like. For locations and meeting times to help out, call Bill at (607) 674-4863.
• The Otselic River was stocked for the first time this season on Thursday, March 29th. There were 7,180 “1-year old” browns designated for the Otselic in Chenango & Madison Counties, but the group only stocked a bit over 6,000 from where the river crosses Rte. 26 just above Pitcher to the bridge on State Highway 80. This was because these fish had their right ventral fins clipped for a DEC study.
• The first stocking of the Genegantslet was on Monday, April 2nd. The Genegantslet has 3,370 Brown Trout designated to be stocked from the McDonough Bridge to the Rt. 206 Bridge by Greene.
Additional stockings:
• Thursday, April 12 or the second stocking of the Otselic with 2,190 “2-year-old” brown trout. This is traditionally the "Easter Vacation" stocking where parents bring out their kids to help with the stocking and learn about this valuable resource.
• Friday, April 13 for Guilford Lake with 200 “2-year-old” Brown Trout and 1,800 “1-year-old” rainbow trout.
• Monday, April 16 for the second stocking of the Genegantslet with 270 “2-year-old” brown trout.
• Thursday, April 19 for Jeffrey Pond with 1,060 brook trout, Mill Brook Reservoir with 2,000 rainbow trout and 150 “2-year-old” brown trout, and Bowman Lake with 1,600 rainbow trout and 670 brook trout.
___
For the second year in a row, the NYS budget has been passed on time. There were several wins and losses for sportsmen associated with this year’s budget. Here are a few:
WIN – COBIS, the total waste of taxpayers money on ballistic fingerprinting of pistol ammunition has been repealed. Gun dealers will no longer have to send in fired casings and bullets to the state police data bank. This program, funded by taxpayers, cost over $45 MILLION dollars in the nine years it has been in existence. It was “never” used to solve a crime or prosecute a criminal. Gov. Cuomo made the right decision to eliminate it for good from the budget.
WIN - Microstamping, another wasteful bill that was attached to the budget by the downstate, democratically controlled assembly has been defeated. As explained in past articles here, microstamping is a microscopic serial number etched onto the firing pin of semi-automatic pistols, with the theory being that spent shell casings could be recovered at the scene of a crime and be traced back to the owner. Good in theory, but it’s easily usurped by changing the firing pin, filing the pin down or tracing the round back to a stolen gun. Ineffective in reality and also a major ploy by the anti-gun owner groups to take more guns away from lawful owners. Remington, S&W, Glock, and Kimber were among the top gun manufacturers that said they would no longer sell to New York residents rather than spend millions retooling their factories.
WIN - I received a copy of the letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the governor's staff stating that the state will be eligible to receive federal funds related to the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts. The language in the current budget bill is "minimally acceptable.” We need to work with our state legislators to restore the specific "assent legislation" wording of the past. This year’s proposed federal funds would be in the $18 million range.
WIN – DEC modified forest conservation easements to allow leasing of 220 camps and acquires 2,800 acres of forest lands. Under the new terms of the agreement, Heartwood Forestland, Inc. will retain the right to permanently lease no more than 220 camp sites located on the 110,000 acres of forest lands on which the state acquired a working forest easement in 1999. In return, the company will transfer the 2,797 acres of land to the state in two parcels adjacent to the state’s existing Deer River holdings. A 2,146-acre parcel within the Adirondack Park will be added to the state forest preserve as part of the recently classified Deer River Primitive Area, and a 651-acre parcel outside the park will become a new state forest. These parcels will provide access to a previously-inaccessible, detached forest preserve property and will be open to the public for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and other outdoor recreation.
LOSS – In the budget, there is a shift an additional 65 Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) onto the Conservation Fund, in addition to the 20 ECOs that were placed onto the Conservation Fund in December of 2011. Approximately $8 million dollars of ECO personnel service time will be placed onto the Conservation Fund without any discussion or consideration for the vacancies that exist in the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources.
LOSS - Since the license fee increase of 2009, the sportsmen have lost the services of 63 staff persons from the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources. There are no provisions in the budget to make up this loss of personnel. In essence, what is happening is the sportsmen in this state are paying for more of DEC's fish and wildlife program, and receiving less support than they ever have in the past.
For questions or comments on this article, contact George Franke at george_franke@yahoo.com
Sam ties thousands of flies, and our secondary mission that day was to make deliveries to Marino's Sport Shop in Deposit, Fur Fin and Feather in Livingston Manor, and Al's Sport Shop in Downsville. So from the diminutive and obscure #37 Dobson to a Muddler tied on a very large #2/0 hook, Sam plied his trade and I enjoyed perusing the guns, tackle, and gear these shops had to offer. Those of you who want any custom tied flies should contact Sam, right here in Norwich, at (607) 334-3197. Sam is also the President of the Chenango Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter. The chapter is holding a flyfishing class on April 14-15 at the Sherburne Middle School. I attended last year to brush up on some things, and can vouch for its superb content and educational value for novice and seasoned angler alike. Contact Tony Savitsky for more info at (607) 336-5945 on the course.
___
Sunday's April 1 traditional opening of trout season in New York was a little more like years past, with freezing temperatures and ice on my guides as I made my first cast into the pool where the old trestle used to pass over Lyon Brook in Oxford. While many other anglers sought out the stocked, bigger waters of the Otselic River and Genegansalet Creek, I opted to remain close to home and catch (and release) a few fingerling-size brook trout.
This was the first year in a long memory that fish were stocked in Chenango County prior to the opener. It has been usually the case that trout stocking happens a few days after, as the hatchery trucks are concentrated on stocking waters in Region 7 that have a bigger following. For me, as a writer and angler, I have mixed emotions about publicizing the stocking dates. I have been out with the truck many times as the previous volunteer stocking coordinator, and have seen quite a few fellows just following the truck so they can get in and catch their limit of hungry trout in no time flat. That’s never sat well with me. But on the other hand, to bucket the fish off the truck into the streams at desolate places takes a lot of manpower, and so there is a need to spread the word to get volunteers out to lend a hand. It sure is a double-edged sword.
Bill Au of the Chenango Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter has been the volunteer stocking coordinator since I stepped down. It seems like just yesterday that I was out there with waders and buckets when gas was "just" $2 a gallon. It’s doubled now...so kudos to Bill for continuing to step up to the plate to make sure that our county's allotment of brookies, browns and rainbows get stocked. Now, without further ado, here is the stocking list compiled by Bill. I hope you come out to lend a hand with the "bucket brigade"...and help until all fish are stocked, then go back and catch some if you like. For locations and meeting times to help out, call Bill at (607) 674-4863.
• The Otselic River was stocked for the first time this season on Thursday, March 29th. There were 7,180 “1-year old” browns designated for the Otselic in Chenango & Madison Counties, but the group only stocked a bit over 6,000 from where the river crosses Rte. 26 just above Pitcher to the bridge on State Highway 80. This was because these fish had their right ventral fins clipped for a DEC study.
• The first stocking of the Genegantslet was on Monday, April 2nd. The Genegantslet has 3,370 Brown Trout designated to be stocked from the McDonough Bridge to the Rt. 206 Bridge by Greene.
Additional stockings:
• Thursday, April 12 or the second stocking of the Otselic with 2,190 “2-year-old” brown trout. This is traditionally the "Easter Vacation" stocking where parents bring out their kids to help with the stocking and learn about this valuable resource.
• Friday, April 13 for Guilford Lake with 200 “2-year-old” Brown Trout and 1,800 “1-year-old” rainbow trout.
• Monday, April 16 for the second stocking of the Genegantslet with 270 “2-year-old” brown trout.
• Thursday, April 19 for Jeffrey Pond with 1,060 brook trout, Mill Brook Reservoir with 2,000 rainbow trout and 150 “2-year-old” brown trout, and Bowman Lake with 1,600 rainbow trout and 670 brook trout.
___
For the second year in a row, the NYS budget has been passed on time. There were several wins and losses for sportsmen associated with this year’s budget. Here are a few:
WIN – COBIS, the total waste of taxpayers money on ballistic fingerprinting of pistol ammunition has been repealed. Gun dealers will no longer have to send in fired casings and bullets to the state police data bank. This program, funded by taxpayers, cost over $45 MILLION dollars in the nine years it has been in existence. It was “never” used to solve a crime or prosecute a criminal. Gov. Cuomo made the right decision to eliminate it for good from the budget.
WIN - Microstamping, another wasteful bill that was attached to the budget by the downstate, democratically controlled assembly has been defeated. As explained in past articles here, microstamping is a microscopic serial number etched onto the firing pin of semi-automatic pistols, with the theory being that spent shell casings could be recovered at the scene of a crime and be traced back to the owner. Good in theory, but it’s easily usurped by changing the firing pin, filing the pin down or tracing the round back to a stolen gun. Ineffective in reality and also a major ploy by the anti-gun owner groups to take more guns away from lawful owners. Remington, S&W, Glock, and Kimber were among the top gun manufacturers that said they would no longer sell to New York residents rather than spend millions retooling their factories.
WIN - I received a copy of the letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the governor's staff stating that the state will be eligible to receive federal funds related to the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts. The language in the current budget bill is "minimally acceptable.” We need to work with our state legislators to restore the specific "assent legislation" wording of the past. This year’s proposed federal funds would be in the $18 million range.
WIN – DEC modified forest conservation easements to allow leasing of 220 camps and acquires 2,800 acres of forest lands. Under the new terms of the agreement, Heartwood Forestland, Inc. will retain the right to permanently lease no more than 220 camp sites located on the 110,000 acres of forest lands on which the state acquired a working forest easement in 1999. In return, the company will transfer the 2,797 acres of land to the state in two parcels adjacent to the state’s existing Deer River holdings. A 2,146-acre parcel within the Adirondack Park will be added to the state forest preserve as part of the recently classified Deer River Primitive Area, and a 651-acre parcel outside the park will become a new state forest. These parcels will provide access to a previously-inaccessible, detached forest preserve property and will be open to the public for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and other outdoor recreation.
LOSS – In the budget, there is a shift an additional 65 Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) onto the Conservation Fund, in addition to the 20 ECOs that were placed onto the Conservation Fund in December of 2011. Approximately $8 million dollars of ECO personnel service time will be placed onto the Conservation Fund without any discussion or consideration for the vacancies that exist in the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources.
LOSS - Since the license fee increase of 2009, the sportsmen have lost the services of 63 staff persons from the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources. There are no provisions in the budget to make up this loss of personnel. In essence, what is happening is the sportsmen in this state are paying for more of DEC's fish and wildlife program, and receiving less support than they ever have in the past.
For questions or comments on this article, contact George Franke at george_franke@yahoo.com
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