The tributaries west of the Salmon River will loose water fast over the next week if we get no substantial rain fall. Those to the north will get a little more volume as the Tug melts, but once that is done the flows will drop pretty quick. The next week or so should be very good fishing on the tribs north of the Salmon River.
Fisheries Report
This past February the New York State DEC released it's New York's 2011 Lake Ontario Fisheries Program Highlights. To say the least it is a good report. With the focus on the Lake Ontario and eastern basin tributaries here are a few tidbits.
First of interest to me is the tributary creel surveys done by the state.
Total estimated angling effort for all tributaries was 1,111,362 angler hours. The Salmon River accounted for 68% of the total with 751,127 angler hours.
The estimated catch and harvest of Chinook Salmon on all tributaries surveyed were 125,180 and 45,214, respectively; below 2005/2006 estimates. The Salmon River accounted for 68% (85,106) of the catch and 70% (31,516) of the harvest.
Coho Salmon were caught in 11 of the 21 tributaries surveyed, totaling 30,676 fish. The estimated catch increased markedly from the 2005 (18,163 fish) and 2006 (5, 804 fish) surveys. The Salmon River accounted for 95% of the catch (29,113) and 97% of the harvest (10,154).
Seventeen of the 21 tributaries surveyed had reported catches of steelhead. For all tributaries surveyed, the total estimated catch and harvest were 58,846 and 5,366, respectively. The Salmon River had the highest estimated catch (39,697; 68% of total) and harvest (3,657; 75% of total). The release rate for steelhead on all tributaries combined was 92%, and was 91% on the Salmon River. (italics mine)
Chinook salmon Marking Project
In 2008, NYSDEC purchased an automated fish marking trailer (Autofish) which is capable oadipose clipping and/or applying coded wire tags (CWTs) to salmon and trout at a high rate of speed and accuracy. To determine the proportions of wild and hatchery Chinook salmon in Lake Ontario, all Chinook Salmon stocked by New York and Ontario from 2008-2011 were marked with an adipose fin clip. In 2011, preliminary results indicate that 38% of Chinook Salmon harvested by anglers in Lake Ontario were wild. The proportion of wild Chinook Salmon observed in most New York tributaries varied by fish age but was generally low (i.e., 5-12%), except in the Salmon River where approximately 44% of angler-caught Chinook Salmon were wild. (italics mine)
In my view there are 3 factors that contribute to this. One is the pen rearing and stocking of salmon as opposed to hatchery rearing. Non-hatchery fish have proven to be healthier and have better survival rate as compared to hatchery fish. Second is the elimination of snagging back in the early 90s. This has resulted in more fish left to spawn and snagging was only allowed (legally) in probably the best spawning water for salmon, Altmar to Pineville. Third is the required minimum release that was required by the DEC last time FERC licensing was needed. This resulted in spawning beds staying covered during the incubation and alvine stage of a salmons life.
This latter point is why I feel the Salmon River would never sustain any significant steelhead population with out stocking. During the incubation and alvine stage of the steelheads life the Salmon River is flowing at minimum release which means the spawning beds are high and dry. Should the state ever suspend the steelhead stocking programs the steelhead fishery would virtually disappear from the Salmon River. The only Lake Ontario tribs on this side of the lake (US) that could sustain a naturally reproducing steelhead population is the Niagara River, the Black River and possibly the Genessee River. (Back to the state of the fisheries report.)
Projects completed in 2011
A new well site identified in a hydro-geological survey at the NYSDEC Salmon River Fish Hatchery was developed and began contributing approximately 200 gallons per minute to the hatchery well water supply in September.
The Stony Creek angler parking area on Delaney Road (County Rt. 152, Jefferson County) was completed in September.
Projects ongoing
In an ongoing effort to improve Salmon River Hatchery water supplies, the development of a shallow infiltration well will be further investigated in 2012.
To improve public outreach efforts at the Salmon River Hatchery, new aquaria and interpretive displays will be installed in the visitor’s center in 2012. In addition, an underwater camera will be installed in the fish ladder, allowing the public to view fish on a closed-circuit TV monitor. That would be cool!
Final thoughts
We had a awesome fall season on both salmon and steelhead. I believe that we are going to continue to see exceptional fishing here in the Salmon River continue for some time to come. I have been guiding here since 1988 and through the years since the state has put a lot of research and effort into the Lake Ontario fishery including it's tribs, trying to get a handle on the resource and how to sustain it. Seems like it's starting to come together, only time will tell. For now though there are a lot of happy lake and tributary fishermen.
Tight lines.
To improve public outreach efforts at the Salmon River Hatchery, new aquaria and interpretive displays will be installed in the visitor’s center in 2012. In addition, an underwater camera will be installed in the fish ladder, allowing the public to view fish on a closed-circuit TV monitor. That would be cool!
Final thoughts
We had a awesome fall season on both salmon and steelhead. I believe that we are going to continue to see exceptional fishing here in the Salmon River continue for some time to come. I have been guiding here since 1988 and through the years since the state has put a lot of research and effort into the Lake Ontario fishery including it's tribs, trying to get a handle on the resource and how to sustain it. Seems like it's starting to come together, only time will tell. For now though there are a lot of happy lake and tributary fishermen.
Tight lines.
