Support your local TU

Posted 8/21/12

So far this year fish reports are mixed. What a surprise! We have received reports that the fishing has been great and reports that it has been the worst year yet. Maybe it is a little of both. …

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Support your local TU

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So far this year fish reports are mixed. What a surprise! We have received reports that the fishing has been great and reports that it has been the worst year yet. Maybe it is a little of both.

Again this summer we are setting records. Already we have had several “thermal stress events” in our rivers. Just about every authority urges that we suspend trout fishing when the water temperatures exceed 70°. So, for much of the Delaware River Main Stem, with water temperatures in the mid-70s and above, trout fishing is out until the cooler temperatures of fall. But that doesn’t mean you have to stow your fishing gear.

A great smallmouth bass fishery exists on the mid- to lower-section of the Delaware. Ten Mile River access to the Zane Grey takeout is one of the best fishing floats for these abundant fighters. You don’t need any fancy equipment to catch these aggressive feeders—spin rods, bait casters and fly rods all work well. Riffle sections are the hot spots, and almost any soft lure, spinner, spoon, or streamer will catch these smallies.

As it happens, first prize in the Upper Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) fundraising raffle this year plays on this theme. Master Carver Lew Trowbridge carved a spectacular artwork, “The Big 3 of the Delaware” (rainbow, brown and smallmouth). The local chapter of Trout Unlimited will be selling raffle tickets for this prize (and also a Lander’s River Trip) at Riverfest in Narrowsburg on July 24. TU members will also be selling “Casting for Recovery” hand-tied pink flies to help in this important effort.

So what is TU? It was founded in 1959 to conserve, protect and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. But like so many crucial things, it is important to think globally and act locally. So what does our local chapter do?

You might ask the fifth-graders at Jeffersonville Elementary School. Over the past eight years, more than 500 students have participated in the “Trout in the Classroom” program. These students are exposed to nature first-hand when the fertilized eggs arrive in October. They learn the responsibility of properly caring for the “frey,” checking and charting water temperatures, PH and oxygen levels every day until the spring. Then, on a joyous spring day, the students release the troutlings into the Callicoon Creek. Factored into the students’ daily program are lessons in math, science and ecology. A spin-off benefit is that over 3,000 troutlings have been released over the eight years of the program. A big thank you to Pam Reinhardt and her late husband Val Reinhardt for bringing this wonderful program to our river valley. This is the kind of thing TU does.

This week, the New York State TU Council conducts its trout camp for youth. New York is one of only nine states that have this program. Not only do our local TU chapter members participate as guides to the young, new flyfishers on the river, but they also fully sponsored one student this year ($400).

These students spend a week at camp learning entomology, fly-tying, rivercraft, casting and more. A dozen students are participating in the program this week and are mentored one-on-one each evening on the river after classroom work. Perhaps, in the future, one of these students will be a leader in the effort to protect and preserve our coldwater fisheries. What a great investment in our future. Just ask Pam Reinhardt.

Visit our booth at Riverfest and learn more. Tight Lines!

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