Trout About

By W.J. (Duke) Merincavage

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Delaware River Fishery:
Best tailwater in the East

A tailwater is the flow of water created below a dam, usually coming from the hot bottom of the dam. We have two such tailwaters here in Delaware County. One is the Downsville Dam, which creates the East Branch tailwater, and the other is the Cannonsville Dam, which creates the West Branch of the Delaware River tailwater. Since the water is coming from the deeper part of the dam, it’s usually colder water—45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This is what makes the water ideal for a trout fishery, since trout are a cold water fish that need a water temperature of 45 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit and no higher to flourish.

When New York City created these dam’s back in the 50s and 60s, no one knew what would happen to the rivers below the dams as far as a fishery was concerned. What did happen was the creation of three of the best trout streams in the East, because of the cold waters. The East, West and Main Delaware Rivers were about to become nationally known.

The dams were created to supply drinking water for the city, but also created another great product—cold water flows from the water released from the dams. The flows out of the dams were necessary to maintain the water level in the lower Delaware River to help prevent salt water back up, etc.—not just to drink. The cold water flows provided the foundation for trout fishery.

Forty some years later, we have discovered that all or most of all the best trout streams in the country are tailwaters. The Green River in Uath, the San Juan in New Mexico, the Bighorn River, Beaverhead and Missouri in Montana—all come from dams.

Other events have helped along the way to improve Delaware fishing: The DEC created a no-kill section on the West Branch of the Delaware upper section and closed the upper West Branch to allow fish to spawn in peace at the end of September. The Binghamton Chapter of Trout Unlimted has overlooked all their home stream concerns. The National TU/DEC realized that stocked trout and wild trout do not mix. And fishermen have, for the most part, practiced catch-release.

So what does all this mean for you and me here in the Delaware River area? It means better fishing, of course, but also that we have a lot of people coming to this area from other sections of the country. This brings in the “green” for things other than fishing—food, lodging, guides, boats.

So let us all take care of the tailwater as the tailwater has taken care of us.

See you on the river., Walt.