Fishing diaries
and willow plantings

Now hear this! Region four of the DEC is asking anglers to begin keeping a diary of their fishing activities on the following three rivers: the West Branch of the Delaware from Stilesville to Hancock, the East Branch of the Delaware from Downsville to Hancock, and the Main Stem of the Delaware from Hancock to Callicoon. This program is to enable the DEC to obtain base line data on the results of fishing these three stretches. The diary keepers are to record what river was fished, the area fished, the time fishing began and ended and the individual length of all fish caught. Also, note  whether the fish were released or kept for a meal. All diaries will be returned to the cooperators after the data has been processed. These diaries may be obtained by writing the DEC at 65 561 State Highway 10, Suite One, Stamford, NY 12167-9503. Or you can pick up the phone and ask for Norman D. McBride at 607/652-7366.

Now look here. To fill out a simple report of this type cannot take more than five minutes of your time. Surely this is not too much to ask in order for the DEC to get a better understanding of fishing conditions on these rivers. In my humble opinion, if you are unwilling to do this for the DEC, you are not worthy of being on these trout streams. May I suggest perhaps you should explore the sports of golf or tennis.

We have been back at the cabin for six days and I have yet to wet a line. After unloading all the cartons and large plastic boxes, you could hardly walk through our living room. This all had to be unpacked and put away. The freaky warm weather of a few weeks ago had put the lawn in desperate need of mowing. When I went to start the riding mower, I discovered the battery had died. I removed it, put it in a sturdy cardboard carton and dispatched Barbara to Eschenberg’s for a replacement. I had to mow most of the needed areas with the smaller, gasoline push mower. Great exercise. Rebar stakes and chicken wire had to be removed from some two-dozen small trees and shrubs. Then the wire had to be rolled up, tied and neatly put away along with the rebar stakes. In addition to these normal chores, I gave myself one more by failing to close one of the water valves in the basement. It was not exactly music to my ears to be standing at the top of the basement stairs, unexpectedly hearing the sound of running water down there. A quick dash down the stairs and a frantic closing of the forgotten valve stopped the flood. However, it took an hour’s worth of effort with a mop and a bucket to return the basement floor to an appearance of normality.

Then at the meeting of the Upper Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited, friends regaled me with tales of the fish they had been catching, “right off of your property, up to 18 inches.” Ummm, that’s just great. Maybe by Father’s Day I will finally be able to go a fishing.

On top of all this, Mother Nature, that obstreperous old witch, has done an about face. First, she tried to turn this area into a desert. Now she seems to be intent on delivering all the precipitation we did not get over the last ten months in a mere ten day period. This is a good news, bad news situation. The bad news is the local rivers and their tributaries are virtually unfishable. The business activity of local fishing shops, restaurants and motels will be depressed due to a scarcity of people coming into our area to fish. The good news is the New York City reservoirs are now receiving tremendous inflows. The desperate water situation that existed prior to April 28 appears to be easing.

The Upper Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited has 2600 willows and five hundred red oaks, which will be planted along tributaries of the Delaware. This work is scheduled to be done on Saturday, May 11 and 18. We will assemble at McFadden’s Fly Shop at 9:00 a.m. on these dates. To be certain the work schedule has not been cancelled, please call 845/887-6406 or 570/224-6172 before 8:30 a.m. Bring a pair of rubber gloves and a hoe or an army entrenching tool. Many hands make light work.