The eight-day miracle

In the previous column, I had predicted doom and gloom for the Delaware River system. While we had begun to see a return to a more normal precipitation pattern, it appeared to be absolutely impossible to meet the criteria set by the City of New York, which would allow normal flow releases from their reservoirs. These were that reservoir storage had to be 25 billion gallons above the drought curve and the reservoirs must stay above 25 billion gallons for 15 consecutive days. This had to occur on or before May 31. Barring an unimaginable amount of rainfall, there was no way these criteria could be met. Sometimes it seems that old girl Mother Nature just sits in ambush, waiting for a chance to make this writer look like a monkey’s uncle.

Do you believe in miracles? In case you are not aware of it we just experienced one. On Thursday, May 24, we headed back to Texas to witness our granddaughter’s high school graduation ceremony. I had expected to return to an ongoing ecological disaster. However, in our eight-day absence, the Delaware watershed received what I suspect was a record amount of rainfall for an eight-day period.

Friday evening, May 31, I observed the heaviest rainfall I have seen in my lifetime. Preceded by five minutes of dime-sized hail, a monstrous thunderstorm came down the valley. Up river from us, a tornado touched down in several places, temporarily closing roads in some locations. When the rain began, I was out on our porch grilling hamburgers. In a matter of seconds the New York ridge across the river disappeared from view. A gray curtain of rain limited visibility in any direction to about 50 yards. The Basket Brook viaduct was invisible. The tall ridge that rises above the town of Long Eddy could not be seen. For five or six minutes, this was the type of rainfall that caused Noah to build the ark. In a short eight day period, water poured into Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs at such a rate that water storage shot up well past the 25 billion gallons above the drought curve that the City had mandated. In fact, at a meeting on May 31, the city agreed to allow the DEC to call for thermal stress releases prior to the legal June 15 date, if they were needed. Please understand, under this agreement, the City is not giving any more water to the river. Any thermal stress water released prior to June 15 will simply be deducted from the normal stress relief bank.

Under agreement with the City, the minimum flow of the West Branch, as measured by the gauge at Hale Eddy, will be 225 cubic feet per second year round, providing we are not in drought conditions. This flow will be even higher if the River master calls for additional releases to meet the targeted flow of 1750 cubic feet per second at the Montague, NJ gauge.

On Monday, June 10, the “Tangler” finally had an opportunity to go fishing. It was about time. I had intended to fish up from the mouth of Hankins Creek but when I arrived there, the run just downstream from the Creek’s mouth looked very inviting. I waded down some 40 yards and commenced to fish on spec with a number 14 Ausable Wulff.

A flash of yellow caught my eye as a Brown trout rose at the edge of a seam of swift water. It took three casts before I was able to float the fly over the spot where the fish had risen. A small splash and the fly disappeared. Fish on. Hmmm, feels like a pretty good one. Off he dashes, to visit his cousins down at the Red Barn campground. The run ends and I am able to bring him back quite a ways towards me. Oops, there he goes again, on another dash downstream. Darn, this is a good-sized fish. Easy now, don’t force him too hard. Bring him along upstream, easy, easy ... Aieee! The hook loses its hold. I have unexpectedly given my quarry a long line release. An art form that I have practiced so many times over the years that I am now quite the expert at it. Rats. Lost the first fish of the year without even getting a good look at it. Ah well, perhaps I will have another opportunity to tempt this fellow. There will be other evenings and Hankins Creek is not that far to go. The river is clear and dropping; go fishing today.