F R E E

REPORTER LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Ray Turner’s Delaware Delicacies Smoke House

‘Crown Jewel’ of the Delaware Rainbow Trout and MORE!

Easy Access, Plentiful Fish Fishing the Delaware’s tributaries

2 FISH • 2012

Mailing Address: PO Box 150, Narrowsburg, NY 12764

Phone: 845-252-7414 • Fax: 845-252-3298

PUBLICATION DATE: APRIL 19

A RIVER REPORTER LIFESTYLE MAGAZINEFISH

Advertising/ Marketing Consultant: Barbara Winfield ext. 25

barbara@riverreporter.com

Sales Manager: Emily Grillo ext. 34

emily@riverreporter.com

Production Manager: Connie Kern

Publisher: Laurie StuartSection Editor: Mary Greene

FULL -SERV ICE MARKET ING SOLUT IONS

Stuart CommunicationsCreative Services

Creative Director: Lori Malone

T he fi shermen you see standing in the river, and the fi sh you might occasionally see at the end of their lines, are but a small part of the picture. The geographically vast

Upper Delaware River watershed—its fl ora, fauna, geology, history and economy—is extraordinarily rich and complex.

Trout thrive in cold, clean water as do the mayfl ies and other insects constituting their primary food source. The raptors we celebrate, waterfowl and some river-dwelling mammals dine on the fi sh. Many sea-dwellers rely on the 330 miles of unimpeded river for their annual spawning migration.

People earn a living working as guides on the river or catering to the visiting angler. And the people they guide enjoy not only the thrill of the catch but also the knowledge they gain of the complex environment around them and the peaceful relaxation of an escape from their often more stressful daily lives.

In this premiere edition of FISH, we touch on some of these facets. The river is always alive, even in the throes of winter, with many other species of fi sh, in addition to trout, of interest to fi shermen. Ray Turner, who utilizes an ancient fi shing method, an eel weir, and food preservation technique, smoking the eel, is profi led. Thousands of square miles of watershed contain many small, rarely fi shed but productive creeks. Human intervention has both enhanced the trout habitat through cold water bottom releases from the reservoirs, and degraded it through activities like the introduction of invasive species. Trout have had a long and storied role in the Delaware, including the relatively recent immigrant, the rainbow trout.

Join us in celebrating FISH and the world they live in.

Steven SchwartzContributing Editor

Photo by Susan Ferguson

Steven Schwartz lives on the Delaware in Equinunk,

and owns Delaware Valley Ramps, providing wild forest foraged foods to restaurants

and wholesalers.

Cover photo: © Richard Franklin

FINANCING AS LOW AS

REBATES UP TO

3.99%**PLUS

$1000*

Offers good on new and unregistered units purchased between 3/1/12-4/30/12. *On select models. See your dealer for details. ** Rates as low as 3.99% for 36 months. Offers only available at participating Polaris® dealers. Approval, and any rates and terms provided, are based on credit worthiness. Other nancing offers are available. Applies to the purchase of all new ATV and RANGER models made on the Polaris Installment Program from 3/1/12 - 4/30/12. Fixed APR of 3.99%, 7.99%, or 10.99% will be assigned based on credit approval criteria. Examples of monthly payments over a 36 month term at 3.99% APR: $29.52 per $1,000 nanced and at 10.99% APR: $32.73 per $1,000 nanced. Warning: The Polaris RANGER and RANGER RZR are not intended for on-road use. Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license to operate. Passengers must be at least 12 years old and tall enough to grasp the hand holds and plant feet rmly on the oor. Drivers and passengers should always wear helmets, eye protection, protective clothing, and seat belts. Always use cab nets. Be particularly careful on dif cult terrain. Never drive on public roads or paved surfaces. Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp turns. Riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix. Check local laws before riding on trails. ATVs can be hazardous to operate. Polaris adult models are for riders 16 and older. For your safety, always wear a helmet, eye protection and protective clothing, and be sure to take a safety training course. For safety and training information in the U.S., call the SVIA at (800) 887-2887. You may also contact your Polaris dealer or call Polaris at (800) 342-3764. ©2012 Polaris Industries Inc.

FIND YOUR EXTREMEMACHINE AT:

BILL CASE POLARIS

Sales & ServiceFull Line of

Parts & Accessories

408 Welcome Lake RoadWelcome Lake, PA

570-729-7402 www.billcase.com

FISH a special publication of The River Reporter, is published by Stuart Communications, Inc. Entire contents ©2012 by Stuart Communications, Inc.

289 Starlight Lake Road • Starlight, PA 18461 800-248-2519 • www.innatstarlightlake.com

Everything is better by Starlight!

The Inn offers a comfortable and charming respite for the vacationer or for that extra room when family or friends come to visit.

Every Monday – SEAFOOD NIGHT$15.95 per person, complete dinners

Every Wednesday – PASTA NIGHTAll-you-can-eat $9.95

Regular menu always available

OPEN 365 DAYS A YEARMonday – Saturday: Breakfast 8-10am

Lunch 12noon-2pm • Dinner 5-9pmSunday: Breakfast 8-10am

Brunch 10:30am-2pm • Dinner 4-8pm

A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 3

3 bedroom, 1 bath home adjacent to public access on the West Branch Delaware, very low taxes

and great spot for shing.Asking $110,000

Former horse farm now a sportsman’s paradise. 220 acres managed for deer, turkey and grouse.

Great Home/Lodge

18 acres Spectacular log home overlooking West Branch Delaware River. Access to 1000 feet of frontage.

Asking $350,000

This colonial has it all. Hot tub, gourmet kitchen, nished basement. 4 BR, 3 Bath.

Reduced to $210,000!

Excellent non-motorboat lake. Deck, Dock and Guest Quarters above 2-car garage.

Asking $299,000

Renovated Hancock Village home. 3 bedrooms and walk to shing!!!

Asking $119,000

Four acres of private PA riverfrontage on a great rainbow rif e. 4-bedroom, 3-bath home

with panoramic river views. $395,000

The Old Wild Rainbow Lodge, renovated and immaculate. 7 acres of very private Main Stem Riverfront. Two garages

for all the toys. Great wade and boating location.Reduced $475,000

Riverfront SpecialtyBuyer’s Brokerage

Northeast Pennsylvania Delaware, Broome & Sullivan counties in NY

Hancock, NY 116 E. Front St.

www.jamesseriorealestate.com607-637-2992

jimserio@hancock.net

Village Living Single wide has everything you need. Great shing camp and walk to Firemen’s Park

and EB Delaware River.Asking $45,000

This turn-key 11-room hotel, bar and campground is ready to go. Long river frontage on a great trout river. Fully

equipped bar and commercial kitchen. Pool room with two coin-operated pool tables. Screened-in patio for summer

family picnics!! Liquor licenses may be transferable! Asking $900,000

Over 4,000 feet of shared river frontage on no-kill section of West Branch. Build your own camp or lodge.

Five-acre lots starting $75,000

Summer Kids Camp, Adult Retreat or just a great private getaway. This 10+ acre property has 20 camping cabins along with 2 homes, pavilion, shower house and dining

hall. Can accommodate 70-100 people. 2,000 feet of river frontage on West Branch Delaware River.

Asking $825,000

James Serio Real Estate

4 FISH • 2012

SEAMAN’SSEAMAN’SMARINE, INC.MARINE, INC.

Boat and Dock Sales/Service/Supplies570-253-3140

www.seamansonline.com2017 Roosevelt Hwy., Rt. 6 West, Honesdale, PA

Since 1986STARCRAFT • SMOKERCRAFT • ALUMACRAFT • TRITON • LARSON • EZDOCK • SHOREMASTER

Russel Brook CampsitesCABIN RENTALS • “TENTERS ONLY” AREAS • HAYRIDES

ACTIVITIES • CAMPS TORE • PLAYGROUND • ICE • FIREWOOD STOCKED FISHING PONDS • REC HALL • MODERN RESTROOMSSPACIOUS R.V. SITES • WATER & ELECTRIC HOOKUPS • POOL

ONLY A 1/2 MILE TO FABULOUS TROUT FISHING ON THE BEAVERKILLEasy access off NY State Route 17 exit 93W

Exit 92 (Cooks falls exit) Only 2 1/2 hours from NYC

CABIN RENTTALALS S • TENTACTIVITIES • CAMPSTORE

STOCKED FISHING PONDS • SPACIOUS R.V. SITES • WAT

ONLY A 1/2 MILE TO FABULOUSEasy access off N

ExExExExit 92 (C( ooks falls ex

(607) 498-5416 Russel Brook Road • Cooks Falls/Roscoe, NY 12776

www.russelbrook.com

A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 5

‘Crown Jewel’ of the Delaware

Rainbow trout

Rainbow trout are sometimes regarded as the aquatic Johnny-come-latelies of the

fi sh-rich Upper Delaware River. But they’ve got a century’s worth of residency there.

It may be a fi sh story, but by one often-repeated account, the rainbows descended from fi sh that were released as a result of a railroad train breakdown in the late 1800s. Canisters of fi ngerling trout—McCloud River rainbows from California, they say—were aboard a train that chugged to an unexpected stop near Callicoon, NY. Dan Cahill, a brakeman, happened to be an avid fi sherman. Fearing the fi sh would go belly-up before reaching their destination, Cahill grabbed a few canisters and released the fi ngerlings into the Delaware. This happenstance stocking is believed to be the fi rst introduction of the rainbow into the Delaware River.

The offi cial version of the rainbow’s introduction to the river is not quite as romantic. Ed Van Put, a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation staffer, says the state’s Fish Commission was experimenting with stocking rainbows roughly 140 years ago.

Those trout came from the San Francisco Bay area and were called mountain or California trout. Records show that on March 31, 1875, a man named Seth Green received at the NYS

Fish Hatchery at Caledonia 1,800 mountain trout eggs, sent by the Acclimation Society of the Golden State. Of these, approximately 300 fry were hatched.

Three years later, when the fi sh reached spawning age, Green collected some 40,000 eggs and later released nearly 25,000 fry in the Delaware system. The trout adapted well to their new eco-system, and the river’s many cold -water tributaries became their spawning grounds and hidden nurseries.

Rainbows of the McCloud strain arrived in 1878 at the Caledonia hatchery. Over time, these two strains became one in Green’s records. He called them all California mountain trout. As a West Coast species, the fi rst rainbows had the instincts of steelhead ancestry. The July 4, 1885 issue of American Angler wrote the following:

“I am told that there was a batch put into the Beaverkill, one of the branches of the Delaware River, and that there have never been any caught near the locality where they were put in, but about 75 or 80 miles below, where they found very deep water and large eddies, that they were quite plentiful.”

Early 20th-century anglers were impressed with this new strain of California trout that, not surprisingly, fought harder than anything they have ever seen. Generations of natural selection and local environmental factors have hardened these fi sh into a distinct breed of trout, making them into one of the best wild stock of streamlined rainbows in our country. It is now considered by anglers as the “crown jewel” of the Delaware.

Among the Delaware tributaries where they now spawn are Sands and Cadosia creeks in the town of Hancock, NY. The two creeks do not have the regal reputation of famous trout runs in the region, but they are—to this day—a vital part of the aquatic system with the clean fl owing cold

water and proper cover for survival. The juvenile fi sh will live in the nursing waters for two years before entering the river to become the spirited, fi erce-fi ghting trout that the Delaware is known for.

A transmitter study conducted by Trout Unlimited in the late 1990s revealed the movements of the adult rainbow trout. The “wild” Delaware fi sh normally resides in the Delaware and returns to the place of birth each spring, spawning twice in its four and sometimes fi ve-year life span. A few of the cold-water critters were tracked at distances of 60 miles within a one-year period in their struggles to reproduce and fi nd suitable spawning grounds.

In 2006, a 500-year fl ood devastated Sands and Cadosia creeks, sweeping away precious trout-holding pools, eroding banks and eliminating structure. Some of the remedial channelization intended to prevent future fl ooding also strips trout cover and increases stream bank erosion.

During the past two years, Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUDR), based in New York and Pennsylvania, embarked on an ambitious project to restore the creeks. FUDR has partnered with the National Fish & Wildlife Service, the Town of Hancock and the Delaware County Department of Public Works, to restore Sands and Cadosia creeks for the purpose of mitigating fl ooding and restore fi sh spawning habitat.

Landowner participation is vital and to date we have a group of very engaged property owners that have partnered with FUDR. The initial $100,000 stream assessment study done by Landstudies, Inc. has been completed. A conceptual plan for their restoration is currently being fi nalized on Sands Creek and groundbreaking work is the next step.

For further information on the stream restoration project, visit www.fudr.org.

TEXT: Lee Hartman

PHOTO: TRR Archive

Lee Hartman is Vice Chairman of Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUD) and Delaware River Committee Chairman for PA Council, Trout Unlimited. He currently manages Indian Springs Fly Fishing (www.indianspringsflyfishing.com) and is President of World Angling Travels.

6 FISH • 2012 A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 7

Easy Access, Plentiful FishFishing the Delaware’s tributaries

You will fi nd large trout rising on the Delaware and its East and West branches,

but they’re fi ckle. Add to that the diffi culty of access (unless you have a drift boat, pontoon boat or kayak, and can arrange a shuttle), and trying to catch a Delaware River trout can be, well, trying, even for accomplished anglers. Think patience, perfect presentation and having the right fl y. One more thing: whether you can cast 30 or 80 feet, the fi sh are usually two feet beyond your best cast.

The Delaware’s three major tributaries, the Beaverkill, Willowemoc and Neversink, are

much more angler-friendly, and while they may not have as many large trout as the big river, they’ve got plenty, and a few big ones.

The BeaverkillYou won’t fi nd much public water above the

town of Roscoe, NY (a/k/a Trout Town USA), so look for it from Roscoe down to the Beaverkill’s junction with the East Branch of the Delaware. Since the Beaverkill has such a rich fl y-fi shing history, and is so easily accessible, you’ll fi nd that most of the pools are named, and that if you fi sh on a weekend or on a pleasant weekday,

you’ll have plenty of company. Drive along Old Rte. 17, and you’ll fi nd some place to slip into the river. Unless you’re an early riser, or the weather is inclement, avoid the most famous pools like Junction, Cairns and Cemetery.

You’ll want to avoid the lower end of the Beaverkill in hot weather (the trout migrate to colder water), and don’t fi sh when the water temperature is above 70 degrees. There may be closures around the cold-water refuges at creek mouths during July and August.

You’ll fi nd just about every important eastern trout stream insect in the Beaverkill, and it’s

An avid angler fishes the Neversink Unique Area.

said that if there’s a trout rising anywhere in the Catskills, it will be rising on the Beaverkill. Fish in the pools can be tough; maximize your chances—and minimize the company—by fi shing the pocket water and riffl es. You can improve your luck by fi shing a nymph under your dry fl y; swinging a soft-hackle fl y through the riffl es is always a good idea, whether you see fi sh rising or not. My go-to soft-hackle is a Partridge and Orange, size 14.

If you’re a confi dent wader, and know the water, fi shing the Beaverkill at night can pay big dividends. I’d do it with a friend (and a head-lamp), using big wet fl ies that move a lot of water, or streamers. Don’t try to cast far; just cover the water methodically. Nice surprises await.

The Beaverkill has two no-kill areas where all fi sh must be returned. If you want a fi sh for dinner, make sure it doesn’t come from one of these sections, and please make it a hatchery fi sh, not a wild one. You’ll catch browns and rainbows, mostly stocked, but there are some wild fi sh, and sizeable hold-overs.

The WillowemocWillowemoc Creek fl ows into the Beaverkill

at Roscoe’s famous Junction Pool, home of the mythical two-headed trout. It’s a bit smaller than the Beaverkill. From Roscoe to Livingston Manor, access is not a problem; above Livingston Manor you’ll fi nd more posting and private

fi shing clubs. Generally, the Willow will not be as crowded as the Beaverkill. Although the Willow fl ows into the Beaverkill, you’ll often fi nd that when the Beaverkill is high, muddy and unfi shable, the Willow is clear. You can call any of the local fl y shops (or go to their web sites) to learn current information on river conditions.

Old Rte. 17 also follows part of the Willow, although not so closely as it follows the Beaverkill, so you may have to get out and walk a bit farther to fi nd your fi shing. Generally speaking, the farther you go, the better the fi shing will get. The Willow also has a no-kill section, and the same advice applies as to the Beaverkill. Don’t be fooled into thinking that all the good fi sh are in the no-kill areas.

The Willow has the same hatches as the Beaverkill, but it’s a little more intimate, and you may want to use a lighter rod. If you want easy access, try behind the rest stop on eastbound Rte. 17 between Roscoe and Livingston Manor, at Hazel Bridge, or in front of the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum. For more solitude, poke around away from the road.

The NeversinkThe character of this river is affected by the

Neversink Reservoir. Above the reservoir the river is largely private. Immediately below the dam, the water is very cold, and not very fertile. Downstream, fi shing improves, as does access. The highest numbers of fi sh are in the area mid-way between Rock Hill, NY and Fallsburg, NY. The river here is easily waded in most spots, and because of the cold-water release from the dam, the fi shing holds up well during the summer. Hatches of little green and yellow stonefl ies provide nice dry-fl y fi shing here in early summer.

The river warms as it fl ows south toward Rte. 17, and temperatures can be a problem in summer. South of Rte. 17, the Neversink drops into a gorge, most of which comprises the state-owned Neversink River Unique Area. The Department of Environmental Conservation offers a map of the Unique Area and its access

points. This area is too warm to fi sh in the heat of summer (besides, it’s a long and sweaty hike in and out), and the wading is very treacherous, but you might see a bear, an eagle, or a rattlesnake. The hatches are very different from those on the Beaverkill and Willowemoc (mainly stonefl ies and caddis, but also large populations of dragonfl ies and damselfl ies). The trout down here are wild (browns and brookies), and the fi shing is tough but satisfying. If you want to fi sh this water, fi nd someone who knows it. Bring lunch and a bottle of water, and wade with cleats and a staff; this is an arduous all-day adventure.

Tributaries of the tributariesI’m not going to give away my secret spots,

but there’s some wonderful fi shing to be found in the smaller streams of the watershed. Find them for yourself by using USGS topo maps and Google Earth. Ask in local fl y shops (you always get better information when you buy a handful of fl ies), and the next time a Conservation Offi cer asks to see your fi shing license, view it as a learning opportunity and not a nuisance; he or she knows more about local small streams than you do. And if you ever meet a state fi sheries biologist, you’ve hit the jackpot.

Tight lines, and happy prospecting!

TEXT and PHOTOS: Greg BelcaminoGreg Belcamino is an avid fly fisherman and fly tier who has fished primarily in the Catskills for the last twenty years. He is also President of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy (www.delawarehighlands.org), a land trust active along the Upper Delaware River in both New York and Pennsylvania.

Partridge-and-Orange soft hackle

Little Yellow Stonefly

8 FISH • 2012

25 Milanville RoadBeach Lake, PA

570-729-8522Call for rates and availability or book online at www.pinegrovecottages.net

Cottage Rentals overlooking Beach Lake, PA

Fish the big Bass right on premises!Row & paddle boats available for use in

Beach Lake or fi sh off our dock right off our private beach.

Minutes to the Dela-ware River and

famous trout fi shing.

Karl A. BresslerAttorney & Counselor at Law

42 Main St., P.O. Box 958Livingston Manor, NY 12758

Email: KBressler@hvc.rr.comwww.KBresslerLaw.com

845-439-6049845-439-6052 Fax

“Serving All Your Legal Needs.”

www.DoubleHaulClub.com www.DoubleHaulClub.com

Live Bait & TackleFishing Lures

Gear and SuppliesAlso Offering Advice116 Richardson Avenue

(Just over the Barryville-Shohola Bridge)Shohola, PA

570-559-7589Lesley & Kurt Hagemann

Live Bait & TackleFishing Lures

HHagemann’s Sport Shopagemann’s Sport Shop

LOTTO • MILK • JUMBO EGGS • GROCERIES • CIGARETTES • COLD SODACOLD BEER • CANDY • ICE CREAM • HOT FRESH COFFEE

Boar’s Head Deli, Reach Out Wireless Pre Pay Phone Card. ATM Coming Soon

THANK YOU FOR VOTING US THE BEST CONVENIENCE STORE!

Now Open In Narrowsburg!CITGO FOOD MART & GAS STATION

OPEN 6AM to 11PM • 845-252-6511WEEKEND HOURS: FRIDAY-SUNDAY 6AM-12 MIDNIGHT

GAS SALE

Raimondo’s RESTAURANT & PIZZERIA

Featuring The Finest in Italian & American CuisineEspresso • Cappuccino • Cocktails

EXIT 94 • ROSCOE, NY • 607/498.4702

across from Willowemoc Creek

WildlifeGift Shop

Est. 1985

“A Little Taste of Country”Free Gift Wrapping • Gift Certifi cates

845-439-3938 Shirley K. Fulton, Owner13 Main Street, Livingston Manor, NY 12758

A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 9

R ay Turner makes his living from the river and it takes a lot of work. In fact, if you

want to talk with Turner, you talk with him while he is working.

“I’ve already done the preliminary evisceration. This is the second step, when I get the guts out,” said the 64-year-old Turner, peering out from his thick gray-black beard and his full length, brown leather work apron. “You need to get your fi ngers underneath the liver near the head, start from the top and pull the guts out in one piece. I designed this tool—a tablespoon with a sharpened edge and two notches cut in that fi t around the spine—to scrape the body cavity clean.”

The guts Turner is removing belong to a sliced open, 27-inch long, 20-plus-year-old Anguilla rostrata. It’s the snake-like American eel native to local rivers and now on its way to becoming one of Turner’s signature products—smoked eel—that he sells locally from his deep woods deli shop and by mail across the United States.

Turner owns and is the only employee of Delaware Delicacies Smoke House, located in a pine forest at the end of a dirt road along the East Branch of the Delaware River outside of Hancock, NY. The smoked eel business is year-round work.

The blue plastic tub filled with thawing eels that he’s gutting on this warm March afternoon were caught in Turner’s mid-river, stone eel weir the previous September during the eels’ annual autumn migration. For the eels that Turner traps, the migration begins in the pools and riffl es above his property and ends, for those not caught by Turner or others along the way, in the Sargasso Sea, in the south central Atlantic Ocean, where Anguilla mates and spawns and dies and starts the lifecycle anew.

According to Turner, the migration or run

of these catadromous fi sh begins a week or so either side of September 29 each year. A new moon and high muddy water gets things moving. The main part of the run lasts just a few nights, during which Turner can trap hundreds or even thousands of eels.

Turner freezes much of his autumn catch. He

cleans and smokes them in the winter and spring to keep a supply of smoked eel on hand for sale.

“I spend the summer preparing for the run,” he said. Turner described a process of stacking rocks to build a V-shaped weir across the width of the East Branch, and constructing a fi ve-foot-wide by 50-foot-long wooden fi sh trap at the downstream point of the “V”, where the fi sh are caught in slated boxes and hauled in. Neighbors, friends and guys who think trapping eels is a pretty cool

thing to do are on hand to help Turner harvest his business inventory.

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘emTurner’s hand-built smoker and smoke house

are next to his hand-built home, deli store and storage buildings, which are all in a place called Eel Weir Hollow, according to maps dated to the

1800s. Turner has built his business over the decades on the eel population and eel heritage of this place. He also smokes and sells salmon, trout, pheasant, shrimp, duckling, cornish hens and cheese. Lots of cheese. More than seven tons of cheese since 2007.

Turner hot smokes the eels and most of his products. Hot smoking brings the meat’s temperature to 145 degrees for the fi sh, 165 degrees for the fowl. Turner cold smokes salmon and cheese. In cold smoking, product temperature cannot exceed 90 degrees; cheese must be held to 70 degrees so it doesn’t melt. A civil engineer by training, Turner rigged his smoke house to cold smoke products even on the hottest summer day.

His smoke draws from fi ve different kinds of sawdust—cross cut dry, cross cut green, joint cut dry, joint cut green and dry stump. He loves sawdust made from apple wood and, in fact, uses nothing else. He will trade you a shopping bag full of his products for a pick-up’s load of apple wood.

Turner works hard to make his living from the river. His customers appreciate

his hard work. “I do quite well,” said Turner, “but it’s not easy work. Building weirs, I can haul a couple of tons of stone a day.

“I have no computer, no fax, no microwave, no cell phone, no BlackBerry. I have tranquility, eagles, the river. I have my Chevy, a canoe and a sign.”

“It’s a job that’s never done,” said Turner. “I love the job. It’s a journey.”

TEXT and PHOTO: Tom Walek

A Living from the River

Ray Turner’s Delaware Delicacies Smoke House

R ay Tu r n e r | D e l awar e D e l i c ac i e s S m o ke H o u s e | 4 2 0 R h o d e s R o ad | H a n c o c k , N Y 1378 3 | 6 07/6 37- 4 4 4 3

Tom Walek is the founder of Walek & Associates, a financial and corporate public relations firm. An avid fly fisherman and Equinunk homeowner, Tom’s writings have appeared in Fly Fisherman magazine, Trout magazine and The Angling Report.

10 FISH • 2012

The Delaware boasts a variety of habitats that help nurture one of the most diverse

year-round fi sheries in the country. Many do not realize that the border waters of Pennslyvania and New York remain open for catch and release fi shing year-round.

The upper reaches are known for some of the best trout fi shing in the East—large, wild brown and rainbow trout are as abundant in the cold waters as are the aquatic insects on which they feed, luring fl y fi shermen from across the country. They wade or fl oat the river in droves, especially in the spring when the famous “Hendrickson” mayfl ies are hatching, bringing even the biggest of trout to the surface to feed.

While spring is the best known trout season, the cold waters coming from the reservoirs keep the river water temperatures cold throughout the summer months, yielding one of the few trout streams in the East fi shable even on the hottest of days. At times on the West Branch during the Sulphur hatch at Stilesville, you will see fl y fi shermen in 90-degree weather enter the fog-shrouded 40-degree river merely to jump back out after half an hour, mind-numbingly cold.

Downriver as the water warms, fi shermen seek out smallmouth bass water. “Smallies” were the predominant fi sh in the river prior to the creation of the Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs. While the river may not boast some of the larger examples of the species (fi ve-plus pounds), it makes up for this in the sheer population of bronzebacks down to Delaware Bay.

Smallmouth are found in abundance in shallow rocky areas adjacent to deeper pools. Tenacious fi ghters and tasty on the plate, fi shermen up and down the river target these aggressive predators both with fl ies and conventional fi shing gear. Omnivorous,

they love crawfi sh, hellgrammites, baitfi sh—virtually anything that moves, making them one of the more cooperative fi sh when it comes to taking a lure or fl y.

Anadromous fi sh (born in freshwater, migrating to the sea and returning to their birthplace to spawn) such as shad have been staples of human consumption for ages. Every spring, these fi sh migrate from the ocean far up the Delaware to procreate, giving fi shermen along the way ample opportunity to catch these feisty forktails. Shad start their migration in Delaware Bay typically in late March, moving hundreds of miles upstream as far as river fl ow will allow. Shad roe is considered a delicacy by many, and there are “Shad Bakes” along the lower sections of the river, some with over a century of history behind them.

Walleye are a highly sought-after species in the Delaware, boasting some of the best tasting, sweetest meat of any fi sh. They dwell in slow, deep pools and in the eddies behind submerged boulders, feeding primarily on baitfi sh and aquatic insects. This makes them perfect quarry for those who love to bait a hook and sit

quietly on shore or in a boat. Since they are a schooling fi sh, one good “honey hole” can yield a great night’s fi sh fry. The other attraction for walleye fi shing is that while there may be an established “keep” season, it is a year-round fi shery, with the fi sh being active even in the winter months.

Famed for both their fl esh and fi ght, striped bass are best known as an ocean fi sh, sought and caught off the shores and bays of the Atlantic. What is not common knowledge is that they are able to survive in conditions of fresh, salt and brackish water, and will readily follow bait and other food sources (like our above mentioned shad) well up into the fresh waters of the Delaware.

While they typically are landed by anglers on the lowest stretches of the river, closest to the Delaware Bay, stripers have been caught as far north as Hancock, NY, where they fi nd the local rainbow trout an excellent delicacy. Collecting in the larger pools and moving in schools, they quickly become the apex predator in any section of river they fi nd themselves patrolling.

There are plenty of others species found in the river, each with its own allure. Bluegill, yellow perch, crappie and other panfi sh are popular with the novice angler, as they are usually the fi rst thing to grab our worm-wrapped hook as a youngster, and are prevalent up and down the river. Muskellunge, a.k.a. muskies, lurk in the slower back eddies and side channels, waiting for unsuspecting quarry to swim by. Large, ferocious and toothy, this “fi sh of a thousand casts” is notoriously hard to catch, and this challenge appeals to many experienced anglers.

No matter what stretch anglers find themselves on, the entirety of the Delaware River is an amazing year-round fi shery, and they will without doubt fi nd a place to wet a line, as well as a species to target while there.

A Year-Round Fishery Tro

Bass, shad, walleye, stripers, perch, eels

TEXT and PHOTO: Bart Larmouth

Bart Larmouth is the manager of the Delaware River Club (www.thedelawareriverclub.com), a fly fishing resort and guide service open to the public, where he once served as head instructor, resort assistant manager, and guide. A Colgate University alumnus, Bart began his fishing career on the Delaware River, which he considers his home waters.

Megan Dean holds her fish caught on the fly, a Delaware River smallmouth bass.

A RIVER REPORTER MAGAZINE • 11

Loss of a RiverbankKnotweed and other invasives

The globalization of our planet has enabled the trade of goods and ser-

vices between nearly all countries around the world. With the addition of worldwide trade, there have been an ever increasing number of non-native plants and animals tagging along for the ride, or even delib-erately introduced into our environment. The Upper Delaware River, regrettably, has been the recipient of several of these invad-ers.

If you live or spend much time on the Upper Delaware River, you may have noticed that some sections of riverbank are now completely dominated by a tall bamboo-type plant. This plant is known as Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica). A native of Eastern Asia, Japanese knotweed was introduced in England in the 1800s and then brought to North America during the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Phila-delphia. The pretty plumes of white fl owers and fast growing nature of this plant pro-vided height and interesting screens in the backyard garden.

Knotweed stalks grow quickly in the spring to a height of about 10 feet. The wide leaves create a nearly complete canopy that shades the undergrowth. The effect on the riverbank is devastating. Native grasses have thousands of small roots that inter-twine in the soil to create a stable riverbank that resists the erosive nature of the fl owing river. Knotweed roots are large and create a lump or knot with exposed, unprotected soil all around. High spring fl ows wash all of that exposed topsoil down the river.

How much topsoil, you may ask? The average cubic foot of top soil weighs about

75 pounds. Assuming an average of six inches of top soil under the grasses of a healthy riverbank and a patch of knotweed that is 100 yards long by 12 feet wide, if the topsoil under that knotweed washes away, that is 135,000 pounds—or seven tons. A patch a mile long and 12 feet wide would lose 1,200 tons.

What does it all mean to those critters that live along the river? Flowing water is always changing and re-shaping the river channel. A stream channel is trying to become deeper and narrower. This is great for fi sh and, in particular, trout in the Upper Delaware. Deep, cool water is pre-ferred by trout. Knotweed alters the natu-ral progression of these changes. The loss of massive amounts of topsoil destabilizes the riverbank and tends to lead to wider and shallower river channels. A wider and shallower river results on much warmer summer water temperatures.

Knotweed is very diffi cult to eradicate, but it can be controlled by various methods including a late spring frost; cutting and disposing so cuttings can’t sprout; creat-ing a greenhouse effect with plastic; and chemical control. A new method of chemi-cal control is a system that injects concen-trated herbicide directly into stems. This is initially labor intensive, but is proving to be effective in eliminating a patch of knot-weed. This has the added advantage of not harming other plants in the area.

The bottom line is that you must be per-sistent and will probably need to employ several different types of control over a few seasons to completely eliminate this inva-sive pest.

TEXT and PHOTOS: Jim Serio Jim Serio is a real estate broker in Hancock, NY. Jim established the Delaware River Foundation in 1998 to protect and enhance the cold water environment in the Upper Delaware River including combating invasives such as knotweed.

The broad, heart-shaped leaves and bamboo-like segmented stems are classic to knotweed.

For more information visit: http://1.usa.gov/IgZZQR | http://1.usa.gov/HyXKGs

Other InvasivesHogweed – A potentially dangerous invasive plant that resembles a giant Queen Anne’s Lace, this plant has a corrosive sap that can damage skin and eye tissue.

Purple Loosestrife – This invasive plant from Europe and Asia can completely overwhelm a wetlands habitat in a very short time. A single plant can produce over 2,000,000 seeds!

Didymo –Origin unknown, this is a diatom (algae like) that lives on the bottom of a stream. Blooms of this invader can completely choke a fl owing stream. Lack of light and oxygen can choke out native species and destroy aquatic habitat.

Notice the thin strip of original riverbank that has survived. Knotweed has allowed all of the topsoil to wash downriver, leaving only river cobble for over 100 feet back from the original riverbank.

12 FISH • 2012

Cross Current Guide Service & Out ttersFlyFishTheDelaware.com607-241-7000On the best wild trout fishery in the eastern US:“Joe D, 2010 Orvis Guide of the Year and “Coz” have put together the finest staff of professional fly fishing guides on the Upper Delaware, offering their guests and clients decades of experience, knowledge, hospitality and camaraderie.”

Paul Weamer, author, “Fly Fishing Guide to the Delaware River”

The Double Haul ClubDoubleHaulClub.com

Welcome to the “Double Haul Club.”™ The club shares with its members many benefits within the Upper Delaware River region plus national and international fly fishing destinations.

Members receive private foot access to select properties and strategically located private boat launches on the Upper Delaware perfect for your canoe, kayak, pontoon or drift boat.

Select “Participating Merchants” offer Double Haul members discounts from products to services.

Our members aren’t just a group of fly fishers; they are friends and associates that are passionate about the river, fly fishing and all that they have to offer.

For membership information call us: 607-241-7000.

See you on the river!

Border Water OutfittersBorderWaterOutfitters.com

Jim “Coz” Costolnick the original host of ESPN’s “In Search of Fly Water,” traveled the globe bringing the world of fly fishing into the living rooms of millions. For the past 10 years Coz has owned and operated Border Water Outfitters in Hancock, NY. “BWO” has 2500 sq. ft. of fly fishing tackle including over 700 fly patters to choose from. For the angler and non angler “BWO” offers kayak, canoe and drift boat rentals to enjoy the Delaware River and nearby reservoirs.

Stop in or call us at 607-637-4296; Email bwo@hancock.net