Monday, December 4th, 2023

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1967

Monday, December 4th, 2023

Breaking News for

Sportsmen Since 1967

Don Lehman

New state-issued park permit limits hunting opportunities at New York nature preserve

New York State has issued a new use permit for a nature preserve in Saratoga County that is popular with waterfowl hunters, leaving in place a one-week duck hunting season and prompting proponents of hunting on the property to ponder their next move to seek more hunting opportunities.
The new permit for Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve in the Town of Clifton Park comes on the heels of a change to town law that further restricts the possession of firearms on the property after hunters indicated they planned to hunt navigable waters on the preserve as federal law allows, and not abide by the one-week season set by the town.

Eight years later, search for 2015 missing Adirondack hunter continues

On Nov. 15, 2015, Thomas Messick Sr. and a group of friends and family headed into the woods of the Eastern Adirondacks in New York for a Sunday afternoon of deer hunting. Some members of the group of seven had hunted together for decades, and they chose an area around Lily Pond near Brant Lake that they had not visited before.
The 82-year-old Messick, whose role was to serve on watch during a drive by younger members of the group, was said to have taken a position sitting on a tree stump.

Hundreds aid in search for young girl found alive after being taken from New York state park

The search began as many have before it – a child hadn’t returned from a bike ride, an occurrence that usually ends quickly and successfully.
However, the 911 call that came in at 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 30 reporting a missing 9-year-old camper at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, N.Y., turned into anything but a routine search for a child who wandered off. The quaint, wooded park in the foothills of the Adirondacks became the site of one of the biggest missing person searches in recent New York history.
The search ended successfully miles away two days later when the child was found alive, stashed in a camper in central Saratoga County by a man who allegedly kidnapped her.

High water levels help New York’s stream trout, but inhibit some anglers this summer

During most summers, trout stream anglers around New York worry about high stream temperatures and low water levels and the impact they can have on cold-water-loving trout.
That hasn’t been the case during the wet and weird summer of 2023, with near record precipitation in parts of the state providing plenty of cold water for fish, but also re-arranging streams during flooding in early July. And record high water levels actually kept anglers off some Adirondack streams that stayed too high to fish, an unusual problem for the depths of summer.

New York DEC using in-person angler surveys to better understand catch rates of Lake George salmon

Joe Greco, owner of Justy Joe Charters on Lake George, has been taking hundreds of anglers onto the lake annually for more than three decades, targeting George’s lake trout, landlocked Atlantic salmon, and bass. Clients catch big lakers and bass all day long. Salmon, though, are another story.
Greco, many anglers, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation have been trying to figure out why the salmon fishing has been up-and-down for decades.

New York DEC’s Lake Ontario tributaries report shows trout, salmon catch rates down significantly in some tribs

Saratoga County resident Alex Ross makes an annual trip to the Salmon River, in Oswego County, N.Y., each fall seeking big salmon and trout as they migrate into the river. Last September, with water levels low, was one of the more challenging visits.
“There didn’t seem to be nearly as many fish in the river as we have seen some of the past years,” he explained. “We got one decent Coho (salmon), that was about it.”
Ross’ perceptions weren’t off base, it seems.

Trout Unlimited spearheads multiple restoration projects to help trout in New York

Several New York watersheds are more hospitable to trout thanks to a number of fisheries restoration projects that came to fruition in recent months, spearheaded by Trout Unlimited and dozens of volunteers.
Among the watersheds that received recent improvements were the Delaware River watershed and the Batten Kill, the latter the focus of a multi-year Trout Unlimited Home Rivers Initiative.

Removal of two Saranac River dams will help New York salmon

The Saranac River will have improved access for spawning landlocked Atlantic salmon later this year with the removal of remnants of two dams that impede migrating salmon and other fish.
The remains of the Indian Rapids and Fredenburgh dams are scheduled to be removed from the Saranac later this year, part of ongoing efforts by Lake Champlain fishery advocates to continue to clear man-made obstacles from the river to improve its hospitality to salmon from Lake Champlain.

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