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November 16, 2001 |
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Late Season Esopus
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According to the state fish and wildlife regulations, trout season ended across New York on October 15th. But here in the central Catskill Mountains we have a productive trout fishery with an extended season. The Esopus can legally be fished until the last day of November. This can be a great opportunity for anglers because the fall can be a productive time to fish when the temperatures have finally dropped down from their summer highs. In mid to late October I stopped along the Esopus to fish on two different crisp, cool days, each time stopping for only about a half hour in the Mt. Tremper area. I did see one, maybe two rises, but all of my action was below the surface on nymphs. On the first outing I caught a 10 ½" hatchery brown trout on an olive beadhead nymph, plus one other missed hit, and the second time fishing I landed a beautiful 11 ½" wild rainbow using a yellow stonefly pattern. It was very enjoyable to be out on the river with few other people around, even if only for a short time in between other errands.
But then things turned ugly. Because of the current drought that we've been in now for several months, the NYC reservoirs are very low, and around the first of November NYCDEP began moving a lot of water from the Schoharie down to the Ashokan, via the Esopus. This is not an uncommon occurrence, in fact one we've more or less resigned ourselves to, however this effluent was particularly bad - thick, soupy, brown mud. It's hard to believe that the fish and macroinvertebrates of the river can survive such poor conditions; there has to be long term negative impacts of such turbid, sediment-laden releases to the resource, just as there have been long term negative impacts to the local nature-based economy. Now, in mid-November, the releases have virtually stopped and the Esopus below the Portal is as low as I've ever seen it; this may allow for a few last days of decent fishing before the end of the month after all, but the release schedule is unpredictable at best.
A task force of state agencies, environmental groups, and others met with NYCDEP over the course of a year or so to discuss the Esopus turbidity issue, but failed to bring a timely resolution to the problem. Trout Unlimited and a few other plaintiffs then went forward with a lawsuit against NYCDEP, alleging that the releases of brown Schoharie water into the Esopus is a violation of the US Clean Water Act. The suit was originally dismissed in a district court hearing, but it was appealed to the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals, who just a couple of weeks ago found that the transfer of pollutants from the Schoharie into the Esopus by NYCDEP constituted an "addition" under the Clean Water Act, meaning that the City was to be held liable for its pollution. What this exactly means for the Esopus River in Shandaken and Olive is not exactly clear yet.
Regardless of any court decisions, the solution to this problem will be complex, multi-faceted, and will take time. It is long overdue however, and hopefully we can look forward to an improved resource in the near future; a resource that can be a much more significant draw and asset for our community.
- Chris and Aaron
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