Last weekend, Gabe Lopez and I took part in our very first fly fishing tournament. I have fished plenty of ice tournaments, a handful of open water contests, but never a fly fishing tournament on a stream.
The setting was Esopus Creek in the heart of the Catskills. The tournament was hosted by Catskill Outfitters. Co-owners Paul Schiavo and Doug Kluthe did an impeccable job coordinating the logistics of the event. Approximately 40 competitors registered for the tournament divided up into two-man teams. A portion of the proceeds went to The Ashokan Center.
The tournament began at 8 a.m. and went to 5 p.m. Prior rain earlier in the week and cooler temperatures brought about prime river conditions. Total cumulative inches of trout caught determined the winners.
The rules were pretty straightforward. Anglers were allowed to fish a 13-mile stretch of river, all entered fish were to be measured with a provided tape measure given out the morning of the contest, a time-stamped photo taken, and the fish was released unharmed. Only fish measuring 10 inches or greater counted toward said total, and only one fly was allowed to be fished at a time. No tandem nymphing rigs, nor dry droppers were allowed.
After a long day, with steps tallying over 10 1/2 miles, it was time to check in. After all was said and done, our team racked up 110 inches of trout.
The dinner party and awards were held at the Urban Cowboy Lodge in Big Indian. A great dinner and drinks, followed by ambitious prize giveaways and raffles. For our first outing ever, 110 inches landed us a third-place finish, with second coming in at 123 and first place topping out at 129 inches. The top three places paid a healthy chunk of change, but the recognition was the mainstay. Catskill Outfitters did an outstanding job organizing a full 100% catch and release tournament, and I cannot wait for next year.
TAPE: NOT THE TYPICAL USAGE
We have all been plagued with the “oh no, my rod is stuck together” scenario, and I am not talking give it a good jolt and it comes apart. No, this is the come on, how could this possibly be this stuck.
Well it happens, and when dealing with quite pricey rods, this can be a rather large issue. I can distinctly remember trying to unstick a section of rod as we packed up our gear after a Colorado trip and just could not get it apart. All of a sudden, it let loose with extreme vigor right into a railing I happened to be next to and snapped a section clean in two. Thank God it was the end of the trip and not the beginning, but just holding an $800 stick that is now good for nothing is a terrible feeling.
Fortunately, almost every high-end rod will carry a lifetime warranty for a nominal cost and a few weeks time. I would much rather not go down this road to begin with, though.
Enough with the backstories. Your rod is stuck together, and this is how to get it easily apart. All you need is some packing tape. Actually, any tape will do, but wide packing tape meant for boxes is ideal for this task. Double it over into a loop with the sticky surface out, make two of these and place one on each side of the ferrule joint and just crinkle it all up. Grab each one of these tape wads and twist. This sounds crazy, but guaranteed with the vastly enabled grip created will pop those two right apart with ease.
DEER MANAGEMENT PLAN GOES INTO ACTION
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released the State’s final Deer Management Plan.
The plan is the product of public input, expert review, and sound science that will improve the management of white-tailed deer across New York State. In addition, to enact several management recommendations included in the plan, the DEC issued proposed regulations that are available for public comment until Aug. 8.
“This second-edition deer plan marks a major step forward in DEC’s effort to manage deer responsibly to protect the environment and public safety,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a press release. “The plan aligns public values for deer with ecological data to advance management decisions that benefit deer, deer habitats, and New Yorkers.”
The plan outlines strategies to manage deer populations across a range of abundance levels and diverse deer-related impacts, in rural, urban, and suburban areas. The plan also enhances DEC programs that provide relief to landowners and the public experiencing deer damage and conflicts, seeks to protect New York’s deer from the devastating potential of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), particularly in light of the recent announcement about a confirmed detection in neighboring Warren County, Pennsylvania, and enhances the state’s deer hunting traditions.
In addition, the plan provides information about how DEC determines population objectives, sets harvest quotas, and calculates annual deer harvest and describes the effectiveness of various management strategies for reducing impacts from overabundant. It also identifies opportunities to improve deer management legislatively, particularly in urban and suburban areas.
The DEC released its draft deer management plan for public review in the late fall of 2020. The final plan released earlier this week includes revisions and clarifications based on the DEC’s review of more than 2,000 comments submitted by individuals, organizations, and elected officials.
Major elements of the plan include:
Establishing desired deer population trajectories for 23 ecologically unique regions of the state using an assessment of deer impacts on forest regeneration and public preferences for deer population changes.
Monitoring deer populations for disease and taking steps to reduce disease risk.
Providing additional hunter opportunity and increasing antlerless harvest strategically where needed.
Promoting hunter choice for buck harvest by encouraging hunters who want to take older, larger-antlered bucks to voluntarily pass up young, small-antlered bucks.
Encouraging deer hunters to use non-lead ammunition to reduce lead exposure of non-target wildlife.
Assisting communities to prevent and respond to local deer overabundance through development of community-based deer management programs.
Working with landowners and land managers to monitor deer browse impacts on forests with the Assessing Vegetation Impacts of Deer (AVID) protocol.
Understanding and addressing public values and interests regarding deer and deer management decisions.
To begin the implementation of portions of the management plan, the DEC is proposing rule changes that will improve deer management, simplify big game hunting, expand hunting opportunity, and increase hunter safety.
DEC is proposing to:
Strategically increase antlerless harvest where necessary by establishing a 9-day season for antlerless deer beginning the 2nd Saturday in September with firearms in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 3M, 3R, 8A, 8F, 8G, 8J, 8N, 9A, and 9F, and with bows in WMUS 1C, 3S, 4J, and 8C.
Reinstate either-sex deer harvest opportunity during the early muzzleloader season in WMUs 6A, 6F, and 6J.
Extend the legal hunting hours for deer and bear to begin 30 minutes before meteorological sunrise and end 30 minutes after meteorological sunset, consistent with legal hunting hours in most other states.
Increase hunter safety by requiring all hunters pursuing deer or bear with a firearm, or anyone accompanying them, to wear a solid or patterned fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink hat or vest or jacket.
In addition to implementing portions of the deer plan, the regulatory proposal includes a change to simplify bear hunting in the Adirondack portion (WMUs 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6C, 6F, 6H, and 6J) of the Northern Zone by extending the regular firearm season to cover the entire hunting period.
Currently, the season structure allows bears to be taken with rifles and shotguns for 72 out of 79 days, excluding the seven-day period where bears could only be taken with a muzzleloader, crossbow, or bow. Under the proposal, hunters would be able to use any implement during the entire 79-day season.
The DEC is accepting public comments on the proposed regulation changes through Aug. by emailing: WildlifeRegs@dec.ny.gov. Use “Big Game Hunting Rules” in the subject line.
COUNTIES TO OPT IN FOR YOUTH HUNTING
Montgomery County executive Matt Ossenfort made a statement regarding the support for ECL 11-0935, the law that would allow 12- and 13-year-old youth hunters to partake in regular season big game hunting in Montgomery County. At this time, approximately one-third of all counties within New York have opted in to allow the go ahead for the youth hunting season.
There is a resolution before the committee, which offers support for this bill. The committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. Once it is passed in committee, the motion will be brought before the full Montgomery County Legislature on June 22.
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