THERE IS JUST NO EXCUSE!!!

The fishing - Went just to keep the fish on their toes. Cannonsville is spilling  and most of the river is now unwadable.  Didn't go until 7:00 and was back in the car at 8:00.  In about 1,600 CFS of water there were but a few sulfurs hatching.  Caught three fish about seven inches each that were sipping something along the bank.  Saw one good fish, made one cast too long, one too short and the third one just right.  He came up with a big yellow mouth facing me, ate the fly and before he closed his mouth completely I hooked. Felt the rasp as a chunk of tartar came off the back of a front tooth. Reeled it in and walked through the woods back to the car.

THE RELEASES - Spent time talking with both Jeff Skelding at FUDR and with Jim Serio who is intimately familiar with NYDEP regulations. Thanks to both for giving freely of their time. The flexible flow plan is the best we have had in the 30 years I've had the Lordville Estate. We have bigger releases, higher minimums and enough water to provide a thermal refuge down to Lordville on the BR.  The carrying capacity of trout in both the BR and the WB have increased by multiples as a result.

The Flexible flow program is complicated. You need not know most of it but it combines Cannonsville, Pepacton and the Neversink reservoirs to determine which release regulations apply at which times.  Release levels are determined by the water levels in the combined reservoirs and are applied on a sliding scale based on % of fullness and time of year. Because Cannonsville was down to under 90% (remember only 2 inches of rain in June) the system remained in the "Normal" release zone.  It didn't enter the "Spill Mitigation Zone" until Cannonsville was almost ready to spill.

It gets worse. When the three reservoirs entered the Spill Mitigation zone THERE  WAS ALREADY ENOUGH WATER ON THE GROUND TO INSURE THAT ALL THREE RESERVOIRS WOULD SPILL.  What did NYDEP do? They began spill mitigation efforts by making the minimum required increases in the releases. The Neversink spill resulted in the dumping of over 1,000 CFS of hot surface  water into the tailwater fishery with but a 190 CFS release. The Pepacton release has been maxed out BUT THE CANNONSVILLE RESERVOIR IS SPILLING AND THE RELEASE IS STILL AT ONLY 750CFS INSTEAD OF 1,500 CFS WHERE IT SHOULD BE. 

There are apparently no delay of game penalties for the NYDEP's failure to act in a timely and prudent manner. The negative impact on both the river and the economic well being of the towns along the Delaware River System will be huge. 

What to do?  Unless you are connected, probably nothing.  New York City has millions of people dependent on their water supply, a thousand fishermen and a couple of small towns mean nothing to the NYDEP, I get it BUT THE WATER WAS ALREADY ON THE GROUND, THE RESERVOIRS WERE DESTINED TO OVERFLOW AND THEY STILL HAVENT MAXIMIZED THE RELEASES ON CANNONSVILLE.

MORNING UPDATE - Although the NYDEP release information still indicates a release of only 750CFS, both the water temperature (46) and the fact that the increase leveled off abruptly at 1380 CFS would indicate that the release was increased yesterday and that the reservoir is not in fact spilling - yet. 

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