|
. We appologize for the screwed up pictures at the bottom of this page and on the pictures page but
at the present time the company handling this web site seems unable to do anything to correct the problem. They are laying
the blame on Internet Explorer not interpreting their code properly, but say that they can't do anything to change their
program so that the biggest web browser in the world can properly send it out to you. God, isn't technology great - that's
one way to get rid of a problem, just sweep it under a rug by blaming someone else. . Unfortunately
we've been using this service for many years now so a transition to another firm would entail considerable effort. We'll
try to see if there's a work around for this mess. ****************************************************** . Hudson River Fishing Report
– Thursday, July 22, 2010 . The
river continues its summertime ways. Presently water temperature in the early mornings will tend to be in the 80 to 81 degree
range, warming up to 83 by afternoon. Water clarity has improved tremendously during the past couple of weeks and in deeper
sections can extend down to 4 or 5 feet (shallower areas will be cloudier due to bottom silt being stirred up by wave action).
Summer breakup of peripheral water chestnut plants is continuing and you will likely see a few mats of these floating downriver.
Additionally, copious amounts of loose strands of eelgrass will tend to gather on the surface on the downwind side of the
river making the use of crankbaits and such impractical in those sections. . We managed to hit the river three times so far this week and are planning to
do so again today after work. The fishing has been pretty good around the weedbeds. If you can locate the right water chestnut
beds at the right time of tide you should be able to have some decent largemouth fishing. Our most productive lures have been
weedless spoons, tube baits and Senkos – all dragged across the edges of the chestnut beds. . Surprisingly, we also found the smallmouths
to be in close proximity to several chestnut locations. The same baits we were using for largemouths also produced smallies.
Additionally, since we were fishing lower tides this week, we found Rebel Pop-r’s and spinnerbaits to be working real
well for the smallies on isolated larger patches of eelgrass on the river’s flats (did require a considerable amount
of casting, though). . We
ignored the harder structures this week since we were looking for a little variety in our fishing. However, any harder structures
in the proximity of weedbeds will have a good chance of producing action and should not be ignored. . This weekend’s best times for largemouths
around the Catskill area should be from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. while the smallies should be most co-operative from noon to about
4 p.m. Tom G . ****************************************************************** . Hudson River Fishing Report – Wednesday,
July 14, 2010 With the Hudson River’s water temperature presently
hovering between 80 and 83 degrees, here’s what the fishing prospects are: . The mysterious sections of off-color water which we’ve been referring
to for the past several weeks seem to be abating somewhat. Not that the water is now crystal clear by any means but now the
bad sections can actually be described as just “off color.” . The annual break-up of the peripheral water chestnut beds has begun. These weeds
are seemingly not part of the actual large beds of vegetation we have out on the river but are the sparser plants that were
scattered around points not actually suitable for mass growth. These lose plants are now bunching up in mats and drifting
along with the tide. . Boat
traffic so far this summer seems to be somewhat diminished – don’t know if that’s been due to the economic
conditions or to the spell of oppressive heat we’ve had. . Smallmouth bass appear to be scattered and, as I found out
last weekend, were not to be found on most shallower hard structures… probably due to the 83 degree water temperature
and the tidal effects of a new-moon phase. However I did find some of them relating to the edges of eelgrass beds on a couple
of the larger flats. These fish were somewhat receptive to spinnerbaits. Additionally, I found action for them on deep-water-related
hard structures but unfortunately most (but not all) of these were sub-fifteen inch fish. Drop shotting was the key to action
here. The largemouths are in the chestnut beds and adjacent hard
structures and last week’s late morning low tide was perfect for the anglers that chose to try their luck there. Even
though most of the bass taken were sub-four pounders there certainly is nothing wrong with a few limits averaging out to 3
pounds per fish. The winner of last Sunday’s NYTBF tournament with 13.87 pounds was Randy Phelan, a member of the local
Tiderunners bass fishing club. . For
the past several weeks now we’ve been getting inquiries about when the blue crabs would be arriving in our area and
now we can state that the first of them are here. It’s hard to tell what kind of run it will be this year, we’ll
just have to wait and see. Tom G . ************************************************************************ . Hudson River Fishing Report
– Thursday, July 08, 2010 . This
is a great time of the year to go swimming in the Hudson. When its waters get into the low 80 degree temperature range, as
they are now, the water actually starts to feel warm. There really is nothing more relaxing than finding a nice sandy section
of beach on one of the islands and just immersing oneself up to the chin in the river’s flow, feeling the minnows nibble
at your toes. 2005 and 2007 each had a few weeks of this type of water heat wave and even 2008 had a few days but it doesn’t
happen every year. . Unfortunately
though, the bass fishing really starts to suffer under such conditions. That’s what local anglers have been encountering
for the past several days – just a few bites from some scattered fish – and this probably is what we’ll
see out there for perhaps the next couple of weeks or more. Still, the largemouths will be relating to the river’s weeds,
the edges of the chestnut beds in particular, and any related hard structure such as the rock-pile lighthouses. . Although going up the feeder creeks becomes
a very poor choice of location to fish during such heat the vicinity of the area where a creek flows into the main Hudson
River is liable to put a few fish in the boat. Such locations where two waters merge are capable of producing fish at anytime
but will really seem to shine when other spots slack off. As is the case with all hard structures in the river, they must
be fished extra tight for best results. . Smallmouth bass will still be around the rockier areas of the river but the larger fish will be far
less in evidence. This is the time when trying to catch a limit of 15 inchers (that’s the minimum length for the tidewater
Hudson) can seem to be a truly formidable task. It’s always really surprising to me when I find that these fish are
often in the shallows… in 2 feet or less of water during such warm water periods. . Right now my personal lure selection for largemouths
consists mainly of tube baits, Senko style stickbaits, weedless spoons and frogs, and spinnerbaits. For smallmouths I’m
favoring Rebel Pop-r’s, Tennessee shad colored crankbaits, Flukes and Gulp Minnows, smaller Senkos, and spinnerbaits.
Of course, I’m always open to tying on something else if it seems appropriate. . The catfishing out there has been pretty good lately… but it seems that
such is usually the case on the river. Lots of channel cats in the 12 to 16 inch range, and always a chance at a 2 footer
or better. While out there this past Sunday morning I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to catch a few more white cats than
I’d been seeing during the past few years, including one that went over 20 inches. I was fishing fresh chunk shiner
baits on the south side of the Cementon “tramway” and had plenty of action. . The river is in great shape but the muddier off-color
conditions we’ve been seeing in some areas during the past month still exist. Best times for largemouths in the Catskill
area this weekend are from 8 a.m. to noon; smallie times are from 1 to 5 p.m. Tom
G . **************************************************************** . Hudson River Fishing
Report – Thursday, July 1, 2010 . This weekend will probably be one of the busiest we’ll have on the Hudson River this year. The forecast
calls for the temperatures to go well into them 90’s, a sure indication that most everybody with a boat will probably
want to enjoy the water. Our recommendation to the fishermen, as usual, is to hit the water early and get off by 11…
if you want to preserve your sanity. . This week we found the water temperature in the river to be in the 77 to 78 degree range which was pretty
nice indeed. By the time the weekend ends it will probably be around the 80 degree mark. Floating hazardous debris in the
waterway is minimal but every once in a while you will spot a log or some such. . For anglers the puzzle of the off-color water out there still remains. You may
find one side of the river to have a see-thru visibility of 3 feet or more while on the opposite side you’ll be lucky
to see down 8 inches. We’ve really not seen anything similar to this as far back as we can recall, but during the past
few weeks we certainly have discussed it a lot here at the River Basin. The reason for the discussion, of course, has been
that the smallmouth bite on the off-color side of the waterway has been considerably diminished due to the lack of visibility.
. At present we are
finding the smallmouths to be quite active on the gravel areas of the river but what we have now also observed is the departure
of the larger fish. As is the case each summer most of the bigger ones, say those in the three pound range and larger, seem
to disappear. It’s easy enough to realize that they must go deeper in the water column but as to specifics about their
schooling tendencies, numbers, depths, locations, etc. … all this is just about as much of a mystery as to where in
the river all those spring time walleyes disappear in the summer. . For some reason the top water bite for the smallies has been very weak so far
but using diminutive (3 to 4 inch) swimbait type lures, such as Zoom Flukes, Bass Assassins or Gulp Minnows has definitely
been producing. Another tactic that worked well for us this past week was to seek out patches of eelgrass during lower tides
and hit their corners with a spinnerbait (hard to do on the muddier side of the river). . Looking at my logbook of fishing excursions this past
week (more times out than usual since my wife had gone to a family reunion) there is no question that the falling tide far
out produced any other time on the river. But it should be noted that most of my efforts were in pursuit of smallmouths not
largemouths. . There
did also appear to be good action for largemouths around the weedbeds and close-by hard structures. The best largemouth we
saw was taken by John Imbesi in the TIDERUNNERS bass club tournament. John’s win in the event was anchored by a 5.21
pound fish. Additional good sized largemouths were weighed in by Jon Rath Jr. (4.38 lb.) and Brian Lewis (4.28). The magic
lure for most of the largemouth fishermen was the Senko style stickbait. . For this weekend the prime time to fish for Hudson River smallmouth bass in
the Catskill area should be in the mornings, particularly from about 7 to 10. The afternoon has a better largemouth tide and
conditions should be best between 2 and 6. Tom G . ************************************************************************ . Hudson River Fishing Report – Thursday,
June 24, 2010 . Going into this weekend we find the Hudson’s
water to once more be in the mid 70 degree range - a 75 to 76 degree reading is normal for this time of year. The amounts
of both flotsam and jetsam in the water are also normal, not too bad. The chestnut beds are still not at full development
and therefore are somewhat easier to fish since their edges tend to be more broken up. . The one factor which still is somewhat of a puzzle is the water color. In some areas you will have
a see-thru visibility of 2 to 3 feet while in others you’ll be lucky to see down 8 inches. Smallmouth action appears
to be somewhat lessened in those areas with least visibility. . The
weekend boat traffic has not been too bad so far this year but this is due to change. As schools close for the summer and
more people take their vacations the weekend afternoons on the river and at the boat launch sites tend to turn into a real
cage of monkeys (unless it rains). . Smallmouth bass action on the
river is good. I’ve been on the water three mornings this week and had good luck with smaller Senkos, spinnerbaits,
and medium size crankbaits. The most disappointing lures for me have been poppers, Rebel Pop-r’s specifically. Although
these lures have produced a few fish the results still have not been up to what I expect. Locations to fish? The best smallie
locations for us this week have all had good water flow and gravel bottoms. . Hefty
largemouths can still be found hanging around some spawning areas - 5 or 6 inch Senko’s seem to be working just fine.
We also located some nice fish on the rock pile lighthouses in the river. If you fish these structures remember that they
MUST be fished tight in the rocks for best results (this tactic isn’t bad for business at the River Basin Sports shop
either, thank you). Our best tide for the rock pile bigmouths was 1 to 2 hours into the rise; the weed related fish were best
at about ½ out and falling. . Last Sunday’s TIDERUNNERS
bass tournament almost finished with a tie for first place as Imbesi’s 14.66 pounds was bested by Gentalen’s 14.96.
However Gentalen’s 4.02 pound lunker was relegated to second best as Imbesi weighed in a 4.16 pounder and took that
honor by a mere 1.4 ounces. Both anglers scored by using Senkos in 3 to 6 feet of water in areas close to this year’s
spawning locations. .OTHER ACTION Channel
cats on the river seem to be quite aggressive at present and catching a 3 to 5 pounder is not unusual; lots of fun to be had
catching smaller 1 to 3 pound fish too. Nightcrawlers or minnows (cut these in half for best results) are excellent baits
but if you have some herring left over from striper season it also makes an excellent, if stinky, bait. Additionally, there are still a few stripers around - I took a nice 24 incher
a couple of mornings ago. Yet other action can occasionally be had such a catching a 2 foot walleye on a crankbait like I
saw Russ Burton of Greenville do the other day. . On
local Sleepy Hollow Lake the property owners will be holding their 2010 bass tournament this Saturday while the TIDERUNNERS
bass club will be holding another of their club’s tournaments on the Hudson on Sunday. On July 11, the TIDERUNNERS parent
organization, the “New York The Bass Federation” comes into Catskill for their Hudson River event.
See you on the water – Tom G . ********************************************************************** Hudson River Fishing
Report – Tuesday, June 15, 2010 - As we prepare to
enter New York’s black bass season (it starts this Saturday) we find the Hudson’s waters to be pretty much prime.
As of earlier this week the early morning water temperature was running in
the 71 to 72 degree range, 4 to 5 degrees cooler than it was just barely a week earlier. The water clarity is somewhat of
an enigma with one side or other of the river having a see-thru visibility of about 3 feet while the opposite may have only
8 inches – can’t really quite figure out why. Floating
hazardous debris is minimal but one must be ever-vigilant on this tidal river. If the weekend’s weather is good you
will see more of a hazard from pleasure boaters (including canoes and kayaks) than from anything else. You can figure most
of the pleasure boaters to be hitting the water from about 10:30 a.m. on. The
river’s weed beds are developing but still are not at their fullest. In some locations the water chestnuts are all the
way to the surface on high tide while in other areas you’ll only see them at 3/4 full or less. Either way they are not
at their thickest yet so finding those better sparser edges to fish is a good possibility. “Early summer chestnuts” seem to be abundant (but not thick) on some harder, deeper
bottom locations where they are generally not to be found and this might be a problem for anybody throwing crankbaits. However,
these plants will start to break loose in two or three weeks and disappear. Reports
from the river are that the largemouths are already in most chestnut beds but the ones we’ve heard about have been “New
York State” keepers, not the 15 inchers required for a legitimate river catch. This time of year it also pays to check
out harder rock structure immediately adjacent to weedbeds since there are many largemouths still transitioning between spring
and summer homes. Your regular array of lures should suffice for this but on the chestnuts throw some weedless rigged stuff
at those sparser chestnut edges (Jawbreaker spoons, tubes, frogs and rats). Smallies
have been real active around the harder gravel and rock structures. It is reported that the 3 pound plus size fish are still
quite apparent in the shallows, not having disappeared yet as they generally do for the summer. A couple of keys to finding
smallmouth locations are gravel bottom and a decent water flow. Norman’s Deep Baby N or Little N crankbaits with the
glo-gell colors work well as do Gitzits, grubs and smaller size Senkos. The
feeder creeks are still holding plenty of fish and should not be ignored. Try some spinner baits over shallower flats on high
tide, crankbaits along any drop-off areas, and surface poppers anyplace you see something sticking out of the water. A favorite
of ours at this time is to hop a pig and jig down any sloping bank. If you’re just trying to locate the fish for an
upcoming tournament try drop-shotting (wacky or Texas rigged) some 3 inch Senkos – you can work these fairly fast and
locate the better locations with pretty good accuracy; our favorites for early season are pink or white. Don’t ignore
the mouths of the creeks where they enter the river – these can be hot spots at any time of the year. This weekend’s prime largemouth fishing in the Catskill area should take place from about
daybreak until 7 a.m. and the smallies should be most receptive from 9 to noon. Best of luck to the members of Catskill’s new TIDERUNNERS BASS CLUB, an affiliate of the NYTBF which
is a chapter of the FLW. They’ll be fishing their first ever tournament on the river this Sunday.
Tom G ************************************************************************** RIVER BASIN STRIPER
CONTEST FINAL REPORT, Sunday, May 30, 2010 . Although there are still stripers out here in the river by Catskill, our striped bass contest is
over. It was a great year and on a whole considerably better than any year we’ve seen in the past few. We probably had
three times the amount of stripers brought through the shop as we did in 2009. . The top six winners (7 considering the tie for 6th place) remain
as they were for the past 10 days and are listed below. Congratulations to all of you and I’m sure we’ll see you
again next year. . At
this time the River Basin resumes its normal summertime schedule, being closed on Sundays and Mondays and open from 8:30 to
5 during the rest of the week. We’ll continue to post river fishing updates here for the duration of the 2010 fishing
season, at least when we have something of interest to post. . Our next seasonal thing on the river will be the opening of the state’s black bass season
on the third Saturday of June, an event that the local members of the Greene County Bassmasters and members of Catskill’s
Tiderunners Fishing Club have been anticipating for months. It should be a good year coming up.
Tom G . # | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 47 | Borchert, Eric | | 2 | 46.75 | Shilkaunas, Rob | | 3 | 46.25 | Green, Frank | | 4 | 45.5 | Walt Chudkosky | | 5 | 44.25 | Stallman, Randy | | 6 | 44 tie | DelMonte - Biniek |
. AWARDS –1st
$6,030; 2nd $2,050; 3rd $1,567; 4th
$1,085; 5th $ 723; 6th $301.50 & $301.50 - tie split . ************************************************** . RIVER BASIN STRIPER
CONTEST REPORT, Wednesday, May 26, 2010 . The final few
days of this contest are the hardest. No, not really for the 99% of our entrants who have already resolved to try again next
year but rather - for the 7 people now in the running for the top six payback slots. Will their fish hold onto their present
standing, or will someone sneak in a striper just a quarter inch longer and cost them what could be thousands of dollars?
But this questioning all comes to an end this upcoming Sunday at 12 noon when our contest ends. . It appears that the greatest likely threat to the leaders would be from some
angler down on the lower half of the tidal Hudson, say from Kingston south. Oh, fish are still being caught
all the way from Kingston up to Albany – I’m aware of at least a dozen caught during the past couple of days just
here in the Catskill area… but these were all sub-36 inch stripers, great eating but certainly not contest material. .
The larger, mostly spawned out fish are now heading back to their saltwater
summer haunts but they still have to run the gauntlet of the stalwart fishermen trying for a few minutes of recognition for
their efforts during this springtime ritual. And… it could just happen since we’re aware of an even larger fish
than the one which won our event a few years back - caught just a scant few days after that year’s contest ended. Badly
paraphrasing Yogi’s famous words – It’s not over yet! . Even so, we do have the following reminders for our present contest leaders . As I am sure most of the 604 anglers entered in our contest already know, our 23rd annual striped
bass event will come to a conclusion at 12 noon this Sunday (May 30). But with the abundance of fish yet in the river the
contest standings are liable to change right up to the last minute. If you do catch a big fish on Sunday just remember the
following part of the rules – “Any fish brought in after 12 noon Sunday, May 30, 2010 will be deemed ineligible
and will not be considered for contest ranking.” We will post a final standings result here as soon as possible after
the conclusion of the event. . The award winners, with
the exception of the Number One angler, may stop through the River Basin Sports Shop any time after noon Sunday to collect
their prizes. Winners, please remember that we will need your driver’s license and social security number before we
can conclude the winning transaction. The top man, who at the present time appears to be Eric Borchert with his 47 inch striper,
should contact us for details regarding his payback. Below are the “PROBABLE” award finishers for 2010.
. # | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 47 | Borchert,
Eric | | 2 | 46.75 | Shilkaunas, Rob | | 3 | 46.25 | Green, Frank | | 4 | 45.5 | Chudkosky, Walt | | 5 | 44.25 | Stallman, Randy | | 6 | 44 tie | DelMonte - Biniek |
. AWARDS –1st
$6,030
2nd $2,050
3rd $1,567
4th $1,085
5th $ 723
6th $301.50 & $301.50 tie split. . At this time we’d also like to remind all our customers that the River
Basin Sports Shop will be switching back to its normal summertime hours of operation AFTER this Sunday. Yup, we’ve
been open 7 days a week since the start of March but now will be closed on Sundays (my fishing day) and Mondays (my sweetie's
day), opening Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. It’s been a great spring and it was great meeting
all of you as you came through the shop. We hope to see you all next spring when we can go through this marvelous madness
of striper season again. Tom
G . ************************************************************************* Hudson River, RIVER BASIN STRIPER CONTEST REPORT, Saturday, May 22, 2010 . Night fishing is still
paying off on the main Hudson River and it’s surprising how many guys there actually are out there moving around in
the dark. We talked to one of them this morning, Ed, and even though he reported having boated only one fish all night long,
a sub-30 incher, he said it was just glorious out there. There were spawning fish all around during the night – he could
see them surface right next to the boat at times but just couldn’t get any of the big guys to hit. . Although Ed failed to catch his “Moby
Striper” there was one angler who did boat a worthwhile fish early this morning. The angler was our past 2008 contest
winner Wally Chudkosky and his 45 ½ inch striper moves him into fourth place in our River Basin Sports striped bass
contest standings. . Wally
was fishing a live eel down in the Wappingers area when the big spawned-out striper grabbed his bait. This angler, who once
held the state record for striped bass, uses 20 lb. test as his main line and usually hangs a 2 ounce sinker on the end. Additionally,
he feels rather confident that he might be able to nail an even larger striper before our contest comes to an end on May 30th. . The placement of this
fish into the 4th spot in our standings moves Randy Stallman into 5th and creates a tie for sixth between
DelMonte and Biniek. With just 8 days to go in our event we see that there still are plenty of decent stripers
around, but they mainly seem to be located from Stockport to the south. The fellas in the very southern limit of
our contest perimeter have a good shot at this time to pick up some of those large spawned-out females
moseying their way back to the ocean – such was probably the story behind Chudkosky’s fish. The new
contest standings are below. Tom G .
# | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 47 | Borchert, Eric | | 2 | 46.75 | Shilkaunas, Rob | | 3 | 46.25 | Green, Frank | | 4 | 45.5 | Walt Chudkosky | | 5 | 44.25 | Stallman, R. | | 6 | 44 tie | DelMonte-Biniek |
. ****************************************************************** . Hudson River, RIVER
BASIN STRIPER REPORT, Friday, May 21, 2010 . Man, the striper fishing up in the Albany Troy area must really have turned off. All of a sudden
the multiple reports we had been receiving from that region have dried up. Even so we did have an observation of a surface
spawn taking place in Menands on Wednesday and a couple of other reports of some sub-34” stripers being caught
up there. Even though there were loads of herring up there to catch for bait it appears to have been a somewhat disappointing
year for the majority of anglers. As disappointing as it might have been we’re
aware of a few real hogs that were landed in that upper tidal section (i.e.: Gary Sottosani – 40”; Greg Forgea
– 41 ¼”). The definite lack of larger 40 inch plus stripers this year made a path downriver all the way
from Troy through Bethlehem, Castleton, Selkirk, and Stuyvesant. Finally we started to see some bigger fish to the south of
Coxsackie and from the Stockport Creek area downriver the chances of tying onto one of those trophies wasn’t too bad. 44+ inch fish are never plentiful and the few we did see were all from Catskill
to the south. Catskill and Malden had some, as did Tivoli but the real giants came from even further downriver this year.
The top two stripers this year were taken from the Port Ewen, Esopus Meadows section to the south of Kingston. In the minds of many fishermen the bait to use for the stripers is live herring,
and probably 90% of our anglers do so. Exceptions such as Robert Shilkaunas, who trolled a Rapala to catch the 46 ¾
incher that is in second place in our striper contest at present, do exist but generally the trolled fish will average out
to be considerably smaller in size than those that have been bait-caught. However,
percentage wise of all anglers fishing it is probably those using “cut” or “chunk” bait that actually
seem to do the best. While we estimate that only about 25% of anglers are using such baits we see that
40% of all the stripers over 40 inches that have been entered in our contest have all been taken on “chunk.” So, even though this striper season continues to wind down we know from past
years that it is still possible to catch that contest winning fish… but the odds of doing so are quickly decreasing
each day. This weekend could be your final shot at it – good luck. The contest standings have not changed since our
last report. Tom G . ************************************************************** . Hudson River, RIVER BASIN UPDATE, Tuesday,
May 18, 2010 . In
years past there have been but two stripers caught on artificials that have made it onto our River Basin Sports Top 20 Record
listing. The first of these was a 46 ¼ incher caught by Gary Sperl back on May 13, 1995. The lure that did the trick
for him was a Bomber 25A in a gold color. . The second fish was even larger… actually huge. It measured 4 feet long (48”) and was
caught on the 19th of May, 1997 on a Mann’s Stretch 25+ by Bob Koziol of Pleasant Valley. . Both of these fish won our Striped Bass
Contest in those years. This year the string of wins by artificials will be broken, even though we do now enter
a third “artificial caught” striper into our top twenty list. . The lucky angler this time is Robert Shilkaunas of Poughkeepsie and this time
the lure is a Rapala. Bob and his dad had been trolling in the Port Ewen area of the river today when they landed this 46
¾ inch cow. Yes, we did throw it onto a scale and it pushed the needle all the way up to the 47.7 pound mark. Bob now
leaps up into second place in our standings, just missing tying Borchert's 47 inch first place striper. . Bob reported having spotted some spawning
fish all during the day so we see that the spawn is still ongoing. These were smaller individual spot spawns he was seeing,
not like the large mass spawn that occurred in Glasco over the weekend. . This catch pushes Brad Holmes’ 43 ¼ incher off the contest’s
leader board and puts Fred DelMonte and Sylvia Biniek into a tie for 5th place. The next 4 or 5 days just may see
some more huge fish caught so if you have the opportunity get out there now. The new leader board is below.
Tom G . # | SIZE | ANGLER | 1 | 47 | Borchert, Eric | 2 | 46.75 | Robert Shilkaunas | 3 | 46.25 | Green, Frank | 4 | 44.25 | Stallman, Randy | 5 | 44 | DelMonte, Fred | | tie | Biniek, Sylvia |
. ***************************************************************8 . Hudson River, RIVER BASIN
UPDATE, Tuesday, May 18, 2010 . Present striper
reports from the river are of slowing action, not only on the waters north of Catskill but also to the south. Anglers who
had boated a dozen fish or more the previous week are now somewhat mystified as to what happened to all those stripers. Additionally,
although a few decent fish are being caught most of what is biting now are smaller males, 22 to 34 inches. .
The reason for this slowdown is that the spawn is now strongly underway.
This past weekend saw a definite spike upwards in striper activity since the fish were in a hyper active state. A large scale
spawn was reported to have taken place on the Glasco flats and spawning stripers were doing their thing right next to the
deep water shoreline at West Camp. . There still are
plenty of stripers left in the river that have yet to spawn, lots of them with very green eggs. This is because the water
temperature has remained in the low 60’s. Additionally, although it is late in the run, it always appears that there
are some fish late to arrive for this annual ritual. . You
can expect to catch some decent sized stripers in the river right into the beginning of June but their numbers will be on
the decline from this point on. Right now here at the River Basin we are expecting the arrival of a striped bass for contest
measurement and if the angler who called has taken a somewhat accurate measurement we should see some kind of change in the
standings coming up. We’ll let you know.
Tom G . ********************************************* . Hudson River, RIVER BASIN UPDATE, Sunday, May
16, 2010 . It was just one of those days for Capt. George
Murphy of Hudson River Charters. Getting a late start on the fishing was something he usually wasn’t inclined to do
but yet that was reality today. Fishing with his lady friend Sylvia Biniek down in the Tivoli area was a regular occurance
for him… but having her beat him to a rod that was “singing a striper tune” cost him his shot at making
an appearance on the River Basin Sports Contest leader board today. . Sylvia grabbed the bouncing rod, set the hook and then engaged in a tug of war with what turned
out to be a 44 inch striped bass. No problem for her to land the fish – she’s obviously an old hand at this game. .
Sylvia’s fish moves her into a tie for fourth place with Fred
DelMonte and moves Brad Holmes’ 43.25 incher into sixth place. DelMonte, who fishes the same area as Murphy and Biniek,
phoned the shop as today’s fish was being measured and promised that he’d guard their secret spot against intrusion
by other anglers. He was willing to sacrifice his afternoon and sit right on it… perhaps just dangling his line in
the water a little bit… to pass the time. . # | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 47 | Borchert, Eric | | 2 | 46.25 | Green, Frank | | 3 | 44.25 | Stallman, Randy | | 4 | 44 tie |
DelMonte, Fred | | | |
Biniek, Sylvia | | 6 | 43.25 |
Holmes, Brad |
. ***************************************************************** . Hudson River, RIVER BASIN STRIPER
CONTEST update - Saturday, May 15, 2010, 6 p.m. . It
was a busy day here at the River Basin Sports Shop. In between selling lots of striped bass stuff such as herring chunk, sinkers,
hooks, stoolies, scap nets, etc., etc., we also had to measure in two big contest fish. . The first one was brought in early this morning by Randy Stallman but was caught late yesterday
in what has become one of the more popular local shoreline locations, the Greendale rocks. Randy caught his 44 ¼ inch
striper on a live herring and was in 2nd position in our contest for … almost an hour. . Yup, just about an hour after Randy left it was Frank Green who dragged a huge
striper to the measuring board at the back of our shop. Randy’s fish was then relegated to compete for the bronze medal
3rd spot on our leader board. Frank had been fishing chunk bait early this morning, down in the vicinity of the
Rhinecliff Bridge when this 46 1/4 incher just couldn’t resist the aroma of his fresh dead herring chunk… Bingo!
Second Place. . There definitely are bigger fish in the
area at the present time although the quantity of smaller fish seems to be down. Hang in there and keep trying. The present
standings are below. Tom G . .
# | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 47 | Borchert, Eric | | 2 | 46.25 | Green, Frank | | 3 | 44.25 | Stallman, Randy | | 4 | 44 | DelMonte, Fred | | 5 | 43.25 | Holmes, Brad | | 6 | 42.75 |
Tim Haas |
. *************************************************************** . Hudson River, RIVER BASIN FLASH UPDATE
- Saturday May 15, 2010, 10 a.m. - . Another standings change - 2nd now is 46 1/4 You
now need 42 3/4 inches to get into the standings by tying for sixth place. First
still is 47. . ****************************************************** . Hudson River, RIVER
BASIN FLASH UPDATE - Saturday May 15, 2010, 9 a.m. - . Just measured in a new 2nd place fish - 44 1/4 inches; you now need 42.25 inches
to tie for 6th place. . ********************************************************* . Hudson River, RIVER
BASIN NEWS, Thursday, May 13, 2010 . As you can see from
the ad above we have now finalized the payback schedule for our 2010 Striped Bass Contest. Things were a little bit different
as far as funding sources were concerned this year. We are still paying back 100% of all the entry registration fees as prizes
to the top six finishers in the event but this year the River Basin Spo rt Shop itself is augmenting that payback by contributing
an additional $3,000 to the pot. We also want to thank the Greene County Tourism and Promotion Department for all the help
and assistance they rendered us in helping to set up the whole affair. . The fishing has been somewhat spotty for the past few days, ever since the water temperature plunged about
six degrees. Still, there are fish being taken and we are anticipating a fairly good and productive weekend with the stripers coming
up. Tom G . ****************************************************** Hudson
River NEW STRIPER REPORT, Wednesday, May 12, 2010 What a difference just
a couple of days can make. Leading into this past weekend it seemed that the fishing couldn’t have been any better on
our river. Then came Saturday, Sunday and Monday with high winds and a real strong cold front and, for most anglers, the river
just seemed to shut down. The Hudson itself, which had been running at a 61 – 62 degree temperature, dropped down 5
degrees and presently is at the 56 – 57 degree level. Dennis up
at Bethlehem reports that his Saturday derby up there was won with a 24 pounder which measured just about 40 inches. Most
of the other fish weighed in there went under 20 pounds. Sunday was just about a blowout, literally, and most sane anglers
did not venture out onto the river where there were gale force winds gusting. By
the way, if you saw something up at the Bethelehem Castleton area that looked like a seal, you weren’t imagining things.
There’s been at least one of them up there for 2 to 3 weeks. Herring
in the Bethlehem Albany area seem to be plentiful but down here at Catskill the schools of those great baitfish seem to have
diminished since the weekend. Still, it all depends on which person you’re talking too – we’re going by
a consensus of opinion here but if you’re in the right place at the right time you’ll think there’s no end
to these silvery fish. All up and down the river we’re seeing a
lot of shore bound anglers, more than ever. The railroad bed on the east shore makes for easy access to this fishing but sometimes
the CONRAIL cops will give these fishermen a hard time – keep this in mind. Although
things in Catskill also slowed down after the weekend things were starting to pick up again by Tuesday. A spot which has not
been hit by too many anglers this year is the mouth of Catskill Creek. On two separate occasions anglers have reported getting
skunked on the Bridge Run and then trying the creek mouth… and hanging a couple of decent linesiders
there. Marc asked about the occurrence of the extremely low tide at present.
We find that 2 to 3 days either side of a full or new moon we’ll experience abnormally low tides. If you have a strong
north wind blowing at the same time it will be an even more radical change. We’ve actually seen it so low that there
was no water for about 30 feet past the end of the floating docks at Catskill’s ramp. On Monday Captain R. Booth of Reel Happy Charters reported boating one striper at Catskill that was oozing
ripe eggs, so we know that some spawn is now ongoing. However there are plenty of fish still out there with “green”
eggs, and still many more yet entering the river system so, considering the drop in the water temperature, the good fishing
should still last another couple of weeks. We had one report of boated
stripers upchucking some stuff that looked like squid. Never heard of anything such as that before but if anybody else has
we’d be interested in hearing about it. With the Troy tournament
going on this coming weekend it will probably be a complete zoo up on that section of the Hudson. If you are not a participant
in that event you might want to consider going somewhere else to fish. Still, I figure that those northern fish should turn
on again by the weekend so the results there could be quite impressive. Remember
that the NYS limit on the upper Hudson is just one fish a day, 18 inches or larger. I don’t really feel sorry for any
of you guys out there who complain that the fishing is slow or bad especially after you boat “only” one or two
legal fish. After all, for goodness sake – you LIMITED OUT! Speaking
of limiting out – just now I measured in a 44 ¾ inch striped bass for John Cammer who was fishing with Captain
George Murphy of Hudson River Charters. Although the fish seemed to have a large belly it had obviously already spawned since
it weighed 35 lbs 1 oz instead of the 40 pound plus that a fish of this size usually goes prior to spawning. This fish would
have been long enough to boost John into 2nd place in our contest but… unfortunately he was not a registered
contestant. The striper contest standings are below. There’s been
no change as of today. Now, it’s late and I’m going home.
Tom G # | SIZE | ANGLER | | | 47 | Borchert, Eric | | | 44 | DelMonte, Fred | | | 43.25 | Holmes, Brad | | | 42.75 | Tim Haas | | | 42.25 | Coby,
Steve | | | 41.5 | Longo, Vince |
.
********************************************** Hudson River NEW STRIPER REPORT, Saturday, May 08, 2010 . It was kind of a miserable day today
even if the sun did come out in the afternoon to brighten things up. Striper action was excellent all the way from Kingston
to Albany although lots of smaller fish (18 to 24 inches) made a pest of themselves with their hit, run and escape tactics.
Sufficient numbers of stripers up to 40 inches in length are being caught all around but there seemed to be a switch among
many anglers from whole herring baits to chunks. There was one change
in our contest standings this afternoon when Tim Haas boated a 42 ¾ incher that took his herring chunk bait. Tim was
fishing from a boat in the Catskill area. His fish moved him up into fourth spot on our event leader board. A picture of his
fish is at the bottom of this page, new standings immediately below. Tom
G # | SIZE | ANGLER | | | 47 | Borchert, Eric | | | 44 | DelMonte, Fred | | | 43.25 | Holmes,
Brad | | | 42.75 | Tim Haas | | | 42.25 | Coby,
Steve | | | 41.5 | Longo, Vince |
.
*********************************************************** . Hudson River NEW STRIPER
REPORT, Friday, May 07, 2010 . Even
with a year like this when the striper fishing has possibly been the best we’ve seen in the past eight years or so we’ve
been somewhat disappointed. Oh sure, lots of fish, but we’ve been missing the real big ones – you know, the ones
when you lift them you have to tell yourself to be careful of your back. They’re the ones that go over 46 inches in
length and usually bust the scale to over 45 pounds. Well, that size is no longer missing this year. It was Eric Borchart
of High Falls that changed that whole scenario when he walked into the River Basin Sports Shop and said he had a fish to measure
in. . As soon as we
eyeballed the striper it was obvious we had a new contest leader – this was one BIG fish. On the contest’s measuring
board the tip of that striper’s tail reached all the way to the 47 inch mark – definitely a new contest leader,
and one that’s going to be a tough one for the other 603 participants to beat. . Eric had been fishing the Esopus Meadows section at 6:30 a.m. today. He had
been trolling a bit but then decided to try a little bit of chunk baiting for a while. That turned out to be a good move for
the fisherman since the piece of herring chunk was precisely what the huge striper had been looking for - it was an easy meal
that required little effort to catch. . Since we were all rather curious as to what the fish might weigh I hoisted it onto the shop’s big
scale… and that’s when I just might have strained my back. The needle on the scale went around and finally stopped
on the 47.1 pound mark. And that’s when I felt a little twinge on my back side. I’ll know tomorrow if my back
is alright, but Eric knows right now that his fish holds first place and is going to be very hard to best. . NOTE - We’ve been
informed that this weekend will see law enforcement out on the river in one of their seemingly all out blitzes
of regulations enforcement. Be sure that all your boating safety gear is up to snuff – it’s annoying enough to
be pulled over but it’s really maddening to receive a ticket for something such as a date expired flare.
Below
are the new standings.
Tom G | # | SIZE | ANGLER | | | 1 | 47 | Borchert, Eric | | | 2 | 44 | DelMonte, Fred | | | 3 | 43.25 | Holmes, Brad | | | 4 | 42.25 | Coby, Steve | | | 5 | 41.5 | Longo, Vince | | | 6 | 41.25 | Forgea, Greg | |
. ************************************************************* . Hudson River NEW STRIPER REPORT, Thursday, May 06, 2010 . The inevitable has started to happen. We have received out first reports of
striper spawning activity taking place. Both Jim and Harry have reported observing spawning activity taking place on the waters
to the immediate south of Kingston, and this has been going on for several days now. . What this means to anglers is that fishing success should now be approaching the peak of this
year’s run. This activity is definitely a week to 10 days earlier than in an average year and is almost like a huge
flashing billboard out there telling fishermen to get out there this weekend. Any tournaments being held should measure in
lots of fish. . With the cooler weekend weather forecast
we should see some moderation in the spawn and aid in prolonging the entire process over a couple of weeks or so. Make plans
to get out there as soon as you can. Tom G . *********************************************************** . Hudson River NEW
STRIPER REPORT, Wednesday, May 5, 2010 . Although we’ve
had several reports of stripers 44 inches long or greater coming in none of them were from any of the over 600 entrants in
our RIVER BASIN STRIPED BASS CONTEST. Too bad for those (un)lucky ones since they are missing out on the chance to win big
in this event which pays back the top 6 fish and this year guarantees a minimum payment of at least $4,530 for the top spot. .
But their absence is definitely better luck for anglers such as Fred
Del Monte. Today Fred moved into first place on our contest leader board by bringing in the first legitimate 44 inch striped
bass of 2010 we've seen. . Fred was fishing in the area
of the Hudson which we crowned the ”Magic Triangle” a few years back. Today he was fishing shallow, as of a matter
of fact his live herring was only in about 6 feet of water when the fish struck and the battle was on. When he arrived at
the River Basin Sports Shop he was all pumped up, and rightly so since his fish covered the official measuring board all the
way to the 44 inch mark. This put Fred into the contest lead. . The ”Magic Triangle” is formed in the river with Malden being its
southernmost point, Germantown the second and Catskill the third terminus. Overall, throughout the years this area seems to
have consistently produced the majority of the largest stripers we have measured in. Oh, most certainly not all of the big
ones are caught here – Kingston produces some huge fish annually and we even see some giants from the Albany area but…
on an overall annual basis the most seem to be pulled from this section of the river. . At the present time 3 out of the top 6 fish of 2010 to be brought in have come from here. Additionally,
last year’s winning fish came from here and our overall shop record striper was also caught in this stretch of water.
Must mean something - for whatever its worth. The new standings are immediately below.
Tom G . # | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 44 | DelMonte, Fred | | 2 | 43.25 | Holmes, Brad | | 3 | 42.25 | Coby, Steve | | 4 | 41.5 | Longo, Vince | | 5 | 41.25 | Forgea, Greg | | 6 | 40.50 | Schram, Paul |
*********************************************************** . Hudson River NEW STRIPER REPORT, Tuesday
May 4, 2010 . Although
it seems as if we’re probably having the best striped bass run of the past 7 or 8 years there is a point of particular
concern to us at present. This regards the river’s water temperature, which we took at 6 a.m. this morning and found
to be at just about the 60 degree mark. . Now, that might
seem just about right, a comfortable range for most anglers… and that’s just the problem. Right now we are but
a scant couple of degrees below the temperature that stripers seem to find most comfortable for procreation – the spawn.
Everything seems to be happening about 2 weeks early this year. Generally speaking we want the spawn delayed as long as possible
in order to have the fish remain here. We do not ever want it to take place early since once they spawn there is no longer
any reason for them to hang around. They start to wend their way back toward the Atlantic. . Although we do sometimes witness occasions of a mass spawn taking place where the stripers
beat the surface of the river to a froth in a location perhaps acres across, this is still just a small percentage of all
the fish around. There are plenty of others whose eggs are still “green”, needing additional time to develop. .
Also, there may and probably will be late arrivals to our area –
the fish don’t all arrive at the same time. These late comers will still require time for their eggs to mature so they
will be hanging around until their freshwater chores are completed. Some years will see sporadic late spawns continue right
into the beginning of June. The point here is that even after the main spawn has taken place there will be stripers
around to be caught for several weeks afterward, but… there will be fewer of them each day. . Striped bass spawn in the main Hudson River – I’ve never seen or
heard of a spawn taking place in the tributary creeks. Usually the spawns take place just off the main channel itself, in
sections of slightly reduced water flow, but on a few occasions I have witnessed groups of only 3 or 4 fish spawning in the
main channel. . When a mass of these fish gather for
the spawn they churn up acres of surface water in their excitement. Since they are just about oblivious to everything else
going on it is extremely important for any boater witnessing such an event to NOT cruise into that melee - doing so will just
chop up those surfacing fish. Occasionally, when such a spawn happens on a weekend, the carnage caused by uninformed boaters
will be seen drifting down with the tide – multitudes of propeller chopped stripers. . Although the spawning stripers will not hit your bait or lures, the same area is still hot
for fishing. Underneath those surface thrashing fish are numerous others not so engaged and they WILL hit your offerings.
You can try to just drift fish through the activity area. . A
sign of immediate pre-spawn is seeing 2 or 3 smaller stripers follow a larger hooked one to the boat. Sometimes the act of
netting the hooked fish may also result in the inadvertent netting of one or two of such following stripers. If you should
witness such a happening, or see any ongoing surface spawn, please let us know where and when it occurred. You can drop us
an E-mail at TOMGRIVER at YAHOO dot COM or if you have a cell phone, and it’s during the day, you could even give us
a call at 943-2111. . TODAYS COMMENTS
. Last
Friday’s fishing reports from Coeymans to Troy were of really good fishing. So what happened last Saturday and Sunday
when the fishing died off? The only thing we can think of was that the Federal Lock at Troy was opened for the year. That
event flushed all kinds of timber and other debris downriver causing great consternation amongst anglers there. Ehh –
happens every year. . Just another small point to mention
before we close this down for today. Shallow water action has been paying great dividends for many of our striper anglers.
It might be worth your while, if deep water fishing isn’t paying off, to try the 6 to 8 foot levels with either chunk,
live herring or trolling shallow running plugs. . We had two contest standing changes today. The first one was Captain Bob Lewis moving into
a tie for sixth place with a 40 inch striper. However Bob’s place on the leader board only lasted a scant 3 hours. That’s
when Steve Coby, our contest winner from back in 1999 and 2002, showed up with his 42 ¼ inch entry and took over second
place, pushing Lewis and Sottosanti out of the standings. Pictures tomorrow. . The following are the contest standings as of Wednesday, 5 pm, May 05, 2010,
Tom G . # | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 43.25 | Holmes, Brad | | 2 | 42.25 | Coby, Steve | | 3 | 41.5 | Longo, Vince | | 4 | 41.25 | Forgea, Greg | | 5 | 40.50 | Schram, Paul | | 6 | 40.25 | Fahrenkopf, Dustin | | | | |
. ***************************************************************** . Hudson River NEW
STRIPER REPORT, Saturday, May 01, 2010 . If one were to look at the standings for the River Basin Sport Shop’s striped bass contest there’d
be no question that larger fish are now moving into our mid-Hudson Valley area. To get onto our leader board at the present
time your striper would have to measure a minimum of 40 inches long… and we’ve got the distinct feeling that
within the next few days you’ll have to do quite a bit better than that. . The latest standing shake up was led off by Dustin Fahrenkopf of Cairo N.Y.
Dustin decided to spend an all-nighter on the shore of the Hudson just to the north of Catskill and at
around 3 a.m. this morning it paid off for him - he hooked and landed a 40 ¼ inch linesider using chunk herring
for bait. And we know that he hooked it right around 3 a.m. since a boater nearby heard the hooting and hollering at just
that time and related that to us at the shop. Additionally, Dustin reported losing yet another fish which he felt was bigger
than what he showed us at the River Basin. . The second
beauty of the day was brought in by Vince Longo, the brother of last year’s contest winner Pete Longo. Vinnie and Pete,
fishing the river to the south of Saugerties, had boated several fish during the course of the morning when their largest
striper of the day decided to commit suicide by hitting Vinnie’s rig. The fish covered the gradients on our official
contest measuring board to the 41 ½ inche mark and secured the happy fisherman a second place standing. . The action up and down the river has
been pretty good, at least from the reports we’ve been receiving. But as of the past few days the section from Coeymans
north to Albany, in particular, has been seeing good action. However, the larger fish presently seem to be located between
the Hogs Back at Ulster Landing and the Rip VanWinkle Bridge at Catskill. Herring are spotty around Catskill but seem to be
abundant in the water around Albany. . The following
are the contest standings through Saturday, May 01, 2010, Tom G . # | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 43.25 | Holmes, Brad | | 2 | 41.5 | Longo, Vince | | 3 | 41.25 | Forgea, Greg | | 4 | 40.50 | Schram, Paul | | 5 | 40.25 | Fahrenkopf, Dustin | | 6 | 40 | Sottosani, Gary | | | | |
. ************************************************************** . Hudson River NEW STRIPER
REPORT – Friday, April 30, 2010 . Even though fishing today was reported to be spotty we saw several nice fish come in, including a new second
place standing in our contest. The up-to-date standings are below and the new pictures are to be found on the “PICTURES”
page. Tom G . 1 | 43.25 | Holmes, Brad | | 2 | 41.25 | Forgea, Greg | | 3 | 40.50 | Schram, Paul | | 4 | 40 | Sottosani, Gary | | 5 | 39.75 | Shutter, Tim | | | 39.75 | Bishop, Brian | | | 39.75 | McGilvray, Taylor |
. *********************************************************** . Hudson River NEW STRIPER
REPORT – Thursday, April 29, 2010 . It seems that the fishing action has slowed down a little bit from what it had been last week but that
still has not deterred the more determined, hardier fishermen from having a go of it. One such angler was Brian Bishop. Brian was one of the first entries in our striper contest this past week and
had been sitting in as high as third place with his 38 ¾ incher. Of course things can change very quickly in this contest
and so, yesterday, Brian got knocked off the top-six leader board when Brad Holmes measured in his contest leading 43 ¼
incher. Nevertheless, Brian didn’t give up. Last night he hit the
river again and this morning he measured in a 39 ¾ inch fish and was again boosted up in the standings – all
the way into a tie for third place with Tim Shutter. But it was only a temporary rise as you will see. Another angler, one who braved today’s wind storm and was rewarded, was Rensselaer’s
Greg Forgea. Greg was on the river at Albany when his reel started singing its glorious “it’s a bite” song.
It wasn’t too long afterward when he landed a 41 ¼ incher and catapulted himself into second place in our standings,
knocking Brian back into a tie for fourth. Greg’s bait of choice was a piece of chunk herring. So, here’s the way the standings shape up as of the end of today: # | SIZE | ANGLER | | 1 | 43.25 | Holmes, Brad | | 2 | 41.25 | Forgea, Greg | | 3 | 40 | Sottosani, Gary | | 4 | 39.75 | Shutter, Tim | | | 39.75 | Bishop, Brian | | 6 | 39.5 | Conn, Mike | | | 39.5 | Barnum, Joe |
Looks like a great weekend coming up – be sure to take advantage of it.
Tom G . ***************************************************************** . Hudson River NEW
STRIPER LEADER REPORT – Wednesday, April 28, 2010 . Last night was miserable. The air was cold and the wind was biting. With a scenario such as
that it was just a too perfect a night not to sit on the river bank and fish. At least that’s what Brad Holmes thought
as he clambered over the rocks and flung his herring into the Hudson’s waters just a wee bit south of the Rip Van Winkle
Bridge at Catskill. . Not
only was Brad rewarded with the glorious sights and scenes of the Hudson River at night but he received yet another bonus
for his outing and efforts – the new lead in the River Basin Sports striped bass contest. The 43 ¼ inch
striped bass which Brad landed places him more than three inches ahead of the next largest fish, a 40 incher caught
by Gary Sottosanti just 4 days previous. This catch by Brad signifies
more than just his taking the contest lead, it’s a sign that the larger stripers are finally arriving here in the mid-Hudson
Valley region. Several other fish around the 39 inch size were also reportedly caught last night. We anticipate measuring
in more such large fish during the next two to three week period as the 2010 striper run proceeds to it’s culmination
in mid May. As a smaller side note we should mention that some herring
had already started “beating the banks” about 5 to 6 days ago when the river’s water temperature was at
about the 56 degree level. Not only was this spawning behavior apparent with the herring but we also had a reliable source
report witnessing some real early pre-spawn activity down in the Newburgh area at about the same time. Fortunately, although some of you might disagree with this, the colder miserable weather that
has just arrived is beneficial since it will keep the waters cooler and help prolong the time until the striper spawn when
everything starts to wind down. . The
following is the new list of Striped Bass Contest leaders. We have lost Brian Bishop and Eric Miller who had been tied for
sixth place with 38 ¾ inch fish. Tom G .
1) 43 ¼” Bradley Holmes 2) 40”
Gary Sottosanti
3) 39 ¾” Tim Shutter 4)
tie 39 ½” Mike Conn
39 ½” Joe
Barnum 6)
39 ¼” Brett Williams . *****************************************************************************
. Hudson River STRIPER
REPORT – Tuesday, April 27, 2010 . With the Hudson’s water temperature running at approximately the 56 degree mark it seems that
the fishing from Malden to the north has really outdone itself so far this year. Some anglers have even reported catches of
half a dozen or more fish during the course of an outing. And these aren’t all the smaller sub-thirty inch stripers
either… most of them range between 30 to 39 inches and weigh 22 to 28 pounds. Saturday was exceptionally productive. . Locations from which we’ve
been receiving better reports right through this past weekend have been Germantown, Linlithgo, Stockport, 4 Mile Point, Coxsackie
Cliffs, Selkirk, Bethlehem and Albany. The upper area of the river, from Bethlehem north, seems to have received a fresh influx
of stripers but most of these are under the 36 inch mark. We still have yet to see any of the real big cow stripers move in
anywhere along the river but that should start to happen this coming week. . It’s somewhat surprising to hear that some members of our usually astute
angling fraternity are not yet aware that no matter which fish you might say you are pursuing in the Hudson a license of some
type is required. If you are after, say herring or stripers for instance, then you need the marine species license, and if
you’re pursuing any regular non-saltwater species then you need the general N.Y. State fishing license. Remember that
the man in the “green uniform” will be out there checking. . Herring have become somewhat spotty but the usual
better locations in streams and the main river still produce for the scappers and the jiggers. Shad appear to be overly abundant
this year and the fellows using the herring Sabiki rigs are reporting lots of surprise action on them. . LATEST CONTEST STANDINGS . These are the official standings for our striper
contest which are accurate through the end of the day Monday, April 26. . 1) 40”
Gary Sottosanti
2) 39 ¾” Tim Shutter 3)
tie 39 ½” Mike Conn
39 ½” Joe
Barnum 5)
39 ¼” Brett Williams
6) tie 38 ¾” Brian Bishop
38 ¾” Eric Miller . A
BIT OF LORE, AND A SORT OF DEAL… . Back about 20 years ago the prime place to catch your striper bait (herring) was in the tributary
creeks to the Hudson. Here in Catskill the prime water was the Catskill Creek. And the primary method of doing this was by
using smaller shad darts, either singly or tied tandem, that were cast out and then either reeled in or jigged vertically
under a boat. In the beginning these worked just fine but as the popularity of striper fishing grew the creeks became rather
crowded with boats, all trying for their day’s allotment of fishing bait. The resulting drop in the success rate for
these bait fishermen was rather dramatic, since the bait now had to be shared between far more anglers. . At the River Basin there was a lure,
a “Wally Whale” rig, that had been sitting on our shelves for two or three years… and not a single one
had ever been sold. But it always seemed to us that it had the potential to catch herring and alewives during their spring
run. . The time then
was mid-May, the weather had already turned warm and it seemed that most of the herring had completely deserted our local
waterway – anglers were reporting efforts of 2-3 hours just to catch 2 or 3 herring. One such day as one of the more
adept local anglers was about to leave the shop for his daily fix of striper fishing, we offered him a few of these dust covered
lures to try. He took them figuring he had nothing to lose, and we certainly felt the same way since they were just sitting
there. . Our angler
friend went down on the creek and headed up to the High School Dock area, which was considered to be the most likely location
to catch bait in the creek. He tossed his darts for about an hour and had the same luck as the other half dozen boats fishing
there – zip! He moved down the creek further, trying the Hop-O-Nose Hole and then any other place he could think of,
all to no avail. Disgusted, he was ready to call it a day when he spied the lures we had given him to try. “What the
heck” he figured, and tied one on. . He took a couple of casts with no luck and then, after retrieving his third cast, rather than pulling
in his line he just left it dangling in the water 5-6 feet under the boat. All of a sudden, much to his surprise… the
tip of his rod started bouncing up and down. He yanked on the rod, felt some resistance, then pulled in not one but TWO of
the precious herring. HOLY SMOKE! . In the next 15 minutes this magic lure let him load up his herring-well with over 2 dozen of the gorgeous
bait, much to the consternation of the dumbfounded fishermen in several other boats looking on. Since our angler was the only
one there catching bait, and very ably so, he was suddenly surrounded by curious fishermen straining to see what his magic
lure was. . Well,
actually the lure was only magic to us freshwater anglers - saltwater fishermen had been using similar creations for a long
time. It was a “herring/smelt” rig, also called a “Sabiki” – six different bare gold hooks tied
onto a central leader, each having a tiny brightly colored (red or green) bead placed just in front of the eye - and it was
dynamite. . The word
quickly spread and our meager supply was completely gone by the end of the next day, but an emergency shipment had already
been ordered. When that new supply arrived eager fishermen quickly snatched them up. Fortunately for us (or perhaps unfortunately)
the striper run was already at its end, leaving us plenty of time to prepare for the next year. . When the next year’s striper run began
we were all stocked up with the magic “herring rigs” and our fishermen were happy. Of course, the smaller shad
darts still worked to catch herring but, in most situations, it seemed that nothing was quite as effective as those special
rigs. In the years in between we’ve carried lots of other styles (and still do) here at the shop, some of which have
garnered their own following as being the “best”. But, overall, it seems that the most effective rig, the one
that outsells all others by about 20 to1 here, remains that original one from 15 years ago. . Often anglers come in and pick up these “Wally
Whale” rigs a dozen at a pop – just to make sure that they don’t run out during the striper run. Yet others
will order a few dozen of them months in advance for just the same reason. This makes sense since they do have a habit of
getting stuck on the bottom, and quite often the tiny hooks will actually break when the angler tries to remove them from
a fish (or from their shirtsleeve) – anyhow, smart anglers never go out with just one. If you happen to be one of these fanatical Wally Whale anglers, or just wish to
pick some of these up to distribute amongst your fishing buddies, we’ll make you a special “website only”
deal on just these rigs – purchase a dozen at the store and we’ll throw 2 more in for free. That’s right,
purchase 12 and receive 14. They aren’t that cheap - $3.75 a pop, so you’re looking at $45.00 (plus tax, of course)
as a total… but you do save about $7.50 on the transaction. . To get this deal you must come to the RIVER BASIN (no mail or phone orders),
and even at the shop it will not be posted – you must ASK to receive it. If you’re serious about your striper
fishing you should have at least a couple of these Wally Whale rigs on your boat even if you don’t want to swing for
the 12/14 deal. This deal will be good through May 22, 2010. . WHAT?
ANOTHER DEAL? . We
are now listing another deal for our striper fishermen, this one a rod and reel combination. It’s perfect if you need
either a backup outfit or you just want your first baitrunner rig. Here we’re pairing up our most popular striper pole,
the 7 foot Pinnacle Coastal Power spinning rod (40 pound rating) and a Tica Baitrunner 4507 reel. . This reel was produced as a limited run of
only 1,500 by Tica and was specifically made for striped bass fishing. They call it their hit and run “Striper collector
series.” It has 7 ball bearings, a 5.2 to 1 gear ratio and is rated to hold 180 yards of 20 pound test line. Also included
here is a reel bag, extra spool and a small, nifty, special collector series pocket knife. . Purchased separately at the store this rod and reel
would cost you $149 but our special price is $99.99. Keep in mind that we’ve only got a handful of these to offer and
that we’re also advertising them at the shop so don’t expect them to last too long. Tom
G . ************************************************************************ .
Hudson River NEW STRIPER LEADER REPORT – Monday, April 26, 2010 . First off we’d like
to apologize to those of you who have noticed things amiss with our web site during the past couple of days. The company hosting
our web page decided to change its entire setup and we’re trying very hard to make the proper adjustments here. It could
take a few more days. . Still,
below we are posting the official standings for our striper contest which are accurate through the end of the day Monday,
April 26. . 1)
40” Gary Sottosanti 2)
39 ¾” Tim Shutter
3)tie 39 ½” Mike Conn
39 ½” Joe Barnum 5)
39 ¼” Brett Williams
6)tie 38 ¾” Brian Bishop
38 ¾” Eric Miller . .************************************************* Late Contest Standings Change Sunday, April 25, 2010
Below are the official
contest standings as of 1:30 p.m. Sunday April 25, 2010
1)
40” Gary Sottosanti 2)
39 ¾” Tim Shutter
3) 39 ½” Mike Conn 4)
39 ¼” Brett Williams
5) 38 ¾” Brian Bishop
6) 38.75” Eric Miller *************************************************************** . Hudson River NEW STRIPER LEADER
REPORT – Sunday, April 24, 2010 . Saturday was
quite a productive day on the river and lots of fish were reported caught. The day saw all six of the payback slots in our
2010 striped bass contest filled, albeit with not a single one of those fish measuring over 40 inches. After several position
changes the following standings are what we are left with – plenty of room for improvement. . 1)
40” Gary Sottosanti 2)
39 ¾” Tim Shutter
3) 39 ½” Mike Conn 4)
39 ¼” Brett Williams
5) 38 ¾” Brian Bishop 6)
38 ½” John Munno .Since all six contest slots are now filled there is no longer any need to bring in fish smaller than 38 ½ inches
for ranking. We’re still waiting for the first real biggie to show up this year, something around the 46 inch mark.
Maybe yours? Tom G . ********************************************************** . Hudson River NEW
STRIPER LEADER REPORT – Saturday, April 24, 2010 . Although the past week’s striper reports were largely on the cheerful and positive side
there also were a few disappointed anglers in the mix. Still, there is no denying that this is probably the best striper run
we’ve seen in the past 3 or 4 years. As of this weekend the largest
fish were running at just below the 40 inch mark… and there were plenty of them reported in that slot range from 37
to 39 inches. Reports from Kingston and the Saugerties area were a bit too scanty to draw any conclusions but the Germantown
to Catskill area was very productive, even for trollers. . From Catskill all the way past Stockport / 4 mile Point to the Coxsackie Cliffs
the fishing was good to excellent and the reports from the Coeymans Brickyard to the Thruway Bridge were also of good action.
From there thru Bethlehem and past Albany the fishing is also very good but a lot of reports are of the herring being somewhat
scarcer up there now. Anyway you look at it the present fishing is great.
Do it, and don’t forget to wear your life jackets – it’s the law until the start of May. . Our present contest standings are: 1)
39 ¾ Tim Shutter 2) 39 ¼
Brett Williams 3)
38 ¾ Brian Bishop 4)
38 ½ John Munn . We’re waiting to see our first 40+ inch of this year’s run.
Tom G . ****************************************************************** . Hudson River NEW STRIPER LEADER
REPORT – Tuesday, April 20, 2010 We now have a new leader
in our striped bass contest. This 39 ¼ inch striper was caught by Brett Williams of Hudson and gives him his chance
to be on the leader board this year. Brett was using a live herring in the Stuyvesant area when he caught this good looking
fish. The reports from up and down the river continue to be good.
There seems to be quite few of these early stripers around so far, mostly now in the 24 to 38 inch range and in territory
all the way up top Troy. Although some anglers report the herring to be somewhat spotty the general impression we get is that
there is presently quite a goodly number around, and that number will be ever increasing from this point on. We should remember
that in a usual year right NOW is when the striper runs really start… not two weeks ago as occurred this year. This
leads to some wild speculation as to what might happen in the next week or two when the really big fish traditionally arrive.
This could really get wild. This morning, as has been the case
so far this week, there was a good early morning bite on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge run at Catskill. We are aware of several
anglers who boated 2, 3, or even 4 fish in that magical two hour period at the start of daylight. Make no mistake, that has
always been the prime time to be on the water. So our present contest standings are: . 1) 39 ¼”
Brett Williams 1)
38 ½” John Munno . Go get ‘em. Tom G . *********************************************************** . Hudson River STRIPER REPORT – Monday, April 19, 2010 Well,
it didn’t take too long to get our striped bass contest off to a good start. Early this morning at the crack of dawn
John Munno, our past 2006 contest winner, hit the waters of the Hudson River in the vicinity of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge
and discovered that yes, indeed, the stripers are here. Using herring as bait over a rock-gravel bottom in about 20 feet of
water he landed a 34 incher, lost a couple of others that were hooked and then boated the first contest entry of 2010 –
a 38 ½ inch beauty. Now, John knows, just as well as we here at
the River Basin Sports shop do, that there is no way this fish has a prayer of finishing in the money but it was his first
striper outing of 2010 and - the first contest entry of the year is always a premiere accomplishment here. Since it was the
first fish to be entered we also threw it on the shop scale and saw it tip the needle at 21 lbs 13 ounces. Fishing action in the Catskill – Stockport area of the river continues to be fair to
good. Slightly further south, around Germantown, decent action is also reported. We received a report from the Castleton T-way
bridge area of good action there over the weekend with fish up into the low 30 inch mark. And even up in the Albany-Troy area
there is decent action with a few stripers reported to be running up to around the 3 foot size although one report from there
is that the herring have become a little bit spotty. Our Striped Bass
Contest sign-ups concluded with a RECORD number of registrants – 604. As our participants are probably
aware - we are paying back 100% of the entry monies as prizes 1 through 6 to the entrants bringing in the
top six fish (length). That means that at least $9,060 will go to the winners. Further, the chances are good that there will
be an even greater payback than that since we have received assurances of additional support from another source. But in these
times of economic turmoil when things can change overnight we do not want to promise anything specific at present –
you know the old saying… “A fish in the net is worth two swimming in the river.” Anyhow, just on the basis of the registration fees taken in, the payback for 2010 is as follows: . 1) $4,530.00 2) $1,540.00 3)
$1,177.00 4) $ 815.00 5)
$ 543.00 6) $ 453.00 If we do receive the anticipated extra support then the first place payback would exceed $6,000, second
would be over $2,000, and so on down the line. Here’s a little bit
of good news for those of you who had been looking for that one Sabiki rig that was our top seller for the past 15 years but
was not to be found in 2010. This little jigging rig is considered to be the top one by many of the herring jiggers…
it’s the renowned “WALLY WHALE” and we just received a brand new shipment from China (no doubt, it was on
a the proverbial “slow boat from China”.) Tom
G . *************************************************************** . Striped Bass Contest Note - Monday, April 19, 2010 . Just a quick note - we have a leader in our 23rd Annual Striped
Bass Contest: a 38 1/2 incher. We'll post more details a little later. . ********************************************************** . Hudson River Report - Saturday, April 17, 2010 . Tomorrow is the final day to register for our 23rd Annual Striped
Bass Contest. The event, which starts on Monday, pays back for the top 6 longest fish with a guaranteed minimum payment
of $3,000.00 for the largest. The event runs through the end of May. Last year we paid out more than $11,000 in prize money and
first place earned $5,730. As of this minute the total number of entrants in our 100% pay-back event is 523.
It appears a certainty that we will exceed last year's 564 participants. . This morning the river at Catskill was
running at 53 degrees and was classified as stained. The first striped bass of the year was brought into the shop this afternoon
by Ed Perez of Athens. It was a 37 1/2 incher caught on a herring at 4 Mile Point to the north of Athens. The picture of Ed
can be found at the bottom of this page. Striper action so far has been fair all the way up and down the river. The 3 foot
long and longer fish appear to have started to show up during the past two days and we are expecting the real big cow fish
to start arriving next week. Good Luck. Tom G . *************************************************************
. . Hudson
River Update – Wednesday, April 14, 2010 . When
we took the river’s water temperature this morning and found it to be at the 53 degree mark we were somewhat pleased
– it had dropped about 2 degrees from what it had been several days ago. This is still warmer than what we usually expect
at this time of year by about 4 or 5 degrees, so we are actually running about 10 days or more ahead of normal. .
We always want the water to warm up rapidly in the early spring so
as to hasten the arrival of the herring and stripers but, of course, that already happened about a week and a half ago. From
that arrival point onward we want the water temperature to rise as slowly as possible. This is to delay the future start of
the striper spawn. Since the spawn takes place after the water warms to a few degrees above 60 and THAT’S when the stripers
start to leave you can see the rationale for this desire. But… that’s all a month in the future. .
The striper reports we have been getting lately cover the river from
about Poughkeepsie north to Troy and they have been quite uniform in content. There are stripers scattered all throughout
the waterway, but the keyword here is “scattered”. . A
couple of locations where there appear to be somewhat larger groupings of them are apparent. One such location is down around
the Kingston area and the other is at the Athens 4 Mile Point / Stockport Creek location. Still, as most of our early-run
striper fishermen have discovered the action could be a heck of a lot better - the fish are still sparse. Most of the reported
catch we’ve heard about has ranged between 22 and 34 inches. . The
one fish that seems to have been quite numerous during the past 3 or 4 days has been the shad. Even though there now is a
ban on catching and keeping… heck, a ban on even trying to catch a shad, a few have been inadvertently caught by anglers
using herring Sabiki rigs. And, judging from what we’ve been hearing so far, it appears that the shad numbers are way
up. . Since we are no longer allowed to use shad for
bait and presently the herring have become extremely difficult to catch, one other bait to use for stripers is “bloodworms.”
This saltwater worm exudes an aroma which really seems to turn the stripers on, even though these squirmy, many legged critters
most certainly are not native to our freshwater Hudson. You kind of hook them the same way you would a regular nightcrawler
except MUCH loser – you leave all kinds of worm loops dangling off the hook. . The main problem with bloodworms is that they do have a set of pinchers in their front end
which, on a real large worm, are capable of giving you a good shot of pain. Another problem is that all the other fish out
there like to eat them too… and they ain’t cheap. We just received our first shipment of them for this year and
have them available – a dozen for $11.00 plus tax. . The
cooler weather we have been getting the past 4 days or so has somewhat further slowed the action for both herring and stripers.
I mean, it was slow to start with but now is even slower. This will improve soon . We’re gonna cut this report short right now. Presently striper contest entries are up around
the 425 entrant mark; registration deadline is this Sunday and the contest starts on Monday the 19th. Don’t
hesitate to send your striper reports to us at “tomgriver at yahoo dot com.” Tom G . ***********************************************************
. Hudson River Update – Sunday, April 11, 2010 .
Following the initial bulge of herring that almost literally blew upriver
this past week the first stripers of the 2010 run also made a better showing than we had anticipated. Rather than the one
or two scattered early-April fish that we are accustomed to hearing about - this year we have been received numerous reports
of catches being made all the way from Newburgh to Troy. The early run
of herring appears to be far larger than we have seen in the past few years but the colder weather of the past 2 days seems
to have temporarily slowed the herring fishing down. Although the stripers
ARE around you should try to restrain your enthusiasm a bit during this early part of the run. There just are NOT THAT MANY
of them… yet. Look upon the stripers as sand in an hourglass – as time passes more and more
of these fish will gather here in our area. Their number grows and so does your chance of catching them. Most of the stripers being caught so far have ranged in size between 24 and 34 inches. Yesterday
Greg down in the Esopus Meadows section of the river reports having boated several between 28 and 30 inches while 25 miles
further upriver in the 4 Mile Point / Stockport Creek area Zach landed a 34 and several others in the 25 to 33 inch range
were taken. The previous day even the boys further upriver at New Baltimore brought some 24 to 30 inchers to shore. Success
was also reported from the Bethlehem and Troy locations. The fish were being caught on both chunk and live herring. So far we have not heard of any stripers over the 3 foot size being taken but
we are anticipating their arrival in the next week or two. Entries in
our 2010 STRIPED BASS CONTEST passed the 325 contestant mark yesterday. You have until the 18th to register for
this 100% payback event – just 1 week left! It pays back cash prizes to the top 6 finishers and guarantees a minimum
payment of $3,000 for the top fish. Tom G . *******************************************************************. Hudson River Update – Thursday, April 08, 2010 . As if
right on cue, the stripers have now shown up in the Catskill – Stockport section of the river. Herring fishermen have
reported some small stripers showing up in their herring nets and we are aware of a couple of fish in the 24 inch range having
been taken. This morning’s
water temperature in the river outside of Catskill Creek was around the 53 -54 degree mark – very warm for this early
in April. . If this year’s run follows previous patterns we should see a period of one to two weeks
from the time of the stripers’ first arrival until the larger fish start to show up. By larger I’m referring to
3 foot or longer specimens. However, considering the earliness and the strength of the first surge of herring to arrive the
delay until the arrival of the bigger stripers might be considerably less. .
Days until the start of the River
Basin Sports Shop’s 23rd annual striped bass contest – 11. Tom G . **************************************************** . Hudson River Update
– Tuesday P.M., April 7, 2010 . Herring are reported to be thick in the Postenkill as of yesterday, in the Albany
area. Tom G . **************************************************** . Hudson River Report –
Tuesday, April 7, 2010 . Things
are really starting to shape up as far as river conditions around the Catskill area go. This morning the river temperature
in the vicinity of the Catskill Creek mouth was running around 51 – 52 degrees and the water see-thru visibility had
improved to about 1 foot. Even though this now is definitely fishable water one must still be extremely careful of the plentiful
floating debris in the waterway. . As
we already reported, the herring are now in the river – and more than likely in the Albany area by this time. On Monday
the reports from Stockport were of huge schools of herring having entered that creek and we’ve already had reports of
them having arrived in the New Baltimore area. . And yes, we do have the first herring of the year NOW available for sale at the River Basin
Sports Shop. Since the present rules prevent us from selling to you in a live form (motor vehicle transport would be illegal)
we have them available in bags of three fresh (not alive) salted which can be legally transported. . Although some anglers use these dead herring
whole they are most commonly cut into 3 pieces and used as “chunk” bait. It’s important to remember that
the fresh smell of these chunks will wash out fairly quickly while fishing so the chunk should be replaced about every 10-15
minutes. For best success you should try to keep the fresh herring smell in the water at all times. . Don’t forget to sign up for our striped
bass contest before the end of registration on April 18th. As of the start of business this morning we already
had 242 entries in this 100% payback event… and as we have been writing this update more have been coming in. We are
guaranteeing a minimum first place payback of $3,000.00 in this event. The contest itself starts on April 19th. . For those of you looking
to get your gill net license for catching herring: the most immediate thing for you to do is to obtain the net application
form. The folks down on Long Island who handle this task are very helpful and are quick to respond to requests, so call them
ASAP and ask one to be sent to you. If you don’t already have a net you can get it later, but you have to get that registration
form in soon. The phone number for getting the form is (631) 444-0470; ask for the Hudson River herring gill net application.
The “scap nets” we sell at the River Basin or the “cast nets” (under 36 square feet in area) do not
require you to have any separate license as long as you are using them to gather herring just for your own use. . As always we welcome your striper related
fishing reports from both up and down the river and we try to get this information back out to you in a timely manner. This
helps all of us to better enjoy what’s become a premiere event here in the Hudson River valley – the annual striped
bass run. Although we welcome your reports you shouldn’t expect much of a reply from us since, at times, we wind up
with dozens of reports. Time just won’t allow this. The E-mail address to send your reports is TOMGRIVER at YAHOO dot
COM. . So - now the
herring are here and we know that the stripers will be close behind. Now we know that the winter is finally over!
Tom G . ********************************************************* . Hudson River Report – Monday, April 05, 2010 . It’s starting to happen. Yesterday I got a call from Wally Chudkoski downriver
in the Wappingers area. He reported that the river temperature down there was running in the 43 – 44 degree range and
that the Wappingers Creek was in the low 50’s… and that herring were there along with some smaller stripers.
. This morning in
Catskill the amount of floating debris in the creek and river had visibly diminished and the muddiness was definitely less
than what we saw at the end of last week. The Catskill Creek was measuring a temperature in the low 50’s and its smaller
feeder streams, such as the Vosenkill, were now feeding in clear water. And… the first herring of the 2010 run were
HERE! . OK, boys and
girls – it’s almost SHOW TIME. Stop procrastinating and get your gear ready. The stripers will
be here very soon… if they’re not here already. Tom G . . **********************************************. Hudson
River Report – Friday, April 02, 2010 . At just
about sunrise this morning, standing at the launch facility at Catskill and looking out over the Hudson River, one was confronted
with a scene that was probably the inspiration for the Hudson River School of art. Just fantastic! No wonder that famous artists
such as Catskill’s Thomas Cole and his across-river student Frederick Church took up residence here. . But then, looking down into the water
itself kind of woke me up to the reality of the situation – it was mud. I could actually see the swirls of mud in the
passing water flow... that’s about as bad as it gets. Most certainly this was not a good sign for all of us who have
been anticipating an early arrival of this year’s herring and stripers. . Since even under the best of times it takes the main river at Catskill about
two weeks to clear up it seems that, wishfully thinking, the striper run will probably occur at just about its NORMAL time
this year. So now we’re thinking that, other than perhaps for a few “scout” fish arriving earlier, sometime
in the third or fourth week we’ll see the first stripers from the main spring run caught here at our location. The herring
will be here somewhat earlier, no doubt, but won’t really be sighted until the water clarity improves. .
Still in all, on the bright side of things, the river’s temperature
this morning was 43 degrees. At this temperature we’ve definitely seen stripers arriving in years past even though the
calendar may indicate that it’s still somewhat early. Presently we have no new reports of any action proceeding up or
down the river. . Also on the bright side is the fact
that the launch ramp floats at Catskill’s Dutchman’s Landing Park were installed yesterday. Even though only about
half of the full length of the docks are in you can now launch and retrieve your fishing boat without getting your feet wet.
Still, be careful at low tides if your craft has a deeper draft and requires more water to float. . REMINDER Licenses
are required if you are going to fish in the Hudson River. If you are fishing ONLY for “salt water species” of
fish (striped bass, herring, etc.) you must have the Marine Species License. The annual cost is $10 for N.Y. residents and
$15 for non-residents. A regular N.Y. fishing license is not required. . If you are going to fish ONLY for fresh water species (catfish, black bass,
yellow perch, etc.) you must now (starting this year) have a N.Y. fishing license. The annual cost for residents is $29; non-residents
$70. A Marine Species license is not required. . That’s right, now a license of one type or another is required to fish the Hudson. We’ve
been expecting this requirement to be set in place for the past 3 decades and now, finally, it’s here. Both of these
licenses can be purchased at the River Basin, but keep in mind that license purchases are cash only. Yeah, I know…
I love New York! . TACKLE Your response to our web special baitrunner combo was fantastic these past couple
of weeks, but that deal has now concluded. We’ll try to get some similar stock in for that outfit and if we succeed
perhaps can offer it again in a few weeks. In the meantime, we do have another 8 – 10 different striper
baitrunner combos already set up at the shop to choose from. Stop in and take a look or perhaps take advantage of the following
offer. . For any of
you that want to pick up another baitrunner outfit for this year, here's the deal. Pair up any striped bass size baitrunner
reel in the shop with any striped bass rod and we’ll knock off an additional 10% on the price. This is not on any of
the combos we already have on display at the shop since these are already discounted. Again, this is just on striper combos
that you make up and is a web special – you must tell us you saw it on the web or else you won’t get it. . Additionally, when coming
to the shop do yourself a favor and bring in the spools from your striper reels to have us fill them for you. For striper
fishing with either chunk or live herring we recommend a minimum of 20 pound test mono line but 25 or 30 pound can also be
used if such is your preference. The charge is $8.00 for up to 200 yards (per spool). Any additional yardage needed to fill
the spool is 3 cents a yard. Level-wind (bait casting) reels require an additional $1.00 set-up charge. Just leave your old
line on the spools – we’ll strip it off and dispose of it for you. This is really the only way to go. . SPRINGTIME HOURS Starting
this weekend the River Basin will be operating on its spring striper-run schedule. We will be open 7 days a week – Sundays
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the entire rest of the week from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. This schedule will be in effect right through
to the end of our striped bass contest on May 31 when we will change back to our normal hours and be closed on Sundays and
Mondays. . STRIPED BASS CONTEST As of this morning the number of our 23rd annual striped bass contest
entries was just shy of the 200 entrant mark. We are expecting that number to more than double by the time the registration
period ends on April 18th. To participate in our contest you must have your $15 registration fee paid by that time
– the contest starts the very next day, April 19th. Tom
G . ****************************************************
. Hudson
River Report – Thursday, March 25, 2010 . This has been sort of quiet week as far as any striped bass reports go. Judging
by the calendar though we’re presently at a point just about a week earlier than a few of the dates we’ve seen
the first herring show up in the past. When we checked our records we find four instances during the past 30 years when they’ve
been in the Catskill Creek prior to the start of April. Those dates were: 1987
- March 30 1998 - March 30 2002 - March 29 2006
- March 31. It seems that the past decade or so has
been seeing early arrivals of herring far more often than prior to that. And now… the time IS getting short. . Two weeks ago things were
looking really great. The season appeared to be running about two weeks earlier than the norm… and then came a horrendous
snowstorm that dumped over 6 feet of snow onto some locations in our watershed. Fortunately the east side of the river was
spared the brunt of the snow but the Catskills got clobbered – even now there are, literally, “feet” of
snow at some locations up there. And, the melting of that white stuff will definitely keep our water temperature lower than
what we’d hope for during the next few weeks. . Still, there are a couple of bright spots. One of these was that last week there was a definite
preliminary pick up in the striper action. The stripers in the Peekskill area seemed to turn on. Granted, these were mostly
smaller fish purportedly 10 pounders or less, but they WERE active. . Now don’t get too excited - keep in mind that there are actually at least
two separate populations of stripers using the river and these active fish might have just been what are considered to be
the “resident” group. They actually over-winter down in that lower saltier-water area of the Hudson. The fish
we wait for here are actually the “sea-run” group. . The other bright spot was during that real warm spell last week when the air
temperatures hit the low 70’s. It was then that a few of the more meandering feeder creeks were actually dumping 48-49
degree water into the river and the main river in those sections was giving us temperature readings of
43 to 44 degrees. Man… that’s just about fishing time… but now the present cold snap has kind of put that
on delay and today’s report was of those same creeks cooling back to 43 degrees.. . The main questions for all of us striper fans along
the upper tidal Hudson is when will the waters warm sufficiently again and how much of a delay in the stripers arrival will
the muddy melt waters cause. But any way you look at it - you’d better start getting your gear ready. .
Speaking of gear, lots of you have been taking advantage of our web
special $99.99 striped bass combo (see our previous week’s report). We still have enough of this Okuma 65 / Pinnacle
40 lb. baitrunner outfit available so as to continue to offer it until April 1. After that it reverts back to its regular
combo price of $116.99 - which is already 10% below the normal single item price. Remember that you have to ask for the “special”
web price in order to get it. It’s not displayed in the store or advertised anywhere else. . Entries for our striped bass contest surpassed
the 100 mark at the beginning of this past week and everything seems to be going well. Remember that your $15 entry fee must
be paid by April 18th and that the contest starts the following day, the 19th. Who knows just what the
final payoff will be this year since everything is dependent on the total number of entries. We pay back 100% of all monies
taken in to the top 6 finishers and we do guarantee a minimum payback of $3,000.00 to the winning fish. Full details and rules
are listed on the entry form which is available at the shop. . Presently the River Basin’s business hours are Tuesday thru Saturday from 9:30 to 5,
but after April 1st we will be open 7 days a week – 8:30 to 5 except on Sundays when we’ll be here
from 9 to 1 p.m. This will be in effect thru May 30th. Tom G . ***************************************************************** . Hudson River Report – Wednesday
P.M., March 17, 2010 . Last week there were reports of a seal
being spotted in the Hudson about 20 miles south of Catskill. We hear such reports from time to time – as of a matter
of fact just last year there was a similar sighting. As interesting as such observations are there probably is an even greater
significance that is less apparent to the casual observer. . It’s
quite likely that seal last week was following one of the first schools of herring to come upriver this year. Just following
its food supply, and here in the river that would be the same as that for one of our migratory river fish species, the one
whose arrival hundreds of anglers eagerly await each year – the striped bass. . This winter the weather in our Hudson Valley region has been somewhat milder than usual. Here in the Catskill/
Athens area we only had 4 or 5 minor snowfalls and the snow from only one of them lasted longer than a week. It seems that
weather wise we’re running 1 to 2 weeks warmer than normal. This seems to be a portent of good things to come for all
striper fishermen... at least if the herring and striper runs are soon follow. The sighting of the river seal also seems to
bear this out. . The River Basin has kept
track of the striped bass arrival to the Catskill area for more than 30 years, all the way back to 1979. We track and log
in the earliest verifiable dates of their arrival. From observation we see that often the first to arrive apparently are loner
fish, sometimes called “scouts.” These may arrive up to 2 weeks earlier than any larger grouping of stripers.
Sometimes, if the river conditions are ideal, they will shoot right upriver all the way to Albany. But… if they encounter
muddier or colder water on the way up they’ll stop and seem to hold at the last ideal location for a while. .
Again, from observation here in the Catskill area we see that there can be
a lag time of 2 to 7 days from the time the first herring are reported to when the first grouping of catchable stripers seems
to arrive. Usually the herring get here sometime during the first 2 weeks of April usually being followed by stripers toward
the middle of the month. Exceptions always exist, such as in 2006 when both, the first stripers and herring, were caught to
the north of us, from the Stockport Creek on March 31. . Water temperature
is an important factor in the upriver migration of the fish. Generally we find the fish to start arriving when the river is
somewhere between 41 and 45 degrees. This morning I took the river temperature and found it to be 41. With the warm weather
predicted for the next few days this will probably warm up a little more yet. Considering the other earlier than normal season
indicators mentioned above, it’s possible we might see herring, or stripers, here earlier than we’ve ever logged
in before. Sounds good to me, but then again it’s probably just this bout of spring fever that’s affecting me. .
Each year at this time the River Basin puts together different combos, rods
and reels, just for striper fishing. The combo prices are generally 10 to 15% lower than if you were to buy the items separately
so it’s a good deal. But, also at this time of year we put together a special deal just for those of you who read to
this web site. This combo price is not advertised or displayed at the store – you have to ask for it in order to get
it. . This year’s special includes our very best selling striper
rod, a Pinnacle Coastal Power, 7 foot, “blue tip” stick rated for up to 40 pound test line. This rod has an interesting
history. . A few years
ago the cosmetics (guide wraps, guides, colors, real seat, etc.) on the pole had it appearing very similar to its much costlier
cousin, the Shakespeare Ugly Stick. Pinnacle even included the “clear tip” trademark that is found on its competitor
and went one step further by extending their factory warrantee - for 2 years longer than the Ugly Stick! . Needless to say the fight was on. The word is that Shakespeare was going to take them to court
and that the dispute was settled by having Pinnacle change the rod so it no longer looked like an Ugly Stick. Now the guide
wraps on the Pinnacle are a sharp looking teal blue and the clear tip has become clear “blue”. Further, although
the strength and durability of the rod have remained as before, it seems that the settlement must have forced them to not
match the warrantee of the Ugly Stick. But this made no difference – the rod turns out to still be the same GREAT rod.
. For our combo we’re pairing the above rod with our best
selling, striper sized, Okuma baitrunner reel – the Avenger ABF-65. As anybody who has fished a “baitrunner”
for stripers in a tidal flow river such as the Hudson will tell you – this type of reel is absolutely necessary equipment.
It really shines when you use either chunk or live bait but can still effectively troll or cast lures. This is a perfect back-up
reel if you only have one striper outfit but for the majority of anglers it is their primary reel of choice. . The Okuma will handle line weights up to 40 pound test with ease and shows a
spool capacity of 320 yards of 20 pound test monofilament. It has 6 ball bearings plus one roller bearing and its 4.5:1 gears
are ideal for this type of fishing. Throw an extra free spool into the box and you have a great setup. . Buying this rod and reel separately would cost you $127.00 at the shop. We do combo it up for
$116. For you, on our “web special”, the price is only $99.99 , a price that will only be good until April 1st
- or until we run out of either the rod or reel. It’s possible that we might get to offer this deal again later on,
but that’s only if we are able to obtain more of them. Remember that you must ask for this special price to get it. . .TIDERUNNERS BASS CLUB We have a new bass fishing club
that’s been formed here in the Catskill area – the TIDERUNNERS BASS CLUB. This new organization has an affiliation
with the nationwide “FLW” group and with its new New York State affiliate, the “NYTBF” federation. .
The formation of the Tiderunners was brought about by the dissatisfaction
of many members of the local Greene County Bassmasters group with the state BASS Federation. It seems that for just about
the past decade ever increasing amounts of dues monies have been funneled up to the national and state level but none of their
events have been coming here to our mid-Hudson region. When it was announced that the NYTBF would hold an event here this
year on July 11th, most of the present club members decided to join the new group and support of their effort at
bringing an event closer to our home base. . If you have a qualified
fishing boat and are interested in joining either of the two groups feel free to stop through the River Basin and ask me any
questions you have. I’ll be glad to tell you whatever I can. . THE
SKINNY ON THE NEW RIVER LICENSES As most of us are aware
new license rules for fishing the Hudson’s waters are in effect this year… but it’s all dependent on where
you look to discover which licenses are really required. If you look in the wrong place you might wind up in trouble, and…
even if you look in the right place you might still wind up in trouble. . At
the present time if you go onto the DEC website - you will get wrong information. And, if you thoroughly read the Freshwater
Fishing regulations guide that’s available where you buy your fishing license, you still might get the wrong information.
There’s contradictory data there also. . Here’s the
scoop for the waters of the Hudson north of the Tappan Zee Bridge, all the way up to Troy: . If you are going to fish for ANY saltwater species,
such as striped bass, herring, shad, tommy cod, bluefish, etc. – you MUST have a special $10 (for residents) Marine
Species license. If you are fishing these same waters for any freshwater species (catfish, black bass, crappie, white perch,
etc.) you MUST now also have a regular NYS fishing license ($29 for residents). . On the opposite side of the fence, if you are fishing these waters only for
the freshwater species you do NOT need to posses the Marine Species license. Further, if you are fishing the waters north
from the Tappan Zee Bridge all the way up to the head of tidewater at Troy just for the salt water species, you do NOT need
to posses the regular NY fishing license. . This is the way it
was explained to me. On the brighter side of things, even though the fishing regulations as printed in the present rules booklet
might be incorrect, somehow I’m sure that all the paid advertising filling its pages is entirely as it should be. Tom
G ******************************************************************* . Catskill Area Fishing Report –
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 . Walleye Season Now Closed
This past Monday saw the closing of the 2010 New York walleye season.
It will reopen again on the 1st of May this year - a time when our creek walleyes will have returned to the main
Hudson River and won’t be such easy prey for the anglers. The tidewater Catskill Creek, along with several other tributaries
on the lower Hudson River, experienced a good run of them this year. Most popular baits were yellow, chartreuse or white Mr.
Twister style curly tail grubs fished with 1/8 or ¼ ounce jig heads. Reports
were of some truly magnificent fish being caught, the biggest ones in the 10 to 14 pound range. Fortunately most of these
giants were taken by our more experienced anglers and were returned to the water. Hopefully they’ll be caught again
a year or two down the line – a time when they’ll weigh in closer to the state record size of 16 pounds 9 ounces.
This gives all of us something to shoot for in the next few years. . Trout
Although a good 3 feet or more of snow is still on the ground on some
parts of the Catskill Mountains even that is being quickly beat down by the warm temperatures we are seeing this week. With
the start of trout season barely 2 weeks away we can be sure that the streams will have enough water to provide excellent
fishing for us. Of course, any kind of prolonged rain spell will bring on small stream flooding and kind of throw a monkey
wrench into many an angler's plan. We’ll just wait and see. Our top trout streams for the opener, if the snows will
allow access – Batavia Kill, Schoharie and the Basic Creek; our baits of choice – nightcrawlers or Blue Fox spinners
in size 0 or 1. Don’t forget to get into our trout contest – entry fee is only $3.00. . Stripers We’re
preparing some stuff on stripers right now but don’t quite now when we’ll be able to finish and post it –
a day or two more perhaps. Check back. Tom G . ****************************************** . Hudson River Fishing Report – Tuesday,
March 09, 2010 . HERRING MEETING RESCHEDULED Even though we originally
posted the mailing we received from NYS ENCON regarding river herring meetings down below, now it seems that, for whatever
reason, the dates have changed. The new date for the Bethlehem meeting is on April 21 and the revised date for New Paltz is
April 15th. Thanks to those of you who dropped a line to us at TOMGRIVER @ YAHOO dot COM for letting us know. That
Email address can be used to send us striper reports once the run starts, but if you use it for other matters you won’t
get much of a reply. We found that it was just impossible to answer all your Emails since we were getting dozens a day so
please just use it for fishing reports. Thanks. Tom G . A NEW
YEAR Boy, didn’t the end of winter come fast here in Catskill - on the 26th of February the ice
in the Catskill Creek departed without the seemingly usual spring flooding. This is the 8th earliest date that
we here at the River Basin have recorded for the event during the 30 years we’ve been keeping records of such. Of course,
included in that figure are the years of 1998 and 2008 when the creek ice never got thick enough to support an ice fisherman.
Those were considered to be “no ice” years. The two years which saw the ice hang on the longest were 1994, March
22, and 1993 when it started to appear that it would last till summer but finally melted out on March 28. . The multi-day snowstorm 2 weeks ago had very little effect here in Catskill Village. We got 2 to 3 inches
at a time of the white stuff but it basically melted or was washed away by rain within a day or so. Unfortunately for our
locals living at slightly higher altitudes such as the mountaintop or in the Greenville Westerlo area, they got clobbered
by 5 to 6 feet of snow during the same period. When our trout season opens on April 1st this year we can expect
all the streams to be running quite high since it’s going to take a while for all that snow at those higher altitudes
to melt. TROUT CONTEST As is our tradition when trout season rolls around, the River Basin will be holding its annual
trout contest. This year it will run from daybreak on April 1st through noon Saturday April 17th. Registration
fee for the event is $3. This contest pays back prizes for the 2 longest trout brought back – the top angler gets an
ultra light Shakespeare Ugly Stick rod and reel trout combo while the runner-up receives a small pocket-size
Plano 3213 lure/tackle box. This contest is not meant to be a big thing, rather just something a little extra for our trout
anglers to shoot for. Registration fee for the event is $3 and the entry forms, which must be submitted BEFORE April 1st,
are available at the shop. WALLEYES With just a week to go before the close of the walleye season on March
15th most of the reports of action on the tidewater Catskill Creek have been fair to good. It appears that the
boaters are having the best luck but some shore-bound anglers have also caught their share. Most productive sections are up
at the very head of tidewater in the old Rushmore area and again on the very lowest part of the creek from the Hop-O-Nose
Point down to the junction with the Hudson River. Rumor is of one fish weighing over 14 lbs. being caught… and then
released. The angler who caught it feels confident that there is a possibility that the next state record walleye (presently
16 lbs 9 oz) might come out of our water. Most of our local anglers
are very conservation minded when it comes to the creek’s walleye run – I’ll bet that truly 98% of the fish
landed are released. Best baits appear to be curly tail grubs fished slowly along the bottom, and the same
method holds true for fishing with either medium size minnows or nightcrawlers. Rapalas trolled down at about the 10 foot
level will also produce if you can find some suspended walleyes in any area. . STRIPER CONTEST On the day that our walleye season closes, March 15th, our New
York striped bass season opens. The pursuit of these fish has become somewhat akin to what might have been the scene at the
start of the California gold rush. Hundreds of anglers all the way from West Point to the south and up as far north as the
head of tidewater at Troy take to the Hudson’s waters in pursuit of this delicious table fare. Many of these same anglers
will also be seeking one of the top six prizes in the RIVER BASIN’S 23rd ANNUAL STRIPED BASS CONTEST. Last
year the event set a new participant record - 564 entrants. . The contest’s top six places paid back more than $11,000 in 2009. The final results were as
follows: 1) Peter Longo,
Kingston, N.Y. - 46 ¾”, $5,730.00; 2) Kim Doyle,
Chichester, N.Y. – 46 ½”, $1,948.20; 3 & 4) TIE – Gerard Uhrik,
Tannersville, N.Y. and Walt Weglinski, Budd Lake, N.J. - 46”, split $2,521.20; 5)
Steve Hopf, Saugerties, N.Y. - 45”, $687.00; 6) TIE – Dan Fitzgerald,
Olive Bridge, N.Y. and Pat Dutkiewicz, Port Ewen, N.Y. - 44 ½”, split $573, 00. The
above paybacks were all a part of the more than $11,000.00 contest payback. The competition will
run from April 19th thru May 30th this year.
. The event’s
fishing range is between the Federal Lock at Troy and West Point to the south. The entry/registration fee $15. Minimum entry
age is 14, but 14 and 15 year olds must present parental permission. You must be registered by the close of business on April
18th. We pay back 100% of all entry fees, and guarantee a minimum of $3,000 payback for the top (longest) place
fish. Final payback amounts are determined by the total number of fishermen entering and usually are considerably higher than
expected. Could you find a use for that money if you won? – last year’s winner used his for a down payment on
a house. You could probably find something just as noteworthy to use it for. . STRIPER ARRIVAL AND EQUIPMENT Of course the stripers will be absent here
at the time of their season opener. Their usual arrival is in the month of April with an occasional rare report of a “scout”
fish being caught at the very end of March or in the first week of April when the water is still in the 41 - 42 degree range.
More fish start to show up after mid-April and then we start seeing some of the big cow stripers arriving during the final
week of the same month. Overall we’d have to say that your best odds of getting a 40 pound or larger fish would be during
the period starting the last week of April and extending into the third week of May.
. We here at the shop are just about set with all the equipment and tackle you’ll need to take
on the big linesiders when they arrive. Presently the River Basin has 27 different “baitrunner” reels on its shelves
to choose from. If you use spinning gear to bait-fish for stripers, as about 90 of the anglers do, then you really should
be using one of these reels – they make the whole affair much easier. If you don’t know what we’re talking
about then stop thru the shop and we’ll be glad to demonstrate how they work. Besides these reels we have a plentiful supply of heavy duty striper rods to match. For the big fish
in the river we suggest using those rated for up to 30 or 40 pound test line. Striper hooks and rigs of all kinds are also
in stock as are river sinkers, huge landing nets, herring (Sabiki) rigs, herring gill and scap nets, herring holding pens
and live tanks, river maps, stoolies, and a plethora of heavy duty snaps, swivels, slides and lines. Additionally, we can
re-spool your reels with premium Berkley Trilene or Big Game lines of up to 30 pound test. Other essentials such as river
maps and both the NY State fishing license and the Marine Species license are available at the store. . ********************************************************** River report - Sunday Feb. 28, 2010 The ice went out of the Catskill Creek on February 26, 2010. We're aware of several anglers
trying for walleyes but have not heard of any successful outing as of yet. . **************************************************** Hudson River Short note - Thursday February 25, 2010 The ice in the lower Catskill Creek appears poised to go. It's been breaking up from the river
upstream towards Riverview Marine but still is hanging on - definitely not safe to go on. Further up the Creek there now is
open water by the Catskill High School dock and the possibility for some walleye fishing now exists. Keep in mind that walleye
season closes March 15. . Here at the shop we finally received the shipment
of herring scap nets that we ordered back in December but it will still be a couple of weeks before we have them ready to
sell. The notice at the top of this missive if of ENCON meetings to be held
in regard to the use of herring from the Hudson. The determination of the amount of herring catch and use is supposed
to be formulated at such meetings but many anglers feel that they are just a "show" farce. Still, you should
try to attend and voice your concerns. There are NO changes in the herring regulations for this year.
Tom G . ********************************************* Catskill / Hudson River Fishing Rumor Report – Friday, February 12, 2010 Lately rumors have been circulating about the possibility of the imposition of a special permit (a.k.a. – license)
for catching (possessing?) herring. Additionally - there might be a limit on how many herring you are allowed to have. Wouldn’t
that be just great on top of the already ridiculous herring transport restrictions and the license fee increases that have
hit our striped bass anglers this year. All that we’ve heard so far have been rumors – hopefully they’ll
remain so. Here at the shop we already have some of this year’s striped bass contest entry forms
ready for dispersal. You can stop thru and pick up whatever you need. We’re working hard to get this years tackle inventoried,
logged onto the computer and out onto display and making some headway but this is a process that won’t be totally completed
for weeks. “Herring pens” are now available and we have a few herring “live”
tanks out on the floor. Unfortunately this year’s scap net shipment is seemingly lost somewhere out in UPS land right
now and we don’t really know when to expect those to arrive. The gal handling this messed-up net transaction actually
yelled at me over the phone yesterday so I figure I’ll cool my heels until next week before calling her again. Of course
– they already charged my card for this merchandise over a month ago. Enjoy the end of winter. Tom
G ******************************************************* STRIPED BASS NOTE, Feb 4, 2010 - One of our readers (Bobb)
forewarded this following correspondence to us. It might be worth your while reading it and perhaps taking action on it.
Tom G Stripers Forever members – some great news from the State of New York. A4112,
a bill to prohibit commercial fishing for striped bass in the Hudson River – effectively
making it a game fish there - has already passed the Assembly. S4948, the Senate version of this bill,
is coming up for a hearing before the Environmental Conservation Committee on Feb. 23. The bill is sponsored by Senator
Antoine M. Thompson, the Chairman of the committee. The Hudson is the second largest spawning ground for striped bass;
keeping it free from the pressures of commercial gill netting is vital to the health of the striper population. We
all need to get behind this bill now to make sure it takes effect.
Here is what you can do to help: - If you are
a NY State resident you should e-mail or even better, phone, write and e-mail the office of your
state senator today and tell him or her that you want their support for S4948, the bill to protect
Hudson River striped bass from the pressures of commercial fishing. You should also send a copy of your e-mail or letter
to all Senators on the Environmental Conservation committee.
- If you are not a NY State resident you should
still e-mail or write the Senators on the committee and tell them that striped bass spawned in the Hudson are important to
the whole coastal fishery, and that they should be protected from commercial harvest. If you fish the Hudson for stripers,
especially if you travel to get there, stay in a hotel, or fish with a guide, please be sure to point this out in your communication.
The economic benefits are key rationale for this bill.
Here are the
e-mail links that you will need: Be aware that a handful of shad gill netters on the Hudson are clamoring to be
allowed to net stripers now that the shad are gone. They have their supporters; we must make sure that this additional
pressure is not put on the already struggling striped bass population. With the fishing
pressure and disease issues that persist in the Chesapeake Bay striper stocks, we can’t
allow the Hudson to go back to the commercial striper
fishing that nearly wiped it out more than 30 years ago.
NY residents, here is a sample letter to copy, paste, and send to your senator.
Please feel free to modify it into your own words, and to add whatever additional comments you want. Your letters
to senators on the Committee can be essentially the same except for not saying that you live in their district.
Dear Senator (name):
My name is (your name) and
I live in your district in the town of ( your town). The future of striped bass
is very important to me. Thirty years ago Hudson River stripers were almost wiped out by commercial fishing pressure.
The fishery has been closed to commercial fishing since 1976, and the population has recovered, though breeding age
fish are under intense fishing pressure in the ocean. Striped bass support a robust recreational fishery that is very valuable to the economies of the towns
from Troy to Manhattan. Senate bill S4948 has been referred to the Environmental Conservation Committee.
It is very important to me that you support this bill.
Sincerely, Your Name, Town, State your e-mail address and phone number
For those residing outside of NY, here is a sample letter to copy, paste, and send
to members of the Environmental Conservation Committee. Please feel free to modify it into your own words, and to add
whatever additional comments you want. Please try to send it to every member of the committee. My name is (your name) and I live (town, state). I am writing
to urge you to support S4948, the bill to protect Hudson River striped bass from the resumption of commercial
fishing. The Hudson River is one of the major spawning areas for the migratory East
coast striped bass stock. This is the most important recreational salt water species
in America. Like all saltwater species, stripers are already threatened by intense fishing pressure and pollution. Thirty
years ago Hudson River stripers were almost wiped out by commercial fishing pressure. This fishery has been closed to
commercial harvest since 1976, and the population has recovered, though breeding age fish are under heavy fishing pressure
in the ocean. Senate bill S4948 has been referred to the Environmental Conservation Committee. It
is very important to me that you support this bill.
Sincerely, Your Name, Town, State your e-mail address and phone number ********************************************************* Catskill / Hudson River Fishing Report – Tuesday, February 2,
2010 It’s ground hog day today and, true to tradition, they dragged ole’ Punxsutawney
Phil out of his cage down there in Pennsylvania. I didn’t hear if he saw his shadow or not since
I had the TV on mute this morning. I was just watching to see if the critter would bite the guy holding him. That’s
what happened last year. I don’t think it happened today… but the guy wasn’t taking any chances –
he was wearing gloves. Here in the Catskill area our first sign of spring occurred last
week on January 25th when all the ice on the lower Catskill Creek went out. The creek has once more frozen over
since then but not thick enough yet to bear the weight of an ice fisherman. Just the day before the ice went out however I
did observe 4 or 5 guys down there trying their luck. I doubt if they caught much since they were too far down towards the
Hudson – the better ice fishing generally occurs several hundred yards further up the creek. Here at the RIVER BASIN we’re preparing to re-open the shop this Thursday after a month long closure. The closure
occurs each year at this time as my wife Linda and I attend several different sporting goods shows up and down the east coast
to order supplies for the coming year. All that stuff, many thousands of individual items, is starting to arrive now and as
it gets stacked up in the back room it seems like an overwhelming task in front of us to get checked in and onto the shop
floor. It’s a task that will, in actuality, take many weeks.
The first items we’ll
try to get out will be striped bass and trout gear - this will be the most in demand for our early season, the striper stuff
in particular. During the past 20 years striper tackle has become the priority merchandise for us and we’ll have tons
of it. Glancing over my shoulder at the fishing reels I can count 20 DIFFERENT “baitrunner” models for the linesiders
already here, in stock… and there are others yet to arrive. Heavy duty rods, heavy river sinkers, herring catcher rigs
(sabikis), large octopus and J hooks, different terminal tackle rigs, large striper plugs, huge striper boat nets, herring
throw nets and gill nets and all kinds of miscellaneous tackle – all this is either already here or on it’s way. Keep in mind that the state has changed a couple of items of interest to you striper fishermen. One of
these is a prohibition of the catching of any shad (some anglers preferred the use of shad chunks as striper bait).
So, all two dozen of you sport fishing shad guys up and down the 120 miles of Hudson river shoreline that actually
get out once or twice a year to try for shad – you’d better change your plans. And, oh yes – the commercial
gill netters who were allowed to net them wholesale last year while the poor sport anglers were restricted to 1 fish a day
(zero if you went and read and believed the state’s on-line web site), those guys have also lost their privilege. The second change affecting you river anglers is the mandate that you now MUST possess a standard New
York fishing license as well as an ADDITIONAL special license if you are going to fish for any species considered to possibly
have entered the waterway from salt water. Species included here would be striped bass, herring, shad, tommy cod, etc. Note
- if you fish the waterway just for “freshwater” species such as black bass, catfish, yellow perch, etc. –
you do NOT have to have this additional license. By the way, if you have yet to buy your
fishing license be prepared to shell out more money. Starting this 2010 season the resident NY license costs $29 and the non-resident
license has jumped the $70… welcome to New York… and, don’t forget to tack on an additional $10 for the
new marine species license. By the way – this IS a “marine species” license which is supposed to apply to
ANY body of water in the state. So, to us it sounds as if you were to catch a striped bass out of some reservoir or quarry
hole where somebody might have released it you must have one of these salt water licenses. Boy, won’t the game wardens
be having fun this year. We received our first 2010 shipment of certified live bait
(golden shiners) at the shop today so we’ll be ready for business when we reopen for business on this Thursday, February
the 4th. We also have nightcrawlers and mousee grubs in stock, should you need them. Our on-line updates here will be somewhat sporadic until we get further along into the fishing season. We’ll
post information about this year’s upcoming striped bass contest as soon as we have a little more time to work out the
details but can let you know that the event this year will run from April 19th through May 30th (12
noon). Last year this event drew 564 participants and paid back over $11,000 in prizes for the top 6 fish including $5,730
for first place, $1,948 for second and $1,489 for third. Tom G
******************************************
BE SURE TO GO TO THE "PICTURES" PAGE TO SEE ADDITIONAL SHOTS OF GREAT FISH!
For FISHING REPORTS
from earlier this year, visit our archives at "HUDSONRIVERFISHING.COM".
|
