February 22, 2011 - Francis E Walter 2011 Flow Plan
Well,
here we go. It is that time of year for the Agencies (PFBC, ACOE,
DCNR, DRBC) to roll out the Francis
E Walter Flow Plan. And just like last year and all the years
prior to that since inception, the fishery is pretty much at the
bottom of the totem pole when it comes to priority. There is no
doubt that whitewater releases are the goal of these Plans and
anyone from the Agencies that says enhancing the trout fishery
is a priority is kidding themselves! The problem is there is just
only so much water right now available for the fishery and whitewater,
and until the ecosystem is given more of it, the fishery will
forever suffer. This is a fact!
As far as the specifics of the
plan, it is almost identical to last years. So with this being
the case, lets hope Mother Nature plays a bit nicer this go round
so that we get a season that lasts longer than mid-June. One thing
though that we did learn from last years rough (i.e., HOT) water
conditions is that the trout do find a way to survive as was indicated
to the decent catches of trout during the fall season.
Anyway, the chart pasted to the
right are the dates of the whitewater releases for 2011. It is
a good idea to stay away from the middle river (Gorge area) during
these days, but you might be able to sneak in an afternoon or
evening outing if you hit it near the dam on a day of a release.
Or you could hit the lower river (Lehighton downstream) in the
morning of a release for potentially some action. However, the
fishing after a release subsides tends to be a little iffy.
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