Freshwater Fishing, Fisheries Management, and Fishing Access News In This Issue: - DEC Fisheries - 2022 Year in Review
- Lake Erie Angler Survey Update
- Regulation Reminder - Sunfish & Crappie
- Fishing Line 2023 - What do you want to see?
DEC Fisheries - 2022 Year in Review This past year was a busy one for Fisheries staff across the state! The list is by no means all inclusive, but just some noteworthy items and highlights of what we've accomplished towards improving our fisheries to making angling even better in New York.  1. The lake sturgeon population in the Upper St. Lawrence River surpassed metrics for spawning adult and juvenile recruitment as part of the Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan. New York now has self-sustaining populations in four of the seven management areas in the state. (Lake sturgeon can be removed from the list of threatened species when metrics are met in six of the management areas.) This is promising news for New York's largest (and oldest) freshwater fish!
For more information on this milestone visit our website. 2.  As one of our top priorities to provide more useful information to our anglers we added a new feature to DEC's official app, HuntFishNY, called The Tackle Box. Now, fishing regulations, boating access and stocking information are all available within a map-based interface from the convenience of your smart phone. Other features include driving directions to state-operated boat launch sites and an offline feature that allows you to access information when cell coverage isn't available. 3. Two New York anglers established new state records this past year. - Bailey Williams (Watertown, NY) caught a 35 lb. 12 oz. channel catfish from the Black River, Jefferson County on May 8, 2022.
- Thomas Russell Jr. (Albion, NY) reeled in an 8 lb. 6 oz. smallmouth bass from Cayuga Lake, Seneca County on June 15, 2022.
Click here to see images of these record breakers. 4. The grounds of our most visited hatchery, Salmon River Fish Hatchery got a major facelift when construction wrapped up this past Fall. The fish ladder was fully replaced and new (and larger) observation decks were built so visitors can get an even better view of the salmon making their way up the river to spawn. Visiting the Salmon River Fish Hatchery 5.  We kicked off the Big Panfish Initiative (BPI), a pilot program developed to create unique opportunities to catch trophy-size bluegill and crappie in experimental waters. We changed the harvest regulations on those waters in order to allow fish to grow to more desirable sizes. To learn more about this exciting initiative, including "participating" waters, visit our Sunfish and Crappie Management webpage. 6. DEC contracted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services (USDA) to protect newly stocked fish from predation by hazing Double Crested Cormorants at Lake Ontario stocking sites. USDA staff hazed cormorants on 18 days, covering 13 stocking events, and protected approximately 816,000 stocked salmon and trout. This effort resulted in protecting approximately 32% of all fish stocked in Lake Ontario from bird predation. 7. To ensure we're achieving the desired outcomes of the Trout Stream Management Plan, we continued our evaluation of the current trout stream reach categorizations. In 2022, 20 stream reaches were surveyed for this purpose. Based on angler use and/or biological status of the reach we've made 127 changes since the plan was implemented in 2020. Notably, 12 reaches were converted from 'Stocked' to 'Wild Quality' because wild trout were abundant enough to provide a quality wild trout fishing experience. Categorization of New York State Trout Stream Reaches - updated March 2022  8. The information that anglers provide us during a creel survey is vital for effective fisheries management. DEC staff were busier than normal conducting these surveys on a number of high-use fisheries in 2022, including Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Esopus Creek, Black Lake, Otisco Lake, Skaneateles Lake, Chautauqua Lake, Lake Champlain and Oneida Lake (conducted in partnership with Cornell University). We'll be sure to share the results from these surveys this spring.
9. Experimental stocking policies for eleven Adirondack brook trout ponds were evaluated in 2022 through netting surveys. The objective was to determine if an initial stocking would result in a self-sustaining population three years later. Of the 11 ponds, 6 supported natural populations and no longer need to be stocked. Stocking policies will be reinstated for three ponds where there was no evidence of natural reproduction and two ponds that had limited natural reproduction. Removing stocking policies from six waters will cut down on costs associated with raising the fish in our hatcheries, as well as air stocking them through the NY State Police Aviation Unit- all without sacrificing future fishing opportunities for anglers. New waters are being selected for 2023 so we can continue to evaluate this study.  10. Efforts to restore round whitefish populations from the effects of acid rain and non-native fish introductions are paying off. In 2022, natural reproduction was reported in three previously stocked ponds. Ledge Pond (Franklin County), West Lake (Hamilton County) and Fishbrook Pond (Washington County) all showed healthy surviving adults and naturally reproduced smaller fish. These gains along with past successes will allow DEC to recommend downgrading round whitefish from Endangered to a Threatened species in New York.
2022 Lake Erie Open Lake Angler Survey Summary  Overall angler effort in the NY waters of Lake Erie was up 36% from 2021 primarily due to an increase in walleye fishing pressure.
Walleye: The walleye bite was very good in 2022, with walleye anglers catching 0.46 walleye per angler hour (4th best in the 35-year survey). Anglers targeting walleye harvested about 4.5 walleye per boat trip, and 11% of walleye anglers achieved a 6 fish limit, both of which are well above average for the survey. The average length of a harvested walleye was 20.4 inches.
Smallmouth Bass: Smallmouth bass fishing was above average in 2022 (1.09 fish caught per angler hour), with the majority of the angling effort based out of Buffalo Harbor. Bass anglers caught about 14 bass per boat trip in 2022. Anglers released almost 99% of the bass they caught in 2022, which lines up with the catch-and-release fishing trend by bass anglers. Yellow Perch: Yellow perch fishing was the 8th best in the 35-year survey (2.16 fish caught per angler hour) with anglers catching about 29 perch per boat trip. April perch fishing made up 48% of the fishing effort and 53% of the catch. About 3% of yellow perch anglers achieved a 50 fish limit with an average size of 11.2 inches, the 5th highest average length in the time series. Complete results will be available this winter in DEC's Lake Erie Unit Annual Report.
 Regulation Reminder - Sunfish & Crappie As ice fishing season gets underway, we want to remind anglers that the daily limit for sunfish is now 25 fish per day, and the minimum size limit for crappie is 10". These regulations went into effect earlier this past year to promote more sustainable and higher quality fisheries. Freshwater Fishing Regulations Sunfish and Crappie Management
Fishing Line 2023 - What do you want to see? From the work that we do, to the information you need to get out and enjoy our state's great fisheries, we hope that you find the content we provide useful and interesting. Let us know what topics you'd like to read about in 2023. Send us an email. The Bureau of Fisheries wishes you a year full of great memories made on the water! | 
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