Published: December 17, 2007 11:00 pm      

BILL HILTS JR.: Lake Ontario stakeholders submit Santa list to DEC

With Christmas just around the corner and an important Lake Ontario Stakeholders meeting set for this week with the DEC hierarchy, the grassroots sportsmen, charter captains, tourism groups and the business community will be submitting their list for Santa when they convene in Waterloo on Tuesday. Only time will tell if the Lake Ontario Sportfishing Stakeholders Council has been good or bad. Hopefully we won’t end up with a lump of coal in their stocking.

LOSSC met in Rochester last week to discuss one very important topic that could have an impact on everyone’s future — what’s happening with this year’s salmon egg take and how will it be dealt with? After a quick update on what happened, from the Salmon River coming up short because of low water levels to the gallant effort by local anglers to assist DEC in the taking of another million eggs. DEC had to wait for the salmon eggs to “eye up” which normally takes about four weeks. The bad news that was announced at the meeting was that we were looking at something like 1.2 million to 1.5 million eggs eyeing up from the two million taken.

This does not spell “doom and gloom” for the future, but it will be important how the whole public relations issue will be tackled by the state, as well as what else will be put into place to counteract and balance the shortfall. In fact, the Christmas wish list put together for Lake Ontario was quite impressive.

Capt. Bob Songin of Rochester was quick to point out the importance of using the pen projects with a smaller stocking of fish to improve their survival rate. It might be time to revive the Niagara River salmon pen rearing project, too. Right now, the Niagara River Anglers project involves only steelhead. Going hand in hand with the pen projects along the lake was a special effort to accelerate salmon growth at the Salmon River Fish Hatchery for the pens. Bigger fish mean greater survival and it was emphasized that the hatchery must continue with this program. They need to be in place in the pens as early as possible.

Ontario has its own salmon-stocking program in place for Lake Ontario and while it didn’t have any extra eggs to share, there could be some extra fish to pass along before it’s all over. New York and Ontario are limited by agreement to not stock over a certain number of salmon. DEC needs to work with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to stock any extra fish into the lake, preferably the Niagara River.

Another important point was to replace whatever difference is left (roughly 2.2 million salmon are stocked annually into the lake by both sides) with other fish species. We know that DEC took additional Coho salmon eggs this fall.

Maybe we could stock additional steelhead or brown trout, too. It all depends on where we stand in the hatchery picture. LOSSC also stressed the importance of developing a contingency plan should this situation ever arise again in the future. Let’s not wait until the salmon season is almost over before reacting and scrambling at the last minute to come up with eggs.

Whatever number of salmon DEC comes up with for Lake Ontario, 375,000 will be taken right off the top for the Salmon River. The rest of the lake along New York will receive the remainder of the fish on a percentage basis. Where they end up could also depend on water temperatures at the time the salmon are ready, water flow and more. The bottom line, though, is it doesn’t have to be a negative spin. We’ll have an update for you in a future column.

NRAA silver anniversary dinner is Jan. 19

The Niagara River Anglers Association will be celebrating 25 years when the storied club joins together for a silver anniversary gala Jan. 19 at Antonio’s Restaurant and Banquet Center in Niagara Falls.

It promises to be an enjoyable evening, reflecting on two and a half decades of accomplishments, achievements and fun times. Ever since they first convened in a back room of Stan Stopa’s Live Bait Shop in Niagara Falls, the club has been a voice for sportsmen through conservation, education, access, youth activities and special events.

The NRAA’s walleye rearing project became a model for the state’s aquaculture program for sportsmen’s clubs, with the club stocking hundreds of thousands of walleye into the Lower Niagara River over the 20-some years the project has been around. One of the high points of the club came when they were recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as one of the top sportsmen’s clubs in the country. We could go on regarding all its accomplishments, but we’ll have to save that for dinner.

Tickets are $25, $45 for a couple. Music and dancing will conclude the evening’s festivities. For more information, contact Dave Faccini at 297-9316.

Optics book a good Christmas gift

Before you go out and buy that riflescope, spotting scope, rangefinder or pair of binoculars, the perfect present for the avid hunter might well be a new book written by well-known outdoor writer Thomas McIntyre. “The Field and Stream Hunting Optics Handbook” is the perfect guide to finding out what you need — or don’t need — when it comes to hunting. This expert guide to optical equipment breaks things down in a way you can understand, with the author using his own insight from spending thousands of hours afield. At just $19.95 for 168 pages of excellent information, it’s a great buy and can help save you from buying the wrong optical equipment. Better yet, it can lead to an educated purchase and ultimately to a successful hunt(s). The book is printed by Lyons Press and can be found at www.globepequot.com.

Keep those feet warm

As we get older, the extremities don’t seem to stay as warm any more — especially the feet. I’ve tried a bunch of different gimmicks through the years and Thermalfeet footwarmers have been one of the best products I’ve found — simple to use, not cumbersome and it works, using heat pack technology. A new full boot warmer is now available, that can be worn over your boots. It holds a heat pack on the outside in an insulated pocket. By heating the boot on the outside, it helps keep your feet from getting cold in the first place. It also allows the heat packs open access to the necessary oxygen needed to maintain their warmth. I would recommend them. Log on to www.thermalfeet.com for more information.

Bill Hilts Jr. is the outdoor sports specialist with the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation. Contact him at bhiltsjr69@cs.com.