DirksOutdoors
West Branch Delaware River: About that Boat Traffic...
Back in early June of 2020, I received an email from my oldest son Dan and the email had a link to a blog posting on a website. The blog posting was well-written and struck a cord (or you might even call it a nerve actually) regarding the issue of boat traffic on the West Branch of the Delaware River. If you've fished the West Branch - especially during prime trout fishing season - it's world-class reputation is well-earned (and it is a world-class fishery at that). It is - in my opinion - comparable to most any western trout river. Therein lies the problem. It's excellent reputation for producing excellent high quality trout has the unintended consequence of creating a stream of boat traffic. That boat traffic can very often render the river limited in fishing space. I know because I have often found myself having to skip past planted boats. Everyone knows the "good spots" and so those spots are in demand and sought after.
A note about the boat traffic. Many years ago - most of the boat traffic on this river was mostly confined to professional fishing guides and recreational boaters. Today, added to this traffic is an armada of boats that provide additional boat flow. Now, many anglers have their own three-person guide boats or own fishing kayaks and can access the river which offers limited wading access. All-in, the mixture of professional guide boats and everything in between has created a situation where crowding on the river is a problem.
As far as I can tell - most anglers who fish the West Branch agree there is an issue. How to solve that is the $64,000 question and a thorny one at that. Join us in this podcast where Jeff Skelding, Executive Director of the Friends of the Upper Delaware, my son Dan and myself discuss this complex but important issue of water access and fishing quality.
Does this issue of boat crowding dilute the quality fishing experience of this river?
Here's the link to the blog post that started us on this discussion path:
https://bucketlistangler.com/the-delicate-question-of-whether-to-govern-boat-traffic-the-west-branch-of-the-delaware/
Thanks for listening to the show!
Dave
DirksOutdoors Radio Show
www.dirksoutdoors.com
dirksoutdoors@gmail.com
Back in early June of 2020, I received an email from my oldest son Dan and the email had a link to a blog posting on a website. The blog posting was well-written and struck a cord (or you might even call it a nerve actually) regarding the issue of boat traffic on the West Branch of the Delaware River. If you've fished the West Branch - especially during prime trout fishing season - it's world-class reputation is well-earned (and it is a world-class fishery at that). It is - in my opinion - comparable to most any western trout river. Therein lies the problem. It's excellent reputation for producing excellent high quality trout has the unintended consequence of creating a stream of boat traffic. That boat traffic can very often render the river limited in fishing space. I know because I have often found myself having to skip past planted boats. Everyone knows the "good spots" and so those spots are in demand and sought after.
A note about the boat traffic. Many years ago - most of the boat traffic on this river was mostly confined to professional fishing guides and recreational boaters. Today, added to this traffic is an armada of boats that provide additional boat flow. Now, many anglers have their own three-person guide boats or own fishing kayaks and can access the river which offers limited wading access. All-in, the mixture of professional guide boats and everything in between has created a situation where crowding on the river is a problem.
As far as I can tell - most anglers who fish the West Branch agree there is an issue. How to solve that is the $64,000 question and a thorny one at that. Join us in this podcast where Jeff Skelding, Executive Director of the Friends of the Upper Delaware, my son Dan and myself discuss this complex but important issue of water access and fishing quality.
Does this issue of boat crowding dilute the quality fishing experience of this river?
Here's the link to the blog post that started us on this discussion path:
https://bucketlistangler.com/the-delicate-question-of-whether-to-govern-boat-traffic-the-west-branch-of-the-delaware/
Thanks for listening to the show!
Dave
DirksOutdoors Radio Show
www.dirksoutdoors.com
dirksoutdoors@gmail.com