News

FISHING WITH ELAINE

It was early Monday morning when I heard the door to my house open announcing the arrival
of my granddaughter Elaine as her mother dropped her off on her way to work. For the past
year now I had been watching my granddaughter every Monday while her mother went to
work. As almost on cue and with a big smile I was greeted with, “We going fishing today Papa?”
My four year old granddaughter is already an avid fishing lady and very adept at it for her age; I
answered the little tike with “of course we are” which made her beaming smile even bigger.
About an hour later we were driving to the local convenience store to buy some night crawlers
and after obtaining them, drove to Schodack Island State Park to try our luck at angling for the
day. The thing about fishing the Hudson River at the Park is you never know what you are going
to catch while fishing there. If it swims in NYS it’s more than likely in the Hudson River, from
Eels and perch to sturgeon. With me carrying a pole and Elaine carrying hers (Zebco 202 rod
and reel) we got to the river and got ready. As I checked the poles and their rigging Elaine
reached in the container and grabbed two night crawlers for me to put on our hooks. I cast my
line out and the capable youngster did the same.

It wasn’t long and the end of the rod she was using started bouncing and she shouted “I got a
bite” and she set the hook and reeled in what turned out to be a white perch. After she
“petted” her fish it was returned to catch another day. This was repeated by us both numerous
times for the next hour or so. along with a catfish or two being caught and released. Almost out
of bait and near the last cast I heard “I got a bite again” from Elaine. After she set the hook, the
rod bent more than from a perch I could tell. She was struggling with this fish quite a bit and I
asked if she wanted help which she refused. Elaine started backing up instead of reeling in her
line and I instructed her not to do so but to reel in the fish not try and pull it in. After about ten
minutes my granddaughter landed a sheepshead (Fresh Water Drum) about twenty inches long.
Sheepshead fight very hard and you think you have a whale when you catch them and her arms
were tired. After a few pictures were taken and the dish ‘petted’ it was returned to the river to
thrive and be caught by another youngster on another day. With Elaine smiling still, I could tell
she was exhausted from fighting the fish so I asked her if she wanted to go to the playground
which is also at the Park. She agreed and so we packed our fishing gear and left it in my truck
and proceeded to the playground. While she went on the swings, slides and zip-line all she kept
talking about was her” Big Fish”. After awhile we left the park and returned home where a very
excited but tired 4 year old took a nap . I sat and thought that it’s days and experiences like this
that she and my other grandchildren will remember not days looking at video games and I
myself do the same as I smile thinking of my day of fishing with Elaine!

The Rensselaer County Conservation Alliance (RCCA) encourages every adult to take a kid
fishing or get them involved in the out of doors and into nature. It is our mission to do so and
educate our youth and the general public in such endeavors. The smiles we see are priceless as
they will be for you !

Submitted by Frank Dingman, RCCA President

Proposed Goals for 2025 for HWTU 586

Encourage and brainstorm ways to improve a diverse Chapter participation.
Continue projects and volunteerism to various school groups, conservation and community organizations.
Provide more Stewardship of local waterways.
Increase fundraising opportunities.
Explore and sustain newer projects and collaboration- City of Troy, Quackenkill, Mordenerkill, Poestenkill. Dams along mentioned waterways.
Maintain commitment to seek fishing access for the public.
Provide accurate data to share about local waterways.
Share fishing skills, information and opportunities for all levels of interest.

Home-Waters 586 is now participating in an ongoing fundraiser at the following redemption centers:

6 Center Redemption 550 South St. Rensselaer

6 Center Redemption 461 Main Ave Wynantskill

Please mention they are to be added to the Trout Unlimited account.

Home-Waters Trout Unlimited Members Travel to SUNY Cobleskill

Brent Lehman, hatchery manager at the SUNY Cobleskill College of Agriculture and Technology, welcomed four members of the Home-Waters Trout Unlimited (HWTU), Chapter 586 to the Fisheries and Aquaculture College Campus earlier this month for a visit that was both educational and transactional.

HWTU members received a guided tour of the facility with emphasis on the many large, aerated water tanks housing fish, mostly Brown, Brook and Tiger Trout. The specimens are in all stages of development and the TU members observed students and staff gently massaging trout of both sexes to release reproductive material.

The material from this procedure was then combined to produce fertilized eggs. Visitors then could follow the developmental process as eggs matured toward another generation of trout that are destined for our streams and lakes.

After the tour of the facility and demonstration of the process, the TU members then left with between 2500 and 3000 fertilized Brown Trout eggs for distribution in our local waters. The process of stream implementation took place the following day when a larger group representing both HWTU and the Rensselaer County Conservation Alliance (RCCA) facilitated the planting.

Volunteers separated the eggs into 6 units that were carefully settled into individual Whitlock Boxes. These specially designed boxes are intended to both anchor the fragile eggs and protect against predation, increasing their chances of survival. Safely placed among the gravel beds of both the Poestenkill and the Moordenerkill, we now wait. If all goes well, the very young trout will emerge from the egg stage in about 90 days as alevins then transition to fry and parr on their journey to adult sizes in 2 to 3 years.

If you want to learn more about this project, or other similar projects designed to maintain and improve our regional lands and waters, we invite you to join the HW Trout Unlimited meetings. We are currently meeting on the 2nd Thursday of the month at Bailey Mountain Fish and Game Club in Wynantskill. All are welcome. Also, please contact [email protected]

HWTU Board of Directors Tour Berlin Central HS Marine Studies Lab.

This past January, Home Waters TU Board of Directors were invited by the Berlin Central Science Department to visit the Marine Biology Lab. Teachers Matthew Christian and Nicholas Toole showed directors the set up of the lab and shared how they are able to create fresh and salt – water environments for study.

Trout in the Classroom was the initial project that has grown to different areas of water studies for Berlin students with a focus on interactions in the environment. Students receive credit for lab based study and independent study courses.

For further information, contact [email protected]

New Trout Egg Pilot Program

MARCH 7, 2025 BY EASTWICK PRESS

Submitted by Frank Dingman, RCCA President
The Home Waters Chapter 586 of Trout Unlimited along with members of the Rensselaer County Conservation Alliance began a Pilot Program with the stocking not of trout but of their eggs in two Rensselaer County waterways. This program was the brainchild of Home Waters TU member George Breen. The program started with the purchase of a number of “Whitlock Boxes” which will contain the eggs and is buried in the streambed and will mimic a natural trout nesting site or REDD. As the eggs mature and hatch the trout fry rise up through the gravel as would those on a natural trout REDD. Due to the decreased fish stocking in NYS both Home Waters TU and the RCCA decided to try and augment fish stocking by trying this program to try and increase trout numbers in the streams in Rensselaer County. If this program is successful the long-term goal is to expand the fish egg stocking to other streams in the county.