Dam Removal

stir baby stir!

Bronze....stripers this spring...slow to say the least!

And as far as I'm concerned the dams ruined to the river not the other way around. Yes it made for very concient fishing but come on.........now is when you seperate the strong fisherman fromn the weak........anyone can show up at roberts or even dukes falls and with some basic knowledge slam the smallies or what have you........I fish the south branch by my house and have caught my share of lunker smallies with no dam in sight...........I guess some of us will have to learn to read the water a little better in order to keep up there numbers......now that is fishing my friend! You gonna be out at the cat fishing night?

And if we tear down all the dams includeing SBB I could have stripers at my door steps and shad too! Everything that is supposed to live in the rivers will do just fine and big holes will develop in time and then you all will have your honey holes again........



Man is the worst thing that ever happened to mother nature and its balance................

[Lard Almighty]

Originally Posted by maddhatterr

Man is the worst thing that ever happened to mother nature and its balance................

No argument from this environmental consultant...

[AndyS]

I think it is mostly about restoring river herring and shad. if you get a natural forage base going again, all the pieces will fall back into place. The Delaware river has not one dam on it, fishing is good there.

[FASTEDDIE29]

The migration of certain species is AWESOME. My two cents is this once the dams are down, a few big rains come, a few hurricanes arrive. That river will get flattened out like a pancake. DONE!!!

Originally Posted by FASTEDDIE29

The migration of certain species is AWESOME. My two cents is this once the dams are down, a few big rains come, a few hurricanes arrive. That river will get flattened out like a pancake. DONE!!!

Then why do rivers like the big D have big holes as well as it share of flats.........no dams there unless you count the wing dams? and the fishing is good ther as well.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Yes there are a lot of holes on the Big D, Ive floated the entire river as an eagle scout. Floated from Poxono island to the gap 2 weeks ago, thats about 7 miles, 5 miles of that stretch was flat. Rivers change every year thats why I love fish in em. We'll just have to wait and see what happens to the RR.

[AndyS]

I wouldn't worry about it too much, there are 1700 dams in New Jersey alone, so far they have been able to take down 7.

When river herring go on the Endangered Species List, the dams may come down a little faster.

Just run off a list of the fish that run up and down the rivers and give it all little more thought, thanx.

[calbo]

Interesting opinions.
I've floated the Raritan from the confluence of the North and South Branches to Manville many times over the last 40 years. Anyone that has done this would have to admit - except for occasional - very occasional - areas it's mostly dead water. The only really productive areas are the dams and spillways.

The difference between rivers like the Delaware and the Raritan is the watershed that supports the river. The Delaware is less impacted by heavy rains and storms - it's more impacted by the release of water from the NY reservoirs that feed it. The Raritan has had it's watershed destroyed by up and on-stream over-construction. A 1" rainfall raises and muddy's the water for a over week - 50 years ago it cleared in a couple of days. The removal of the obstructions could result in a muddy, silted bottom - eventually destroying insect life and impacting the entire food-chain. Migratory fish need something to eat on their migration.

I wonder if the proposed dam removal included any evaluation of the state of the watershed and the impact of flooding.

I grew up in Raritan - and watched the river flood after storms for many years - two years ago the river actually flooded the main street of the town - for the first time ever. I understand they now plan to remove only part of the Nevius Stree spillway - that may save a portion of the river.

[bronzeback]

im not tlkn to anyone in specific here. if u think its better fishing bec the dams will be gone.. u are wrong in many ways period. many many ways

will it be better in a very small few ways?? better? no.... different? yes!! yes definately different fishing.. most definately different.. but no way better.. not even close.

ANYONE WHO THINKS FISHING.. THE WAY IT IS RIGHT NOW.. WILL BE BETTER AFTER THE DAMS ARE GONE... HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE TLKN ABOUT.

the only comparison that i can give to you about the dams and fishing is that the dams are as important to sport fishing as coral reefs are to the ocean..

not sure who says.. do ur research do ur research.. be patient.. let if fix itself?
now no disrespect and i do respect ur opinion... but what the hell are you tlkn about.. fix it self? theres absolutely nothinbg wrong with it. robert street falls is the best smallmouth fishing in the state on nj ... better then anywhere.. the valley merril creek, ect.. better then anywhere...

i think u ppl are confused what with the original poster said... the removal will ruin the fishing.. hes not concerned with the water quality.. hahhaa who cares... just tlkn about fishing.. the man who started this.. he knos about the raritan.. he knows. he knows.. like i kno..

and pls stop comparing the little dink raritan to the delaware.. bec its too funny

and finally... what if i told you that many many yrs ago... after t he dams were put up.. and bec of it.. the fishing turned into 500% better.. w hat if i told u that.. what if it was true.. would u still want the dams removed?

ok im outta beer and out of beer muscles. take care everyone.. yes the dams are coming down.. and it sucks for me and many ppl i kno.. blows big time

ps hatter.. nice chattin with ya