DEC Launches Second Year of River Creel Survey on the Saranac and Boquet Rivers

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced the second year of a River Creel survey will begin on the Saranac and Boquet rivers, tributaries to Lake Champlain. The River Creel survey is part of the salmon assessment and restoration efforts of the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative and was preceded by a pilot survey program in 2023.

The survey will be conducted Sept. 15 through Nov. 30, and is focused on the Atlantic Salmon spawning runs in the Saranac and Boquet rivers. The survey will provide DEC fisheries biologists with a better understanding of angler use, catch, harvest, and angler expectations on New York's salmon rivers. Information gathered will be used to develop a bi-annual river creel survey that will monitor the salmon fishery and inform management actions on these rivers.

Anglers will be asked to voluntarily participate in the survey by providing information about their day of fishing. Collected data will include an angler's preferred target species, the number of fish caught and harvested, and the angler's satisfaction with the salmon fishery. If the angler allows, biological data will be collected from fish caught (length, presence of fin clips, number of sea lamprey wounds, and a genetic sample).

Survey sites on the Saranac River include the Green Street angler access site and the fishing pool below Imperial Dam in the city of Plattsburgh. The Boquet River sites include the stretch of river from the town of Willsboro boat launch at Gilliland Park upstream to the fishing pool just below the cascades.

A 2024 survey report will be released in Spring 2025 on DEC's website. Visit DEC's website to review the 2023 pilot survey report.