Action Alert - Help Me Save Blydenburgh State Lake

[Richee33]

Absolutely

 

[george]

I appreciate the support!

 

[Richee33]

I appreciate the support!

I lived in Smithtown for 15 years a few blocks away from Blydenberg and loved to bring my boys there. Coming from Queens this park being so close to my house was a dream come true anything I can do to help keep this wonderful place the way it should be and the way it was I will be happy to help with

 

[Flukerr]

Hello All !

Anything you can do to "save" our little L.I. lakes/ponds is a bonus good thing...So much has changed in the 30 + years I have been fishing these lakes,and most is not good ! The stories I could tell.........Help out when-ever you can...

 

[george]

Hello All !

Anything you can do to "save" our little L.I. lakes/ponds is a bonus good thing...So much has changed in the 30 + years I have been fishing these lakes,and most is not good ! The stories I could tell.........Help out when-ever you can...

Great to see you here Flukerr!

 

[flounderjoe]

Can you imagine the fish we could of pulled from there in the 70's and early 80;s if we had some of those big swim baits back then? Did ok with the smaller metal lipped dannys .But yes george for sure this lake is not even a shadow of its past self even the perch fishing was way off this spring.I will start to nudge the DEC fisheries people i do much volunteer work to get the bug in their ears.This place needs some protection even from the crowds that fish there now, even if everybody catch and releases even the small percentage of mortality that occurs will add up over time.I mean many times in the last 5 or so years i have made it to the top of the steps by the old boat house and turned around because the place was packed

 

[george]

Can you imagine the fish we could of pulled from there in the 70's and early 80;s if we had some of those big swim baits back then? Did ok with the smaller metal lipped dannys .But yes george for sure this lake is not even a shadow of its past self even the perch fishing was way off this spring.I will start to nudge the DEC fisheries people i do much volunteer work to get the bug in their ears.This place needs some protection even from the crowds that fish there now, even if everybody catch and releases even the small percentage of mortality that occurs will add up over time.I mean many times in the last 5 or so years i have made it to the top of the steps by the old boat house and turned around because the place was packed

Ahh, the old boathouse. I absolutely loved that place when I was a kid. I knew every inch of it from one end to the other. I still do, you just can't get anywhere any longer.

I haven't given up here, and I believe we have the right people in there to fix this. My fix is:

1.) No kayak or boat fishing until the official opening of bass season - These fish were never targeted on many of the beds every before. You can kayak and canoe or whatever watercraft you enjoy, but no fishing until after the spawn for boaters

2.) No take of any largemouth all season long. Catch and release only. I'd actually like to see it all fish in the lake, but there is a tradition of keeping some for table fare. And there has been some push back.

Let's try that for a few years and see if it works. I am planning on starting our efforts soon so if anyone wants to help please PM me.

 

[flounderjoe]

After this past weekend looks like the old girl has got a bit better .And yes catch and release for bass at least would not be a bad idea to try.Believe it or not one concern I have is the growing Crappie population dont get me wrong i love catchin them but they have a habit of really pressuringthe bass population.its happened before on some lakes on long island .And catch and release year round mite help the bass in some way.

 

[Roccus7]

After this past weekend looks like the old girl has got a bit better .And yes catch and release for bass at least would not be a bad idea to try.Believe it or not one concern I have is the growing Crappie population dont get me wrong i love catchin them but they have a habit of really pressuringthe bass population.its happened before on some lakes on long island .And catch and release year round mite help the bass in some way.

Really? I would think that the larger bass would be all about sucking up small crappies for lunch? Who 'da thunk it?

 

[george]

After this past weekend looks like the old girl has got a bit better .And yes catch and release for bass at least would not be a bad idea to try.Believe it or not one concern I have is the growing Crappie population dont get me wrong i love catchin them but they have a habit of really pressuringthe bass population.its happened before on some lakes on long island .And catch and release year round mite help the bass in some way.

We might have crossed paths. I go there often and it's much like the old days this time of year. It is a hidden gem in the center of what has become one of the most trafficked area in Suffolk County.

I agree with the growing crappies population and I think it's happening because of the absence of big bass. I have spoken with people that work there who witness buckets of big bass being taken out of there. He's the same guy that stopped a few people from killing one of the giant snapper turtles. Think about it, boats using live bait over easy to find spawning beds. There is also natural predation there that wasn't in the past and that is all of the cormorants.

I do believe that something will be done to address it. It was pushed to the side last year due to some changes of the guard and the new team is listening.

 

[Crabcake]

I used to fish the “stump pond” often and recently returned after a long hiatus from freshwater fishing. My son and I have made 3 trips and have yet to catch a bass. I’m by no means a “bassmaster”, but catching bass in this pond used to be relatively easy. I even resorted to using bait to see what the story is, and all we managed to land were some sunfish and a bunch of very nice yellow perch. With the exception of put and take trout, I think ALL freshwater fishing on Long Island should be C&R.

 

[NorShoreFishing]

New member here and I just came across this thread. After moving to the North Shore 3 years ago I've gotten back into fishing in a big way, though mostly salt water. I've recently started fresh water fishing again and have fished Blydenburgh a few times the past month for the first time ever....it truly is a gem. Curious to know if there's any update to these efforts?

 

[george]

New member here and I just came across this thread. After moving to the North Shore 3 years ago I've gotten back into fishing in a big way, though mostly salt water. I've recently started fresh water fishing again and have fished Blydenburgh a few times the past month for the first time ever....it truly is a gem. Curious to know if there's any update to these efforts?

Yes there are still efforts and I think we have a shot at a few options that will help bring this fishery back. I'm going to discuss them here but there are people that are very interested in it.