The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced a pilot River Creel survey is being conducted on the Saranac and Boquet rivers to complement the Lake Champlain Angler Creel survey.

The survey began Sept. 1 and is focused on the Atlantic salmon spawning runs in the Saranac and Boquet rivers. Survey results will provide DEC fisheries biologists with a better understanding of angler use, catch, and harvest and angler expectations on major tributaries to Lake Champlain used by Atlantic salmon. Information gathered will be used to develop a bi-annual River Creel survey that will monitor the Atlantic 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 catch and harvested information along with the angler’s satisfaction of the fishery. Participating anglers are also encouraged to provide biological data from fish caught, including length, presence of fin clips, and number of sea lamprey wounds.

Survey locations on the Saranac River include the Green Street angler access site and the pool below the Imperial Mills 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 and the parking areas along this stretch of the river.

A survey report is planned to be released in Spring 2024 on DEC’s website (https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7964.html).