The section that should be closed Sept & Oct is from 2A down to the black,or make the entire river C&R Fly fish only,or enforce the regs and make the snaggers PAY!However speaking only of the Steel it is 98% put and take,if they would n't stock a zillion fingerlings there would be no Steel to speak of.
What's the best way to contact the state about my ideas?

Contact a local legislator jack :)

My reason for posting what I had heard was not intended to turn in to a finger pointing match or who knows what match... More so just to inform. Wish I had just kept my mouth shut. Opinions are free and that's all I expressed besides stating hard facts of dying fish and many fish found with gill lice... After a month of them getting beat on. In my opinion, why close the lfz for some moldy oldy salmon in draught seasons rather than a living continuous breed of a spectacular trout that will run the river up to 5 years if nature allows it... As said... Wish I kept my mouth shut... A population crash followed by a big decrease of internet hype may just turn this river around :)

So what I've been able to find out about the lice, they find a spot on the gill or support structures and burrow in and spend the rest of their days there.  They produce a lot of eggs, and the larva have an easier time finding another structure to attach to (another host fish) when the velocity of the water is lower.  As Copepods, they also grow faster in warmer water.  They interfere with gas transfer by reducing the amount of tissue that can accomplish it, and this is a stress on the fish.  As parasites, they should not destroy their host, but the additional stress of being played repeatedly may tip the fish.  The parasite spreads more rapidly in confined fish or areas where the fish are concentrated, like maybe the upper river where they have to stack up or go back downstream. And we've just gone through the perfect storm of prolonged lower water and higher temperatures with the late fall.  So, yes, more water earlier may have helped.  In Wisconsin, where there were problems with brook trout populations, they encouraged anglers to take their fish, to reduce the density of hosts until the "bloom" of lice died back into control, and trout populations started to be less infested.  At any rate, DEC is investigating, both one of their pathology teams and Cornell are looking at possible causes.  The fish that were sampled were described as moribund, alive but obviously having a lot of trouble, which allows for checking for VHS and Type E botulism, I believe. 
 
L13 

Db, no reason you should feel not to share information.. I as a species am always learning.. if and when my pea brain stops absorbing , it's toast.. Thank You for the insight bro.. If there is something I am doing wrong and can correct , Id like to help  ..
My comment was just a weary throw it on the wall and see if it sticks.. I still think the Tribs, and yes we all talk SR (mostly) have come a long way .. Funny how pre-internet it was so different but still so much alike..
 
L-13,
I'm clueless so I did some wiki on gill lice also.. Seen the Wisconsin report, a few scientific studies and some just collage programs as well.. The parasite is known, the findings vary but stress became the common factor.. Does it not always though ?
 
Ah well, My brain is tuning into a Move Me brightly "goinn down the road" mode.
Happy Holidays to ALL , fish well..
Peace & Tuna
 

n
 

dimebrite2
My reason for posting what I had heard was not intended to turn in to a finger pointing match or who knows what match... More so just to inform. Wish I had just kept my mouth shut. Opinions are free and that's all I expressed besides stating hard facts of dying fish and many fish found with gill lice... After a month of them getting beat on. In my opinion, why close the lfz for some moldy oldy salmon in draught seasons rather than a living continuous breed of a spectacular trout that will run the river up to 5 years if nature allows it... As said... Wish I kept my mouth shut... A population crash followed by a big decrease of internet hype may just turn this river around :)

Don't think that what is going on in any way is finger pointing.
Its a discussion.
 

My comments about the Genny run derive from the judgement of some that this was a non run year, based on observations that are intermittent at best.  Based on my own intermittent observations, it was a banner run in the SR, but other than moldy Kings, the Genny is next to fishless.  As to C+R and closure to protect the fish, the DEC program is based on getting adequate returns to the hatchery for egg take, after that get the fish out of the river.  The fish are getting beat to death in the Fly zones, lice or no lice, partially because a lot of "fly anglers" are actually stealth snaggers, so a fatigued fish that would not be a player for a dead drifter or a swinger is now "force fed" into action over and over.  My concern now is what impact the infestation will have on ability to get eggs for the steelhead program, as the literature out there indicates that the combined stress of the lice and sexual maturation can be fatal for hens.
 
As to less fish, I'm one hundred percent in favor of eliminating the King completely from the mix, that would get rid of a big bunch of people from the river, alleviate stench problems, make lots of the local residents who are not in the fisher fleecing business happy, etc.  Make the whole lake C+R, that will weed out a bunch of yellow rope types from the steelhead mix, maybe just chuck the whole program and get back to the restoration business, Lake Trout and Atlantic Salmon..... Gabba gabba gabba.....
 
L13 

N 
 

I was not in anyway thinking that what I could fantasize as a "program" was anything that would be entertained in reality, hence gabba.... 
 
From what I saw, anything that removes the lice removes the fish.  But fish can survive with the lice with no additional stresses.  It will be interesting to see what comes from DEC when they get the lab reports.
 
L13