Four enthusiastic fishermen are boasting of the world-class fishing in New York’s freshwaters of Lake Ontario, the Salmon River, and the St. Lawrence River. Visitors to the Seaway Trail Discovery Center in the resort village of Sackets Harbor push 12 buttons to hear the angler characters speak.
Lake Ontario
New York State Assemblyman Robert Oaks, legislator for Oswego, Cayuga and Wayne Counties, provided funding for the new exhibit that features a father-and-son team talking about the boy’s birthday gift charterboat trip to catch trout and salmon on Lake Ontario.
“My district represents nearly one-third of the Seaway Trail. Sportfishing and charter industries are vital components of our regional economy. This new exhibit introduces and excites travelers about Lake Ontario as one of the finest sportfishing destinations in the country,” Oaks says.
Salmon River
The new Salmon River Angler was funded by a partnership of Seaway Trail, Inc., the Village of Pulaski, Town of Richland, and the Oswego County Department of Promotion and Tourism.
Fran Verdoliva, manager of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Salmon River Fish Hatchery in Altmar, co-authored the script which likens Chinook salmon to powerful Mack trucks, and Coho and Atlantic salmon to Porsches — fast, acrobatic runners.
Seaway Trail, Inc. President Chuck, Krupke, a Pulaski business owner, notes, “This exhibit not only promotes the Salmon River in its own right; but, in combination with the other exhibits, illustrates the intertwining of many fine, local angling resources across the Seaway Trail region.”
St. Lawrence River
Bernie Haines, a native of Great Britain, now a river guide in Massena, is the face and voice of the St. Lawrence River Carp Angler exhibit. “I’ve fished for carp around the world. The St. Lawrence River is among the ten best places in the world to fish for carp,” says Haines.
New York Sea Grant’s Great Lakes Program Coordinator David White comments, “All of the new fishing exhibits are a fun way to educate the public about New York’s Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway region. I think even non-anglers will enjoy hearing about the lake and rivers.”
The Seaway Trail Discovery Center, at the corner of Ray and West Main Streets in Sackets Harbor, is open daily 10 am to 5 pm May through October; Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5, Nov-April.
Other exhibits focus on lighthouses, maritime history, the War of 1812, nature, architecture, agriculture and recreation along the 504-mile Seaway Trail, one of America’s Byways designated for great American road trips.
The Seaway Trail Discovery Center is located at Seaway Trail, Inc., Ray & West Main Streets (Box 660) – Sackets Harbor, NY 13685 — T 315 646 1000; F 315-646-1004
By: Kara Lynn Dunn
