-Story Focus is on New York Streams
-Hot Flies Patterns that Work
-Fun for All Anglers
By Forrest Fisher
The warm summer and warm autumn have helped keep trout and steelhead anglers off the famed Great Lakes tributary streams this year, but the heavy sequence of monsoon style rains the northeast received late last week has made all the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario tributaries more normal. Two days later, thanks to the drought, these streams were generally running clear again – a measure of just how dry the water table was.
With the high number of steelhead anglers that abound in Western New York and northern Pennsylvania, and many others that travel to the Lake Erie tributaries from West Virginia, Ohio and from farther origins, they were all waiting for that first prolonged cold rainstorm to get the Lake Erie Steelhead and Pink Salmon into the many tributary creeks and to start their journey upstream.
The fish are in the creeks now and the chillier weather forecast for the northeast this week and next will keep the fish upstream. Even the smaller creeks have fish right now, allowing local anglers to access them before or after work, if they know where to drop a line. The steelhead like to swim as far upstream as they can go before resting and feeding (they stay thru the winter), so look for them at a man-made dam or natural waterfalls in the creek’s you fish.
Here are some BEST PLACES: The Como Park Lake dam on Cayuga Creek, the Blossom dam on Buffalo Creek, the Legion dam on the east branch of Cazenovia Creek, the high waterfalls on 18-Mile Creek in Hamburg, the riffles of the Cattaraugus Creek below the Route 5 bridge in Irving, the Springville dam on the Cattaraugus located 17 miles upstream from the mouth (Scobie Hill Rd.), the short series of waterfalls and riffles on Silver Creek in downtown Silver Creek, the big pool on Canadaway Creek below under the Route 5 bridge, the many holes and waterfalls of Chautauqua Creek near the mouth in Westfield and also upstream, are a few of the usual great fishing spots for anglers to try to fool a whopper steelhead.
While I fess up to not knowing that much about how to properly fish for steelhead, my fear about “not knowing or not doing the right thing” was quickly laid to rest when I fished with two top notch guides last year: Drew Nisbet and Alberto Rey.
Nisbet will always provide humble suggestions that work with shared conversation that makes four or five hours in waders seem like five or ten minutes – you can meet him at the Orvis Store in Clarence, New York, where you can also learn from him directly about the right lines, leaders and hook sizes.
Alberto Rey is internationally famous as a wildlife artist and nationally recognized as a stream fishing outdoor guide who has provided leadership for helping many people all over the world with regard to understanding clean water, improving fish populations and conservation.
Both are Orvis-certified fishing guides – that means they are among the best of the best. I asked them why they prefer Orvis fly rod tackle and they simply shared that there is so much cheap, nasty tackle out there to frustrate anglers, that new anglers especially need to think about Orvis because their tackle is durable and top quality, why risk the annoyance? I agree that you usually get what you pay for.
One-egg or two-egg fly pattern rigs work well on the steelies right now. The two-egg rigs are tied about 10 inches apart, they’re tiny, are hand-tied using #14 and #16 scud hooks (from Orvis) that have a heavy bead head for weight. An indicator float is typically placed above the egg flies to help the angler see when a fish grabs the enticing fly lures. Other flies work too, larger flies, including streamers and wooly bugger patterns.
While a large assortment of fishing tackle options is open to steelhead anglers, my all-day use of a 2-3/4 ounce, 9-foot, Orvis Access 6-weight fly rod and matching single-action fly reel is proof that good equipment will not tire you out. The use of flies is very effective and preferred by anglers that will catch and release the fish, as steelhead can live for more than 20 years and spawn in the tributaries for most of those years.
Lake Erie steelhead will also commonly hit natural baits, including real hand-tied egg sacs or live worms, though spinning rod anglers also use minnow-type stickbaits, in-line spinners and small spoons. Those who are brand new to steelhead fishing, see the www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/60290.html for information on steelhead fishing equipment, locations and hot links to stream maps.
Our WNY salmonid and steelhead fishery is world class, to visit with these top fishing guides that usually fish Chautauqua County, contact Alberto Rey at 716-410-7003 or visit www.albertorey.com.
The extended, relatively nice, weather and the colorful leaves offer a unique and beautiful time right now to discover the WNY steelhead resource.
Share life with others, make new friends in the outdoors, lead by example.