So I don't think many of the fisherman out there expected the spring we are having. We have had all four seasons condensed into one week and the upcoming forecast is not looking too encouraging with all this cold weather. That being said it is safe to say that going back to winter/cold water fishing tactics would be advantageous.
The Cattaraugus Creek was just upwards of 58 degrees on March 31st and is now down into the mid 30's. I was expecting the whole spring cycle to continue ahead of schedule as
opposed to the past two springs where winter seemed to last forever. I
was wrong. The snap in temperature has halted whatever smallmouth bass activity that may have been occurring and has likely stalled the spring pike spawn throughout the Great Lakes Waterways. Those of you looking forward to the tributary bass fishing will have to wait another few weeks for the bite to kick in and the migration to continue. That being said we could see a strong return of smallmouths and possibly the salmonids hanging around more than usual with all the new melt off from the dumping of snow we got here the past few days. Right about now would be the perfect time to get out on the water and cast clousers and minnow patterns for the trout and salmon hanging around the mouths of the tribs. This is always a fun time of year to cast to hungry post spawn steelies and browns (of course if the wind isn't honking).
Of course how could I forget about trout season opening up? April 1st has come and gone but with the cold weather looming and the cold snap the past few days it's fruitless trying to look for any bugs hatching out. However nymphing will still be effective for those "ice out" trout. Time will tell to see how badly the mergansers have affected the trout populations this past winter. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the mergansers, they are a waterfowl species that feeds heavily on fish. That being said they need open water to find their food of choice and the only open water in the wintertime are the spring fed trout streams. The past two winters have been brutal for the inland trout since the winters were long and very cold. This left very little water for the birds to forage. That being said I feel as though the populations this coming year will be decent with the rather mild winter we had.
Remember even though the spring has brought some interesting weather and has thrown a first pitch curveball, you still can't catch fish from your couch. Thanks again for reading and please leave feedback and comments below. Tight lines everyone!
Current Stream Information:
Streams are going to be wildly different from stream to stream depending
on how much snow melt has occurred in that area. Look for streams to be on the rise possibly starting as early as the following few days.
Sandy Creek (Hamlin): April 4th, 2016
Light to no fishing pressure.
High/Stained flows. (CFS unknown)
Oak Orchard (Albion): April 4th, 2016
Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows (CFS unknown)
18-Mile Creek (Burt): April 4th, 2016
Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows.
187 CFS
Any idea if there are steelhead in Sandy Creek right now? And where abouts they might be? Thinking of making a trip there later this week.
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ReplyDeleteThere will still be a few steelhead hanging around in Sandy but by this time they are few and far between. With all the rain/meltoff we have had in the past few days I wouldn't be surprised if most of them dropped back into the lake. Although that being said this rise in flows could have brought some of the late spawners in for an opportunity at a fresh fish. I drove over sandy today and It was pretty higher and between muddy and stained. I don't know where you are planning on fishing but the East Fork of 19 Bridge is still out and a large tree is still wedged onto the concrete abutment of the bridge as well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck out there and post pictures of any fish!