Well what a winter we are having! Between the rain, snow, warm day, and cold days we have had everything but the kitchen sink thrown at us in terms of weather. Right now we are enjoying a little taste of spring but what does that mean for the fishing?
I can tell you that the fishing has been different. With all the drastic changes in weather the fish have definitely been a little wary. During the periods of consistent weather the fishing has been better since the fish get into a bit of a groove. There are pros and cons the the light winter we are having. The good thing is that with the rain and melt-off combination there are a lot of fresh fish and opportunities to get out and do some excellent steelhead fishing. Right now all of the tribs are open and are on their way down from the rain we had last night. This is prime time for the chromers. The bad news is that pretty much all of the snow is gone leaving no real melt-off for when spring actually does come. In previous years with heavy snowfall winters we have had snow melting into the tributaries into the first weeks of May keeping a steady stream of fish coming in. In addition to keeping the discharge ideal, the snow melt also keeps water temperatures in cooler ranges for the steelhead. The way it looks right now there won't be much snow on the ground but we do have quite a bit of winter to go still. Rivers like Oak Orchard and Burt have been consistently producing fish for people able to manage slow drifts or swings. The Oak and Burt have also been the most consistent in terms of discharge and visibility because of the impoundments. The smaller area tribs have either been frozen or blown out for most of the winter however during periods of lower fishable water there have been some limited steelhead action. My most productive flies have been Zonkers, egg sucking leeches, and some egg patterns have been the best flies recently. While we are still on the topic of the tributaries right about now is a good time to maybe start trying at the mouths of the creek stripping flies for browns and steelies. I know I'm gearing up for that by tying some baitfish flies.
Along with the tributary fishing I have been fishing the inland streams for browns. Depending on the weather and time of day the inland browns have been more compliant than the steelhead. Swinging woolly buggers in black, olive, and brown has been the most productive followed by a variety of nymphs including hares ear, scuds, and midge pupae. On the warmer days the midge hatches have been really good and getting good numbers of browns taking full on dry flies. Black midges sizes 18-24 have been the most productive when the fish are keyed in on the dries.
Look for a video of some miscellaneous fish that I hauled in last year and maybe some fly fishing from my trips to Florida in the past years. Thanks again for reading and tight lines!!
Current Stream Information: Look for streams to be falling and for fresh fish to be entering the tribs.
18-Mile Creek (Burt): February 22nd, 2017
Low fishing pressure
Stained Flows
129 CFS
Cattaraugus Creek: February 22nd, 2017
Strained/Muddy Flows
1350 CFS
32.2- 43.7
Oak Orchard Creek: February 22nd, 2017
Med Fishing Pressure
Stained Flows
263 CFS
Oatka Creek: February 22nd, 2017
Stained/Clear Flows
307 CFS
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