The
people's choice in Livingston County... and beyond!
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The
people's choice in Livingston County... and beyond!
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Please note: More complete information about this
and related subjects can be found in our new
Western New York Travel Guide. You
may wish to change your bookmarks to:
The snow was coming down in blinding sheets and my waders, having spent
a long cold winter in the back of my pick-up, had sprung a multitude of
leaks. I might as well have had a cheesecloth on my feet. I didn't even
think about going back to the car to warm up. There were huge fish swimming
in front of me. Grey shapes the size of my arm, cruising the shallows on
their annual spawning run from Lake Ontario into the gravel of Oak Orchard
Creek.
Oak Orchard Creek is relatively big by eastern standards. A hydroelectric
dam at Waterport in Orleans County regulates the rest of the creek's flow
to Lake Ontario. About a mile and a half of it are spawning grounds for
steelhead, rainbow, brown trout and salmon.
Even though it's Easter Sunday, at least 20 fishermen are out plying the
waters. A man in front of me hooks a beauty of a fish. His rod bows and
the drag on his reel sings. The fish leaps one, two, three times and then
breaks off on a rock.
Such is the life of a steelhead fisherman. Most fish hooked aren't landed.
With such explosive dispositions, these fish, even with heavy tackle, often
determine the course of a fight. It isn't uncommon to see a fisherman sprinting
down the banks trying to keep up with his quarry.
These fish aren't predisposed to eating, but they'll still munch on a fly,
mostly out of anger that it's in their redd (a spawning bed). Most steelhead
flies incorporate garish colors of fluorescent red, orange and chartreuse
and often look more like something ripped out of the garbage of a Grateful
Dead concert than a fly box.
But you use what works, and when the old brown traditional nymph pattern
doesn't draw a strike, well, something has to change. These fish are simply
too big to conform to the honors of traditional fly boxes.
On this excursion, I go fishless. Not that the trip isn't enjoyable. Fishless
steelhead days are not uncommon. I'm having almost as much fun watching
other anglers hook and lose fish. Everyone is in a surprisingly good mood
despite the snowstorm. You have to be sort of nuts to be a good steelheader.
The really good steelheaders may even be even crazier than that.
If you go: Oak Orchard Creek is accessed by taking state Route 98 north
of Albion to Park Drive, or by taking state Route 18 from either the west
or east to Route 98 and then Route 98 to Park Drive.
·For information on guiding and water conditions: The Oak Orchard
Fly shop, 716-682-4546; Coleman's Pendleton Shop, 716-352-4775.
·About a mile and a half of the stream is public water, with public
access, though if it's crowded, you may have to pay to park ($1-$2.25 a
spot).
·The salmon and brown trout run by late September to early November.
The steelhead and rainbow trout can be found in the winter months, but the
run itself is usually hot and heavy in March and April. In the summer the
smallmouth and largemouth bass move in, and the crowds are between slim
and none.
Chris Peterson is a sports writer for the Hornell Evening Tribune.
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