Trout season opens Friday with tough conditions in Central NY: Where are the best spots to nab a fish? - newyorkupstate.com

If you plan on heading out Friday to one the many local creeks and streams for opening day of trout fishing season, expect less than ideal conditions.

"The creeks are going to be very, very high, and very fast," said Steve Weiter, president of the Iroquois Chapter of Trout Unlimited. "It's going to be tough fishing for anybody, and even tougher on the dry fly guys."

Heavy snowfall late Sunday into Monday, followed by temperatures today rising into the sixties, in addition to rain, means waterways will be swollen and murky with runoff.

Not only does that make it more difficult for anglers to read the water, "the fish are more spread out and not where they would normally be," Weiter added.

"I think the guys that go to the Finger Lakes tributaries, or go steelheading, are probably going to have more fun than those going to Chittenango or Butternut or Ninemile," said Ken Crane, ticking off three of the area's most popular trout streams. Crane, who is from Fabius, has been a member of Fly Fishing Team USA since 2013.

"You'll catch fish," Crane said. "But you need 2 to 3 days of good, solid conditions for fishing to be really, really good."

John Corbett caught this 12-inch rainbow trout in the East Branch of Fish Creek, in Lewis County, last fall.

To big three or not to big three?

Most local trout anglers will want to wet their lines in one of Onondaga County's 'big three' creeks: Ninemile, Butternut, or Limestone. Chittenango Creek, which winds through both Onondaga and Madison counties, is also popular. All are fed by large basins that are inundated with runoff right now.

Of the big three, Ninemile Creek might be the best choice because it has a comparatively "smaller drainage, so it recovers fairly quickly," said Eric Stanczyk, superintendent of Carpenters Brook Fish Hatchery.

The lower stretch of Butternut Creek, which runs from the Jamesville Reservoir dam to Dewitt, is another possibility, Stanczyk said. "It tends not to get as turbid as the upper stretch because the reservoir captures a lot of the silt and runoff," he said.

But if you're not dead set on fishing the same old spot on Ninemile Creek, "go with the smaller waters," advised Stanczyk. "The smaller streams aren't as affected by high water."

As things begin to really warm up in June, some of the smaller streams—Geddes Brook or Furnace Brook—aren't as productive, so now might be a good time to change up your opening day routine and try a new spot while trout fishing is at its best.

With fast water everywhere, most anglers will probably be fishing from the banks with a spinning reel. When it comes to bank fishing for trout, you can't beat Spruce Pond, in Fabius, or Green Lake in Fayetteville. Carpenter's Brook Fish Hatchery stocks both with rainbow trout, in addition to brook and brown trout.

"Spruce Pond is fun in April and May," said John Corbett, a longtime member of DEC's Angler Diary Cooperator Program. "People bring their kids, and for the kids it's a thrill and a half to catch a big trout in there."

The good news is that no matter where you go, your chances of landing a trout tomorrow are better than almost any other time of year. Carpenter's Brook Fish Hatchery has been busy over the past six weeks stocking local waters with nearly 20,000 extremely hungry brookies, browns, and rainbows.

"The hatchery fish have been in a hatchery for the last two years so they're going to be pretty ravenous," said Stancyzk. "Contrary to popular belief we do not feed those fish before we stock them."

Pete Patnode caught and released this 18-inch brown trout on Ninemile Creek in the spring of 2021.

Bait recommendations

Fast, turbid water isn't great for swinging dry flies, said Steve Weiter. "But if I were going out with a fly it'd be a weighted woolly bugger because I want it down in the water," Weiter said.

The fastest water will be at the top of the water column. The trout will be hanging out in the slow water on the bottom, conserving energy, said John Corbett. "On opening day generally, live bait will be the ticket," Corbett said, "fished as close to the bottom of the stream as you can."

Worms and salted minnows are always good, but you can also use up any spikes, mousies, or egg sacks leftover from ice fishing. Use split shot to get them down, "otherwise the current's just going to drag it and you'll be casting every ten seconds," Weiter said. How much weight depends on how deep the water is and how fast it's moving.

Flashy spinners that trout can't miss through the murk—gold Phoebes, Panther Martins, or rooster tails—are also good bait choices, Corbett said.

If the bite is off wherever you choose to fish, it might have more to do with high, early season water levels than whatever you're putting on your hook.

"You're going to have all that influx of fresh salt from the roads," said Ken Crane. "And trout hate that with a passion. It shuts them off for 2-3 days when they get a big melt like that."

Brian Lansing caught this 14-inch brown trout in Limestone Creek on a Caddis Larva Nymph, December 2021.

Know your regs

Before you head out, take a minute to familiarize yourself with DEC special regulations for the body of water you plan to fish. It can be confusing.

DEC divides the ever-popular Ninemile Creek, for instance, into three different zones. It's catch and release only in the lower stretch of the creek, from Onondaga Lake to the Amboy Dam.

The daily limit in the middle stretch of Ninemile Creek, from the Amboy Dam to the Marcellus Falls Dam, is 3 fish, with no more than 1 longer than 12 inches. The upper stretch of the creek, from the Marcellus Falls Dam to its headwaters on Otisco Lake, has a daily limit of 5 fish, with no more than 2 longer than 12 inches.

"That middle stretch of the stream gets hit really, really hard," said Corbett, "and I bet a few people don't know that you can only keep 3 fish and one over 12 inches."

Send us your fish pics

We'd like to see your catch: the big, the small, and the unexpected. So send us your pics. Don't forget to provide the name of anyone shown in the photo, along with kind of fish, where you caught it, its size and weight (if possible), and the type of bait you used.

Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post-Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors.

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