New York State Brown Trout and Atlantic Salmon

By Brian Ellis

I made a fly-fishing trip to Western New York the week prior to Thanksgiving this year.  My wife is from Buffalo, and I first started sampling fly fishing in that area while on trips to visit family there in the mid-1990s.  On this trip I fished for three full days hopping around a few small public Ontario tributaries streams wade fishing with my friend Mike whom I’ve been fishing with almost biannually since 1999.  Mike is a former guide and stays informed about what is happening with Western NY tributary streams.  Mike asked me not to post any photos of him on the internet or mention his last name because he’s still waiting for the statue of limitations to expire.  (Don’t ask!)

This year most of the Lake Eric tribs were extremely low and unfishable.  Fortunately, many of Ontario tribs were in much better shape.  Brown and Steelhead Trout are the usual target of our fall fishing there, however recently I’ve become fonder of fishing for Brown Trout.  Browns seem more amenable to viciously attacking flies in the fall.  As an exciting bonus, recently, the Atlantic Salmon (Land-locked) runs from Lake Ontario have been getting stronger and stronger every year.  Atlantic Salmon are a fantastic fly rod species, they absolutely crush swung flies, they make reel screeching runs, and often make huge summersaulting leaps into the air.  Everyone becomes absolutely giddy during years of strong Atlantic runs, and rightfully so.  The flies used for both species are similar, mostly size 6 leeches in various colors, dark flies for cloudy conditions and white w/ silver for bright conditions.  In years past, I fished with my two-handed Spey rods for them, however, such rods are a pain to travel with and aren’t needed when the river flows are low. 

Over the years we have fished all the Lake Erie tribs from Cleveland to Buffalo and all the Lake Ontario tribs from Buffalo to Pulaski NY so I’m reluctant to name specific streams that we fish.  Water conditions are usually our primary factor in stream selection.  This time, all our fish were caught from either Johnsons Creek, Oak Orchard Creek, or Sandy Creek.  These streams had enough water because they were either a tailwater or received extra needed water diverted from the Erie Canal.  Often, on my visits there, the problem is that there is too much rather than not enough water.  This trip the streams were more crowded than usual, probably because many of the other streams were unfishable and we were fishing within easy driving distance of Rochester NY.  To avoid the crowds, I try to schedule my fishing days during mid-week.  I also try to schedule my trips during the firearms deer season because it seems the streams are less crowded then.  I’m not sure if it is because everyone is hunting instead of fishing or because being startled by the occasional gunshot distracts from the fishing experience.  I suppose both reasons are applicable.  Our accommodation was nothing noteworthy, we stayed at an Econo Lodge. 

It’s challenging putting in the effort of traveling to remote regions, constantly moving from stream to stream and access to access looking for fish, but it is very gratifying hooking up with a few of those magnificent Great Lake Run Trout and Salmon.  This year I landed my personal best Atlantic Salmon.  I feel fortunate to have my longtime fishing partner Mike, who stays dialed into the local fishing.

The fish photos attached are numbered in the order that the fish were caught (and were all released).  The Silver looking fish are Atlantic Salmon.

Tightlines,
–Brian Ellis