Big River, Small Fish
I wouldn't say that travel is one of the favourite parts of my day job, but on occasion, it affords me the opportunity to fish some rivers that I normally do not. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to fish the Cattaraugus Creek in Western New York.
Don't let the name fool you, however. This flow is no where near the resemblance of a creek. With a width of 100 feet in parts and an average flow of over 1000 cubic feet per second this fall, this is a raging river! With about a week and a half without rain now, the flow finally dropped to fishing friendly levels (650 cf/s).
Whether it is safe to cross at this flow rate is debatable. It required a bit of lunacy to do it, but I did, and was pleasantly surprised to see a few familiar faces from my side of the border just as determined as I to find that perfect drift.
Whether it is safe to cross at this flow rate is debatable. It required a bit of lunacy to do it, but I did, and was pleasantly surprised to see a few familiar faces from my side of the border just as determined as I to find that perfect drift. 
I was able to find a large number of very cooperative fish, but their numbers greatly outweighed their size. Average for the day was 2-3.5lbs. But as the quintessential fishing tale goes, I lost the big ones. 
posted by BCM at 11:29 AM
5 Comments:
Congrats on a banner day on one of NY's elite fisheries. We have yet to experience her prowess. We had made a verbal committment to fish the Catt this season but I am fearful that it may not happen :o(
Too many opportunities and way to little time. (and gas $$)
And to think your trip coincided with the first real break in river levels all season ;o) Now that is a break!
I think that "perfect drift" might have been best experienced on Sunday. From what I understand, it was a slow day all around in terms of the availability of adult fish. If only they stocked Ganaraska or Manistee strain 'bows there...
Nothing wrong with small fish...and it sure beats my day.
Congrats.
nice looking fish! I haven't been able to get out on the catt all year, but I have been doing pretty good on the smaller tribs.Consider yourself lucky to get out on the catt, they are forcasting alot of rain and snow over the next few days so it might not be fishable for quite some time.
Yes, the Catt is a fine river, and I plan to revist her as soon as conditions allow. I must make use of that one year license ;-)
Joe, I think you timed your trip perfectly. Those are some very nice specimens showcased on your blog. I'm hoping you'll take the time to elaborate more on your adventure.
My apologies for the delay in posting comments. I just returned from more U.S. travel, but this time it was Altoona, PA - not nearly as much fun as Tuesday. Although I did see a few nice streams flowing through town - time for some research - heheh.
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