Oct 25, 2019

Rain and runoff brought area stream levels up twice in the past week, greatly expanding steelhead fishing options. Pods of steelhead have been moving in and all of the popular Erie tributaries are now producing some catches. Anglers have been fishing Cattaraugus Creek for the past month, with scattered steelhead reported up through Gowanda. At report time, the Catt is slightly high at 460 cubic feet per second, but fishable. On all other streams, steelhead have just recently started to migrate in earnest, so the lower sections are a better bet for catches. After flows peaked on Tuesday night, the Chautauqua County streams quickly dropped back to slightly low flows by Thursday. Downsize baits, lines and move stealthily if fishing those streams. The medium-sized Erie County streams have moderate flows at present.

NY DEC