Prospector
Well-known member
Four of us fished the Lake Ontario tribs (Oak Orchard / 18 Mile) from Nov 5 to 10 on what has become an annual trip.
Nov 5th
I stopped at 18 Mile Creek to check the stream while the rest of our group took the food to our room. In an hour and a half I caught 5 browns on the same Estaz fly. Positive first impression
I was able to get to the Oak for the final 2 1/2 hrs of daylight. I got a decent spot and the guys above me were hooking up very consistently (in one of the best spots in the creek). But soon leaf cleanup at the dam interrupted fishing for about 45 min (water level in the main fishing channel is about 1/5 of normal flows when leaf cleanup is occurring). Once the water was rising again I caught a 25” Atlantic Salmon, but the fishing really trended down after the water level was manipulated.
Nov 6
My son and I fished the entire day on the Oak and we got 8 browns and 3 kings. We also had another early morning leaf cleanup which halted most fishing for what was probably 45 min. When water levels were up, the flow would be tough for young or older folks to deal with. So be careful. There is always soft water available but watch out for your group. The fishing got better for us in the afternoon. We had a primo spot in morning but got secondary spots in the afternoon. Throughout the day we used egg flies and nymphs.
Nov 7
My son and I headed to 18 Mile Creek and arrived 1/2 hour after sun up. To our surprise, no one was in the best spot for browns. We camped there all day and very few people poked around. The browns were piling through. Some were creating reds. We stayed until dark. It seemed like every egg fly worked although we focused on Orange, Flo Orange and Yellow. We caught 51 browns and 1 king.
Nov 8
My son had only taken 2 days off so I fished alone. A cold snap came through with temps in the upper 30s / low 40s so I went back to the same location as yesterday but a little later in the morning. Action was good again. I tried mostly flies in my boxes that I rarely use and I caught browns on all of them. Again many fish had spawning on their mind but were also freely feeding. It seemed like upstream surge to spawning areas started about 2pm. I caught 21 browns.
Nov 9
Having fished 18 Mile two days in a row, I went to the Oak. From the clubhouse I counted 76 people fishing from as far as I could see downstream from the clubhouse to the head of the Archers Pool. I opted to head upstream past the Archers and of course the water was taken down again. I talked with a few guys in the Sycamore hole as I surveyed the amount of fish hanging around. There were more fish in 18 mile so I headed there. Once at 18 Mile, I found a crew from Connecticut had set up shop in the killer spot so I got bumped a little upstream. But they were a great group to fish near. We netted for each other and traded insight. It was not their first rodeo. I finished with 23 browns and a king. Once again I used many egg flies that I tend to ignore. Also of note, the fellow above me caught an Atlantic. Second noteworthy item, an older angler fell in but his head never submerged and 3 people reacted quickly to pull him out. He ended up being fine but his day was over.
Nov 10
Decided to arrive at 18 Mile at 630am and there were already 50 vehicles in the lot. I didn’t factor Veterans Day being on a Friday. It was packed to the Gills but everyone was catching fish. I caught 7 browns and a king and left for home at noon.
Summary
Amazing how many browns were in 18 Mile this week. Never have seen that. The browns were heavy but most were in the 18”- 22” range. Largest I saw were probably 26”.
When fighting browns, they obviously like to surge back into the current. Be ready for multiple surges but don’t discount the effectiveness of walking the fish back toward shore. Much easier to land them that way. Seems minor but it really helps. I watched many people break their line in close to shore. When they want to go, just give a little because you’ll get that line back quickly. Steady pressure, but give when needed.
The large Kings (36”) were in the zombie stage but many green kings were present. Those green kings were probably 28”- 30”.
Some Steelhead being caught but not many. In the 5 years we’ve made this mid Nov trip (25 days), we’ve only caught steelhead 2 days. They run much later than the PA strain.
Lots of browns going on stringers (I love to eat fish but these 22 inchers would look really nice next fall).
Every fly worked.
Despite these gaudy brown numbers, understand that next year it likely will be back to LANDING 10 or less browns in 5 days of fishing (unless you pick the perfect days).
Nov 5th
I stopped at 18 Mile Creek to check the stream while the rest of our group took the food to our room. In an hour and a half I caught 5 browns on the same Estaz fly. Positive first impression
I was able to get to the Oak for the final 2 1/2 hrs of daylight. I got a decent spot and the guys above me were hooking up very consistently (in one of the best spots in the creek). But soon leaf cleanup at the dam interrupted fishing for about 45 min (water level in the main fishing channel is about 1/5 of normal flows when leaf cleanup is occurring). Once the water was rising again I caught a 25” Atlantic Salmon, but the fishing really trended down after the water level was manipulated.
Nov 6
My son and I fished the entire day on the Oak and we got 8 browns and 3 kings. We also had another early morning leaf cleanup which halted most fishing for what was probably 45 min. When water levels were up, the flow would be tough for young or older folks to deal with. So be careful. There is always soft water available but watch out for your group. The fishing got better for us in the afternoon. We had a primo spot in morning but got secondary spots in the afternoon. Throughout the day we used egg flies and nymphs.
Nov 7
My son and I headed to 18 Mile Creek and arrived 1/2 hour after sun up. To our surprise, no one was in the best spot for browns. We camped there all day and very few people poked around. The browns were piling through. Some were creating reds. We stayed until dark. It seemed like every egg fly worked although we focused on Orange, Flo Orange and Yellow. We caught 51 browns and 1 king.
Nov 8
My son had only taken 2 days off so I fished alone. A cold snap came through with temps in the upper 30s / low 40s so I went back to the same location as yesterday but a little later in the morning. Action was good again. I tried mostly flies in my boxes that I rarely use and I caught browns on all of them. Again many fish had spawning on their mind but were also freely feeding. It seemed like upstream surge to spawning areas started about 2pm. I caught 21 browns.
Nov 9
Having fished 18 Mile two days in a row, I went to the Oak. From the clubhouse I counted 76 people fishing from as far as I could see downstream from the clubhouse to the head of the Archers Pool. I opted to head upstream past the Archers and of course the water was taken down again. I talked with a few guys in the Sycamore hole as I surveyed the amount of fish hanging around. There were more fish in 18 mile so I headed there. Once at 18 Mile, I found a crew from Connecticut had set up shop in the killer spot so I got bumped a little upstream. But they were a great group to fish near. We netted for each other and traded insight. It was not their first rodeo. I finished with 23 browns and a king. Once again I used many egg flies that I tend to ignore. Also of note, the fellow above me caught an Atlantic. Second noteworthy item, an older angler fell in but his head never submerged and 3 people reacted quickly to pull him out. He ended up being fine but his day was over.
Nov 10
Decided to arrive at 18 Mile at 630am and there were already 50 vehicles in the lot. I didn’t factor Veterans Day being on a Friday. It was packed to the Gills but everyone was catching fish. I caught 7 browns and a king and left for home at noon.
Summary
Amazing how many browns were in 18 Mile this week. Never have seen that. The browns were heavy but most were in the 18”- 22” range. Largest I saw were probably 26”.
When fighting browns, they obviously like to surge back into the current. Be ready for multiple surges but don’t discount the effectiveness of walking the fish back toward shore. Much easier to land them that way. Seems minor but it really helps. I watched many people break their line in close to shore. When they want to go, just give a little because you’ll get that line back quickly. Steady pressure, but give when needed.
The large Kings (36”) were in the zombie stage but many green kings were present. Those green kings were probably 28”- 30”.
Some Steelhead being caught but not many. In the 5 years we’ve made this mid Nov trip (25 days), we’ve only caught steelhead 2 days. They run much later than the PA strain.
Lots of browns going on stringers (I love to eat fish but these 22 inchers would look really nice next fall).
Every fly worked.
Despite these gaudy brown numbers, understand that next year it likely will be back to LANDING 10 or less browns in 5 days of fishing (unless you pick the perfect days).
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