Syracuse.com - Central New York's trout fishing opening day has lots of chills, few thrills (photo slideshow)

[HuntingNY-News]

Anglers spirits were high, but so were most streams and creeks - and muddy, too.

Syracuse, N.Y. - This morning's opener of the statewide trout fishing season in Central New York had lots of chills and few thrills.

Anglers spirits were high, but so were most streams and creeks - and muddy, too.

The temperature at 6:30 a.m. on Nine Mile Creek in Marcellus was a frosty, 24 degrees. Cold water and cold air makes for inactive, slow-moving fish. Many of today's early birds on the streams and creeks did not make out too well.

Of nearly two dozen anglers polled between 7 and 9 a.m. Nine Mile Creek., only one had a fish in his five-gallon bucket. It was a 10 inch brown.

"Ah, but it's opening day of fishing season, man," smiled Michael Wrobleski, of Syracuse. "I've been out on opening day 25 of the last 26 years."

Jeremiah Helsel, of Syracuse, got out on Nine Mile at 5:30 a.m. with his girlfriend, Samantha Gabriell. The temperature was in the low 20s when they started.

"My feet were freezing. I have hand warmers in my boots," Gabriell said.

The two were using salted minnows. When approached at 8:30 a.m., neither had had a bite.

"Same for everyone around us. Everyone was trying something different and having the same result - a runny nose," Helsel said.

Jake DeCapio, owner of the Wayfarer Co., a tackle shop on Nine Mile, said it was a tough morning.

"Only about 10 percent of the anglers I talked to caught one trout," he said. "The largest fish that I know of that was caught today was released. It was a 23-inch brown from Skaneateles Creek."

An informal poll by this reporter of anglers at Nine Mile, Grout Brook and Butternut Creek revealed the best morning action was on Grout Brook. I tweeted my observations from the streams from 7 to 11 a.m.

Joe Manion, of Memphis, caught a 16-inch rainbow on Grout measuring around 16 inches. He said he also caught and released a 10-incher.

Upstream from him, the action was hot and heavy with anglers catching some nice bows, ranging in size from 18 to 27 inches.

David Ward, of Constantia, caught a 25 incher on an orange egg sac at about 7:30 a.m. "I missed another about the same size just before I caught this one," he said.

Fishing buddies Chad Whible, of Truxton; Coty Cute, of Cortland; James Miller, of McGraw, and Ronald Miller, of Cortland, all had fish to show.

Whible's rainbow measured 18 inches, James Miller's fish measured 24 1/2 inches and his brother Ronald's fish measured 21 inches. The biggest rainbow was caught by Cute. It was a 27 incher. The all got them on orange egg sacs tied by James Miller.

Miller said the weekend's rain and melt "washed a lot of fish out of here.

"The water is high. It's real cold. The fish are tucked up tight to everything. I just think it's going to be a tough first week," he said.

Butternut Creek was up and chocolate colored. Of the half dozen anglers interviewed, only one had caught a fish. Eugene Blum, of Baldwinsville, landed a 13-inch brown on the stream at about 8 a.m.

"Got him on a night crawler," he said.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog