Syracuse.com - CNY trout opener generates lots of memories and big fish (Updated, with more pictures and videos)

[HuntingNY-News]

The secret is patience, and you just have to be sneaky," said Kevin Cute, of McGraw. "You just can’t walk up to a hole and think you’re going to catch a rainbow trout. They’re skittish. If you see them, they see you.” Watch video

JIm CommentucciJames Miller of McGraw (left) holds a 25-inch-long male rainbow trout, and Kevin Cute of McGraw a 22-inch-long spent female rainbow, caught in Skaneateles Lake tributary Grout Brook in the town of Scott Sunday on the opening day of regular trout season. A spent female trout is one that has already dropped her eggs in spawning and is dropping back into Skaneateles Lake. Jim Commentucci / The Post-Standard

Dennis Armani said he landed seven trout by 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning on Nine Mile Creek.

“I’m keeping two,” the Westvale resident said. “My neighbor loves fish and it’s Good Friday this week, so he’ll have some fish.”

Streams throughout Central New York were mostly clear and low, to moderately low on the opening day of trout season Sunday. The morning began overcast with a hint of sprinkles in the air. By noon, the temperature dropped and the day was marked with periods of rain and in some cases, sleet.

Nevertheless, it was a memorable opening day for many, particularly for the scores of anglers who lined Nine Mile Creek between Camillus and Marcellus. Each year it’s the most heavily fished, local waterway because of the numbers of stocked fish put in it.

Jake DeCapio, owner of the Wayfarer Co., a fly and spin fishing outfitter located along the stream, said he spotted nearly 70 parked cars as he drove into work before the sun came up.

“I’ve never seen that many,” he said.

Members from the local Rotary Club were out early selling coffee and baked goods at various points along the stream to raise money for the Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery, which stocks Nine Mile.

One particular fish was the talk at DeCapio’s shop at the end of the day.

“A 24-inch male rainbow came out of Nine Mile today,” DeCapio said, adding only that he knew the guy was from Oswego and kept the fish so he could mount it.

Andrea West, of Kirkville, was happy with her 15-inch brown trout she hooked with a worm. She let her daughter, Taylor, 6, reel it in.

“She reeled it in, so we let her keep it,” the mother said. “It’s in the car.”

Larry Morgan was concentrating on using Panther Martin lures, trying out three different colors before nailing his first trout.

“I tried copper and silver blades, and then switched to the dark, spotted one,” he said. “That’s the one that worked. I’m into catch and release, so the trout is back out there, floating in the stream somewhere.”

Dan Eddy, of Seneca Falls, and fishing buddy, Matt Ae, of Cato, were having great luck fishing with nymphs. The two fly fishermen landed five fish in less than an hour, they said.

It was a Great April Fools Day. We didn’t get fooled,” they said.

Anglers at Grout Brook, which flows into the south end of Skaneateles Lake, grappled with low, clear water as they tried to catch large, lake-run rainbows that each spring run up the stream to spawn.

“I’ve been fishing Grout Brook on opening day for 40 years,” said Kevin Cute, of McGraw, who landed a 22-incher. “The secret is patience, and you just have to be sneaky. You just can’t walk up to a hole and think you’re going to catch a rainbow trout. They’re skittish. If you see them, they see you.”

One of Cute’s fishing buddies, James Miller, also of McGraw, cashed in on Sunday. He proudly pulled out 25-inch rainbow he had on ice in his cooler in the back of his truck.

“We get here at midnight every year, and stay up all night,” Miller said. “Who can sleep? We can sleep tonight. It’s a tradition. We get a fire going. Last year we had elk meat and burgers. This year, it was venison sausage and hotdogs.”

Both anglers said the stream was low and clear, similar to how it usually looks in late May.

At Dresserville Creek, near Moravia, Barry Pettit, of Aurora, said he had only had one trout to his credit Sunday – a 3-inch, wild brown.

“Basically, all you can fish are the big deep holes. The rest is too low. It’s down a good foot,” he said. “I’ve lost more hooks (on snags) than I’ve caught fish today.”

Over at the Owasco Lake inlet, Larry Oliver, of Groton, sat back in his lawn chair, ignoring the rain and the decreasing temperatures.

“I’ve caught three trout and two, mud suckers,” he said.

Down the road in Locke, friends Hunter Hewitt and Caden Hooper, both 11, were fishing Hemlock Creek, a tributary that flows into the Inlet. They were using worms and lures, but were getting skunked.

“It looks like all the other people took our fish,” Hooper said.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog