I made several trips recently to Rochester’s crown jewel, the Genesee River. The Genny was flowing high in Winter and early Spring, then the Power Company abruptly dropped the water level. This coincided with the warmer, eighty degree plus temperature we experienced two weeks ago. The result, was a very quick spawn with low water conditions and beleaguered steelhead. In my years of steelheading the Genny during April and May, this season resulted in exceptionally low water and a shortened window to target these magnificent urban fish. As I type this draft, the cfs is a paltry 1,370. Hiking and scouting yesterday, I didn’t see any fish on the gravel or in shallow water. A fellow two handed fly fisherman, confirmed that he hadn’t hooked up and was skeptical regarding his odds. The vast majority of fish have dropped back to the lake and are now miles away. My best guess is that for fly rodders, the Genny is likely done with steelhead until next Fall.
The Genesee is a unique, quirky steelhead fishery that doesn’t appeal to all anglers. It is located near a gritty neighborhood, angler’s cars have been broken into, you hear sirens when fishing, trees grab flies, there is litter on the banks, water clarity is poor and the preponderance of rocks and ledges diminish your fly box. No other river eats as many flies as the Genny! Many of my fishing friends and acquaintances won’t fish the Genny. Add heavy fall crowds, monofilament messes strewn on the banks, sketchy behavior around the parking lot/gorge, and I don’t blame them. My personal pet peeve is the piles of mono that I pick up and deposit in my own trash can. There are ugly hunks of twisted mono on lower stretches of the river bank that will make any conservationist wince. Just from today’s trip, I returned to my car w/ several more beer cans, fishing plug wrappers and junk food containers. All new trash within 72 hours.
So why fish the Genny? The gorge is lined w/ plentiful oaks and maples. There are turkey, osprey, deer and coyote in the gorge- within the City Limits of Rochester. It is CNY’s widest steelhead water. The fish can be large, aggressive and take streamers. Sometimes, you catch smallmouth, walleye, or even large carp while fishing for steelehead. It is also a 15 minute drive from my house. My best trip this past week was seven hook ups. My hook-ups came drifting egg patterns and nymphs, while a few came swinging a white crystal bugger or tiny muddler minnow. Oddly, the most savage strikes came on my smallest baitfish pattern. My friends who caught the conditions (water flow and clarity) just right, did even better.
While the Genny and smaller creeks may be done, there are still steelhead to be caught in the Cat, Oak Orchard, Salmon and a select few that still have cooler temperatures. As it is still April, it’s not unusual for a good rain to trigger a minor run of fish. If you’re done with tributary fishing, break out that 4/5 weight and enjoy the present hendrickson hatch. Heck, there’s even reports of brim and bass biting. Lastly, let’s all lend a hand and carry out some trash from our beloved waterways.
