Tailwater · Mixed · New York, US

Oak Orchard Creek

Oak Orchard River - Lake Alice
Today · Not the day for it
Egg Sucking Leech
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
90% projected
Today's fly
Egg Sucking Leech
Egg Sucking Leech
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
1.89 m
Lifting fast
Water temp23.4°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather6°C
WindN 32 km/h
Pressure1026 hPa
Rain · recent5.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
23°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°

A dam sets this river's temperature, not the weather, so it can shift several degrees within hours when the release changes. It also warms as it runs away from the dam.

How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Low insect activity predicted today

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • New York licence; verify NY DEC reach rules
  • Introduced, harvestable sport fishery.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 4
Genesee River
55 km
81
Steelhead · Chinook salmon · Coho salmon
Lower Niagara River
67 km
83
Steelhead · Brown trout · Chinook salmon
Oswego River
140 km
81
Steelhead · Chinook salmon · Coho salmon
Salmon River
174 km
81
Steelhead · Chinook salmon · Coho salmon
Gallery · 2
  1. Oak Orchard River - Lake Alice
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Oak Orchard Cr, Lower, and minor tribs' (NY0301-0004), 2022 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · NY0301-0004

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 86 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity64 × 12%7.7
Conditions total= 86
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts