MOHAWK - Discovering the Valley of the Crystals Copyright 2003
Chapter 12 - Tributuaries
Ninemile Creek is 25 miles Long
Ninemile Creek is more than meets the eye. For starters it's 25 miles long
and flows north, west and south on its way to the Mohawk River . . . nine
miles from Rome. Before the last glacier deposited a huge pile of gravel
at Prospect, some 10,000 years ago, the Ninemile carried the northern waters
of West Canada Creek into the Mohawk Valley.
Nine mile creek runs shallow most of the year, yet there are stretches of trout and bass water, and ample opportunities to see wildflowers and wildlife in wild places.
Over the years it has provided the power to run mills
in South Trenton, Holland Patent, Stittville and places in between. There
were cheese factories along the Ninemile; the one near South Trenton was
the last of its kind in Central New York. Water from behind the dam at
Trenton Falls flows into the Ninemile via a feeder canal that was constructed
in 1915 to provide water for the Barge Canal.
Today, the creek's waters run shallow much of the
year, yet there are several miles of water deep and cold enough for trout
and other fish species. Where wheat fields, and later dairy farms, once
lined the creek from end to end, wildlife, wildflowers and wild places
abound. Although some of the dairy farms are still in operation and most
of the creek runs through private lands, many stretches can be explored
without interference.
Few people realize how much country this stream
covers as it winds its way westward along the north side of the Deerfield
Hills before turning south to meet the Mohawk. Let's follow its path.
The Ninemile starts in Herkimer County on the north
side of the Deerfield Hills with merging trickles from Bell Hill and Tanner
Hill. It flows northeast crossing Steuben Rd. near Martin Corners. At the
junction of Bell Hill Rd., Strumlock Rd. and Honey Hill Rd., the creek
turns northwest, crossing into Oneida County at the 2.5-mile mark, where
it passes under Harris Rd. and then Route 8 at 4.5 miles. From Route 8
it winds westward, flowing under Crooked Brook Rd., Cheese Factory Rd (twice),
picks up the waters of Crooked Brook and at 10 miles crosses under the
Rte 12 four-lane highway. Here it turns northwest to the hamlet of
South Trenton, crossing old Route 12 and passing by the site one of the
last operating cheese factories in Central New York, before turning west
once again.
At 12 miles the stream widens considerably, picking
up the waters of the Barge Canal feeder at 13 miles. It passes under Hoffman
Rd, Glass Factory Rd. and then Fox Rd. at Holland Patent. At 16 miles it
turns southwest, picking up the waters of Beaver Creek and Willow
Creek. After crossing under Miller Rd. and the railroad tracks, it passes
under two bridges at Stittville, having traveled over 18 miles.
For two miles the Creek flows away from the
road before crossing a bridge on a short road connecting Route 291 and
Ritchie Rd. A half-mile downstream it crosses under the first of two bridges
on Ritchie Rd, the second bridge at 24 miles. From there it flows under
old Route 49, new Route 49 and into the Barge Canal at 25 miles.
Ninemile waters cross the canal, flow over a dam
and into the Mohawk River at a point nine miles from Rome on the old river.
Route 49 to Ritchie Road
Discovery:
Pleasant Surprises on Ninemile Creek
May 30, 2000 60 degrees. Sunny
After hiding my hiking boots next to a tree stump
on the second bridge up Ritchie Road, I drove back to the old Route 49
bridge where I parked the Jeep and pulled on hip boots. It was 9:15 a.m.
As usual I carried an ultra-light spinning outfit loaded with 6-pound test
monofilament. Ninemile Creek is stocked with brown trout, so my fishing
line was tipped with a gold Phoebe.
As attested by numerous tracks in the sand, the
area near the bridge had been fished heavily that Memorial Day weekend,
so I moved along quickly, making a few casts without success. The creek
bottom in this area was hard rock and slippery, so I stuck to the shoreline.
A great blue heron lifted off a sand bar and flew
upstream. In addition to the heron tracks, the sand bar was covered with
deer tracks. Around the next bend I saw two more herons and a grey squirrel.
A long pool in the shade produced a couple of hits
and a follow that looked like a small trout. Just upstream another pool
produced a 12-inch smallmouth bass that regurgitated a minnow when I was
releasing it.
Along this stretch, the creek was littered with
rocks and cobble, plus pebbles and chips of shale. Sycamore, poplar, willow,
ferns and a few phlox grew along the streambank.
A long stretch of shallow and mostly fast water
was bracketed by a highbank on the right and a field of ferns and
some sycamores on the left.
I was almost to the first bridge up Ritchie Rd.
when an 11-inch smallmouth took my gold lure and jumped out of the water.
In the area near the bridge, the creek passed through outcrops of shale
over limestone. The hole under the bridge produced a follow but no hits.
Just above the bridge, the hard-rock creek bottom was black on the
right side and light colored on the left side. Interesting.
Just upstream, limestone over shale turned to all
shale, but around the next bend were cobbles. Streamside vegetation was
predominately elm, sumac, willow and poplar.
A shallow, shady run produced a real surprise, a
13 1/2-inch smallmouth, plus two smaller fish. When I worked the
gold spoon through a hard-rock run below a fallen tree, a 15-inch smallmouth
smacked it and put up a spectacular fight. Just upstream another run produced
a 13-inch bass. What was going on here? This was supposed to be brown
trout water.
At 11:10, I approached a ledge and a
one-foot waterfalls. A public fishing sign was tacked to a tree on my right
and a well-traveled deer trail ran along the bank. Just upstream, a cast
into fast water produced a small brown trout.
My next discovery was especially interesting. A
stretch of the creek bottom was an upended outcrop; layers of sedimentary
rock standing on end. Each layer was worn round, forming a solid-rock corduroy
bottom. I knew this stretch would be hard to wade. Half way through, I
took a tumble, landing on one knee. My camera, watch and one sleeve got
wet, and some water got in one hip boot. I was rewarded with another smallmouth.
At 11:30 I approached a big hole at a sharp bend
in the stream where there were a number of fallen trees on the streambank.
After several casts with no hits and no follows, I surmised there was a
big fish in that hole. No doubt a wary brown trout.
A great blue heron flew upstream into a background
of puffy, cotton candy clouds in a deep blue sky, over green vegetation.
So many greens this time of year. The streambed was mostly broken shale
with some cobble. A highbank of shale on the right was topped with hemlocks.
On the left were abandoned farmfields. Just above, where the creek is wide
and shallow, I got the answer to my question.
The reason I was catching so many bass in trout
water was because Barge Canal smallmouths had come up the creek to spawn.
There were several beds in this area and a few fish hanging around. That
of course is why bass season is closed at this time of year. I left the
spawning fish alone.
Around noon I heard a loud cracking noise and then
a crash. Funny I hadn't heard a chain saw. Ten minutes later pieces
of rotted wood floated by. Around the next bend, I discovered a big hemlock
lying halfway across the creek. Debris was still washing away from the
fallen tree.
At 12:20 I waded around some small islands, their
upper ends piled high with uprooted and fallen trees, indicative of the
extremely high water that Spring. The creek bottom was almost all rock
and cobble. Upstream from the islands I caught a 10-inch brown and a 14-inch
smallmouth.
It was 12:50 when I worked the lure through a long,
shaded run; a highbank covered with hemlocks and birch on the right; a
field of fern, willow and elm on the left. Ten minutes later, I walked
along a gravel and cobble bar on a big sweeping bend in the creek. A deep
pool produced a follow but no hits. I was getting tired. Two and a half
miles isn't a long walk, but when you're pushing water it adds up.
When the bridge came into view it was a welcome
sight. A camp trailer with attached awning was set up on the left bank
in front of a house. The creek was shallow in this area but there were
plenty of minnows.
The cement bridge was anchored to bedrock. I caught
and released two brown trout from the pool under the bridge.
At 1:25, after shucking the hip boots, putting
on the hidden hiking boots, and stashing fishing gear, I hiked down
Ritchie Road, passing hayfields, homes and farms along the way. A black
lab and a rotweiller came out to "greet" me. I was back at the Jeep a 1:55.
Ten minutes later I picked up my fishing gear and headed home . . . having
completed my first discovery trip on Ninemile Creek.
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Stittville select New York, press GO! Click on margin arrows to follow Ninemile Creek.
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