MOHAWK - Discovering the Valley of the Crystals Copyright 2003
Chapter 12 - Tributaries
West Canada Creek Part Two - Putnam Road to Crescent Bridge
Discovery: When it Rains it Pours
July 21, 2003, 65 degrees, Cloudy, Threatening Rain 
Heavy rain wasn't expected until around noon,
so we decided to canoe the 4-mile section between Putnam Road and Crescent
Bridge. Although this part of the river starts and ends along Route 28,
most of it is well away from the road, providing excellent opportunities
to catch fish and see wildlife.
from the run above Ryan's Bend.
When we launched at 8:30 a.m. I predicted we would
catch at least one 15-inch trout. Denny was skeptical. 
Two
fisherman were working the runs and pools near the launch site, so we paddled
into the current and floated downstream passing through Bianco's Riff and
on towards Ryan's Bend. At 9:05, Denny hooked a brown trout on a gold Rapala.
Believe it or not, it measured exactly 15 inches. As he always does when
he catches a good trout, he declared, "This is the best trout I've ever
caught!"
Road noises faded away, replaced by the sound of
the river and the crows heralding our presence. A small flock of Canada
geese on a gravel island slipped into the current and drifted downstream.
From the other side of the river a family of mergansers did the same.
The big pool at Ryan's Bend is heavily
fished because it's right next to Partridge Hill Road. However, the lower
end is impossible to fish from the brush-covered bank, so it usually gives
up a trout or two, especially at the mouths of two small tributaries. Usually.
A fishermen was standing in Comstock Run, so we breezed
through, crossing under Comstock (Blue) Bridge at 10:40. On the right
side of the river, downstream from the bridge, two men were fishing from
an anchored canoe. They told us they had always done well at that location.
The 3/4-mile stretch of flatwater below Comstock
Bridge is called The Lake. It's one of the best fisheries on the river.
The upper end is a wide run over rocks and boulders---between tree-lined
banks---that is relatively easy to wade, so it's very popular, especially
with fly fishermen. The lower end features a deep pool filled with boulders.
It's away from the road, difficult to wade and one of my favorite canoe-fishing
holes. Over the years, I've caught bragging-size brook trout, smallmouth
bass and even a 2 1/2-pound largemouth from this pool.
Fought like a walleye and looks like a bass.
None of the above.
When we drifted into the upper end of The Lake, raindrops
dimpled the surface. I told Denny that years ago the river seemed to be
filled with fallfish. They loved trout lures, flies and bait, and a 10-12-inch
fish put up a short but respectable battle. They saved the day when trout
refused to bite. I noted that I hadn't caught a fallfish from the West
Canada in years.
By
the time we reached the lower end of The Lake, the rain had increased in
intensity, but it wasn't pouring. While Denny cast to the shoreline
boulders, I flipped a tiny Rapala to the middle of the river. When it hit
the water, something took it and dove to the bottom of the pool. It fought
like a big walleye, stripping line from the spinning reel and bending the
ultralight rod to a half-moon arch. There are no walleyes in this section,
so I thought it was a monster brown trout. Denny was sure it was a big
smallmouth. None of the above. It was the biggest and fattest fallfish
I'd ever caught. It measured 18 inches and had to weigh over 2-pounds.
Go figure.
The Lake ends just upstream from Mill Creek where
deposits of rock and cobble created a stretch of rapids and riffles, and
three islands. I told Denny there was a good pool on the lower end of one
of the islands that I had fished often but never caught anything. When
he swam his plug through the pool, he hooked something and reeled it in.
It looked like a banana peel coming through the water. We were both astounded
to discover a 9-inch yellow curlytail on a jig that weighed a couple of
ounces. Ocean tackle.
Denny
took a 9-inch trout from behind a boulder upstream from the stone abutments
that once supported the Cameron Covered Bridge. The pool next to the right
abutment has produced a number of smallmouths. We didn't catch anything
there or from the downstream pool named after famed West Canada fly fisherman,
Jack McDiarmid. Jack was catching 20-inch browns from this pool when
he was in his 80s.
When we passed the Fishermen's Parking Area that
local anglers call Yellow Gate, a fisherman was working the runs near the
mouth of Beecher Brook. By this time it was pouring so hard a mist hung
over the river. As we approached Painted Rock and the end of our trip,
three great blue herons took flight and disappeared into the fog.
The rain stopped and a fishermen materialized in
the middle of the river. We beached the canoe well upstream and carried
it to the roadside parking area near Crescent Bridge. It was 11:30.
Type Trenton Falls, select New York, press GO! Use margin arrows to follow the West Canada Creek downstream.
