Trout Fishing in Allegany State Park

Allegany State Park and Trout Fishing Allegany State Park is the largest park in New York State at approximately 65,000 acres. The park represents one of the larg- est contiguous areas of publicly accessible wild and stocked trout fishing in the state and has the largest concentration of wild brook trout streams in western New York. The park has three campgrounds and hundreds of rental cabins for anglers wishing to stay and fish several days (www.nysparks.com). Special Park fishing regulations may apply on some of these waters and are not listed in DEC fishing regulations guide, so check with Allegany State Park Police in the Red House Administration building before fishing. The five maps in this brochure will help you locate the lakes and streams described below.

Trout Stocked Lakes in the park Two lakes (Red House Lake and Quaker Lake) and one pond (Science Lake) in Allegany State Park are stocked with trout each spring. Red House Lake receives 2,150 yearling brown trout each spring. Quaker Lake is stocked with 8,400 yearling brown trout and 400 two-year-old brown trout each spring. Science Lake is a small impoundment on the upper end of Quaker Run which receives 500 yearling brown trout each spring. Quaker Lake Trout fishing in all three of these lakes is primarily a spring time affair from ice-out into late June. Summer conditions in the lakes are not conducive to trout survival. Red House Lake and Quaker Lake provide good fishing opportunities for warm-water fish species such as bass and sunfish throughout the spring, summer and fall. There is also a popular ice fishery for northern pike on Quaker Lake in the winter. In most years, Red House Lake and Quaker Lake are stocked with surplus breeder trout in October and November, providing good late fall and winter angling for these large trout. Stocked Trout Streams in the park Five streams in Allegany State Park are stocked with trout each spring, mainly on a put and take basis. These streams do not generally have sufficiently cold water temperatures throughout the summer for the trout to survive year round. Almost 7 miles of Red House Brook are stocked with 1,100 yearling brown trout from Route 86 upstream to Red House Lake and with 2,600 brown trout from the lake to the junction with T-17 of Red House Brook. Red House Brook has numerous beaver ponds which provide quiet water angling opportunities, but also serve to raise summer water temperatures beyond the limits that trout can survive. T-17 of Red House Brook is stocked with 700 yearling brown trout over 1.6 miles. Quaker Run, located in the south- western part of the park, is stocked with 4,000 yearling brown trout and 100 two-year-old brown trout over 6 miles from Cain Hollow upstream to Science Lake. Quaker Run also has a modest popula- tion of wild brown trout and a few wild brook trout, found mainly from Quaker Run Coon Run upstream. Rice Brook, located on the eastern edge of the park, is stocked from the mouth upstream one mile with 300 yearling brown trout. Some wild brown trout and brook trout are found throughout the length of Rice Brook. Bay State Brook, is stocked from the park bound- ary upstream 1.8 miles with 550 yearling brown trout. Beaver activity in Bay State Brook greatly warms summer water temperatures and has inhibited any wild trout population from developing in this stream. Trout Fishing in Allegany State Park

Wild Trout Streams in the park A large number of streams in the park support varying levels of wild trout reproduction. Most of the park’s 65,000 acres are made up of maturing forest and the small, headwater streams flowing through these forested areas maintain ideal temperatures to support the native stream trout of New York State, the brook trout. These streams all share several things in common. First they are very small streams, averaging 5-15 feet in width. While they often have ideal flows for trout angling in the spring, in the summer stream flows are sometimes reduced to a trickle between the remaining pools. Low summer stream flows limit habitat for adult trout. These small, headwater streams also are low in nutrients and support smaller populations of trout than larger more fertile streams. Because of limited habitat and fertility, wild brook trout are seldom found that exceed 8 inches and wild brown trout seldom exceed 11 inches. Life is difficult and often short for trout in these streams, with brook trout seldom surviving for more than 3 years and brown trout for more than 4 years. What these streams lack in the numbers and size of their trout, they make Stoddard Creek up for in their solitude and beauty. Anglers fishing these streams can ex- pect to have plenty of water to themselves and you will be surrounded by mature hemlock forest and singing birds. You will have a good chance to see numerous species of wildlife, including black bear while you are fish- ing. These streams are not stocked with trout, but rather rely on natural reproduction, and anglers are encouraged to release the trout you catch. Over-harvest can quickly deplete the limited trout populations in these creeks, and they can take years to recover. Remember, the trout you re- lease are likely to be there for you and others to enjoy on future trips! While dozens of streams in the park have wild trout, the following streams are likely to contain the healthiest populations. On the eastern side of the park, Limestone Brook and Irish Brook both support wild brook trout populations with a few wild brown trout as well. In the Red House Brook watershed, Beehunter Creek, Stoddard Creek and McIntosh Creek contain wild brook trout, with some wild brown trout found in Stoddard Creek. The upper secion of Wolf Run in the southwestern corner of the park supports wild brook and brown trout. In the Quaker Run watershed, English Creek and Coon Run have wild brook and brown trout. Special Trout Regulations in the park Both Quaker Lake and Red House Lake are open for trout fishing all year, Primary Fish Species with ice fishing permitted under special DEC regulations. There is no mini- mum size limit and a creel limit of five trout per day, of which only two can Brook Trout be greater than 12 inches long. In all waters of Allegany State Park, except Quaker Lake and Red House Lake, trout fishing is allowed from October 16 to March 31, during which time only artificial lures may be used and all trout caught must be immediately released unharmed. From April 1 through Oc- tober 15, statewide trout regulations apply. On Quaker Run, Allegany State Brown Trout Park has applied a special “delayed harvest” regulation on the lower portion of the creek (see park police for details).

Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) Location

Cattaraugus County

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