CAPTAIN HOOK
I gave up on NY super madness about 5 years ago , now Erie has come to be the same. We have our local Steelhead, we call them Stripers not as many but super strong fighters ! Combat crowded fishing just brings out the worst in fishermen, snagging , foul hooking, lifting, lining, over limits, arguing, spot claiming, even fist fighting !I've seen it all from NY, Pa.,& Ohio trib fishing.   Just ain't worth it ! 

genieman77
 
 
 
One of the reasons I preferred fishing the early season .
More than enough fish in sept, and tons by Oct
In the last 3-4 years I was regular and often chasing steel, I was bored by this time of the season from catching so many.
 
Its also why I fished less than "prime" conditions
Everyone and their cousin overran the creeks when prime
 
LTA

fishfashfush
Does ohio and new york have this problem?

FiveMilePete

CAPTAIN HOOKBeing old school on this site I can tell you this much and you can blame anybody you want.Fact there are less fish showing up into the creeks along Erie shorelines.There are also more fishermen in "some areas" not all !Trout Run was more crowded years ago then now, and yet it always held mass amounts of fish! For weeks and months !I seen many a day when hundreds of fish were kept in one day !Remember the lake limit was 5 in those days .Day after day limits were carted out of Trout Run and the Marina constantly ! They had to put dumpsters in because of the mess from people and fish! Where are the fish at now ?  The mouth or Access of Elk has always been packed with fishermen up one side down the other plus boats and all kept 3 fish daily! Black with fish for weeks!Remember in those days catch and release was hardly practiced as compared to now days. Where are they now ?  You can blame the ropers all you want (I'm not one ) but that's not the problem. Those numbers are not there from the lake from the word go. There were tons of ropers in the 80's and 90's yet fishing stayed good because the fish were there ! I still blame the major cut backs in stocking, just and old guy's opinion that fished Erie since 1971.      

How's this for low numbers of fish.  One day last week, I went to 20 mile, and was surprised, there were 3 cars in the lot.  I walked from Rt. 5 to the mouth, didn't see a single fish, or a single fisherman, except two guys out in the lake.  So I walked the bank on the way back, checking the usual spots that used to hold fish, not a one.  So I drove over to Elk, at the Sterretania Access, by Elk Creek Inn.  Two cars in the lot.  Walked a while upstream, nothing.   There must be thousands of snaggers, I guess.  I've never seen anything like this in the middle of November.

Oh, almost forgot, I went down Seven Mile too, late in the afternoon, last Thursday, because I've been seeing five to 10 cars parked there.  Went down to the mouth, water crystal clear, nothing.  The old aquarium hole is now about two or three feet deep, and not even half as wide.  Snaggers got all the fish in that creek too, I guess.

I don't think limiting fishing will help the smolts, if the same numbers are being stocked, which I seriously doubt.  Maybe giving them an armed escort past the waiting walleye at the mouths of the creeks might help.