Fishing Silver Creek Reservoir in Chautauqua County, New York

• Overview

  Silver Creek Reservoir sits within Chautauqua County in New York. The water sits 1,152 feet up. At about 45 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The nearest place of any size is Silver Creek, 6.5 miles away. The big place round here is Buffalo, 31 miles distant. The line between counties passes nearby, which can change who manages the water.

• Where to Fish on Silver Creek Reservoir

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Reported across Chautauqua County: yellow perch, walleye and pumpkinseed. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. The shape of Silver Creek Reservoir rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 69°F at the top of summer and 22°F at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early April. From about early April to around mid December, expect open water on the long-run figures. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. On Silver Creek Reservoir the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, East Mud Lake is 2.5 miles distant. Where Silver Creek Reservoir is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.