Chautauqua County, NY - Deer here are 100 percent CWD-free
• Big Game (Deer/Bear) Early Archery Season Opens Oct. 1, ends Nov. 17, 2023
• Crossbow Season (Deer/Bear) Opens Nov. 4, runs through Nov. 17, 2023
• Big Game Firearm Season (Shotgun, Handgun, Rifle, Crossbow, Bow) Opens Nov. 18, ends Dec. 10, 2023
• Muzzleloader & Late Archery (Deer/Bear) Season Opens Dec. 11, ends Dec. 19, 2023
• Special Holiday “Deer Only” Season opens Dec. 26, ends Jan 1, 2024
In autumn and winter, located in the Southwest corner of New York State, Chautauqua County has become a one-stop fun-stop for hunters and fishermen. It is the land of big fish and big game hunting realization.
The start of autumn tributary steelhead fishing nearly coincides with the opening day of big game (whitetail deer and black bear) hunting in Chautauqua County, providing sportsmen and women with exceptional and exciting options. State harvest records validate our abundant population of deer and bear.
The county forests, wetlands, and agricultural areas provide excellent habitat for wildlife, and the same healthy landscape yields other benefits, including great-tasting wine and microbrews. The sweet grape vineyards are part of the rich eco-landscapes here, and the fresh air is exhilarating. Hikers, campers, bikers, and everyone can benefit from the fresh, crisp autumn air here.
With the equinox (Sep. 23) and start of chilling air, steelhead seek the cooling flows of several Chautauqua County Lake Erie tributaries - all part of Steelhead Alley. Anglers visit from all over the country to drift a fly (egg-sucking leech, wooly booger) or dangle a spinner (Panther Martin or Mepps #2) or in the cool water currents here, many with a focus to fish Chautauqua Creek. Chautauqua Creek is a 15-mile stream that flows from the village of Sherman through several miles of a deep picturesque gorge into the heart of Steelhead Alley in Lake Erie. From October through April, the creek is one of the top Lake Erie steelhead runs in Lake Erie. The lower section is renowned as a steelhead hotspot, but the fish passage project at the Westfield Water Works Dam provides steelhead with new access to the upper 10 miles of the creek. Below the dam, runs of brown trout are not uncommon in fall. There are 8.5 miles of public fishing rights on Chautauqua Creek, with a 1.3-mile catch and release/artificial lures-only section directly below the Westfield Water Works Dam.
There’s more. Chautauqua County tributaries also include Cattaraugus, Silver, Walnut and Canadaway Creeks. Traditional fly fishing gear is standard here, but everyday anglers often use simple open-face spinning gear. Center-pin fly rod fishing has become the recent rage of advanced-skill anglers. Most steelhead anglers catch and release their fish, but they are delicious if you keep a few - smoked, broiled or oven-baked. Our magnificent Lake Erie steelhead have already started to stage offshore in Lake Erie near all of our Chautauqua County tributaries.
For whitetail deer, unlike many parts of the United States today, Chautauqua County deer are 100 percent CWD-free. There were 10,515 whitetail deer harvested in Chautauqua County last year, including 4,236 adult bucks greater than 1.5 years old, with 4.0 bucks and 4.3 does harvested per square mile. Some 20 percent of the bucks were over 3.5 years old with an antler score of 140 and above. Big deer abound here. An estimated 38 percent of the deer were harvested with a bow. There were 31 black bears harvested last year, 15 during bow season and 16 with firearms. Five bears were taken near the village of Sherman. The southern zone big game early archery season is just ahead, with opening day on Sunday, Oct. 1 through Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. Big game hunting in New York officially opens 30 minutes before sunrise and ends 30 minutes after sunset on each hunting day. Lastly, be sure to consider the concept of outerwear layering to be prepared for warm, cold, wet or dry weather. It’s hunting season.
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Lodging: Spend the weekend at a bed and breakfast or cozy cottage, or bring the family to a deluxe hotel. Visit https://www.tourchautauqua.com/stay.
Fishing Reports: Lake Erie Fishing Hotline; Bill’s Hooks (Gerri Begier), 5139 W. Lake Rd. (Route 5), Dunkirk, NY, 716-366-0268; Jerome Miller’s Bait Store, 12707 Allegany Rd., Irving, NY, 716-934-2477.
Outdoor media and editors are authorized and encouraged to use this press release, or any section of this press release, in any manner they choose, including with their own by-line. Photographs must use the indicated author byline. Outdoor Media Contact: Dave Barus - Fishing & Hunting Promotions Associate, Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 1441, Chautauqua, NY, 14722; email: dbarus35@yahoo.com; Cell: 716-597-4081. Visitors Bureau Travel/Accommodations Contact: R. Andrew Nixon, Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 1441, Chautauqua, NY, 14722; Office: 716-357-4569; email: nixon@tourchautauqua.com; web: https://www.tourchautauqua.com; www.Facebook.com/Tour.Chautauqua.