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River4 counties, NYData checked Oct 4, 2026

Cattaraugus Creek fishing guide

A 72-mile river touching 4 New York counties: Erie, Cattaraugus, Wyoming and Chautauqua. The state agency lists 6 species here and last stocked it in October 2025. It has 7 public access points and 1 live sensor on the water.

Map of Cattaraugus Creek: the water in blue, public access points in orange, sensors in green, county lines dashed
Water Access Sensor Drawn from USGS and agency data; not for navigation.
72 mi
long
6
species listed
125
stocking records in 10 years
7
public access points

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Live sensors on this water

  • Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda NY · flow, water level, water temperature · USGS 04213500

Cattaraugus Creek flow

Flow gauge: Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda NY, USGS 04213500 . The forecast above shows its latest reading and band: Fishable up to this month's typical high (75th percentile), High up to the 90th percentile, Blown out above that.

Typical flow by month

Typical is the middle half of daily mean flows in that month (25th to 75th percentile), from 20–21 years of USGS records.

MonthTypical flow (cfs)Median (cfs)Blown out above (cfs)
January479–1,2237452,220
February426–1,0806702,022
March746–1,6101,0202,921
April677–1,4909582,464
May368–8225191,301
June230–467317736
July174–395245733
August148–291198539
September125–251168411
October170–6363231,272
November328–9455801,550
December580–1,3008592,150

Flow over the last 72 hours at this and nearby gauges

Fish species in Cattaraugus Creek

Species on the official fishing-waters list from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, then species known only from stocking. Species links open our guide to that fish in New York.

SpeciesStatusLast stocked
Brown TroutAgency listOct 2025
Channel CatfishAgency list—
Rainbow TroutAgency listOct 2025
Smallmouth BassAgency list—
SteelheadAgency listMar 2025
Lake SturgeonStockedOct 2025

Stocking history

Last stocked October 2025: brown trout catchable, lake sturgeon yearling and rainbow trout yearling. 125 stocking records in the last 10 years, 1,222,092 fish in all, from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Each row below sums the agency's records for one month, species and size.

DateSpeciesSizeFish stocked
Oct 2025Brown Troutcatchable462
Oct 2025Lake Sturgeonyearling996
Oct 2025Rainbow Troutyearling15,000
Jun 2025Brown Troutfry508
May 2025Brown Troutcatchable250
May 2025Brown Troutyearling2,290
Mar 2025Steelheadfingerling58,400
Oct 2024Brown Troutcatchable480
Oct 2024Rainbow Troutyearling15,000
May 2024Brown Troutcatchable2,430
May 2024Steelheadfingerling22,604
Apr 2024Brown Troutcatchable7,490
Mar 2024Brown Troutcatchable2,430
Mar 2024Steelheadfingerling57,406
Oct 2023Brown Troutcatchable465
Oct 2023Rainbow Troutyearling15,000
May 2023Brown Troutcatchable2,420
Apr 2023Brown Troutcatchable5,530
Apr 2023Brown Troutyearling2,180
Mar 2023Brown Troutcatchable2,420
46 earlier rows, back to Nov 2016
DateSpeciesSizeFish stocked
Mar 2023Steelheadfingerling41,327
Oct 2022Brown Troutcatchable500
Oct 2022Rainbow Troutyearling15,000
May 2022Brown Troutcatchable2,420
May 2022Steelheadfingerling24,700
Apr 2022Brown Troutcatchable4,840
Apr 2022Steelheadfingerling37,635
Mar 2022Brown Troutcatchable4,480
Oct 2021Brown Troutcatchable2,000
Oct 2021Rainbow Troutyearling15,000
Jun 2021Rainbow Troutcatchable12,000
May 2021Brown Troutcatchable2,420
Apr 2021Brown Troutcatchable4,600
Mar 2021Brown Troutcatchable4,480
Mar 2021Steelheadfingerling57,569
Oct 2020Brown Troutyearling7,000
Oct 2020Rainbow Troutyearling15,000
May 2020Brown Troutcatchable2,610
Mar 2020Brown Troutcatchable4,180
Mar 2020Brown Troutyearling5,040
Mar 2020Rainbow Troutcatchable1,800
Mar 2020Steelheadfingerling56,030
Oct 2019Rainbow Troutfingerling4,000
Oct 2019Rainbow Troutyearling15,000
May 2019Brown Troutcatchable2,410
May 2019Steelheadfingerling43,640
Apr 2019Brown Troutcatchable750
Apr 2019Brown Troutyearling3,810
Mar 2019Brown Troutcatchable1,200
Mar 2019Brown Troutyearling5,500
Oct 2018Rainbow Troutyearling16,200
May 2018Brown Troutcatchable2,080
Apr 2018Brown Troutcatchable4,490
Apr 2018Steelheadfingerling90,000
Mar 2018Brown Troutcatchable1,200
Mar 2018Brown Troutyearling5,400
Nov 2017Steelheadfingerling203,000
Jun 2017Brown Troutcatchable2,900
May 2017Brown Troutcatchable1,800
Apr 2017Brown Troutcatchable750
Apr 2017Brown Troutyearling3,550
Apr 2017Steelheadfingerling90,000
Mar 2017Brown Troutcatchable3,180
Mar 2017Brown Troutyearling3,140
Dec 2016Steelheadfingerling158,700
Nov 2016Steelheadfingerling25,000

Plus 16 stocking records before October 2016 in the agency data.

Search stocking by water and date · Agency stocking reports

Public access and boat launches

1 carry-in launch and 6 shoreline access sites from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; orange dots on the map above.

Access along the river

  1. End near Java Center
  2. mi 5Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (East Arcade Rd)Shore
  3. mi 14Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (Northwoods Rd)Shore
  4. mi 16Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (NY 16 & 39)Shore
  5. mi 33Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (Scoby Rd)Shore
  6. mi 44Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (Otto Rd)Shore
  7. mi 44Cattaraugus Creek boat launchCarry-in
  8. mi 50Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (Valentine Flats Rd)Shore
  9. mi 54Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda NYFlow gauge
  10. End near Sunset Bay
Positions along the river, not to scale. Miles are approximate, measured along our mapped river line from the first end listed.

Access points

  • Cattaraugus Creek boat launch
    Hand Launch · near Zoar
    40 car spaces
    Carry-in
  • Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (East Arcade Rd)
    East Arcade Rd · near Arcade
    ParkingStocked: brown trout, rainbow trout
    Shore
  • Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (Northwoods Rd)
    Northwoods Rd · near Arcade
    ParkingStocked: brown trout, rainbow trout
    Shore
  • Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (NY 16 & 39)
    NY 16 & 39 · near Sardinia
    ParkingStocked: brown trout, rainbow trout
    Shore
  • Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (Otto Rd)
    Otto Rd · near Otto
    ParkingStocked: brown trout, rainbow trout
    Shore
  • Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (Scoby Rd)
    Scoby Rd · near Concord
    ParkingStocked: brown trout, rainbow trout
    Shore
  • Cattaraugus Creek fishing access (Valentine Flats Rd)
    Valentine Flats Rd · near Persia
    ParkingStocked: brown trout, rainbow trout
    Shore

Find boat ramps near you

Regulations

No special regulations for Cattaraugus Creek in our data. New York statewide rules apply unless the agency lists a special rule for this water. Seasons, limits and size rules change: check New York fishing regulations before every trip.

Licence: New York fishing licences from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Cattaraugus Creek fishing FAQ

What fish are in Cattaraugus Creek?

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation lists 6 species for Cattaraugus Creek: brown trout, channel catfish, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, steelhead and lake sturgeon.

When was Cattaraugus Creek last stocked?

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation last stocked Cattaraugus Creek in October 2025 with brown trout, lake sturgeon and rainbow trout. Our data has 125 stocking records in the last 10 years.

Where can I launch a boat on Cattaraugus Creek?

The agency lists 1 carry-in launch and 6 shoreline access sites for Cattaraugus Creek, near Zoar. Each one is listed in the access section with parking and toilets where the agency records them.

Is there a water temperature sensor on Cattaraugus Creek?

Yes. Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda NY reports water temperature; the latest reading is in today's forecast at the top of this page.

Is there a flow gauge on Cattaraugus Creek?

Yes. USGS gauge 04213500 (Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda NY) measures flow on Cattaraugus Creek. Its median daily flow runs from about 168 cfs in September to 1,020 cfs in March. Today's reading is in the forecast at the top of this page; the flow section has the typical range by month.

Sources: New York State DEC, Boat launch sites · New York State DEC, Recommended Fishing Lakes and Ponds (mw8j-wduf); Recommended Fishing Rivers and Streams (tjny-fki3), on data.ny.gov · New York State DEC, Public Fishing Rights parking areas (9vef-6whi), on data.ny.gov · New York State DEC, Fish stocking lists on data.ny.gov · U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, domestic names · U.S. Geological Survey, National Hydrography Dataset, high resolution, state geodatabases (NHDWaterbody, NHDFlowline); 3DHP when it replaces it · U.S. Geological Survey, Water Data OGC API (monitoring locations, discharge, gage height, water temperature). Checked: Oct 4, 2026. Official links open the agency page. How we use data

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