Wellsville Area: Fishing wakes up hibernators

Camden Graves from Pennsylvania and Sheldon Gardner from Bolivar enjoyed fishing the Genesee on opening day.

WELLSVILLE - Opening day of Trout and Salmon fishing in NYS didn’t catch many people fishing locally. Checking out local fishing holes on the Genesee River showed very few, if any anglers fishing the rushing water. Some fishermen who did cast into the water said the fish were biting.
But the fishing might not have been the real attraction. All the fisherman said they were more than happy to get out into the open air this second week of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Stay Home” rule.
Fisherman Sheldon Gardner of Bolivar caught fishing near Island Park commented, “There is plenty of room for social distancing on the river bank.”

ICU and Bath VA Nurse Tim Costello spent a few relaxing hours on the river Wednesday before heading for work.

It was also a little respite for nurse Tim Costello who works at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bath as well as at ICUs in Penn Yan and Geneva.
Residing in Riverview Heights, he put his pole in the Genesee at York’s Corners, Jack Bridge Road, and with his son Cody caught four “big ones” before lunch.
He planned on going to work in Bath after hitting “Gypsy Lane.”
The Department of Environmental Conservation has urged people to use the state’s parks and streams for responsible recreation (maintaining social distancing) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fishing licenses, and all game licenses may be purchased online or by using the HuntFishNY app. Those who apply will eventually get a paper permit in the mail, but until then they can use their transaction number.

Earlier in the month the state’s lakes and streams were stocked with 1.68 million brown trout, 424,860 rainbow trout, and 156,970 brook trout.