Road Tripping: Clear Lake

 In the 1920’s, a reservoir was dug to supply water to the Gowanda Psychiatric Center. 

By the 1970’s, changes in the treatment of mental illness lead to the release of many patients into the community. In 1982, the facility was permanently closed. 

No longer needed for water supply, the state developed the property, eventually opening the Clear Lake Wildlife Management Area. A 500+ acre parcel of land that includes hiking trails, trap shooting, and the aforementioned one mile long Clear Lake, for fishing and paddle boating. Swimming and motorized boating are prohibited. 

I’ve been meaning to check the place out. It was too cold to boat so I opted to hike the trail around the lake and see what the fishing conditions were from shore. 

But, after hiking around the lake, it became obvious that fishing from shore would be difficult. The lake was shallow near land and the low hanging trees made casting very hard. When I did manage to find a small opening I could cast, I’d usually end up snagging an underwater stick. So I left Clear Lake after about 2 hours. Thanks for the gorgeous sunrise, I’ll be back when it’s warmer to boat fish. 

I left the lake and stopped for a few hours at a spot along the Cattaraugus creek that I’ve never fished before.

 I started to get hungry, so I went to a local park that has some nice picnic shelters that are first come first serve. 

I made my world famous sriracha carne picada. The slow braised steak was served with grilled garlic flatbread and blueberry goat cheese. 

I made a corn relish to top it off, but forgot that in the fridge at home. Even without it, this was a delicious meal. After a few beverages and a bit of weed, I decided to make one more stop along the Cattaraugus creek, to hit up another spot I’ve been meaning to visit. 

I spent a few hours here hiking the creek side. Unfortunately, the water level was quite low, so the fishing wasn’t the best. But I’ll return here sometime when I can hike further down stream. 

Overall, it was a fantastic day. I didn’t manage to catch a fish, but I visited four spots, fished three new places on two different bodies of water, and had one hell of a good time.