Fish Creek, E. Branch, New York, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | II-IV (varies with level) |
|---|---|
| Length | 9.4 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 48 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAST BRANCH FISH CREEK AT TABERG NY | ||||
| usgs-04242500 | 1000 - 6000 cfs | II-III | 01h00m | 390 cfs (rc= -0.4 ) |
Fish Creek may be the finest play river in the Northeast, with big, fast waves and holes
that range from purring pussycat to sneering tiger. Paddlers may put in below the City of Rome
dam (Lat: 43.3377991 Lon: -75.5815353) or at Point Rock (coords given below); the takeout is 1/2
mile below the town of Taberg along Blossvale Road (4.5 miles from the dam, feels like 10
miles).
Most of the action takes place below the dam; you get a shorter, concentrated run, but you have
to walk your boat down to put in. The stretch from Point Rock to the dam is more mellow, but many
paddlers use it, especially at higher levels (3 feet and above), because that avoids the long
walk to the dam; also, the upper section does have good play and some beautiful scenery, with
waterfalls (icy in the early spring) cascading down the steep gorge walls at every turn.
Directions to takeout:
From the West (Syracuse and Thruway West):
Take Exit 34 (Canastota), head North on Rte. 13 toward Vienna.
Where Rte. 13 T's into Rte. 49 (North of Sylvan Beach), head Right onto Rte. 49.
After about 2.2 miles, just after Kimball Rd., take a Left onto Pine Rd. (If you miss this turn,
take the Left, three miles farther, onto Herder Rd.)
Pine Rd. will T into Blossvale / Herder Rd. Take a Left, toward Taberg.
After about 3 miles, the road will follow E. Br., Fish Creek. Park where a takeout looks
convenient.
The takeout is about 1/2 mile South of Taberg; if you miss it and hit the stop sign in town, turn
Right and get a look at the gage on the Bridge, upstream river left.
From the East (Utica, Albany):
Take Exit 32 (Westmoreland / Rome); head North on Rte. 233 toward Rome.
In Rome, head Northwest on Rte. 69 toward Taberg.
Follow Rte. 69 about ten miles
After the bridge over the creek (check out the gage!), take a Left onto Blossvale Rd. Head about
half a mile and park here for the takeout.
Directions to Point Rock putin from takeout:
From Blossvale Rd., cross Rte. 69 onto Main St.
Take your first Right onto Coal Hill Rd.
After about 8 miles on Coal Hill Rd., you'll come to a T intersection. Take a Right onto Yorkland
Rd.
Cross the Creek, park, and put in on River Left.
To Rome Dam putin from takeout:
As above, cross 69, take Main St., and a Right onto Coal Hill Rd.
After about a mile on Coal Hill Rd., take a Right onto Palmer Rd.
After about a mile on Palmer Rd., take a Left onto Boyd Rd.
After maybe 1.5 miles on Boyd Rd., pretty much across from Streun Rd. is a small, gated road on
the Left, leading to the dam. Park on Boyd Rd. and walk your boat downhill to the putin.
The Lat/Long coords given below are verified by GPS.
The physical gauge, once on the bridge in Taberg, is no more. The USGS gauge is what we have (and it's a big improvement).
Minimum: 4 feet (class 3-, very bony--but still with some play)
Medium: 5 feet (class 3+)
High: 6 feet (class 4)
The gauge is still new, and we don't have a lot of data on the upper ends of the scale.
You can help!
If you get a visual take on the bridge gauge, simply add a comment to this page! Click on the "Comments" tab and then click "Add a Comment" at the bottom of the page. Post your numbers, and we'll use it to firm up the correlation.
Thanks, all. This might have been the most important "wish we had an online gauge" stream in the Northeast--until recently.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAST BRANCH FISH CREEK AT TABERG NY | ||||||||||||||||
| usgs-04242500 | 1000 - 6000 cfs | II-III | 01h00m | 390 cfs (rc= -0.4 ) | ||||||||||||
|
This gauge only began reading in cfs in August, 2011. We'll take some time determining good min and max levels. Please view these guidelines as a work in progr |
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 117d15h58m | /Fish Creek, E. Branch-Point Rock to Taberg [NY] | Good and high | 2000 cfs | angela baldo |
| 2y6d06h16m | Fish Creek [NY] |
Baker Man!
|
a good level | Harry A. Marinakis, M.D. |
| 2y11d03h36m | Fish Creek [NY] |
Endless Surfing, Fish Creek
|
n/a | Harry A. Marinakis, M.D. |
| 5y84d11h58m | Fish Creek, E. Branch [NY] |
Fish Creek (NY) Map
|
n/a | Matt Muir |
| 6y162d11h58m | Fish Creek, E. Branch [NY] |
Everybody loves the fish
|
3' | John Alden |
| 7y293d11h58m | Fish Creek, E. Branch [NY] |
Upstream of the Dam
|
2.0' | Phantom Boater |
| 7y313d11h58m | Fish Creek [NY] |
Phil @ Take-Out
|
2.0' | Phantom Boater |
| 8y293d11h58m | Fish Creek, E. Branch [NY] |
Fish Creek
|
n/a | Patrick Rogers |
| 9y291d11h58m | Fish Creek [NY] |
Aces Wild
|
2.5' | Sharon Heller |
| > 10 years | Fish Creek [NY] |
Surf Nut
|
4.0' | Phantom Boater |
| > 10 years | /Fish Creek, E. Branch-Point Rock to Taberg [NY] |
Burly Rodeo Hole
|
2.50 ft | Harry A. Marinakis, M.D. |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Putin |   | |
| 1.0 | Ice Pool | ||
| 3.7 | Fall Brook Falls | 5.3 |   |
| 4.6 | City of Rome Dam |   | |
| 5.4 | Waterfall Wave |  | |
| 5.8 | Kelly's Corner | III | |
| 6.0 | Hotel California | III+ | |
| 6.6 | Palmer Rd. Rapid | II+ | |
| 7.1 | The Narrows | II+ | |
| 8.5 | Sand Pit | | |
| 8.9 | Town Rapid | II+ | |
| 9.8 | Takeout |  |
Fish Creek (NY) Map
Burly Rodeo Hole
Hotel California at 2.5'
Phil @ Take-Out reach
state
reachlink
Point Rock to Taberg, Fish Creek, E. Branch New York, US (mobile)
User Comments
head down the inside of the bend on the right when you make the turn. At 6ft (~2K cfs) on
10/16/2011 the center of the river was shallow over cobbles and it is extremely difficult to ferry
to the right to avoid the strainer at that level. There is a straggly tree hanging down over the
creek on river left just upstream of the root ball.
and May. On 5/29/11, 5.07 turned out to be way too low. I'm going to set the min to 6', but until
the USGS brings some stability to the gauge (its meaning has bounced around a bit in recent weeks),
I just don't trust it; it seems that we're back to the days of having someone post a visual. :-(
Note: the gauge seems okay now, as of 6/26/11. Let's hope it stays that way.
gauge levels: As for the current gauge, I find that 3.5 is as low as I can go with out grounding.
It gets thin in spots but there is a line all the way down and most of the features are present but
small. The hole have no holding power at this level. At 4 ft, the features get more padding and the
lines are easier to find. At 4.5 to 5.5 the river is at it's best, all of the features are running
good, there are multiple lines, the holes start getting a little sticky and the waves are at a good
surfing level. Fun times. At 5.5 to 6.5 The river picks up a lot of speed, the holes get much
stickier and the waves get much bigger. At 6.5 and above the river just gets faster, the eddies get
much smaller and harder to hit. A lot of the rapids tend to wash out and it starts to get harder to
hit the take out for the dam portage. You will usually see a lot of wood and other debris as it
rises through the higher levels. It isn't unusual to see many full sized trees running by the house
at this height so be aware of that when you are running. It would suck to get run over by a tree!
all! Just spotted a possible river hazard on the Fish. As the level rises and falls, things can
change from what I'm currently seeing but I thought I should pass it along! There is a rope across
half of the river, just before the Palmer Rd. bridge; directly in the main current. It will be to
the right of the bridge abutment when coming down stream. It is visible at this level and looks
like you can get under it to the far right. There is enough water at this point to avoid it all
together by going to the left of the bridge abutment. I'm assuming one of the local swimmers or
fisherman tied it there to cross the river? Not so friendly or helpful when there is whitewater!
I also noticed a couple of trees in the middle of the river, just up stream from the Main St.
Bridge in Taberg. It looks like you can get around on either side at this point but it may be
something you would like to check out before you get on the river. The Fish hasn't been up with
decent water in months, so I'm sure there may be other obstacles as well. Be safe out there! ~Jen
(gr8ful boater on FLOW board) As of 6/29/10 the rope has been cut. BoscoBoater on the FLOW board
says he'll remove the ends later.
05, 2010, at 4PM: USGS=4.73 and Taberg visual=~3.45.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?04242500
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Approximate Correlation pending confirmation:
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Bridge Gage: 1.5 Low (Class 3), 3 Med (Class 3+), 4.5 High (Class 4)
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USGS Gage: 3.5 Low (Class 3), 5 Med (Class 3+), 6.5 High (Class 4)
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that around 4.5' is the new minimum, or in other words the gage is reading 0.5' higher than
previously. Edit