Elm Creek is the principal tributary of Little Conewango Creek, which it joins about a half mile south of Weeden Road in Randolph. This stream is about 7 miles long, but a sizeable trout fishery is found only in the lowermost 2-mile-long section of the stream, i.e., from the mouth upstream to the crossing of Route 394/Main Street in East Randolph. Upstream of Route 394, water temperatures in the stream quickly become marginal for trout. A few trout will be found upstream of Route 394 in the section accessed from the small park next to East Randolph United Methodist Church on Church Street, but the remainder is too warm to support trout due to a lack of bank cover and warm-water infusions from the two flood control impoundments located in the upper half of the stream. 

The fishable portion of Elm Creek flows through variety of settings, ranging from parkland and residential properties to woodlands and wetlands. The stream ranges from about 15 to 30 feet in width, has a gravel and cobble bottom, and generally flows clear. Silt begins to occur as you approach Weeden Road and becomes prominent as you approach the junction with Little Conewango Creek. Much of the stream has a substantial amount of bank cover, but never so much as to make fly fishing difficult. While hip waders are adequate for most of this stream, there are deep holes in the town park area and downstream of Weeden Road that can easily over-top hip waders. Chest waders are the better choice here. 

I was a volunteer on the DEC's 2021 trout population survey of Elm Creek. I was amazed by both the number of wild trout captured and the size of some of the fish. Because of its large population of wild brown trout, this stream is no longer stocked and is managed as a year-round wild trout fishery. Although the 2-mile-long trout section of Elm Creek is categorized as wild-quality, the DEC’s Scott Cornett believes this section of the stream is comparable to wild-premier streams in terms of quality. It is listed as wild-quality only because the section that meets the quality requirements for wild-premier fails to meet the 3-mile minimum length requirement for that category. Elm Creek may not have the name recognition of Wiscoy Creek or Clear Creek, but it is a high-quality stream and should not be overlooked. For the results of the DEC's most recent trout population survey of this stream and its principal tributary, The Ram, see Links. 

To facilitate public access to Elm Creek, the state has purchased 0.4 miles of public fishing rights (PFRs) along the stream south of Weeden Road (see Map 1 of the DEC brochure under Links). This section of the stream can be a bit difficult to fish due to thick streamside vegetation, especially in the summer, and the soggy surrounding terrain (almost all of Elm Creek south of Weeden Road flows through a state-regulated wetland). This is especially true if you plan on fishing from the stream bank, but a set of waders, preferably hip waders, will make the fishing in this section a lot easier. In late April of 2022, I waded the stream from Weeden Road to its junction with Little Conewango Creek and found numerous deep pools and little evidence of other anglers. 

In addition to the public fishing rights section, public access to this stream is available at Weeden Park, behind the East Randolph Volunteer Fire Department parking lot, and at East Randolph Memorial Park on Church Street. See Access for additional information.

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