The North Branch of Wiscoy Creek joins the Wiscoy in the hamlet of Bliss. This stream ranges from about 10 to 20 feet wide, has a cobble and gravel bottom with silt in some sections, and has generally good streamside cover—in some sections too much cover. Much of this short stream (the fishable portion is only 3.5 miles long) is paralleled and crossed by Route 362 north of the hamlet of Bliss. This stream has not been stocked in well over 50 years and relies entirely on the natural reproduction of wild brown trout. 

The North Branch of Wiscoy Creek is one of the best wild trout streams in western New York, at least in terms of trout production. This stream has a very stable flow, even in dry years, because it is supplied with an abundance of very cold, high-quality groundwater. This, along with some of the best spawning habitat for wild brown trout found in DEC Region 9, results in one of the most productive trout streams, for its size, in New York State. 

But this wasn’t always the case. In the 19^th century, most of the valley through which the stream flows was cleared of mature trees to facilitate farming, and much of the surrounding land was used as pasture for livestock until the mid-20^th century. Livestock with unrestricted access to a stream tend to eat or trample down streamside vegetation and can destroy the riparian corridor, often resulting in severe erosion and destruction of in-stream habitat. (For an example of how livestock can affect a stream, see the photos of Wrights Creek). The damage to the riparian corridor resulted in a stream that grew to be abnormally wide for its flow volume and thus very shallow, and the lack of mature trees in the riparian corridor meant that little woody debris was available to provide in-stream shelter for adult trout. 

The damage to the stream corridor began to heal to some extent in the latter half of the 20th century, and the stream began producing significant numbers of young-of-the-year brown trout. By 2006, when the DEC began performing intensive trout population surveys of the North Branch, the stream was producing vast numbers of young-of-the-year trout, but it still lacked a wooded riparian corridor, which was needed to shade the stream and provide habitat, in the form of bank cover and in-stream woody debris, for adult trout.

This began to change in 2011 when the DEC and a consortium of other agencies undertook a habitat enhancement project on the North Branch of Wiscoy Creek. The improvements were limited to the 2,100-foot-long section between the two uppermost angler footpaths. (The map pin is located next to the angler footpath at the lower end of the habitat improvement area.) Most of the remainder of the stream still lacks good adult trout habitat and is a jungle of alder, making fishing difficult. However, the section of stream a short distance south of West Hill Road where an angler footpath is located has some better adult trout habitat and is more fishable.

The habitat enhancement project was designed to increase the habitat available to adult wild brown trout. Portions of the stream were reconfigured to decrease its average width and increase its depth. In addition, volunteers from the Western New York Chapter of Trout Unlimited planted 1,110 shade trees along the North Branch, greatly increasing the amount of overhanging streamside vegetation, which provides shelter for adult trout and helps to keep water temperatures down. Fallen trees and branches also contribute to in-stream woody debris, which can further enhance trout habitat.

Based on the results of multiple trout population surveys performed by the DEC since 2011, the habitat enhancement project has been highly effective. Though the population of adult wild brown trout throughout the North Branch has fluctuated considerably since completion of the enhancement project, the densities of fish per mile are consistently higher than those recorded in similar streams in the region. See Links for several DEC articles about the habitat enhancement project and its results.