Grout Brook is a small partially open stream located in Cortland County near the town of Scott. Grout Brook is a tributary to Skaneateles Lake, and lake run rainbow trout are the main gamefish. Rainbow trout enter Grout Brook in the early spring to spawn, which makes this a very popular opening day of trout season destination. The average rainbow trout caught in Grout Brook is about 20 inches.
Public Access
There are 1.9 miles of Public Fishing Rights (PFR's) located along Grout Brook. There are three official parking areas along the stream.
Parking Areas
- Glen Haven Road 1. From village of Homer take Route 41 north for 7.5 miles, left onto Glen Haven Road.
- Sweeny Hill Road. From Glen Haven Road 1, continue on Glen Haven Road for 1.5 miles to intersection with Sweeney Hill Road.
- Glen Haven Road 2. From Sweeney Hill Road continue north on Glen Haven Road for 1.5 miles.
Grout Brook PFR Brochure (PDF)
DECinfo Locator for map of PFR and parking areas.
Fish Species
Rainbow trout.
General Fishing Information
In the spring, rainbow trout enter Grout Brook on their annual spawning run. The timing of the run varies from year to year, with water temperature often influencing how long fish remain in the stream. A cold spring usually slows spawning and more fish remain in the stream through April 1st, the opening day of trout season. If it's an early or warm spring, many of the rainbow trout may have finished spawning and left the stream before opening day.
Good baits for the rainbow trout are egg sacs (trout or salmon eggs), egg imitating flies and plastics, trout beads, streamers, and night-crawlers. Depending on the state of the spawning run, fish may be holding in the deeper pools, actively spawning in shallow riffle areas, or both. When fishing pools, the most active fish are usually found at the head or tail of the pool, with less active fish in the middle. Use just enough weight so that your bait just ticks bottom and drifts through the pool or riffle naturally. For more information, view Fishing for Stream Trout.
Like many Finger Lakes tributaries, Grout Brook is often crowded with anglers on opening day, and stream etiquette can go a long way in making everyone's day a pleasurable one. Some good tips to follow are:
- Elbow room to fish is a common courtesy.
- The stationary or slow moving angler should be given room by over taking them noiselessly out of the water and re-entering as far away as practical. Wading right up to another angler could disturb a pod of feeding fish and no one appreciates this type of conduct.
- Pleasant conversations are OK, so long as you don't disturb other anglers.
Because of the small size of Grout Brook, the lake run rainbow trout are often very wary and spook easily. When fishing these types of streams, try some of these tips to improve your luck:
- Work your way upstream (against the current) whenever possible because trout will usually face into the current and are less likely to see you approaching from behind.
- Wear camouflage clothing and hats or "natural colors" rather than bright colors.
- Move slowly and disturb the water as little as possible.
- Polarized glasses will aid you when wading, and in seeing fish and fish holding areas.
Regulations
Finger Lakes and Tributary Fishing Regulations Apply.
Angler Diary Cooperator Program
An ongoing angler diary cooperator program on Skaneateles, Cayuga, Owasco and Otisco lakes, and their tributaries, provides DEC fisheries staff with useful data on gamefish population trends. Volunteer anglers keep track of the hours they fish and the fish they catch. Yearly summaries are available to view at Angler Diary Program. We are always looking for new cooperators, so if you are interested please contact the Region 7 office at (607) 753-3095 ext. 213.
