My wife Crystal and I got married at the end of September in 2001. After our honeymoon I went back to work on a Monday just to leave early the next Wednesday because of some discomfort in my stomach area. After dealing with the pain for a few hours my wife decided it was time to call the doctor. Fortunately for me she did. The doctor recommended that I go to the emergency room. After being checked out by the doctors it was decided that my appendix must go. They scheduled the surgery and everything went fine. The doctor told me not to lift anything too heavy for a few weeks and not to take it easy. A few weeks later at a follow up visit he said I could do whatever I wanted as long as it didn't hurt. So the next day my wife and I planned to hike down the gorge and into the Genesee River.

Later that friday night we decided it also was time that we took a pregnancy test to confirm or dispell the thoughts she had that she was pregnant. So we took the test and it came back positive...we were pregnant. This did not deter us from our plans to go fishing.

The next morning we woke up and headed for the Genesee. We got there and found a Department of Environmental Conservation officer ticketing a fisherman. There were also two police officers with him, probably for protection from the fisherman in violation of the laws. We watched as the man was ticketed at the top of the gorge for a fish he illegally snagged in the river and then dragged all the way back up the side of the cliff. He was obvious that he was upset. We asked the DEC officer exactly why he was being ticket and we were told it was because the man had illegally snagged the fish and then lied to the officer about doing so. The officer didn't like being lied to and used that to decide to give the fish away to someone who wasn't involved in the crime.

After confirming with the DEC officer that we wouldn't be arrested by the police officers after we crossed the fence that had a sign warning us of the danger and lack of river access we suited up and made our way to the cliff. Walking side by side (when we could) my pregnant wife and I just done recovering from surgery started off on the most difficult fishing hike we know of.

The trail down to the rivers edge is a difficult one. It starts off easy and then starts the fun off with a 4 foot drop that you have to get past. This then leads to the narrow part of the trail. The edge of the cliff is within feet of the hiker and often the trail is muddy. One spot on this day the mud was so wide on the narrow part of the trail that it was almost impossible to get past without stepping in. Slipping on this mud could send someone over the edge. At the end of this section there is only a steep hillside covered in rocks to climb down.

Once on the river's edge the shorline is made up of very large boulders. It's up and down each rock as you make your way up or downstream. Upstream is the most popular area to fish because of the Genesee River Low Falls. It is impassable by fish and therefore has a lot of fish in the water. It's always the most crowded part of the river.

We made our way up towards the falls and fished the sections before and after the flows from the falls and the power generating plant combine. We had limited water because we crowded in with everyone else.

After a few hours of no fish and not even a definite strike we decided to call it a day. We slowly headed back to the cliff and made our way back up the side of the gorge. I don't remember seeing more than a few fish caught that day so I don't feel too bad for being skunked but even without the fish it was nice to be on such a beautiful river with my

Author - MIKE
Date - 4/19/02