Welcome to the Otselic Valley Fishing & Heritage Association site!

Thank you for attending our May '25 Fishing & Heritage Day

  • Check back for gallery updates and more upcoming events!

The Otselic Valley Fishing & Heritage Association welcomes you to 2026!

Planning is underway for the 17th annual Fishing & Heritage Day in South Otselic on Saturday, May 16th. As in the past, activities will include fishing clinics at the NYS Fish Hatchery, arts and crafts vendors, live music and food in the Otselic Town Park. In addition many other activities are also being planned throughout the hamlet.

Please save the date and be sure to check this website for updates on these and new programs also being planned at other times of the year.

Footage by Greg Milunich, Music by Bandits on the Run

17

Years Established

About Otselic Valley

Celebrating our Rural Nature, Culture & History

The Otselic Valley is home to scenic trails, ponds and Otselic River fishing spots which locals treasure for their beauty and history. Browse our site to discover all the hidden gems that make our valley unique and valued.

  • Local towns are named after a river flowing through it, the Otselic.
  • The hatchery rears pond-reared walleye fingerlings, and rears small lots of wild, heritage-strain and Temiscamie brook trout. Annual production is 15,000 pounds of fish. Brook trout are stocked with fix wing airplane (bush pilots) as well as helicopters in the Adirondacks.
  • Over 10 square miles (26 km2) or about 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) are state-owned forest lands open to the public for forest-related recreation such as hunting, bird-watching, camping, fishing, hiking and cross country skiing.

In Memoriam of
Paul Jude Heagerty

July 17th, 1960 to December 24th, 2025

Sadly, the Otselic Valley Fishing & Heritage Association (OVF&HA) only had Paul in our lives for four short years. However, he was no stranger to the Otselic Valley. Paul had one passion: to completely understand the life and tragic murder of Grace Brown and the resulting trial and execution of Chester Gillette. Upon his retirement from the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Station in Oswego New York, Paul talked to everybody he could and read everything available that had to do with Grace's life.

Paul spent weeks at Hamilton college, pouring over the Gillette trial manuscripts. He drove many miles cross-country to talk to relatives and individuals who were connected to the story. Paul also had an extensive collection of memorabilia and will be best remembered for his impressive exhibits and displays at many OVF&HA events.

Paul was a compassionate and generous man who was a walking encyclopedia on the history of events that took place in the hamlet of South Otselic in the summer of 1906.

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