Anglers await walleye season

Saturday will herald the opening of walleye and pike season, one of the most anticipated for local anglers.

Next Saturday, May 4, will be the opening of walleye and pike season, an event that is eagerly anticipated by many anglers. Locally most of the anglers will concentrate on walleye, a fish that is prized for eating. And most anglers will focus their efforts on Oneida Lake which is arguably the best walleye fishery in the state.

Based on the experience of anglers last season, and the ice fishermen this past winter this year should be good for fishing. Anglers caught a lot of walleye including many good-sized ones. The DEC said that the 2014 class of walleyes was especially good and the fishing pressure has been less in recent years.

Typically, a lot of anglers will be up the tributaries like Fish Creek hoping to find remaining walleye. Every year after the larger females have spawned and returned to the lake, a lot of males will remain in the creeks for some time. It is probably a safe bet to figure that there will be walleye in the creeks, although they may be small.

Keep in mind that the majority of walleye, perhaps as many as 80%, spawn in the lake along deeper shoals. A lot of the fish spawned early so they may be deeper than usual. In past years veteran anglers recommended checking Shackleton Shoals or similar area because there you have a spawning area with fish holding depths ranging from 8 to 30 feet deep close by the shoal.

Once you find the depth they are biting at you can then go to your favorite spots at that same depth. Many years under similar conditions anglers have had success in the 32 to 38 foot range on the north shore. Hump areas of 15-22 foot by Buoy 109 or areas of 20 foot depths north from Sylvan Beach should be good.

It’s a safe bet the majority of the fish will be in deep water. How deep is the question. Remember you don’t need to just find fish, but you need to find fish that are actively biting.

Veteran anglers believe that walleye on shoals are almost always in the mood to feed. If you happen to find fish in shallow 8-10 foot depths on shoals you can cast a worm harness with a 1/4 ounce to 1/2 ounce weight a foot ahead of it. Use just one hook, half a worm, and a couple of beads. Red colored beads work great and use either a gold or silver size 4 willowleaf blade. Jigs or sonars are the way to go most anywhere from 10 feet and deeper.

Several veteran anglers think the fish might be everywhere and perhaps they will be. Don’t get frustrated as the normal herd of boats that fish the

post spawn areas out in front of the Canal and the Oneida Creek bar from 10 to 15 ft may not do that well. You might start fishing where you have found them in the past during the month of May but if you don’t find the fish there be prepared to move around.

The Oneida Lake walleye hatchery at Constantia usually nets over 20,000 fish each spring to gather the eggs to stock Oneida Lake and other waters around the state. Statistics show that only about eight percent of all the eggs walleye lay in Oneida Lake and tributaries will successfully hatch. By contrast over 90 percent of the eggs gathered and fertilized will hatch.

The hatchery typically stocks 150 to 180 million fry back in Oneida Lake. But even less than one percent of those survive to reach adult size. Think about that. If even one percent survived there would be one and a half million adult walleye more in Oneida Lake in a few years! In most years the population ranges from 350,000 to 700,000 adult walleye.

The hatchery also supplies walleye fry and fingerlings to many other waters around the state. This is why we have a viable walleye population in many lakes and rivers that did not have any only a decade or two ago.

The DEC recently said that the three best waters in NY are Oneida Lake, Chautauqua Lake, and Lake Erie. Some of the rivers where you can find good walleye fishing include the Black, Chenango, and Mohawk. Popular lakes for walleye are Lake Delta, Canadarago, Tupper, and Otisco. Smaller nearby waters that offer walleye are Eatonbrook, DeRuyter, and Redfield Reservoirs.