Walleyes Weeds and Worms

WALLEYES, WEEDS AND WORMS
By Captain Tony Buffa

Oneida Lake, home of New York State's Fish Cultural Station, a/k/a hatchery, has the reputation of being one of the most productive walleye angling lakes in the northeast, if not the entire country. According to Cornell University fisheries expert Dr. Lars Rudstam at the Shackleton Point Biological Field Station on Oneida Lake, "a catch rate of half a walleye per angler hour ranks it first within the state and perhaps the nation."
Now with that type of reputation comes expectation. Anglers simply expect great catches from this twenty-two-by-six-mile lake in central New York, just 15 miles northeast of Syracuse. Whether it be spring, summer or fall, limit catches of 15-to-18 inch walleyes are more the norm than the exception if you're properly outfitted so as not to be outwitted. The summer pattern is the most challenging, particularly if your choice is to fish the weeds.
Eel grass (commonly known as water celery) coontail and elodea are the prominent players in the weed regime for Oneida. Factor in the zebra mussel infestation since 1991 and you have advanced weedbed growth and a littoral zone of weeds which by mid-summer extends to 15 to 20 feet of water. Of course, weeds provide appropriate sanctuary for perch and walleye fry and a variety of baitfish...buckeyes (emerald shiners), gizzard shad, and log perch (sand pike minnows) to name a few. How good a sanctuary, leaves room for discussion. Foraging walleyes, bass, pickerel, northerns, and catfish are no strangers to WWW (worldwide weed web). They stalk their prey on the edges and in the pockets of greenery that highlight the lake's inshore area.
Weed angling techniques have definitely evolved and improved with today's tech-type fishing products. Holographic spinners, quick snap clevis, the new superlines, (Berkley Fireline, Spectra PowerPro, Spider Wire, etc.), the non-visible fluorocarbon line, scent enhancers, bleeding hooks and bullet weights are today's answer to building your own weed-weapon for summer weed-oriented walleyes.
Start with a good quality fluorocarbon line; I use Bass Pro Shops XPS Signature Series 20-lb. test fluorocarbon. Start with a two-foot section of the 20-lb.fluorocarbon and on one end, snell two #2 all-purpose Mustad Ultra Point hooks...one black nickel and the other bleeding red. The hooks should be no more than two inches apart from the eye of the bottom hook to the bend of the top hook. Next add three plastic beads ¼ inch diameter, red, white glow and pearl. To this add a plastic quick snap clevis...this allows for easy spinner attachment and changes. Now attach either a # 2, 3, or 4 holographic spinner (Bass Pro Shops has a great assortment of shad, and perch colors). Simply tie a barrel swivel on the top of the two feet of fluorocarbon and what you have is perhaps the deadliest of weed fishing weapons ever used for weed angling. One final touch is the Fireline or PowerPro in 6-lb. test as your main line with a sliding 3/8 oz. bullet weight on the line of your fishing rod. Just attach your snap swivel from the main line to the barrel swivel. Add a worm to the two hooks, water, weeds and walleyes and hang on!!
The new superlines fish through the weeds more efficiently than the traditional monofilament. My choice is Fireline. It cuts rather than hangs on the weeds. The 20-lb. fluorocarbon provides the security in this abrasive environment and also is insurance against the razor-like walleye teeth. This rig may not at all look weedless, but it is! The spinner blade acts as a buffer as you pull through the weeds. The bigger the blade the better the buffer. If it momentarily hangs, just give it a jerk and it will be free to continue to fish and be the target of an unsuspecting walleye.
The by-catch will also keep you active. Pickerel, bass, northerns, catfish, and panfish have all been enticed by this moving target. This rig has taken the tedium out of weed fishing. There is certainly value in the "flipping and drop-shotting" weed technique but as a simple alternative, with my rig just give it a long cast, let it settle and then begin the retrieve back to the boat. May all your weeds be as yielding as mine!

Captain Tony Buffa has been a charter captain on Oneida Lakeand Lake Ontario for 29 seasons. He has recently been appointed to a "Professional Sportsman" position with the Bass Pro Shops Sportsmen Center in Auburn, NY and recently inducted into the New York Outdoors Hall of Fame. Capt. Tony has a 28-foot OffShore center console on Oneida Lake and charters there through mid-November. He also has a 30-foot Sportcraft on Lake Ontario for trout and salmon. Capt. Tony Buffa can be reached at (315) 427-2278 or (315) 633-2694. If you would like to receive weekly fishing updates, email him at capntony@twcny.rr.com