Strategies for Oneida Lake Spring Walleye

by Mike Seymour

            Oneida Lake has hosted major B.A.S.S. tournaments the past two summers, and as a result the lake has earned national acclaim for its smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing. Still, among anglers in the Northeast, Oneida Lake is first and foremost walleye water.  In fact, Oneida arguably heads the list of New York State's top walleye destinations.

            And spring is prime time for catching Oneida walleyes, but no matter what time of the year an angler fishes here, consistently catching fish is much like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. After all, the variables of walleye fishing, like the pieces of a puzzle, are many. Among the variables a successful angler might consider are local weather, time of day, water temperature, wind velocity, wind direction, water depth, water temperature, water clarity, bottom content, available structures, weed growth, available feed, time of the year, boat speed, lure selection, fishing strategy, etc.

            One angler who has solved the puzzle for taking Oneida's walleyes is Ted Dobs of Oneida Charters (Tdobs1@aol.com). Here's a look at some of the major puzzle pieces that consistently produce spring catches for Dobs and his clients.

            With its 22-mile length and 6-mile width, Oneida has countless possibilities for pursuing walleyes. A sure spring bet, though, is to focus on areas near spawning tributaries. A good guideline calls for anglers to work areas close to spawning tributaries during a cold spring and to expand the search area when an early spring occurs.

            Flows that attract spawning walleyes in the western half of the lake are Chittenango and Big Bay creeks while spawning locations in the eastern portion of the lake include Fish, Oneida, and Canaseraga creeks. Fish Creek sees the largest run of fish, and Chittenango sees the second largest run.

            At the very western end of the lake, the dredged Oneida River channel and the riprap around the Interstate 81 bridge are good spring spots as is the nearby mouth of Big Bay Creek. The rocky structure at Walnut Point also attracts May walleyes.  At the mouth of Chittenango Creek, the varied structure from Maple Bay to Damon Point is particularly attractive to post-spawn walleyes. Worthwhile spots in latter May include the deep basin north of Frenchman and Dunham islands as well as the structure around Glassy and Pancake shoals.

            At the eastern end of the lake, two prime spots for post-spawn walleyes are the waters off Sylvan Beach and the area near the Oneida Creek Bar. As the only mid-lake structure in the eastern third of Oneida, Messenger Shoal holds good numbers of walleyes. Other good bets are the hard bottom rise near Buoy 109 and Lakeport Bar off Canaseraga Creek. Finally, the eastern two-thirds of the north shore drops off quickly into deep water, and those breaks are extremely attractive to foraging walleyes.

Trolling Tactics

            Common trolling tactics include flatlining as well as the use of in-line weights, snap weights, bottom bouncers, and downriggers to achieve desired depths. Two less used but extremely effective strategies include the use of three-way swivel setups and the use of leadcore line.

            Regarding the three-way swivel rig, Dobs says, "A great way to troll is to attach a diving plug (Thunderstick Deep Diver) on a three foot leader to a three-way swivel. Above that attach to the swivel a six-foot leader with a Regular Thunderstick. Trolling at 1.8 mph, I can get the rig down 20-plus feet with thin braided line. This setup is good for trolling in clear water as the diving plug replaces the use of highly visible downrigger weights and trolling sinkers. Also, you might even catch a double."

            Regarding the use of leadcore line, Dobs says, "When I want big fish, I troll 18-pound test leadcore with a 15-foot leader of 17-pound flurocarbon line. I use large # 13 stickbaits as the fish in these deeper water areas (the North Shore drop) are usually feeding on yearling perch and other larger prey. Great colors are white (in low light) and perch patterns. There are a lot of different perch patterns, but it seems that anything with an orange belly works great. Also, I like to jerk the lead line while trolling. Even though I do use snap weights, bottom bouncers, dipsys, and downriggers, on the average I catch more walleyes jerking the lead core."

            In addition to trolling stickbaits, many Oneida anglers like to troll crawler harnesses. Effective blade colors include hammered silver, gold, and copper as well as orange, chartreuse, white (on overcast days), and orange and black. Dobs recommends using # 4 willow blades and six-foot leaders. Anglers should note that trolling crawler harnesses often results in more catches of white perch than walleyes.

            On calm days, the best trolling times are morning and dusk. On windy days, the action can be steady all day long. As far as trolling direction goes, trolling with the wind will result in more hookups than trolling against it, and although Oneida gets extremely rough on very windy days, those days typically offer the best action for trollers.

Jigging Tactics

            Jigging can be a more complex technique than trolling, but Dobs says there are essentially three types of presentation. They are finesse, dragging, and ripping. Regarding the finesse technique, Dobs notes, "This is good for fishing shallow water or very cold water. Use a round ball or stand-up head, and employ a slow retrieve moving the jig an inch at a time. I often use marabou instead of bucktail for finessing, and I don't use a stinger hook as the best finessing bottoms usually contain rocks and weeds."

            Commenting on the dragging technique, Dobs says, "Use a barumba or walleye style head. Employ slow lifts of the rod trying to keep the jig as close to the bottom as possible.  Always throw the jig in the direction of the drift. In other words, do not drag the jig behind the boat, and be sure to use a stinger hook."

            As far as the ripping technique, Dobs comments, "Use sharp, hard pulls. This is the 'old school way' of ripping a jig through the water column or off the bottom. Kidney bean or flat jigheads work best, and since this technique tends to induce reaction strikes, brighter colors such as yellow are good choices. Again, be sure to use a stinger hook."

            Oneida's most popular jig sizes are 3/8 ounce and ½ ounce, but ¼ ounce or less is effective in shallow water, while a 5/8 ounce and heavier is best for deep water (40 feet or more) and for ripping through weeds. Dobs believes that jig size is a key factor. He notes, "Consider this point.  If white was the best color and pink was the worst color, but you only had a 4-ounce white and a half-ounce pink, it is a given that the smaller pink will work better. It is an extreme example, but it makes a huge point."

            Dobs believes that most anglers tend to have too many colors in their selection of bucktail jigs, and they would be better off having a few confident colors in a lot of different sizes. Even though the variables of color selection are too numerous to discuss here, the guide recommends having three styles of colors: natural, dark, and bright. And he emphasizes, "Confidence is always the best color you can pick."

            The guides top ten colors are black/purple, brown, brown/white, sandpike (in eastern lake), purple/chartreuse, perch (firetiger), black/orange, yellow, purple, and black. Like color, gear selection too, can be complicated, but general jigging guidelines call for a long rather than short rod, a quality reel, and thin braided line with an 18-inch, flurocarbon leader.

            Remember that the best jigging areas always have a change in bottom depth. And again, always throw in the direction of the drift, and always avoid dragging the jig behind the boat. Tipping any jig with a half crawler rigged on straight, not balled up, will entice more strikes, and using a trailer hook, except in rocky or weedy areas, will result in increased hookups. And finally, use jigs with natural bucktail instead of imitation hair as Dobs believes the scent of natural deer tail results in more strikes from the scent-sensitive walleye.