By Ben Barry, East Shore Bait & Tackle
Walleye season has opened with a huge bang compared to last year with anglers catching limits from the shore of Oneida Lake to depths of 35 feet of water and plenty more caught up the tributaries. Early season preferred baits are Sonars / Blade Baits, Bucktail Jigs tipped with a worm and live bait such as leeches or minnows.
June is upon us and the walleye can be caught drifting worm harnesses while jigging Sonars or bucktail jigs along the edge of the weed beds and out to deeper water in the middle of the day. Walleye can be caught in the shallows casting worm harnesses over the weed beds or jigging bucktail jigs inside the edge of the weeds on overcast days. During the rest of this month and through the summer more anglers will start trolling in deeper water for walleye and running small 2 ½” spoons or stick baits, such as Fresh Run walleye spoons, Michigan Stinger spoons, Rapala stickbaits and Challenger stickbaits. Many Anglers are picking up new tactics this year such as running a small spoon on a Dipsey Diver, leadcore line or downrigger, trolling stickbaits in areas where the fish are suspended and throwing worm harnesses over the weeds is new for many anglers producing larger walleye.
Bass Season will open June 17th and we will see huge small mouth bass this year due to the abundance of various bait fish in Oneida Lake over the past year including the dreaded gobies. The absolute power of the small mouth bass is a huge attraction for many anglers with the most muscle density per body mass. These fish are fighters and will put your fishing skills to the test. Many small mouth bass are caught in the weeds and rocky shoals around Oneida Lake including the Barge Canal and Fish Creek using jigs, drop shot rigs, stickbaits, live bait and a variety of plastic baits. Largemouth bass can be caught early at dusk or dawn on top water lures over weed beds. Top water poppers is one of my favorite ways to catch these fish with the thrill of seeing a big fish fly out of the water to crush a bait and jumping repeatedly during the fight. Try using bucktail jigs or some live bait later midday and going back to top water in the evening.
All baits and lures can be bought at East Shore Bait and Tackle with a huge selection of in house custom hand tied bucktail jigs and sonars designed for walleye and bass. We also carry live bait from butter worms, Michigan wigglers, night crawlers and minnows in a 400 gallon bait tank to insure you’ll have the right bait and advise every chance you get to be on the water.
