ONEIDA LAKE DIEHARDS THREAD 2012

[Deadeyez]

God bless their family.  Heard the father was in his 60's and boys in their 40's so prob had familys of their own as well.  Very sad 

[Deadeyez]

 I been eating squash and cukes for about a week now, tomatoes are still green....... we need rain....came home from Oneida tonight, no water...just had to lower my foot valve in the well and re prime the pump, shes low, only the second time in 19 yrs I had to do it.

  Hit Oneida tonight from 6-930pm, took my 10 6" steelhead rods down for the second night in a row, the 3 of us picked up 23 keeper eyes anchored in 12fow, plus a good 20 big sunfish,  and multiple smallmouth..... alot of fun with the long stick, got bored of sonar fishing the eyes deep, so tried something new , me and another friend got 16 keeper eyes yesterday evening with the long rods... crazy year...lots of fun...  just keeps going...  


  my bad only 10 keepers last evening, 16 total..... read my notes wrong

Snag, had a blast yest as usual!  Those eyes were on fire!  Not to mention the sunnys    

[Hookinup]

Went out this morning for a few hours. Found a nice pile of eyes in a spot that has always produced well for me in early June. Weird ... everything seems to be a good 3 weeks early this year, yet the fish have showed up at this spot a good 3 weeks late. It has produced year after year, and I've been checking it faithfully. No Go until today. We did 13 eyes, 3 sheepies and a nice smallie in three drifts, then had to quit due to other commitments.

Fun Morning.

21 - 25 fow, black/purple 5/8oz. bucktail w/half a crawler. They didn't want nothing to do with the sonar.




Oink Oink ..... or is it Baaaa Baaaa??

[arcticicejigger]

this family lived next door to me half my life! the boys were like my brothers! just heard of this news as i was working double shifts yesterday! going back in for another double shift today! i will be at the hospital seeing anthony  (the critical brother) tomorrow! ill let you guys know, if i get to see him! i will let the mother know there are a bunch of fishermen praying for them!

[Hookinup]

this family lived next door to me half my life! the boys were like my brothers! just heard of this news as i was working double shifts yesterday! going back in for another double shift today! i will be at the hospital seeing anthony  (the critical brother) tomorrow! ill let you guys know, if i get to see him! i will let the mother know there are a bunch of fishermen praying for them!

I'm so sorry Bro. And sorry that you have to work double shifts thinking about it.

If we all bear a little of the pain, maybe it will help take some off the family's shoulders.

[snuffynra]

was out this morning , had no idea what was going on! coast guard helo passed over a few times then another showed up ? and he stayed for couple hours back and fourth, thought the worst , turns out it was.  fishing started great,but turned slow very quickly. most came off fire tiger again (storm).got the worlds biggest birds nest with a brand new reel full off leadcore yup I was the one in the middle of the lake crying like a baby also the one having a knock down drag out fight with a reel actually thought i may have went over the deep end ,when i started to plead with it to work with me is that normal !! our thoughts go out to the family's, sad news .

[ThaTs BullHead]

My heart goes out to the 3 men who lost thier lives last night, my limit today goes to them

[SNAGGER]

this family lived next door to me half my life! the boys were like my brothers! just heard of this news as i was working double shifts yesterday! going back in for another double shift today! i will be at the hospital seeing anthony  (the critical brother) tomorrow! ill let you guys know, if i get to see him! i will let the mother know there are a bunch of fishermen praying for them!

  Man so sorry to hear this news about your good friends icejigger, my thoughts and prayers too the familly as well.



Jim aren't you hot in that beard bro?

[SNAGGER]

I found the link.

http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2012/06/scientist_walleye_bite_is_stro.html

  This makes more sense, last years young perch year class is down, not this years.  just a couple nettings is all they do to estimate walleye populations, huge amount of room for error there, I was suprized to read that, I thought there studies were a little more involved than that.  Maybe C & R aint such a bad idea then, if this information is correct.  Well should be a bumper crop of shad right around the corner, seen piles of adults out there this spring.

[Hookinup]

  Jim aren't you hot in that beard bro?

LoL .... The chicks dig it! 

[Deadeyez]

  Too funny!

[Hookinup]

Oneida Lake does go through pretty wild cycles. Fishing pressure is always there ... as somewhat of a constant. I read an article one time that tried to explain it all. When the article was written (early 80's), it said that perch fry were the primary forage for the walleye in Oneida. It went on to say that that was one reason as to why the walleyes are somewhat smaller than other water bodies - due to the fact  that a diet of perch fry is high in protein ... low in fat. It is also a reason as to why they taste so good! When a strong year class of walleyes crushes that year's crop of perch fry, then it puts a dent  in the perch population for that year -class. The walleye then may resort to "cannabalizing", or eating their own fry. This can put a dent in that year-class of walleyes, etc.
Like I said, fishing pressure is always there. I remember the gool 'ol days when there were just as many boats out there as there are now. I do think, though, that pressure lightened up throughout the period when the limit was raised to 18 inches. The fishing was OK, but not great during that time and alot of less-serious fishermen kinda gave up on Oneida for a while. It wasn't a fun time, but I think it did alot of good - only because less walleyes were taken from the lake. Like Deadeyes said though, the program didn't work - as far as protecting the normal "breeders".
Now ... add forage like shad, emerald shiners and white perch and the cycle would be extremely difficult to figure out.
Like the veterans say .... enjoy the fishing for what it is right now. No need to over-harvest. Be good stewards of the resource. You have a license that says you can take 3 walleyes a day. If you have enough ... turn 'em loose. If you hook 'em deep - keep 'em and give them to someone who wants them or NEEDS them. If the fishing starts to decline in the coming years, it won't be from overfishing ... it will be from the cycle. It will be bad again and it will be good again.

I'm no Fisheries Biologist ..... but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once. 

[SNAGGER]

  I have just as much fun sitting on the ice working for my 3 as getting 20, you appreciate the good days more, when most of your days you worked for them. We are spoiled the last 2 yrs, I remember working hard at the canal during the 18 inch yrs, thats when I started fishing eyes.

[snuffynra]

but was it a holiday inn express????I heard they dont count.

[Huntny30]

this family lived next door to me half my life! the boys were like my brothers! just heard of this news as i was working double shifts yesterday! going back in for another double shift today! i will be at the hospital seeing anthony  (the critical brother) tomorrow! ill let you guys know, if i get to see him! i will let the mother know there are a bunch of fishermen praying for them!

Very sorry for the loss of your friends...that is just a horrible accident...