Report: Exploring Oneida Lake NY with the boys
Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 5:22 pm
This past weekend, on May 21st – 22nd, the boys and I decided to take a trip down to the states to get an early start on bass fishing. This was our first time fishing in the states, as well as our first time fishing for bass in the spring! The 3 hour trip down was a blast in itself; good tunes, good friends and good laughs. Very few conversations were non-fishing related, after all, a huge new lake was waiting for the three of us, and we couldn’t get there fast enough.
Finally, we arrived at our hotel in Brewerton, NY on Friday night. The next morning, we got on the water as early as possible and began exploring Oneida Lake. The water was surprisingly cold at 60°F. Naturally, we had done our homework the week before and started fishing a slowly tapering sand flat we thought could hold fish. We were right, but that fish was a perch, caught on a baitball jerkbait. A giant yes, but not what we are after. We were also fortunate enough to catch a few chain pickerel (Southern Pike) and cross another species off the bucket list! However, we had yet to connect with a bass.
So, we then decided to move on to a potential spawning bay we also found while doing our homework on the Navionics WebApp. Concentrating on staging areas and shallow rocky shorelines with patches of vegetation, we managed to catch our first two Oneida Lake bass.
That bay being at the entrance of one of the lake’s main tributaries, we ventured upriver. To our surprise, the water was only at 61°F, but we started to see smallmouth bass on beds. We began sight fishing on shallow, rocky shorelines, and started catching fish with Texas rigged Kinky Beavers and a Drop Shot. As we got used to sight fishing, we caught more and bigger fish. We learned that sight fishing is not always easy, as it was not uncommon to spend 30 minutes to an hour on a single fish. But, hard work pays off!
The biggest bass of the weekend weighed in at 5 lbs even (pic above). On top of that, we managed to get several 4+ pounders in the boat, as well as countless 3 pounders. We also got absolutely amazing GoPro shots of bass spawning, fanning, and guarding their nests. As a biologist, seeing bass behavior in action and being fortunate enough to get it all on tape was definitely a highlight of the weekend. Once I get editing time, I will make a video for you all to see! All fish were released, and seeing those bass swim right back to their spawning bed was very interesting to see. Overall, it was an amazing weekend!
Finally, we arrived at our hotel in Brewerton, NY on Friday night. The next morning, we got on the water as early as possible and began exploring Oneida Lake. The water was surprisingly cold at 60°F. Naturally, we had done our homework the week before and started fishing a slowly tapering sand flat we thought could hold fish. We were right, but that fish was a perch, caught on a baitball jerkbait. A giant yes, but not what we are after. We were also fortunate enough to catch a few chain pickerel (Southern Pike) and cross another species off the bucket list! However, we had yet to connect with a bass.
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