View Full Version : Article about Honeoye Lake
New York Game and Fish had an article about the five hottest spots to fish for walleyes in New York. They had plenty of good to say about Honeoye Lake. I've never fished it but I am planning on adding it to my list of musts for this season. Those of you who have fished it, tell me is it really that good????? Oh, and the other hot spots were Oswego
River, Otisco Lake,Whitney Point Reservoir,Susquehanna River...
markb_loser
02-09-2001, 04:30 PM
havent fished honeye much...couple times for panfish...
have bunch of depth maps and articles...email me and will
scan and email back...
Thanks... you have mail :-)
Gilligan
02-09-2001, 06:56 PM
Never fished it but know and talk with guys at work that do. Several have been icing it and not producing anything great. From what I've heard it is pretty hot from opener to mid to late June then it gets tough. Probably a nite bite. As for Sports Afield are they hyping to sell their mag?
Have a look at Silver Lake, a small lake in same area that gets little fanfare but I consider a better fishery.
I don't know, Gilligan. It was New York Game and fish, maybe? Might not be a bad area to go for a fishing weekend for me? Thanks for the reply...
Sluggo / NY
02-10-2001, 05:54 AM
Ness..Funny that you should mention these "hot" spots. We just put both Otisco and Honeoye on our list of places to hit! As for the other three..I would hardly consider them "hot" spots. I spend a lot of time on the Susky and Whitney Point. The Susky can produce some decent eyes just prior to and just after the spawn, then it dries up. Whitney Point is fun if you like sorting through fish to find a keeper (now they've raised the size limit to 18"). Oswego is another very short lived fisherie. Plus you have to enjoy trolling at night through packs of boats! Did they mention Oneida? I had far better luck there this past season than at the other spots. Sorry to ramble..but I'm bored..the wife's out of town, boats are ready to go, the river's open..but the wind is gusting to 50mph and the temp is falling fast! Come on Summer! Can't wait to get back to Barcelona! Good Fishing, Sluggo
Jersey John
02-10-2001, 11:54 AM
Sluggo,
Your right, alot of boats in Oswego! We have taken big eyes there for 5 years now on each trip. I am finding if you hit the river early and fish in it for 2 hrs. it is heavy with boats. When we stay late- past 3am people are gone and the fish bite late. fishing outside the harbor walls is good too. Not many people out there at 2 am. I plan on fishing the river during the day with 3 ways and floating rapalas. Not many people in the river then. The Black River and St. Lawrence River are good too. Will also be fishing Oneida this year for a few weekends. Talk to ya later. I also need to go fishing soon. JJ
Ness,
Don't believe everything you read in that magazine. My opinion this is a lake the DEC screwed up. Years ago this was a nice lake to fish for pickerel, crappie and perch. The reason they stock walleye in this lake was to thin out the small perch. This is no walleye lake it is too weedy and you are limited to what time of year you can catch walleyes. You have to catch about 20 before you get one 18 inches. You want my opinion save your gas and travel to oneida lake or lake erie. It is a shame we have all these nice deep finger lakes but so few on walleye fishing. The bigger ones seneca and cayuga are strictly lake trout lakes and have the ability to be the best in the country But thank the DEC for no slot limits on lake trout yet. We have too many small fish. I wish all you guys that fish seneca lake and cayuge to release all trout in the 25 to 30 inch range.Just think in about 10 years from now we could have a 20 lb. fish roaming the lakes. And as far as the other lakes are concerner these would make nice walleye lakes.It takes money and fishermen to get together and come up with a plan.
From what you're saying, Ray, I'd be better off to stick with Canadarago for eyes. We might not limit often but we always get some and they are 20 to 25 inches and I only have to drive 45 minutes ;-)
Ness
Wher is Canadarago I never heard of it?
About an hour south of Herkimer.
Marbleye
02-11-2001, 07:59 PM
Ness,
Honeoye Lake is not really what I would consider a "hot spot"
for eyes. Lots of small ones. Oswego River is excellent spot but very crowded. I have a camp on Silver Lake and we do pretty good with eyes there although this year the bite started later on in season (like so many other places this year). As for Black River/Eastern basin of Lake Ontario. This is a great place to catch some real hawgs in spring & fall. If you are interested in fishing Silver Lake sometime you are welcome to email me at marbleye@rochester.rr.com. This goes for Mark b, Gilligan, and Sluggo too. You guys helped me get started on Lake Erie this past year & I would like the chance to return the favor.
Rich
That's the second time Silver Lake has been mentioned... Okay, I'm sold. :-)
eyedoktr
02-12-2001, 03:49 AM
Ness, I lived on Honeoye for about 15 years. I have to agree that it is a great place for walleyes. I have had many occasions where I had my limit (3fish, 18+") in less than an hour.My best night was two of us caught and released 41 keepers in 4 hours. Right now there is an over abundance of smaller fish. The DEC has lowered the limit from 18" to 15" and encourages the harvest of these fish. I have found that conventional tactics don't always work and you have to be versatile. I hate, and will not troll. It's not necessary. As far as big fish go. There are a few 7-10 pounders caught every year. My heaviest is around 7# but have caught many between 4 and 6 pounds. If you'd like more info on how I fish, please feel free to get in touch with me.
Hi guys. Listen up. When I post I don't mean to be sarcastic it is just my way on explaining things. That is why when people post here we have so many opinions and everybody takes them differenty. When I send somebody on a fishing trip I want him to remember that trip and really enjoy himself. I am no ordinary fisherman I go where the fish are. The 2 lakes that we have been talking about are not lakes that I would consider good walleye fishing lakes. Now silver lake I live only 12 miles from it. Silver lake is not a walleye lake either. Just another experiment by the DEC to thin out the small perch. This lake is just too weedy. I would never send a man long distances to fish this lake. I would have to be crazy. Onedia lake is our best inland lake we have. Now if you want to do some good walleye fishing come to lake erie. We have some nice fishing on the N.Y. side of it but I liked barcalona if you want better get a Pa license and fish North East or Walnut creek now that is walleye fishing.
Gilligan
02-12-2001, 02:45 PM
Walleye love the weeds ever try fishing them? We have 20-40 fish days of weed eyes on Chautauqua.
I have a friend who also is a few miles off of Silver. He catches decent numbers of eyes including some 8-10# hogs. All trolling in the 20' to 30' range but it seems to slow when the summer crazies start tearing with skis and jets. May be those walleye burry in the weeds like Chautauqua.
Gilligan
02-12-2001, 03:00 PM
Thanks for the offer, might take you up on that. We were there 2 days last season in November for a tournament. Conditions were horrible. We prefished first day with about 8-10 other boats. We caught 4 short fish everyone else got skunked and most never showed up for next days tournament. No one caught a legal fish for tourney!
Are you jiggingdeep? Working weeds or trolling? Friend gets good fish deep on southern end.
Thanks Gilligan, for the tip. You couldn't convince me to fish that lake if you tried. I'm used to fishing the big pond. Silver Lake does not appeal to me very much.