Skaneateles Skaneateles PB Walleye

[Great_Laker]

Fished Lake O. Out of Oswego Saturday morning and got the big skunk with battling boats packed in 120-200’. 
 

Decided to pick up and fish Skaneateles in the afternoon for walleye. We picked through a steady catch of rock bass, smallies, and perch for about three hours forgetting about the skunk fest in Oswego. Right at dark we pulled a bottom bouncer and worm harness in 40’ and hooked up our boats PB walleye at 8.4 lbs.  Fried walleye tastes better than salmon anyway!

[schreckstoff]

Nice eye!

[Trouthunter]

ARE  YOU TROOLING STICKBAIT OR SMALL SPOONS

Edited August 29 by Trouthunter

[Gill-T]

The bar marks on the perch are unreal out of that lake. Looks like a Rapala stickbait paint job. 

[bulletbob]

 Thats a gorgeous Walleye... i will never understand the hatred towards them I have seen on this forum... its evident that skaneateles is good habitat for them.. They are doing well and growing big there, and the state and most trollers want them dead..  Just because they aren't rainbows or landlocks, neither of which don't grow to the size of that Walleye in Skaneateles, and aren't near as good to eat.

 

[Gill-T]

Similar to the snakehead issue, people will find they can cohabitate without much negative effects. 

[T-Rok]

I have yet to ever find a trout in a walleye stomach. I have caught trout out of skaneateles with small walleye in their stomachs though. Walleyes taste great, but fight like a wet dish rag. Lol. Trout are far superior game fish, but I still dont believe that walleye are detrimental to their existence in any of the larger finger lakes. As far as landlocks go, they would cease to exist in any lake if they were not continually stocked. They just dont breed in these fingerlakes for some reason. 

[bulletbob]

The salmon don't breed because of a thiamine deficiency.. All due to the fact that their diet consists of Alewives almost exclusively... There's quite a bit of good information on the topic on the net... bob

 

[T-Rok]

Right.. except there are no alewives in skaneateles, and they still dont breed. So, thiamine deficiency is not the main reason, although it may be a contributing factor. In cayuga, they go up the stream and act like they spawn, but I dont know if they really produce anything. Maybe that is the thiamine thing. 

[T-Rok]

...no alewives is imo the main reason the fish taste so much better out of skaneateles as well. They dont taste and smell like sawbellies. It's also a cold clean lake. 

[bulletbob]

4 hours ago, T-Rok said:

Right.. except there are no alewives in skaneateles, and they still dont breed. So, thiamine deficiency is not the main reason, although it may be a contributing factor. In cayuga, they go up the stream and act like they spawn, but I dont know if they really produce anything. Maybe that is the thiamine thing. 

duh.. yeah, you're right of course.. I WAS thinking of Cayuga and Seneca Landlocks,, and just kind of lumped Skaneateles in with them..  Thats IS a good question,, Why don't the LL in Skaneateles spawn succesfully?..  Anyway,  personally,  I think Walleyes are a good thing in Skaneateles. The trout and salmon there never get real big, but it seems other species do.. there are a lot of big panfish,  as well as not huge but good size small and largemouth bass, and it looks like the walleyes are getting big in the lake.. i have a feeling its because Walleyes will eat things like Sculpins, Madtoms, Crayfish, small  rough fish such as carp, suckers, while trout seem to be more selective feeders , as well as always  suspending in preferred temps, where there just isn't as much food In skaneateles...  I get it, everyone wants colorful ""silvers"" like rainbows and Landlocks, but it starting to seem like Skaneatles might just be better suited to Walleyes than to suspending salmonids.... bob

[Stillwater]

Wow, very nice walleye and perch. Thanks for sharing.

[Hullbilly]

Nice catch!!

[ejpfish]

SHOULD HAVE LET THAT BIG GIRL GO FOR SPAWING  THEY TASTE BETTER SMALLER 

[Pair of Jacks]

Nice creel!!! I agree it would be nice to return walleye as a brood stock, but if there’s one there probably many more.  The lake where we go in Canada has a slot limit of 40-50cm (approximately 15.75 to 19.75 inches) everything else is catch and release. Like ejpfish said the smaller walleye definitely taste much better.

[bulletbob]

 I find it interesting that there are now guys on this forum saying this big Walleye should have gone back as broodstock.. No argument from me, but when we discussed this same topic a year or two ago, the general consensus was that the 'eyes' we horrible invasives and needed to be killed, dead, removed from the lake ASAP!...

 

 The state wants them dead as well.. These regs are sickening,,, I have said it before and I'll say it again.. I hope the Walleyes win!

 

 

Skaneateles Lake
	Walleye-	-All Year, Minimum Length-12", Daily Limit-Any number

 

 

 

[rusty1034]

23 hours ago, T-Rok said:

...no alewives is imo the main reason the fish taste so much better out of skaneateles as well. They dont taste and smell like sawbellies. It's also a cold clean lake. 

 

even the lakers from this lake taste good. 

[Pair of Jacks]

Bulletbob—I agree wholeheartedly that some folks are one dimensional in the preferred species of fish…I happened to be a multi-species fisherman.  I have two boats:  one dedicated to FL and GL salmon and trout fishing (walleyes too up on Henderson Bay, Oneida Lake  or Southern Lake Huron/St Clair River and Lake St Clair) and one dedicated to small water Land-lock Stripers and hybrids, walleye and other small water species.  I grew up fishing Rainbows and Browns on Catherine Creek and my maternal grandfather taught me the art and patience of Seth Green rigs trolling Keuka Lake for Lake Trout and fly fishing brook trout in the Adirondacks.  I never became a one trick pony because I joined the Air Force and never knew just where I might be stationed.  I love “fishing” period.  Most people don’t realize that all these various species were native to our lakes and streams in one way or another before DEC or any other federal or state regulatory/conservationist agencies got involved.

[ejpfish]

IT'S A FACK THE STATE WANTS THEM DEAD, THEY SAY THERE KILLING THE TROUT, BULLCRAP, HAS ANYONE EVER CAUGHT A WALLEYE WITH A TROUT IN ITS GUT?? PROBABLY NOT BUT WHAT ABOUT THE NORTHERNS EXPLODING IN THE FINGERLAKES,OR THE TIGERS MUS.  AND THE LAKE TROUT?      PEARCH ARE THE EYES  GO TO FOOD,   JUST SAYING,    OH THE STATE KILLED OVER 50 PRE SPAWN EYES IN SKINNY THIS SPRING IN THERE GILL NETS, LETS ALL VOICE OUR THOUGHTS ON THIS AND STOP THIS KILLING!!!!!!!!!!!      I LIKE TROUT AND SALMOND FISHING, BUT WALLEYES ARE GREAT TABLE FAIR, BUT THE BIG ONES MAKE THE GOOD EATING ONES. GOOD FISHING EVERYONE

[Stillwater]

Hi Great_Laker...

That was a very special PB walleye caught in a gorgeous setting after a long day of fishing. I am so glad that you caught it and kept it to enjoy the memorable day to the fullest. Don't let anyone's comments detract from your great day by saying you should have released it, big eyes aren't good eating, etc.. Special fish, congratulations again!! 

[justtracytrolling]

I ve caught hundreds of walleye out of skaneatles and its gonna get better.  Last fall there were little eyes everywhere i looked on the south end a couple times and im talking a thousand of em and the northend is filled with them as well.  They can be tough to find but if you find the fish its lights out.  The 2 pics we caught over 50 fish each night and kept less than half.  There are some 30 inch fish in there as well.

[Gill-T]

I imagine they taste delicious out of that lake

[BP Swing]

I say make it a Walleye lake and stop forcing trout on us. Glad they are taking off.