tigers in oneida??

[Ronix 51]

i was reading in a western ny fishing map guide about oneida that said the dec stocked 20,000 fingerlings in there in 96?? i didnt know any tigers were in there does anyone else know this to be true or false?

[NitroMusky]

first I've heard of it. even if they did most likely all are gone by now...that was 15 years ago. certainly not worth your time targeting there for tigers specifically

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[fishbear]

I've never heard of a deliberate stocking of Oneida, though a few apparently escape from the hatchery and are caught on rare occasions. Definitely not worth targeting, as Nitro said.

[Tigerhunter]

I have seen pictures of someone who caught one in there, Oneida has just about everything, I know they stock tigers in the canal and mohawk river in marcy and they are connected to oneida, even though really far away. I would just target pike and keep at the back of your mind you have a very slim chance of getting a surprise.

[Stinky Finger]

Back in '94 I had about a 40" tiger on for a minute at the mouth of fish creek on the canal but couldn't get it to net.

I was using a worm harness with an 18" walleye trailer for bait. Just kidding, I was playing the walleye when the tiger grabbed it and we had a little tug of war before it let go and disappeared. We did get a real good look at it right at boatside, definitely a tiger.

They exist throughout the Erie canal/ Mohawk river, Oneida being connected they can show up there from time to time but I wouldn't call it a fishery.

As far as I know the first time tigers were in Oneida lake in any numbers was following hurricane Agnes in '72 when the Oneida hatchery at Constantia on the lake flooded and all the tigers of course went into the lake.

I also know an old timer who lives in Sylvan Beach who swears he once caught a pure bred muskie in Oneida but who knows, probably just a fish story or a case of mistaken identity.

[ryanrobb52]

@ Tigerhunter, is there in fact a fishable population of Northern Pike in Oneida? I have been fishing it for a few years now and have caught countless Pickeral but never a Pike. I love hard water pike fishing and would be thrilled if Oneida had a population worth going after. Any info would be appreciated.

[NitroMusky]

I have had the same experience. pickerel but no pike. from what I've read and heard, the pike used to be plentiful but the swampy transitional areas that were their prime spawning grounds have been alerted and filled to create regular shoreline for waterfront homes. numbers have been steadily decreasing over the decades

I think the pickerel must spawn under slightly different conditions

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[Tigerhunter]

I have only actually seen 1 pike in the lake, one that followed my lure in last fall, mid-30 incher, definitely not a pickerel. I have only fished oneida a few times and usually went for smallies. I have seen a few pictures of pike out of oneida, mostly on the north shore I believe.

[fishbear]

I actually have a ton of fun with those pickerel on Oneida. Use an inline spinner with 6 lb test line reeled just under the surface. Many in the mid 20" range and many jump, which I've rarely had happen with pike. Of course they run smaller than tigers and many pike, but they still probably average as big as the pike I used to catch on the bays of Lake Ontario.

[Ronix 51]

yeah i was thinking this must be some faulty information...but they are in the seneca river as well and that connects to the oneida, oswego, and canal by way of the 3 rivers junction so im sure it is possible they are in there in very limited numbers

[NitroMusky]

I'm not sure whether its technically faulty info or not but certainly not the numbers we would hope for. you're right on about migration though...can't recall where I read this but i saw studies that have shown fish do move around the three rivers system and can start in one lake and end up in another (onondaga to oneida for instance)

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[Ronix 51]

yeah but the 20,000 fingerlings stocked in 96 is faulty i dont think they ever had a stocking program for oneida though...i wish the dec would do more for the pike thoug in that lake like try and provide a spawning habitat, with all the perch, alewives, and gizzard shad in there youd have excessive forage to have a real trophy fishery if they could reproduce better on their own

[old man]

back in the 90's when fishing reports were just in the paper and on phone hotlines i fell for the report of tigers in oneida too. i fished there a dozen times or so and never saw one. i did catch a few northerns;including one pushing twenty pounds. there was also a report of tigers in oak orchard around then. never saw a tiger there either. i caught a bunch of pike there and got into some nice schools of gar a couple times at sunset.

[Stinky Finger]

One local river that does have some tigers in it is the Genesee. The stretch between Avon and Geneseo has given up a few nice ones.

These are likely escapees from Conesus that make it over the dam at high water. I don't think they were stocked in the river, can't recall seeing that on stocking lists.

Lots of pike and walleye in that stretch too.

[Ronix 51]

stinky finger where in avon? are you talking about them going up conesus creek and getting in there that way? ive always wondered if there were fish in there or not...is the water in that section of the river the same brown mud colored water it is further north?

[Stinky Finger]

Whatever the creek is that flows under the 5 arches, if that is Conesus creek then yes, that's the one. It is the outlet of Conesus lake. There is also a second dam they have to get over just above the 5 arch bridge. The stretch between Lakeville and Avon gets about zero fishing pressure and might be worth exploring with a canoe.

When I first heard about tigers in the Genesee around Avon I was skeptical until I met two guys who showed me pics of the tigers they have caught there. One of those pics can be seen on the back wall of Fat Sam's bar in Avon. A friend of mine lives in Avon and I've fished with him a number of times under the old railroad bridge just downstream from the Rt 5&20 bridge and DEC access site. The last time I went, last year, he was telling me that they had been seeing a large walleye there almost every night but nobody could catch it.

It's not a walleye. It is a tiger, about 45 inches. For some reason it has a habit of cruising just under the surface but it spooks if you cast near it.

That stretch is generally unfishable after it rains. The water level about doubles and it's like chocolate milk for several days. The Genny is a lot different in the area where I used to live in Allegany county at Caneadea. It's more like a creek there with fairly constant water levels and usually runs clear. No way any of these tigers could make it up past the dam at Mt Morris though. Who knows how much they travel around, likely quite a bit. I know of several pure bred muskies caught in Ellicot creek near Glens Falls park below the falls in Williamsville near Buffalo, miles from the Niagara river but it really shouldn't be all that surprising. Ellicot creek has clear clean water, several large deep holes and plenty of chubs, suckers and rainbows to feed on. I also know of another sleeper muskie fishery out that way but I'm not giving that one up!

[W.W.IV.]

No alewives in the lake.

[Ronix 51]

^no alewives where?