Oak Orchard Walleye

[BP Swing]

If guys would of released a few of the giant eyes there, maybe they would of reproduced and we wouldnt have to worry about the DEC restocking it. What is there not to get about releasing any big female eye over say 7 lbs?? Duh, no release no reproduction..... Yes in the 50s, 60s there were huge eyes there till the sawbellies arrived, same with Canandaigua L.

[panfisher]

BP Swing .....Very interesting about 'eyes in Canandaigua! Do you have any sources of info, anecdotal or scientific, on that subject U might share? I used to have a DEC published, well, magazine formatted manual they had published on the subject of all of the work they had done on the effort to improve the walleye fishery throughout the state. I wish I still had it; it was published in the 80's. Perhaps they were native to all of the fingers historically....

[BP Swing]

MY research is based on results of the annual Genesee Beer Fishing Contest. I have all the fishing guides from 1946 (1st year) till the contest ended in 1992. Walleyes from Hemlock and Canandaigua frequently were in the top 3 in the 50s and early 60s. My conversations with the DEC showed that their demise started with the arrival of the sawbellies. Sawbellies ate too many of the fry. Sad neither of those lakes is a shadow of its prior self, that is why catch and release is so important. If anyone gets any straglers, they should be released to give mother nature one more shot since stocking doesnt appear to be an option.

[Swingingflies]

While fishing in the spring on Summervile, I saw a guy land a nice "eye" on a red rattle trap. I weighted it on an official IGFA scale at 10 lbs. Beautiful fish.

[panfisher]

Swingingflies.....Niiiicce! BP Swing....Thanx for the info. And you are right about letting those big girls go....as well as any from Hemlock. It's tough though....to bad money could not buy some hatchery 'eyes to replenish stocks into Hemlock to keep 'em going.....

[zackblain]

Take some of the eyes they dump in honeoye and stock hemlock for a couple years

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[panfisher]

Hmmm.... Some stockings from one lake instead put into another (close by). How inefficient could that be? Anybody from or next to DEC fisheries reading this?

[BP Swing]

Their reply would be " we don't want to mess with trout lakes" just like all the rest of the lakes in this state. Trout is the #1 priority for them even though I bet most guys would rather have eyes. I approached them once and that is basically what they said. (DEC)

[zackblain]

Their reply would be " we don't want to mess with trout lakes" just like all the rest of the lakes in this state. Trout is the #1 priority for them even though I bet most guys would rather have eyes. I approached them once and that is basically what they said. (DEC)

What got me was while reading through the last dec evaluation of the lake, a majority of the people they surveyed were fishing spring water creek for trout. As well as people paying out of their own pockets(springwater gun club) to put walleyes in there so there is clearly a demand for a more diverse fishery with walleye in there. There are enough trout lakes seneca,daigua,canadice,keuka,cayuga,otisco... and the only one with a good fishable population of eyes I can really think of is oneida. Honeoye(my home lake) is a joke between the bg algae, pleasure boater. Yes you can catch a decent amount of eyes but 50% of the ones you catch are about as thick as a cigar. Hemlock would make for a prime walleye lake with all the food and gravel and clean cold water.... end rant

[ Post made via Android ]

[NitroMusky]

As much as I agree in principle ZB (in fact I would be all for muskies in there on the same rationale) warmwater stocking resources are relatively limited vs. The amt of coldwater fish the DEC pumps out. So to put some of those precious few eyes into a lake that is HP restricted is essentially putting them off limits to many fisherman when there are so many other lakes that could use some or more than they are currently receiving.

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[zackblain]

As much as I agree in principle ZB (in fact I would be all for muskies in there on the same rationale) warmwater stocking resources are relatively limited vs. The amt of coldwater fish the DEC pumps out. So to put some of those precious few eyes into a lake that is HP restricted is essentially putting them off limits to many fisherman when there are so many other lakes that could use some or more than they are currently receiving.

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

The accessibility is a good point never really thought of that. I would like to see some data regarding survival rates of walleye in honeoye considering they stock it with 8.7million fry yearly and with those numbers you would think honeoye would be a much better walleye lake than it is. I wonder what the survival rate would be like in a much cleaner lake that isn't nearly as pressured and polluted as honeoye

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[143447]

8.7 million fry in Hemlock would likely take over that lake in about 15years. I was a regular at hemlock for years and during the survey the DEC was doing there 4or5 years ago. I was questioned many times and asked for my opinion on the fishery.

The guys there taking the survey told me a few times that most fisheman there surveyed preferred Hemlock remain a thriving trout fishery and that was what brought them back there year after year. myself included

[NitroMusky]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Its a double edged sword. honeoye is mesotrophic which inherently means good for sustaining life, so its good for the fry (lot of nutrition sources) but also results in a high density of predators, whereas hemlock is more on the oligotrophic end so less predation but less food too. Not sure which has the better balance for achiving viable numbers of mature fish.

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[zackblain]

If lakers just tasted as good as eyes do after takin a bath in some cracker crumbs and hot butter, this wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue to me lol

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[NitroMusky]

Amen brotha!

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[panfisher]

If lakers just tasted as good as eyes do after takin a bath in some cracker crumbs and hot butter, this wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue to me lol

[ Post made via Android ]

. Hahahahahhhilarious !!

[BSmaster]

I believe in equal opportunity and I don't like affirmative action. I am talking about my fishing. I read a lot of posts on here and other boards and it is obvious to me that some fisherman are passionate about a species or group of species and disregard the others as important. I personally like it all. I would love to see more walleye stocked across the state. All the fingers should have them. Musky too. Too much emphasis on the salmonoids. I love fishing for them as well but warm water species are just as exciting in my opinion. It will all balance out and some waters will hold better numbers or bigger fish than others. It works that way now without the diversity.

About the motor/boat restrictions on Hemlock: I like them. It gives the little guy more of a level playing field. I do not have great numbers when I fish Hemlock but I love it for what it is. It is beautiful. Kayaks, canoes, and small boats and all natural structure. If a guy can't get his 18 foot Lund out there with all the bells and whistles to drag 8 lines, this is ok to me. I like that people fishing there have to keep it simple. It is very peaceful.

[zackblain]

I believe in equal opportunity and I don't like affirmative action. I am talking about my fishing. I read a lot of posts on here and other boards and it is obvious to me that some fisherman are passionate about a species or group of species and disregard the others as important. I personally like it all. I would love to see more walleye stocked across the state. All the fingers should have them. Musky too. Too much emphasis on the salmonoids. I love fishing for them as well but warm water species are just as exciting in my opinion. It will all balance out and some waters will hold better numbers or bigger fish than others. It works that way now without the diversity.

About the motor/boat restrictions on Hemlock: I like them. It gives the little guy more of a level playing field. I do not have great numbers when I fish Hemlock but I love it for what it is. It is beautiful. Kayaks, canoes, and small boats and all natural structure. If a guy can't get his 18 foot Lund out there with all the bells and whistles to drag 8 lines, this is ok to me. I like that people fishing there have to keep it simple. It is very peaceful.

I hope to god they never change the regulations on canadice and hemlock for the reason

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[panfisher]

Zackblain and BSmaster... Right on with the sentiments about the two Rochester reservoirs! Now that they are owned by NYS, I do not think we have to worry about any major changes, as they will remain water sources for the Rochester NY region. Have many personal event memories outside of fishing or hunting at that 2 lake property. And everyone (hopefully) sees and can feel back to the past as to how nice the Finger Lakes and all freshwaters were in days before widespread development.....BTW, I love how this thread has moved from Oak Orchard to the kitchen to the fingers; we see how much our freshwater resources here in NY are soooo valuable....and can't be taken for granted .

[143447]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Its a double edged sword. honeoye is mesotrophic which inherently means good for sustaining life, so its good for the fry (lot of nutrition sources) but also results in a high density of predators, whereas hemlock is more on the oligotrophic end so less predation but less food too. Not sure which has the better balance for achiving viable numbers of mature fish.

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

Hemlock much deeper than Honeoye...maintains a thermocline and foodsource for suspended predator fish very well...ahhh I mean very well, glance at your graph out there Honeoye is a big pond, warm and weedy. Hemlock has the lake feel when you are out there. I am quite sure and know several fisherman that are regulars at Hemlock, if it was stocked yearly the walleyes would likely populate the lake in a short time.The walleyes that come outta there are giants, very thick and well fed. They suspend out deep with the trout and forage.

There are enough good walleye fisheries around guys, I'll hang in for a one of a kind trout fishery.

I am in total agreement on the outboard restrictions on Hemlock and Canadice, keep up the restrictions!! and I would like to see it patrolled more frequently by the DEC This would discourage the idiots like the one I saw at the launch a few years back from taking home a cooler full of undersized browns. I mean the cooler was full

[zackblain]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Its a double edged sword. honeoye is mesotrophic which inherently means good for sustaining life, so its good for the fry (lot of nutrition sources) but also results in a high density of predators, whereas hemlock is more on the oligotrophic end so less predation but less food too. Not sure which has the better balance for achiving viable numbers of mature fish.

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

Hemlock much deeper than Honeoye...maintains a thermocline and foodsource for suspended predator fish very well...ahhh I mean very well, glance at your graph out there Honeoye is a big pond, warm and weedy. Hemlock has the lake feel when you are out there. I am quite sure and know several fisherman that are regulars at Hemlock, if it was stocked yearly the walleyes would likely populate the lake in a short time.The walleyes that come outta there are giants, very thick and well fed. They suspend out deep with the trout and forage.

There are enough good walleye fisheries around guys, I'll hang in for a one of a kind trout fishery.

I am in total agreement on the outboard restrictions on Hemlock and Canadice, keep up the restrictions!! and I would like to see it patrolled more frequently by the DEC This would discourage the idiots like the one I saw at the launch a few years back from taking home a cooler full of undersized browns. I mean the cooler was full

Besides oneida what would you consider a good year round eye fishery? And I was surprised to see the state forest rangers out on their 18' lund with the big outboard on the back patrolling hemlock never seen em on canadice before

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[143447]

Good... they need to be around more.. we should thank them for their efforts!! I don't fish for walleye and Conesus is 10 minutes away from my house.But I have heard..St.larry Lake Erie, Conesus, Honeoye, several bays along lake Ontario, chemung,susky rivers. The genny can be good too.

The DEC also is watching the bald eagles down at Hemlock.

[hermit]

If lakers just tasted as good as eyes do after takin a bath in some cracker crumbs and hot butter, this wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue to me lol

Have to disagree here about the lakers- a properly cleaned, breaded, and fried laker can be some of the best fried fish there is. Done right it doesn't get any better. Just my opinion of course but I don't get it when guys knock them. Oh well this is the walleye forum!

[tbulhead]

I saw two people a few years ago hop into a large aluminum boat on Canadice 1/2 hour before sunrise. Was going to call the DEC, but they were from the DEC. They were measuring plankton before the sun came up.

[143447]

If lakers just tasted as good as eyes do after takin a bath in some cracker crumbs and hot butter, this wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue to me lol

Have to disagree here about the lakers- a properly cleaned, breaded, and fried laker can be some of the best fried fish there is. Done right it doesn't get any better. Just my opinion of course but I don't get it when guys knock them. Oh well this is the walleye forum!

Right on Alec....laker can be delish if prepared properly ..my deep fried laker rivals any on the continant