Oneida 5/17 and some questions.

[HOOKEM & COOKEM]

So me and my fishing partner decided to fish the tournament today. Neither one of us has fished since the opener but we put together a game plan based on what we think and from past experiences. So we are immediately marking fish and start boating them. In no time we have a respectable limit. Over the course of the day we caught 21 eyes most all eyes were jigged up in 20fow. We finish a respectable 15th but just out of the $$.

Now to some questions. We were short the big fish we needed to cash so what do you do? The program we are doing is catching fish but mostly cookie cutter 18",19",20 standards. Do you change programs and try another method like trolling ? Pretty sure some top $ Guys were trolling). Are eyes like perch? Where dink perch hang around with dink perch, will big eyes hang out with small eyes? By the size of the marks on the graph they do. I am down with the theory of big lures catch big fish but I also like to match whatever I'm using to the size and shape of the bait fish they are eating. Needless to say I didn't make any changes and went with the theory that we were just unlucky and couldn't hookup on a big one, but I can't help but wonder if I could have done more some how.

I will say that there was one boat that hung with us almost the whole day in the same spot doing the same exact thing and they finished in the top 10. Lucky vs unlucky or just not good enough, I don't know but either way I'll be eating good. Threw in a bonus 14" perch😉

[HOOKEM & COOKEM]

Forgot the pics.

[justtracytrolling]

In that style of tournament with alot of boats you have to figure you need a limit of big fish not numbers.   Trolling bigger lures doesnt produce as many fish on Oneida, but with the right program the fish you catch will be bigger.  I always ran a couple smaller lures on downriggers and down the chute so we had action and big wally divers, rapalas, and reef runners out on boards for big fish.  I also believe faster speeds produce less small fish.  

[reeleyz]

Walleyes do group by size for the most part. Being on 18" - 20" eyes is normally good problem on Oneida. To place in these tourneys it seems like you need to put together a bag of fish in the 20s though. 

 

 There is always a mix of trollers and jiggers at the top so I am not sure that changing tactics is the way to go.

[Steelman]

You will cover a lot more water and a lot more fish trolling.   My tournament days are over but we always started out trolling, if we find a larger class fish we may stop and jig them dependent on the body of water and where they are in the water column.  Me personally would of caught a weigh in limit where you were then got the heck out of there and searched for larger fish and start culling if culling is allowed.  I never got into derby fishing as that is just plain luck of the draw, but a good tournament fisherman pre-fishes and has a few game plans.  Of course you always get the lucky guy or two in the money but to be consistent you need to work hard for it with many days on the water before the start.  Tournaments are not about catching large numbers its about catching larger fish, when that plan fails then revert to numbers which usually means smaller class fish.  Also big lures certainly dont mean bigger fish, I have caught some pretty small dinks on some pretty big lures.  Focus more on the presentation, the angle of the dangle, lure action and speed.  Pay attention to which side of the boat caught what fish, where you in a turn where one side of the boat was going faster than the other.  Always always always tune your lures as well.  Rarely does a lure run correct right out of the package.  And the last and most important CONFIDENCE, the guys in the money have it, if your uncertain your actions on the water will reflect your outcome, have a game plan, live or die by it and dont second guess it.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Steelman

[BSmaster]

In the river I have seen walleye cluster together by species and not by size but I do not know if this works on the lakes.  Bass, for sure.  When I start to catch small bass, I move.  Maybe I use a slighlty larger bait or change color.  I am not saying it is a rule but I have a feeling that the smaller fish like the metrosexual colors more so than the bigger fish so I tend to stay more natural in my presentations.  Perch, Alewive, gizzard shad.

 

I don't have a specific reason for not participating in fishing tournies, however, thinking about your great day and that it fell short anyways is definitely a big part of it.  A lot of fisherman want to say congratulations on your success (me included) but can't because you didn't place in a tourny and that makes it disappointing.  I hope you get it dialed in.  I have a feeling you are right there and only need to tweak it a little bit.  Good luck.