Henderson/Sackets Memorial Weekend

[Landshark]

Booked a room at Henchens and stayed for the entire weekend. Started fishing saturday about 11am. Left Monday around the same time. Ended up with 3 eyes. Two 8lbers and 6. Also in the mix were alot of Big Northerns, some big sheep, rock bass, white bass , perch, and a Brownie. I stayed with the same program all weekend. I learned alot about that pond this weekend and I think my results will improve. I have pics coming. They should be on by wednesday night at the latest. I found alot of bait. There is a tournament being put on by Gander MTn. up there this coming weekend so I might give it a whirl ( go and donate my money) I'm quickly falling in love with that fishery.

[troutman10]

Sounds like you had a good weekend. Congrats! Lots of different fishing opportunities up here.

[Landshark]

I let my girlfriend reel in the sheepheads lol

[fireplug]

Nice catch! When the catch is like that mixed bag, kinda hard to NOT fall in love with a fishery.

[Sluggo / NY]

Mike.. Nice job! I was just above you for the weekend (Mud Bay) for a wedding, but managed to get about 12 hours of trolling in between Sat. and Sun.. I had to use my brother-in-law's 25' Pursuit since I didn't drag my boat along. Great boat, but lousy for trolling. I did finally pick up one 9 pound walleye. I love the area and wish I had time to learn it better! I know many of the locals do very well up there, but they're almost as bad as the Seneca perch guys at sharing info! Not that I blame them It hasn't started on the east end of Erie yet, so we may hit Ontario again in a couple of weeks. Good Luck in the tourney! Sluggo (Chris)

[kappy]

How do the eyes taste @ that end of the lake, are they fishy, and lake tasting.

the ones I have been getting out of the lake and bays around Rochester

have a strong taste I beleive from eating the alewives, I am not going to eat any more because of this reason, I do not keep alot of them anyway,

I even tried soaking in buttermilk, they just have a strong fish taste,

The big ones can't be that good either I would think,

very nice fish for sure.. Any of you walleye guys have any input,

Is it just this area of the lake? thanks guys.

[HeavyA]

How do the eyes taste @ that end of the lake, are they fishy, and lake tasting.

the ones I have been getting out of the lake and bays around Rochester

have a strong taste I beleive from eating the alewives, I am not going to eat any more because of this reason, I do not keep alot of them anyway,

I even tried soaking in buttermilk, they just have a strong fish taste,

The big ones can't be that good either I would think,

very nice fish for sure.. Any of you walleye guys have any input,

Is it just this area of the lake? thanks guys.

From my experience, it's more a matter of the size of the fish rather than where it was caught/what it's been eating. I fish for a week every year in Northern Ontario (the province, not the lake), and the larger walleye up there aren't that great to eat even though they don't have alewife in any of those lakes. Taste on a walleye seems to start going downhill once they get over about 3 pounds, regardless of their diet. Maybe an alewife diet makes the taste go downhill faster though, I can't say for sure.

[Landshark]

a bad tasting walleye is better than a good tasting bass

[lyk2fish]

Ran into the same fishy taste problem with them in the fingerlakes. Bought an electric fillet knife so I could easily remove the red meat portion of the fillet (oil line area). Just that thin strip removed off the fillet made all the difference. once removed, the fillet is all white. Have not had a problem since, even on big eye's. they taste awesome.

give it a try.

Kevin

[bosco]

I have had the same experience with Rochester area Walleye (Irondequot Bay specifically). I kept my first 2 walleye out of Irondequoit Bay last week. A 20" and a 24". They were the first ones from I-Bay for me that DIDN'T have an unusually strong taste. I attributed it to maybe the colder water temps this time of year as well as them being on the smaller side (at least the 20"er anyways because I felt I could taste a difference between the two). I could be wrong on the water temp theory but that's what I've heard about spring bullhead...that they only taste good in the spring because the water temps are colder. Anyways....I'm already off to a better start than all of last season so I imagine I'll keep the smallest ones here and there and then get around to buying a couple disposable cameras to throw on my boat to take shots off the rest of them. The few I do keep I don't like to freeze so it's usually out of the water and into the pan.

[troutman10]

I'm actually from Chaumont and currently live there. We're not that tight lipped about the fishing. I hear everyone speaking of where the fish are biting and when they are biting just living here. Quite a few walleye around this winter for ice fishing. Any of the walleye that I've had out of this part of the lake have tasted great to me. Maybe they taste better in the winter though. The last ones that I've tasted were in December and January during Ice. Glad to help anyone out about tips if they need any. Best bets would be trying Black River Bay, Guffins Bay, Chaumont Bay and Mud Bay. Heard of a few guys catching fish real early when the sun isn't even up yet. Lots of walleye were caught this winter in the areas mentioned above. Tight lines everyone!

[Whites Bay Jim]

I filet all my fish and freeze in water and lemon. Never have a bad taste. Even with bass