Oneida, Canadarago

[Mark_VTfisherman]

I have trips planned for Canadarago (end of May) and Oneida (July 4th week) and just read a bunch of old threads on iBoats. Like the lively discussions I found and wanted to enter a few to take off, but being they are 2002 2005 and other "old" threads I didn't want to tip the social norms so started this thread.

I liked this old iBoats thread and a couple of others and hope that this post brings up some good discussion.

My last posts on Canadarago were as a newbie to the lake in July 2009- I had no idea what to expect other than I had heard it was hard to fish due to clear water. And I didn't do well. Nobody did well from our group. There are a lot of deeper weeds due to clear, clear water, and none of my walleye came from weed edges or shallow water tactics. Only got one fish at night in/over deep open water. Others were light transition periods but only a few. I have hopes for a few limits and really prefer A LOT of C&R fish just keeping what I want to eat or take home (don't we all :facepalm and would like some help from recent-year experiences of anglers who frequent there (one website I read said the only anglers who do well are seasoned locals! LOL)

I think I am going to start the week with a day of trolling cranks and stickbaits over open water hoping to find schools of bait and hopefully bigger arches- walleyes, I hope.

Whaddya think of this approach for Canadarago post-spawn walleye?

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Oneida, Canadarago

The follow-up question: has anyone had experience with jigs/scented plastics on Canadarago?

When I was there I don't recall seeing much for drop-offs, flats, and structure that would suggest a jig approach that wasn't choked with weeds to almost 20 feet- I tend not to fish snaggy tactics in weeds. The one big flat, the little flats, and the extended points off the island seem to have all been weedy. The only thing I got off the island was a tiger muskie that broke off the diving lip on a brand-new Storm and the sunken island only produced smallies. But in late May how developed are the weed beds?

I have a contour map that shows some great gravel areas and underwater basins which look great. They were weeded in when I was there and excluded using any kind of trolling method I was used to. Bouncers were out of the question as well and didn't produce over the gravel on the southeast shoulder, either. But that was July; what should I expect for the late post-spawn at the end of May at Canadarago? This lake is different than any of the other walleye waters I have ever fished.

I am primarily a troller and love it but my observations of the contour chart and me experience 3 years ago seem to indicate expanding my repertoire to include jigs and perhaps other approaches. Looking for some direction so I can practice some methods in advance and bring the right tackle to pull off a good week. Help?!

I also notice one major outflow. Are any of the inflows significant post-spawn?

Hope to see some responses soon.

Mark