Fishing lake Oneida

[lurehoe]

Hello, I am looking for any information on fishing lake Oneida. We are going to make our first trip in late June. We will be staying at ABC campgrounds which is located in Cleveland NY. It is 16 miles to camp when you get off I-81 so I figure it is 3/4 down the lake. We will be targeting bass-largemouth & smalleys. The owner of the campgrounds says there are plenty of good bays in this area for largemouth? Also would like to know whick islands or which rock shulls seem to be best for smallmouth? We have fished other NY lakes over the years but never nothing this big. I would like to go there as prepared as we can. I know the weather is always another story and a major factor on a lake as open as Oneida--that is the chance you take when traveling 425 miles to do what we love! CATCH FISH! Any information is greatly appreciated! I would also like to thank my friend Ludo Goix for talking me into joining this forum! Have a great day!

Best Fishes,
Mark Donohoe---Ohio
AKA--lurehoe

[MADSIERRA]

I am not sure I can help you very much...I have fished for walleyes there many times but, not bass. there are a few local bait shops near there that I am sure can help. The one person I am sure can help you is Captain Jim Dence the owner of All Seasons Sports in Pulaski, Ny about 45 min away from Oneida. He fishes there alot usually for walleyes but is a very good guy and is always willing to help & doesn't just tell you a story to get you to buy more tackle...not that you can EVER have to much tackle!! good luck

[lurehoe]

Madsierra, Thank you for your reply & for the information! I will try to contact Capt. Jim. And you are right --never too much tackle!

Mark

[fishhuntadventure]

I have bunked at ABC several times. In fact, my avatar photo is of my boat tied up at the Angler's Bay docks. They have reasonably priced gas at the docks, outlets for battery charging, cold spring water, and nice tie-ups. Real shallow for a hundred yards so out. Not a campground- but cottages and cabins BTW, unless they started a campground for this season... Angler's Bay is a mile or so east of Godfrey Point and about half way east-to-west of the lake on Route 49 (the north side of the lake). East end is Sylvan Beach -too expensive and busy so we always go west for groceries, hardware store, etc.

Oneida is awesome! and you are going to be there at one of the best periods you can be there, IMHO. Winds are dominant Westerly, and that is that place I found myself in 5-foot seas once. That was interesting in my 14-footer. Tie up with your bow pointed south...

There are plenty of bass, and the lake is fairly eutrophic so there is a good food chain. I caught a number of smallies by mistake casting for walleye in the shallows towards dark. As far as fishing bass out of Anglers Bay- there is a ton of structure nearby and weed beds over broad, flat shallows near shore to the east of camp. Westerly, there is a mile-and-a-half-long underwater ridge with 20' of water on both sides. It does not quite shoal but it is structure and in places shallow enough to make weeds. There is also a string of mid-lake humps and ridges that shoal in numerous places with underwater "islands," rock piles, and weed beds with 16' to 24' depths close by. The most used structure I use for walleye is about a 6 mile run SW of Angler's Bay. That's what a lot of the overmotored deck boats focus on. Walleye anglers on the other hand won't be fishing shallow mid-day but will be fishing nearby the shallow areas, working around humps, and trolling open water suspended fish.

Angler's Bay ain't cheap but it is a great place to stay for a week. Just check wunderground every morning and night for wind predicts. Hoping to hit Oneida around July 4th weekend this year- also doing Canadarago at the end of May and if the winds make it worth trailering over for a day I will hit Oneida one day that week as well (it's only about an hour and 10 mins from Canadarago.)

Good luck and more than a little jealous!

[lurehoe]

Thank you for the information I really appreciate it We are truly looking forward to this trip thanks again Mark