Captain Tony Buffa

Fishing Report #4

0418/10

Hello all my fishing friends:

Nevermind the chores; fishing has begun.! The Bandito III is now floating at Oswego and the browns are scattered along the shoreline and in the harbor.

On Sat., April 17, I met my charter at 6:00 A.M. at Oswego Marina and invited them into the cabin to view the Sirius Satellite weather feed on my Lowrance HDS-10. What we ascertained was a mass of "light rain" (mist) encompassing Lake Ontario and moving slowly from west to east. Winds were already at 15 knots and building. I explained that the best I could offer was the river and some of the harbor. They were game and I wasn't lame!

We did manage 11 hookups with 6 boated fish. Four were browns, one Atlantic and a 5 1/2 lb. walleye measuring 25 inches. Both the Atlantic and the walleye were returned unharmed. Pat Grace, Fairport, NY, David Molta, Bernhards Bay, NY, Mitch Georgianna, Ontario, NY and Ellery Reaves, Rochester have maintained their friendship by sharing time outdoors whether it be golfing, fishing, hunting, or just having a brew with some blues and barbecues.

The troll was quite limited on this outing; basically from the gas dock to the end of the Port Authority wall. That's what Mother Nature gave us and that's what we took. Mitch Goergianna boated the walleye on a black and chartreuse Evil Eye down 12 over 20 feet along the silo's on the west bank of the river. The remaining hookups came on R&R razor spoons and Smithwicks.

On Sun., April 18, same start time (6:00 A.M.) , same location (Oswego) different wind and a committed bite. Today, the entire harbor and the shoreline east became trolling options that were out of the question on Saturday. On this day we had a party of one. Phil Roe, the deer processor extraordinaire from Hamilton, NY who loves his fishing to the degree that he schedules at least a charter each month throughout the season.

My mate Capt. Paul Nagle and I even had a chance to get in on the action today. Fourteen hookups by 9:00 A.M. One salmon, eight browns, and even a smallmouth bass. The largest brown was between 8 and 9 lbs. You can see from the attire of both days, this weekend's outings was not for the timid.

My schedule for the following dates is wide open and I'd prefer to be on the water especially with a good amount of browns now inshore. If you are interested in booking a charter or filling in as an individual on a charter let me know if any of these dates are good for you. April: 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29.

With the walleye opener just 13 days away I am compelled to share some Oneida Lake Hatchery information. This year's Ice-Out date was 3/20 and on 3/25 collection nets were set. That was five days earlier than last year. By 4/4 all nets were pulled. Total number of walleyes trapped hit the 22, 698 mark of which 9,530 were females and 13,168 males. Average eggs per female was 54,822. The total egg take reached 320,000,000. This all happened within a lake temperature differential of 38-45 degrees Fahrenheit. Cornell researchers from Shackleton Point fin clipped 10, 660 males and 9, 228 females for purposes of data collection. These tags have directions explaining how to contact the research facility. Mark Babenzien, hatchery manager and biologist with NYSDEC does a masterful job with his crew and volunteers each spring to insure a responsible and efficient approach to the walleye egg process at Constantia. My personal thanks to Mark and his technicians!!!!!!!

If you haven't yet scheduled your outings for 2010 pick up your phones, mark your calendars and let's go fishing.

My "PROF" A SEA for 2010...a banner year on Oneida and a return of very good fishing at Oswego.

cap'n tony