Captain Tony Buffa

Fishing Report #12

07/10/08

Hello "eye" pickers and salmon seekers:

Me again with yet another fishing missive from the deep. At this time in the fishing season the choices abound. Walleyes and bass are continuing to show a strong presence on Oneida and 20+ lb. salmon are entertaining anglers on Ontario. It's been a very good week on both ponds. Oneida in particular is yielding an "eye"full of catches. Deep water jigging with the black and purple 3/8 to 1/2 oz bucktail dressed with a nightcrawler is your best tactic. Just north of the buoy line from 125 to 119 has been consistently holding schools of bottom oriented walleyes for the last two weeks and my final push on Oneida has been a barrel of fun. One remaining walleye outing on Tues., July 15 and then it's the big pond, big boat, big fish, and big gas bill! OUCH!

Long time landscape client and current CEO of Tully Hill Cathy Palm enjoys her yearly outing with award winning landscaper Jim Sollecito. Before they took a break for a bite to eat on the water, this 5 pound 26" pickerel and 22" walleye took a bite out of a purple jig and worm....Although both the pickerel and walleye are commonly referred to as pike, the walleye is more related to a perch.

When Paul Stratford Jr. arrived in Binghamton from Singapore to visit with his 85 year old dad with whom he iced fished regularly on Oneida back in the 60's and 80's he decided to once again make an excursion to New York's largest inland lake and invited nephew Ryan Hastings. The trio showed there jigging prowess but the day belonged to Paul Sr., who at 85 clearly has not lost his touch. He completely out fished us. I did however manage to get my limit as well. Hog's back shoal in front of Fremac's Marina hosted this catch.

Bob Jones, B'ville, NY wanted to treat his son-in-laws Rich Hall, Phoenix, NY, John Qualls and grandson Joshua from Indianapolis, Ind. to a walleye outing on Oneida lake. Well the treat turned out to be their limit of walleyes. Again deep water jigging with the black/purple jig and a worm fished very slowly across the bottom had "eye" appeal. Joshua finished the day with the biggest at 18 1/8 inches. The pancake flats at 119 yielded this catch.

Alvin Brockway, Tampa Fl., Tim Lipphardt, West Monroe, NY, Adam Gates, N. Syracuse, NY and the Friedbergs, Rudy Jr., East Syr., Rudy Sr., Kirkville, NY, had their hands full with the salmon on Lake Ontario. Rudy Sr. set the pace early with his twenty pound king within the first hour. During the next hour Alvin battled another king within fifty feet of the net only to see it swim away. Then the 3.5 hour lull set in until a triple strike sent the rods into organized chaos. We landed all three and discovered why the fourth rod didn't fire. It had a skippy hitcher.

Now's the time to book your salmon outings. There are a few openings remaining in August and at this point September is fairly open. Also the fall Oneida outings are filling rapidly. It's imperative to get to me ASAP to assure you an accommodating date. Thanks for your support.

Lord of the "kings",

cap'n tony