The News From Oneida Lake

10. Walleye Weekend Return to main page

The first Saturday in May is the opening day of Walleye season on Oneida Lake. This is the biggest weekend (Walleye Weekend) of the year on Oneida Lake. The activities start on Friday night with the Joint Meeting. On Saturday there's a Walleye fishing contest and on Sunday a hamburger and hotdog and fried fish picnic in Shores Park with the awarding of the fishing trophies and live music and dancing until sundown.

The Dedication

Harold Tale was injured in a boating/fishing accident when he was four years old and has been in a wheelchair ever since. He is Pete Sokal's only employee over at the Bait-N-Brew. Harold loves to go fishing and he knows as much as anybody about fishing on Oneida Lake. He tries to go fishing as much as possible, but to accomplish this he must rely on other people to get him on and off of a boat (the shoreline is just too rocky and steep to accommodate a wheelchair). He's always pushed for the creation of a fully accessible fishing site on the shore of Oneida Lake. He's been a one man campaign even to the point of chaining himself to one of the state work barges over at Lock 23, in an attempt to gain publicity for an accessible fishing cite. He hasn't had much success, but the State of New York works in mysterious ways.

A few years back, in conjunction with the federal government, the State of New York designated the original Erie Canal as a State Park (Historical/Recreational). By doing so, they were able to receive large chunks of federal funding for the development of parks and recreational facilities. Oneida Lake was part of the original Erie Canal system and was slated (through the State Parks Department) for a lakeshore fishing park. Nobody (as usual) was paying any attention to the goings-on in Albany and consequently everyone was surprised when construction started. The two State Senators didn't even know about it until construction started, and at that point both tried to take full credit for obtaining the funds for the Lakeshore Fishing Park. I need to explain a little bit about Oneida Lake Politics. Oneida Lake is mainly situated in between two counties, Oswego to the north and Onondaga to the south. The county line is actually the south shore of Oneida Lake. The south shore is Onondaga County and the minute you step into the water, you are in Oswego County. (My house is in Onondaga County but my boat dock is in Oswego County.) There's been some hot blood between the State Senators from Oswego and Onondaga County over the management and development of Oneida Lake.

In spite of the state senators, the park was built and was a beauty. Harold Tale was beside himself with excitement. He could roll right out of his house or out of the Bait-N-Brew, with his pole and tackle box, down the sidewalk, across the four-lane road, through the parking lot, and down under the bridge, to the lake. It meant he could fish whenever he wanted.

As part of Walleye Weekend, there was to be a dedication of the new lakeshore fishing park on Friday at 2 PM. Everybody was going to be there, including the two State Senators and Mrs. Clinton. Harold wasn't going to miss this for the world.

At 1:45 PM on Friday Harold (joined by his friend Bill) rolled out of the Bait-N-Brew and down to the fishing park. He was surprised to see how much media had shown up. There were at least three television news crews, several radio reporters, including Albert Clum from WCPS, and several newspaper photographers. There was a speaker's podium set up on the little cross-over bridge and some tables on the side landing, with pastries and coffee. As it got closer to two o'clock, more and more people arrived, including the two State Senators and Mrs. Clinton. The State Secretary of the Parks Department opened the program with facts and figures about the costs and development of the park. Mrs. Clinton then got up and spoke about the federal initiative for these parks. She also made particular mention of the accessibility of the park.

It was at this time Harold realized that the news crews were getting closer to him. He also noticed that he was the only disabled person there. Harold pulled on Bill's sleeve, "Hey Bill, do you see any other people in wheelchairs here?" "No," said Bill, "you're the only one." They both looked at each other and started to laugh. They knew what was coming.

After Mrs. Clinton spoke, it was time for the two State Senators to speak. As usual, there was a bit of a tussle over who would speak first (not so much as who wanted to speak first, but who could be the most ostentatiously gracious by allowing the other to speak first.) They both spoke (Oswego First - by flip of a coin), and both continued to try and take credit for the funding of the project.

After the State Senators spoke, and a little bit of a shuffle at the mike (something about the right to respond), the Parks Secretary closed the program. Harold knew this was it. As if on queue, all of the news crews and politicians descended on Harold. Every one of them wanted a story or sound bite with the disabled man. The politicians wanted their pictures taken with him. Bill was off to the side and laughing his head off; they had gone through this before. "Suckers" he thought.

Harold was ready for them and gave them his usual speech about access and the rights of the disabled (it was a great way to get publicity for the cause. "Suckers" he thought.) Harold spent the next forty-five minutes giving interviews and having his picture taken with every politician this side of the Town of Clay. Bill decided to try out the pastries and have some coffee. After that he took Harold's rod and dropped the line into the water. He caught a three-pound bass and took it over to where Harold was. He gave it to Harold and as Harold lifted it up, Mrs. Clinton stepped in beside him and the newspaper photographer took their picture. That was the picture that appeared on the front page of the Syracuse paper the next day. Mrs. Clinton with Harold and a three-pound bass. In the background you could definitely see the two State Senators going at each other's throats.

The Mass Meeting

There are two sportsmen's/civic organizations on the Lake, made up mainly of property owners and business owners. They are the Lake Oneida Outdoors Nature Society and the Oneida Walleye League. Commonly referred to as the LOONS and the OWLs. Make no mistake about it. Even thought their acronyms are fowl, these organizations have one thing in mind - fishing.

On the Friday night of Walleye Weekend the LOONS and the OWLs have a mass meeting, with the Supervisor of the North Shore State Hatchery as the guest speaker. The meetings start with the pledge of allegiance to the flag and then a reading of each group's goals followed by the chant. Both groups have the same chant. The chant is given to show approval of what's being said or proposed. It goes something like this. (Standing, with arm outstretched as to be a shotgun) "Kill the Cormorant! Kill the Cormorant Now!"

After several rounds of "Kill the Cormorant" it was time for James Baldwin (as in Baldwinsville - same family), the supervisor of the State Hatchery to give his report. His report consists mainly of the number of fry hatched, raised and released into the lake. This year was a particularly good year in that they had released over 1.7 million fry and fingerlings into Oneida Lake (500,000 Perch, 600,000 bass and 600,000 walleye). Each number was followed by a rousing round of "Kill the Cormorant! Kill the Cormorant Now!" After the Numbers of the released fish, James Baldwin then gave the Levels of each species in the Lake. This year the numbers were very low. Which was followed by a menacing round of "Kill the Cormorant!"

The levels of fish in the lake have been decreasing over the last 12 - 15 years. Some years ago a small snail from some foreign port (which must have traveled over on the hull of a ship) took up residence in Oneida Lake and flourished. The effect this had on the lake was to make it much clearer (as the snails filtered the water), and to make walking barefoot on the beaches hard because of all the broken snail shells. At the same time the area was going through a period of mild winters and warm summers (some attributed that to global warming) and saw the return of the Cormorant. Cormorants had been around the lake in ancient times, but had not been at the lake for over two hundred years. Now they were returning and eating the fry in the lake, along with all the other wading birds that summer here. Fry which they could now see easier because of the snails filtering the water. The local fisherman saw the Cormorant as the only thing that has changed and therefore the Cormorant are responsible for the decrease in fish populations in Oneida Lake. And the obvious solution "Kill the Cormorant! Kill the Cormorant Now."

After Mr. Baldwin had finished speaking, it was time for discussion of the fishing tournament the next day. After the discussion was over and a few more rounds of "Kill the Cormorant!" the meeting was adjourned and everyone headed to the bar or lounge of their choice in preparation for the next day's fishing. Chants of "Kill the Cormorant!" could be heard all over the lake up into the wee hours of the morning.

The Fishing Tournament

The Walleye season opens Saturday at sunrise and by that time, Muskrat Bay at Shores Park is full of fishing boats waiting for the starting gun. It's really exciting to hear the gun go off and then watch over 100 outboard motors rev-up and "charge" out of the bay into the lake. It's a sound that can be heard for miles, even all the way down to Sylvan Beach at the other end of the lake.

The tournament is a standard fishing tournament with prizes for the five top weights. Each contestant is limited to five fish, which must be alive and well at weigh-in to qualify. There's also a prize for the largest fish. In addition to the individual contest there is the Lt. Brewerton Cup (named after the commander of the 1700s fort at the mouth of the Oneida River on Oneida Lake.). The Lt. Brewerton Cup is a contest between the OWLs and the LOONS to see which organization has the largest total weigh- in. This is the reason most of the fisherman are here, to take part in the Lt. Brewerton Cup. It's a matter of pride for the organization. The OWLs have won it every year for the past six years.

There is a panel of five judges named to officiate over the tournament. This is mainly done as an honorary position and as a way of getting certain people (who should not be in a one-hundred-plus boat charge out of the bay) onto dry land during the charge.

The judges actually have no powers.

This year's judges are:

Stinky Williams - not so much for having won the tournament five times but so as to not have him

in the boat charge - one year he had actually attached small jet engines onto his boat for the charge which resulted in several singed fisherman and Stinky's boat, with the jet engines, on the bottom of the lake.

Father Migliori - not so much for catching the largest carp that anybody had landed in a boat, or cared to land in a boat, but more for his notorious timidness at the controls of an outboard motor. The charge was no place for a timid priest.

Old Ladd - yes, Old Ladd. Ever since Edith Truax and Old Ladd got married, there has been a marked change in Old Ladd. He is running for Town supervisor, so Edith pulled some strings and got Old Ladd appointed as one of the Judges.

And the other two judges are the two State Senators, who are seated at opposite ends of the judges' table.

There has been some contention about the awarding of the prizes this year. The OWLs claim that there was cheating by the LOONS. Pete Sokal and Harold Tale always participate in the fishing contest for the LOONS. They use the Bait-N-Brew boat. Not only do they fish, but they sell fishing supplies right out of their boat. Pete won this year. He won both the individual highest combined weight for five walleye and for the largest fish. It was his catch's weight that put the LOONS' total weight up 3 pounds 6 ounces over the OWLs' total weight. The LOONS had won the Lt. Brewerton Cup for the first time in six years. But there was a problem.

Pete had four regular size walleye (4 - 6 pounds), but his fifth fish was twice as long as any walleye caught and weighed in at 15 pounds 3 ounces. Everyone said that they had never seen a Walleye that large at the beginning of the season. And, also, Big Lulu, a large Walleye that was kept at the Hatchery in a large aquarium, was missing. Oh, one more thing, James Baldwin (the supervisor of the Hatchery) is married to Pete's sister. And, James' boat was seen to be spending a lot of time tied up at the Bait-N-Brew Boat, reportedly just buying fishing tackle. Well, the OWLs were not going to take this lying down.

The Picnic in the Park

On Sunday is the picnic in the part. The picnic is catered by Flo and Eddie from the Eat-A-Lot Dinner. They bring the portable barbeque and large outdoor fry vats along with the hotdogs and hamburgers. The best looking walleye from the previous day's contest are cleaned and fried. Along with help from both the LOONS and the OWLs they fry up about two hundred pounds of fresh Walleye. They start at about 12:30 (after church) and start serving at 2 PM.

The fervor over the previous day's contest had not died down. As a matter of fact, it had just picked up steam. There had been several late night phone calls and the OWLs were going to contest the outcome of the contest. But who were they going to appeal to, the judges? The judges had no duties, but they appealed to them anyway. The judges were quite taken aback. Never before had they been called upon to make any decisions. Well, the judges met and heard arguments from both sides. They questioned James Baldwin about Lulu and he said that she had died a few weeks back (which they weren't sure whether to believe or not). In the end they voted to let Pete Sokal keep the first prizes and thus the LOONS were the winners of the Lt. Brewerton Cup. This just made the OWLs that much madder.

No one's sure at exactly what time it started, but somewhere between 2:45 and 3:00 o'clock. It started over where they were cooking the fish. The LOONS were working one fry vat

and the OWLs another, and the flying fish started. At first just a little bit, a piece of fish here and a piece of fish there. It wasn't until one hit Harold Tale in the arm and caused him to spill his beer that it started in fury. Fried fish was flying everywhere. Not just in the cooking area, but out where the picnic tables were. It kept up all afternoon. Each award at the prize ceremony was greeted with a round of flying fish. It even continued when Harry Cannook Jr. and the Imperial Canadians got up to play. What a mess, there was fried fish all over the saxophone section, not to mention the whole park. Harry said he had played many functions around Oneida Lake and was used to the flying fish by now.

Anyway, everybody had a good time until sundown and then it began to snow. Everyone went home and took a shower. The LOONS had regained the Lt. Brewerton Cup and Harold now had a place to go fishing that he could get to on his own. It's now known as Harold's Landing.

And that's the news from Oneida Lake where all the women like to eat fried Walleye, where all the men like to throw fried Walleye, and all the children would rather have a hot dog or hamburger, anything but that stinky fish.