The date was June 19. 2007 when Jim Fisher was fishing Lake Erie and competing in the Southtowns Walleye Tournament. He was fishing in an area just outside of the Buffalo Harbor around the Departure Buoy. The bait of choice was a black and copper spinner worm combo. That was the winning combination that got the attention of this fantastic 7 pound walleye.

  The Southtowns Walleye Association of WNY was started by a handful of anglers who wanted to save the walleye from over harvesting by commercial fishermen in the New York State waters of Lake Erie. As a result of their efforts gill netting was banned in the New York waters of Lake Erie.

  Walleyes are a native species to NY waters and are widely scattered across the state most walleye populations are self sustaining but the state does have a large walleye stocking program as well. Some of the best walleye fishing hot spots in NY are Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Oneida Lake, Black Lake, Niagara River, Susquehanna River, Delaware River, Oswego River, Seneca River, Black River, Genesee River, Erie Canal, and the Chemung River.

  At one time the Chemung River once held the claim to the states record walleye of 15-pound, 3 ounces. This awesome walleye was caught in the early 1950s and held the state record for more than 40 years. Stories of larger walleyes are told and in time it may well produce another record breaking fish.

  A few of the Finger Lakes have walleyes, but the populations are not very significant. Most of the states man made reservoirs also contain walleyes and the current state record walleye was caught from the Kinzua Reservoir 05/22/94. It was caught by John D. Fluder on a Mr. Twister and weighed in at 16 lb.7oz.

 The great walleye fishing that New York State has to offer is in large part due to the efforts of the Oneida Fish Hatchery. Oneida Lake provides all of the walleye eggs for New York's walleye stocking program. Each year DEC produces approximately 300,000 pond-reared, 190,000 intensively reared, and 190,000,000 walleye fry to be stocked into more than 50 diffrent bodies of waters across the state.

 Lake Erie has recently taken the spotlight with fantasic catches of walleyes that range in size from 16 to 24 inches on average, however the eastern basin of Lake Erie is famous for trophy-size walleye which can be up to 8 to 12 pounds in size. These big walleye are mostly available to offshore trollers during the months of July and August. If you are interested in booking a charter to do some walleye fishing please check out or Lake Erie Fishing Charters.

   The following links break down the best fishing options according to the month of the year. Certain times of the year present excellent fishing opportunities for differnt species and can help make the best of your limited free time.