Fish and fisheries in Oneida Lake

Zoe Almeida, Lars Rudstam, Tom Brooking, Tony VanDeValk, Cameron Davis, Mete Rice, Samantha LaSalle, and interns. (Funded by NYSDEC and the CBFS Brown endowment)

Studies of the fisheries of Oneida Lake were initiated in 1956 by the station’s first director Dr. John Forney as an assessment of the lake’s important walleye, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch fisheries. The program has been funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) since 1956 and represents a true ecosystem approach to understanding the dynamics of the lake’s fish community and fisheries, including lower trophic levels (see below for limnological studies). Ongoing studies on Oneida Lake include detailed studies of walleye, yellow perch, and white perch from larval to adult life stages, assessment of offshore and inshore fish community composition, pelagic fish abundance (shad, shiners), double-crested cormorant consumption of fish, lake sturgeon restoration efforts, and creel surveys. 

Oneida Lake is the state’s third most heavily fished lake, and data collected by Field Station staff provide timely information to NYSDEC managers to ensure sustainable fishing opportunities, particularly for walleye, yellow perch and black bass. The data series has also allowed important insights into the effect of exotic species and climate change. We documented fundamental shifts in fish community composition resulting from increases in water clarity associated with zebra mussels. The double-crested cormorant had profound impacts on walleye and yellow perch, and our studies of these impacts have informed cormorant management throughout their range. The round goby became established in the lake in 2014, and densities remained high through 2025. Gobies appeared in the diets of most of our more common fish species and were also consumed by cormorants. We will continue to assess the impacts of the round goby on the lake’s fish and fisheries in the upcoming years. Bythotrephes longimanus, the spiny water flea, is another new invader that arrived in 2019 and is a common food item of both young and older yellow perch and white perch. The burrowing mayfly (Hexagenia sp.) returned in the early 2010s after having been absent from our sampling since 1969 and is increasingly important in fish diets. As Oneida Lake has changed, so has the fish community and the fishery, and our studies continue to expand our efforts to understand the dynamics of this economically important resource.

Walleye continues to be the most popular sport fish in Oneida Lake. In 2024, adult walleye abundance was at the long-term mean of around 600,000 fish, and this year we conducted a large mark-recapture study on walleye in the lake – preliminary numbers suggest around 500,000 age 4 and older walleye in line with expectations. Yellow perch is also increasing and remains substantially higher in the last 5 years than the previous two decades. Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass also provide a popular fishery and typically account for 25-30% of the targeted angling effort. However, smallmouth bass numbers have seen a decline since the late-2000s. Almeida is investigating possible causes for this decline. Angler catch rates for both walleye and smallmouth bass are considered to be very good, which will be checked using a large-scale creel survey during both the open water season and the winter ice fishing season in 2025-26.