Syracuse.com - Time to sign up for this weekend's Cicero-Mattydale Lions Club Walleye Derby

[HuntingNY-News]

It's on Oneida Lake. The cost to enter is $10. Biggest fish gets $1,000.

The 35th annual Cicero-Mattydale Lions Club Walleye Derby kicks off at 12:01 Saturday morning.

The popular derby marks the opening of the walleye fishing season, along with the seasons for northern pike, muskellunge, tiger muskies and pickerel. Last year ,more than 1,900 anglers participated.

More than $7,000 in cash is being offered for this year's contest. The angler with the biggest fish (length-wise) will earn $1,000. After that, the top 24 fish will be awarded a total of $3,500.

In addition, staff at the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Oneida fish hatchery in Constantia have released three specially tagged fish into the lake. A lucky angler who catches one of them during the tournament stands to earn $1,000, $500 or $250, depending on the fish caught.

“All the tags says is ‘Fishtagger.com’ and a serial number,” said Carol Frey, the tournament director. “If anyone catches any of them after the tournament ends, the club will give them $100, $50 and $25, respectively, right up until Labor Day.”

The cost to enter is $10. Tickets are available at 23 businesses around and near the lake. Frey said anglers can sign up until midnight Friday at Gander Mountain and Marion Manor in Canastota.

This year’s tournament will feature seven weigh stations around the lake. It will end with an awards ceremony and raffles at 3 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the Gander Mountain store in Cicero.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog