Photo by Ron Sinfelt

The Empire State’s walleye season doesn’t open until the first Saturday in May. But March is none too early to start grilling what’s left in the freezer and making plans to reel in fish that will fill it up all over again.

While you may be satisfied with your local lake, New York has numerous walleye hangouts that are worth visiting. And there’s no time like the present to get busy on the research to make your spring junket successful. Make contacts with regional fisheries biologists, local tackle shops and fishing guides.

If you plan to make more than a day trip, you’ll need to chat with the state’s tourism folks, too.

To make your planning process a little easier, here’s a report on five of our state’s best early-season walleye waters:

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER
Let’s start with the forgotten part of a legendary fishing hole. Though the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River -- roughly from Cape Vincent to Chippewa Bay -- has earned a reputation for lunker walleyes, that fishery is at its best in late summer and early autumn.

Through July, at least, steadier action will be found farther down the river, near Ogdensburg.

Try hopping jigs along the sandy bottom or dragging spinner-and-worm harnesses weighted with a 3/4- to 1-ounce bell sinker in 20 feet of water.

In the Ogdensburg sector of the St. Lawrence, public launch facilities -- all within shouting distance of state Route 37 in St. Lawrence County -- include ramps at Morristown, off Water Street, in the city of Ogdensburg on Riverside Avenue and on Pine Street in Waddington. For information on motels and other accommodations, contact the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce at (315) 386-4000.

ONEIDA LAKE
In July and August of 2007, a big hatch of perch fry sated the appetites of Oneida Lake walleyes. Though that development frustrated local anglers, those extra calories should yield some extra-chunky fish this spring. That’s welcome news, for even though Oneida produces plenty of walleyes, very few tip the scales at more than 3 or 4 pounds.

In this 51,000-acre central New York honeyhole, the average walleye is a 17- or 18-incher -- just right for filleting and frying. It’s not difficult for an experienced angler to catch a lake limit of three such fish during the first several weeks of the season.

This year, researchers at the Cornell University Biological Field Station at Shackelton Point expect Oneida to harbor around 350,000 adult walleyes.

That’s about 100,000 fewer than the lake’s long-term average, but should be more than enough to hold the attention of visiting anglers.