To minimize encounters with the 3- to 8-inch pests, try working a curly-tail jig or a floating-diving crankbait.

OTISCO LAKE
For the last two years I’ve been privileged to take part in frequent nighttime fishing trips with several of Syracuse’s finest. City police Lt. John “Kid” Corbett and his buddies are the nemesis of Otisco Lake walleyes, as well as the local criminal element.

Otisco, the easternmost fishing hole in the Finger Lakes chain, holds several thousand adult walleyes, according to estimates by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. And many of those fish weigh between 5 and 7 pounds.

Prime time for Otisco walleye fishing is from late May through June, when swarms of spawning alewives draw big walleyes close to shore. The tried-and-true lures for these fish are skinny, shallow-running stickbaits.

Otisco Lake is off Route 174 and Otisco Valley Road, about four miles south of U.S. Route 20 in the Onondaga County towns of Otisco and Spafford. Good shore-fishing areas include the rocky shore off the dam at the lake’s north end and the causeway, an old roadbed that nearly divides Otisco near its south end.

The DEC’s Region 7 office in Cortland will supply inquiring anglers with a simple contour map of the lake. Call (607) 753-3095.

For lodging information, start with the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, at (315) 470-1800.

CONESUS LAKE
If you need a walleye fix before the new season arrives, one lawful option is a visit to the DEC’s hatchery on Oneida Lake in mid-April, during the annual egg harvest. Another spirit-reviving possibility is a post-April Fool’s Day hike along the banks of the Conesus Lake Inlet.

If you take the second route, don’t forget your polarized sunglasses, for you’ll need them to get a really good look at some of the heftiest walleyes you’ve ever seen. Last time I trekked to the Inlet, I eyeballed walleyes that I’m certain weighed more than 12 pounds apiece! I wish I had caught one of those monsters a few weeks later, but it was not to be: Conesus Lake walleyes are notoriously difficult to catch, and a one-day visit seldom yields success.

The best way to put one of the lake’s lunkers on a stringer is to do your fishing at night. And the best place to make that happen is off the mouth of Conesus Inlet. Local experts score by trolling with sawbelly-sized crank baits and stick baits from sunset to sunrise along the south shore of the lake. If you want to focus on one of the double-digit trophies that clog the Inlet each April, make sure your boat has running lights.

Conesus Lake is off Route 15 in Livingston County, about a 45-minute drive from Rochester. At its north end is the village of Lakeville, and there are state boat launches at Lakeville and also at McPherson Point on the east shore.

The DEC’s Region 8 office in Avon, at (585) 226-2466, can supply a contour map of the lake.

The Livingston County Chamber of Commerce, (585) 243-2222, is your logical place to start looking for overnight accommodations.