2004 Archived Reports

December 30, 2004 (Thursday) Just to brighten your day, the temperature at 11am here is south Texas is 74 degrees and the price of gasoline is $1.479 J.

December 28, 2004 (Tuesday) Well we made it, about 1pm today. We are set up on our lot and are trying to get everything in order. The temperature (now don’t drop you snow shovels) is 79 degrees, winds are light out of the SW and the palm trees are gently moving. The oranges are not too good but I guess I can’t ask for everything.

Anyone still wanting a copy of the “Maps and Fishing Guide” hold off until we get back home, maybe sometime in February, it all depends on some other things I have going as to when we have to be back.

December 27, 2004 (Monday) We are setting is a Flying J truck stop just off I-20 in Greenwood, Louisiana about 5 miles out of Texas. We left Sunday morning about 4am, with a foot of snow on top of the bus and left dripping all the way to here. It looks like all the ice and snow are clear of the bus but just barely. We will get to (hopefully) Huston or a little beyond this evening and on into Alamo the next day. Doing 500 miles per day is not too hard in the motor home since we only stop for gas. BTW gas is cheaper in Louisiana than any place else we have been, just paid $1.559 but even that takes a chunk, 75 gallons at a time.

December 23, 2004 (Thursday) Ole mother nature gave us a kick in the pants, we got around 12 inches of show here in SW Ohio and I have been plowing snow all day. Got to get it cleared out so we can get the motor home out of the driveway Sunday morning. Just getting that thing out onto the road is a chore without all the snow. The temperature is 14 degrees at 8pm and supposed to drop before morning, Merry Christmas to all.

Sue and Dean

December 19, 2004 (Sunday) It looks like winter has finally caught up with us, I am looking at 10 degrees and a 7 to 10 knot wind right now and it is suppose to get colder by morning. Between getting ready for Christmas we are also packing to leave for Texas next Sunday morning. We are supposed to have cable access to the Internet once we get set up at the RV park, so I may be able to update you on the weather in south Texas and how well the orange and grapefruit crops is doing J.

 

Sue and I wish each of you and your families the best Christmas and New Years ever. I also want to thank you for taking the time to read our little web site; it’s the appreciation of you that keeps us going.

December 16, 2004 (Thursday) It is with much sorrow that I report the death of Rudy Gaal. Rudy was the owner of PA’s lures in Cleveland; he was a “good guy” and nice person we last saw Rudy at the Walleye Central get together the last of October and he was his normal friendly self. I am told that he had cancer and was not feeling well back then but he never let on.

I would like to think that the angles in heaven were having problems catching enough fish and needed his help. May God bless Rudy and his family, I will miss him.

December 14, 2004 (Tuesday) I am still getting a few reports from  “shore fisherman” reporting good and bad days. The walleye seem to be moving back and forth between Sandusky and Huron but when the weather permits there are fish to be caught.

 

As orders come in for the “Maps & Fishing Guide” we are trying to get them out the same day we receive them. Any that come in now will be shipped priority mail to try and get them to you by Christmas.

December 9, 2004 (Thursday) About the time if think most folks are giving it up, I got two reports today of good sized walleye being caught off the shore at Sandusky in the area from Damon’s restaurant to the police department off the rocks, casting husky jerks and rip sticks. The weather surly has been kind to these folks.

December 8, 2004 (Wednesday) Wind, waves and cold weather has all but stopped even the diehard folks from fishing. Some are still working the piers and shoreline but few fish are being taken lately.

 

When we started distributing our “maps and fishing guide” a few months ago I said that anyone who could not afford a copy due to whatever reason would receive one for free. We have now sent out about a dozen or so free copies but every time we send one, someone else has sent a little additional money with the order for their copy. To date we are ahead in additional money verses free copies sent. Not only do I get a warm feeling being able to help someone in need, it also makes me think that there may be more to this than I am able to comprehend.

 

The Lord Jesus Himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Acts 20:35

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you each and every one.

December 3, 2004 (Friday) Yesterday we decided to make a batch of “Walleye Chowder” for dinner. This recipe is truly a “taste bud treat”. If you have not tried it you owe it to yourselves to give it a go. I have included the recipe here but it is also in “Favorite Recipes” page.

 

FISH CHOWDER WITH HERBED OYSTER CRACKERS

 

8 slices bacon, chopped

2 small onion, chopped fine

2 carrot, chopped fine

2 celery rib, chopped fine

4 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 teaspoons all purpose flour

1-teaspoon paprika

16 ounces bottled clam juice

2 cups water

1 can, 12 oz. carnation canned milk.

2 russet (baking) potatoes (about 1 pound)

1 1/2 pounds firm white fish fillet such as walleye, halibut or cod, skin discarded and flesh cut into 1inch pieces.

4 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

 

To make the fish chowder:

 

In a heavy saucepan cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Pour off fat and in pan cook onion, carrot, and celery in butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. (You may have to add a little water to keep from sticking)

 

Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in paprika and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add clam juice, water, and canned milk and bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally. (Add canned milk last when mixture is cooled down)

 

While mixture is coming to a boil, peel potato and cut into 1/4inch dice. Add potato to mixture and simmer chowder, uncovered until potatoes are close to done. Stir in fish and simmer until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, bacon, and salt and pepper. (I like to use red pepper) It seems to be better if fixed and allowed to set for a few hours, then reheat and eat.

 

Herbed oyster crackers

 

1 10 oz bag, soup and oyster crackers

1/3-cup canola oil

1 tablespoon, dill wed

1 t spoon, garlic salt

Combine in a large 1-gallon zip lock bag, shake or stir until crackers are coated.

 

Yield: 4 servings

 

Notes: If you are afraid of the grease in the bacon, the chowder is almost as good without it.

December 1, 2004 (Wednesday) Even though there are still big walleye to be caught from Cleveland to Kelley’s Island the “die hard” are giving it up one at a time. I have had a few reports recently, one sending a picture of a 32-inch walleye caught off 72nd Street in Cleveland. Really the weather is becoming worse each day and going out is becoming more dangerous.

Sue and I have been busy with the holidays, getting the bus ready to leave for Texas on the 26th and still sending out a few cds and map booklets. We hope to have everything wrapped up by Christmas and make a fast exit the next morning. I am hoping that I will not have to put the snow blade on before we leave J.

November 27, 2004 (Saturday) For lack of anything better to do, I have been doing some research on why the walleye are practically jumping out onto shore in the late fall. It seems a food source for walleye; the “gizzard shad” prefer warm water and as the deeper lake water-cools the shallow inshore waters are warmed by the sun during the day so the gizzard shad come to the shallows seeking warmth. They are followed by the walleye. I am told that later in the season when the shoreline is no longer warmer than the lake this will stop. (Thanks John)

BTW sales of the “Maps and Fishing Guide” are 5 to 10 per day, if you are looking for stocking stuffers for Christmas for a fishermen this could fill the need. Please get your orders in soon; we will be “out of here” December 26th until spring.

November 25, 2004 (Thursday) Thanksgiving day I would like to give thanks to all our service men and women on this day for your service and sacrifice to our country and for what it stands. Too many times we take our way of life for granted and forget that freedom is not free. God bless and keep you.

November 24, 2004 (Wednesday) There is a cold front stalled just southeast of Lake Erie that may spell the end of fishing for a while. Waves are 4 feet or so and predicted to get bigger the rest of the week. Reports from the past weekend and earlier this week say that trollers took limits of 24 to 26 inch walleye north of Kelley’s Island in 40 foot of water using reef runners 40 to 70 feet back.

The perch bite was hot off Cedar Point over the weekend with limits of big perch being taken. Perch are also being caught in limits around the islands, one reports says the water has been very clear and he has been taking a limit in less than two hours.

November 22, 2004 (Monday) I got a couple of reports from over the weekend, both are from Gordon Park (E 72nd Street, Cleveland) where perch fishermen took limits of 9s and over (up to 13 and one 14”) perch no more than 2 miles out from the ramp. Walleye fishermen are still taking very nice 6 to 10 plus pound walleye slow trolling around the perimeter of the park, staying in 10 FOW (feet of water) or less which has to be within “rock throwing” distance from shore. The same baits and program that has been working for the last couple of weeks, if the weather continues to hold these folks will have to eat fish for Thanksgiving dinner, no place else to put them J.

November 20, 2004 (Saturday) This past week has been a good one for folks still fishing from Cleveland all the way to Kelley’s Island. Reports tell of trophy size walleye taken at 72nd street, Cleveland, Lorain at 29.26 / 11.65 which is just off the break wall, where perch were taken in limits with nothing kept under 9 inches, same area produced numerous steel head with the largest being 29 ½ inches taken right up against the break wall, big walleye are being caught between Vermilion and Huron in close, 10 FOW or less by slow trolling rip sticks and husky jerks, mostly at night. Some folks are doing very well north of Kelley’s Island taking limits of walleye. If I knew the weather was going to stay this nice I might plan to stay at the lake until Christmas next year J.

November 19, 2004 (Friday) Some hearty soles are still fishing nights off 72nd street, Cleveland between 8 and 12 midnight. They are taking nice sized walleye up to 10 lbs or so. The program seems to be slow trolling; down close to 1 mph or so, husky jerks in fire tiger, silver/chrome, green/chrome and blue/chrome are the color of choice. Baits were run back 15 to 25 feet off the boards and flat lined back 50 feet. If the weather holds this could go on all winter.

 

The “Maps and Fishing Guide” sales have slowed down some with 3 to 5 orders per day still coming in, if you have not ordered yet please get yours in soon or hold off until April. We will be leaving for Texas right after Christmas and won’t be filling orders after that until we come back toward spring.

November 16, 2004 (Tuesday) Got a report from a good friend who lives near Port Clinton. He said they have been trolling around Ruggles Beach and off Catawba State Park and taking some walleye each trip. They are trolling #14 husky jerks, blue chrome with orange bottoms. Clowns and gold rip sticks.

Our guys still fishing off E 72nd in Cleveland report taking 6 nice size walleye, one near 9 lbs., last evening. Fish were in 30 FOW “on the rocks” best colors were clown, green/chrome, silver/black and blue/chrome.

November 15, 2004 (Monday) Got another report from E 72nd street, Cleveland. They are still taking some nice walleye by trolling husky jerks (12s and 14s) clown color seems to be the best. Reports from Port Clinton and Huron both talk about murky to muddy water.

 

The “Maps and Fishing Guide” sales are going strong with over 100 copies sent out so far. If you have yours and feel it is worthwhile please tell your fishing friends, most of our orders come from “word of mouth” referrals between fishermen.

November 13, 2004 (Saturday) As you can imagine, we eat a lot of walleye around here. We continually look for different recipes for fixing walleye. Recently I have got turned on to a very simple and healthy (IMHO) recipe. I take a piece of aluminum foil about 18” long, place enough walleye for one serving on the foil, spray the fillets with butter flavored Pam. Then shake on a goodly amount of “Cajun seasoning”, turn over the fillets and do the same to the other side, them wrap so the fillets stay flat and put on the grill. I try and get the temperature around 350 degrees and leave them on for around 20 minutes. That’s it, could not be simpler and they are great. If you don’t like spicy then try lemon pepper or just salt with the butter flavored spray. By the way if you have never tried the “walleye chowder” recipe, which is on “favorite recipes” link on my front page, you are missing out on a cold weather treat.

November 12, 2004 (Friday) A recent reports says “the bite was HOT off Huron on Wednesday night - 6:00 to 10:00 pm. West of the pier on shore and in boats lots of fish taken -12 lbs+ BIG Fish”. Another “Huron resident” said the Sunday through Tuesday bite was slow with 1, 2 and 2 walleye taken each evening. He also says he took his fish on husky jerks in blue/orange colors. The best shore bite seems to be between 5pm to (very) dark. Reports indicate the fish are up high so trollers, between slow and stop is about as fast as you need to go, get your boards out away from the boat as far as possible.

November 11, 2004 (Thursday) On this Veteran’s Day I like to take time and reflect on what it means to me. The thing I remember best is that “Freedom is not free” and without the folks who have and do defend this nation no telling what language we would be speaking. I thank you each and every one.

 

Reports are thin, one from Cleveland off E72nd Street where our reader reports his “best night of our lives”, including on 12-pound walleye. They were trolling husky jerks (12 and 14s), in clown and silver.

Perch fisherman report good to limit catches off Marblehead and from Huron to Vermilion.

 

Note: I have added an option to the “Maps and Fishing Guide” of a laminated copy of the print version for $50 each. See above.

November 10, 2004 (Wednesday) I found the following link posted on another web site and thought you might enjoy it. http://theinterviewwithgod.com/windowmovie.html

November 8, 2004 (Monday) One fisherman reported trolling off Marblehead over the weekend and picking up a few walleye in 15 feet of water. He saw better marks further out but the bite was in the shallows. The Huron pier fisherman did fair over the weekend but the bite is still off and on.

November 7, 2004 (Sunday) Night fishermen pulled some good size walleye around the mouth of the Huron River and down to Chappel Creek last evening. They were night fishing but these fish are still in the area during the day though they may be harder to get to bite. Perch fishermen are doing will also just outside the mouth of the Huron River and off the Huron light. I have a couple reports from off Marblehead of good perch fishing also.

 

Friday and Saturday I received several orders for copies of the “Maps and fishing guide”. They are ready and will go to the post office tomorrow morning.

November 6, 2004 (Saturday) The weekend is not looking good, wind is out of the WSW at 23 to 30 knots, waves at the buoy are 4.6 feet, the temperature is 47 degrees with a wind chill of 39 degrees and the water temperature is 54 degrees. Weather predictions through Monday are for more of the same.

November 5, 2004 (Friday) The wind has kicked up today, 21 to 26 knots out of the west, the temperature is 45 degrees at noon, the waves at the buoy are 3.6 feet and the water temperature is 54 degrees. Fishing reports are few, some folks are still night fishing off the Huron pier, Lakeside pier and Catawba Island state park and are taking some nice walleye but it is still hit or miss. I also got a report saying walleye were being caught on shore from the north side of Kelley’s Island.

 

Thanks to one of our readers who had access to commercial printers and ran off copies of the “Maps and Fishing Guide” where my cost was only for supplies, I now have paper copies for anyone wanting one. They are loose leaf, plastic ring bound with a card stock backing. They would be nice for someone who is not equipped with a color printer. They are the same price as the cd, $25 each including packaging and postage. Nice Christmas gift.

November 4, 2004 (Thursday) The morning temperature is 50 degrees, wind is SSW at 8 to 10 knots, waves at the buoy are 2 feet and the water temperature is 56 degrees. Some reports are still coming in; walleye fishing off Huron pier is going very well with nice size walleye being caught most nights. Some folks are trolling between the Huron River and Chappel Creek (west of Vermilion) not far off shore. This area is good this time of year both during the day and at night.

 

The “Maps and Fishing Guide” orders are going well. I am getting feedback from some folks who have already receive their cd’s that they like what they see (thanks for that). I am hoping to be able to announce soon that I have found a source for printed copies at a price I can afford and will have them available for those who want one. (More to follow).

November 2, 2004 (Tuesday) Reports from Catawba and around Mouse Island say the water is still murky and the fish have lock jaw, good report from the bank fishermen off the west side of Huron Pier where good sized walleye are being caught soon after dark but it is still an off and on thing. Wind direction, water clarity and the presence of baitfish make the difference.

November 1, 2004 (Monday) The weekend weather never got as bad as expected, wave did not reach the double digits and are less than a foot at the buoy this morning. Reports are few but I did get one report of excellent perch being taken off the Avon power plant in ½ pound size. Nice sized walleye are being taken off the Huron pier by shore fishermen and by trollers off Cranberry Creek at night. They are trolling in close to shore in 10 feet of water or less and using electric trolling motors to keep from scaring off the fish. Rip sticks back less than 50 feet seems to be the hot bait.

 

The first batch of “Maps & Fishing Guide” will go in the mail today. I have not given up on doing a printed-paper version and am looking into the cost of getting into it myself. I think I can upgrade to a commercial color printer and do them myself for a lot less than the $1.00 per sheet price I have been getting from commercial printers, hopefully more information to follow.

October 30, 2004 (Saturday) Reports of limit perch coming off the red can north of West Reef (North Bass) in the last couple of days.

October 29, 2004 (Friday) this morning forecast starts with “A GALE WARNING IS LIKELY TO BE NEEDED SATURDAY”.

It seems “gale” has been around a lot this year. The after effects of no less than four tornado’s a few assorted hurricanes and more high winds and storms than I could keep track of seem to highlight this season, but I should not complain, we get to spent seven months at the lake and can wait out the bad weather and be ready when it clears. It does seem that most bad weather begins or end on a weekend.

 

I guess you can tell fishing reports are getting thin. The only good reports I receive are from shore (may be where we belong this time of year). The night fishing continues to be on the rise with big walleye are being caught nightly off the Huron Pier.

October 28, 2004 (Thursday) One of our readers reminds me that high powered rifle matches are going on at Camp Perry, he tells me that if a boat gets into the range by mistake, the matches are shut down until they can get the boat into the clear. This means lots of shooters waiting until all is clear. The matches normally start at 8am and last until 5pm. He further says they don’t shoot into any dirt banks or backstops; all rounds go into the lake with nothing to slow them down but the paper target. If you are out in the area of the range stay clear, we don’t want anyone getting unneeded holes in their boat.

October 27, 2004 (Wednesday) Perch continue to be hitting big time off Gull Island Shoals and northeast of Kelley’s near the red buoy off Kelley Shoals, also walleye are still hitting off Vermilion. The one report with numbers was at 28.5/18.3.

 

I make the rounds of the printers today, boy was I surprised, most wanted nearly $1.00 per page for color which would ran near to $20.00 per book. Needless to say that’s way more than I had anticipated and would drive the cost to high in my opinion. Black and white does not do justice to the maps or really show the contours. 

So, back to the drawing board, I am now thinking about sending the maps (book) out on CD-rom and let each person print them as they wish. I could send them in a Microsoft word document, which is nearly universal. If we go this way I think the cost could be held at $25.00 including postage.

What do you think? Any ideas? Let me know.

October 26, 2004 (Tuesday) The perch are starting to hit again, several reports from around the Islands and off Huron / Vermilion area, especially south of the red can off Gull Island Shoals. It sounds like shore fishing may be starting with quite a few people fishing off Catawba and Huron pier. If the weather holds and does it does not turn nasty the “late stay” folks could be in for a good week.

 

I spent the day working on the fishing guide and maps; it looks like I am nearly finished.  I hope to get to the printers later this week.

October 25, 2004 (Monday) Some reports are still coming in; good size perch were caught over the weekend near Gull Island in limit numbers. The walleye are a little east of Vermilion around the 28/18 lines; they are still up high and coming on stick baits. The night bite is reported getting started off Lakeside and Catawba State Park with nice size fish being caught.

October 23, 2004 (Saturday) The lake is a little rough today but fishable. I got good reports from yesterday, perch off the sand bar at 35 to 36/ 18 to 19 lines where limits were taken. Walleye fishing was extremely slow but I did hear of some folks taking nice sized walleye further east around the 32/13 lines. IF the weather would cooperate I suspect the coming week could be a great one. Unfortunately I will have to wait and hear from others since we pulled out this morning and are back home trying to get everything put away.

We had a great time at the walleye central get together last evening, I got to talk the some really nice folks who were only a name on an email before. I hope to be able to now put a few faces with already familiar names. I hope I got it all right, with my hearing problem (can’t hear very well) it is difficult to understand with all the background noise, so if I did not respond as I should have please forgive me.

October 22, 2004 (Friday) I talked to a good friend last evening who had fished both Wednesday and Thursday taking only one walleye, others experienced the same results. Today also seem slow with very few fish reported. In my opinion the muddy and stained water is the culprit, hopefully this will clear soon and the walleye will turn back on. All reports say they are marking fish out around the 30 lines but are having to run all the way north to near the 40 line to get clear water. If the weather does not again turn bad there may be some good fishing this weekend but only time will tell.

 

We will be leaving Port Clinton for home tomorrow morning. I am sad to see another season come to an end but that’s the way it works. I will continue updating the reports page as long as I have anything coming in to report, I will also keep you updated on our trip south starting in January.

October 21, 2004 (Thursday) The walleye central get together will be tomorrow (Friday) evening at German Village Banquet Hall locate at 3330 Liberty Street (SR6) in Vermilion, Ohio. The following is a link to information regarding the get together. http://www.walleyecentral.com/get_together.shtml

Sue and I hope to see you there.

The fishing is still slow today, several boats are out off the 30 line but report slow going and murky water.

October 20, 2004 (Wednesday) Very few boat out today and they reported few or no walleye and lots of muddy water, clear out to the 31 line. They did mark fish between the 30/27 and 31/18 lines which indicates to me that the walleye are continuing their move south along the west side of the sand bar. IF it clears for the weekend I would suggest starting around the 27/27 lines and working east toward the south end of the bar (31/18).

Denied got her winter cover today and is laid up until spring. We will attend the walleye central get together Friday evening and leave for home Saturday sometime. We hope to see you at the get together, be sure and look us up.

October 19, 2004 (Tuesday) The 7:30AM temperature is 53 degrees, wind is out of the north at 15 to 19 knots, wave at the buoy are 5.2 feet and the water temperature is 57.

 

After looking at the weather for the rest of the week we decided to move the boat back to West Harbor yesterday. The morning looked fairly well with only about a 1-foot chop and the wind was out of the east. The trip back from Huron was uneventful, I was surprised that the water was not very muddy, as I had expected. A few boats went out fishing but the catching was slow with only a few walleye reported caught. We will now start the process of getting everything ready for winter. We plan to attend the walleye central get together Friday evening and then pull out some time Saturday.

As usual I will keep up with fishing reports as long as I am getting anything to report.

October 18, 2004 (Monday) The morning temperature is 46 degrees, wind is out of the NW at 4 to 6 knots, waves are 0.7 feet and the water temperature is 58 degrees.

Even thought the waves have laid down this morning, 3 to 5 footers are predicted for this afternoon and Tuesday with 2 to 4 footer Wednesday and Thursday. Following all the north winds this weekend I expect the lake to be muddy for a couple of days but we will have to wait and see. We are down to the short rows (nearly done) now and well be bringing the boat home soon. I am not sure we will get back out again this season, but we have had a good year, caught lots of walleye and even put a few in the freezer.

 

Our tentative plan is to close up this coming weekend and head home for two months. I need time to put the final touches on the fishing guide (maps) and have some other things to take care of, then we will leave for Texas in the motor home on the 26th of December. We are going back to Alamo Texas on the Rio Grande Valley for two or three months then back home of a while before coming back to the lake sometime in April. I will continue updating the reports page as long as I am getting feedback from anyone, I will also update regarding our winter in Texas for those of you who can’t find anything to do between shoveling snow.

October 17, 2004 (Sunday) The morning temperature is 45 degrees, wind is out of the WSW at 25 to 31 knots, waves are 5.2 feet at the buoy and the water temperature is 58 degrees. The predictions for the rest of the week are not looking good with winds and wave higher that I want to fish in. Add to that the cold temperatures and you have a miserable week at best. Its too bad as it will be our last week at the lake this season, I had hoped to get out a few times this week but my have to settle on catching a day that the wave are small enough to bring the boat back from Huron. We have had a good season and caught enough fish to fill the freezer so I can’t complain at least not too much.

October 16, 2004 (Saturday) As the weather people promised yesterday was not fit to be out, rain and high winds were the order of the day. This morning the temperature is 51 degrees, wind is WSW at 27 to 30 knots, waves at the buoy are 5.2 feet and the water temperature is 60 degrees. Expect more of the same for Sunday while Monday through Wednesday is supposed to be 2 to 4 foot wave. With all this wind and waves I don’t look for the fishing to pick back up until midweek IF it does lie down after Sunday.

October 15, 2004 (Friday) The morning weather does not look too bad but rain is closing in on us with the radar showing a front both west and south of us. We are supposed to get high winds and rain this afternoon with Saturday and Sunday being really bad. The forecast is for 10 to 14 foot waves tonight and tomorrow followed by 5 to 8 footers on Sunday. Monday it is suppose to lie back down to 1 to 3 foot. Next week will be our last week at the lake this season, we plan on attending the Walleye Central get together at Vermilion on Friday and start closing up Saturday. It’s been a great season but after seven months of fishing we are ready for a change of pace (for a while).

Update: 9AM the rain is really coming down, radar shows we are surrounded by rain and thunderstorms, with the big wave predicted for Saturday and Sunday I don’t expect fishing to be worth much before Tuesday.

October 14, 2004 (Thursday) The morning temperature is 53 degrees, wind is WSW at 13 to 15 knots, waves are 2 to 3 feet and the water temperature is 62 degrees. After two days fishing we are taking today off, tomorrow and Saturday look like blow days so I don’t expect to get back out before early next week. We are getting down to the end of the season.

Excellent perch report from just SE of Middle island, both good size and limit numbers. Also north of the dumping grounds (35/25) about 3 miles.

October 13, 2004 (Wednesday) The morning have been slow for us so we decided to go out about noon today, we arrived at a spot near the dumping grounds (35/25) and trolled north toward a large pack of boats, within minutes we took our first fish, in the first hour we took 8, the second hour we took 3 more and it took another ½ hour for a total of 2 ½ hours to take our limit of 12. Six are 26 to 29 inches the rest are over 20 inches. We did get rained on for about an hour and I suspect this storm turned the fish on. All walleye came off dipsy’s and spoons. The hot color was “blueberry muffin” I had a couple of them from net crafters that I had put together and we sorted through the box and found several spoons similar by PA’s fantails called “Barracuda” that have yellow backs which worked very well. Dipsy’s were run #1 back 50 feet and #3 back 70 feet. The weekend weather is looking bad with gale force winds predicted. That will tear up the fishing for a while and we are getting close to the end anyway.

October 12, 2004 (Tuesday) We ran out to the 35/25 lines this morning, the marks looked good but the takers were slow. We were out about 3 hours before taking the first walleye, it was 28 inches, we took several more but did not limit. All fish came high up, 10 to 20 foot deep in 45 foot of water. All came on dipsy’s and spoons; the flavor of the day was “blueberry muffin”. Darker colors seemed to work best but nothing really set the world on fire. I did hear that later in the afternoon and evening was a better bite than earlier, we may try that tomorrow. Basically the walleye were north of the dumping grounds (35/25) a mile or two north and west.

We heard that the perch were hitting around 35.5/18 lines, this came over the radio and is not verified.

October 11, 2004 (Monday) The Huron Boosters tournament scheduled for Saturday was held Sunday after a one hour delay it started at 9AM. The waves were good 2 to 4 feet with a 5 every now and then. One contestant said it took 1-½ hours to run out to the dump (35/25 lines), which was about 14 miles, and just under ½ hour to come back after the waves laid and with a north wind pushing him back to Huron.

It sounds like it was a tough fishing day with 5 fish totaling around 24 pounds winning the tournament. Most boats were north of 35/25 lines but some stayed in close (good decision) and some good size walleye were caught a few miles out from Ruggles Beach. We are going to try and get out today it sounds better with 2 feet waves or less predicted BUT I will take a look and see before going.

Some walleye are being caught in the western basin about mid way between the Bass Islands and West Sister Island, perch limits are coming off B can on the range and west of the NW tip of Kelley’s as well as in front of Huron River and the Vermilion River.

UPDATE: I talked to a friend who went out this morning about 3 miles and decided the wave were too bad so they came back in, one of the big charters is saying 3 to 5 foot waves, the weather buoy is saying 2.6 feet at 8:50AM and shows an upward trend. We are going to wait until noon and then decide to go or not.

October 10, 2004 (Sunday) The morning temperature is 54 degrees, wind is out of the North at 15 to 18 knots, waves at the buoy are 3 feet and the water temperature is 64 degrees. It does not look like a very good day for fishing. The “big boy” charters were still north of the dump (35/25) yesterday and were struggling to catch walleye. I did get a good report from north of Niagara reef several miles of good catches of walleye up to 25 inches. Perch are also reported in limit number from off the northwest corner of Kelley’s Island.

October 9, 2004 (Saturday) Sorry about not being able to update since Monday, the site that hosts my web site had problems and I could not get in, anyway we are back in business.

Sue and I went out west of the north end of the sand bar yesterday, waves were 3 to 5 feet so it was not a very comfortable day. We fish north of the dumping grounds at 35/25 and up toward the Canadian border. All fish came off big dispy’s back 70 to 110 feet pulling PA’s spoons. Bull Shark was the big winner of the day. We kept 10 good size walleye, the biggest being two 25 inch ones. The wind is blowing hard today, there was a tournament scheduled at Huron that was canceled due to the weather.

Good perch report off Lorain around the 31/11 lines which is a little over 3 miles NE of the lighthouse.

October 5, 2004 (Tuesday) We got back to the lake this afternoon, the water looks calm with less than a foot chop off Port Clinton. The weather buoy says 0.7 feet, I hope this holds tomorrow so we can get out and see if we can locate the walleye again. No new reports to pass on but I did hear some folks on the radio telling of limits of perch taken somewhere off Huron. Hopefully I will have more to pass on tomorrow.

October 4, 2004 (Monday) The waves were over 4 feet at the buoy this morning but have started to lay down and are 2.6 feet at 1PM. Some good walleye were taken over the weekend even though it was a bumpy ride for most. The walleye were still on the northern part of the sand bar up around the 35 to 40N lines. Limit perch catches are reported a short distance out of Lorain. We will be heading back to the lake tomorrow around noon and hope to get out sometime Wednesday.

October 2, 2004 (Saturday) The morning temperature is 64 degrees, wind is WSW at 21 to 29 knots, waves at the buoy are 3.3 feet and the water temperature is 67 degrees. Winds at South Bass weather station are 16 to 23 knots, looks like not too good of a day to fish. No reports so far.

 

A question from one of our readers prompted me regarding fall walleye movement off Huron/Vermilion. The early September walleye fishing started (for us) well east of the sand bar around the 17 line, after a couple of weeks the walleye move over to the center of the bar around the 20 to 23 lines and a week ago they move still further west to the 26 to 28 lines. This seems to be the normal movement, but about the time I think I have them figured out they show me how little I know. Personally I expect them to start moving south soon toward the 27/27 lines, IF the weather or something else I don’t understand, does not screw up their pattern. Hopefully the coming weeks (before cold weather runs us off) should be terrific fishing.

October 1, 2004 (Friday) The wind and waves laid down some today but predictions for Saturday and Sunday are not good with 5 to 7 foot waves predicted for Saturday and 4 to 6 footers for Sunday.

I have a good perch report from 2 to 21/2 miles in front of Lorain today, in 36 to 38 foot of water; perch were nice size 10 to 12 inch fish.

September 30, 2002 (Thursday) The water is very muddy and the prospects for the weekend are not looking good. The wind and wave are supposed to lay today and then start picking back up Friday evening with 3 to 5s for Saturday and 2 to 4s for Sunday. Anyway it looks to me like the fishing is going to be “iffy” until early next week, so we are going to take a few days off as we have doctors appointments next Tuesday (routine) and will be back at the lake that afternoon ready to go full out until the end of October when we will hang it up for another year.

September 29, 2004 (Wednesday) The morning temperatures is 58 degrees, wind is out of the NNE at 19 to 22 knots, waves are 4.9 feet at the buoy and the water temperature is 68 degrees. The wind blew hard all day yesterday and all night last night. The buoy show waves around midnight near 7 feet. With all the north winds once it lays down the lake will be muddy for a couple of days, so I don’t expect the fishing to get good before early next week IF the lake starts laying down today as predicted.

 

I have good perch reports from 39/29 to the 40/26 lines, a long ways out but they are nice sized fish, this was from before the blow so who knows.

September 28, 2004 (Tuesday) The morning temperature is 66 degrees, wind is 12 to 14 knots, waves are 1 foot (5:50AM) and the water temperature is 69 degrees. So much for the good news, remnants of the last hurricane to hit Florida are due to reach northern Ohio later today. Predictions are for waves from 1 to 3 feet increasing to 3 to 5 by evening then Wednesday and then predicted to go to 4 to 6 feet so there goes the fishing of a few days. I talked to a friend who stayed out yesterday after we left who said the walleye turned on some later in the day and they ended up with near limits of nice sized walleye, they worked between 36/26 and 35/25 lines.

September 27, 2004 (Monday) It was a slow day on the lake today, the water was flat, and zero waves not even a ripple. We ran out to the dumping grounds near 35/25 lines and in four hours boated 6 nice sized walleye with the biggest being ~ 25 inches. The marks were there but the walleye were not very hungry.

Good perch reports from; 30/11 off Lorain, Marblehead light, stone docks west of Kelley’s and ¼ mile off the turn around buoy (#1) in the Toledo shipping channel.

September 26, 2004 (Sunday) Went out to the 35/25 lines today, lots of good marks we pulled 12 really nice size walleye in about 4 hours but the waves were pushing 4 foot so we called it a day. Weather “guessers” said 2 feet or less and the weather buoy said 1 foot when we left home. The further out we got the worse the wave became. Same program as last reported.

Perch are reported in limit catches off Lorain around the 30/11 lines also there was a large pack north of where we were today around the 40/25.

September 25, 2004 (Saturday) We went out last evening and found the walleye have moved west toward the west side of the northern end of the sand bar. We worked the bottom looking for bigger walleye and took a dozen or so of 20 to 27 inch walleye while throwing back numerous ones under 20 inches. The program was dipsy’s and jets30s with the dipsy’s ran back #1 65 to 75 feet, #3 dipsy back 100 to 110 feet and jet 30s back 125 to 150 feet all in 45 to 47 feet of water. Best spoon colors seemed to be copper backs with red or pink marking line PA’s “Dolphin” and some old Netcrafters “Confusion”.

Perch fishing is going good out around the 35/18 lines, off Ruggles Beach and Marblehead Light House.

Sepetmber 24, 2004 (Friday) The walleye are still out around the 38/18 lines give or take a couple of miles in any direction. Limit catches were taken yesterday and it sounds like today is going to be about the same. We are planning on going this afternoon to the same general area.

Perch fishing is very good around the 35/18 lines, there has been a big pack of boats in this area for the late week.

September 23, 2004 (Thursday) The morning (7:30AM) temperature is 67 degrees, wind is out of the south at 4 to 6 knots, waves are less than 1 foot and the water temperature is 69 degrees. It sounds like most folks are heading back out east of the north end of the sand bar (38/18) lines today, we will see how it goes. Perch fishermen are just outside the mouth of the Huron River and are taking fish. In the western end, walleye are hitting out around B and C cans on the range (18 to 22”), perch are being taken west of Rattlesnake and in Sandusky Bay but the bite is on and off, also up a little west of the weather buoy (45005) on the Canadian border north of Vermilion.

September 22, 2004 (Wednesday) Two of us ran out to the center of the sand bar but could not locate the walleye, then up to the north end, still nothing, finally we went east of the north end to 38/18 lines where the marks started looking better. Ran two big dipsy’s at 1 and 3 settings back 75 and 110 feet respectively and two jet 30s off inline boards back from 125 to 150 feet (we keep changing setups until something works). Took four walleye between 18 and 22 inches then they move out on us, found them again a little further west and really got busy. Took seven in less than ½ hour (kept two old folks going) and the size was much better, finally at 12:30PM we limited with four over 25 inches and the remaining were 18 to 22 inches. Even though these fish were near the 38/18 they were moving all the time and I don’t expect them to still be there tomorrow, so we will have to go hunting again.

 

Two things to think about, 1st the bigger walleye were closest to the bottom, I equate this to the fattest hog on the farm, he is not up chasing chickens, he is laying in the mud taking life easy, the big walleye have the same mentality in my opinion. Second over a 24 hour period these fish move around a lot so you need to be able to know what to look for and find them before trying to catch them.

September 21, (Tuesday) Last evening we took a run out off the Huron River to see how the water looked, we it was not good, still bordering on muddy and we had 3 to 4 foot waves. We only stayed a couple of hours and caught a few small walleye. According to reports this morning the water is clearing north of the center of the sand bar and charters are taking walleye but I think we will wait until tomorrow before trying again.

 

I am spending the day working on the maps. At what point in size does a few maps become a book? This thing may be getting out of hand J. Depending on the printers I hope to have “IT” ready for mailing in November.

September 20, 2004 (Monday) The morning temperature is 59 degrees, wind at the buoy is 13 knots but here on shore it is 5 knots, waves are 2 feet and the water temperature is 68.5 degrees, which is nearly 5 degrees cooler than a week ago. Hopefully this fall in temperature will cause the walleye to become more active.

Water off Port Clinton and Huron is still murky but is clearing. We hope to get out this evening depending on how others do today.

I have heard of a few folks being out over the weekend but most reports were few fish caught.

September 19, 2004 (Sunday) Not much to report today, the wind has laid some, the waves are 3 feet at 5PM and the water is still some muddy. I don’t expect much in the way of “fishable” before tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday. I did get a couple of reports from before the storm of boats taking walleye west of Rattlesnake Island and around the sand bar.

September 18, 2004 (Saturday) The wind was strong all last night and is still blowing this morning. Yesterday was really bad with 6 to 8 foot waves and wind so bad even the sea gulls were walking.

This morning the temperature is 59 degrees, wind is NNE at 17 knots with gusts to 23 knots and the water temperature is 69 degrees.

Predictions for Sunday say the wind will start to lie down and wave will drop to 2 to 4 feet, but I don’t look for the fishing to pick back up much before Tuesday or Wednesday at best. The lake is going to be very muddy and it usually takes two days or so once the weather gets better for the fishing to get back to normal.

September 17, 2004 (Friday) The morning temperature is 66 degrees, wind is ENE at 21 knots with gusts to 25 knots, waves at the buoy are 4.3 feet and the water temperature is 71 degrees. The weekend weather is not looking good with 4 to 6 foot wave predicted for today and Saturday and 2 to 4 footers for Sunday.

Yesterday afternoon with the prospects of getting out today not looking too good we went out in front of Cranberry Creek about 5PM in 26 to 30 feet of water. Two of us ran two big dipsy’s back 35 feet set on #2 with “bonefish” color spoons, the two jet 30s back 50 feet with confusion color spoons. In 3 hours we had 7 good size walleye in the 22 to 26 inch range and a dozen or more throw backs. All the walleye we caught were in close proximity to each other no more than a ¼ mile circle. Once it got dark the bite quit for us, it was a moonless night, too dark for the walleye to hit in my opinion. Spoons were PA’s and Net crafters. Also yesterday charters were working 38/20 to 38/17 lines.

UPDATE: Waves at the buoy are up to 6.6 feet at 11:30AM, wind is really blowing out of the northeast. Thanks to hurricane Ivan the weekend looks to be a waste of time unless you want to come up and watch the wind blow with us.

September 16, 2004 (Thursday) We did not make it out yesterday, had a few other things to do that took longer than expected. Talked to several people who “tried” perch fishing off Mazurik’s and Kelley’s with very slow and small results, the only good spot I have heard of was inside Rattlesnake Island where some limits were taken. I don’t know why the perch fishing is so poor this fall when we had really nice size fish this spring. Walleyes are still being caught off West Reef and down toward the west side of Rattle Snake one to three miles out. Good to limits were taken off the sand bar and along the 17 line from the 32 to 38 lines. This morning the wind is kicking up and waves at the buoy are 2.3 feet, temperature is 72 degrees and the skies are overcast.

September 15, 2004 (Wednesday) Several boats report good to limit catches around the same spot we were on yesterday (34/17). It looks like walleye are all along the 17 line, which is on the east side of the sand bar from north to south. The wind kicked up a little this morning and 2 to 3 foot waves were reported, I am hoping it will lie this afternoon and if it does we may run out for an evening trip. The weekend weather is not looking too good with wind and waves picking up all the way through Sunday.

I added two maps of the sand bar area to the “Pictures and Maps Index” page. See link on the home page or above.

September 14, 2004 (Tuesday) We ran out to the north end of the sand bar this morning around the 37/21 lines. Pulled a few walleye but it was slow and the size was nothing to brag about, 17 to 19 inch fish and we have enough of them. We worked our way back south toward the center of the bar looking for better marks and found them around 34/17 lines. We caught a goodly number of walleye putting back all the smaller ones and ended up keeping 8 (two of us) bigger fish. The biggest was 27 inches and the rest were some smaller. The walleye were suspended between 35 and 40 feet in 45 foot of water; we ran our baits at 35 feet. Jet 30s were ran back 125 feet and big #1 dipsy’s were back 55 and 90 feet on 1 and 3 settings. We switched around trying to find what worked best and most of the bigger walleye came off the jets and small boards. All fish came on spoons; today the blue and purples seem to be working best. PA’s black molly, stingray and swordfish were the best producers along with a couple of fish on confusion.

September 13, 2004 (Monday) Radio traffic from Huron sounds like the walleye fishing picked up today with limits being reported around 33/17 and 36/19. Perch are also doing better off the Huron river mouth, just a little west. We plan on going tomorrow. Spoons were working down close to the bottom but they were also running some stick baits up high.

 

Make a trip to Cabela’s today and bought a small electric smoker. I am going to try and smoke some walleye fillets; if anyone has a good (simple) recipe I would appreciate hearing from you.

September 12, 2004 (Sunday) Much to the surprise of the weather prognosticators today was a great day, waves off Huron were less than 1 foot, the wind was light and it was sunny all day. We started near the center of the sand bar and worked over toward the 33/17 lines. Fish until 3PM and took ½ limits of good-sized walleye with the biggest being 25 inches. The walleye are still scattered and in small schools which don’t seem to be much in the feeding mood. I expect the next few days fishing will get much better but look out for later next week with hurricane Ivan coming ashore around the Florida panhandle we should get the effects late next week. Lots of boats perch fishing both off Huron and Vermilion river mouths. Most walleye were 35 feet to the bottom which was around 45 feet, big dispsy’s were ran back 65 and 85 feet on 1 and 3 settings, jet 3os were ran back 125 feet behind small boards. Speed was varied but 2.3 to 2.7 seemed to be best. Spoons were PA’s, the ones with pink such as the new dolphin, angle fish and reef shark as well as a bloody nosed one called pilot fish.

September 11, 2004 (Saturday) We took the boat to Huron Boat Basin this morning. After finding our dock and getting the lines in place we ran out to the sand bar and on east near the dumping grounds off Lorain looking for water conditions and walleye marks, I am taking some folks out tomorrow and did not want to start “cold”. First of all the water near shore was still muddy but the further out you got the clearer the water became. Out around the 41 32.000N line the water was much clearer. The walleye were still scattered and while we did not spend much time in one place fishing we did manage to take a few decent size walleye with the biggest being 25 inches. From what we saw I will start near the center of the sand bar and work toward the 33/17 line tomorrow morning. BTW everything we got was on PA’s new pilot fish and dolphin spoons. Dispy’s were ran back 63 and 85 feet on 1 and 3 settings (target 35 fow).

Lots of boats perch fishing just west of the mouth of the Huron River and out off Cedar Point channel though I don’t know how they were doing.

September 10, 2004 (Friday) Here is what I know at 11am. The waves are less than a foot, winds are 5 knots or less, the lake is VERY muddy all the way to the Canadian Border and I expect beyond and from Green Island north to the boarder it is covered with grass. All this is to be expected following the big blow we had the last two days. I look for the water to start clearing tomorrow and hopefully some fish will be caught Sunday BUT if you have a choice I would recommend waiting until Sunday at least.

September 9. 2004 (Thursday) We have fairly strong winds here in Port Clinton, the trees are still waving hard. Winds at the buoy off Vermilion are 23 knots with gusts to 25 knots, waves were 5.9 feet at 9am and the temperature is 64 degrees. Waves are predicted to subside to 2 to 4 feet this evening and 2 feet or less Friday but back to 2 to 4 feet and 3 to 5 feet for Saturday and Sunday respectively but we will wait and see. Hopefully once this lays down we can get to some serious fishing, I expect the next 6 weeks or so to be the peak of the season.

Yesterday I mentioned the “gravel pit” west of West Sister Island and find it is not marked on all maps so if you can’t find it the numbers are 41 45.071N 083 13.380W.

 

UPDATE: 2pm

Just took a ride out to Catawba Point, the lake is still rolling with what looks to be to be 4 plus foot waves and she is really muddy with a good stiff north wind. Maybe Saturday and Sunday will be fishable but I would want to wait and see.

September 8, 2004 (Wednesday) It looks like the remains of hurricane Frances have come to the lake. The winds are whipping the trees around, I have 7 to 10 knot winds on my little gage, the weather buoy off Vermilion shows 23 knots with gusts to 27, South Bass weather station is down and Huron Boat Basin shows 22 knots with gusts to 45 knots (whoosh). Waves at the buoy are 6.9 feet so we will be cleaning boat for sure.

On the good news side I received reports of limit catches of walleye on the gravel pit west of West Sister Island, 2 to 3 miles northeast of Cranberry Creek and lots of spots east of the sand bar (30-33/17 lines). Reports indicate that fishing off the sand bar us picking up but we will have to wait and see what this blow does to the lake. I hope to get out this weekend if it does not get to stirred up.

September 7, 2004 (Tuesday) We got back to Port Clinton about noon today, the temperature is 80 degrees and the wind is light to calm. I just got back from checking the boat and the lake is near calm (FLAT) but listening to the weather they tell me the waves are 2 to 4 feet building to 3 to 5 feet?? Is there more than one Lake Erie? One of us had no idea what is going on out on the lake and right now I don’t think it is me.

Good catches of walleye are still coming from west of Rattle Snake Island and north toward f-can, it looks like the walleye are going to hang around there for a while yet. Limits of walleye are reported off Cranberry Creek, 2 miles outside the Huron River and numerous spots east of the sand bar. Limits of perch are reported all along the lake shore line from Marble Head to Vermilion.

September 3, 2004 (Friday) Some nice size walleye are being caught west of Green and Rattlesnake Islands in the last few days. Also the area east of the sand bar off Vermilion is giving up some nice catches along with shallow water off Cranberry Creek. Good catches of perch are reported north of the turn around buoy in the Toledo shipping channel, north of Marblehead and off the center of the sand bar. It sounds like fishing in general is on the up swing; hopefully it will stay that way if hurricane Frances does not mess us up.

NOTE: PA’s Fintail Spoons have come out with some new colors; I have modified their link on my home page to show these new spoons.

September 2, 2004 (Thursday) Perch fishing is getting a little better south of Northwest Reef and north of Rattlesnake Island. Lots of small ones but if you are patient you can sort through them and get some nice keepers. Walleye reports are still good from f-can area and up into Canada a mile or so with some nice size fish reported. The shoreline off Cranberry Creek toward Huron is producing some limit catches of good-sized walleye as well, both drifting and trolling is working in the 20 foot or less waters. The area east of the center of the sand bar is still giving up some limit catches as well as further east toward Lorain.

August 31, 2004 (Tuesday) Walleye were taken in the past few days in the area of F-Can, G-Can, Northwest Reef, Wagon wheel Reef (Canada) and North Harbor Island (Canada). Some reports have been of good size walleye up to 27 inches. The Huron/Vermilion area is looking better with good catches coming east of the sand bar around the 31/16 lines in 40 and over feet of water. The walleye are reported lying right on the bottom and baits have to be pulled right past their noses to get them to hit. Perch reports from Marblehead and the center of the sand bar are also looking better with some larger perch reported.

We plan on heading back to the lake next Tuesday after the Labor Day crowd has left. We will move the boat to Huron Boat Basin the following Saturday September 11th.

August 27, 2004 (Friday) Some perch have been taken east of Ballast Island but it is good one day and slows the next, same way with size, some bigger one and lots of small ones.

 

NOTE: The Ohio Sea Grant Discussion Board Is Up and Running. They had a major computer problem but it is now fixed. Click on the above link to take a look, these are the folks I go to for technical answers.

August 26, 2004 (Thursday) What reports I am getting said that some walleye are still being caught west of Northwest Reef and F-can but it is slow and not too big in size. The same applies to perch; while limit catches are available the size is still small. The only bright spot is that the walleye fishing east of the Vermilion sand bar (33-34/17-18) is starting to pick up, while it is still some what east of the sand bar reports indicate there may be movement towards the bar. Also some walleye are being caught off Cranberry Creek and not too far off shore.

Since we have about had it with what fish are now available around the islands I am changing my plans and moving the boat to Huron the weekend after Labor Day (September 11th) a week earlier that I had originally planned.

August 24, 2004 (Tuesday) I have received a few more reports from the weekend, perch fishing has been fair to good in a lot of spots around the islands, but the size of the perch is still on the small side with much culling being done to get limits of fish less then 9 or 10 inches. Hopefully the larger perch will move into the islands soon. Walleye are still being taken around Northwest Reef, F-can and G-can but it is hit or miss with larger walleye some times and smaller the next. I think most of us agree the walleye-fishing west off the islands is on the decline, as one would expect that this time of year, in reality it has lasted a lot longer than I expected. Charters are working west of North Harbor Island in Canada (north of Middle Sister Island) and are taking nice size walleye in limit numbers. The sand bar off Vermilion/Lorain is still slow with most walleye being taken in the 17 to 23 inch range which indicates to me the bigger females have yet to move in, hopefully in the coming weeks.

August 23, 2004 (Monday) Reports for the weekend are just starting to come in but what I have so far indicates that the perch were small and the walleye were not too many;

Perch in limits were taken off Mazuriks access and east toward Marblehead 1 to 2 mile from shore in 22 to 26 feet of water.

Walleye are still being caught in less than limits off F and G cans on the border and north west of Northwest Reef.

Hopefully we will have a few more reports later in the week.

Personally after the funeral of Sues uncle we have mowed the grass, trimmed a few trees and are now in the process of cleaning the motor home, lots of fun but it has to be done before winter and I don’t want anything getting in my way from Labor Day until the last of October. I still need one more walleye this year (a big one).

August 20, 2004 (Friday)

 

The following was copied from the Toledo Blade and is quoting an ODNR fisheries supervisor.

 

Lake Erie perch hatch fares better than walleye

Preliminary results of trawls by Ohio Division of Wildlife crews show that the 2004 spring perch hatch is slightly below average.
The walleye hatch, however, appears to be poor at best.
Jeff Tyson, supervisor of the division's Lake Erie Research Fisheries Station at Sandusky, said that June and July trawls averaged about 40 young-of-year perch per hour. That indicates a year-class similar to 1992 or 1993 but better than 1995 or 2002.
Walleye trawls, however, are averaging just 1.5 young-of-year per hour, which he rates as "better than '95 and '02, but not much." The 2002 walleye year-class is considered to be non-existent in practical terms, perhaps the poorest on record.
The primary survey of the summer, however, will come the last two weeks of August. It may be mid-September before the 2004 year-classes are formally rated, Tyson said.
The August survey will include 40 sampling stations in Ohio waters and about 30 in Ontario waters.
Tyson said he is somewhat puzzled by the apparent low performance of the 2004 perch and walleye hatches, inasmuch as the weather this spring was not much different from 2003, when super year-classes, especially of walleye, were produced.
The 2003 walleye, which are extremely abundant, are in the 9 to 10-inch range now. Any of these undersize fish taken by anglers should be handled gently and returned to the water quickly. The minimum keeper length for walleye is 15 inches.
"Recruitment is a pretty complex issue. It can't be just weather. There's got to be some other cue."

August 18, 2004 (Wednesday) Not much going on out on the lake today, the wind is 14 to 18 knots, waves at the buoy are 1.6 feet but boats on the water are reporting 3 to 5 foot. The few folks that are perch fishing off Lakeside and Cedar Point report slow catch so far today. Walleye were still being taken yesterday west of Northwest Reef and around F-can on the border.

It looks like we will be taking some time off, my wife has had an elderly uncle pass away in Kentucky and we will be leaving tomorrow to attend the funeral and don’t plan on coming back until after labor day.

Keep the reports coming and I will update as best possible.

August 17, 2004 (Tuesday) Last evening we ran back out to the area between F-can and Northwest Reef. It was a little slower that Sunday but Sue and I got 10 nice size walleye, 18 to 23 inches. The little guys (2003) are 8 to 10 inches and no matter what I tried we could not keep them off the lines, I bet we got 25 or so during to evening. We ran an all dipsy program with #1 dipsy back 50 feet and the #3 dipsy back 70 feet. Best spoons were again PA’s Bull Shark, Blue Marlin and Mako. Also PA’s is coming out with some new colors and sent me a set the test. They have two that have some hot pink and they are catching walleye, they are called Dolphin and Angle Fish. The lake was nearly flat and it was a good evening to be out.

The folks that usually fish with us have company this week and they have been perch fishing. They limited Monday a little north of a line between Ballast and Gull Island Shoals marker.

August 15, 2004 (Sunday) We waited until 4:30PM after all the weekenders had left, ran out the south of F-can on the border (about 2 miles south) around the 46/57 lines and marked some nice walleye. Started trolling north toward F-can and within two hours we had taken our limit (12) of walleye. It looks like the walleye have again moved east back toward Northwest Reef. Dipsy’s were set on 2 and were ran back 57 feet and the jet 30s were run back 100 feet. All fish appeared on the sonar to be lying tight to the bottom. Best spoons were PA’s Blue Marlin and Bull Shark. I received a report of a charter taking limits between West Reef and Rattlesnake Island also.

August 14, 2004 (Saturday) It’s a nice day with temperature in the low 70s, wind is not much and the waves are 1 to 3 feet. Perch are being caught between Middle Bass and Gull Island marker while walleye are also being taken west of Rattlesnake out around the 44/55 lines.

 

While perch fishing yesterday I caught a walleye that was just under 15 inches, this is the third one I have caught this year and a buddy has taken three or four of this size. What is significant about this is they would be from the 2002 class which was thought to have had zero survival but as usual mother nature saw fit to let a few make it.

I have had a few reports from the folks who should know, the 2004 walleye and perch hatch is looking to be much less than 2003 hatch. While the weather was little different between 2003 and this spring in my opinion, most folks who deal with this sort of thing feel that a lot of the 2004 hatch was most likely eaten by the 2003 hatch. We know that walleye are cannibalistic and will eat anything that they can get a hold of so it makes sense that with the large numbers of 2003s we see that they could have had a major effect on this years hatch. Ohio DNR will start their trolls next week to determine how many of this year’s young have survived so we should know something in the next weeks.

August 13, 2004 (Friday) Today was a rerun of yesterday, waves were 1 to 3 feet wind out of the north and a little cool (I thought this was August J). We went out between Ballast and the marker on Gull Island Shoals where us and a bunch of other folks perch fished. We limited (4 of us) by noon though it was a little slower than yesterday. Walleye fishing seems to be slow, I did have one good report from west of Northwest reef yesterday but today I did not hear of anyone really doing much good.

August 12, 2004 Boy was the weather guesser wrong today. They were calling for 4 to 6 foot waves at 6AM when I first looked. The wind was calm around here, the South Bass weather station was down, the weather buoy said 1.3 feet so after looking at the trees which were not moving we went perch fishing. Waves on the lake were no more than a foot at 7AM but by the time we got anchored they were 1 to 3 foot but as the morning passed they flattened out and by noon we had a foot or less.

We went out east of Ballast Island and searched with the sonar until the marks looked fairly good, anchored and by noon pulled four limits of perch, decent size, kept nothing under 7 inches and the biggest was 12 ½ inches with several over 10 inches. The perch were in 30 t0 31 foot of water. Other boats perch fishing were off Loci’s point and off the northwest corner of Kelley’s Island.

Walleye reports are sparse but it sounds like they are one to three miles west of the south tip of Northwest Reef. Walleye are also reported east of the center of the sand bar off Vermilion and inside between Vermilion and Huron in 20 to 27 feet of water and at the far western end of the lake near the Michigan / Ohio border.

August 10, 2004 We had intended to get up and go perch fishing this morning but the wind blew all night and the waves at the buoy were 3 feet. Not much going on today, the walleye fishing seems to be slowing down during the week, even for the charters. Reports I am getting from the weekend indicate the school from F and G cans have moved a little south but are still around F can. Weather is not looking very good before Friday so it may be a slow week for me.

August 9, 2004 (Monday) It’s a nice cool morning, temperature is 67 degrees, wind is SSW at 8 knots with gusts to 12 knots, waves at the buoy are 1 foot and the water temperature is 71.6 degrees.

Good to limit catches of walleye are still possible between West and Middle Sister Islands and up along the border between F and G cans. We went out yesterday afternoon, started at Northwest Reef but only caught little guys; they are now approaching 10 inches in length. We moved west toward a pack of boats about mid way between F and G and with the help of one of our readers found a small school of walleye, we (3 of us) took 10 walleye while throwing back a dozen or so that were less than 17 inches. I am at the point where we won’t keep any less than 17 inches and may try perching later this week. Our plan is to take the rest of August easy and wait for the bite to turn on off Huron / Vermilion.

Limits of perch were reported from over the weekend in 47 feet of water off Cleveland and between Ballast and Gull Island. Good catches of walleye are reported from the area of Hen and Chicks Islands in Canada.

August 7, 2004 (Saturday) It is looking better, wind is down and the waves are 2 feet or less. Lots of charters are working north of the border around Hen and chicks Islands and catching some good walleye. Today several boats are between F and G cans on the border and are taking some walleye but the small ones continue to be a problem. Perch reports have yet to come in but I expect the will do well today off Kelley’s and the dumping grounds off Cedar Point. Tomorrows weather is looking good, 2 foot wave or less, we plan on getting out in the afternoon once the weekend crowd leaves.

August 6, 2004 (Friday) The morning temperature is 65 degrees, wind is out of the NNW at 17 to 22 knots, waves at the buoy are 3 feet and the water temperature is 71.4 degrees.

The wind blew all night, several boats started out on the lake this morning but turned around and came back, those that stayed out are reporting waves of 3 to 5 feet and very rough. The wind is predicted to lay this afternoon with wave decreasing to 1 to 3 feet later today and tomorrow BUT we will wait and see.

Weather Update; 8:30PM the wind has lain a little and the waves are 2 to 4 feet, tomorrow is looking a little better with Sunday being 1 to 2 feet.

August 5, 2004 (Thursday) The morning temperature is 67 degrees, wind is out of the northeast at 13 to 16 knots, waves at the buoy are 3.3 feet and the water temperature is 72 degrees.

Some folks were up along the border both off Northwest Reef and Middle Island yesterday morning and did catch some walleye but once the storm came through about noon most ran for home. The radio is totally silent this morning, I guess everyone is staying in today, we sure are. Tomorrow and the weekend are PREDICTED to be a little better with wave in the 1 to 3 foot range but that remains to be seen.

August 4, 2004 (Wednesday) We got back yesterday and hope to get out tomorrow, last evening and early this morning we had some weather move through with rain and thunderstorms this morning. There is another front west of Toledo right now that will come through later today and is supposed to bring lower temperatures once it passes.

The walleye are still north of Northwest Reef on both sides of the border and out toward G-can on the border. Limits are still possible but most folks are running a few less than limits. The walleye are still holding tight to the bottom and baits need to be ran about 30 feet down in 32 foot of water. Also good catches of walleye are reported east of the sand bar off Lorain by a few miles, northeast of Fairport Harbor in 50 plus feet of water and the Michigan folks are still taking fish out off Fermi plant. Perch fishing is picking up with limit catches reported east of the airport opening east of Kelley’s Island, on and round the dumping grounds off Cedar Point Park, all around Green Island and west of Catawba Island near the CIC can.

Weather Update 2PM; the front came through about noon today and the lake really got angry, wave 5 to 7 feet, reports of two sail boats in trouble off Gull Island Shoals, one aground and another on its side. The weather guessers have update their prediction for tomorrow for 5 to 7 foot waves with 2 to 4 footers for Friday and Saturday.

August 1, 2004 (Sunday) I have had a few reports from the weekend so far, good to limit catches of walleye off F and G cans on the border, SW of west reef, off Fermi in Michigan waters and off Ruggles beach down toward Vermilion. I guess the walleye don’t know that they are supposed to be slowing down. Good perch catches reported out from Cleveland in 46 feet of water and also some better sized perch reported off the CIC can west of Catawba Island.

Thanks to all for the reports, keep them coming, we will be back by Wednesday.

 

July 30, 2004 (Friday) It looks like the weather this weekend may be good, I have had a few reports of good to limit catches still off G-can on the border, I am surprised the walleye are still hanging around there for this long, I believe this is at least 6 weeks they have been in that location. Other reports from east of the sand bar off Vermilion around the 33/16 to 34/17 lines also good sized walleye are being caught off Lorain but no closer location was give. Several reports of good to limit catches of perch from around the islands, mainly east of Kelley’s and around Green Island but the size is still small. If anyone finds bigger perch I would like to hear about it, I have a couple of perch trips planned when we get back next week.

Well the painting is about done but we have a few more things to do, I find that I am about beyond big jobs and wish I knew a painting contractor around Warren County, who likes to fish J.

July 29, 2004 (Thursday) It looks like some decent weather has moved in for a change. My neighbors got out today and caught a limit of perch northwest of Kelley Island but said they were on the small side. Good reports on walleye from the Michigan end of the lake southeast of Stony Point (Fermi) in 21 to 24 foot of water. As long as the Michigan folks are catching walleye we still have fish west of us, and that is a good sign. The walleye are east of the sand bar off Vermilion and going good with several good to limit catches being reported since the weekend.

We started painting the trim on the house today and got at least two more days to go on that, then some plumbing to do before heading back to the lake the middle of next week. See my life is not all fishing and traveling.

July 27, 2004 (Tuesday) I have received several reports from the weekend saying good catches of walleye from the area of G-can on the border back toward West Sister Island. Monday the charters did well 3 to 5 miles north of Niagara Reef and around the 44/57 lines. Perch fishing has slowed due to the rough weather, the weather looks to be on the bad side for another few days, time will tell.

Since it is not looking too good for a few days we are going to take a week off and get some things done down at our (winter) home. If you get out please send me a report so I will have something to pass on to the rest of the folks.

July 26, 2004 (Monday) The morning temperature is 67 degrees, wind is out of the NE at 17 to 20 knots, waves at the buoy are 3.3 feet but reports from the lake say 2 to 4 or 3 to 5 depending on how big a boat they are in. Charters are fishing southwest of Northwest Reef this morning and around the 44/57 lines. They are taking some walleye but it is again slow. Reports of good to limit catches from south of G-can, on the border, from over the weekend also off Cleveland metro park in 19 to 21 foot of water while trolling warm harnesses and in line weights down near the bottom.

July 25, 2004 (Sunday) Today looks like a rerun of yesterday, cool, winds at 13 knots with gusts to 16, wave are 3 foot at the buoy and reports from the lake say 3 to 5 footers. The lake is muddy about as far out as you can see and very few boats are out fishing. Looks like a good day to mow the grass or some other shore bound jobs.

July 24, 2004 (Saturday) The morning temperature is a cool 65 degrees, wind is NE at 17 knots with gusts to 21 knots, waves at the buoy are 4.9 feet and the water temperature is 72 degrees. It looks like “weekenders weather” is with us and I doubt many folk will be out today.

Despite a very bumpy day several boats were out off G-can on the Canadian border yesterday and took up to limits of smaller walleye. It looks like the walleye that were down around Northwest Reef have moved back west again toward Middle Sister Island and G-can.

Several charters are fishing walleye in Canadian water around Hen Island, King George Reef and off the Peele Island lighthouse. They are mostly drifting with weight forward spinner or may fly rigs.

Perch fishermen yesterday took limits or near limits off Starve Island and on the dumping grounds out from Sandusky Bay but the size was small, 7 to 9 inch.

July 23, 2004 (Friday) We had a series of storms go through last evening with lots of lighting out over the lake. This morning the buoy reports 3-foot waves and folks on the lake are saying up to 4 footers. It has been my experience that following electrical storms it takes a couple of days for the fish to school back up and start biting again so it looks like we will take today and the weekend off.

Some walleye were caught yesterday out off G-can on the border also 3 to 5 miles north of Niagara Reef. Perch fishing has been good off Kelley’s and between Kelley’s and the Bass Islands but look for this storm to slow them down for a few days. Still getting a few reports of good walleye catches coming from east of the center of the sand bar off Vermilion.

July 22, 2004 (Thursday) There was a good breeze this morning and I thought it was going to kick up the waves but so far it is not looking too bad. Waves are 2 to 3 feet, wind is out of the SW at 8 to 10 knots and the water temperature is 73 degrees. The walleye that were around Northwest Reef seem to have moved out, I suspect southwest maybe out into the flats, north of Niagara Reef, I hope to get out there tomorrow and see. Walleye fishing is picking up a little east of the sand bar off Vermilion with less than limit catches of 22 plus inch walleye being reported. No reports from west of the islands for walleye or perch so far today.

July 21, 2004 (Wednesday) The morning temperature is 71 degrees, wind is 10 to 14 knots out of the SW, waves are 1.3 feet at the buoy and the water temperature is 73 degrees. We have just had a rain shower at 7AM.

We went on another walleye hunt yesterday hoping to find some closer and away from all the grass that we have been finding up along the border. We checked all around Kelley’s and Middle Island but only managed 3 walleye and they were scattered, so it looks like the only game right now in up off Northwest Reef and out toward G can on the border.

Perch fishermen were all around Kelley’s up off Gull Shoals, north of Kelley Shoals, off the airport opening, out from Cedar Point and off the SE corner of Kelley’s. While the size of the perch is not great they are coming in limit numbers.

July 19, 2004 (Monday) Despite what the weather people predicted it was a nice morning, wave were 2 feet or less. Sue and I ran out to West Reef and started looking for walleye marks, they were few so we slowly motored over past Northwest Reef where the marks were better. We started trolling off the SW corner of Northwest Reef and headed into the wave, which were mostly out of the north. We started picking up walleye and trolled about 1-½ miles to the north before the marks and the fish gave out so we turned back toward our starting point picking up two or three walleye per circle. It took three trips for us to limit our 12 walleye. Most were nice size with two 24 inch, 5 22 to 23 inches, four 17 to 21 and one little guy just over 15 inches. We would have put him back but he had eaten the hook and was bleeding so we kept him, the seagulls or us were going to end up getting him. We ran four dipsy’s with spoons, the #1 dipsy’s were out 50 feet and the #3s was out 65 to 70 feet. Best spoons were PA fintails in Bull shark, Blue marlin and a put together in oil slick.

July 18, 2004 (Sunday) The afternoon temperature is 72 degrees, wind is NE at 10 knots, waves are 2 feet and water temperature is 72 degrees. Trollers are south of East Sister Island and are doing fair with about ½ limits reported. I received a report saying drifters are doing well on the top of West Reef and on top of Gull Island Shoals, the walleye are up there feeding on the gobies so mayfly rigs tipped with night crawler or tub jigs in goby colors are working well. Perch fishing is going well off Green, Rattle Snake and around the southeast side of Kelley’s Island though the perch are still on the small side.

July 17, 2004 (Saturday) The morning temperature is 69 degrees, wind is 8 knots out of the NNE, waves are 2 foot, water temperature is 73 degrees and it is raining.

Less than limit catches were reported yesterday for F-can on the border, limits are reported from the area around the turn around buoy in Toledo Shipping Channel and west of West Sister Island and between K-can on the west side of the range and Davis-Besse power plant. Michigan fishermen are doing well off Stoney Point / Fermi / Monroe Michigan area.

Perch are being caught in limits off the east side of Kelley’s near airport reef and from Green to Rattlesnake Islands.

July 16, 2004 (Friday) After two big blow days the lake is lying down. Wind is out of the west at 8 knots with gusts to 10 knots, waves are 2 feet or less, the afternoon temperature is 80 degrees and the water temperature is 73 degrees.

Lots of boats up off the area between F and G-cans on the border, they are taking some walleye but as you would expect after two blow days it is slow going. The only other place I have heard of where walleye are being caught is between K-can on the inner range and Davis-Besse.

Perch fishermen are east and south of Kelley’s Island and are doing well.

July 15, 2004 (Thursday) It looks like the weather guessers got it right for a change. The wind is out of the NW at 18 knots with gusts to 22 knots, waves are 3.3 feet at the buoy (looks like 3 to 5 footers to me). Nothing to report from yesterday and today looks like more of the same, the only thing I have heard on the radio so far is two gals trying to figure out where to go for breakfast.

 

With nothing else to do I think I will go over once again the program we are using 99% of the time.

Normally we fish four people so we have eight lines out.

We run two large size 1 dipsy’s per side (4 total). The dipsy’s are off the stern corners of the boat and are set at 1 and 3, that way the inside dipsy (1 setting) will be about 3 feet out away from the boat and the other set at 3 will be about 10 feet out. I run all fire line 30# test, 12# diameter line off the reels (daiwa SG27LCs) and have a large 50# snap swivel tied to the end to attach to the diver. I run a 12” snubber (shock absorber) behind the dipsy to take the shock out of a fish hitting the bait. We use a 6-foot leader behind the snubber, which is 17 or 20# test leader material (flora-carbon).

The third and forth poles are pulling jet 30s with a 6 foot leader before the bait (spoon). Both third and fourth poles have small (off shore) boards with Churches releases instead of the ones that come with the off shores. The board lines are ran our beyond the dipsy’s about 30 and 40 feet from the boat. This time of year we are running all spoons, our favorites so far are PA’s fantails in the following patterns; Bull shark, Blue marlin, Wonder bread, Watermelon, Red snapper, Great white, Mako and Sailfish. All these spoons have some amount of florescent pink color as well as the holographic pattern, which seems to flash as it works through the water. There are lots of other spoons that catch walleye but we have found these to work well for us and they don’t bend easily or loose their paint. Oh yes the poles are 7 foot Shakespeare ugly sticks, medium action.

July 14, 2004 (Wednesday) The morning temperature is 72 degrees, wind is northwest at 17 to 22 knots, and waves are 3 to 4 feet and building. Due to the wind and waves we are taking a couple of days off to clean up the boat, go do the laundry and visit the grocery. See it not all fun and games for us either J. Not many boats out today and the radio is quiet.

 

I have had over 100 people send email telling me they would be interested in the maps. That is enough for me to go ahead with the project. Since I can’t finish the set until after October when this years fishing is done, look for the maps to be available in late November or December. Every time I work on them it gets bigger, I am putting in clarifications and fishing programs and they change from month to month but I can do them a little at a time.

July 13, 2004 (Tuesday) Ran out to Northwest Reef this morning, it was very still, no wind or waves and a overhanging fog. Once we stopped within a mater off minutes we were covered with gnats, the little ***  that turn to grease when you step on them. That lasted about ½ hour; we picked up three walleye but could no longer stand the bugs so we ran out to F-can on the border. By early afternoon we had managed a total of 13 walleye (again) and it was hot enough to fry eggs on the top of my head, so we called it a day. The weather guessers say tomorrow and the rest of the week are not looking to good but we will wait and see.

July 12, 2004 (Monday) We went out yesterday afternoon about 2PM. We ran out to just south of Middle Sister Island right on the border. I thought the weather was going to be good but by the time we got to our spot the wind had kicked up and we had 2 to 4 foot waves and an occasional 5 or so. We would find a pocket of walleye, catch two or three but were unable to keep on the spot. After getting beat up from four hours or so we called it a day. We ended up with 13 walleye, 17 to 22 inch range. I feel if the weather had not turned against us we could have limited, but that’s another day. ALSO as well as I like going out in the afternoon, we are going back to morning trips, the fishing seems to be better.

Today there is a small pack working between F and G cans on the border, they are taking some walleye but it sounds to be slow.

Perch fishermen are doing well near B-can on the range and west of Green Island.

July 11, 2004 (Sunday) The morning temperature is 70 degrees, wind is lite out of the east, wave are 2 feet or less, it looks like a good day.

The walleye are still reported between F and G cans on the Canadian border and between B and C cans on the range. Perch are off Green Island and out between A and B cans on the range.

We hope to get out this afternoon once the crowd clears out.

July 10, 2004 (Saturday) The morning temperature is 70 degrees, wind is out of the SW at 4 knots, the lake is calm and the water temperature is 71 degrees.

Good walleye reports from the area between F and G cans on the border, 3 to 5 miles NW of West Sister Island and north of Niagara Reef Buoy.

Perch fishing is good north of Middle Harbor Reef, west of Green, south of West Reef Buoy and around the Niagara Reef Buoy.

Lot of Mayflies and other flying insect are out today.

July 9, 2004 (Friday) It was a slow day for us, we did not get out until around 10:30AM and went perch fishing. We ended up south of the red can off the southwest corner of North Bass. The perch came slow and four of us ended up with 75 in about four hours.

Walleyes are still being caught between F and G cans on the border, also around Niagara Reef and in the area of A and B cans on the outer range. Weather wise it was a great day and the weekend is looking good so far.

July 8, 2004 (Thursday) We got back to the lake yesterday about noon and had planned on going perch fishing this morning but there was a light rain and the winds at South Bass were 10 to 15 knots so we decided to wait another day.

Walleye are still being caught north of Peele Island, southeast of Niagara Reef and south of Middle Island. While some walleye over 25 inches are being reported in Canadian water most others are in the 17 to 20 inch range. Perch are being caught in limit numbers north of Rattle Snake, South of Northwest Reef and north of Niagara Reef Marker.

July 6, 2004 (Tuesday) I have received several reports from the weekend, G-can / Middle Sister Island is still producing walleye BUT the grass is starting to become a problem, between West Sister Island and the Toledo shipping channel was good and some walleye are starting to show up north of Niagara Reef marker which is welcome since the grass should not be as much of a problem further south.

Perch fishing is still on the increase with good fishing reported at Marblehead, East of Kelley’s Island, off the stone docks on the West side of Kelley’s, around Green and I suspect off Starve but with the weekend crowd it would have been almost impossible to fish there.

We will be returning to the lake tomorrow morning, thanks to all the folks that sent reports making it possible to keep updating the reports page.

July 5, 2004 (Monday) We had a good time at the family reunion Saturday but are glad to be back home and will return to the lake Wednesday sometime.

Walleye reports have been good from Middle Sister Island back to Northwest Reef of 18 to 21 inch walleye being taken with spoons or worm harnesses, mostly down on the bottom. The bad news for this area is the grass is starting to show up and will make the northwest end of the lake very difficult to fish soon. Michigan waters still are producing good catches of walleye off Fermi mostly on worm harnesses. The waters east of the Lorain/Vermilion sand bar are also giving up some good catches of average size walleye. The big girls must still be in the far east as I am not hearing of any being caught.

Perch fishing around the islands seems to be on the upswing, report of limit catches of perch from north of Rattlesnake, off the red bell marker north of North Bass and west of Catawba near the CIC can.

In my spare time I have been working on the maps project and there is an update, click on link above.

July 2, 2004 (Friday) Walleye are still being caught around and south of G-can on the border. I also have good reports from the Michigan end of the lake around Stony Point but the fishing is mostly tough all over right now. Hopefully once the mayfly emergence gets over, which should be soon, the walleye will get back to business as usual.

UPDATE: just got a report from my neighbor that they had limited on perch about 100 yards north of the rattles.

We are going to Kentucky for a family reunion Saturday so there may not be any reports from over the weekend.

July 1, 2004 (Thursday) My neighbors ran out to the area off G-can on the border yesterday morning and three people pulled 15 keeper size walleye with about ½ going over 20 inches using dipsy and jet30s pulling spoons. These fish were flat on the bottom and baits had to be ran 1 to 2 feet off the bottom to do any good.

Another report from the gravel pit, west of harbor view light out from Cedar Point (the one just east of Maumee Bay) of 22 to 29 inch walleye being caught using weapons (mayfly rigs) and weight forward spinners with night crawlers fished on or very near the bottom.

Perch fishermen have been doing some better though the size of the perch is still mostly below 10 inches, off Green Island, Niagara buoy, SE corner of Kelley’s and out from the airport opening east of Kelley’s Island.

We are taking a week off to get some family thing taken care of and miss the 4th of July crowds. We plan to be back around the 7th of July. Be sure to give me a note if you get out so I can have something to report. Happy Holidays to all.

June 29, 2004 (Tuesday) Three of us made the long run out to the north side of West Sister this morning, nothing much showing on the sonar so we ran on up toward the turn around buoy in the Toledo shipping channel. We picked up 4 or 5 decent walleye but the waves got up around 3 to 5 feet making it hard to run west back into the waves so we decided to set a course toward Middle Sister and up along the border. We managed to catch 12 good-sized walleye, one or two at a time, while throwing back a bunch of 17 and smaller ones.

It looks to me like the walleye that have been off Middle Sister and G-can are moving back toward F can and hopefully on toward North West Reef. If this trend continues that could be a good area to try this weekend.

I have reports that some Port Clinton head boats are catching 20 plus inch walleye off the reefs around Crib reef and surrounding area. The only drift and pull worm harnesses or may fly rigs.

Perch fishermen were off Green Island, Starve Island and the airport opening east of Kelley’s Island.

June 28, 2004 (Monday) The weekend bite seemed to be mostly between West Sister and Middle Sister Islands with lots of charters running over into Canada both east and west of Peele Island. We went out about 4PM last evening and searched all around Kelley’s from Middle Island to Long Point to Kelley’ Shoals to the airport opening on the east side and back around to American Eagle Shoals. For the whole trip we only caught four walleye and they all came off American Eagle about dark. We marked lots of what I think were walleye but they are just not in a feeding mood. I feel they are so full of mayflies that they are not aggressive. Maybe after the July 4th weekend it will get better but right now the walleye fishing is mighty slow. Perch fishermen were off the northwest corner of Kelley’s, east of Kelley Shoals and off the southeast corner of Kelley’s.

June 27, 2004 (Sunday) The 2PM temperature is 68 degrees, wind is out of the WNW at 10 to 12 knots, waves are 1.3 feet and the water temperature is 68 degrees.

Lots of boats out between F and G cans on the border, they are catching some walleye but the size in 17 to 21 inches and the bite is slow. Perch fishermen are off Green and Rattlesnake Islands and are taking fish though the size is less than 10 inches for the most.

From the Michigan end, 8 miles NE of Luna Pier and out in front of Fermi both report walleye being caught on both spoons and worm harnesses.

We still hope to get out this evening or tomorrow morning to see if we can locate some bigger walleye.

June 26, 2004 (Saturday) After waiting until noon Friday for the rain to quit we finally got out. Ran out to Middle Sister Island (49/00) very near where we have been working for the past week, the bite was slow and the walleye were small. After six hours of one now and then we ended up with 14 walleye from 17 to 21 inches. Most marks were on or near the bottom, I get the feeling they are full of mayflies and not very hungry. Big dipsy’s back 45’ in #1 and 65’ in #3. Jet30s were back 75 to 100 feet, which puts both dipsy’s, and jet 30s down near 30 feet in 32 foot of water. Best colors were PA’s tiger, sailfish, red snapper and wonder bread. Perch fishermen were off Green and Mouse Islands; I did see some perch being caught off Mouse as we went by.

We will take off Saturday and try to get out Sunday afternoon once the crowd goes home. I plan on going on a hunt for larger walleye, those off Middle Sister are too small and too far off to suit me, besides we have all the freezer fish we now need so I will concentrate on finding bigger fish for the rest of the year.

As we came back for Catawba Island the mayflies were thick, swarms filled the air above sr-53 this is the worst we have seen so far this year. The only good thing I can say about mayflies is they don’t have teeth.

June 25, 2004 (Friday) It is a cool 62 degrees this morning, wind is out of the NE at 6 knots, waves are 2 feet and the water temperature is 68 degrees. We have very light showers this morning that look to clear in the next couple of hours so we are waiting for it to clear before going out. I think we will run back out toward Middle Sister Island this morning and see if the walleye are still there. Perch reports are few but if you are going to perch fish this weekend I would try off Niagara, west of Green Island, out from Mazuriks Access or off the stone docks on the west side of Kelley’s Island.

From the Michigan end I got a report of limit catches of walleye not too far out side the River Raisin buoy in 20 to 24 feet of water using copper spoons.

June 24, 2004 (Thursday) The wind is kicking up this morning, wind at South Bass is 18 to 22 knots and waves are 3 feet. Boats out in the open water are reporting 4 to 6 foot waves but wave height is in the eye of the beholder. The weather guessers are prediction better weather tomorrow and through the weekend so we will take today off and try it Friday.

As we ran out yesterday the water was muddy a couple of mile west of Northwest Reef.

June 23, 2004 (Wednesday) Mayflies are of great interest this time of year, they should be at their peak about now. If you are interested in some good reading about them go to the following link, which is Ohio Sea Grants discussion site and scroll down looking for threads about mayflies.

http://www.sg.ohio-state.edu/discus/ then click on discussion board. This is one of my favorite sites, these folks know of what they speak.

 

Most folks out walleye fishing today are out between Middle and West Sister Islands; we got our four limits by 2pm after a slow start. We ran up to Northwest Reef first but the water was very muddy so we ran on west to due south of Middle Sister around the 48/00 lines. The walleye were 17 to 23 inches and come from 18 feet to the bottom, which was around 32 feet. Jet 30s back 40 to 50 feet, #1 dipsy back 30 feet and #3 dipsy back 40 feet. Spoons with red seemed to be best today; we did well with dog/cat and superman spoons.

The 4PM temperature is 69 degrees, wind is out of the at 6 to 8 knots, waves are calm and the water temperature is 69 degrees.

June 22, 2004 (Tuesday) The walleye are continuing to move further west, now out around a point south of Middle Sister around the 49/03 to the 40/06 lines.

Perch are reported being taken in limits between Ballast Island and Luci’s Point, out in front of Mazuriks access and off the SE corner of Kelley’s Island.

On the Michigan end of the lake reports say they are taking 18 to 22 inch walleye out from Fermi tower in 19 feet of water and further out in 27 foot using may fly rigs.

June 21, 2004 (Monday) The weekend was mostly tough for most folks with waves wind and mayflies being most of the problem along with the walleye being on the move in the western basin.

Today there are several charters working out around G-can on the border, they are taking some walleye but it is still slow. Perch fishermen are doing better off Marblehead, east of Kelley’s Island and off Green Island. They are having to sort through many smaller ones but are managing to take limits of 9 to 11 inch perch. The West Sister / turn around buoy area yielded some walleye this weekend but it was slow. There was a tournament at Lorain yesterday, which was also very slow with many folks not getting any walleye. It is my second hand understanding that the folks that did catch fish made a very long run toward Cleveland about 30 miles or so.

June 20, 2004 (Sunday) After yesterdays bad start with high winds and waves it looks like the weekenders are going to get a better day today. The 9AM temperature is 62 degrees, wind is calm to 4 knots, wave are 1 foot or less and the water temperature is 67 degrees.

The walleye bite seems to have moved west to just west of G-can on the border to south of Middle Sister Island also good reports from NW of West Sister and near the turn around marker in the Toledo shipping channel.

While slow perch are off Ballast Island, west of North Bass and between Kelley’s and Marblehead.

June 19, 2004 (Saturday) The 9AM temperature is 59 degrees, wind is out of the North at 15 to 20 knots, waves are 5 feet and the water temperature is 66 degrees.

Not many boat out yet due to the wind and waves being high. Reports for yesterday indicate the walleye, west of the island, continue to move west toward G-can on the border and Middle Sister Island.

Perch are being caught at times east of Ballast Island but they are slow to hit, likely due to being full of mayflies. Hopefully the mayfly hatch will start dieing off soon and perch fishing will pick back up.

June 18, 2004 (Friday) The noon temperature is 73 degrees, wind is 4 to 6 knots out of the northwest, waves are less than 2 feet and the water temperature is 68 degrees.

We are taking today and Saturday off and will be back on the lake Sunday afternoon, weather permitting. Most folks that I have heard from today are out between F and G cans on the Canadian border, they are catching some walleye but it is still slow going.

I have received two reports from the Monroe Michigan area, they are doing well with limits of nice walleye with the 5 pound range being best. They are fishing between the twin stacks and Detroit light in 19 to 22 feet of water. Best spoons are boy-girl, confusion, perch and mass confusion.

June 17, 2004 (Thursday) Left the dock at about 7:30AM this morning, got rained on three times before reaching Northwest Reef, I think we about wore out a set of rain gear putting it on an taking it off. There were some walleye marks among all the mayfly clouds just east of the reef. We trolled north with the waves to the Canadian boarder and back several times and ended up limiting about 12:30PM. We had to run the jet 30s back 100 to 120 feet to get into the walleye, the dipsy’s were back #1 – 55 feet and #3 - 75 feet. These setting should be very near 30 feet deep and we were in 32 feet of water. A fairly large pack of charters and others were off F-can on the Canadian border. When I talk about a Canadian Border can I an talking about where they used to be, they are no longer there but the locations are still used as land marks or in this case “lake marks”. A few boats were off Green Island to the west a mile or so perch fishing. The perch have been slow of late, as soon as I get any good reports I will include it here.

NOTE; When I use the term #1 dipsy back 55 feet I mean the closest in dipsy set at the #1 setting and a #3 dipsy set at 75 feet might be shown as #3 dipsy – 75. Pay attention, there will be a test later J.

June 16, 2004 (Wednesday) We went out this morning at 7AM trying to beat the rain (did not work) and started a mile west of NW Reef, trolled northwest toward G – can location on the boarder (no longer there most all boarder markers have been removed). Ran same program, dipsy’s and jet 30s pulling spoons. We got our limits by 12:30PM, nice sized walleye in the 17 to 23 inch range. Best spoons were PA’s red snapper, bull shark and blue marlin along with a Michigan Stinger scorpion bronze with a bloody nose; I can’t keep up with all the names. The dipsy’s pulled most of the fish, for some reason I can’t figure out, the jet 30s only got 3 of the 24 walleye, they have been taking the majority up to now. About the time we got in it started raining and we managed to get soaked while cleaning the fish. It appears to me that the storm Tuesday afternoon move the schools north and west, with the best spot being between the F and G can locations. Perch fishermen were working just (1/2 to ¾ miles) of Green Island, no idea how the were doing but there was a small pack of boats as we came in.

June 15, 2004 (Tuesday) Went back out Monday afternoon, headed up to Northwest Reef in hopes of finding larger walleye, it was a good move, we got into some nicer sized fish, mostly 20 to 24 inch range either on or very near the reef. Things were going our way, we had taken 18 walleye when Mother Nature decided to get into the act and boy did it rain. We ended up turning into the storm which came from the west (like usual) and riding it out. After about 15 minutes the storm passed but the wave were up to 4 to 6 feet so we slowly motored back home. Tomorrow is supposed to be better but we will wait and see. Perch fishermen are off Niagara Reef buoy and off the airport opening east of Kelley’s Island.

Tuesday afternoon -  3PM. We decided to stay in today after the storm last evening and it is looking like it was a good idea. Most folks that went out today report slow to no catching. The school that was up around Northwest Reef seems to have moved out or scattered. Hopefully the will school back up by tomorrow and we will be able to find then again.

June 14, 2004 (Monday) We went out yesterday afternoon about 2PM, ran out west of North Bass 43/54 lines and started working south and west. The marks were good and we started taking walleye right away. By 4:30PM we had our four limits, the walleye were from 17 to 24 inches with the majority being 18 to 22 inches. The walleye were very close to the bottom, which was 31 feet. We ran #1 dipsy back 50 feet and the #3 dipsy back 65 feet. Jets 30s were run back 90 feet off small boards. All ran spoons with the best being PA’s Red snapper, wonder bread and blue marlin. Speed was 2.2 to 2.5 mph. It was a good thing we finished when we did, thunderstorms started moving through about 8PM and we were under tornado watch until mid night. If the weather clears we will be going back out this afternoon to the same area, no need to hunt fish when we know where they are.

Gas price at Winke’s Landing, west harbor last evening was $2.099 per gallon.

June 13, 2004 (Sunday) The 10AM temperature is 66 degrees, wind is 5 knots out of the north, waves are 1 to 2 feet and the water temperature is 65 degrees.

Walleye fishermen are mostly south and west of Northwest Reef around the 43/55 to 44/53 lines. Most are taking walleye down deep very near the bottom, which is 30 to 32 feet. I have not had any perch reports so far today. If the weather holds we will be going out this afternoon about the time the weekend crowd heads home.

June 12, 2004 (Saturday) The morning temperatures is 60 degrees, wind is out of the SE at 15 to 18 knots, waves are 2 to 3 feet and the water temperature is 63 degrees. The rain has stopped for now but it looks like more rain is between Toledo and the Indiana/Illinois line headed this way.

Lots of walleye fishermen out today and most are somewhere between Niagara Reef and Northwest Reef with the center of the school being around the 46/59 lines.

Perch fishermen are west of Green, off Niagara Reef can, west of the stone docks off Kelleys and off Marblehead.

We will wait until tomorrow afternoon to try and get out, about the time most weekenders are heading home.

June 11, 2004 (Friday) It continues to rain, not hard but just a study shower. The 11AM temperature is 60 degrees; wind is 19 gusting to 23 knots out of the east. Waves are 2 to 3 feet and the water temperature is 64 degrees. Some walleye fishermen (those with rain coats) are out around the 44/59 lines today and are taking some walleye but it sounds a little slow going for the few who are out. The wind has started picking up in the past hour so I expect the lake to get a little angry. For you coming this weekend;

North of Niagara all the way to 44/59 lines or so, between B and C cans on the range, north and northwest of West Sister Island all have been producing walleye. Perch fishermen were also off B can on the range, west of North Bass, off the green can south of Gull Island Shoals and near the Kelley Shoals can.

June 10, 2004 (Thursday) First the host server that my web site is on has had a hardware problem and I have had to reload the web site. Hopefully once the replication process (web hosts updating) is complete things will be back to normal.

At noon it is raining but the wind is not bad so we are waiting until this afternoon before deciding what to do, we had a “hog hunt” planed for this evening with some of the “boys” but we will have to wait and see.

Perch fishermen are off the west side of Kelley’s today and report taking some perch but the size in not too good.

Walleye fishermen are out west of Rattlesnake in the vicinity of where we were yesterday and are taking fish, but they area still on the small side. Hopefully if our “hog hunt” goes as planned I will have some better spots to report.

UPDATE; or evening “hog hunt” got rained out. Also it looks like the web site is back up and running.

June 9, 2004 (Wednesday) Same game another day, back to the same area as Monday but it took longer, about six hours to get our four limits, threw back lots under 17 inches and a whole lot of the 6 to 7 inch feisty little guys from last years hatch. NOTE if you do catch these little treasures try and shake them off the hook, if that won’t work wet your hands before handling them, the worst we can do the them is wipe the slime coating off which makes them susceptible to disease. This is a really large school of walleye, this morning it stretched from Northwest Reef almost to Niagara Reef. Most “keepers” were 17 to 24 inches, by the time we finished up I felt the school was moving north since lots of the boats were moving closer to the boarder than we were. When we quit we were on the 44/57 (middle numbers) line and the walleye were still there.

Perch fishermen are doing well off the CIC can west of Catawba Point.

Numerous patches of mayfly larva on the lake but it has not hurt the fishing so far, if anything it has turned the walleye into a feeding frenzy.

June 8, 2004 (Tuesday) We went out about 1PM yesterday, I had heard there was a big school of walleye west of Green Island around 42/56 (Middle Numbers) and we ran out that way to start. We got into lots of walleye and ended up with our limits within 2 hours. We kept nothing under 17 inches, threw back several 15 to 17s and many 6 or 7 inch babies, the largest was two 24 inch fish. This was the quickest we have taken a limit this year. The head boats and many charters are working this area and the school will most likely move off due to the pressure.

We are taking today off but will hit it again tomorrow and may look for bigger walleye next time.

June 7, 2004 (Monday) Yesterday afternoon about the time everyone was going home we ran back out the north of West Reef up to the bell buoy. We did fairly well taking 15 walleye by 6PM, when they shut down on us and we could not get another walleye, lots of sheep head and white bass though. We had one 30 inches (Sue got that one) a couple of 27s and the rest were 22 to 26 inches. Really nice fish compared to what is being caught other places. The same program as usual, four jet 30s and four dipsy’s pulling spoons. Fish were around 17 to 22 feet down. Best spoons were wonder bread, bull shark, blue marlin and perch.

Other areas producing good numbers this weekend were Niagara Reef, north of West Sister, Wagon Wheel Reef in Canadian waters and around the 27/23 lines off the castle between Huron and Vermilion.

Perch fishermen were west of North Bass, both sides of the green can south of Gull Island Shoals and east of Kelley’s Island off the airport.

The weather was good but it is supposed to start raining with thunder storm and shower for the rest of the week,.

June 6, 2004 (Sunday) The morning temperature is 64 degrees, wind is out of the south at 10 to 12 knots, waves are 2 to 3 feet and the water temperature is 62 degrees.

The walleye hot spots from yesterday and this morning are 3 miles northwest of West Sister Island, 1 mile south of B-can on the range, west of West Reef and south of Gull Island Shoals. Perch fishermen are working west of North Bass, around Gull Island Shoals and off Marblehead toward Kelley’s SE corner.

June 5, 2004 (Saturday) Yesterday afternoon we ran up to just west of West Reef and started trolling toward the red bell buoy on the boarder. Picked up a few but, as we got closer to the bell buoy the action picked up. Nothing fast but ones and two as a time, we ended up with 15 nice size walleye. The biggest was 27 inches and the smallest was 20 inches. All came off dipsy’s or jet 30s with most coming off the jets. Fish were about 20 feet deep in 33 foot of water so dipsy’s were ran #1 at 27 feet back and #3 at 35 feet back. Jet 30s were ran back 35 to 50 feet. All were taken on spoons (that’s all we had out) best colors were wonder bread, bull shark and sail fish. Perch fishermen were west of North Bass, west of Rattlesnake and northeast of Green Island. Other hot bites were reported west and north of West Sister Island and off the reefs at Cone, Flat Rock and Crib.

June 4, 2004 (Friday) We started out SW of Kelley’s last afternoon worked north to the NW corner then on to Middle Island / Gull Shoals area, then to Long Point and finally down the east side of Kelley’s. In other words we make a complete circle of the Island and the walleye were not there. We only took one walleye off Kelley’s so we ran over to north of West Reef (west of North Bass) and finally found the walleye. They were smaller fish that we have been getting (17 to 19 inches) but we did manage to take a few before the wind picked up and it got dark on us. Most came on chicken wings and PA’s spoons.

The weather looks good for today and Saturday but we have showers and thunderstorms predicted for Saturday evening.

Perch fishermen were thick around Gull Shoals Buoy, off the NE tip of Kelley Shoals and down off the airport opening in the east side of Kelley’s. Walleye are still being caught in on the reefs and the West Sister bite is starting to go strong.

June 3, 2004 (Thursday) The morning temperature is 58 degrees, wind is out of the N at 10 knots, waves are 1.3 feet and the water temperature is 60 degrees.

We had continual rain yesterday one shower after another so we did not go out. It is looking better for today, Friday and Saturday but starting Sunday “showers and thunderstorm” are again predicted.

The Turtle creek flotilla is still working the reefs and taking good to limit catches of 17 to 23 inch walleye. They are drifting Crib, Flat Rock and Cone reefs area using worm harnesses and casting weight forward spinners. Trollers are working west of West Reef and east of Kelley’s Island and are taking walleye also NW of West Sister Island, anything purple works. Trolling speeds are getting a little faster, 2.5 or so.  We are going this afternoon so stay tuned.

 

Heads up; IF you stay on the islands and bring fish back to the mainland the walleye need to be “in the round”. The “fish police” need to be able to identify not only the species but also now the size of the walleye. For additional see the “helpful hints” file.

 

 (LL) "Round" when used in describing fish means with head and tail intact

June 2, 2004 (Wednesday) The morning temperature is 60 degrees, wind is out of the SW at 13 to 18 knots, waves are 2.3 feet and the water temperature is 59 degrees.

We had several storms go through last evening with lots of rain but this morning it looks to be clearing.

The walleye seem to be scattered so far today, I have a few reports from Niagara Reef where some walleye are being caught but it is slow. We would like to get out this afternoon but it all depends on the weather. Tomorrow and Friday look better with predictions of clear weather but we will have to wait and see.

Many thanks to all who sent report from the weekend, it helps greatly.

June 1, 2004 (Tuesday) The 1PM temperature at the buoy is 63 degrees, wind is out of the SW at 14 knots, waves are 2.3 feet and the water temperature is 59 degrees.

 

To add to the spots reported yesterday I have the following additional reports;

NE of Gull Island Shoals near the Canadian border.

NE of Kelley’s Island near the Canadian border.

Near A can and K-can on the range.

2 to 2.5 miles out of Beaver Creek (Lorain area) in 35 to 40 feet of water.

May 31, 2004 (Monday) Showers and thunderstorms moved though last evening and the next few days are not looking too good with rain and thunderstorms predicted.

 

I have received several good reports that from 3 to 5 miles north of West Sister Island of limit catch’s of above average walleye. Drifters are using bottom bouncers, worm harness and casting spinners. Trollers are running dipsy and / or jet divers pulling spoons. Hot spoon colors seem to be most everything with a gold/brass body. On the range outer markers between D-can and Niagara Reef in 22 to 24 feet of water, trollers report using small dipsy and pulling crawler harnesses back 50 to 60 feet and jet 20s back 100 to 120 feet also pulling harnesses. Numerous smaller fish were taken but with some culling limits of 17 to 24 inch walleye are possible. Other hot spots were NNW of Green Island, NE of Kelley’s Island, near American Eagle Shoals, 6 miles out from the Castle between Huron and Vermillion and out off Lorain is also starting to really pick up.

Weekend crowds have been quite large so far.

May 30, 2004 (Sunday) The morning temperature is 59 degrees, wind is ESE at 14 to 16 knots, waves are 2 to 4 feet and the water temperature is 59 degrees.

Though moving around a mile or two, walleye are still being caught around A-can on the range also off West Reef and Northwest Reefs and east of Kelley’s Island. Drifters were using bottom bouncers and worm harnesses and PA’s crawler connections. Trollers were using jet and dipsy divers pulling spoons. Some are still pulling cranks (husky jerks and reef runners) back fairly far (85 to 125 feet). Best spoons seem to be PA’s great white and Bull Shark along with confusion.

May 29, 2004 (Saturday) I have a few reports from recent days. The walleye fishing is still hot off A-can the outer range marker and back inside toward K can.  Trollers report using jet divers (both 20s and 30s) down around 17 feet deep, best color is “confusion” so stick with the gold. Drifters in the same area are doing well also using worm harnesses or weight forward spinners and night crawlers.

Toledo shipping channel just off the Ohio/Michigan line is starting to heat up with limits reported in 25 foot of water, best bait way hot-n-tots.

May 27, 2004 (Thursday) We went out this morning, started at the red can off the SW corner of Kelley’s Island but marked very few fish. We then ran up the area between Gull Island Shoals and Middle Island, where the marks were better. We ended up with 12 walleye all over 24 inches each. Really nice fish, most came off spoons back 65 feet off small boards, hot spoons were again the pink and blue bull shark and blue marlin. Some also came off dipsy’s back 45 and 65 feet. All fish seemed to be close to the bottom, speed needed to be less than 2 mph.

There is a large schools of walleye laying west of Green Island and they are moving toward the South Passage, I could see several boats off Starve Island as we came in and I suspect it is some of this school have already reached the south passage. If you make it up for the weekend I would suggest starting around Green Island and troll west toward Niagara Reef.

Reports are also good out of Turtle Creek toward A can, walleye are in the 15 to 24 inch size.

The Port Clinton head boats are still working down inside, not far out the portage river around the inner range markers and out on Round Reef.

Perch are reported off Kelley’s Island airport opening in 40 fow and off Green Island to the NW.

 

As you may already know the folks who host my web site have made some changes and some of us are having trouble reaching the site. They tell me this will clear up in a day or two as every ones ISP updates. I hope they are correct.

May 26, 2004 (Wednesday) The morning temperature is 63 degrees, wind is out of the west at 4 knots, waves are 1 foot and the water temperature is 58 degrees.

I have received several reports from the weekend;

 

May 25, 2004 (Tuesday) It was not a good day for fishing, I expect the wind and waves yesterday turned the walleye off. We went out to the SW tip of Kelley’s this morning and picked up one walleye, the marks were fair to good but only the one taker. We ran up to Gull Island Shoals where the marks were no better. We trolled for several hours and took only one more walleye but it was a good one around 28 inches long. Both walleye came of pa’s “bull shark” ran off a jet 30, back 50 feet off a small board. Several charters were off Gull Shoals but they were also having slow going.

There are severe thunderstorms predicted for this evening and night, that won’t help the fishing any.

May 24, 2004 (Monday) the morning temperature is 65 degrees, wind is WSW at 17 to 20 knots, waves are 3.6 feet at the buoy and the water temperature is 59 degrees. It is a little rough on the lake this morning and we are going to wait until afternoon and see if it lies down a little before going out.

It was a good weekend for many with walleye caught off of A and L cans on the range, off Niagara Reef, all around Kelley’s and the Bass Islands. This morning head boats are working off Scott Shoals and down in the south passage, they are taking some walleye but report rough seas. Perch were also taken off the stone docks on the west side of Kelley’s Island.

I have been working on the “Helpful Hints” file this weekend and have updated it.

May 22, 2004 (Saturday) The morning temperature is 70 degrees, wind is out of the SSW at 12 knots, waves are 1 foot and the water temperature is 58 degrees. Oh yes “Showers and thunder storms are predicted for later today” L.

Reports for yesterday and a few days before indicate that walleye were caught most all over the lake, west of Catawba Island, west of Green / Rattlesnake, between Starve Island and Kelley’s, all around the red can of the SW tip of Kelley’s, north of Kelley’s and east of Kelley’s. Drifter and trollers both are doing well. Not much on perch of late but as reports come in I will pass them on.

May 21, 2004 (Friday) We went out at 7AM this morning, started trolling north about ½ way between Starve Island and the red can off the SW tip of Kelley’s. We picked up 4 walleye in about 3 hours, it was very slow and the marks were not there. We decided to move over between the red can and the SW tip of Kelley’s, as we approached the can for the west we picked up one walleye and as we passed the can on to the east we got two more. Of course we marked these spots on the gps and set up a circle course where we could repeatedly cover the same track. By 3:30PM we had 23 walleye, needed one more for our four-person limit. Guess what, a major black cloud comes out of the west over South Bass and by the time we pulled our lines the wind was really bad, when I pulled my last dipsy it took off with the wind like it was a kite. I’m happy to say we made it in safely but wet. This storm came up so fast that we did not have a chance to run for shelter, we just pointed the boat into the storm and idled into it until it cleared. The whole thing took less than 30 minutes from start to finish.

Most walleye came of the same bait we have been depending on the PA’s Bull Shark (pink and gold), some came on other baits but again PINK was what the walleye wanted, I did take two or three on a husky jerk (Tennessee Shad) which was ran back 35 feet off the outside board which would put it down around 10 feet. All walleye were up high and very few showed up on the sonar, which tells us that they were moving out away from the boat and into the path of the boards.

May 20, 2004 (Thursday) We went out about 3PM yesterday evening. Started trolling off American Eagle Shoals and picked up four walleye in about an hour and a half but the size was not what I was looking for (17-22) so we went around the east side of Kelley’s Island searching as we went. We did not see much in the way of marks until we got clear up to Kelley Shoals east side. We trolled east to west just off the south end of the shoals and found a pocket of active walleye. We worked this pocket, which was no bigger than ¼ mile long until it got too dark to see, we pulled an additional 12 walleye which were a size or two larger (22” to 26”) than we got at our first spot for a total of 16 for the night. Most came of PA’s “Sail Fish” (pink and blue) spoons off dipsy’s and jet 30s. Jets were back 50 feet while the dipsy’s set on 1 and 3 were back 30 and 40 feet. I did pick two off husky jerks (Tennessee Shad) ran back 50 feet, had out a worm harness which got zero and a few other assorted spoons but the walleye wanted the pink and blue so not being one to argue with success we ended up with pink and blue spoons on most of our lines.

Update 4:00PM – Another thunderstorm is moving through our area with high winds, thunder and lightning predicted. We have decided to call it off for today and try again in the morning.

If you were to write a weather prediction for the month of May, it would start with “Possible Thunder Storms”.

May 19, 2004 (Wednesday) The morning temperature is 55 degrees, wind is out of the NE at 11 to 14 knots, waves are 1.3 feet and the water temperature is 48 degrees.

Weekend reports of good to limit catches of walleye West of Green / Rattlesnake, West of Gull, SW corner of Kelley’s, east of Middle Island and east of Kelley’s Island. Also the folks for down Turtle Creek way are still catching good sized walleye off K can, between D can and Niagara Reef and around A and B cans on the range. I am also getting good reports from Lorain and Vermillion especially early morning and late evening fishing. The spoon bite seems to be in full swing but some folks are still catching using worms down on the bottom. Remember keep you speed down under 2 mph.

The weather is more of a problem than finding the walleye right now. We hope to get out this afternoon if the weather lets us. With the storms we have been experiencing be careful and watch the western skies.

Perch fisherman are still working off Lucia’s Point, off the red can at Gull Island Shoals and between Marblehead and SE Kelley’s Island.

May 18, 2004 (Tuesday) Yesterday afternoon we went back out to the area between Starve Island and the SW corner of Kelley’s Island, we got set up about 3PM and before long we picked up four walleye of the smaller verity, 17 to 20 inches, about the time I though we were going to get busy a large dark cloud appeared in the western sky. We hung in there until the lightning started hitting the Bass Islands, from our point of view, then we decided discretion was the better decision and ran for the harbor about 4:30PM.

Some boats are out this morning but the skies again look dark and it smells like rain, I think I will give my crew a day off the get the laundry and grocery shopping done. Walleye are reported from west of the Bass Island all the way east of Kelley’s. Most any program is working from worms to spoons, most colors work as long as they are bright. The secret this time of year is again in finding the walleye then working the spot where you find them. There is no substitute for a good sonar and knowing how to use it and what to look for. Drifters are doing well with bottom bouncers and worm harnesses while trollers are switching from plugs to spoons. We got all of ours yesterday on PA’s sail fish (pink & blue) and bull shark (pink & gold).

May 17, 2004 (Monday) This report really is late Sunday evening; we just got in off the lake at 10:30PM. We started to go north of Kelley’s but saw a pack of boats east of Starve Island and decided to take a look. The marks looked good so we shut down and started trolling. Between 3 and 10 PM we took 19 or 20 walleye (will clean them in the morning) all were nice size fish with the biggest being 28 inches and the smallest around 20 inches. We threw back several 17” and smaller ones. It was a little rough with waves in the two to four foot ranges. We tried to keep our speed around two miles per hour or a little under so into the waves we had to up the RPMs a little and with the waves we had out two trolling bags to slow us down. The temperature was COLD with the wind coming in the back of the boat. We had out two dipsy’s on each side with spoons, PA’s “Bull Shark” was the hot bait, my buddy ran two jet 30s on his side with spoons while I had out two husky jerks up high on mine. The husky jerks took several walleye ran back 50 feet off small boards. The walleye were both high (10 to 15 feet) and down on the bottom at 27 feet. I hope this make sense, I am bushed.

Mike sorry I could not talk longer, I had a mess with two dipsy’s tangled and my buddy had three fish on at the same time.

May 16, 2004 (Sunday) The morning temperature is 55 degrees, wind is 8 knots out of the east, waves are 2 feet or less and the water temperature is 52 degrees. Walleye are being caught both east and west of Green Island, off the southwest corner of Kelley’s Island and the east side of Kelley’s off the airport opening. Spoons are starting to produce fish as well as worm harnesses; some are being taken on husky jerks and reef runners. If the weather holds we are going to try and get out this afternoon after the weekend crowd pulls out.

May 14, 2004 (Friday) We have had rain showers all morning, temperature is 67 degrees, wind is 6 knots out of the south and the wave are 2 feet or so. Several boats are walleye fishing west of Green and Rattlesnake with some results but it is slow going. Others are further west off Niagara reef, no reports on how they are doing. It sounds like the walleye are on the move since each day they seem to be some place else, hopefully they will settle down soon and we can get on them. Perch fishing is still good off Marblehead, Luci’s Point, Gull Island Shoals and near Huron just east of the Castle in 28 foot of water. We had planned to get out this afternoon but if the rain and wind gets any worse we may not go. Price of gasoline is $2.05 at and around Port Clinton so I expect the price on the lake will be up around $2.40. That will put a kink in the old pocket book and cause me to limit the numbers of trips.

May 13, 2004 (Thursday) We are taking today off and plan on going back out tomorrow afternoon to see if the later time is any better. Charters are working down off the reefs today and are taking some walleye trolling spoons. The better setup seems to be down close to the bottom, several 30-inch walleye are reported being caught. SO it looks like the majority of the walleye are still near the reef complex, BUT this can change over night so be prepared to look around for the marks, don’t waste your time fishing a spot that someone has told you held fish, when you don’t see marks. Not much additional on the perch since yesterday but if you are going after the perch this weekend I would try Luci’s Point of Gull Island Shoals.

May 12, 2004 (Wednesday) We went with the neighbors today back up to the east side of Gull Island Shoals, drifted for 3 hours without caching a fish, not a bite and no marks. We only saw one walleye netted while we were there. Move over to Northwest Reef (west of North Bass) and started trolling south, still no marks but we did manage to pick up a few walleye along the way. I suspect the fish were all up high and they were moving away from the boat as we got near then, thus no marks. The school seems to be stretched from Niagara Reef east town the south passage. Several charters were down near Niagara Reef but by the time we figured out where they were it was too late to make the trip. Several boat were perch fishing off the red can at Gull Island Shoals and off the green can at Luci’s point (northeast corner Middle Bass).

May 11, 2004 (Tuesday) Sue and I went up north of Kelley’s today, the marks were scattered so we decided to try drifting some worms for a change. We ended up east of Gull Island Shoal up close to Middle Island and worked toward the border. We only took four walleye but they were all nice, two 26s, one 24 and one 22 inch fish. All come off 2 oz bottom bouncer pulling some of my home made worm harnesses with grass green spinner and beads. We tried trolling after noon but no takers. We did see some boat catching perch; they were anchored just east of the red buoy off Gull Island Shoals. I did talk to a charter who was some where off Green Island and they did take some walleye trolling spoons.

The weather was not too bad, temperature at 4PM is 65 degrees, wind is out of the NE at 1 to 3 knots, waves were 1 to 3 feet.

May 10, 2004 (Monday) The weekend was slow fishing for most folks. The storms and lightning we have been experiencing since early Friday has scattered the walleye and they have not schooled back up yet. The best but not too good spots were between “D” can on the range and Rattlesnake Island with less than limits reported. Perch fishing has also slowed but best spots reported were off Luci’s point and Marblehead / Kelley’s Island areas. I plan on getting out this afternoon weather permitting or tomorrow so we will see.

May 9, 2004 (Sunday) The bite yesterday was very slow which I feel was to be expected. The storms we had early Friday morning were (IMHO) bound to shut the fishing down. The walleye that were caught were mostly taken on worm harnesses. It seems this spring the hot bait has been some form of worm harness. The PA’s crawler connection has been working well along with standard harnesses behind in line weights, snap weights or keel weights. One or two ounce sinkers seen to be about right combined with drifting or a very slow troll. Perch are still active off the northeast corner of Middle Bass Island. The only even “warm” spot for walleye was west of Green and Rattlesnake out in the flats.

May 7, 2004 (Friday) We had some noisy thunder storms roll through last night and early this morning with lightning and rain. At 8:30am it looks like it is clearing out and the sun is breaking through. The temperature is 52 degrees, wind is 10 to 14 knots, the waves are 3 feet and the water temperature at the buoy is 46 degrees. Some boats are headed out this morning but after the lightning last night I think we will take an off day and wait and see. For those of you coming up this weekend, perch fishermen were working yesterday off Marblehead, off Luci’s point and inside Rattlesnake Island. Walleye fishermen were getting fish off of Niagara Reef, West Reef and west of Gull Island Shoals. Drifters seem to be having the better results. They were using worm harnesses down on the bottom; a good presentation would be an inline weight, bottom bouncer or PA’s crawler connections. S-L-O-W is the key; drifters were using two drift socks to slow the drift. Trollers that could get down to 1mph seemed to be doing best.

May 6, 2004 (Thursday) It has been great day weather wise, the afternoon temperature is near 80 degrees, wind is out of the SW at 9 knots, waves were 1 to 3 feet and the water temperature at my transducer was 56 degrees. We went out to the west side of Middle Island this morning, there were some marks but the fish were not in a feeding mood. Later we move over to the west side of North Bass where we ended up with three fish. The walleye were laying tight to the bottom so the drifter were doing much better than the trollers, the hot bait was PA’s crawler connection, which is a weight forward spinner with a big lip that makes it run deep, it has a harness attached that is about a foot long. I talked to some folks who were doing well on this bait. The walleye seemed to turn on about 2PM as we were leaving. I feel the walleye will start hitting better with the warmer weather so this could be a good weekend.

May 5, 2004 (Wednesday) The afternoon temperature is 49 degrees, wind is out of the WNW at 10 to 12 knots, waves are 1 foot at the buoy and the water temperature is 49 degrees. Fishing continues to be slow, perch are being caught off Luci’s Point and between Marblehead and Kelley’s Island. Some walleye have been caught today off West Reef and north of Kelley’s Island but the numbers are less than 6 per boat. I did get a report that the head boats took limits off the reefs yesterday evening but I don’t know which reef they were on, but I suspect Toussaint to “K” can.

May 4, 2004 (Tuesday) The 9am temperature is 47 degrees, wind is out of the WSW at 11 to 14 knots, waves are 1.6 feet and the water temperature is 46 degrees. A good size pack of boats including the Port Clinton head boats and charters are working between Turtle Creek and “K” can this morning, they are marking fish but the bite is slow. That’s a long run for us so I think we will wait another day and see if the walleye don’t show back up closer to the Islands. Jig fishing with jigs and minnows seems to still be working in on the reefs and shallow waters near shore; some are casting blade baits in the shallower waters. Trollers are doing best with spinners (harnesses) and worms.

I make my own spinners, they are about 12 to 18 inches long (17 to 20# test mono), with a small treble hook at the very end, then two snelled hooks about 3 inches apart, finally a few beads and a quick-change clevis for the blade. I try different size and color of blades from size 4 to size 6 Colorado’s. Colors I like are silver, gold, chartreuse or green. With the temperature of the water still very cold the key is SLOW retrieve or troll.

May 3, 2004 (Monday) The afternoon temperature is 52 degrees, the wind is out of the North at 4 to 8 knots, waves are 2 feet or less and the water temperature is 48 degrees. Only a few boats out today and most of them were perch fishing up off Marblehead and Kelley’s Island. I received several report from folks who fished the tournament this past week. Most fished north and west of Kelley’s Island with mixed results. The walleye were not in much of a bite and the pickings were slow. The best bait seems to have been worm harnesses with #4 or #5 blades back from 40 to 65 feet, inline sinkers of 1 to 2 ounces or similar snap weights. The walleye were up high so the bait was no lower than 10 feet or so. Speeds of the troll were all slow in the 1mph to 1.5mph range.

We will see what the weather looks like tomorrow and may get out if it is not too bad.

May 2, 2004 (Sunday) The weather is not good, storms continue to come through with rain predicted through Wednesday. The morning temperature is 41 degrees, wind is out of the NNE at 25 to 30 knots, waves at the buoy are 6.2 feet and the water temperature is 45 degrees. A few walleye are being taken north of Kelley’s but only a few folks are getting out, better reports are from Maumee Bay in shallow (10 to 15 fow) using hair jigs and minnows. Perch are still going strong off Marblehead out toward Kelley’s Island, with average size fish in the 8 to 9 inch range with a few jumbos up to 13 inches being reported.

Once the weather clears I look for the walleye fishing to pick up big time, we did our best last year from mid May through June.

April 30, 2004 (Friday) We are gone for the weekend, so I can’t give you a first hand report on the weather but the indicators don’t look bad. The weather buoy shows the temperature is 50 degrees, wind is out of the south at 7 to 8 knots, waves are less than one foot and the water temperature is 45 degrees. The RCL tournament was canceled yesterday due to high winds, especially the gusts that were up in the 40 mph range, a good call from my prospective. Some folks fished the reefs and took limits of nice walleye but none in the “trophy” range that I heard of. IF the weather co-operates this weekend the walleye should be back close to the islands, west reef and north of Kelley’s BUT it is a look and see situation as my reports are zero other than from the reefs area, SO if you want a sure spot go to the reefs, Locust Point, Toussaint, Round, Crib and Niagara have all been giving up walleye of late. Perch fishermen are still taking limits off the tip of Marblehead, toward Kelley’s Island.

IF you got out this weekend PLEASE give me an update as to how you do, since we will not be out.

April 29, 2004 (Thursday) I went to the RCL weigh-in yesterday afternoon. There are about 175 boats entered, two people per boat. The first 50 or so boats got their limit of five (RCL limit) fish, the last 60 or so did not get anything and the remainders were in-between (1 to 4 fish per boat). The leader had 36.06 lbs. I think most were on or near the reefs as the weather was windy and cold. Today may be a little better, the 2:30pm temperature is 54 degrees, wind is out of the SSW at 11 to 14 knots, waves are 2 to 3 feet and the water temperature is 44 degrees. We are going to take a few days off and wait until after May 1st when the limit goes from 3 to 6 fish and maybe the weather will warm up a little. No need for us “old folks” to go out of freeze of what back sides I got left when we have all summer to fish.

April 28, 2004 (Wednesday) The morning temperature is 44 degrees, the wind is SSW at 11 to 14 knots, waves are 1 foot and the water temperature is 44 degrees. With the walleye disappearing from around Kelley’s lots of the tournament boats are headed down off the reefs this morning. Yesterday’s warm spots (best fishing found) were off “A” can (outer range marker) and between “K” can and Locust Point Reef. Perch fishing is still going strong between Kelley’s southeast tip and Marblehead lighthouse. Yesterday we had a couple of snow squalls and the wind chill was brutal, it looks like today will be more of the same.

April 27, 2004 (Tuesday) The morning temperature is 43 degrees, wind is Northwest at 15 to 18 knots, waves are 3 feet and the water temperature is 45 degrees. Not a whole lot of folks out today, a lot of the tournament fishermen have move down on the reefs looking for a secondary spot if the weather is bad for the start of the tournament tomorrow. The weekend reports are still coming in telling of good walleye catches off the western end of the reefs near Locust Point and “K” can. Perch limit are still being taken off Marblehead about ½ way to Kelley’s in 32 feet of water. I expect it to be slow for a few days until the weather warms back up a little. This weather is tough on the fisherman.

April 26, 2004 (Monday) What a difference a couple of days make. The walleye have been stacked north of Kelley’s through Saturday. We went out today and never found one descent school, only singles. I don’t mind when I can’t catch them but when I can’t find then, that hurts. Really not totally unexpected for this time of year since the walleye are moving through large schools can and do move out over night. Oh well we will just have to wait on the next wave to come through and try and ambush them

April 25, 2004 (Sunday) It looks like Mother Nature has decided to get into the act. The morning temperature is 46 degrees, wind is out of the East at 13 to 16 knots, water temperature is 45 degrees and the waves are 3 feet at the buoy, with 3 to 5’s predicted today through Wednesday. Walleye fishermen continue to take fish north of Kelley’s Island up along the Canadian Border with a good number of “fish Ohio’s” being reported. Other good walleye reports from the west end of the reef complex around “K” can, off Niagara Reef, east of West Sister and off Lorain. Perch reports are excellent off Marblehead, outside Cranberry Creek and just outside Mazuriks Access. Best walleye bait of late is worm harness behind bottom bouncers for the drifters or behind jets for the trollers.

April 24, 2004 (Saturday) It’s a bit cooler today, the 3PM temperature is 56 degrees, wind is out of the East at 9 to 13 knots and the water temperature is 46 degrees. We are taking today off (as usual) but it sounds like walleye are being caught down around “K” can on the west end of the range, off Niagara Reef, near West Reef (north bass) and up between Kelley’s and North Bass. The better bait for trollers seems to be worm harnesses off bottom bouncers or jet divers. Perch fishermen are doing well, still off the condos and lighthouse at Marblehead.

April 23, 2004 (Friday) Just got in from a tough day on the lake, the water temperature at my transducer was in the upper 40s, wind is out of the north at 8 to 16 knots, waves were 2 to 3 feet and the temperature was in the low 50s.

The walleye are off West Reef down toward Rattlesnake, inshore off Camp Perry and North of Kelley Shoals. They are stack but are not much in the feeding mood. We managed to pick up a couple of nice walleye in the 24 to 27 inch range but I only saw a few other fish netted. I suspect we need a few more degrees temperature rise to turn them on. Lots of tournament boats were out today looking for “hot spots” for the coming tournament next week but it looked slow for them also. Best baits seemed to be worm harnesses down close to the bottom off dipsy’s’, jets or bottom bouncers and deep husky jerks back anywhere from 50 to 200 feet. BTW bring you warm clothing, you will need it.

April 22, 2004 (Thursday) After three days of wind it looks like the weather may be taking a turn in our favor. The morning temperature is 48 degrees, wind is out of the north at 5 knots and waves are 2 feet or less. The Vermillion weather buoy (45005) is back in place and sending data. There is a link in my home page for the weather buoy. With very few boats out so far this week it is mostly guess work as to where the walleye will be but a good bet is they will still be near shore from Camp Perry to Turtle Creek / Davis-Besse area. Also out along the outer range markers with strong possibilities around A, B, C and Catawba. I am going to try and get out later today for a shakedown cruse just to look around and see what I can locate around the islands so I may have something more accurate for you tomorrow.

April 21, 2004 (Wednesday) It is looking like another “blow” day, wind is 18 to 22 knots out of the south at South Bass. The waves are predicted to be 2 to 4 going to 3 to 5 feet. What few reports I received from yesterday indicate the walleye have scattered due to the weather conditions of the past few days. Hopefully it will lay down tomorrow but the only real way to tell is to wait and see. Some folks will be walleye fishing in close to shore off Camp Perry where they are sheltered from the wind, also perch fisherman are still catching limits off Mazurik’s Access and toward Marblehead.

April 20, 2004 (Tuesday) Yesterday was a real “bummer” with high winds out of the south all day. It was hard to tell how big the waves were with the south wind but I saw wind up into the 30-knot range on my weather station so I expect the waves were in the 5 to 7 foot range. Nobody was out fishing that I could hear. These spring winds are what we don’t want while waiting on the walleye spawn to hatch. High wind and waves wash the eggs out and cause them to not hatch so a few prayers for a calm two or three weeks would be in order. From the weekend I got good reports of drifters taking limits off Turtle Island in Maumee Bay as well is inside of the reefs that we have been reporting the last days.

April 19, 2004 (Monday) The wind blew big time all night, the South Bass weather station reports 24 to 26 knots out of the south, so wave should be around 4 to 5 feet this morning. The 8am temperature is 67 degrees. Lots of folks took walleye, down inside between Davis-Besse and Turtle Creek this weekend, mostly smaller 15 to 20 inch jacks. The larger females have moved out north from the reefs and seem to be strung out all along the outer range markers from A all the way to E cans including Niagara.

Perch are still being taken in limit number about 1/3 of the way from Marble Head to the southeast tip of Kelley’s Island.

April 18, 2004 (Sunday) The area in close between Turtle Creek and Davis-Besse was a parking lot today. Boats were wall-to-wall and bumping into each other. They were taking 15 to 20 inch walleye that are still hanging around thinking the spawn is still going on. The larger walleye have move out into deeper water off the reefs in the area of Niagara, D-can and east toward Catawba. Several folks were trolling west of Green Island so the walleye are starting to spread out some. Perch fishermen were still between Kelley’s and Marblehead and taking limits of good to jumbos. The perch are in the spawn and both the males and female are full of sperm and eggs, which make a real mess when you boat them.

Hopefully “Denied” will go in the water tomorrow and we will get to go to work ourselves.

April 17, 2004 Lots of folks perching off Marblehead today and most seem to be doing all right. Most are right off Mazurik’s and east toward Marblehead, you just have to look for the active schools. Walleye are still off D can on the range, near Niagara Reef and in close on the reefs off Locust Point, Toussaint and Round Reefs. Trollers are using reef runners, husky jerks as well as a verity of stick baits. Best colors seem to be silver and black, gold and black, Erie decent and fire tiger.

Still working on the boat, got another day or two before “bottom wet”.

April 16, 2004 The perch fishing off Marblehead has slowed some but there are still limits to be had by moving around a little. The perch are into the spawn now and are slow to bite also the size is smaller than it has been. The folks getting limits have moved out further from shore between Marblehead and Kelley’s. Walleyes are still being taken off Niagara Reef, D can on the range and inside on the reefs. Most walleye are in the 18 to 20 inch range, which indicates the larger females are on the move.

I worked on the boat all day today, got a new antenna installed, installed the new gps/fish finder with a waas antenna, new transducer and speed/temperature sensor. Still got lots to day but hope to get her wet sometime next week.

April 15, 2004 We made it back to Port Clinton today and have spent most of the day getting the place back in living order. We took a ride up around Catawba Point and out to Mazuriks ramps. There were about a dozen boat trailers at Mazuriks and I suspect they were perch fishing up around Marblehead. The Port Clinton head boats were working down inside between Camp Perry and Turtle Creek and they were taking walleye.

The weather is good with temperatures in the low 50s, wind is calm, waves are 1 to 3 feet.

April 12, 2004 I have receive a few reports from the weekend, jigs and blade baits worked will from Locust Point Reef to Wild Wings, out in front of Green Cove condos in 12 fow, off Niagara Reef and east of D can on the range. Trollers were working all along the outer range marker and Niagara Reef toward the west side of Catawba Island. Best trolling baits seem to be husky jerks and reef runners in blue, chrome and silver colors. Best jug colors are chartreuse and purple.

BTW we will be moving back to Port Clinton on Thursday, so the weather report will be from first hand accounts, though expect the weather to turn bad as soon as we get on site.

April 10, 2004 It is Saturday evening and I have a couple of reports from Friday and this morning. The perch are still off the Marblehead condo and lighthouse, anywhere from 75 to 200 yards out. Several “Fish Ohio” perch are being reported. Limits (3 per person) of walleye are being caught just off the beach in 10 to 12 feet of water on purple jigs and minnows, also blade baits. Trollers are doing just as well east of D can (range), off Niagara Reef and west of Catawba Island. They are pulling crank baits down 10 to 20 feet. Silver and blue seems to be the hot color.

April 9, 2004 I finally got another report that the perch are still off Marblehead, about 75 yards off the condos, so you weekenders get out there, be sure and let me know how you do. Walleye have been caught all along the shore from Turtle Creek to down town Port Clinton in 10 to 15 feet of water, by blade casters and jig fisherman. Purple hair jigs are the ticket. Trollers are starting to catch post spawn females out off the reefs, west of Catawba Island around CIC can, off Starve Island and north of Kelley’s Island in 33 foot of water. Trollers are using husky jerks and reef runners 50 to 80 foot back off inline boards. Blue seems to be the color of choice right now.

April 8, 2004 It is looking like a great spring. I have reports from several folks that they are taking limits of 18 to 20 inch males in close, just out of Turtle Creek and off the condos at Green Cove. They are jigging in close to shore in 10 feet of water or so, also off Round Reef so I expect it will be hot for a while IF the weather does not get into the act.

April 7, 2004 Trollers are getting a few post-spawn females north of the reefs, off Catawba Island and near Starve Island, so at least some have spawned out and are on the move. Lots of jacks (males) are in close to shore from the reefs so I expect the spawn is getting in full swing. Look for the spawn to mostly be over by the 1st of May. Hot cranks are rogues and rip sticks ran up high (top 10 feet) for trollers. Jig fishermen are working the reef tops, the slop between the reefs and in close to shore.

April 6, 2004 Just got a report of the walleye being on a real bite in close, 8 to 10 foot of water just off the beach at Camp Perry and vicinity, mostly males.

April 5, 2004 Weekend reports were of good to limit catches. The reefs area seemed to be doing best with limit catches of small males in a few hours. Most folks are jigging but a few are starting to troll. The spawn should be in full swing in the next two weeks and after that the big females will move off into deeper waters. Personally I may not start fishing until May 1st when the limit goes to 6 walleye. My plan is to not make the long runs this year if I can help it, so we will be working around the islands more, especially the deeper waters north of Kelley’s Island where we caught several fish Ohio size walleye last spring. Perch are still hitting well off Marblehead with limits reported.

April 4, 2002 The Saturday reports are good with limit catches off Locust Point, Cone, Niagara and Crib reels. One party reported several limits of jacks (males) in “a couple of hours”. Turtle Island in Maumee bay is still producing as well. Most fishermen were jigging with jigs tipped with shiner minnows.

The water is very muddy but the walleye are up on the reef tops, which are the first to clear.

April 1, 2004 The morning temperature in Port Clinton is 35 degrees snow and rain are predicted. Wind is out of the north at 17 to 21 knots. Waves are 2 to 3 feet going to 3 to 5 feet later. The weekend is looking good with 1 to 3 foot wave predicted.

Perch fishing off Marblehead is still very good also off the break wall at Vermillion, walleye continue to be spotty but some good size fish are being caught east of Round Reef and in close on Toussaint.

March 30, 2004 I got further conformation on the big perch being caught off Marblehead. Seems they are off the new condos at the east end of Marblehead, near the lighthouse, out in 28 feet of water, not more than 75 yards from shore. One person reported a two person limit with nothing under 12 inches with the biggest being 13 ½ inches.

March 29, 2004 For you perch fisherman I got a good (reliable) report of big to jumbo perch being taken in limit numbers off Marblehead not very far out from shore. I suspect around the corner in the mouth of the bay or near where the fairy boat crosses.

Troller did catch some walleye east of Round Reef over the weekend in 20 foot of water the fish were up high in the top 10 feet. Husky Jerks and Reef Runners were the bait of choice, best speed was less than 2 mph. Several charters were spotted working off Turtle Island, not far from Maumee Bay, this weekend. I expect they were jigging with blade baits and/or jigs.

Water temperature is reported to be 38 to 39 degrees.

March 28, 2004 I have received about a half dozen reports from over the weekend. Several people launched around Wild Wings Marina (West of Davis-Besse) and fished the reefs. Some walleye, mostly smaller jacks (males) were taken off Locust Point, Toussaint and Niagara Reefs with Toussaint and Niagara being the better producers. Most were jigging using jigs tipped with minnows and a stinger hook. Chartreuse seems to be the better color again this year, so far. Other areas reporting catches of jacks are Marble Head off the lighthouse, toward the southeast tip of Kelley’s. The only report of trollers doing will was in Ohio waters off Luna Pier, which is in Michigan, just north of Toledo. Remember Michigan fishing is CLOSED until after May 31st.

We are planning on moving back to Port Clinton on or around the 15th of April so if you get out be sure and give me a report.

March 23, 2004 What reports I am receiving indicate that the walleye bite is slow but some are being caught. Water temperature is still under 39 degrees and those walleye that have been caught; most have been up high in the water column. The weather “guessers” say that the temperature will be into the 60s by this coming weekend and the wind and wave will settle down where the waves are in the less than 4 feet category. If I were going out in the coming days, I would work from the reef tops to the inside (toward shore) and have a couple of baits up high in the top 6 feet of water and a couple on the bottom to see where the active fish are locate.

March 21, 2004 I received one report from Saturday saying that the water was muddy for two to three miles out from Turtle Creek but cleared the further northwest they ran. The only fish they marked was around Niagara Reef but no takers. The water temperature was 38 degrees so it needs to warm another couple of degrees for the fish to get active.

March 20, 2004 The weather is still on the nasty side. The 6am temperature at Port Clinton is 37 degrees; winds are out of the South at 19 to 22 knots, which should generate waves in the 3 to 5 foot range, with predictions of 5 to 7 foot later today. Anyone trying to fish this weekend should try and stay in close to shore in the lea and out of the effect of the south wind.

March 16, 2004 Just got a report (thanks Jay) saying the ramps are in at Mazurik (Marblehead) access and he expects the one at Dempsy went in also but not sure, he will take a look and let us know soon.

Additional; Ramps are also in at Dempsy.

March 14, 2004 I am getting a few reports of folks fishing off Green Island and out toward Niagara Reef with not much success. It is still early and the water is quite muddy, the spawn has yet to really begin but a few walleye are being caught up the river at Toledo but that also is very slow. It sounds like most ramps are open but the docks are not yet in.

If you get out or have information please let me know, I have folks who are chomping at the bit to get started or at least hear from someone who has been fishing.

March 11, 2004 Spring fever is rampant, everyone wants to get out and wet a line and that includes me. But I keep remembering pervious springs where we sat and watched it rain and sometimes snow for the entire month of April. So we are going to hold off a little longer into mid April before making the big move. Maybe by then mother nature will have exhausted herself and we will get some good weather. Another point to consider is the 3 walleye limit until May 1st; I would hate to think of making a long run for 3 fish per person at today’s gas prices.

March 9, 2004 The weather is still cold at Port Clinton with a high of 37 degrees predicted for today. The past week has been quite windy and the lake is all stirred up. Hopefully the weather will get better and quit all this blowing, with the coming walleye spawn we would like to see weather more friendlily to the walleye. I recently ask the good folks at the seagrant discussion site www.sg.ohio-state.edu/discus/ , what was the best weather we could hope for. To see their answer go to the above link.

With the 3 fish limit until May 1st as well as the “most likely” bad weather of March and April, we are looking at waiting until sometime in mid April before moving back to the lake. We opened up the last day of March last year and spent all of April as some of May watching it rain, snow and blow.

March 3, 2004 Follow-up on the post below.

Let me see if I can clarify what I was trying to get across in this post.

First of all, it may well be legal to fish for small mouth even though you cannot keep them in the time March 1st and April June 25th.

 

My point is that if the bass is caught off the nest, that during the time between when the bass is caught and the time that it can return to the nest, the gobies will eat all the eggs. So by fishing for bass during the spawn the catch and release fisherman is causing the loss of some nests. Beyond that it is up to you.

 

There is a study of this very situation done by the department of Zoology at OSU but as of yet I have not been able to get my hands on a copy and as soon as I do I will post it in its entirety.

One of the sea grant people thinks that the time was in the 2 minute range between the bass being taken off the nest and the goby moving in, so you would have to be quick to hook the bass, crank him into the boat, release him some distance from the nest (due to drift) and have him return to the nest before its destruction.

 

Personally there are a few things that I try and abide by, I stay within the law, I won’t target female walleye during the spawn when fill of eggs or keep them if we do catch one, and I won’t fish for small mouth while they are on the nest.

 

Got the report, click on this link to read.

 

Fred Snyder of Ohio Sea Grant has posted a summary of this report on the Sea Grant site. IF you are not familiar with this site it is a great source of information, especially of a more technical nature. The link is on my home page or click here.

February 29, 2004 New small mouth bass regulations revisited.

The 2004-2005 Ohio fishing regulations state that it is “Illegal to possess” large mouth, small mouth and spotted bass May 1 – June 25. Some folks are interpreting this to mean they can still fish for small mouth but can’t keep them. While this may be a legitimate interpretation, personally I feel that is contrary to what the biologist are trying to accomplish. The main problem with small mouth bass in Lake Erie is that the goby’s raid the nest and destroy them anytime the bass in not on the nest guarding it from these marauders. SO if a bass is caught and released, chances are the nest will be raided and destroyed by the gobies while this is going on. So what is accomplished? While I don’t make a point of fishing for small mouth I do occasionally have friends that come up and want to fish for them and in that case I will take them out, BUT I will no longer do that during the spawn. Lets give the bass a chance of having good spawn by leaving them alone during this critical time.

February 28, 2004 We got home yesterday afternoon after a good vacation to Florida. While the weather was good some days it was also bad on other.

This sound a lot like Lake Erie and as we all know, the weather has a lot to do with catching fish. Last season was a great year but on reflection I feel we have to give the credit to the numbers of “fishable” day we had.

This year there will be abundant number of walleye to catch IF we get the weather allowing us to get out and go after them. The available walleye will be made up mostly from the 99 and 2001 years hatch. The 99 fish will be 18 to 22 inches while the 2001-year fish will be from 15 to 18 inches. Walleye from the 98 and 96-year hatch will run from 22 to 28 inches. Trophy size walleye, those 28 inches and up will be from the older year-classes. ONDR samplings from last year showed class walleyes up to 21 years old.

February 22, 2004 The Florida weather has finally given us a break. The current temperature is 77 degrees with a mild wind out of the southwest. We will leave for home Friday morning and should be back by Saturday evening. Some of you have asked about pictures of the motor home and I have finally got around to uploading some. The link is in the “Pictures and Maps Index” page or click here.

February 15, 2004 we are at Ocala Florida for a while than on to Sarasota for a reunion. The weather is nice though it has been raining. Temperature during the day is getting up into the upper 70s. We took two days coming down with no problems. The bus runs fine and the idea of having your home with you is a big help, no more motel boredom. Once we return to Ohio the next project will be getting ready to move back to Port Clinton. I am not sure how early we will put the boat in the water this year, with the 3 fish limit until May 1st and the price of gas it is really not practical to get in a big hurry.

February 9, 2004 I am getting some questions regarding the Ohio fishing regulations on Lake Erie for this season. This is what I understand it to be;

 

Walleye limit of 3 walleye per day, March 1st through April 30th then the limit goes to 6 walleye per day from May 1st to the last day of February 05. THERE IS A 15 INCH MINIMUM SIZE.

IF you fish the river during spawn there is a restriction of ONE hook (no trebles) no larger that 1/2 inch from shank to point, but you had better read the actual law at the link below (more to it than I want to get into).

 

Small Mouth Bass; closed season May 1st through June 25th. ZERO small mouth during this period. June 26th through April 30th, 2005 the limit is 5 small mouth per day. THE MINIMUM SIZE IS 14 INCHES.

 

Perch; the limit is 30 per day with no size limit. (no change for last year)

 

This is MY interpretation of what the law says, to make sure check the following link and make sure you and I are in agreement. I will not help cover your fines :).

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Fishing/fishregs/default.htm#lakeerie

January 20, 2004 I have just added a recipe for fish loaf to the "Favorites Recipes" page, which was given to me by a lady in our RV park at the lake. It is very good and we have made it for the second time now and thought you might want to give it a try.

January 19, 2004 we got back home this past weekend. Had a really good time, saw a lot of new country and met some really nice people. Between Texas and Arizona we think that we liked Arizona the best, mostly due to a much less crowded environment. I got to get a couple of more skin "places" cut out in early February then we will leave for Florida for a few weeks. Following that we will start thinking about moving back to Port Clinton sometime in early April depending on the weather forecast. The winter seem to be really flying by for us and we are looking forward to getting back to fishing.

 January 9, 2004 we have move from Arizona to south Texas as planned. We are at a RV park at Alamo, Texas that is in the Rio Grand Valley of south Texas. Today has warmed nicely with the 5pm temperature at 67 degrees. Texas is a lot greener than Arizona and the humidity is some higher. We will be here for another week then plan on following the gulf coast up to Louisiana some place before starting back north.

January 4, 2004 we are finding out that Arizona is not exactly tropical. Mornings up to about noon are down in the 30s and 40s. Life here seems to start about noon when it warms to the upper 60s. We are at about 3600 feet above sea level and the air seems thin. You may think it is warm until the sun goes behind a cloud and the temperature drops significantly.

The country is beautiful in a strange way and takes some getting used to. Hills and peeks with little vegetation. I have seen one live coyote (lots of dead ones on the road). We had a little rain a day ago and 30 minutes later you could not tell it had ever rained. All said it is still better weather than we would have in Ohio.

January 1, 2004 the weather is looking better, we have temperatures in the upper 60s this afternoon. The air is so thin that once a cloud comes over the temperature drops several degrees but right now it is looking good. We drove the car into Tucson today and decided it looks just like where we are so we will be satisfied with Benson, Az for a while. Yesterday we went to Tombstone and looked over the sites. It is an old town, that is trying to survive on the tourist trade and makes you want to keep you hand on your wallet. The open country is mostly oak brush, sage and tumble week. The tallest thing you see other than the phone poles are evergreen trees, but the weather sure beats Lake Erie in January.

December 30, 2003 we are at campgrounds in Benson, Arizona. The weather has been cold to cool so far. This is a nice place, clean with all we could ask to camp. Hopefully the weather will get better soon, we have week’s reservations here and where we go next depends a lot on the weather. We could go to southern Texas if we don’t decide to stay in Arizona. Sue fixed walleye last night and we felt right at home.

December 28, 2003 we are at a flying j truck stop for lunch and writing this using their wifi wireless network connection. We have been on the road for the third day now and all is going well. The motor home is doing fine if you can over look the 7 to 8 mpg we get but for a little over 20000 lbs plus pulling a small car that may not be too bad. The weather in west Texas is 52 degrees and there is a northwest breeze blowing. We hope to be in Arizona late tomorrow or Tuesday. The RV park that we are going to is supposed to also have a wifi connection. If that is the case I will update once we get settled in.

December 24, 2003 it’s Christmas Eve. We have the family coming in this evening for our traditional get together. Tomorrow, Christmas day will be full of the final packing of the motor home in preparation for leaving early Friday morning. We plan on taking two days to get to Plano, Texas where a cousin lives and will spend a day or two there then will head to Benson Arizona which is on route 10 south of Tucson. We have week’s reservations there to see how we like it and depending on the outcome we will decide to either stay longer or move on elsewhere. The campgrounds are supposed to have wireless Internet connections (Wi-Fi) so I will be able to update you on the “happenings”. Stay warm and don’t shovel too much snow, its bad for your heart.

Sue and I wish all of you and your families a very merry Christmas and happy New Year.

Dean