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Well the weather forecasts were pretty much right and the last two days have been ugly.  Now they've extended the E, NE and N winds through the weekend.  It really doesn't even look decent until Sunday, and that's too far off to be counting on.  Hopefully they are wrong and it settles down by Friday or Saturday.

One new report from last weekend said that walleye limits were caught on Gull Island Shoal in 12 to 14' of water in about 5 hours.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 25 knot NE wind, 6.2 feet waves, 70 degree air temperature, 72 degree water temperature, and steady barometric pressure.

Travis

Weekend reports are coming in and I have to say that perch fishing has definitely picked up.  The size is still relatively small at mostly 7.5 to 9 inches, but compared to last year when most of the 2003 perch were 6 to 7.5" we're already having a better fall than last year.  Not to mention that based on some of the reports the action has been really fast.

The best perch spots (in no certain order) have been 0.25 to 0.75 NW of Green Island, 1 mile W of Green Island, "B", "C" and "G" cans of the Camp Perry range, Niagara Reef, and sporadically at the Catawba Island green can.  It sounds like Niagara was a little slower, but with some bigger fish mixed in.  The "B" can report said that gold crappie rigs out-fished any other set-up.

Walleye reports have definitely been slower.  The best report of fast action was on inline weights and harnesses around Big Pickerel Reef of the Camp Perry reef complex.  There was also a second hand report of limits up on the Canadian line (I assume NE of West Sister).  Other reports have been less-than-limits.  Walleye have been sporadically caught W of Green Island on reef runners 150' back or bottom bouncers with harnesses, off of Huron (marks were better than the fishing turned out), from Niagara to "C" can of the range on orange harnesses or TD-11 Tail Dancers, and at the 43/52 lines near West Reef on Jet20's 90' back with chicken wing stingers or harnesses with size 5 northland golden shiner blades.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 17 knot E wind, 1.0 foot waves, 72 degree air temperature, 74 degree water temperature, and falling barometric pressure.

The wind is already picking up and Tuesday is supposed to be rough.  They're calling for 5 to 7' waves with NE winds up to 25 knots.  If the forecast is right it won't be very comfortable out there for the next few days.  They do have the winds calming by Saturday.  Hopefully it won't mess it up too bad and everyone can get back at it by the end of this week.

Travis

Based on the declining number of reports I would say that we've hit the point where most people are waiting on the post-Labor Day fall perch and walleye fishing before they spend any more gas money (not to mention that it wasn't a perfect weather weekend).  The good news is that it looks like we might be headed for an earlier fall than last year, at least according to the walleye.  A report from Geneva said that the fishing was great over the past month, but the number of big fish has definitely thinned out recently and they should be headed west.  The report also said that the perch are moving in, but the size is still small.

In the western basin I only have a few reports.  For walleye a few were caught drifting 4 miles NE of little Cedar Point between the Toledo water intake and the Toledo lighthouse.  Another report said that Thursday evening between Huron and Cedar Point walleye were caught trolling inline weights and harnesses with gold blades.

The only weekend yellow perch report to this point produced limits just W of Green Island in 3.5 hours.  The size wasn't spectacular but the fishing was great.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 13 knot N wind, 1.3 feet waves, 72 degree air temperature, 74 degree water temperature, and rising barometric pressure.

Travis

It sounds like the perch are really starting to turn on.  The north end of the Camp Perry Range has been hot.  Two areas mentioned have been 2 miles north of "C" can and 0.25 mile NE of "B" can.  At "B" can the perch were 22 to 27' down, a five feet thick band of them.

The lone walleye report from the past few days simply said that there is a good school of walleye on the W side of the sandbar between Lorain and Vermilion.  One perch report also mentioned that before they caught their limit of perch north of "C" can they unsuccessfully tried to troll for walleye.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 9 knot E wind, 1.3 feet waves, 74 degree air temperature, 75 degree water temperature, and rising barometric pressure.

Travis

I don't have much new to report.  Perch are still being caught in 29' of water about 1 mile NW of Green Island.  A recent report said that 50 perch were caught to keep 40 over 7.5" in 2 hours.  Another report said that limits of perch are being caught around Rattlesnake Island.

Most of my thoughts and effort are going into preparing for my upcoming Minnesota muskie fishing trip.  The muskie fishing at Lake St. Clair this past weekend has me chomping at the bit to head north.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 1.9 knot E wind, 1 foot waves, 74 degree air temperature, 76 degree water temperature, and steady barometric pressure.

Travis

Only one report has come in since yesterday.  The report said that although fewer people are out on a daily basis in the western basin there are still plenty of walleye being caught.  The best area has been NE of West Sister Island and limits have come as fast as two hours.  Just because this is a historical down time doesn't mean that you can't go out and catch fish.  Some people are switching to perch, waiting to go perch fishing, or are getting ready to move down to Huron, because in a "normal" year the western basin would be slow walleye fishing by now.  This year is far from normal and there are plenty of eaters around waiting to be caught.  So many of the regulars have their freezer full by now that you probably won't get many reports just because the reporters aren't out as much as they were earlier in the year.

This weather is great.  Even though it is still August it's starting to feel like fall.  Based on some of the reports of big fish around the sandbar I'm optimistic that we will have an early extended fall of big fish this year.  Last year the big girls went to New York and stayed there a long time.  This year many of them never went east of eastern Ohio and have a shorter trip to make it back here.  If we don't get often NE blows we could have an incredible September through December with pleny of eaters to fill limits with trophies mixed in if you're in the right spot at the right time.  As I've already mentioned I'm really looking forward to the Huron Hawg Fest and the rest of the fall.

For anyone interested in seeing it I put a picture of my 46" muskie from the weekend on the WBSA picture site.  Here is a link to the picture:

http://www.westernbasinsportfishingassociation.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=884&cat=500&ppuser=6

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 5 knot S wind, no waves, 73 degree air temperature, 75 degree water temperature, and falling barometric pressure.

Travis

Friday I had the privelege of taking out the "Wild Ohio" TV crew to do a Lake Erie walleye trolling segment for their show.  It wasn't fast and furious but I think we ended up with what they needed.  We trolled from Middle Island to near Ballast Island and ended up with a handful of walleye and plenty of trash.  Jet30's and 40's 100' back with colorado blade harnesses caught white perch and channel catfish.  2 and 3 ounce inlines 30 to 40' back with colorado blade harnesses caught walleye.  Gold or fluorescent green blades worked best and our speed was around 1.5 mph GPS.  We made a pass on Gull Island Shoal and caught 1 walleye on a 1 ounce inline 15' back with a harness.  Weeds were a problem on Gull.  After getting the trolling footage we made a few drifts over Gull with weight forwards and mayfly rigs.  We only caught gobies so we moved just north of American Eagle shoal in 29' of water.  We caught a walleye on a mayfly rig, but the wind (and drift) died and ended our casting.

A walleye report that came in from Lorain was fantastic.  Limits were caught at the 32/16 lines Friday and fish were caught again Saturday until weather ended the trip.  Dipsys on a 0 setting 115' back and 3 setting 125' back with spoons in Chicken Wing and Confusion were used.  Most of the fish were around 20", but a few were over 25 and one was a 32" monster trophy.  Their speed was 2.4 to 3.2.

Yellow perch are being caught west of the islands.  1 mile NW of Green Island produced "up and down" limits in short order and all fish kept after sorting were 8 to 11".  Perch fishing was also good 3/8 of a mile south of the rattles of Rattlesnake Island.  4 limits of 7 to 10" fish were kept with a live weight of 40 pounds.

I spent my Saturday and Sunday casting Lake St. Clair for muskie with my brother-in-law Mike.  Saturday was a great day with perfectly miserable weather (cloudy and rainy is perfect for muskie casting).  I caught my personal casting best on Saturday.  It was a healthy 46" fish that came on a jerkbait in Anchor Bay.  I also caught 3 northern pike up to 35.5" and had a second muskie follow that didn't hit.  Mike caught 2 muskies on topwater (41" and 44.75") and missed a third hit.  Sunday was much tougher with the post-cold front conditions.  I had a mid or upper 40" fish hit near the boat, but he didn't hook up.  I had a second fish follow that didn't hit.  Other than that the only action on Sunday was a 25" (or so) walleye that hit Mike's twitch bait.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 15 knot N wind, 1.6 feet waves, 72 degree air temperature, 74 degree water temperature, and steady barometric pressure.

Travis

The only recent walleye report came in from Lorain.  Fishing was slow as 7 fish were caught in 7 hours by 3 people.  Most came from about 4 miles north of the lighthouse in 49 to 51' of water on dipsys with big spoons.  The fish were towards the bottom of the water column.

I got a decent perch report from "C" can of the Camp Perry range today.  Limits of 7 to 10" fish were caught with most in the 8 to 9" range.  That area would be a good place to do a combination walleye/yellow perch trip.  From Niagara to "B" can and north has been producing some walleye, and now it sounds like perch can be caught at "C".  The normal spots around Kelleys Island and Lakeside have been giving up some perch, but limits have been hard to come by and the size hasn't been any better than west of the islands.

I'm going to do some muskie fishing on Lake St. Clair over the weekend.  Depending when I get back from up north I'll summarize the weekend reports on Sunday or Monday.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 13 knot E-NE wind, 1 foot waves, 74 degree air temperature, 74 degree water temperature, and falling barometric pressure.

Travis

A few better reports just came in from the weekend.

Throughout last week fish were caught around the N end of the range at the 40-44/00-02 lines.  Dipsys on a 1.5 setting 45' back and 3.5 setting 55 to 60' back with stingers in confusion, lami cakes, shrimp and superman caught fish.

Limits were caught from Niagara Reef to Green Island on Jet40's 80' back with a Kevorkian bronze spoon, on dipsys on a 3 setting 45' back with a gold worm harness, and a Reef Runner in Hot Tamale 100' back.

0.75 miles SW of northwest reef limits were caught on dipsys 40-50-60' back (I assume on 1, 2, and 3 settings) with spoons.  Confusion was best and the speed was 2.3 mph.

From today's satellite photo it looks like the nearshore area out west around the Toledo water intake has already greatly cleared up compared to Saturday.  It looks like it is already fishable.

Last Thursday I mentioned that I heard about a "Killer Bee" crankbait that was catching fish out west.  I did some searching and a I found a Bagley "Kill'r B" model online.  I'm not sure but that was probably the model that they were talking about.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 9 knot W wind, 1 foot waves, 75 degree air temperature, 74 degree water temperature, and steady barometric pressure.

Travis

Reports from this past weekend are the slowest from this season.  The wind and rough weather limited fishing Saturday and then Sunday sounds like it was a typical post-cold front tough day.  The best report came from NW of Green Island on Saturday where limits of 8 to 10" perch were easily caught.  Most walleye reports are coming from north of "C" can of the Camp Perry range.  A few were caught here and there, but for the most part it was a struggle.  The best report had 7 fish that came on Fruit Loops Reef Runners 200' back or on purple willow harnesses.  Other than "C" can a few fish were caught W of Rattlesnake Island, but they came an hour apart.

It's great that we are so spoiled from such a great season that our first "bad" weekend didn't come until mid August, not to mention that it was weather induced.  I did get some complaints about floating weeds north of "C" can that made trolling tough.  It sounds like the waves really moved around the vegetation and there is enough that it might be a problem for the near future.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 21 knot S-SW wind, 1.6 feet waves, 77 degree air temperature, 75 degree water temperature, and falling barometric pressure.

Travis

I ended up finishing some more work on the house this weekend.  I'll be depending on reports to pass along what happened over the last few days.

Based on the buoy it stayed a little rough on Saturday and then calmed down by this afternoon.  There is a good satellite picture from yesterday that shows some very muddy water around Maumee Bay and the Toledo water intake after the NE blow.  You might want to look for areas farther offshore or just west of the islands if you are in search of clearer water.

When reports from the weekend come in I will post again.  We're into the time period between the best summer fishing and fall fishing.  I expect fewer boats are going out on a regular basis, either getting ready to pull after labor day or taking a break before fall fishing.  There are still plenty of fish to be caught, but historically this isn't a prime walleye time.  The perch fishing will be picking up soon.  Let me know if any of you found perch limits recently.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 7 knot E-NE wind, no waves, 74 degree air temperature, 77 degree water temperature, and falling barometric pressure.

Travis

The forecast was right today and we got the strongest NE blow that we've had in a while.  The temperature was comfortable, but based on the buoy the lake was really rolling today.

Two reports from earlier in the week that just came in were both good.  Walleye are still around Cranberry Creek.  1 to 2 miles NE of Cranberry limits were caught on weapons.  Out on the border near Middle Island walleye were caught on Jet40's 90' back with Cat/Dog stingers.

I got more information from Marc on his Ashtabula trip.  As you can imagine Marc caught fish and his best technique wasn't exactly an every day setup.  On his first day he caught fish 15 miles due N of Ashtabula.  A dipsy on a 2 setting 150' back with a purple harness was good, but a Barbie reef runner 260' back with a 1.5 ounce snap weight at 60' was equally good.  On his second day he caught fish 4 to 5 miles out in 62' of water.  His best setup was a purple perch glass husky jerk 160' out with a 3 ounce snap weight at 60'.  He also caught a bonus 11 pound trophy walleye on a dipsy and stinger spoon.

Your guesses are as good as mine as far as what this blow might do to the location of fish.  I don't think much will change in the western basin other than areas that get muddy from the blow.  I probably wouldn't count on the Toledo water intake being as good as it was since it will probably be pretty muddy in there.

For selfish reasons I hope that the cooler temperatures and and NE wind gets the large migrators thinking about coming back to the sandbar and eventually Huron.  This year has been much different than last year and the big girls shouldn't have as far to return from.  Let's hope for a mild end of the summer and cool fall to get them back here.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 19 knot E-NE wind, 3.9 feet waves (it was around 5 feet most of the day, meaning that there were probably at least 6's and 7's out there), 71 degree air temperature, 77 degree water temperature, and steady barometric pressure.

Travis

Unfortunately my e-mail is really giving me trouble tonight so I'll just have to go with the first hand reports that I heard today.  Fishing was really good today 2 miles north of "B" and "C" cans of the Camp Perry range, and also NW and W of the Toledo water intake.  Most fish caught were 2003's in limit numbers, but a handful of 22 to 26" fish were mixed in at the intake.  Rattle tot's and Killer Bee crankbaits were successful around the intake and standard dipsy (or jet) and spoon programs were used north of the range.  I'm not familiar with Killer Bee crankbaits, and I'm not even sure if that is how it is spelled.  If anyone has a link to a web page for them I would be interested.

Marc has been fishing out east around Ashtabula and Geneva.  It sounds like he has been doing well with limits and some bigger fish, but the e-mail that I assume has the details in it was inaccesible.  I should be able to report on his trip soon when my e-mail is back up and running.

IF the forecast is right tomorrow (Friday) will not be good at all with 4 to 6 footers from the NE, and Saturday isn't looking great either.  Based on the forecast things will be settled down by Sunday and conditions should improve.  It is dead calm not far inland right now, but the buoy says that it's already blowing on the lake.  Make sure that you check the buoy before leaving because the inland weather can be deceiving as I'm sure that you're all aware.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 19 knot N-NE wind, no waves (it literally just kicked up, I'm sure that they will be building quickly), 74 degree air temperature, 78 degree water temperature, and rising barometric pressure.

Travis

A few more reports have come in.  The best was from just N of Green Island.  Limits were caught and the biggest fish was 26".  Dipsys were used on 1 and 3 settings at 40 and 60' back.  Spoons with purple color patterns and copper backs were best.

Another report caught fish in slightly less than limits by fishing American Eagle Shoal and Gull Island Shoal.  The best depths were 18 to 24' and walleye were caught on gold and chartreuse harnesses.

The buoy says that it was rough earlier today and has calmed down throughout the rest of the day.  Cooler weather for this time of year is in the forecast which usually means winds from northerly directions.  As long as it doesn't blow too hard I'll take it compared to hot humid weather.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 9 knot E wind, 1.3 feet waves, 73 degree air temperature, 78 degree water temperature, and steady barometric pressure.

Travis

The fact that I am still getting good walleye reports from Toledo to Lorain in early August says a lot about just how great this season has been.  Here are some more weekend reports that have come in:

6 miles NW of Lorain in 45' of water.  Limits on dipsys with stingers.  3 setting (with the ring on) 130' back and 1 setting (without the ring on) 85' back.  Confusion, Killer Bee and Superman.

1 mile NE of Cranberry Creek marina.  Limits on weapons or bottom bouncers (with harnesses, I assume).  I also heard that due north of the castle at ruggles was good over the weekend.

2 miles N of "C" can of the firing range in 30' of water.  Harnesses or silver Jr. Thundersticks on the bottom.

Niagara Reef green can and W of West Sister Island.  Not quite limits but good fishing on Fruit Loops reef runners 200' back and clown TD-11 rapala tail dancers 220' back.  Who says that you can't catch them on crankbaits in the summer (certainly not me)?

Yellow perch fishing was fast 0.5 miles NE of Ballast Island.  Near limits were caught in under 2 hours.  The layer of fish was up to 6 feet thick near the bottom and most perch were running 7 to 8.5".

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 11 knot N wind, 0.7 feet waves, 80 degree air temperature, 78 degree water temperature, and steady barometric pressure.

Travis

Some decent walleye and perch reports are starting to come in from the weekend.  Walleye limits were caught near Niagara at the 40/57 lines and also in 26 to 28 feet of water north of the red can that is SW of Kelleys.  Near Niagara jet20's 90' back with harnesses caught fish, while over at Kelleys jet30's 75' back with harnesses were the key.  Blades on the harnesses were size 5 Northland golden shiner and rainbow chub.

A perch limit was caught just west of Green Island in 22' of water.  Most of the perch were around 8".

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 9 knot E-SE wind, 0.7 feet waves, 79 degree air temperature, 80 degree water temperature, and falling barometric pressure.

Travis

It has finally cooled down even though it's in the 80's.  I'm going to be doing some more remodeling this weekend.  If you make it out send in a report and I'll summarize everything at the end of the weekend.

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 7 knot S-SW wind, 0.7 feet waves, 79 degree air temperature, 80 degree water temperature, and steady barometric pressure.

Travis

A few good reports came in from the last few days.  One said that the American Eagle Shoal area has not been good for everyone, but that the green can at Niagara Reef has been consistent all year and continues to be.  Harnesses with size 5 northland blades in golden shiner and rainbow chub trolled behind jet30's 85' back at 1.5 to 2.2 mph have been producing limits on most trips.  Start around the green can and work the deeper water north of Niagara.

Limits are still coming from Cedar Point to Huron in 26 to 32 feet of water.  Recently limits were caught 4 miles east of Cedar Point on jet40's 90 to 110' back with spoons in purple color patterns.

Last night at the WBSA club meeting there were good discussions with Roger Knight on just about every topic surrounding Lake Erie fisheries management.  I try to make it to every meeting that I can because it is never a waste of time, not to mention that Margarittaville's seafood burritos alone are worth the trip.

This oppressive heat can't break soon enough.  It looks like tomorrow (Thursday) storms will finally go through and at least drop the temperature a little bit (and hopefully the humidity).

The latest observation at the Vermilion weather buoy has 15 knot S-SW wind, 1.6 feet waves, 84 degree air temperature, 80 degree water temperature, and falling barometric pressure.

Travis