Fishing Reports & News

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July 28, 2009 (Tuesday) Travis 

Two new reports have come in.

"Caught limits of smallish perch Friday, Saturday and Sunday about 1.5 mi east of Kelley's in 40' water.  They taste just as good as the jumbo's!!!"

"Fished a couple hours on Monday from 1030-1245. SW winds produced a drift .5-.7mph. We were a few miles offshore in 17-19 fow. We made 3 drifts and caught 3 small walleye 15.5-16.5 inches. We threw them back to grow for next year. We caught some sheep, one nice white bass and a 10 inch yellow perch. A fun day with my daughter and mother in law. All walleye were caught on green/yellow erie dearie with a 5 count and pull, pause, reel retrieve. We were marking active fish on top 1/3 of water until 1130. Funny thing, gold Erie dearie didn't produce 1 fish with the same retrieve. Also tried a green/ yellow harness off the bottom and 1 sheephead. Minnows on a crappie rig produced the perch and white bass. Great day to be out. One other observation, green algae is blooming all over the area."

In addition to those two reports I talked to a friend that had some good pre-fishing before the Lorain LEWT tourney last weekend.  His best area was 46' of water at the 34.5/16.5 lines off of the sandbar.  He trolled harnesses on 8 ounce bottom bouncers 75' back and 3 ounce inlines 75' back at 1.6 to 1.8 mph.

Travis

July 25, 2009 (Saturday) Travis 

Three new reports have come in over the past two days.  Here they are:

"Fished Friday 7/24. Perched off Ballast island, 3 hours 12 keepers. Trolled for walleye
with dipsys and spoons, 3 miles west of nw reef. 1 man limit took 3 hours. Two
22" fish, 4 under 18"."

"Fished walleye Friday from 9am to 4 pm.  Started in 32 FOW by NW Reef near a pack of boats.  Had a lot of good marks.  Stayed for a little over an hour without a hit.  Moved further N up along Canadian border about midway between F-Can and N. Bass Island in 33 FOW.   Ended up getting our 2-man limit there trolling Stinger spoons behind dipsies; most were close to bottom.   No particular color spoon stood out.  Tried a crawler harness a couple of times during the day, both behind a dipsy and a snap weight, but never had a hit with either.  Was very slow going in the morning (only caught 2).   Most were caught between 2:30 and 4:00 pm in a relatively small area we kept going back and forth over.  Two were 23inches and rest were 16" to 20".  Caught one under 15" plus had 2 possible steelies; one quickly snapped the leader, the other straightened a small swivel snap."

"7/24 - out of Turtle Creek

7:30 to 12:30

14 Walleye (1 short released).  Mostly 18 to 20" fish.

Due North of K Can couple miles.  Trolled there to the SE corner of Locust Reef.  15' to 18' of water.

Deep Little Rippers.  55' to 65' Back.  2.3 to 2.6 speed.

Pink Lemonade the Best, Cheap Sunglasses

Unbelievable to fish in this close this time of the year."

Travis

July 21, 2009 (Tuesday) Travis 

A slow perch report came in today:

Travis

July 20, 2009 (Monday) Travis 

One new walleye report to pass along tonight:

"Friday - fished with 3 other guys and trolled boards SE of Niagara Bell - about 1 mile off the Bell - Fishing was fast and furious, caught 16 in two hours and had to go in.  Fish came on Stingers (Monkey Puke and Confusion) 80 back of jet 20's.  Also caught several on Large #4 gold blade harnesses with crawlers and 3 oz trolling sinker 50 back off boards.

Saturday - Front moved in and the fishing shut off - went to same spot and trolled all - fish were still there just could not get the bite going - ended with 6 for two guys in about six hours.

Sunday - Trolled east of the Niagara Bell and went with same set up as above two jets and two harnesses - we  trolled over flat rock and little pickerel reefs - caught fish right around the edges of the reefs and just North of the reefs - Bigger fish off to the North.  Twelve fish in about 5 hours (two guys) - almost all the fish were hitting the harnesses and not the spoons.

Monday - two guys started trolling at Crib reef buoy - trolled out towards flat rock and Little Pickerel - had two man limit in about two hours - fish were coming on the spoons today.

A lot of  sub 15 inch fish out there - DNR is checking most boats - so get a measuring stick and stay legal."

Travis 

July 18, 2009 (Saturday) Travis 

Here is a mid-weekend update with a report that came in today:

"6 guys 36 fish casting weapons gold with the deep cut hammered no 4 blade with green beads fished from 8-2, 4-5 miles west northwest of west sister in between turnaround buoy and island 29 ft of water low and slow playing the swing."

Travis 

July 17, 2009 (Friday) Travis 

Headed into the weekend I have three new reports to pass along.  If you're a western basin angler this cool weather is certainly helping to keep fish here on our end of the lake.

"We have been catching 07-15,16 in. fish all week from port Clinton to crane creek in 14 to 17 ft. of water.   All released to grow.  Last night with the strong sw winds we got larger fish in the same water.  From 6 to 8 two casters brought in 9 from 20 to 27 in.  Fish wanted baits that had white beads with pink blades.  Gold got eaten up by sheep, white perch and bass.   Not sure why on color combo, maybe the heavy algae bloom.   Water 74 with clarity about 1.5 ft."

"Just got back from Erie 9 days limited out 2 man 7 days out of turtle creek fish are close 4 miles 2oz bottom bouncers gold and silver blades"

"Two of us drifted 7 hours between West Reef and Northwest Reef. Picked up 10 walleye (one too short). All but one walleye was in the 15-16 inch range. 33 FOW. Gold mayfly rigs and Erie Dearies both on top and on the bottom. Lots of sixpacks. Best bite was before 10AM."

Travis 

July 15, 2009 (Wednesday) Travis 

One perch report to pass along today:

Travis 

July 14, 2009 (Tuesday) Travis 

One report came in today:

"Trolled from 9:30 to 1:30 PM  Saturday about two miles east of Kelley shoal  pulling number  six gold Colorado spinners with inline two ounce sinkers  about sixty feet behind boards. Only used half a worm. Caught limit of big walleyes and lot of sheephead and few other undesirables."

Travis

July 13, 2009 (Monday) Travis 

A handfull of reports came in today.  Here they are:

"Sun four of us casted harnesses and weight forwards from 8am to 330pm got 18 eyes two of us limited. All eyes on pink blade variations even a pink weght forward. fished between crib and niagra. eyes were up off the bottom."

"Report for July 12: Started north of Kelly’s shoal and trolled the north edge, then up to the border around Middle Is.  Then worked along the border for about 4.5 miles.  Boated 3 ‘eyes in 6 hours, + 22 junk fish.  Fish are scattered, few and far between in this area.  Best marks were north of the shoal."

"4 guys 7 eyes off crane creek 25 ft of water biggest 26 inches 6 shorts 14-1/2  all on weapons on bottom. buddy trolled same area spoons off big boards got 12   4  guys  bite a little tougher evan at turn around buddy got 10 - 4 guys casting glad they are close again"

"2 of us fished straight out of Lorain Sunday 7/13.  Trolled Stinger spoons back and forth between the 33 and 34 lines in 47 FOW.  Only caught 3 walleye (29” and two 24’s) in over 8 hr. of trolling.  Also tried worm harnesses w/o success.  Was a very slow day."

Travis

July 10, 2009 (Friday) Travis 

Heading into the weekend one new report came in:

"we went for the eyes off of crane creek on Thursday just playing around 18 ft of water casting weapons left dock at 5.30 and back at 9.00 first cast we had a 25 inch eye and we thought well we got a straggler 2 guys 8 nice walleye no throwbacks all casting worms on gold weapons and white Erie dearies"

Travis

July 9, 2009 (Thursday) Travis 

It's really nice to finally have some good news to report.  I talked to a few friends today that has been having a lot of success between West Sister Island and the turnaround buoy of the shipping channel.  The fishing is really turning on out there with some fast limits when conditions are right.  They aren't all small fish either, with more than just one or two over 25" over the course of this week.  I know a lot of you are probably catching them on spoons with dipsys or jets, but that's not the only way to get them.  Actually, it sounds like more of the sub 15" fish are hitting spoons with a lot of throw-backs.  Some of the best reports that I've heard have been harnesses or crankbaits fished around 1.5 mph.  If you find the walleye over there you can probably catch them however you prefer.

Here is an e-mail report that came in today:

"Fished Tuesday 7/7 north of Kellys to 4 miles east. Both drifting and trolling dipsys with spoons. Many white perch & Sheephead, 2 walleye. Perched off airport reef for @ 1hr, 12 keepers, many throwbacks.

Wednesday 7/8, drove 23 miles from west harbor to area north of west sister. Large pack of boats. Drifted with 1 ft waves for 2 hours, 1 walleye. Lake went flat @ noon. Trolled dipsys with spoons and caught 2 man limit, 34 lbs. Most taken closer to west sister (@ 1.5 miles north) confusion, monkey puke, fire tiger stinger spoons. 2.1 mph - lots of grass in water but good clearity."

Travis

July 8, 2009 (Wednesday) Travis 

Two new reports came in today.  Here they are:

"we have been catching walleye at the turn around for the last 2 weeks with a lot of small 14 inch eyes have had days when we was catching 50 fish to keep 18 all around the turn around we are not killing them but limlits can be caught with patience and time we got 36 on friday 6 hours with gold weapons slow on bottom.saturday we got 15 it was slow then the clouds came out and we switched to purple weapons and would have 3 on at a time lucky to keep 1 the small ones are just shy of 15 inches sunday the same area same results we fished 5 hours had to be back at dock due to wives telling my buddys to get home. lots of boats in this area with good fishing some days its hot some days its not the head boats from port clinton have been fishing this area its a long haul for them but thats where the fish are. the fish have been moving in hope they come in close again we had a ball right after the jig switched over to worms with limits of bigger fish of crane creek. the perch can be caught around the toledo water intake we got limits when the walleye were harder to catch. its great to live on the shores of lake erie."

Travis

July 7, 2009 (Tuesday, report 1 of 2, fishing info) Travis

Here are the two reports that came in today.  See my second report below for some opinions that are a response to a readers comments and questions.

"Had a chance to go perching yesterday and had a great time.  2 man limit at "D Can" on the firing range in 27 FOW.  Steady action for three hours. 10:00 - 1:00 PM threw back 25 small ones and only caught a few non-target fish.  Spreaders with minnows.  Waves were less than one foot."

As predicted the wind changed direction to the west and increased in intensity to 20 knots."

Travis

July 7, 2009 (Tuesday, reply to a readers questions and comments) Travis 

I received some Lake Erie questions and comments today from a regular contributor to the web page and I felt that they should be shared with all the readers and I will also respond with a few of my thoughts.  I want to qualify my responses with the following few statements first.  Obviously, I have a lot of personal interest in the Erie walleye population considering both my professional career and my private hobies revolve around them.  The reply to the reader's e-mail are my PERSONAL opinions, and are in no way a political or mandated reply.  This is what I believe based on my experiences both professionally and personally, and the are not any more right or wrong than any of your opinions.  Take them for what they are worth and make your own opinions based on what you believe.  Here is the un-edited e-mail followed by my opinions:

"So there has been a lot of discussion around Green Cove (western Basin Marina) about the poor fishing this summer.  Some believe it is just bad luck and bad weather , a few believe that the mayfly hatch has really affected us this year.  But most believe that the numbers of fish are just not there.  I know of many charters that went out last weekend and anything over 10 was considered good (6 guys for 8 hours) - not good in my book.  So Travis and Marc being as close to this as you are what are your thoughts - what is the long term perspective?  I am asking what alot if people are talking about around the fire.  Last point  - one common thought is the bait fish have overtaken the walleye and now are not being controlled by the walleye - so they eat all they eggs and unless we increase the walleye population we can not recover????  Please give us your thoughts?"

-This might not be a popular answer, but sometimes I think that we (people in general) make things more complex than they actually are.  I hate the saying, but sometimes it just "is what it is".  Here are a few facts....whether you believe the exact estimate or not, the walleye model is saying that we have roughly 25% of the walleye out there that we had during the highest populations.  Maybe 18 million isn't the actual number of walleye out there, but whatever the number is I don't doubt that it's down 75% from the late 1980's and then a few years ago after the monster '03 hatch.  The bottom line is that we have good hatches out there from '93, '94, '96, '99, '01.... a monster in '03, and then not much until '07.  Basically a majority of the population is 6 years old or older, and the model is saying that we have around 8 million two year olds from '07.  So, you take a mostly mature, adult population that migrates at the drop of a hat based on conditions, you throw lots of E, NE, N and NW winds, a very robust forage population that more than satisfies their dietary needs, and then pile huge bug hatches on top of that, and you get fish that are there one day, gone the next, and they are hard to catch even when you find them.  Sure, it's easier when we have 60 to 80 million walleye out there.  There are more schools in more places and they can be caught even when the weather is tough.  Is that a realistic, desirable population level, heck no.  The lake seems to want to be in the 20 to 30 million range.  It drops down to that when the population gets high and it always seems to rebound and bump back up over 20 million when it slips below.  I wish that there was a magic bullet.  The bottom line is that we are dependant on mother nature to give us conditions that allow a big hatch, and then we have to manage whatever we get once they enter the population.  Do we need a good hatch?  Sure we do.  We literally only have one good year class since '03.  Can the current population pull off a good hatch in the next few years?  Absolutely, we got the '03 hatch from a low population and it can happen again.  Are we guaranteed a good one any time?  Certainly not.  We're never guaranteed the right conditions and every year that we don't get a good hatch the next year becomes even more important.

I really believe that we are still spoiled and in times like this if you are willing to move to where the fish are it is still the best walleye lake in the world.  Down at Geneva two weeks ago I couldn't prove that there were less than 100 million walleye out there.  We literally couldn't keep 22" fish off our lines.  No matter how many fish are out there the distribution of where they are will always dictate how good fishing is.  If you are on them you will catch them if conditions are reasonable.  If the wind is out of the NE and a big cold front just moved through things are going to be tough even if you're on them.  It is still fishing after all.

My last thought is that, for whatever reason, it seems like the migration patterns have just been different this year.  There are already a lot of fish east of Cleveland, the Toledo shipping channel fishing is just now getting good at the same time, and the nearshore Huron to Lorain fishing never truly got hot.  They really do go where they want to, and their paths don't always satisfy where we want to catch them.

Travis
 

July 6, 2009 (Monday) Travis 

Two reports came in today.  Here they are:

"As you stated there are in fact some fish schooled up on the border by middle sister, three of us caught 9 Saturday and 10 Sunday, best we have done in three weeks.  We also picked up a few nice perch that hit on the spoons behind the dipsy’s."

July 5, 2009 (Sunday) Travis 

I hope that you all had a great holiday weekend with family or friends.  I got to spend some quality time fishing off of a dock in southern Michigan with my 2 year old son.  He caught some pumpkinseed, bluegill and largemouth bass.

Only one report came in.  Here it is:

Travis 

July 3, 2009 (Friday) Travis

Headed into the holiday weekend I haven't received a report since Monday.  There are still plenty of fish to catch in the western basin and around the islands, it has just been tough lately.  Personally I would probably fish structure like the shoals or West Reef.  Those areas will hold fish through the summer.  There are still open water fish from N of Kelleys Island shoal to the sandbar along the Canadian border.  I have to believe there are also fish along the border from North Bass to Middle Sister like there usually are this time of year.

I'll be spending time with family this weekend.  Please send reports to help everyone one out if you get out on the lake this weekend.

Travis