Fishing Reports :: Lake Erie Fishing (2024)

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Lake Erie walleye fishing reports western basin Port Clinton, Toledo, Maumee Bay, Oak Harbor, Marblehead, Sandusky, Huron Ohio

Oct 4 2021
Walleye trolling off Huron and Sandusky dumping grounds. Drift fishing casting on the shallows Kelly’s Island Shoal, Gull , Mouse Island Reef, American Eagle as well as the western basin reef complex. 6 to 12 feet of water.
Perch fishing has perked up good as the water temperature has cooled. Good size and numbers ( limits ).
Western basin reef complex A Can Crane Creek Toledo Light and Intake 16 to 24 feet of water.

Sept 18 Fishing Report
Fall Walleye and Perch fishing on Lake Erie western basin
will continue to improve as the water cools.
Oct is the month for the water temperature to finally start cooling. The western basin is a month behind giving the recent 3 week heat wave. Walleye and Perch catches in Sept. have been slow.
{ Temperatures are finally predicted to cool later this week.}

Sept 6, 2021 Lake Erie Walleye, Bass and Perch fishing Report
Lake Erie’s Western Basin – Port Clinton
Walleye Fishing Good Casting Weapons.
Drift fishing ( casting spinners ) picked up today.
The water will start cooling this week and the days are getting shorter. Casting shallow hard bottom walleye drift fishing will be prime soon.
Weekdays are better fishing on the shallows less boat traffic.

Lake Erie Fishing report July 11
Lake-Erie-Fishing charters Drift fish or Troll
Walleye catching continues on Lake Erie’s Western Basin.
Drift fishing ( casting spinners ) and trolling.
Toledo Intake, Crane Creek, A Can, Michigan border, Western basin near shore reef complex, B, C, F Cans, Mouse Island Reef, American Eagle, Lucy’s Point, Clinton Reef
Small mouth Bass season opened June 26 we promote Catch and release bass fishing we are turning good numbers and size bass.
Perch fishing starting in Late July – August and Sept.

August 21 2016

Yellow Perch fishing remains excellent on Lake Erie’s Western Basin Up and Down action two at a time ! Limits of 210 perch for 6 people and the captains are coming in fast. Everyone is catching limits its the new normal Perch fishing this year in Port Clinton. Charter boats and pleasure boats, everyone is in on the action. The Western Basin of Lake Erie is loaded with nice size Yellow Perch the best and most consistent catching we have seen in 15 years !! Limit catches are being taken near the Toledo Intake , A Can, B Can, C Can, D Can, E Can, Niagara, Kidney, The Finger, Doo Dahs, Green and Rattlesnake ! ! Until the lake temperature starts dropping to fire the walleye up – Go catch your limit of Lake Erie yellow perch you will be glad you did when you mount these tasty excellent eating fish between two pieces of bread !

Finish your day off by catching somewalleye to top of the cooler loaded with yellow perch and finish out your day.

Walleye

Walleye remains slow although there are plenty of them are now sized up to legal size 15 to 17 inches. Where are they ? The question remains did they travel east to deeper waters? If so how far east or are they laying dormant on the bottom in the western basin flats ? Just east of Kelly’s Island and Pelee, Huron, Lorain ? That’swhere we expect how ever with the watertemperaturegetting to eightydegrees it isanyone’sguess. There should be some good rock fishing for walleye as soon as the watertemperaturestartsdropping. There is not that many boats fishing for them right now. One the watertemperatureand also because the perch fishing is so good and traditionally it is perch season. We will start focusingmore on walleye starting in September. I expect conditions to be favorable for walleye about mid September. As with fishing hindsight is twenty twenty. We shall see as the fall progresses.

Smallmouth Bass

East side of Pelee Island has been the best but I suspect that is about to change. Bass as with walleye will fire up as the fall progresses and more so is that we have finally got a algae bloomsufficientenough to bring smallmouth bass action. As a captain I have to have confidence that I can produce bass and that has not been the case all summer on the western basin. We have been holding U.S. Bass trips off because the water has been to clear. That also now has changed. I will report more later.

April 13 2014 Wild Wings Marina, Port Clinton, OH

Walleye fishing has been excellent Friday, Sat and Sunday morning. Limit catches of walleye are being taken in front of Crane Creek, Turtle Creek, K Can, H Can, Turtle, Cone, Toussaint, Crib, Locust Point Reefs. 3/4 ounce jigs bare back or tipped with minnows or crawlers. Chartreuse/purple, John Deer Green, Green with a white head- with a stinger hook. Angle is everything as well as presentation. Some times it is a Fast Drop others a Slow Tight Line Fall- High Lift- Low Lift. Angle goes from vertical to regular to long. Best depths have been shallow early 10 to 12 feet and move deeper as the sun rises and the boats collect. Stay a fair distance away from other boats- you will do your self a favor and I am sure your neighbor will appreciate the space also.

April 11 2014

Walleye have moved in on the reefs and are spawning. Toussaint, Crib, Locust Point, Turtle, K Can and H Can produced walleye today. Limits were the norm. Older males 3 to 5 lbs. made up the bulk of the catches. Jigs tipped with minnows worked slow . Purple / chartreuse 3/4 ounce or any dark color. 12 to 16 ft of water was the best

April 9 2014 Lake Erie walleye fishing is heating up.

Walleye fishing is getting underway on Lake Erie’s western basin. Walleye are starting to move shoreward of the out side reefs. Walleye are being taken on the out side shelf break A can- L can- Cone- Niagara and D can. The first ones are showing up on and near the near shore reefs. H can- Toussaint, Crib, Locust Point as well as K can and Turtle. The water is a bit muddy however with the forecast for warm south winds the next few days I expect the fishing to heat up very soon. The rivers have been in flood and it is a obstacle coarse out there so be careful.

Above pictures April 9 2014

March 9 2014

Ice fishing for walleye on the western basin of Lake Erie produces limit catches for Capt. Jake and Luke C. Four and 1/2 miles off shore of the Moose in Port Clinton puts you in the area near D can. 22- 24 feet of water. Ice reported to be around 14 inches. Always use extreme caution when ice fishing as the condition of the ice is constantly changing.

Lake Erie western basin near D can March 9 2014 Limit catch of walleye Big Headed Gators too !

March 7 2014

2013 Fishing Reports
March 20 2013

The annual spawning run on Lake Erie and in the Sandusky and Maumee Rivers is on hold due to cold weather. The Sandusky River enjoyed a few good days of early spring walleye fishing last week as the weather was a bit more stable. Reports were coming in from Anglers Supply in Fremont Ohio. Bernie Whitt reported a good run of walleye under way and fishing between the bridges down town was producing female and male walleye.
With the recent cold snap the walleye have retreated to deeper waters eagerly awaiting a few days of stable warm weather then the annual spawning run will be on!
It is shaping up as a average spring this year. Last year fishing started early by mid March walleye were being caught in the shallows in Lake Erie inside of K can – the near shore reefs inside the near shore reefs and the river run was well under way. This year it’s back to normal. Lake Erie produced some walleye near the Moose in Port Clinton last week. That was before all the wind and cold arrived. Muddy lake conditions and cold weather has the spawn on hold for a few days. A warm rain will ensure a heavy run up the rivers as long as they get it in the next several weeks.
The walleye will spawn regardless of the rain just more will go up the rivers if conditions are right. To my understanding only a small percentage of the lakes walleye actually spawn in the rivers the majority spawn in the reefs in Lake Erie in the Western Basin. The lakes early spring fishing for walleye will start in the deep waters where the fish should be staged now near the out side shelf breaks 24 to 30 feet of water and as the weather cooperates they will make their annual assault on the shallows. That’s when the jig fishing on Lake Erie Fires UP !
This is the only time of year that the walleye come to us!
Wariness goes out the door when the spawning urge kicks in!
Spring jig fishing you can’t beat it and the fever is brewing! You can turn a hundred walleye in the 3 to 5 lb.range in a couple hours and with some luck put some 10 to 12 lb trophy females in the mix! Yeah Baby – Cowabunga Bonzi !
Walleye are a beautiful fish and after a long winter a fresh catch will look even better in breading.

March 16 2013
Walleye are running in the Sandusky River
Anglers Supply owner Bernie Whitt says the Sandusky river is loaded with walleye. River conditions are a little high and fishable. Lots of anglers are dusting off their rods and reels seeking the trophy walleye as they run up the rivers to spawn. Be sure to stop by Anglers Supply and get the hot set ups for Sandusky River jig fishing.
Lake Erie has a few boats in hoping for a early start how ever it looks like mother nature has this springs jig fishing for walleye back to normal. I look for the reef fishing in the western basin to get started soon. The western basin needs light winds and some warm weather. Start fishing the deep ledges on the out side reefs. Walleye always show up and hold in the 30 feet of water from A can to Niagara Reef. The out side reef ledges and reefs will start first and the walleye will move to the on shore reefs with some stable warm weather.
We will start running charters out of Wild Wings Marina April 1 2013. Check back often as soon as the walleye fishing starts producing good catches you will see it posted here.

Their are a lot of walleye around this year – not a over abundance but healthy numbers. Given descent fishing conditions respectable box’s to limit catches has been our normal for us and also for the skippers that we work with on the lake. The spread of the schools and the year classes of the fish are where they should be. Larger walleye are being taken near West Reef, Kelly’s Shoal, Gull, Hen and Chicks, Chickenollie, King George, and the Wheel. On our end of the lake west of the Islands their are a good number of walleye in the flats from West Sister to Middle Sister – the Gravel Pits and the near shore reefs for those who know how and when to rock pick. The walleye in the flats – Ohio waters – and to the east in Canadian waters and Ohio waters are mainly 3 and 4 year olds. Most of the big heads are east of the Islands and in Canadian waters. The younger fish which is our bread and butter in the western basin are showing up in good numbers and they to are where they should be. Near the Cans A to D can especially near the out side shelf breaks of the near shore reefs and with in a mile or two of the outside shelf breaks – 26 to 30 feet of water.

It’s just nice to see normal patterns and seasonal migration patters for a change.
Especially after the unusually warm winter.
It’s the size of the schools of walleye that tell me we have a good number of fish. It is not just a small isolated area that is producing for a few veteran anglers. The areas where the older fish should be they are and the younger ones also. A lot of the younger two year old’s are measuring 15 inches now- they are growing early – usually Lake Erie walleye put on a growth spurt in August. So there is plenty of forage out there.
Last we had a good hatch last year which gives us a good number of one year old’s coming up behind a fair number of two and three year old’s. Lake Erie has a healthy number of catch able walleye for this summer and fall as well as the next several years to come. I expect a good June July summer bite as well as a good fall bite judging the weather patterns – water temperatures and numbers of catch able walleye.
Drift fishing the flats yesterday bottom bouncers 2 to 4 cranks up and working the swing with a 3/4 on a 8 to ten count worked for us.
The annual May fly hatch has started. May fly hatches start in the near shore waters and work there way out from there. My normal strategy is fish the off shore waters while the main hatch is occurring in the near shore waters and vise versa. Some times it is better to fish areas holding fewer fish that are hungry.

May 6, 2012 Lake Erie – Port Clinton, Oh – Fishing Report – Walleye
Fishing the last several days has been spotty.
Catches have been all over the board the last several days any where from lousy 2 or 3 fish totals to mediocre catches with 10 to 20 fish and very nice boxes with limit catches. There have been trophy walleye caught around A – B and C cans drift fishing with spinners, bottom bouncers, jigs and trolling. Friday morning jig fishing was on near A can and coolers were loaded with very nice catches. Friday afternoon we fished hard to end up with only a few. Saturday morning with dominant east winds prevailing the fishing was off again. All of us captains were left scratching our heads with where do we go try next. Saturday afternoon the east winds picked up in intensity and turned the walleye on – fishing was great. We jig fished off Turtle reef in the afternoon and caught a nice boat limit of 3 to 5 lb males. The area between K can and Round Reef also has been very good again at times. Drives me nuts this time of year with what method do we try first and where. Reading the catching areas and patterns as I see it. There are plenty of walleye in the 14 to 24 feet of water any where from Crane Creek to Turtle Reef to in front of the Moose in Port Clinton. The fish have their heads glued to the bottom in these areas especially when the water gets to clear. Until the water warms up to around 60 degrees fishing will most likely remain spotty. I ran to the gravel pits Saturday morning to look at a blank screen. There are plenty of walleye in the area they just are very tight on the bottom and you can not mark them. With the spotty fishing comes the skill factor of the crew. Experienced fisherman will eke out a nice box while the in experienced will take a few. This will most likely be the pattern for the next couple weeks until the water temperature rises to around 60 degrees off Cleveland. The prime water temperature for the western basin spinner fishing is from 60 degrees to 75 degrees off Cleveland. We need about one week of warm weather to get the walleye off the bottom and more aggressive.

May 3 2012
We are changing over to spinners – walleye are being taken with jigs also however the jig bite is all but over. Nice catches were taken around A can B can and D can using spinners. We seen several trophies in the 30 inch range.
Video link of May 2 jig fishing www.youtube.com/user/101erie

Lake Erie fishing report April 30 2012
Starting in March the water temperature was way ahead of where it should have been. Jig fishing for walleye was on from the middle of March to date. This has been a very good jig fishing season, no major blows or flooded rivers pumping muddy water in. I would have to say the best jig fishing season I can remember in my 35 years of running fishing charters on Lake Erie. How ever with the colder weather that arrived around the first of April the water temperature is now right about where it should be for this time of year. We needed that colder weather because water temperature in the western basin determines when the older walleye start migrating to the east. By older walleye 4 year old’s and up 22 to 32 inch gators. Things are back to normal. Jig fishing is nearing the end for walleye as they are all but finished up spawning now. The surface water temperature on my graph showed 51 degrees yesterday. I like to pitch spinners at walleye starting around 55 degrees. We have had some success drift fishing spinners prior to this last cold blast. The jig bite is getting spotty as the main schools of walleye have spawned and are moving out in the deeper waters of Lake Erie. This weekend Friday I took a limit catch jig fishing Saturday I needed one more for a boat limit and Sunday we strangled 12 with jigs. I have been catching older males ranging from 3 to 5 lbs the last several days. Most are not milking any more. The east wind shut the fishing down on Sunday. The walleye buried their heads in the mud and were tough to get a hook on. Jig fishing will hold strong for another week in the Maumee Bay near Toledo Light and Turtle Island as the last of the walleye return from the Maumee river back in Lake Erie. So be prepared to pitch spinners or jigs for the next ten days or so. Don’t forget your night crawlers! Get out the bottom bouncers and tie fresh weapons or if you troll dust off the boards.

April 22 jig fishing remains very good.
View today’s walleye fishing videos.Copy and paste link below in your browser
www.youtube.com/user/101erie

April 21 2012 Fishing Report Lake Erie
Copy and paste link below in your browser to view today’s video
www.youtube.com/user/101erie

The jig fishing bite for walleye is nearing the end. The tell tale signs are here that the walleye are finishing up spawning. One the sheep head have swarmed the shallows both shore line waters and reefs. Also the spawning pods of walleye are smaller and harder to locate at sun up and they dissipate a lot quicker. The jig bite will hold another 10 days in the Maumee Bay how ever with each day from here out the jig fishing will steadily fade. Today Capt. Jeff trophy fished using weapons and bottom bouncers. Days tally was respectable with several big headed trophy walleye. I drift fished with jigs working the shallows. We also finished the day with a descant box of walleye how ever Jeff beat me on size. It is the crazy time of year where which way do I go- jigs or spinners! It is time to get the spinners and bottom bouncers out for you drift fisherman.