*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: Somebody just back of you while you are fishing is as bad as someone looking over your shoulder while you write a letter to your girl. ~Ernest Hemingway
I don't post much, but I do read as much as possible. Does anyone know the best time to go fishing in Lake Erie for walleye's. My Dad ownes a 2700 Tiara walk around just north of lake Erie, and I would like to make a trip there from MN to do some early season fishing.
I am sure member "Freebyrd" or others will chime in with specific answers. To my understanding they migrate west to east during the season. Nice boat for walleye!
Depends on what part of the lake you are going to and how you will be fishing. I like to troll hot'n'tots so June/July is best for me out of Monroe at the West end.
__________________ "Born to fish, forced to work"
05 Sea Pro 206DC - 200 E-tec
Generally, the action starts earliest (Spring) in the West, and gradually works it's way East.
You say your Dad's boat is "just North of Lake Erie" and when I did a search on your posts, I see that your Dad was looking at his boat in the Lake St. Clair/Detroit River area. So that makes me think you'll be fishing the very Western end of Lake Erie. Out in the far Western end of the lake, I believe the fishing gets good anywhere from early to mid-May.
Lake Erie is broken into three "basins", Western, Central and Eastern basin. I fish the central basin myself. I usually start for Walleye the weekend after July 4th (I avoid the water on July 4th weekend).
__________________ Grady White SeaFarer 226 w/Yamaha F225 - SOLD
Out of Monroe, MI (Brest Bay/Bolles Harbor), May/June/Early July are best for trolling walleye. After that we see a lot of floating weeds & warm water that make fishing more difficult. Fishing should be outstanding this season, we had a lot of fish that were just short of legal last year. Slow trolling 1.9-2.1 knots with crankbaits, mini divers and small spoons, and worm harnesses all work. If you're picking up a lot of white bass, bump you speed a notch. Standard crankbaits aboard my boat are Wiggle Wart, Hot N Tots, Thunderstick Jrs, Wally Divers. Go to colors for me are Green Speck, Brown Speck, Blue/Chrome, Chartruse. In the spoons, Silver Streak Jrs. and Stinger Scorpions rule, Confusion pattern is a go to on my boat. Guys further west like Reef Runner crankbaits. Some guys like to drift & cast crawler harnesses. Suggest you try a couple other web sites WalleyeCentral.com and GLAngler.com for lots of good info. Also http://wbsa.us/denied/report.html, is a new version of an old fishing report site that was very helpful. My boat goes in April 15, if you need a report for Michigan waters or the Ohio/Michigan boarder area waters after that, feel free to PM or email me.
Some good info so far. My first trip on Erie is scheduled for March 30 weather permitting. We will be trolling to the North and/or East of the Reef Complex bordered by the Camp Perry Range Marker Cans - A, B, C,D, E, F, G. This is in Ohio waters to the West of the Bass Islands - Port Clinton - aka The Walleye Capital of the World. There is a phenominal spring fishery on The Detroit River as well. Others have posted details about fishing out of Monroe, etc. Trolling with planar boards and/or dipsey divers the last few years has been the most productive techniques - but requires specialized gear - rods - equipment - rodholders, etc. The abundance of walleye from the 2003 hatch (best ever on record - even better than the famed 1982 and 1986 year classes) will reach keepable size this year and for those that enjoy driftcasting in the western basin that ought to be a good way to fish this summer if you enjoy it. The resources mentioned will provide a lot of info on Lake Erie Walleye. www.walleyecentral.com - see the message forums there. Great Lakes Angler Magazine is very good and they have a decent website forum but more focussed on salmon than walleye. www.glangler.com
how big do those spring fish get, and how many do you catch in an average day?
About 12-15 inches in their 3rd year. 15" being the min size in Ohio.
Like any fishing, #'s can vary. Last summer we had a couple of days where we got a 4 man limit (6 per) in a couple of hours. And we had days where we were lucky to get a bite...
In our area, April is the time for hunting for the big fish. More 8,10,12 pounders are caught in the early spring in the rivers (Detroit & Maumee) by vertical jiggers & handliners probably starting any day now that we've had a fairly mild winter.
I'm not a fisheries biologist but, the 2003 year class that Freebyrd refered to are the fish we anticipate harvesting the most of this year. These fish were for the most part just shy of minimum size (15" in OH & MI) last summer. Our boat took more 14 1/2" fish than I could believe last summer. I believe these fish will be 17" this spring and probably 19 by end of summer.
Thanks for all of the replies. We are new to fishing Lake Erie and all of this information helps. Last year we tried out by West Sister island, and did not have much luck. Does anyone else fish around this island? Where else might be a good place to start. Right now the plan is to be on the lake around May 13.
Will you be trailering your boat to the lake? If so, Sterling State Park (Brest Bay) has a nice launch. It's less than a mile E of Exit 15 on I75. Bolles Harbor has a nice launch too, just a few miles further south on the freeway. This assumes you're fishing MI waters, which should have you right in the thick of things fish wise. I'll leave the OH launch descriptions for the OH guys.
Check those sites mentioned above often once the season gets going for daily fishing reports. They will help clue you in on where to go and what to use. Get a chart of this end of the lake. If you need help with location nicknames, let me know and I can get you GPS numbers for them. Also, get ahold of me a few days before you're coming down & I will be glad to help you.
how big do those spring fish get, and how many do you catch in an average day?
Most people will call an 8 pound (roughly 27-28 inches) walleye a BIG walleye. A 30 inch (usually 10+ pounds) is pretty much generally acknowledged as a "trophy". Ive caught probally a dozen to 15 walleye on my boat that have been 32+ inches over the years but have yet to break 33 inches. Biggest by weight on my boat is 13.55 pounds on a certified tournament scale.
Historically I've caught more BIG (27+ inches) walleye in April trolling the edges of the reef complex and near Kelley's island into mid May for post spawn females. The other good time to target bigger fish in the Western Basin is in the fall (Oct - November) near Huron, Ohio.
The greatest concentration of spawning for walleyes in the world take place in the open lake on the reef complex mentioned earlier. Some biologists estimate as much as 80% of all the spawning takes place on this reef complex. Other big concentrations of spawning occurs in the Maumee River (Toledo, Ohio) and Sandusky River/Bay (Sandusky / Fremont, OH). There are smaller localized populations that spawn all around the lakeshore and other rivers but not to the degree as in the western basin.
We are trolling stickbaits off the edges of the reef complex targetting POST SPAWN females in April. Most popular lures are Reef Runner Deep Divers and shallow diving RipSticks. Speed is anywhere from 1.3 to 2.o MPH in the spring. As the water warms to above 50 degrees worm harnesses become effective and above 55 degrees we start using smaller flutter spoons. As the water warms further the bigger fish follow schools of bait fish on an Eastward migration. There are lots of fish that stay in the western basin all year as well, but for some reason the bigger ones migrate east. Last year was exceptionally WARM and CALM - not much rain / wind during the summer. Surface temperatures in the Western Basin were 80+ degrees. The guys that fish to the east in PA and NY had one of the best years they have had in a long time with more fish moving and staying farthere east last summer.
Spring limits (until May 1) in Ohio waters are 4 per person this year. For the last two years they were 3 per person. After May 1 the limit is 6 per person. Limit catches shouldn't be a problem this year but will include some of the 2003 year class which should basically start the year at around 16 inches and reach 18+ inches by the end of the summer. The fish that travel to the east will generally be bigger. Last August we went to Dunkirk for a tournament and caught plenty of larger fish but the interesting thing was the fish we caught from the 2003 year class out of Dunkirk were on average probally 2 inches bigger than the fish from the 2003 year class we caught to the West. This has to do with the forage base of the bait these fish follow to the east.
For the question about West Sister Island area - the flats to the north of West Sister are a great summer time location. Between West Sister / Middle Sister and to the West / North on over to the Michigan shoreline. Earlier I'd recommend running a few miles farther to the East - over toward the Bass Islands. Stay North of the range marker yellow cans A, B, C. Listen to channel 79 on your VHF for trolling information. Check out some of the other websites mentioned as you get closer to your trip.
Fishcop,
Not anymore - but I stay in contact with dozens of Captains. Email or PM me on here if you want names and contact info for some good Captain's. Depending on when you want to fish and how many in your group I can recommend several good Captain's for you.
Not sure what you normally fish for or where, but might be interested in swapping a trip with you too?
Lake Erie Walleye fishing 
THT sponsor
