Reports for the week of 7/14/00:
07/14/2000
Hello, its Friday morning. The sun was out till about 6:30 then
it got
cloudy. It doesn't look to bad though, I just went out and looked.
Sometimes I think the weatherman should so the same. I have always
said
that they should put windows in those weather stations. We have
a 30%
chance of rain today. I have another e-mail to share with you:
Don: I
just wanted to drop you a line and tell you of my trip on Sun.
The four
of us scored 28 Eyes using bottom bouncers and harnesses (gold
blade/red beads) about 1-1 1/2 miles due N of Niagara reef , Fishing
seemed to be much better outside the pack? But when you swing
the net a
few times here they come LOL. I usually fish for smallies but
I wanted
something for the table on this trip. I also wanted to tell you
of my
personal best smallie that was caught and released earlier this
year an
8lb 1oz once in a lifetime fish. Sounds like they had a good day
fishing
Lake Erie. Yesterday was a good day too. all of the fishermen
I talked
to caught fish. Walleyes, perch and bass. There were walleyes
caught
east of here, out west, and in Canada. I don't have any numbers
out
east and you have to have them if you go out there because there
is a
lot of water out there and nothing to reference to, like an island,
or
a monument, a buoy, or any land. Out west there are several spots.
Best
thing is to check in the store when you get here for the latest
info.
Yesterday they were walleye fishing about 3 ? miles north of Niagara
Reef, south of Middle Sister Island, and west of West Sister Island.
The perch are still doing well. Seems the west side of Kelleys
is
better than the east side, usually it is the other way around.
I guess
about all you have to do is go out there and put your line in
the water
for perch. The weather still looks good for the weekend. Good
fishing,
& good luck.
07/14/2000
Hello, its Friday evening. I thought you might be interested in
the
weather tonight here, to help you make plans. We had a bad storm
this
evening. I lasted for about a half an hour, but it was really
bad. The
wind really blew hard for a while. It rained hard, had some hail
too. I
guess there were a couple of electric poles blown over down the
street
that closed the highway for a while. It's over for now. I guess
we have
a 30% chance of rain or thunderstorms tonight and early Saturday
morning, cloudy and clearing in the afternoon. Nice Sunday and
Monday.
Good fishing, & good luck.
07/13/2000
Hello, it's Thursday morning. We had another great day at Lake
Erie,
yesterday. It looks like we are having another today. The sun
is
shining, the air temperature is about 70 degrees the wind is light
and
variable out of the east. Just a beautiful day! The only thing
is that
the drift fishermen might not have enough wind for a good walleye
drift. This would probably be a good day to be able to troll.
The
walleye fishermen have been doing really well this week. I have
heard
of several limits. One charter captain told me yesterday that
he has
limited out now for six days in a row. I had a good question asked
of
me yesterday on my e-mail, and this is a good time of the year
to share
this information with everyone who is interested in perch fishing.
I
want to thank Joel for asking this question: I'm coming up there
early next week and was wondering if the bait shops are having
trouble getting the shiners. This has been a rumor but I'm not
sure
if it's true. I don't want to waste my time fishing if I can only
get
regular minnows, because I hear they don't work for perch. I've
also
heard that the bait shops that do have shiners, they're only the
really big ones. Do these work well for perch? I have to tell
this story about 200 times a season.
Every time we have a full moon, or the minnow boats can't get
out on
the lake because of bad weather or whatever, every time the lake
shiners spawn. We bait shops just cannot get lake shiners anytime
we
want them. So along time ago, long be for I even thought about
owning a
bait & tackle store, we had the same problem finding lake
shiners to go
perch fishing with. Back then, in the late 70's and early 80's
all of
the bait stores would have chubs and fatheads if they didn't have
lake
shiners. Well those minnows did work, but it has been said that
some
times during the year, if the perch weren't biting too well they
wouldn't hit them quite as good as lake shiners. So everyone thought
they had to have shiners. My wife and I found a little bait store
up at
the end of Catawba Island, Al's Bait, that sold "golden shiners".
We
tried them and we liked them. So every time we couldn't find lake
shiners we would go buy them. They were more money but we had
very good
success with them. Then when we bought the store here I started
getting
them when we couldn't get lake shiners and now most of my customers
are
using them and they don't care which minnows they get. They know
that I
don't sell chubs or fatheads, so they trust us that what ever
they get
from us will catch fish. I know it is hard to believe, but there
are a
lot of us that prefer the Golden shiners. They are a shiner, they
have
scales, unlike chubs and fatheads, and they are a hardier shiner.
They
are raised in the rice fields of Arkansas in the warm water, therefore
they have to fight off more things that grow in the water. They
keep
easier in this cold water we have up here, and they live a lot
better
on the hook. Sometimes you can catch 3 or 4 perch on the same
minnow.
Try them if we don't have lake shiners, you will like them. Also
it is
easy to blame the bait for the fact that you aren't killing the
fish,
if you aren't using the bait you have confidence in. I tell people,
if
you aren't catching fish on these golden shiners, Move, the problem
isn't the bait, you just are not in the right place. I guess I
am
saying, I would never stay home because I couldn't find lake shiners.
I
would take gold shiners and go have a good day fishing. Thanks
for the
reply, Don. And now for the weather. We are suppose to have a
chance of
some rain late tonight. A 60% chance of rain or thunderstorms
Friday.
And nice all weekend. Lets go fishing.
07/11/2000
Hello, it's Tuesday morning. I got a fishing report for you this
morning. Just had a fellow in the store, Bill Sulesky, that lives
on
South Bass Island, in Put-In-Bay. He was out walleye fishing with
Captain Joe Kostura of Hard Water Charters who lives and works
out of
Put-In-Bay too. I guess Joe just had two people fishing with him
so he
asked Bill to go with him. Bill said they were fishing out west
of
North Bass Island, and south of F Can and Middle Sister Island.
That is
part of what we call "the flats". The flats is an area
that just has a
flat mud bottom all about the same depth, around 32 feet, and
extends
from Rattlesnake Island on the east to West Sister Island on the
west,
the Canadian border south of Middle and East Sister Islands on
the
north, and Niagara Reef to the south. That is were the walleyes
always
school up and feed this time of year. After the spawn is over
and the
fish rest for a while they start schooling up and start getting
hungry.
This year we had so many different kinds of weather, and storms
that
the walleyes didn't school up till late. I think they have started
now.
We have been doing really well now for about two or three weeks.
We are
still having our share of bad fishing weather. One thing good
about all
the rain we have been getting is that it has brought the lake
level up.
It is probably up from this spring a foot or two. Back to the
fishing
trip. Bill said the four of them had 31 walleyes. They must have
been
trolling because he was buying Jet Divers and Stinger Scorpion
Spoons.
The thing I found interesting about his story was that they caught
a
lot of very small walleyes from 6 to 7" and from 12 to 13"
long. He
said they must have caught 30 of them. That tells me good news.
Those 6
to 7" fish are this years hatch, and the 12 to 13" fish
are last years
hatch. Sounds like we could have some good walleye fishing for
the next
few years. That is if we could keep the Gill Nets out of them.
That's
another story. Thanks for the report Bill Sulesky. Weather looks
good
for the next couple of days. Lets go fishing. Good fishing, &
good
luck.
07/10/2000
Hello, it's Monday evening. Didn't here any feedback on today's
fishing. I know quite a few people went out today. Then about
3:00 pm,
it started raining and it rained hard and it rained hard and it
rained
hard. We must have got 3 to 5 inches of rain. It just stopped
about
8:30. I'm going to share an e-mail that I received and replied
to from
Tammy: Tammy, the weapon is a worm harness that we developed here
at
Hi-Way Bait & Tackle. It is manufactured here in the area
by Frans
Favorite Lure Co. They started building harnesses exclusively
for us in
about 1995 when the zebra mussels hit Lake Erie, and the Erie
Dearie
type lures didn't work as good as they did when the water wasn't
so
clear. In 1997 we found that if we made our harness smaller so
we could
cast it and retrieve it while drifting, We could catch walleyes
again
like we used to. So in the last of 97 Frans Favorite with help
from
Hi-Way Bait we developed what we called the Weapon. We have them
in the
store all the time. Since we came out with them they have been
copied
by several people including Erie Dearie. They now have a lure
they call
the weapon. Our customers have bought almost 30,000 of the Frans
Favorite "Weapon", and they have caught a lot of fish.
They cost $1.79.
I thought this might be interesting to some of you who
haven't been turned on to the "Weapon" yet. I think
the rain is over
for a day or maybe two. I'll find out more about the fishing tomorrow
morning and let you know. Good fishing, & good luck.
07/09/2000
Hello, it's Sunday evening. It was a beautiful day at Lake Erie.
Didn't
here anything yet about today's fishing. There were a lot of people
fishing today. George Boston that works in the store with us,
fishing
with Dave Scales did very good bass fishing today they caught
about 40
or 50 smallmouth bass up to 3 lb. They were fishing over around
Kelleys
Island. They were in a bass boat, and they said it got a little
rough
before they got in. Yesterday, I heard of a lot of walleyes caught.
I
think most people caught fish. I heard of 4 charters that had
over 40
fish. We had a Fish Ohio Walleye weighed in yesterday. It was
caught by
Bill Daly of Batavia, Ohio. He was fishing on David Shade's boat
from
Berea, Ohio. They caught it out by Gull Shoal, and it weighed
8 ? /b.
and it was 29 ?" long. We had a storm this evening, that
didn't last
too long, I'm glad it waited till Sunday evening. We had a good
weekend. I guess it's suppose to be that way for the next two
days,
nice during the day with a chance of rain or storms in the evening.
Good fishing, & good luck.
07/08/2000
Hello, it's Saturday morning, about 7:45. It was a little windy
yesterday on the lake. There were 3 to 5 ft. waves subsiding to
2 to 4'
in the afternoon. There were some with bigger boats that went
out
fishing. The walleye fishermen didn't do to bad. The one captain
that I
talked to this morning said his group caught 16 fish and they
were all
bigger fish. I assumed they were in the 20 to 26" range the
way he
talked. He said he was in Canada so he could hide from the wind
on the
lee side of Pelee Island. They were using weapons with the gold
scale
blade painted perch. And a ? oz. inline sinker ahead of it. We
talked
to some perch fishermen that fished on the lee side of Catawaba
Island
that caught some nice perch out of the wind. A lot of people went
bass
fishing too. Haven't talked to any of them yet, but I would guess
that
they did good because the smallmouth bass always bite good if
you can
find where they are at that day. The weather is suppose to be
nice
today, Sunday, and Monday. With a chance of scattered showers
or
thunderstorms in the afternoon Sunday and Monday. Good fishing,
& good luck.
Reports for the week of 6/26/00:
06/20/2000
Hello, it's Tuesday evening. Had an excellent day at Lake Erie
today. The Griffith group from Indiana caught their limit of walleyes
today. They had 109 lbs. of fish for 36 fish. They had almost
160 lbs. of fish for the two days of fishing. We started catching
walleyes on our side of the border today too. I know of one boat
of 4 guys that had 30 walleyes drift fishing. And there were several
others that caught their fish right here in Ohio.
06/19/2000
Hello, it's Monday evening. The weather was pretty good today.
Had air temperatures in the 70's, winds were out of the south
at 10 to 15 mph, and the waves were 1 to 3 ft. There were even
some walleyes caught after the rain and wind we had yesterday,
that stirred the water up. Captain Buc McNeil of Warrior I Charters
had a group of fellows out fishing from Indiana, The Griffith
bunch, they went to Canada and caught 13 walleyes. John, one of
the group, caught a Fish Ohio walleye that was 28 ?" long.
They had 49 pounds of fish. They were happy, they said they were
going to go back today and catch more, maybe a limit. Captain's
Bart and Claudie Blaha of Sportsman Charters caught 35 walleyes
today. He said they were all nice fish. So there are some walleyes
being caught you just have to find that school of fish that is
biting, and find a presentation that they want. Both of these
captains were drifting, and casting. I'm not sure what they were
using though, whether it was weapons or weight forward spinners,
or dragging worm harnesses and bottom bouncers. From what I can
gather I think some of them are using weight forward spinners.
I know one man said he caught his on a fire tiger color Storm
Pygmy. A lot of nice perch were taken today. Two men were telling
me that they were catching them really fast and they had about
15 perch to go to get their limit for them and there two little
girls, when the two girls decided they wanted to fish. They spent
the next hour baiting the hook, and taking the fish off and the
two girls caught the last 15 fish to finish out their limit. The
smallmouth bass are being caught also. Captain Bart Blaha said
he couldn't keep from catching bass while trying to catch walleyes.
I guess there is another front coming in Wednesday. I'll try to
keep you updated, so you can make plans.
06/18/2000
Hello, it's Sunday evening. Had a bad day at lake Erie today.
It started raining last night about 1:00 am, and it didn't stop
until about noon today. The wind was blowing about 20 to 25mph
too. It just wasn't a good fishing day. A few of the braver charters
went out and hid behind an island and went bass fishing. I guess
they caught some bass. The water is all stained now and it will
slow the walleye fishing down for a couple of days. The weather
is suppose to be nice now for a couple of days at least. We don't
need any more rain for a while. Every thing is nice and green
but we haven't had enough fishing days.
06/17/2000
Hello, it's Saturday evening. Had a beautiful day today. We caught
some fish too. It was a little cloudy this morning, and light
and variable winds. The storms and rain went south of us because
all the people coming here from the south said it was raining
everywhere down there. We had a good day fishing finally. The
5 men from Illinois and they were fishing with Captain Wayne Landers
of Pac Man Charters. They said they were fishing across the line
in Canada. We had 2 fellows in the store this afternoon that had
caught 17 walleyes drifting, this morning and they were buying
minnows because they were going perch fishing this afternoon.
If they get their limit of perch that would make them a pretty
good day. Captain Austin Tester of EB's Pride Charters was just
in the store, telling how he had 120 lbs of walleyes to day. I
didn't talk to him so I can't tell you how or where he caught
them, but Austin doesn't tell stories,(very often anyway). Got
a bass story for you. It seems this little girl caught this big
smallmouth bass, (they know it was a bass because they saw it
jump), on her Snoopy fishing pole. She was having a hard time
getting it in to shore and the bass broke the line and got away.
They were so excited that she had even caught a fish, let alone
a bass. Her dad and her were back in the store buying her a heavier
rod and reel, also I think they wanted to tell us the story. Every
one seemed to be catching fish today, walleyes, perch, bass, and
everything else in the lake. Tomorrow is suppose to be the same
weather as today. Hopefully we will have the same fishing day
we had today.
06/16/2000
Hello, it's Friday evening. Today was pretty nice day. A little
warm and a little windy. Not too bad though. At least we had a
walleye drift. It didn't seem to help the catch though. The walleye
fishermen didn't do well on the average. I heard of one captain
that went to Canada and fished and caught 30 walleyes today. That
was the best I heard of, most of the fishermen that stayed in
Ohio didn't do that well. Maybe it was because of the full moon.
It is full now, you know. When we have a full moon the fish feed
at night then they aren't hungry during the day. At least we didn't
have any storms today. I guess we are suppose to have more storms
this weekend, in the evenings. Their still catching perch and
smallmouth .
06/15/2000
Hello, it's Thursday evening. Had a nice day except the wind blew
a little to hard for the fishermen. A lot of people went walleye
fishing, they thought the drift would be about right, but I guess
it was a little too rough. They didn't do very good. It was just
to rough. I guess the water got stirred up too. It was too windy
for perch fishing also. It is suppose to be a little windy tomorrow,
10 to 20mph out of the south. Probably some perch and smallmouth
bass fishermen will go out tomorrow, they can stay close to shore
and stay out of the wind. Or they can hide behind an island. Remember,
smallmouth bass season opens Saturday June 24th in Canada. That
is a lot of fun. Just get a lot of soft craws (you are going to
need them), and go over to Pelee Island, stop and check in at
customs, get your fishing license, and then go fishing any place
around Pelee Island. They protect their bass over their while
they are spawning until the last Saturday in June. I wish we would
do that here on our side. One reason is it's not as crowded with
boats, The other reason is the fish don't get as much pressure
especially the smallmouth bass. We like bass to eat fresh, so
we always keep 4 or 5 and throw the rest back. We usually catch
30 or 40 bass in a day, some times more. The weather for tomorrow
will be just like today, maybe not quite so windy. Sat and Sun.
should be the same with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Reports for the week of 9/1/99:
September 2, We apologize, but there isn't much to report for the upcoming Labor Day weekend. The fishing has been fair for perch and tough for walleye.
Perch are being caught around Cedar Point, Marblehead, Kelleys Island, Green/Rattlesnake Islands and many of the usual places. Fish mostly in 30-35 feet of water.
The walleye fishing has been SLOW! Nothing else to say about it. Very few anglers or Charters are catching walleye. Most efforts are currently focused on perch.
The forecast is for the upcoming weekend is great. No rain, calm winds and warm weather. The predicted highs will be in the mid-80s.
The lake water temperature is still 70 degrees.
Reports for the week of 8/23/99:
August 26, It's been a terrible week for fihing on the lake. The weather has been RAIN, RAIN, RAIN! For the past three days, it has rained and the wind was blowing out of the north or north-west. Today, Thursday, it is still raining.
On Monday, there were a few reports of the perch fishing being FAIR. However, after this weeks bad weather and northern winds, we have to idea how the fishing will be for the upcoming weekend.
The forecast is for rain today with a high of 77 degrees. Winds will be southwest up to 10mph. Rain for Friday and chance of rain on Saturday.
If anything changes, we will update this page.
The lake water temperature has dropped to 70 degrees.
Reports for the week of 8/16/99:
August 20, We're a day late updating this report for a reason. The walleye fishing has been extremely slow, as it usually is in August. The only good report we have is from some boaters that went out on Wednesday, with no intention to fish, but ran across a large school of walleye west of Rattlesnake Island. The finder "kept flashing the fish icon" said one passenger. So, they decided to cast a few lures and see if they would have any luck. They pulled up 16 walleye between 4 anglers. They caught them on Rapala Shad Raps behind Dipsy Divers. Some charter captains are managing to find a few walleyes, but no real numbers are reported.
The perch fishing has been excellent.The area between Kelleys Island and Put-in-Bay are productive. The area around the Cedar Point Channel (actually called the Mosley Channel) are good. Head straight out the channel, out from the tip of the breakwall about 1-2 miles. And around Marblehead are still productive.
For any anglers trying to head out today or this weekend. Be careful. the temperature will be near 80 degrees. The winds have been blowing out of the north, north-east since Wednesday. Today, the winds are once again north-east, up to 25 mph. The waves are 2-4, climbing to 3-5 footers later in the day. Tomorrow, the local forecast is mostly sunny, with a high of 79 degrees. Winds will once again me out of the north.
The lake water temperature is 74 degrees.
Reports for the week of 8/9/99:
August 12, Put the Dipsy Divers, Erie Dearies and worm harnesses away and pull out the perch speaders! The walleye fishing this week has slowed down tremendously. We have ZERO reports of anyone bringing in a limit. A few fish are being caught, but no large numbers. The fishing is difficult.
Niagra Reef, Crib Reef, Green Island, West of Rattlesnake Island and the Flats are the only places a few fish are being caught. Whether your casting or trolling, the fishing is really slow. We have nothing to say because the fishing is so bad right now.
But, to keep you busy, the perch fishing over the past couple of days is HOT! The perch are everywhere. Many anglers are catching their limits within 1/2 hour. The better fishing is around the islands, but the Flats and the waters around Marblehead are also productive. It really doesn't seem to matter where your fishing, the perch seem to be there.
If the walleye fishing changes for the better, we will be sure to update this page.
The weather today will be great for fishing on the lake. Partly sunny, slight SW wind and a high of 83 degrees. Tonights low will be 65 degrees. Tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 84 degrees and a low tomorrow night of 64 degrees. And then on Saturday, they are calling for mostly cloudy skies, 40 percent chance of rain and a high of 77.
The lake water temperature is 76 degrees.
Reports for the week of 8/2/99:
August 5, Sorry for the delay in updating these reports. We went on a vacation.... and somebody else was supposed to do the fishing report updates. Well, as you all were able to see, they DID NOT do them! They did the reports, but couldn't figure out how to upload them onto the web site. We apologize for this inconvenience. Thanks for the e-mails regarding this problem, unfortunately we couldn't read them until we got back. Now, on with the reports.
The fishing this week has been really good. The weather has been great, except for a late thunderstorm that moved thru the area yesterday afternoon. A lot of anglers were catching fish.
A lot of walleye are currently being caught. The area around Green Island, Rattlesnake Island and C-Can seem to be the most productive with the best reports of good fishing. A few walleyes are also showing up off Ruggles Beach, in Huron. The fishing in that area has been good. Some fisherman are still heading out towards the Sister Islands, but the fishing hasn't been as good as the near shore reefs and the Flats. It's not worth the run-time to get there when the fishing is so much better closer to shore.
The hot techniques that many Charter Boats and individual anglers are using to bring in their limits are: drift casting short worm harnesses with 1/8, 1/4 and up to 1/2 ounce in-line lead sinkers. The harnesses with a Perch Blade; Yellow, Black w/ Red have been the luckiest harnesses. On one charter boat, the only anglers who caught his limit was using this combination! The others only caught 3-5 walleye a piece. Also, the Hammer-Gold blade seems to be fairly productive.
The fish seem to be holding in 25-30 feet of water. The fisherman that choose to troll are having some luck, not as much though. They are catching the bigger fish, but not as many. Many of the trollers are trolling deeper than a drift-caster can fish, which is probably the reason for the larger fish.
The Perch fishing is also fairly good right now. Perch are being caught off the Marblehead Reef, aka: Dumping Ground. And lots of Perch are being caught between the Lakeside Pier and Kelleys Island.
Todays weather is going to be good for fishing also. A slight Northwest breeze, partly cloudy and a high temperature of 82 degrees. The waves on the lake are 2-4 feet, increasing to 3-5 feet late in the day. They will be a small craft advisory posted with the larger waves. Tomorrow is going to be sunny and a high of 85 degrees. Saturday, there's a chance of rain late in the day with a high of 84 degrees.
Some really good fishing reports were given by Hi-Way Bait Store. They reported many anglers reaching their limits and a lot fisherman are catching some nice size walleyes. Also, a few charter captains reported some great catches with early-in-the-day limits. Many anglers aren't staying out more than 3-5 hours.
The lake water temperature is 77 degrees.
Reports for the week of 7/12/99:
July 15, The fishing has been fair this week and over last weekend. Yesterday one Charter Boat picked up 50 nice walleye. Many others reported 30 to 40 fish in their boxes. Most of the good fishing has moved from far out near West Sister Island into the Flats area. The area North of Green Island has been decent yesterday with a number of boats brining in their limits. Also, the area West of Rattlesnake Island has been producing. The fish are in most of the areas from Green and Rattlesnake Island up to the area around Middle Sister Island. The area around West Sister Island seems to have slowed down over the course of this week.
Trolling for the walleye hasn't been very successful for to many anglers. The best approach this week has been drifting and casting Night Crawler harnesses. Weight forward spinners are still working, although not as good as the crawler harness. For those determined to use the unproductive method of trolling, Rack Spoons and Stingers are your best bet. A few anglers are still trollling stick style crankbaits and have reported a few fish being caught with this method. Again, most of the boats bringing in the largest number of fish are drifting and casting.
Hi-Way Bait Store reports a number of anglers are bringing in many nice walleye in the 23" to 26" size from the flats area. Many are using their crawler harnesses that are made by the Tackle Shop located in Marblehead.
The water today is expected to reach 91 degrees and there is no rain in todays forecast. The winds are currently blowing out of the South at 12 MPH. Waves on the lake are less than 2 feet. The winds will become on-shore later in teh afternoon. The weather forecast for the upcoming weekend looks positive for fishing. Slightly breezy and very little chance of rain.
The lake water temperature is 73 degrees.
Reports for the week of 7/5/99:
July 9, There is a Small Craft advisory on te lake today. The wind is blowing hard out of the Southwest between 15 and 25 MPH, waves currently are 2-4 feet. The wind is going to switch later today and blow up to 35 MPH, the waves are predicted to rise to 3-5 feet or greater. There are also heavy thunderstorms expected this afternoon. The high today will be 90 degrees.
Some good catches were reported yesterday around West Sister Island near the shipping Channel. Mostly caught on worm harnesses and weight forward spiners. Middle Sister reported a few good catches also, in 30-33 feet of water.
July 8, Depending on who you talked to over the 4th of July weekend, the fishing was great or poor. A few boats pulled in lots of fish. One in particular put 31 in the box around West Sister Island. They were all decent in size, and were caught before 1:00. The anglers were casting and drifting those special made worm harnesses from Hi-Way Bait Store. Another boat, fishing the same area only picked up 1 walleye in five hours. But their technique was trolling. It was breezy over the long weekend, and most anglers that caught fish did so by drifting and casting. The same spots that were producing fish over the weekend are still the hot-spots late in this week and probably through this weekend.
West Sister Island seems to be where all the boats are heading. As your heading across the lake, you may not see any fisherman until you get to the Sister Islands. A few anglers are getting their limits, but the fishing hasn't been great. Middle Sister is also a hot-spot for the walleye. And the are between F Can & G Can are producing. Most of the Charters are heading far out towards the Sister Islands, and most are having a fair amount of success.
The heavy winds from the weekend finally came to an end on Wednesday, and the temperature has dropped back to the normal and comfortable mid-80's. Today, there is just a slight SW breeze, and the high is expected to be 84 degrees. The forecast for the weekend is very similar. The majority of the Mayflies seem to be gone, which is leading to the walleye being hungry again.
As usual, when the winds are this calm, you best bet is to troll Rack or Stinger type lures. A few boats are having luck trolling worm harnesses. If the winds pick up again, like earlier in the week, drifting and casting worm harnesses is your best bet. Also, weight forwards seem to be working, but not as effectively as worm harnesses.
Perch are beginning to be caught around Cedar Point and Marblehead. They are not the large jumbo perch and they are not in large schools yet, but they are beginning to move into the area.
The lake water temperature is 74 degrees.
Reports for the week of 6/29/99:
July 1, We had a difficult time trying to acquire the amount of fishing reports needed for the Thursday's report. Most of our sources were either hard to get in contact with or never replied with any fishing reports. We think that next week will be better.
From the few reports we recieved, today was a good day on the lake. The winds made for a great drift, and the overcast sky (at least mostly overcast) brought the fish a little closer to the surface. We had a good report from a charter captain fishing around West Sister today. The were drift-casting and caught 23walleyes between 4 anglers on-board. The Flats seemed to produce some fish in the morning, but all our reports said the fish quit hitting around 11:30-1:00. A local angler picked up 5 walleye this morning trolling around Niagra Reef. He had his lines in at 6:45 am, and quit at 9:30.
That's all the reports for today. Again, hopefully next week will will have plenty more. Especially now that all our sources know of the NEW procedure of getting the reports on-line on Thursday.
The weather this weekend is looking great.... almost too nice. Highs in the 90's and a little breeze. No chance of rain, after tonight, until late Sunday. Good luck this weekend.
June 28, Once again we received a few e-mails requesting that we return to our DAILY fishing reports as we were doing during in April and May. We also received a number of request saying that we should update the reports later in the week. We agree with these comments, and this week we will attempt to change our procedure and give the fishing reports on Thursday morning. The only problem we see with this new idea; the charter captains, fisherman, and tackle shops are very busy now during the week, and it may be a little difficult compiling the reports from all of our sources. However, we will try this new approach and hopefully it will help al you fisherman out.
The past weekends fishing reports were FAIR to GOOD depending on where you fished. The fishing was a little difficult because of two basic problems: 1) MAYFLIES!!! 2) calm water.
The Mayflies were once again a problem, as they will be for a few more weeks. They weren't as bad as they have been, neither on the water or on land. And there population is definitely going down. But they are still a problem. Also, the weekends lack of wind made drift/casting difficult. The angler/charters not prepared to troll did not catch nearly as many fish as those trolling.
The Sister Islands seemed to be the recent Hot-Spots, along with the are between F Can and G Can known as the Flats.
Yesterday, was a pretty good day for many anglers. West Sister Island produced plenty of fish for most of the charter boats fishing that area. The western reefs were spotty, some boats were in the fish while others only were able to pick up a few. Niagra seemed to be the most productive reef on yesterday.
Middle Sister Island had a number of boats reaching their limits yesterday reports Hi-Way Bait Store in Marblehead. The Mayflies aren't as much of a problem and the fish seem to be more willing to hit a lure.
The techniques that are reported to work; when it's calm anglers are trolling Rack Spoons and Stingers and worm harnesses. Reef Runners are still a Can't-do-without lure while trolling. On the windier days, like today, drifting and casting worm harnesses and weight forward spinners are key producers.
Currently this morning the weather is cloudy and WINDY at 9:00 am. The high today is expected to only be in the upper 70s. There is a SMALL CRAFT advisory on the lake, waves are 3-5 feet. Tomorrow should be a little nicer, and not as windy. the predicted weather for tomorrow is clear and sunny, NW winds blowing 10-15 mph changing to SW later in the day.
The lake water temperature is 74 degrees.
Reports for the week of 6/21/99:
June 21, We've received a few e-mails requesting that we return to our DAILY fishing reports as we were doing during in April and May. However, out of the more than 15,000 hits a month this page gets, we only heard from a few of you So we are assuming this doesn't bother many of you. Again, since the warm summer weather has arrived and the fish generally remain in the same areas for a number of days, we will not be doing the daily fishing report. We will update the reports when we receive NEW INFORMATION or the fishing conditions change. It doesn't seem necessary to give you the same report everyday which is almost a carbon copy of the previous reports. We hope this isn't much of a inconvenience to any of you, and we don't think it will be. We we return to the daily reports as the walleye begin to move East for their summer-time holding spots.
The fishing has been tough the past few days and over the weekend. The problem, once again, the Mayfly hatches. We had a large Mayfly hatch again this year, and the water is full of them. There are areas out on the lake that look like small islands from all the Mayflies floating on the surface. The fish can feed whenever they want, and most of them are full of Mayflies. Some anglers, after filleting their fish, said there stomachs were FULL of these bugs!
One boat of trollers were able to pick up 18 'eyes in the flats west of Rattlesnake, between C & D cans. They were trolling crawler harnesses and Reef Runners, both of which produced equal number of fish. The western reefs have been hard to fish also. A lot of fish are being marked, and we do mean A LOT! But they just aren't hitting. A few of the areas better charter boats and good anglers are able to pick up some walleye, but they are working hard at it.
Some fish are even being picked up around South Bass Island and Starve Island. Again, not a lot of fish are being caught anywhere except by the anglers that know how to get the fish to bite. Many of the Charter Boats are having FAIR success.
A few fisherman, with Canadian Fishing Licenses headed up towards the Canadian waters and had a lot of luck. The Wagon Wheel and the area West of Pelee island have been very successful. REMEMBER, you do need a Canadian fishing license to fish in these waters.
The peak of the Mayfly hatch is finished, so we should be seeing less Mayflies and more hungry fish in the coming weeks.
The lake water temperature is 72 degrees.
Reports for the week of 6/14/99:
June 14, Once again (not to repeat ourselves, but to make sure everyone reads this message), since the warm summer weather has arrived and the fish generally remain in the same areas for a number of days, we will not be doing the daily fishing report. We will update the reports when we receive NEW INFORMATION or the fishing conditions change. It doesn't seem necessary to give you the same report everyday which is almost a carbon copy of the previous reports. We hope this isn't much of a inconvienance to any of you, and we don't think it will be. Let us know if this new method doesn't seem to make sense. Now, on with the reports.
Well, Monday was a BAD day for fishing. It was fairly windy, and the walleye just werent hitting. A LOT of sheapshead were caught, but not many walleye. A few walleye were picked up around the western basin. Rattlesnake Island, Middle Bass Island and Sugar Island Reef were a few spots the produces a FEW walleye. The fishing and winds were so bad yesterday, that most of the Charter boats pulled in their lines around 2:00.
Over the past weekend, the fishing was good, if you could put up with the 94 degree weather and high humidity. A lot of fish were caught in the Flats west of Rattlesnake Island. Also, plenty of walleye were caught around West Sister Island. Most of the more productive anglers were trolling over the weekend due to the lack of wind.
The fishing should be better today. The temperature will be coolerm the high only expecting to reach 64 degrees. The winds are currently blowing a little hard out of the North West at 20 MPH. But they are expected to slow down a littte later this morning.
The lake water temperature is 66 degrees, but feels a lot warmer.
Reports for the week of 6/7/99:
June 7, To start off, since the warm summer weather has arrived and the fish generally remain in the same areas for a number of days, we will not be doing the daily fishing report. We will update the reports when we receive NEW INFORMATION or the fishing conditions change. It doesn't seem necessary to give you the same report everyday which is almost a carbon copy of the previous reports. We hope this isn't much of a inconvienance to any of you, and we don't think it will be. Let us know if this new method doesn't seem to make sense. Now, on with the reports.
The fishing has been great for the past few days. Over the weekend and yesterday had lots of great catches. A number of anglers and charter boats reached their limits in a short time. Where's the Hot-Spots? Everywhere! We have reports of fisherman catching walleye all around the islands, over most of the usual reefs, and still a few in the Sandusky Bay. Green Island and Rattlesnake Island seem to get the most boating activity, but North Bass, Middle Bass, and around Starve Island have also been producing some really good catches. A few anglers are still fishing around the North side of Kelleys and pulling in some large catches. Niagra Reef is probably the most popular reef, but plenty of the other western reefs are also producing fish.
The fish have moved HIGH in the water column in the past day or two. You may be in 30 feet of water, but the walleye are suspended in the 7-15 foot depths. So, if drifting, trolling or casting... don't let the bait reach the bottom. At least not during these current conditions.
Since it's been fairly breezy the past few days, the boat anglers have been drifting and casting worm harnesses. The method of adding an in-line lead sinker has been very productive. Also, a worm harness attached to a bottom bouncer is another great method. For the few times the wind has died down, late Sunday for example, trolling Reef Runner lures and/or worm harnesses is a sure bet.
A few anglers are heading out for the late evening/night fishing and are reporting some great catches. We went out at 8:30pm on Sunday night and boated 15 walleye by 10:00. A few boats out there also reported similar catches. Just be careful and make sure you have navigational lights, plenty of gas and a good battery.
The lake water temperature is 64 degrees, but feels a lot warmer.
Reports for the week of 6/1/99:
June 4, Small craft advisories and heavy winds kept many fisherman off the lake AGAIN yesterday. The waves were 3-5 feet, and the winds blew up to 25 MPH. We received a number of poor to fair reports from charter boats and tackle shops. Niagra Reef still seems to be the Number One spot to hook into the walleye. Crib Reef and a few of the other western reefs were also somewhat productive. Because of the winds, drifting was primarily the system being used yesterday. Again, drifting worm harnesses and bottom bouncers seems to be the best technique. Green Island and South Passage also were semi-productive. No major catches were reported, but the catches were from one walleye to 13 walleyes per boat. Hopefully, because the weather is getting better now, the catches and reports will increase.
The weather for today and thru the weekend seems perfect. Today, the high will reach 75 degrees. Tomorrow, the high will see the low 80's. And on Sunday, 90 degrees is expected. No rain is in the forecast. There should be a slight wind today and tomorrow, making these two days ideal drifting weather.
June 3, Yesterday was ANOTHER crummy day on the lake. Heavy rain and winds stopped most anglers from heading out. The few that made it out before the rain and winds started at 11:00 am picked up a few walleye. The fishing was extremely spotty. One here and one there. Not many of the charter captains headed out mainly because of the weather. A small craft advisory was issued and heavy rains made it nearly impossible to fish. The few reports we did get were poor. One boat picked up 2 walleye on Niagra Reef drifting worm harnesses. Another boat had none at Niagra. One fish reported from the area around Green Island, etc. All reports were poor with small, if any fish. Listening to the VHF also backed the bad fishing. Not much talking going on, and the ones that were chatting had nothing good to say.
Well, after the past 3 days of rain and winds, today should shape-up a little. NO RAIN is expected today, however looking outside right now you could have fooled us. The high today should reach 75 degrees, it's currently 67 at 7:20 am. The winds will be SW up to 15 MPH, which makes a good day for drifting.
June 2, A few 'Fish Ohio Walleye' were caught over the Memorial Day weekend. Saturday and Sunday were great days, warm temperatures and clear skies. The 'Fish Ohio's" were caught around Kelleys Island. Not a lot of fish were caught, but the ones netted were large ones. A couple other 'Fish Ohios' were caught around Green Island. The lake was fairly calm over the weekend, so the most successful anglers were trolling.
Yesterday, the best spot to be fishing was around Niagra Reef reports Hi-Way Bait Store in Marblehead. Plenty of walleye were caught in that area from anglers fishing worm harnesses and drifting. A few charter captains started to head a little east on the lake. Most didn't have any good luck and only caught sheapshead. The weather yesterday was overcast, rainy and 67 degrees. Today, no rain is expected this morning, but the sky is still gray and windy. The lake has a 2-3 foot chop on it right now, but it is expected to increase to 4 footers later in the day. Storms are predicted to move into the area again this afternoon.
The lake water temperature is 59 degrees.
Reports for the week of 5/24/99:
May 27, The weather report for yesterday ended up being half wrong (as usual). It started off as a terrbile looking day, however by late afternoon, the sun came out, the wind stopped and the temperature reached 67 degrees. However, we still did not receive any fishing reports, probably because nobody headed out early in the day and by the time the weather broke, it was to late. Today, it's looking like a great day. The temperature is already 63 degrees at 7:00 am, sunny and clear. Hopefully we will get some good fishing reports later today.
The lake will probably be muddy and churned up from the wind over the past few days. So fishing will be spotty for the next couple of days.
Don't miss the Walleye Festival this weekend. The fair will be located in Port Clinton, on the water near the Jet Express and fishing pier area.
May 26, NOAA reported that there was gail force winds yesterday, creating waves of 6-8 feet. So once again, we have no reports. Today, the winds will once again be strong, up to 25 MPH. The predicted waves for today are 5-7 feet. There still is a Small Craft Advisory posted, it will probably be posted through tonight. By tomorrow, the winds should calm slightly, with tomorrows predicted waves being 3-5 feet. Still a bit rough, but manageable. We don't think anyone will be fishing today, based on the bait stores reports of being empty this morning. A few anglers are trying to get out and are staying near shore. Primarily because their on vacation and just want to fish.
After tomorrow, the weather and wind should change for the better. No rain is expected through most of the weekend, and the winds should die down. We'll keep this posted.
The Lake temp is 57 degrees.
Don't miss the Walleye Festival this weekend. The fair will be located in Port Clinton, on the water near the Jet Express and fishing pier area.
May 25, We have a feeling that this weeks reports will be short and brief. Why? The weather is terrible. Yesterday was cold, the high was 55 degrees, and windy, blowing S-SW up to 27 MPH! Today's high is only going to reach 57 degrees, and the winds are blowing out of the SW at 21 MPH currently at 7:00am. The winds will be 15-25 MPH today.
As for yesterday's fishing reports... we have none. None of our sources went out. The VHF radio was silent. Bait and tackle shops had few fisherman. And the launch ramps were empty. It will probably be close to the same today.
May 24, The weather over the weekend was very poor for fishing. RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. Need we say more? Friday morning and early afternoon was fair, with rain moving in late and quitting by morning. Saturday started off as a decent day, however the rain clouds moved in late in the afternoon. It was suppose to stop by Sunday morning but rained through most of the day and the temperature dropped quite a bit. Hi-Way Bait Store in Marblehead reported many fisherman coming into the store with some nice catches, primarily the western reefs, and around the South Passage. We haven't received our reports from the Charter Captains and other tackle stores yet, which usually means the fishing wasn't as good as they hoped.
Reports for the week of 5/17/99:
May 21, We headed out to try a little fishing for about 2.5 hours yesterday. We only were able to get 2 fish in the boat. We tried drifting around Starve Island. The water was still muddy from the previous weekends high winds. A lot of fish were being marked on the finder, probably White Bass. We picked up 2 of them on our worm harnesses. Listening to the VHF radio, NOBODY was in any Hot-Spots so we just decided to call it quits before we wasted an entire day and caught nothing.
A few fish were caught around Crib Reef, earlier in the morning. Round Reef and Niagra Reef gave up a few fish also. The Reef area were also a little muddy, but clearer than the area around Starve Island and the South Passage. None of the Bait Stores or Charter Services reported any great catches. Most anglers were drifting Bottom Bouncers and worm harnesses. A few boats were trolling the same plus Reef Runner type lures. The reports we received said to troll .5 MPH all the way up to 2.5 MPH. Different speeds worked for different areas.
The weekend forecast looks pretty good. Today, the high will reach 80 degrees. Tomorrow, the high will be 75 degrees. There's a chance of showers later tonight, but they are expected to end by the morning. But it is expected to rain again on Sunday. Of course, it always rains on the weekend. Currently, the winds are about 4-7 MPH out of the S. The winds will be slight heavier over the weekend, expected to be 5-15 MPH. Good for boating and drifting.
If you're going fishing this weekend, try to get to the launch ramps early. Last weekend, we couldn't park our truck ANYWHERE. The entire parking lot at Catawba State Park was full. From what we heard, other launch area had the same problem. Good luck fishing over the weekend.
May 20, The fishing has improved since the wekend. Many fish are being caught around the same patch of reefs including; Cone Reef, Round Reef, and Niagra Reef. Also, a lot of fish are being picked up around Starve Island and a few near Green Island. For some reason, most of the fish reported yesterday were caught drifting crawler harnesses. Today will be a great day on the water. Clear and sunny, but barely any wind. Drifting will probably be impossible due to the lack of wind. Hi-Way Bait Store in Marblehead reports a lot of big fish have been brought in from the fisherman around Starve Island.
May 19, Our reports for yesterday are not very good. It started raining around 9:30-10:00am, and didn't quit until 5:30pm. It was a little breezy, and with the rain, not many fisherman made it out on the lake. A few charters headed out earlier, but the didn't have much time or luck to catch the eyes. The cold front that moved into the area is expected to stick around until later tomorrow. The temperature went from 92 degrees on Monday to 65 degrees yesterday.
Today, the lake will be rough early in the day, N-NW winds up to 20 MPH, waves will be around 3-4 feet. The winds will change later in the day and the lake should calm down to about 2-3 footers. The high today is only expected to hit 68 degrees.
May 18, 92 degrees! The was the hgh for yesterday. The high today will be near 80 degrees, currently at 6:30 am, it's already 69 degrees. There is a good chance for T-Storms today, but probably later in the day. The lake was a little rough yesterday, but the lucky anglers headed out early and were finished before the real winds started to blow. By 2:30-3:00 pm, the winds kicked up to 15-20 MPH, and the sky started to get dark. The fisherman that did head out had varied success. The Reefs seemed to produce decent catches; Round and Niagra were both Hot-Spots yesterday. Bottom Bouncers and trolling Reef Runners are the techniques.
We had a report from an angler yesterday forSunday: May 16th fishing out of port Clinton. maybe 2 miles off bessie using bottom bouncers we caught 11 nice walleye the biggest being 6 1/2 lbs.
May 17, Muddy and cludy. That was the water clarity for most of the western basin over the weekend. The Islands were surrounded by a brownish water and the reefs were also muddy, with some lucky ones just being cloudy. The E-NE winds that blew late last week brought 4-6 foot waves and churned the water up to look like soup.
A few good reports were acquired, but it was mainly poor fishing for everyone, including us. One report of a boat fishing jigs over Round Reef only caught 1 single walleye. A charter captain and his crew picked up 4 walleye around 'A' Can. Most of the chatter on the radio sounded negative, and a lot of boats were moving around looking for the fish. Many boats were fishing around the area west of Green Island. Most of the catches were caught trolling Reef Runner lures.
This weeks weather looks GREAT. Today, the highs will be in the 80s, and that temperature should reamin the same for most of the week. By Tuesday and Wednesday, the water will settle and the fishing should get good.
The average lake water temp is 54 degrees.
Reports for the week of 5/10/99:
May 13, We don't have any fishing reports for Thursday yet, the weather was terrible for fishing and not many anglers headed out. It was WINDY with the occasional rain. Cold, the high was only 58 by the lake amd there were 4-6 foot waves, some may have been bigger. The forecast is for the weather to get nicer today, with weekend highs in the 80's. The 25MPH winds yesterday are sure to muddy the water, which may make for a tough weekend of fishing. If we get any reports today, we will post them.
May 12, Yesterday the fishing was VERY SPOTTY. For example; one charter captain picked up over 50 walleyes, but others in the same area couldn't catch one! The lucky spot was over the reefs by Bessie. Most were caught on bottom bouncers and crawler harnesses. Many anglers are trolling, with Reef Runners being a favorite lure of theirs. The fish seem to be moving around a lotit's taking a lot and it's taking a lot of work to find them.
The winds started to blow pretty hard late yesterday before the T-storms moved in and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees. This cold-front could be the reason the fishing has slowed down. Today, the sky is dark and the wind is blowing E-SE gusting up to 25 MPH! A few fisherman were heading out this morning, mainly targeting the Bay as their only chance to hit the water.
BE CAREFUL. In the past 2-3 days, a couple of people were killed on the water because of the treacherous conditions- Rough seas and heavy winds.
May 11, The reports from the local Captains and bait stores are showing the fish have moved from their spots (in the past week or two). The reports are saying the fishing has tapered down quit a bit around Kelleys Island. One or two random fish are being caught, but nothing worth making a trip for. Rattlesnake Island and the are west of it has also died down a lot. The HOT Spots are the western reef areas, especially Round Reef, Niagra Reef, and the are around Bessy. Be sure to stay out of the Firing Range, the have been firing in the past few days. Anglers are fishing with worm harnesses in 18 to 20 feet. A few are having luck trolling crankbaits, but with the winds that we've been getting, drifting is a good bet. A few anglers are still fishing around the Railroad Bridge in the Sandusky Bay, and producing some nice catches. An even beter spot is the area in the Mosley Channel, in Sandusky, around the Coal Docks. The weather is looking good for this week so the fishing should be great. There's a 30% chance of thunderstorms today, but it will be later in the day.
May 10, It was a nice weekend to be on the lake. Sunny and warm, breezy (but not to much wind) Hi-Way Bait Store recorded another Fish Ohio walleye on Saturday, weighing in at 9 Lbs. and measuring 30 1/2 inches. The fish was caught around A Can. Remember, if you don't know where A Can or any other area listed is, check them out on our GPS page. A few Charter Captains reported nices cathes around the western reefs, with Niagra being the most popular. The are west of Green Island is still producing a number of nice walleye. The fish seem to be spreading into their early summer holding locations. A LOT of people have been fishing the Sandusky Bay area and still are catching walleye. Mosley channel is a great spot reports a local fisherman who caught his limit on Sunday.
The techniques are slowly changing from the slow and deliberate spring style into the early summer style. More and more people are trolling and trolling faster. Weight forward spinners and stick crankbaits are being retrieveda little faster then earlier in the season. Bottom bouncers with worm harnesses are also producing.
Reports for the week of 5/3/99:
May 7, It was a little windy yesterday, gusting up to 20 MPH, but it never did rain. Plenty of anglers headed out with moderate success. Not as many fisherman caught fish like we thought reports the Hi-Way Bait Store. One group of 3 fisherman did catch 14 walleye trolling stick crankbaits around the western reefs. Another Charter Captain and his group of 4 caught 23 walleye drifting crawler harnesses around Rattlesnake. The reports are still calling for the west side of Rattlesnake, Niagra Reef, and the Sandusky Bay to be the hot-spots. The weather throughout the weekend will be 'iffy' at best. There's a good chance of rain everyday, or so they are predicting. Right now it's partly sunny and 57 degrees, expected to hit around 62 degrees, with winds blowing 14 MPH out of the South. The local Bait Stores said there's a lot of people fishing today, more than there's been lately.
The White bass are really picking up in the Sandusky River. More and more large females are being caught now. Minnows and surface draggers w/minnows are the best techniques. The peak of the run will probably be in the next week or two.
May 6, They were predicting some bad weather yesterday... NEVER HAPPENED! It stayed nice all day and was a little warm. Today however is another story. It's breezy out of the South West and a lot od dark clouds. Many boats headed out this morning. It will probably be a little rough on the water, but the weather has been holding up. No rain as of yet even though they are predicting a chance of rain into Saturday. The sun keeps peeking out from behind the clouds.
Yesterday, a few charter captains reported some nice catches again west of Rattlesnake Island. The fish were all shallow, 10 to 15 feet below the surface. The average water depth in that area is between 30 to 33 feet. So the fish are suspended in the center of the water column. A lot of people ARE NOT catching fish mainly because their all fishing off the bottom. TO DEEP.
May 5, The weather was predicting a great day for fishing yesterday; sunny and warm with a 10MPH S wind when we headed out. All the reports of good fishing spots said that west of Rattlesnake Island, Niagra Reef, and the Sandusky Bay were the hot-spots. We decided to hit the area west of Rattlesnake. Since we headed out a little bit to late, the winds switched from the 10MPH south to about 5MPH NE. This made drifting practically impossible. The GPS showed that we were drifting at .3 to .7 (7/10ths) MPH. And since the winds were out of the south when we left, we didn't bring any trolling gear. On the plus side, we managed to pick up 2 nice walleyes in our first hour of fishing. We were casting yellow and chartreuse worm harnesses with a 1/2 ouce lead in-line weight. The 'finder' wasn't marking to many fish, and listening to the Charter Captains on the radio, not many others were doing any better. So instead of wasting our entire day casting for walleye that weren't there, we decided to try and pick up a few smallmouth (which we did very successfully)
Many anglers are reporting catching walleye in the Sandusky Bay also. Around the deep water Mosley Channel seems to be producing a lot of Post-Sawn walleye that are leaving the Sandusky River and headed back into the lake. A few charter boats have even entered into this area. Trolling, casting and jigging are all ways the fisherman are cathcing fish.
The weather is going to take a dive for the worse later today and into the weekend. The temperatures are expecting to fall, and there's a chance of rain and/or thunderstorms EVERY day until Sunday! The highs on Saturday are predicted to be 60 degrees.
May 4, Yesterday was probably the best day of this year to be on the lake. The winds were blowing up to 10MPH out of the south, which made a perfect drift. It was warm and clear. A LOT of people were catching catching fish all day says Hi-Way Bait Store. One charter Captain reported 49 walleye with 5 people aboard his boat early in the morning. The fishing is getting good everywhere. The reefs are really picking up and the water 40 to 50 feet deep on the North side of Kelleys was a hot-spot yesterday. Listening to the VHF, many people were into the fish. Trolling seemed to be the number one technique, but MANY fisherman were catching fish while drifting. We're going to try our luck at it again today and give you the reports later. We're off to a late start which hopefully won't affect the outcome!
May 3, It was a great weekend to be fishing. Saturday was a little slow, probably because of the 4 days of heavy North East winds. A few fish were caught. Some anglers are starting to pick up the fish from the Western Reefs and shollower water. Sunday was a better day, but there wasn't much wind. There was a 3-7 MPH breeze out of the North-East again. The area around the North-East side of Kelleys, which has been the Hot-Spot for weeks, seemed to slow down a litttle. Maybe due to the windy conditions during the week, or because the fish are starting to move into their late spring spots. We'll keep this posted as we gather more of the weekend's reports.
The river walleye fishing is close o it's end says Buckeye Beverage Center in Fremont. A few fish are being caught early in the morning, but a lot more white bass are being caught now. Generally, this means the walleye are done spawning, and the white bass are starting.
Reports for the week of 4/26/99:
April 30, We're updating the report early on this Friday morning. The reason... the winds finally died down. There's just a slight breeze this morning and the winds are expected to blow 5-10 MPH today. We have no good reports from this week because of the 4 days of heavy winds. It's been blowing hard since Monday. The weather looks great over the weekend and the temperatures are climbing. By Sunday, the anglers should be back into some good fishing. It is expected to be a little slow until the waters settles a bit and the fish decide to start hitting again. But remember, we caught 3 earlier this week in 5 foot waves.
April 29, Still windy and rough. Not many people have been fishing. A few have gone out, but no reports .
April 28, The reports for yesterday are .... NO FISHING. The winds were blowing again, NE up to 20 MPH or higher. A few charter boats headed out in the early morning, but the 4 & 5 foot waves made fishing in the 'Hot Spots' practically impossibe. Most of the boats had to stay near the calm areas of the islands. The wind picked up as the day went on. This has been the second day straight of high winds and bad boating conditions. Again, this morning the winds are pretty gusty from the NE at 20MPH and sustained at 15MPH. We're sure there won't be must action on the lake today either.
April 27, Well, we tried OUR luck at some eyes today and here's the report. The weather conditions were mostly unfavorable, cold air temps this morning - 38 degrees, and winds blowing N-NE up to 20 MPH. The waves were 3-5 foots, and choppy with plenty of white caps. It was rough! The bad news is that we only fished for about 15-20 minutes before the waves took their toll on us. The good news is, that in such a short amount of time, we were able to get 3 walleyes in the box! Not bad for 20 minutes of drifting. We counted 7 boats the entire morning, most of which stayed near shore and on the lee side of the islands in calmer water. It was too rough to troll and cast, so we just drifted some 'charttreuse bottom bouncers' with a nightcrawler harness. We were in 52 feet of water, with the 'bouncers' about 35 feet down, and a really fast drift. The GPS showed we were drifting at 4-6 MPH!! That's all it took. Another good source reported a group from Wisconsin that picked up 35 walleyes yesterday, all smaller in the 16-24 inch size. They caught them over Niagra Reef using a lead head jig tipped with a minnow. They were bouncing the jigs along the bottom. Hi-Way Bait Store, had a group report a few walleye yesterday around the North Side of Kelleys.
The fishing has been SLOW. The lake is really churned up and muddy and the fishing took a hit. It is expected to stay fairly nice this week, which should allow the water to settle some. The only chance of rain is still on Wednesday.
The river fishing is still slow also, mainly because of the large amount of rain over the past weekend says Buckeye Beverage Center in Fremont. A few fish were caught today, some big females are still around. Be careful, the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers are still high and fast.
April 26, After a nasty storm front that left the area late Friday, there wasn't much fishing activity on the Lake or Rivers. NOBODY was fishing on Friday, at least that we heard about. A few anglers headed out on Saturday and Sunday and came back in with poor reports. The water was extremely muddy from the weeks rain and winds. Saturday, Sunday and Monday's weather improved, and the fishing should pick back up again this week. Hi-Way Bait Store, says many anglers headed out on Sunday and today(monday.) We spoke to one charter captain that headed out today and limited out with the four aboard by 2:30. Most of the fishing is still in the deep water areas around the Northeast side of Kelleys. The lake has been fairly calm over the past few days which should help the muddy water condition clear up. We will be heading out agin tomorrow and try our luck at catching the 'eyes' and post the results tomorrow.
The Sandusky and Maumee River are still pretty high and muddy says The Tackle Box2. The heavy rains made the river high, FAST, and muddier than ever this spring. not much fishing activity over the weekend, the nice weather brought many 'hopeful' fisherman out to the river, but VERY FEW had any luck.
The average lake water temp is 48 degrees.
Reports for the week of 4/19/99:
April 22, A bad day for fishing. The weather was fairly nice, except for the winds. It was warm, near 70. Some of the anglers fishing the Cabelas Tournament said the waves were 6 feet east of Kelleys Island. A few people caught fish. Most of the anglers in the tourney were trolling worm harnesses, stick baits, and even weight forward spinners. A few were jigging minnows and even worm harnesses. The deep water areas seem to be where the fish are staying. The fisherman were in water as deep as 48-50 feet. The fish are not on the bottom, but suspended at various depths, from 8 to30 feet. The high winds and HEAVY rain Thursday night and Friday morning will be a stop to much of the fishing today. They are calling for rain most of today but expected to clear up by this afternoon. Looking out the window here in Port Clinton, the sky is already breaking, and the rain HAS STOPPED, but it may be a small break in the clouds. The weekend weather should (hopefully) be favorable again. Hi-Way Bait Store, located in Marblehead, says a number of anglers are still bringing in Fish Ohio walleye, many over 10 lbs. Fishing around the North-East side of Kelleys and over some of the western reefs.
The Sandusky and Maumee River are going to have some terrible fishing for the next few days says The Tackle Box2. The heavy rains made the river high, FAST, and muddier than ever this spring. Fisherman in the River were having moderate success this week, but unfortunately the large amount of rain spoiled all that for the weekend.
April 21, The rain that was suppose come, never did.. which made many anglers happy today. Although the fishing was a little better today, the wind conditions made it difficult once again to drift fish. The lack of wind is very unusual for this time of the year. Trolling was once again the winning technique for catching fish. Many of the anglers fishing the Walleye Tournament caught fish, and a few caught a lot of large ones. The charter boats and others are having a slight problem drifting fast enough, and without a trolling motor, it's difficult to move and/drift with enough speed to entice the walleye into hitting the worm harness or minnow tipped jigs. The tourney will be on everyday until the weigh-in on Friday afternoon.
April 20, A great day, weather wise, to be on the lake. Actually, probably too nice. The sun was out, for most of the day and the wind was still. There was just a slight 'roll' on the water. About 50-60 boats where fishing out around the Northwest side of Kelleys Island and a few around the reefs. Most of the walleye around Kelleys Island were caught trolling, SLOWLY, in about 40-50 feet of water. A few anglers were getting some fish jigging. Most of the fish were being caught higher in the water column. We were on the lake today and personally witnessed one boat get a double header while trolling, while another boat about 20 yards off their port side hokked into another fish. The fish were being marked on the finder everwhere in that area. The sun and extreme calm water was probably the reason for such a 'slow' day fishing. Hi-Way Bait Store, reports that anglers are using many different techniques, jigging, casting, and trolling, also both night-crawlers and minnows are being used. A lot of boats have been practising for the Walleye Touney starting tomorrow.
The rivers were also slow producing catches today. Of course a few fish were caught by the same spring techniques, but nothing to plentiful was reported. The Tackle Box2 reports the river is still fast and muddy because of the recent rains, including overnight showers.
April 19, The past weekends weather put a cloud over many anglers fishing plans. High winds and rain covered the area for most of the weekend. As always, a few noble fisherman made attempts at fishing, especially on Sunday when the weather broke for a good part of the day. The Sandusky and Maumee rivers are high, muddy and fast because of all the rain. No reports yet from either The Tackle Box2 located on the Sandusky river in Fremont or Buckeye Beverage Center, also in Fremont for the weekend river fishing.
The Lake is also a little muddy and churned up from the high winds over the weekend. Many boaters headed out and had some luck. The fishing wasn't great, but fish, mostly large, were caught. Hi-Way Bait Store, located in Marblehead reported many more large fish, over 25 inches. The problem with this weekends fishing... it was either too windy, or like Saturday, not windy enough. Many Charter Captains said a little more wind on Saturday would have made the fishing much better. A lot of boaters were on the fish. One hot area contained about 50 boats, all catching walleye, another pack contained about 30-40 boats. One charter boat had 18 fish, all but 3 were over 28 inches long. This week should be a pretty good week for fishing, a little cool, but mostly nice with a slight chance of showers on a few days (about 30%). Most of the good spots are around Kelleys Island, off of Marblehead, and around the reef areas. Jigging with a grub and/or minnow are the best techniques being used.
The average lake water temp is 47 degrees.
Reports for the week of 4/12/99:
April 16, Anglers in the Sandusky River and Maumee River have had great success over the pas week with many anglers limiting out in a few short hours. As always, chartreuse lead head jigs and twister tails have been the popular lures and colors used. Yellow and orange have are still popular reports The Tackle Box2 located on the Sandusky river in Fremont . Buckeye Beverage Center, witnessed a number of large healthy catches over the past weekend and still reports many anglers catching large numbers of walleye along the river, between the two bridges.
The Lake fishing has been slow because of the muddy water conditions early in the week. On Thursday, the water clear up a little, and a number of fisherman caught some walleye over the reefs. Not to many walleye were reported, but the 'good anglers' caught a few says Hi-Way Bait Store, located in Marblehead. The fishing has also improved around Kelleys Island on Thursday. One Charter boat Captain caught 180 POUNDS of fish on Thursday. He was using grubs and minnows on a leasd head jig. Most of these fish have already spawned, so they must be the early runners because the spawn is in high bloom. A few other fisherman caught some walleye around Kelleys on the day. Unfortunaletly, the rain and high winds are back, making it difficult to fish and get back on the lake. It is expected to rain and blow until Sunday.
The average lake water temp is 43 degrees.
Reports for the week of 4/5/99:
No reports for this week. The site was being revised. Sorry.
Reports for the week of 3/29/99:
The walleye fishing is really heating up around the Western Basin. Many anglers are catching theur limits and many fish are above 10 pounds. With the current weather trend, the fishing should great throughout this week.
Today, March 30, many anglers from Indians,Virginia, Illinois, and Missouri have been fortunate to try their luck at the early walleye fishing. Many boat anglers have been having success. And, listening to the VHF radio, many are on top of good fishing areas. Seems the majority of anglers are still fishing around Green Island and over the Western Reefs.
Both the Sandusky and Maumme Rivers are have had good catches for the past week, especially on Saturday and Sunday. Many large catches have been reported this past weeked with many fisherman reaching their limit. Chartreuse lead head jigs and twister tail have been the favorit lure of choice. Yellow and orange have also been popular reports The Tackle Box2 located on the Sandusky river in Fremont . Buckeye Beverage Center, also in Fremont, reports many anglers are starting to catch large numbers of walleye along the river, between the two bridges.
A number of fisherman have had tremendous luck fishing the lake reefs over the past couple of days. Hi-Way Bait Store checked in 6 Fish Ohio Walleye over the past weekend with a many fish over 10 lbs. The Hi-Way Bait Store, located in Marblehead, also has a FREE Fishing report hotline that is updated daily, along with a web site located here. The bait store says most of the fish are being caught around Green Island and off of Marblehead. The primary technique used is verticle jigging with a live minnow added.
The average lake water temp is 39 degrees.
Reports for the week of 3/22/99:
More and more anglers are catching walleye in the Sandusky and Maumme Rivers. Many catches have been reported this past weeked. The water level in the Sandusky river is still low and the water temp has reached 39 degrees. The Tackle Box2 located on the Sandusky river in Fremont is hoping for the water epth to raise and bring in more walleye. The current level of water is unfavorable for the spawning fish. Buckeye Beverage Center, also in Fremont, says anglers are starting ne up along the river, but catches are primarily small males. A few brave anglers have ventured out towards the reefs in hope of catching those prize fish.
Fisherman are still heavily fishing the Cold Creek area for trout. A few small trout, with a couple of larger females have been caught recently.
The average lake water temp is 37 degrees.
Reports for the week of 3/15/99:
The walleye fishing activity should be picking up with this weeks warmer weather forecast. Even though a few walleye have been reported in the Sandusky and Maumee rivers, no actual REAL catches have been shown. The water level in the Sandusky river is very low and the water temp has reached 39 degrees. The Tackle Box2 located on the Sandusky river in Fremont still reports no catches yet. They are expecting the run to hit after this weeks warmer weather arrives. Buckeye Beverage Center, also in Fremont, says anglers are making attempts, but only a few straglers have been caught. The large accumulation of ice near the mouth of the rivers are breaking apart more every day.
Fisherman are still heavily fishing the Cold Creek area for trout. A few small trout, with a couple of larger females have been caught recently.
The average lake water temp is 37 degrees.
Reports for the week of 3/8/99:
The fishing activity is still very slow. Even though a few walleye have been reported in the Sandusky and Maumee rivers, no actual REAL catches have been shown. The water level in the Sandusky river is very low and the water temp is still 38 degrees. The Tackle Box2 located on the Sandusky river in Fremont says they have not seen anyone catch walleye yet. They are expecting the run to hit in the next week or two. Buckeye Beverage Center, also in Fremont, says anglers are making attempts, but only a few straglers have been caught. The recent cold front and heavy snow is one of the reasons the walleye have not entered the rivers in large numbers yet.
Fisherman are still heavily fishing the Cold Creek area for trout. A few small trout have been caught.
The average lake water temp is 36 degrees.
Reports for the week of 3/1/99:
The fishing activity in the region is low, however, some river fishermen already are trying out the Maumee and Sandusky rivers in hopes of finding some early-run suckers, northern pike, or even walleye and easing their cabin fever.
Some resident walleye, mostly small males or jacks, have been taken the last couple of weeks off the Buttonwood Access on the Wood County side of the Maumee River, and off Maumee's Towpath Park, according to Gary Lowry at Maumee Valley Bait & Tackle.
Lowry also said a few walleye have been taken on worm harnesses in deeper waters upriver. He has weighed a flathead catfish weighing 25 pounds and measuring 35 inches, taken near the Grand Rapids Dam. Rangers at Side Cut Metropark said that the water is low enough to fish, but it still is too cool and no early-bird anglers appear to be bringing out fish at this point.
Mary Jeffers, of Grand Rapids Marine Supply, reports a few pike taken near the dam, using suckers, chubs, and golden shiners for bait. She added that some anglers also are taking crappie in that area, using minnows.
On western Lake Erie, large ice flows blown in on recent northerly winds have jammed into the Bass Islands area, making it difficult to navigate, according to Pat Chrysler, a Put-in-Bay guide who fishes the early open-water season in a heavy steel workboat. ``Some of those things are as big as a house,'' he said about the ``icebergs.'' When conditions permitted over the weekend, he took out a few anglers and said they had limited success.
A few fisherman are fishing the Cold Creek area for trout. A few small trout have been caught.
The average water temp is 36 degrees.
Reports for the week of 9/19/99:
September 19, Since the Labor Day weekdend has come and passed, most of the boaters and fisherman have put their rods away for the winter months. Many die-hard fisherman are still out there though. It is very difficult for us to gather accurate fishing reports this time of the year. Most of the charters quit operating, many of our sources are no longer heading out on the lake, and the local bait shops have little information to pass along to us.
We are not going to update the reports any more this year, unles we get some REALLY good reports in. Sadly, very few of the 18,000 hits per month we get responded with any fishing reports or pictures of their catches.
We are going to re-design this web-site for easier navigation, faster download times for the spring fishing season. Hopefully next year, or through this winter, some of you will help out with this site. We are looking for some 'Great Catches' pictures, reports of when, how and where you fished, and any comments about improving the site.
Please check back occasionaly for any updates regarding this site and any GREAT fishing reports.
Thanks for a great fishing season!
The lake water temperature is has dropped to 67 degrees.