CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Lake Erie walleye fishing is traditionally a moveable feast, but this year it doesn't seem to matter much where anglers are casting or trolling. While the schools of walleye usually move eastward starting in early June, good catches have been reported from Maumee Bay to Ashtabula this week.
CENTRAL LAKE ERIE
Some Lake Erie fishing guides have moved from the red-hot Western Basin waters of Lake Erie to points east, looking for trophy fish and less crowded waters. The formula for limit catches of six walleye per angler are fairly simple right now.
Anglers who are patiently working lures along the bottom of Lake Erie are catching fewer fish, but many of those walleye have been in the trophy category. When trolling with spoons, a brisk 2.0 miles per hour or faster is the key, reports Craig Lewis at Erie Outfitters in Sheffield Lake. With diving plugs and tandem-hook nightcrawler harnesses, trolling speeds of 1.8 miles per hour or less are best.
Anglers using the traditional drift-and-cast techniques are not letting small spinner rigs or weight-forward spinners tipped with nightcrawlers to sink very far, targeting the larger schools of smaller walleye that are in the top 10 feet of water.
Lorain is still a walleye hot spot. Good catches have been reported off Cranberry Creek in Huron, Sheffield Lake, Avon Lake, Cleveland, Fairport Harbor and Ashtabula.
Smallmouth bass fans are targeting fish casting tube jigs, drop shot rigs and diving plugs, as well as jigs tipped with minnows or nightcrawlers.
WESTERN LAKE ERIE
The number of fishing boats crowding the prime walleye areas of the Western Basin has blossomed, and an army of out-of-state fishermen are booking charter boats this week. What is unusual is that the large packs of boats are trolling and casting for walleye in the same areas every day, and producing limit catches.
Some of the hot spots are north of the Niagara Reef complex in deeper water, north of A Can, and a large area bordered by Middle Island, Middle Bass Island and the Canadian border near north Bass Island.
Trolling fishermen are working spoons and diving plugs, pulling them behind Tru-Trip and Dipsy Diver diving planers close to the lake bottom. The drift-and-cast fishermen are using small spinner rigs and 1-ounce barrel sinkers, with the heavier sinkers keeping the lures in the top 10 feet of water with a quick retrieve.
Some trophy walleye have been reported caught in an area east of Kelleys Island and north of Cedar Point. The yellow perch and smallmouth bass fishing has been fair to good around the area.
INLAND LAKES AND RESERVOIRS
The largemouth bass fishing has perked up now that the bass spawning season has wound down. Mogadore and the Portage Lakes have been top spots for bass, bluegill and crappie. Mosquito Reservoir walleye and bass fishing has been very good.
Muskie anglers have been doing very well at West Branch Reservoir as the big lake heats up for the summer. Fishermen are trolling medium-sized diving plugs around the weed beds and drop-offs and casting in-line spinners along the shorelines.
Wallace Lake in the Cleveland Metroparks is still giving up a wide variety of fish, including trophy bass, chunky bluegill and stocked channel catfish and rainbow trout. Fisheries experts even netted and released a big flathead catfish at Wallace this week.
Some stocked channel catfish are still being caught at the Ohio & Erie Canal reservation pond in the Cleveland area.