Fishing
Erie’s Dearest
“I’ll tell ye, friend, this place has come a long ways from the time it was called the ‘dead sea,’” said Jerry Abele, a 30-year veteran Lake Erie fishing guide whom most folks hereabouts call “Groaner,” as he examined a beautiful, green and gold-hued walleye weighing in the seven-pound class. It was my third fish of the morning, and the trophy would turn out to be the biggest fish taken by participants of Fish Ohio Day, a long-running promotion of the Ohio Division of Wildlife that brings the outdoor media and other notables together to experience first-hand the tremendous walleye fishing to be found in this huge lake.
The fish, like the previous two I’d caught, had gobbled up my lure just as I pulled it across the shallow bottom of a place identified on the maps as “Starve Island.” This pint-size rock pile, located no more than a quarter-mile off the shore of South Bass Island, is connected to the larger atoll by an underwater ridge ranging from about four to eight feet deep. The walleye had hit a small weight-forward spinner tipped with an inch-size piece of nightcrawler at about six to seven feet deep.
Fishing along this underwater reef had been terrific for a warm July morning, and somewhat reminiscent of the 1970s. That’s when Lake Erie’s fisheries made a dramatic turn-around after decades of pollution had all but destroyed the best walleye fishing hole in North America.
The 1972 National Clean Water Act, and subsequent amendments, required polluters from both the U.S. and Canada sides of Lake Erie to curtail pollution discharge into Lake Erie’s drainage. The result of the clean-up, plus the cessation of commercial fishing for gamefish (on the Ohio side of the lake), allowed the remnant walleye population to explode.
These memories were running through my mind as Steve Gray, a long-time friend whom Ohio was smart enough to name Chief of the Wildlife Division, and I continued to cast and retrieve lures across the hump. Already the morning’s fishing had surrendered some nice specimens, including the seven-pounder, and though we only had a short half-day of fishing, it appeared we were heading for a limit of six fish. Steve and I were looking forward to fresh fillet of walleye coated with a Lake Erie beer batter and deep fried to a golden brown.
Like most freshwater fish, the walleyes had moved onto the structure to feed on a variety of baitfish. No matter that anglers once believed the clearing lake—caused by a proliferation of exotic zebra mussels clinging to the bottom and filtering the water for nutrients—would force these fish into deeper haunts farther to the east. If the clearing water has done anything, it’s improved the lake’s walleye fishery.
While Steve battled a five-pounder, he explained that the current crop of walleyes in Erie is in excellent health, noting that biologists have been reporting near-record spawns since 1999. That meant we were catching fish from at least two year classes, ranging from 20 to 26 inches. He added that the seven-pounder I had just landed could have been spawned in ’99 or before.
That “before” is the reason so many anglers from all over the country fish Lake Erie—especially during spring and late fall. That’s when the old mossy backs (fish that often top 10 pounds) are taken in good numbers by both boating anglers and bank fishermen. Additionally, the spring season surrenders trophy-size fish before more northern lakes are even clear of ice, while the fall produces bumper crops of fish long after chilling winds drive anglers in the upper Midwest and Canada from their home waters.
I discovered years ago that the Port Clinton-Lake Erie Islands, commonly referred to as the “Western Basin,” is truly the headquarters for walleye fishing in the Great Lakes. An old fishing village where commercial fishermen harvested untold tons of pickerel (walleye) and perch from the lake each year, Port Clinton and the nearby Bass Islands have always been in the thick of walleye fishing, mainly because this area features the best spawning habitat in the lake and the numerous shoals attract huge numbers of fish year-round.
Phil Whitt, owner of Beach Cliff Lodge—arguably the only “real” fishing camp in the Western Basin—is probably the most knowledgeable and helpful source of information about Lake Erie fishing. He says that, currently, walleye fishing in the lake is close to being as good as it has ever been. That is due in part to fishermen learning how to catch them. On this last trip, Phil updated me on the expanded fishing seasons. Since it can be a year-long bonanza, it’s difficult to determine if the season begins in January and February with some superb ice fishing (if there is sufficient ice), or immediately after open water begins to show in the Western Basin. One of the great things about knowing someone like Phil is that I can check on ice, weather conditions and fishing productivity anytime of the year.
Phil explained that the post-ice, pre-spawn activities crank up around the last week of March, when huge numbers of walleyes begin staging in 25–30 feet of water off Kelleys Island, numerous reefs, and the Marblehead and Catawba peninsulas. He said anglers who know the spots, and can handle vertical jigging in deeper water using lures such as Swedish Pimples and Rapala ice jigs tipped with 11/2-inch live minnows, can dredge up some really big fish in the 8- to 10-pound class during this period.
I’ve found that it’s really fun to fish during the spawn. Smaller male walleye, referred to as “jacks,” are aggressive on the reefs and other shallow spawning areas. In a flash they’ll grab a leadhead jig tipped with a grub or a minnow during this period. Fishermen searching for larger, spawned-out females use slow-trolling techniques with blade lures in deeper water directly off the spawning places.
My favorite time for boat fishing on Erie has always been during May and June, when fish are feeding up on the reefs, off points, in the ship ditch and all the way up to the Canada side. The best lures for this period include bottom-dragged, weight-forward spinners with an inch of nightcrawler on the hook, and all sorts of stickbaits trolled at different depths behind a slow-moving boat.
The July to mid-August period is the most overlooked time to fish the Western Basin, Phil explained. He said charter boat captains and veteran Lake Erie fishermen report great catches west of Pelee Island in the Chick and East Sister Island areas by drift-casting bottom-bouncers in five to 20 feet of water.
This area provides especially fond memories for me. I was fishing with my friend Ted Barton of Toledo a few years back using an ultra-light spin outfit spooled with 4-lb. test monofilament, casting a weight-forward spinner/nightcrawler combo, when I caught my personal best walleye. Actually, it all came down on my first cast just off West Sister Island. Using a 15 count, I dropped the lure about 15 feet down and started a retrieve. l hadn’t turned the reel handle more than twice when I felt pressure on the line and lifted the light outfit into something with heft to it. Five minutes later, the “heft” materialized as a 10 1/2-pound walleye that stretched out to 30 inches.
Lake Erie’s walleye season turns prime once more about mid-September. The air and water temperature is cooling, the fish are feeling the pressure of the upcoming winter season and are beginning to put on the feed bag. During this period, walleye from all over the Western Basin begin moving towards shallow water, where it is easier to see and trap preyfish. Standard bottom-dragging of weight-forward/nightcrawler-tipped lures continue to work, but some anglers are now using a casting harness that carries a small piece of nightcrawler designed to imitate the larvae of mayflies.
Saving the best for last is the opinion of a select group of Erie anglers (Phil included), who believe that November to the ice season offers the most sport of all fishing on the lake. That’s when spring-hatched gizzard shad that have been feeding on zooplankton throughout the summer and early fall period move to the shallow water along the shore. These baitfish have, for the first time, reached the desirable feeding size for walleyes. This is when night-fishing, which is good throughout the summer and fall, comes into its prime for boat and shore anglers alike. The lighthouse at Marblehead is a prime place to find these fish, as is any shoreline area that offers a combination of current wash and algae growth.
“The biting can start at dusk or three in the morning. You never can tell except to be there,” Phil commented, noting that this time of the season is the second best to the pre-spawn stage for taking really big fish.
Lake Erie is fishable for almost anyone with a decent-size boat and enough common sense to take weather forecasts seriously. There is always calm water on the lee side of points and islands, but count on a three-foot chop in open water on most days. Phil warns it is critical to have boating experience when fishing the lake, even during calm weather. In spring and late fall, he said the water is too cold to chance a dunking. He advises first-time anglers on Erie to spend some extra cash and rent a charter for a day. These are priced as a “six-pack,” meaning they are the same price for one caster as they are for six. A cheaper way to learn the location of some hot reefs and local techniques is to sign up for a day aboard a headboat for about $25–30.
While Lake Erie has suffered through a terrible period of pollution, over-harvesting from the commercial fishing industry, and has had to adapt to invasions of the zebra mussel and other exotics, this huge body of water now provides fishermen the undisputed best big lake fishing for walleye to be found anywhere.