EDITOR’S NOTE: For more on the latest fishing conditions, check out FishErie.com. Much of the information on this report was culled from this site, as well as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Lake Erie is one of Ohio’s most picturesque spots. Its sunsets are considered some of the best in the world, with the sun setting over the lake in the western sky.
Drifting for walleye on a calm July evening as the sun sets over the lake is a memorable experience.
Summer is also the most popular time for fishing on Lake Erie. The prime walleye season is generally considered to be from July through September.
Avid Ohio anglers know Port Clinton, a short drive from north central Ohio, has long proclaimed itself the Walleye Capital of the World.
Most walleye fishing during the summer is done considerably offshore, in the trenches to the west on the big lake.
Lake Erie is the 11th largest lake in the world by surface area. It is the fourth largest and the shallowest of the five Great Lakes. Lake Erie is 241 miles long, 57 miles wide at its widest point, has a surface area of 9,910 square miles, and has 871 miles of shoreline.
It is fed primarily by the Detroit River at its western end, and drains out into Lake Ontario through the Niagara River and the Welland Canal.
The lake is divided into three “basins” – eastern, central and western. The western basin extends from the west end of the lake to about around Cedar Point.
The central basin extends to the edge of the trenches in Erie. The eastern basin extends from Erie to the eastern edge of the lake in Buffalo.
Walleye
Lake Erie produces large walleye. Most fish are over the 15 inch minimum. The average walleye caught off shore is in the three to five pound range. Seven and eight pound walleye are not uncommon.
The smaller fish are better table fare, although generally walleye make an excellent eating fish, second only to the yellow perch.
The average age of walleye found in our waters is 5 to 6 years. Some walleye have been found to be 12 years old.
Walleye are considered sensitive to light. Generally they will not be near the surface on a bright day.
At night, they may be just below the surface. Walleye are not as temperature sensitive as other fish, like the steelhead. Walleye may be holding in different temperature zones.
Walleye are considered a schooling fish – if you find one, you may have found a whole school.
It is said there are two distinct walleye populations: the “resident” population of generally large fish that stay here all year and are often closer to shore, and the “migrating” population that moves into our waters during the summer and early fall.
The resident walleye are the fish that are caught in the spring and early summer at night or closer to shore.
The migrating population stays in the shallower western basin of Lake Erie in the winter and spring.
As the water temperature of the lake rises, these fish begin to move east into the deeper waters of the central and eastern basins of Lake Erie.
This is why the walleye fishing is often best each summer first off Ashtabula, then Conneaut, then in the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie.
The faster the water temperatures warm, the sooner the walleye fishing gets better. In summers when the water temperature never gets into the 70s, walleye fishing can be be slow even in August.