Fishing Seasons
Basic Fishing Seasons:
Walleye :
End of March – November
Perch :
August – November
Smallmouth Bass :
August - November
Jig Fishing
Starting out in late March and going through the beginning of May, we start jig fishing for some exceptional hot walleye fishing. Sometimes I need to only go out of Port Clinton 1- 2 miles and other times I will fish the near-by reefs. It is not uncommon to catch 100 - 150 walleye per day. This is one of my favorite times to fish. Through my 30 plus years of experience, I know where to go. I may start the day out on top of the reefs until the crowds of hungry walleye fisherman show up. Then I use my knowledge of different contour breaks and structure to find you fish and keep you catching walleye. Usually you need to stay away from lots of boats to consistently catch walleye. Usually this time of year you will see fish in the 2-6 pound range. If you want to catch a truly trophy walleye, you need to come and fish with me in the fall out of Huron, Ohio.
Casting for Walleye
Starting out in the first part of May, I will transition into casting for
walleye depending on water temperature. This is my bread and butter. If you want to troll, I will be glad to refer you to a top notch captain who trolls full-time (to be good at trolling you need to do it full-time). I usually use a gold weapon which I make myself. Other colors are available, but day in and day out, I usually use gold. At this time of year the walleye come off the spawn and move out into the deeper water. As I mentioned before, to have consistent walleye fishing you need to stay away from the hordes of boats. Here again I use my experience and knowledge of Lake Erie to keep you on the fish. A lot of time you will find many boats fishing in an area days after I start fishing there. My knowledge of casting techniques are sure to make you catch fish. I will fish in the back of the boat with you to make sure you are catching fish and to help you.
Perch Fishing
Starting in August, the
perch
heat up. While you can catch perch year-round (the perch are dispersed
over the whole lake), starting in August the perch start schooling in huge
numbers and are easy to catch into the fall as long as you can stand the
weather to fish for them. I move the boat East to Channel Grove Marina
or Huron, Ohio because of the big
walleye and excellent
perch fishing.
The perch limit for all Lake Erie is 30 per person per day. To catch the perch, we anchor up on a school and use emerald shiners on the bottom to catch our limit. Most days we will catch your limit of perch and usually can catch some nice walleye also.
Fall fishing out of Channel
Grove Marina and Huron, Ohio
In the fall (In
August or September), I run the boat to Channel Grove Marina or Huron, Ohio
boat basin and fish
the reefs around Kelly's Island, reefs in Canada, the sand bar area of Lake Erie, and the near-by waters of Huron. The
perch and
trophy walleye fishing are spectacular! While others will tell you that you can catch trophy walleye in the spring, the best time is usually in the fall to constantly see big walleye (8-12 lbs.). While some springs you get a shot at some pre-spawn walleye, this is usually through the ice or a couple of days before the spawn happens. In my experience, I have found that the best opportunity to catch a trophy walleye happens in the fall and my catch records show this.
In addition to the trophy walleye fishing in the fall out
of Channel Grove Marina or Huron, Ohio, the perch fishing is second to none.
Fall Combination Trips
A lot of the time I will recommend that you do a combination
perch and walleye trip in the fall. While others will charge you extra for this, I don’t. We will usually start out for perch and after we get our limit, we will start walleye fishing. A limit of perch is the rule in the fall, usually it will take us 1-4 hours to get your limit. If at any time you want to start on walleye, we can do this.
The reason I usually start out on perch is that I have found out that the walleye usually bite better in the afternoon than in the morning in the fall. This is completely different then in the summer months when I like to be out on the water at sun up for the walleye.