Lake Erie
West Basin Fishing Reports
From The 2000 Fishing Season
These Reports are provided as a comparison of fishing in the West Basin of Lake Erie from year to year.
Report 11/30/00
Detroit
River: Word is anglers are still taking walleye in the lower part
of the river in the cut N of Celeron and in front of the Metro
Park. Perch are spotty.
West Basin: Night casting for walleye all around the west basin
is slow. Shallow and clear water seem to be having a negative
effect on the fishing conditions.
I do not expect to update between now and January. Updates will
continue on ice fishing if the ice and fish cooperate. Look for
regular updates on the west basin to begin again in late March.
Happy Holidays to all and thanks for click'n in!
Report 11/02/00
Detroit River: Fishing
is very good in the lower parts of the river. Perch are hitting
well in the areas around Celeron Island and north of Sugar Island
in and around weed beds. The channel on the west of Boblo Island
(Canadian waters) is also good. Walleye are hitting well in front
of Lake Erie Metro Park towards the lake in the slack waters.
Jigging night crawlers is the best method for 'eyes.
West Basin: Not much going on. Surf casting from Luna Pier to
Detroit beach is slow but a few walleyes are being caught, not
much to get excited about though.
Huron River: Some Steelhead are being caught but the majority of
fish being taken are Chinook. Steelhead should improve through
November. Techniques proving to be most successfull are
Hot'n'Tots fished in holes below the Flat Rock and Mepps Spinners
casted below the Dam in Flatrock.
Report 10/22/00
Sorry for the
delay in reports. My wife is ill which was taken my attention
from fishing. This report includes what information I have
received over the last several weeks.
West Basin: Perch have been slow although this report is two
weeks old. Huron Ohio has been turning up catches of large
walleye (5lb range) but you must put in some time averageing
about 1 fish per hour. Surf casting along west shore ports in the
evening is producing some large walleye up to 9 lbs. but only
about one per night. There has been some success on the Huron
River for steelhead and Salmon. On the Huron River casting
spinner baits or working crank baits, such as hot'n'tots, over
holes from an upstream position are successful.
Report: 9/27/00
Detroit
River: Reports of good perch catches coming from Sugar Island
north to Fighting Island. Fish the weed beds along the channels.
West Basin: Perch are reported to be be doing very well with
limit catches of up to 14" perch, although these real big
ones are few and far between. Schools of perch everywhere, fish 4
miles west of Monroe Edison Plant (Sterling State Park) north to
Stoney Point. Look for packs of boats or try it on your own, the
fish can be found most anywhere in the area. Don't give up on
walleye either, nothing new to report on 'eyes but we are only a
few weeks away from surf casting for walleye along the West Basin
shoreline. This is the time of year they generally start moving
back into the West Basin in numbers and as the reports show this
year, they never left.
Report: 9/19/00
Detroit
River: No reports
West Basin: Despite NE winds, waves to 5 feet and the weeds
blowing in to the area, Labor day, 9/4 produced another limit
catch for walleye in the same area east of the Monroe Edison
channel. That was my last time out and I have no new reports
since. If anyone has been out please email me so that I may
update for this upcomming weekend.
Report: 9/2/00
Detroit
River: I received a report that walleye are being caught in the
channel along the weeds south of Sugar Island.
West Basin: The West Basin is still hot. Many fisherman still
fishing walleye in Brest bay, East of Stoney Point and south to
Monroe Edison. I was out for the first time in a couple of weeks
Saturday and limited on walleye in 2 hours trolling night
crawlers off of bottom bouncers. These fish were caught in the
early afternoon in 23 to 24 foot of water. I fished the same way
points east of the buoys in front of Monroe Edison that have been
producing fish since late May (refer to earlier reports). With
temperatures cooling, I suspect they will be there right into
Fall.
Report: 8/23/00
Detroit River: The
best report I received this past weekend was from the river. It
comes from the shipping channel on the east side of Grosse Isle's
north end (north of Stoney Island and the Livingston channel). A
pair of fisherman caught 13 walleye in 1 1/2 hours fishing
crawlers using bottom bouncers along the edge of the weed beds
around bouy #81.
West Basin: Walleye fishing in the Michigan waters of the
west basin slowed this past weekend. Everyone I talked to caught
fish but a half dozen was the best brought to my attention. These
came off of the banana dike drifting crawlers, they fished for 10
hours. I found fish in front of Fermi, 5 in 3 1/2 hours trolling
crawlers on bottom bottom bouncers. Orange/chartruese blades took
all of the fish. I also received reports from Stoney Point to
Sputnik of 3-4 fish per boat with crank baits and spoons. Spoons
on dipsy divers have been doing well the past 4-6 weeks. Weeds
are a problem, trollers will find weeds difficult in front of
Fermi and impossible at the banana dike. It does get better as
you go south but still a problem. The good news is we are still
catching fish in the shallow Michigan waters, generally unheard
of this late in the season. Perch fisherman reported slow
fishing.
Report: 8/17/00
Sorry for the
lengthy time since the last report, been on vacation.
Detroit River: No new report.
West Basin: Walleye are still in Michigan waters. We found fish
on 8/12 off of the Monroe Edison Channel at the end bouys. This
area has produced fish almost all year. We also found fish off of
Stoney Point. All fish were found in 22' to 25' of water. Fishing
was tough however. There were still many boats fishing for mid
August. Weeds were a real problem for trollers. We found that
crank baits out performed crawler harnesses but there was no
preference. All baits produced and none produced many fish.
Reports of good walleye catches are coming in from the water
intake at the south end of the West basin.
Report: 8/5/00
Detroit River: No new
reports from the Metro Park area. I have received a report that
fisherman are doing well around Sugar Island.
West Basin: The walleye have not yet abandoned Michigan waters.
Fishermen have been doing well drifting crawlers off of bottom
bouncers from Stoney Point south about 3 miles to the Monroe
Edison Plant. The only water depths I have heard was 26 ft but I
suspect you could do well in shallower water. Trolling harnesses
with bottom bouncers is equally productive. I have a very
reliable report that the area south of the Raisin River in the
spoils area in water from 8 to 13 feet has been very productive
also using crawlers. All of these areas are producing limit
catches.
Report: 7/26/00
Detroit River:
Bottomline still reports good fishing in the river from the
markers that mark the channel on the south end of Horse Island to
the Metro Park. Crawler harnesses and Jigs are doing the best.
West Basin: I have been fishing in areas other then the west
basin so these reports are second hand. Smaller fish are still
being taken off of Stoney Point in water 24' and better. Crawlers
with bottom bouncers are doing the best. Larger fish can be found
out towards West Sister and north of West Sister in deeper water.
Deep diving crank baits are reported to be the best method. If
you have been fishing the West Basin and can contribute to this
report, please email me by clicking the email link at the top of
this page.
Report: 7/19/00
West Basin: Scattered
pockets of walleye are being caught from Stoney Point, in front
of the Monroe Edison Channel south, occasionally the 'E' buoy,
along the shipping channel to the Sputnik. Fish are also being
taken north of the Sputnik and east towards Middle Sister. Your
best bet is trolling until you locate a pocket and then work it
until it stops producing. Most fish are coming between 24' and
29' of water.
Report: 7/12/00
Detroit River: Still
receiving reports of fish be taken including some limit catches
in front of the Metro Park and north of Sugar Island.
West Basin: Fish seem to be scattering more, possibly on
thier migration to deeper water. Through the weekend and Monday
fish could be found 3 miles East of Stoney Point south to the
Sputnik. On Sunday crawler harness where the only thing that
would work on these fish. I do not know anyone who fished this
area since Sunday. Walleye are also ESE of the Monroe Edison
channel and were the only fish being caught successfully on body
baits on Sunday. This is the same area that was hot 5/21 through
6/14. I fished this area on Monday and did well again with body
baits. Some boats are fishing as far as 13 miles out from Brest
Bay Marina in 29' of water and also catching fish on body baits
and spoons off of dipsy divers. All these areas seem to be
producing about equally. I suspect the walleye will continue to
migrate toward West Sister but the latest information I have
heard from there is that fishing is good in the morning and
evening only. The marine radio on Monday also had a few boats
doing well somewhere around the water intake to Little Cedar
Point in 19' to 21' of water.
Report: 7/5/00
West Basin: I did not fish Sun, Mon or Tue. The reports I
have heard from those that were able to fish had fish almost
jumping in the boat. Many limit catches reported off of Fermi to
Stony Point. I do not know if this is the same area I have been
reporting on the last 10 days. I went back to the area I have
been fishing on Wednesday and found weeds to thick to fish
utilizing trolling methods. I worked from the Banana Dike to
Stony Point and pulled 2 walleye and an 12" perch out of the
weeds that piled up on my baits. I worked east of Stony point
(still north of the point) in clean water and was able to limit
in 1 hr 45 minutes. These fish were much smaller than those which
I have been taking off of Fermi.
Report: 7/2/00
Detroit
River: I received a report that fishing has been good in the
lower Trenton channel around Celeron Island and in front of the
Metro Park.
West Basin: The area in front of Fermi remained hot producing
many fish and big fish on Wednesday. On Saturday it had slowed
down some but was still producing big fish. I took a 6 lb walleye
on both Wednesday and Saturday and many in the 3 lb. range. The
fish still seem to want bright colors but that could be because I
have been fishing only in the early to mid afternoon hours. I
have not talked to anyone fishing Ohio or West Sister. The only
other West Basin reports I have are everything is slow. If you've
been fishing in Ohio waters please click the email fishing report
link above and share how you've been doing!
Report: 6/27/00
West Basin: I
followed my own advice today. I fished Stoney Point north to the
Dumping grounds 21' to 25' of water. Found a small but
cooperative school of walleye and no other boat traffic. I was
fishing by myself and had the best day of the season, took 12
'eyes in a few hours. There does not seem to be a large school of
fish here but there is no fishing pressure. The catch rate was
the best I have seen this season. Furthermore, based on the hit
rate on this website there will still be very few boats fishing
the area in the next few days.
Report: 6/26/00
Detroit
River: Just when I report the river is slowing up, I receive
information from the folks at Bottom Line Bait & Tackle that
things are going strong. One Bottom Line patron has been limiting
out daily this past week drifting crawlers on a red head 3/8 oz.
jig. He drifts them deep so that he feels the bottom on occasion.
He is fishing the channel between Grosse Isle and Celeron Island.
Some fisherman are also taking fish between Celeron and Horse
Island.
West Basin: Fishing was as tough as I have ever seen it in late
June. Some fish are coming from just east of the Sputnik (1 Mile
or less). To the nets 2-3 miles south east of the Sputnik. There
are also fish about 2-3 miles NW of Middle Sister. Fishing was
extremely tough with the majority of boats not catching any. The
most successful method was crawler harness about 15 ft down. The
fish that did hit seemed to be in the upper half of the water
column. If you are coming from Michigan waters and don't want to
run as far as West Sister consider Stoney Point to Fermi. There
are very few boats fishing the area but the catch rates sound as
good if not better that what is coming out of Ohio. Work deep and
North of Stoney almost to the Dumping Grounds.
Report: 6/21/00
Detroit River: Things
are slowing down on the river with fisherman reporting only a few
fish per trip.
West Basin: On 6/17 the area 2 miles east of the Monroe Edison
Channel was still going strong, 21 walleye from 3:00pm to 9:00pm.
Most fish came on Thunderstick jrs. and Thunderstick Deep Jrs.
There was no clear favorite color. I received a report from a
boat that fished Stoney Point to the Sputnik on Saturday and only
caught two walleye. Sunday, 6/18 was to rough to fish in the
morning. Evening fishing on 6/19 produced no fish off the Monroe
Edison Channel in 2 hours of fishing. Fisherman that did the best
on Monday were fishing around the Sputnik.
Report: 6/14/00
West Basin: 6/9 found
many fish east of the Maume Channel. Water was dirty and getting
them to bite very difficult. Found fish in the same area ESE of
the Monro Edison Channel, also found fish toward Stoney Point.
6/10 fishing in the same areas ESE of Monroe Edison Channel and
toward Stoney Point fish produced 10 fish in the AM. Best colors
were bright colors. 6/11 ESE of Monroe channel produced many fish
with better size then Saturday. In our club event the boat with
the winning weight fished off of Stoney Point. Good results also
came from the Sputnik. Boat traffic seemed to move toward the
east side of the Maume Channel. Those waters had cleared some and
the many fish marked there on Friday were apparently beginning to
bite. Colors changed to darker patterns, chrome and black being
the best on my boat, probably due to the overcast skies. This
weekend I would concentrate on Stoney Point, SE of the Sputnik
towards West Sister Island (Ohio water) and I would not give up
on the area 2 miles ESE of the Munro Edison Channel. Look for new
reports on 6/17 and 6/19.
Report: 6/8/00
Detroit River: Bottom
Line Bait and Tackle reports that walleye fishing is still very
good in front of Lake Erie Metro Park. Fisherman are using
crawler harness to take these fish.
West Basin: As of Sunday 6/4/00, the fish have not moved and are
still just as reluctant to bite. Water conditions are very good,
if anything too clear. Still plenty of fish in 22 to 26 ft of
water, trick is getting them to bite.
Report: 6/3/00
West Basin: The water
has cleared up remarkably well. According to the graphs, fish are
still holding in 22 to 26 ft of water east and north of Bolles
Harbor. Fish are still uncooperative. Listening to the radio,
successful boats had 3-5 fish in the evening. Morning fishing
sounded much better but still not great. Fish are there, just
have to convince them to bite!
Report: 6/2/00
Detroit
River: Perch fishing is coming on strong! The traditional spots
are producing well. North East of Sugar Island, South of Airport
Bay and in front of the Metro Park. Walleye are hit and miss.
Best reports coming from in front of Edison in the Trenton
Channel and in front of Lake Erie Metro Park. Crawler rigs are
the most successfull.
Report :5/31/00
West Basin:
Nothing good to report. Fishing during the holiday weekend was as
bad as the weather, and they probably had a lot to do with each
other. On Saturday I talked to a boat (troller) that experienced
4 foot waves dirty water and no fish out from Bolles Harbor. They
did see drifters catch a few fish casting night crawlers. Sunday,
heavy rain, east wind, no fish or fisherman. Monday the weather
was much better but the persistant NE to SE winds and rain from
the previous few days turned the water very dirty all the way
past the old Sputnik. Three boats, two trollers and one drifting
crawlers all were fishless on Monday. Fish graphs show a lot of
fish, when the water clears the action should be fantastic.
Report: 5/21/00
Detroit
River: No first hand reports from the river. I do have a report
that fishing is good in front of Lake Erie Metro Park and the
channel between Grosse Ile and Celeron Island.
West Basin: The heavy rains stirred up the water in the southern
portion of the West Basin. Fishfinders are showing fish
everywhere. South of Monroe Edison the water looks like coffee
with extra cream. Fisherman are catching fish in these poor water
conditions but working hard. No pattern as to best baits but some
fisherman found success with Hot'n'tots, Rattle tots and
Berkley's Frenzy. I found the water goes from Maxwell House to
stained at about the channel to Monroe Edison and north. In the
clearer water fishing action was good with multiple fish on at a
time. Fish were running 2 to 5 lbs. In the clearer water
Thunderstick D-J's outperformed Rattle tots 8 to 1. I only used
bright colors.
Report : 5/14/00
Detroit
River: The winds this past weekend kept most off of the big lake.
The Trenton channel has turned back on. Local handliners are
reporting taking 8 to 10 fish an hour the past several days. They
have been trolling right in front of the Edison plant. Colors are
fire tiger, clown and orange. Drifters using night crawlers and a
sinker are also doing well. I do not have a report from anyone
jigging. For those who want to fish from shore, the feeder creeks
are full of fish, sunfish and rock bass, a very strong catfish
run and even carp. Just seems like everything wants to bite right
now.
Report: 5/08/00
Detroit
River: Reports I received from the river Sunday were that fishing
was slow. The DNR doing creel checks reported only 0-2 fish per
boat. The spawn is certainly over but fishing is usually good
through mid-May. This very warm year may have prematurely
curtailed the river fishing. My focus has moved to the lake, any
more river reports will have to come from those of you that are
still fishing there. To make a report just click on the
"Email Fishing Reports" at the end of this page.
West Basin: Fishing on the lake was not much better than the
river. A large number of boats were fishing out from Bolles
Harbor and north in 20-22 ft. of water. I only say one small
walleye landed in this group of boats. I moved to deeper water in
Ohio. The surface water temperature in 25 ft. of water was
already 60 degrees. Two nice fish came in this deeper water. In
summary, it was a slow day in the river and on the lake.
Report: 4/30/00
Detroit
River: The water has finally cleared up from the heavy rains some
10 days ago. The fishing has also rebounded. Good catches of
walleyes in the 1 to 3 pound range as most of the big females
have spawned and moved out of the river. The best success today
came from the rocky areas in the Trenton Channel.
Report: 4/26/00
Detroit
River: Wednesday evening found the waters in the lower Detroit
River still dirty. Fishing was slow and I only saw two fish
boated, both on the same boat, a pair of guys handining. I do
believe they had many more fish than the two I saw them land.
They were using bright colored artificial baits. Hopefully the
water will clear up for the upcoming tournaments and weekend.
Report: 4/24/00
Detroit
River: Sunday still had the water murky but clearing. We ran the
river from the Rouge river to Lake Erie Metro Park, fishing was
slow all over. The best action we saw was in the Trenton Channel
south of the power plant. Jigging was very slow most boats
reported 0 to 1 fish. We took a few walleye with gold and orange
and gold and black rapalas all in the lower Trenton Channel. We
tried various spots from there to the Rouge river, jigging and
trolling, with no other success.
Report: 4/21/00
Detroit
River: As you might have guessed, the recent rains turned the
river into chocolate milk. Feeder streams are continuing to
deposit sediment heavy runoff into the river. Talking to six
boats today I found only one walleye in a combined 30 hours of
fishing. They reported the only boats getting any fish were
trolling three ways, bottom bouncers and hand lining. Even still,
the results were poor. I suspect the murky water conditions will
persist through at least Sunday.
Report: 4/17/00
Detroit
River: The Huron Valley Steelheaders and the MWT both held
tournaments on the river this past weekend. The warm temperatures
and SE winds made for much easier fishing conditions on Saturday
than the cold N winds on Sunday. Many more fish were being taken
on Saturday, probably because of the weather. In our event the
handliners were far more successful than the jiggers taking 6 -
12 fish to the jiggers 3 - 4. The handliners were working
Canadian waters. On our boat orange and black tails took all the
fish but in watching other boats chartreuse, white and pink were
also successful. The winning boat in our event had 4 fish in the
7lb to 8.5 lb range with the big fish weighing in at 8.5lbs. In
the MWT big fish was 11.5 lbs after day one and the lead boat
weighed in 5 fish with just under a 7 lb average. They were using
jigging and trolling techniques. Most of the big females seemed
to be spawned out although the smaller females were still
carrying eggs. In the last week, more fish are being caught right
in front of the Metro Park.
West Basin: A report from the south end of the west basin has
fish being caught between Turtle Island and the Radar tower. The
report I have says 3/8 oz jigs with a green twister minus the
tail and a minnow. Both verticle jiggin and casting with a slow
retreive are working. Watch out for shallow sandbars in the area,
boats are getting hung up on them.
Report: 4/13/00
Fishing
remains good on the River, still many big fish are being caught.
Jiggers are still doing well. No new reports from the lake. The
MWT is holding a tournament this weekend on the river as is our
club. Results in upcoming updates.
Report: 4/10/00
Salmon and
Trout Fisherman, Grand Haven reports that everything that was
wrong last year is right again this year, same as it was two
years ago. They are catching large numbers of Coho and Browns in
the 2lb to 4lb range with an occasional fish to 12 lbs.
Report: 4/09/00
Detroit
River: The river remains hot with many large fish over 10 lbs
being taken.
West Basin: Update on the Seabreeze Charts report. Jigging in 13'
to 17' of water off of the reef structures offshore from the
Davis Besse. Also from the south end of the west basin, fishermen
are reporting success jigging in 12' of water along the Maume
channel from Turtle Island to the mouth of the Maume. For you
crank bait fisherman, I received a report of walleye being taken
on thunder sticks in 12' of water in the 'swamp'.
Report: 4/05/00
Detroit River: I
talked to three guys coming off the river today. They were
jigging and had 11, the biggest was 11.3 lbs. They claim this to
be an average day. This week has seen catches in numbers and
weight in the double digits.
West Basin: This in from another club member, Seabreeze Charters
took 704 walleye in 3 days, average 3lbs-4lbs. Virtually all were
males. They were jigging but the report did not include where.
Report: 4/02/00
Detroit River: I
received a report from a couple handliners that historically have
done very well. They have been struggling to get 2 - 3 'eyes a
day. They typically fish Great Lakes Steel to Wyandotte, thier
success has mirrored everything I've heard this year so far.
Jiggers are finding much success, handliners must work hard.
Weather and water conditions can change this in a hurry, a report
on this weekend's results tomorrow.
Report: 3/30/00
Detroit River: Joe at
BottomLine Bait and Tackle reports Limit catches are common.
Jiggers are doing very well, some fish are also being taken using
crank baits. The big fish are moving into the river. Many large
fish up to 12lbs have shown up at BottomLine. Joe feels that this
up coming weekend will be simply fantastic!
Report: 3/27/00
Detroit River: Many
limit catches were showing up at the ramp today. White power grub
jigs were among the successful baits. Still mostly the smaller
males being taken.
Report: 3/26/00
Detroit River: Some
walleyes are starting to be taken by anglers, however many of the
fish are males that have preceded the females. Occasionally there
are a few 8-to 10-pounders being caught, but mostly they are 2-to
3-pounds. The large hogs should be coming in fairly regular by
next week.