Lake Erie
West Basin Fishing Reports.
From The 2002 Fishing Season
These Reports are provided as a comparison of fishing in the West Basin of Lake Erie from year to year.
Report 10/7/02:
Huron River:
Steelhead are beginning but just a few fish are being taken. I
saw two small steelhead that came on worms on a bobber on 10/6.
West Basin: Sorry for the lack of reports, my computer committed
suicide and quite frankly not much to report anyway. I am running
22 miles out to between the B and C can to catch walleye. The
only reports that have been emailed to me have been for perch
north of Sputnik. You need to move around a bit to find fish but
once you do you should do well.
Report 9/9/02:
West Basin: I
managed to limit on walleye off of Stony Point on Sunday 9/1 but
walleye were tough on Monday and only got 5. Perch off of Stony
Point have also become difficult. This past weekend I fished
Perch 1 mile East of the old Sputnik. We did well catching about
60 perch, most around 8 inches, some under, but many to 10.
Walleye this past weekend continue to be spotty. A report from a
boat fishing Stony did not catch a walleye. Another fishing about
11 miles East of Stony (north of the old Sputnik) caught 8. The
radio chatter would lead one to believe that they were doing very
well on walleye south of West Sister. You can still get perch in
Michigan waters, just inside the Ohio border and NW of old
Sputnik but they are running small. The best perch are in Ohio
waters.
Report 8/31/02:
Detroit
River: I am still receiving reports of good walleye catches south
of Sugar Island. I suspect the 'Hole in the Wall' may still be a
good choice but no new reports.
West Basin: I did not fish Friday. Did reasonably well (8 eye's
and 3 lost) in the same area 1 - 3 miles ESE of Stony Point. The
fish seamed to have moved a little deeper into about 24' to 25'
of water. We did catch walleye to 5 lbs today. The fish are not
abundant, however if you work the areas where you do catch
walleye you should do well. Blue pattern blades on crawler
harnesses continue to be the best technique.
Report 8/25/02:
Detroit
River: No new information
West Basin: I was fishing Saginaw bay last week and I did not
receive any email with what was going on here at home. Thus, no
reports in a bit. Fished this weekend with the following results.
The walleye between Sputnik and West Sister have disbursed.
Caught one on Saturday in 1 1/2 hours of trolling. We switched to
perch NE of the old Sputnik and I was very disappointed. We kept
4 perch and the biggest was 7". There are a good number of
boats fishing the new Sputnik (no information) as well as a
pocket east southeast of Stony Point. At Stony they are catching
many small perch (6" to 7"). I did find PLENTY of
walleye between Stony Point to the perch fisherman 3 miles ESE of
Stony. The walleye are from 1 to 3 miles out and purple tiger
thunderstick DJr's were the best crank bait. Switched to
harnesses later and found blades that were predominately blue did
best. I will not be able to fish again until Friday before the
holiday, look for an update Friday night or sooner if I receive
any email reports.
Report 8/12/02:
Detroit
River: I continue to get glowing reports from many sources on
walleye in the river. The hot spot is the 'hole in the wall'. The
'hole in the wall' is an opening in the Livingston channel
(freighter downbound channel) located south and west of Crystal
bay and North and west of Boblo Island. Fisherman are handlining,
drifting crawlers and jigging. All methods are working great and
fish are running 2-3 lbs. Work the Michigan side of the channel.
West Basin: First time out for a couple of weeks. I found walleye
3 miles NE of (old) Sputnik. I trolled both Saturday and Sunday
at about 150 degrees to a point 3 mile north of West Sister. The
best concentration of walleye seem to be in the area 3 miles NE
of Sputnik. Limited in 2 hours Sunday and fish are running 2 to 4
lbs. I was running Thunderstick Jr's both days. Run them 50 foot
back, 3 oz snap weight and then 50 more to the release. Working
31-32 ft of water. Purple Tiger works best, Red hot working also.
Metallics were not working. No weeds, few fisherman, it was
pleasant fishing all weekend! I haven't fished perch but
listening to the radio perch'n was tough. A large pack of perch
fisherman have been working 2 miles NE of Sputnik.
Report 8/8/02:
Sorry for the
lack of info lately. Bad weather a couple weeks ago followed by
other commitments recently have kept me off of the water. Here is
what I do know.
Detroit River: Handliners still doing well with walleye in the
lower river. I recevied a report yesterday of a limit catch of 24
walleye drifting crawler harnesses at the 'Hole in the Wall'.
This all came in the morning and the action was fast.
West Basin: Perch are doing very well off of Stony Point and also
around Sputnik to the turnaround bouy. Shinners are working best
and the perch are running to 14". I will be fishing walleye
this weekend and I will be heading between the islands and east,
I suspect that will be the best game in town.
Report 7/31/02:
Detroit
River: Handliners are doing well in the evening in the lower
Trenton Channel. Still fisherman are also doing well with jigs
and crawlers and crawler harnesses in front of Lake Erie Metro
Park.
Huron River: I received a report from the Huron River stating the
bass and particularly the pike fishing is fantastic. Pike are
coming mostly off of the pilars at the upper dam and are running
to 8.5 lbs. After sunset work the shorelines. Surface running
buzz baits in blue, purple and black seem to be best. Bass are
coming from the edge of weed beds and other available structure.
West Basin: The walleye have thinned out in Michigan waters.
Limits can be taken regularly NNE of West Sister Island.
Technique working best for me is Thunderstick DJ's and
Thunderstick Jrs (one each off of a three way) fished 50 feet
back, 2.5 oz snap weight and 50 feet more to the clip. Best
colors are purple tiger and red hot tiger. Perch fishing seems to
be best around the Sputnik.
Report 7/22/02:
West Basin:
As far as weeds, they come and go with the wind. Fished Saturday,
did not stop in front of Fremi, to many weeds. We moved 3 miles
east of Stony and set up and fished, again too many weeds. We did
get 3 walleye trolling harnesses but the weeds were unbearable.
We ran to West Sister Island hoping to finally excape the Lake
Erie salad and set up north of the island and worked east. Perch,
white perch and sheepshead prevented us from even setting one
line running harnesses so we swithed over to cranks and limited
in less than 1 hour. Purple Tiger and Red Hot Tiger Thunderstick
DJrs were the best two baits, spoons caught a couple fish, rattle
tots none. The trick was to get the baits down, we used 2 oz snap
weights 50 foot back and then ran another 50 foot to the release.
Sunday we made up our mind before we left to run to West Sister,
as we ran out the area east of Stony was weedless. The same area
that was weed choked Saturday. We ran to West Sister, limited
again, colors the same and again trick was to get the baits deep.
We used deep thundersticks on one side 130 feet back to get
deeper, they did not catch fish but the junior thundersticks off
of the three way swivel took many. I received a report from a
drifter working the same area. He was very succesful using 1/2
once weight on a 15" leader and a crawler harness with a #5
gold blade and gold beads. They used the count down method using
a count of 22 and did very well with a quick limit. I had another
report from bouys 3 and 4 on the Raisin River Channel. They again
did very well limiting while trolling crawler harnesses off of
bottom bouncers, the reported no weeds as well.
Report 7/20/02:
West Basin:
Forget the recent information from yesterday's report, it was
based on reports from others over the past few days and
conditions have changed dramatically. Fish are still in front
Fermi to about 25 feet of water but the weeds are terrible.
Drifting will work but it is not very productive, trolling
crawler harnesses can be effective but it will be an awful lot of
work, crank baits you can forget. We kept moving east and found
the weeds to extend 12 miles east of Stony. We ran 17.2 miles
east to North East of West Sister. The perch and other small fish
made trolling harnesses very difficult so we changed to
Tundersticks and caught 12 walleye in less than an hour. We ran a
Rattle tot, 2 spoons and several Thundersticks. Spoons took 2, 10
on Thunderstick Jrs. Red Hot and Purple Tiger were the hot two
colors. We had two aboard and ran 4 lines.
Report 7/19/02:
West Basin:
Last weekend had weeds move into the area in front of Fermi.
Saturday was good and we caught 37+ walleye by 1:00pm. On Sunday
we had 10 by 9:30 am but the weeds were too tough to take. We
moved 4 miles east of Stony in 26 foot of water and caught 20+
more by 1:00pm. Weeds were still present but better. Most
recently, I received reports from 7/17 that the weeds have been
blown out from the area in front of Fermi and the fish are still
there. I had 3 reports of limit catches in front of Fermi
Wednesday and Thursday. Our best crawler harness blades all had
blue in them. Last weekend was the first time that I observed a
color preference and blue was it.
Report 7/9/02:
West Basin:
Fermi is still hot. The wind blew the weeds out completely. Took
one pass from 15 foot of water on the south side of the banana
dike and headed for Stony Point staying in 19-20 foot of water.
Caught 15 walleye in 2 hours fishing 2 rods. Only 1 or 2
Sheephead, 2 perch, 2 rock bass, one 2 lb smallmouth 3 silver
bass and a couple white perch got in the way.
Report 7/7/02:
West Basin:
The walleye are still in tight in front of Fermi. Most boats have
moved deeper but the story I am getting around the marina is that
we were the only boat to come in with a limit on Saturday. I have
limited every day Wednesday through Saturday in short periods of
time staying close. I spent some time in deeper water only to
find mostly sheepshead although I did get a few walleye. The most
active fish, and fewest sheepshead are right in front of Fermi to
a little north in 19 feet of water. Still trolling crawler
harness and color still does not seem to matter.
Report 7/5/02:
West Basin:
The NE winds blew in a lot of weeds today. Boats seemed to try to
stay in deeper water away from the weeds. I did not have much
success in the deeper water. I moved into the 18-20 foot of water
that has held so many walleye for the past week and they are
still there. The only trouble is so are the surface weeds. I
found running harness to be annoying, I suspect crack baits would
be near impossible, but there are still a lot of walleye (and
minimal sheepshead) in 19 foot of water in front of Fermi and
north.
Report 6/30/02:
Detroit
River: I have received a report that some walleye are being
caught south of Celeron Island.
West Basin: If you have been out you have probably noticed a
large pack of boats SE of the Banana Dike. That area is the
hottest thing going. My observations are that the fish are from a
line due east of the Fermi plant and north, anything south of
this line seems to be much slower. Baits do not seem to be
important, they are hitting everything. Trolling is far more
productive than drifting. You do not have to fish in the middle
of the pack, walleye can be readily caught east and north of
Fermi from 12 to 24 foot of water.
Report 6/24/02:
Detroit
River: Nothing new to report.
West Basin: Reports from Friday and Saturday were good from an
area 5 miles SE of Stony Point. Fishing in the same area on
Sunday morning was also good. There are many charter boats also
fishing this area. On Sunday morning, I fished an area ENE of
Fermi in 22 to 24 foot of water that has produced well in recent
years but only caught a few fish. I moved to the area 5 miles SE
of Stony in the afternoon and caught 8 walleye fishing alone.
This seemed a bit slow. Maybe had something to do with no wind,
90+ degree temperatures and fishing between 2:00pm and 5:00pm but
can't say for sure. The most interesting report I received came
from the south side of the banana dike in 10 feet of water. Limit
walleye catches in a couple of hours on Sunday but the fish were
running on the small side. In addition to the walleye as many
smallmouth and even a muskie to add to the action. Best baits
this weekend seemed to be crank baits over crawler harness. In
the shallow water, hot n tots and wiggle warts. I ran crawler
harness and bright colors (orange / chartreuse blades) did the
best.
Report 6/22/02:
Detroit
River: Walleye still doing well in the mouth of the river in
front of Lake Erie Metro Park. Crawlers and cranks both working.
Perch fishing is also strong.
West Basin: I have been land locked since 6/16 but I have
received several reports, all very good. One report had limit
catches coming from "11 miles east of Boles Harbor".
Sound like the same area I have been reporting on between the new
and old Sputnik on the east side of the Maume Channel. Rattle
tots the ticket in this report. A second report from Stony point
in 21' of water, again Rattle tots, limit in 2 hours. A third
report was from 4 miles out from Stony, bait unkown, but again a
near limit catch despite fishing from a sinking boat! This
fisherman also added they found the problem and made it in
safely. Looks like 2002 is following the pattern from the
previous few years with limit catches reported from Fermi to
Stony point and out to the Sputnik. Crawler harness and Rattle
tots seem to be the hot baits.
Report 6/17/02:
Detroit
River: No report.
West Basin: Still a good number of fish on the east side of the
Maume Channel between the new and old Sputniks. This past weekend
was very rough but still took 15 fish in this area in about 4
hours of trolling. Using bottom bouncers and harnesses 40-45 feet
back. Best colors are blue/green/silver and blue/black. Sunday
was even rougher and stayed close, fishing off of Fermi. We did
take a couple fish in a short period of time but conditions were
just too tough to fish. Premature to say if this area has started
yet but it certianly deserves more attention (preferably in less
than 20 mph winds).
Report 6/10/02:
Detroit
River: The river has slowed but still some good reports trolling
Thundersticks in front of the Metro Park in 9 to 12 foot of
water. Crawlers on weight forward spinners and bottom bouncers
reportedly are also doing well. Many, many Silver bass!
West Basin: The northern Michigan waters are not producing many
walleye, this is normal for this time of year. This should pick
up in 7 to 14 days. More to the south, good catches are
reportedly coming from the 'E' bouy, roughly 5 miles out of Boles
Harbor. The best walleye catches are coming from Ohio waters SSW
of the Sputnik (old Sputnik) to just north of the New Sputnik
(Mcdonalds). These fish are east of the Maume Channel to about
one mile east. Large numbers of boats with some good reports
coming from east of the Toledo Light. Reports are also good 2 to
4 miles west of the 'C' can also in Ohio waters. Slow
presentation seems to be key, Rattle Tots in the 2.0 mile range
or crawer harnesses from 1.5 to 1.8 mph. Blue chrome Rattle Tots
and blue chrome and orange/chartreuse in crawler harness are the
hottest colors. For those seeking perch, catching many 10"+
perch trolling for walleye 1 mile at 140 degrees from the old
Sputnik.
Report 6/3/02:
West Basin:
Fishing in the lake continues to pick up. Limited for the first
time this season on Sunday with the fish in the 2 lb to 5 lb
range. Still fishing north of the Raisin river channel in about
21 foot of water and still using the same blades described in the
last report. A few Charter boats are fishing the area as well and
one took a 30" 9 1/2 lb walleye on Saturday. More boats are
fishing toward Boles Harbor and the E buoy. Radio reports suggest
that there are fish pretty much scattered all the way to West
Sister but nothing sounds substantially better than anywhere
else. Unless the weather turns bad and stirs things up, fishing
in the lake should continue to steadily improve.
Report 5/31/02:
Detroit
River: For the best walleye catches handlining in the river is
the best bet. #9 and #11 Rapala's are top baits. Horse Island and
the head of Calf Island are most productive. Bigger fish can be
found up around Great Lakes Steel.
West Basin: Walleye are in the lake but the greater numbers seem
to still be in the rivers. I have had best results fishing the
'reefs' along on the north side of the Raisin River channel
between buoys 1 & 2 and 3 & 4. You can also find fish in
the middle of Brest Bay in about 21 foot of water. You need to
work hard. Additional reports seem to be better from Ohio waters
east of the water intake and between the Maume channel and West
Sister but reports are not substantially better. My best crank
bait has been the purple tiger thunder stick and crawler
harnesses are also catching fish with a blue dolphin or orange
blade. In early morning or evening hours be sure to try along the
Raisin River channel in 7 to 18 foot of water. Catching a lot of
perch trolling for walleye so if you are looking for the smaller
cousins seems like they are plentiful.
Report 5/20/02:
Detroit
River: The River was the place to be with the biggest catches in
both size and quantity coming from these waters. The biggest fish
came from Great Lakes Steel but the lower Trenton also turned up
many big fish. Rapala's on handlines was the best method.
West Basin: Some fish are coming from the Lake. For numbers try
Luna Pier in 16 foot of water. If you are looking for lake
lunkers try Swan Creek in 7 to 12 foot of water. You can find
some fish in 21 foot of water between Stoney Point and buoy's 1
and 2 marking the Raisin River. Most fish came on various crank
baits including Rattle Tot's, Thunderstick Dj's, Bomber long A's
and Reef runners, but none seem to be substantially better than
another. Night crawlers are beginning to take a few fish. When
trolling the lake this time of year remember to keep the speed
slow, 1.5-1.9 MPH.
Report 5/14/02:
Yes, I am
delinquent on updating the fishing report page. Trying to get a
new boat ready for this year's fishing season and am facing some
challenges. Anyway, here is what I have been able to put
together.
Detroit River: Jiggers and Handliners are still doing well in the
Trenton Channel. Recent rains should really muddy things up
however. Jiggers doing best in the lower Trenton Channel around
Horse Island on large jigs with stinger hooks.
Huron River: Nice suprise here, trollers doing very well in the
Huron for Walleye trolling Rapalas and Shad Raps. The recent
rains have really muddied things up so allow a couple days for
water to clear or use bright baits which have been working well
anyway. Best area around the first railroad bridge upstream from
the lake. This is a 30 minute boat ride from the mouth but is
generally good water depth to that point. Upstream from here does
get a little dicey especially in low water conditions. I have
routinely had a 20 foot boat with 200 Merc to the railrod bridge
without a problem, just exercise normal shallow water
precautions.
West Basin: I tried last weekend with that new boat I am getting
ready but never set lines and the only thing I caught was a tow
back to port. I have received mixed reports from the Lake. The
best reports are from the shipping channel out from Boles Harbor
and down around Turtle Island. Reports that I have received from
everywhere else have been poor.
Report 4/18/02:
Detroit
River: Reports are that fishing is great all the way up and down
the river. Big fish are still plentiful. This weekend could prove
to be fantastic. Handliners are still doing very well, large
bright Rapalas #9, #11 and #13 are doing best. Jiggers are also
doing well. Word is the water on the Canadian side is clearing.
Perch fishing is slowing some but the can still be found in
Canadian waters north of Boblo Island.
West Basin: I heard the first report from the lake. Walleye are
straight out from Boles Harbor. I did not catch the depth but I
would focus on a slow presentation in less than 22 ft. of water.
I also have a report that some fish are coming from around Turtle
Island.
Report 4/14/02:
Detroit
River: The recent heavy rains turned the tables in favor of the
handliners. Handliners did very well Saturday using big bright
baits, Rapala #11's and #13's. Up until yesterday jiggers had
been very successful. When the water clears success should return
for the jiggers. The oil spill has not been a major problem and
you can feel confident when you head to the river you will be
able to fish. Perch fishing has been excellent around Boblo
Island (Canadian waters).
Huron River: Steelhead fishing in the Huron has been fantastic.
Spawn and spinners doing well as are jigs tipped with wax worms.
The recent rains have cause the river to by high and dirty which
will probably have a negative impact for the short term but the
rain seems to have really turned on the run.
Report 4/9/02:
Detroit
River: The perch fishing has been great the past week in the
river. Best perch fishing is coming from the Canadian side.
Walleye are fair. Many limit catches but many catches of only 1
to 3 fish as well. The pros last week fishing the RCL tournament
had similiar results. A good number of big fish are showing up
with 10lb+ fish not uncommon. Jiggers are doing will with the
usual chartreuse and orange. A few fisherman are also doing very
well with white and even white jigs with a brown tail. I checked
on the lake today but seems that no one is giving it much of a
try just yet. I have heard some question whether the Sterling
State Park ramp will be closed this year as was planned. It was
confirmed to me that it is closed for the season.
Sorry reports are coming a bit slow thus far this year but I am
rigging a new boat and it is consuming a lot of time. Planning to
have it ready for the lake by May so things should get back on
track by then.
Report 4/1/02:
Detroit
River: Things are really picking up on the River. Many limit
catches are showing up at the ramp. 10lb plus fish are numerous.
Jiggers and handliners are having equal success. Jiggers are
doing best on jigs with chartreuse or red spinners. Best bet for
handliners is large Rapalas size 11 and 13 in bright colors.
Fisherman seeking pike are doing exceptionally well!
Report 3/23/02:
Detroit
River: The run is just beginning on the river. Boats are
averaging 1-4 fish but they have been large. One boat just came
in with two fish but both around 10lbs. Fish up to 13lbs are
being caught and the best is still to come.
Huron River: Steelhead are being caught and those fisherman familiar with the river are catching many. Flies and spawn have been effective. Also, walleye have been strong in the Huron since February with fish to 9lbs and many limit catches right up to the 15th of March. The Huron River is inland waters and since March 15th walleye are out of season so any you catch must be released.