Blade Fishing Report: Lake Erie yielding walleye as river runs conclude

5/31/2018
BY MATT MARKEY
BLADE OUTDOORS EDITOR
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    Donald Wade of Columbus fishes on the Maumee River near Side Cut Metropark in Maumee on Friday. Fishing on the river has started to dwindle with the walleye and white bass runs complete.

    The Blade/Kurt Steiss
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  • Donald Wade of Columbus fishes on the Maumee River near Side Cut Metropark in Maumee on Friday. Fishing on the river has started to dwindle with the walleye and white bass runs complete.
    Donald Wade of Columbus fishes on the Maumee River near Side Cut Metropark in Maumee on Friday. Fishing on the river has started to dwindle with the walleye and white bass runs complete.

    Maumee River: The steamy, hot weather has sent most of the anglers running for cover, so there has been very little angling effort along the waterway in recent days, according to river watcher Joe Roecklein. He reported sparse fishing pressure over the long holiday weekend, and Roecklein expects that most of the spawning run white bass have returned to the lake by now. He also reports seeing very few smallmouth bass caught. The catfish anglers are having the most success, working night crawlers or shrimp fished on the bottom.

    Sandusky River: Muddy and stained water continues to haunt the anglers along this waterway, where tough conditions in general made the white bass run less productive than it is in most years. Bernie Whitt at Angler’s Supplies in downtown Fremont reports that there are a few remnants of the white bass spawning run left in the river, but not the concentrations of these ultra-aggressive Lake Erie migrants that Sandusky River anglers are accustomed to seeing. Catfish have been the most cooperative catch in recent days, with tight-line rigs dressed with cut bait, shrimp on night crawlers working the best.

    Lake Erie: The ODNR reports that walleye anglers have done well in the waters around Kelleys Island, as well as a mile out in the lake off Marblehead, and in the waters off Huron and Vermilion. The area around the reef complexes has also been very productive. The most effective technique appears to be trolling worm harnesses behind bottom bouncers at 1.5 to 2.2 miles per hour, while spoons and deep-diving crankbaits also have produced fish. The drift fishermen have done the best while working harnesses.

    Bass season closed: Anglers are reminded that through June 29, possession of largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie is prohibited. The restriction includes Maumee Bay, Sandusky Bay, East Harbor, Middle Harbor, and West Harbor, and the Maumee and Sandusky rivers upstream to the first dam. In Michigan, the bass season is closed through June 15 on Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers.

    Detroit River: Guide Spencer Berman reports that the walleye fishing on the waterway had remained hot with quick limits coming most days. He recommends fishing along the mud line if the north wind muddies the Canadian side of the river. Berman also suggests working in 20-40 feet of water to minimize contact with white bass.

    Irish Hills: Once the lakes settled down after the flurry of holiday weekend boat traffic, the bluegills appeared ready to occupy the spawning beds. Anglers were taking plenty of the tasty panfish by using worms or live crickets on bobber rigs fished over the bed complexes. Bass anglers report some success working the edges of the weed beds in the early morning and evening hours, throwing buzz baits or top-water plugs.

    Fish Apostles: It wasn’t the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, but it was close. “Catfish Dave” Prey, the unofficial king of the Rossford Marina fishery, teamed up with a friend to catch more than 150 catfish from the Maumee River recently. The duo put the haul on ice, loaded the fish in their vehicle, and drove to Fort Wayne where they donated the fish to a homeless shelter. There were a lot of fish dinners that came out of that kind gesture.