toledoblade.com --

The elusive but intriguing Lake Erie "night bite" for walleye is on, but you'll have to have a Michigan fishing license to play.

That is because the action is taking place along the extreme west end of the Lake, the Maize and Blue side, from Luna Pier north to Sterling State Park at Monroe.

This fishing program involves casting crankbaits from piers and rocky outcrops along shorelines. It can be highly
erratic, wild and woolly one night, dead the next. The action even can vary from hour to hour on a given evening, requiring the patience and casting endurance of a muskie fisherman.

But John Jokinen, at Jann's Netcraft, said that reports coming into the shop indicate that activity, which started last week or so at Luna Pier, now has extended all the way to the state park. Neither he nor other area shops have had encouraging reports on the Ohio side of the western basin so far.

"I can't keep jointed Bombers on the shelf," Jokinen said, referring to the flavor of the season, crankbait-wise.

Red and white, fire tiger, and blue prism have been the popular color patterns. The lure seller said that apparently the fish are enticed by the extra action imparted by the two-piece lure, but he added that other models, such as the X-Rap, also have been producing.

He noted that small boat anglers also have been taking some walleye after dark off Lost Peninsula in North Maumee Bay, fishing in eight feet of
water on "any suspending bait" or something that will run at four to six feet.

Yellow perch anglers, Jokinen added, are taking good fish on minnows in the evenings right off Luna Pier itself.

In other fishing news, steelhead anglers along central Lake Erie's shoreline and tributaries may be running into state creel clerks with regularity as the Ohio Division of Wildlife and Ohio State University team up to seek angler feedback on this world-class fishery.

"This comprehensive survey is the first of its kind in 25 years," said Kevin Kayle, supervisor of the division's Fairport Fish Research Station. "The survey provides an excellent opportunity for us to gauge the popularity of this fishery, measure angler success, sizes of fish harvested and use of access areas."

The wildlife division annually stocks 400,000 yearling steelies, raised at its Castalia Hatchery, in five northern Ohio streams - the Vermilion, Rocky, Chagrin and Grand rivers, and Conneaut Creek.

Creel clerks began their work early this month and will continue through next May. They will encourage anglers to participate in a follow-up mail survey in cooperation with Jeremy Bruskotter, an OSU researcher. That survey, which begins in
December and continues through 2009, is intended to provide insight into angler opinions, habits, and fishing preferences, and also how the fishery contributes to the local economy.

A random selection of all fishing license holders also will be invited to participate in the survey to weigh how steelheaders compare to the overall angling population.

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Toledo waterfowler Mike Harrigan and his 13-year-old son, Jacob, saw something in the Maumee River recently that made them forget about the ducks, at least temporarily - a family of beavers.

They were hunting during the youth waterfowl weekend earlier this month when the sighting occurred.

"We put our canoe in the Maumee River near Waterville just before sunrise and headed to a few familiar spots," said Harrigan.

"While floating quietly along the shore of an island we watched what we thought was a muskrat about 15 feet from our canoe. All of a sudden it raised its tail and slapped the water, making a loud splash, and I realized it was a beaver.

"We floated another 50 feet and noticed a large pile of sticks purposefully placed along the bank, resembling a lodge. We were amazed at what we had seen and still not believing it, we stopped the canoe about 100 feet away and watched four beavers swimming around."

Father and son hunted elsewhere for the rest of the morning but returned to watch the beaver family while they ate lunch.

Harrigan adds: "Even though Jacob didn't get a shot at a duck or goose that day, we saw plenty of them as well as raccoons, squirrels, deer. And even beavers."

By way of explanation of this tale, beavers have migrated into the northwest Ohio stream
corridor in recent years, and have been found at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area in western Ottawa County, along Swan Creek in western Lucas County, and such other areas as the Maumee River and Sandusky River watersheds.

Statewide, the population has been stabilized at around 28,000, an all-time high level. The species' their main range lies in eastern and southern counties.

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