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**The yellow perch daily bag limit on Lake Erie has been reduced to 30 fish per day. The change in yellow perch bag limit occurred after the printing of fishing regulations brochure. The 2007-2008 fishing regulations brochure incorrectly lists the Lake Erie yellow perch bag limit as 40 fish per day, which has now been changed to 30.** **The black bass (largemouth and smallmouth) daily bag limit is 5 fish with a 14” minimum size limit.** **The walleye daily bag limit is 6 fish. The minimum size limit for walleye is 15”.** **The steelhead trout daily bag limit is 2 from September 1 until May 15. The minimum size limit for steelhead is 12 inches.** Western Basin Fishing had been good in the western basin until winds the week of 10/8 slowed fishing. Expect walleye and perch fishing to improve as conditions stabilize. Before the winds walleye fishing had been best off of Crane Creek in 18 to 20’ of water and also from Green Island to Niagara Reef and Northwest Reef. Fish have been caught by casting worm harnesses or weight forward spinners, and trollers have had success with spoons on jet divers or dipsys. The best yellow perch fishing before the winds had been around the northern cans (A, B, and C) of the Camp Perry range, north of the Toledo water intake, at the Toledo Harbor Light, near the turnaround buoy of the Toledo shipping channel, off of Kelleys Island shoal, and north of the Marblehead lighthouse. Perch spreaders with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish that have averaged around 8 inches with several catches averaging in the 9-10 inch range. Central Basin Walleye fishing has been spotty on the sandbar between Vermilion and Lorain, north of Edgewater State Park (Cleveland) in 69 to 72 feet and northeast of Ashtabula in 68 feet. Anglers are trolling dipsy divers with spoons and worm harnesses ranging in copper, black/purple, tangerine, watermelon, wonderbread, antifreeze and gold/orange. Steelhead fishing has been good and is being caught off the Fairport and Ashtabula, Conneaut breakwalls in 10 to 25 feet and also in the Ashtabula and Grand Rivers. Anglers are catching steelhead trolling green/white, red/white, black/purple, chartreuse, and silver/blue spoons. Yellow perch fishing has been very good off of the Vermilion breakwall in 36’ of water, off of the Lorain lighthouse, north of Gordon State Park (Cleveland) in 42 to 50 feet, north of Edgewater State Park (Cleveland) 40 to 51 feet, north-northwest of Fairport Harbor in 30 to 58 feet, and north of Ashtabula and Conneaut in 55 to 60 feet. Perch spreaders with shiners or crappie rigs fished near the bottom produce the most fish. Shore fisherman are catching yellow perch at the Lorain ore dock pier using perch spreaders with shiners or crappie rigs. Smallmouth bass fishing has been good in harbor areas, and in 15 to 25 feet along the shoreline in Conneaut, Ashtabula, Geneva and Fairport Harbor. Fish were caught on goby- colored tube jigs, crankbaits, and jigs tipped with minnows, nightcrawlers, or leeches. White bass are being caught by anglers trolling for walleye, also inshore near the mouth of the Chagrin River and adjacent to the Eastlake Power Plant. Steelhead fishing has been good as fish begin to move up into the rivers and creeks and anglers are catching fish in the Lorain Ore dock, Chagrin River, Grand River, Geneva State Park, Euclid Creek (Wildwood State Park), Arcola Creek, Conneaut Creek and along the Conneaut west breakwall. Shore anglers are using small spinners and spoons, and jigs and maggots rigged with a split shot under a light bobber. The Lake Erie surface temperature is 58 degrees off of Toledo and 64 degrees off of Cleveland.
Source: ODNR |