Central Basin- Smallmouth bass are being caught on Ruggles Reef in 12 to 20 feet of water and in nearshore breakwall and harbor areas from 15 to 30 feet of water around Lorain, Conneaut, Ashtabula, Geneva, Fairport and Cleveland. 14 to 18 inch fish have been caught on tube jigs, jigs tipped with shiners and crankbaits. June is the peak spawning period for smallmouth bass in Lake Erie. When practicing catch-and-release please return fish to the water as quickly as possible so that the bass may return to its nest to protect its eggs from goby predation. Yellow perch are being caught 1 to 3 miles N of Lorain in 25 to 40 feet of water, 1.5 to 3 miles NW of Ashtabula in 35 to 45 feet of water, 1.5 to 3 miles NW of Fairport in 35 to 45 feet of water, less than 1.5 mile N of Lakewood in 30 to 40 feet of water and less than 1 mile NW of Wildwood State Park in 25 to 32 feet of water. Spreaders tipped with shiners are taking fish from 7 to 12". Walleye fishing in the Central Basin has been best near Ruggles Reef between Cranberry Creek and Vermilion in 25 to 35 feet of water, 2 miles N of Beaver Creek in 30 to 40 feet of water, 4 miles NW of Cleveland Edgewater Park in 50 to 55 feet of water, 2.5 to 4 miles N of Euclid in 39 to 52 feet of water and 3 to 7 miles N of Geneva in 40 to 70 feet of water. Near Ruggles Reef trolling crankbaits, spoons, or crawler harnesses and casting weight forward spinners or mayfly rigs have been most productive for fish from 15 to 28". Farther east anglers have been trolling dipsy divers with spoons or crawler harnesses for fish from 16 to 29". Steelhead have been caught by trollers using dipsy divers with spoons 3 to 7 miles N of Geneva in 40 to 70 feet of water. The steelhead have ranged in size from 23 to 29".
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