CLEVELAND, Ohio — Nor’easters are common this time of year along the Lake Erie shoreline, and they’re a real thorn in the side of big water anglers. The 30-knot winds in the forecast for Friday and Saturday will keep fishermen from heading out on Lake Erie, but there are still plenty of area options for catching fish.
Lots of fishermen will be heading to inshore waters, where the crappie fishing has been outstanding at Berlin and West Branch reservoirs. Some of the pre-spawn crappie will be caught while suspended in 15 to 30 feet of water on jigs tipped with minnows, while spawning crappies at West Branch will be moving to the flooded willows.
Bass biting at the reservoirs: Bass tournament angler Ray Halter of Strongsville has been touring his favorite reservoirs, and reports the largemouth bass fishing has been very good this spring. His top lures have been spinnerbaits, swim baits and chatter baits, with Mosquito Reservoir on fire in recent days in just a few feet of water along the shoreline.
Bass anglers are flipping jigs to woody shoreline structure around Pymatuning Reservoir. The Portage Lakes are always a spring bass hot spot, with swim jigs a top lure for Turkeyfoot, Rex and Mud lakes in the Portage Lakes Chain.
Summer Slam derailed for Saturday: The Summer Slam Saturday walleye derby set for this weekend hosted by the Sandusky Bay Company in Sandusky has been postponed until May 14 because of the weather reports. Nor’easters and the open waters of Lake Erie are not a safe bet for small boat anglers.
The Summer Slam derby (nationalfishingexpos.com) will be held June 10-17, with an entry deadline of June 6.
Orvis supports Metroparks Fisheries Program: The Orvis Giveback Days Program runs through May, with two local Orvis shops in Woodmere and Westlake at Crocker Park choosing the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund to be the recipient of their Giveback Days promotion. Their support will benefit the Metroparks Spring Children’s Fishing Derbies on Saturday, May 21 at Wallace Lake and Sunday, May 22 at the Ohio & Erie Canal by donating $10 for every customer purchase of $10 or more throughout May. Fish will be stocked for the free event.
The kids are coming: A very impressive class of young walleye that hatched in 2020 have been voraciously feeding — and growing — on Lake Erie. They’re hungry little fish, and will reach nine to 14 inches in length this summer.
They won’t be legal to keep until they reach 15 inches, though, so many that will be caught must be released. Anglers should be sure to wet their hands before handling them, and to be gentle when releasing the youngsters.
Northeast Ohio rivers booming: Spring is steelhead time in the Northeast Ohio rivers and streams, with the silver bullets spawning in the rapids and riffles. The spring steelhead trout run is winding down, but there are still plenty of steelhead trout in the rivers that will take a fly or a jig-maggot worked under a float.
Some fishermen are trying to catch the gold standard of a steelhead trout, smallmouth bass and walleye all in one day while fishing the rivers. The smallmouth bass are spawning, as well, but will chase an in-line spinner such as a Mepps or Rooster Tail, small spoons and diving plugs.
Some anglers are choosing a black marabou jig tipped with live bait, a combination that will hook all three species of game fish.
Breakwalls give up walleye after dark: Outstanding numbers of walleye are moving to the shallow harbor shorelines after dark to feed on baitfish, and they will chase minnow-style diving plugs. The top choices have been Perfect 10s, Bandits and Husky Jerks.
The harbor areas from Cleveland to Sandusky are tops for walleye after the sun goes down, as well as rocky areas around the Lake Erie Islands. Limit catches of six walleye have been common. Bring a lantern and a long-handled net.
Credit: Source link
