# walleye fishing sundusky bay in the spring



## pig (Mar 8, 2008)

is there any good walleye fishing in sundusky bay in the spring do they stage like they do in maumee bay is it worth going after them there


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## idontknow316 (Mar 21, 2008)

"Good" walleye fishing? Maybe some will disagree but, I don't think the fishing in the bay is very good. You could definitly catch them if you timed it right. The rail road trussles near the old bay bridge holds some walleye in the early spring, but this area is mostly a snag fest due to the small amount of people there. The wildlife officer often sits at Clemens marina with a spotting scope and watches people fishing under the bridges.

As far as staging goes, they do stage but not like they do in the Maumee area. Also there are not as many walleye headed for the Sandusky River as there are the Maumee. Is it worth it? It depends on how far away you live. If you have a long drive to get up here, I would say it is not. You would be better off driving another twenty mins west and jigging the reefs. Or driving a little more west and fishing Maumee. 

Hope this gives you a better idea, maybe someone else will chime in and give you a different point of view, but that is mine.


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## ErieRider (Mar 23, 2010)

I think you are spot on your take of Sandusky Bay. I have a place right on the bay and can be fishing within a few minutes of leaving my dock. However I will throw a boat on a trailer and head west as you suggested. With fishing time being limited I want the best chance of success and to me the bay just does not give that. Dont get me wrong, I remember when I was a teenager going out with my one buddy fishing some small rock piles we knew of and getting some eyes here and there but now that I have the ways and means to get to the big lake and hit the better areas I would way rather do that. I just think your time would be better utilized up on the reefs.


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## pig (Mar 8, 2008)

thanks you guys it sounds like you saved me some time and headaches maybe when they remove the dam fishing we get better are there still big smallmouth and crappie in there thou


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## ErieRider (Mar 23, 2010)

I don't fish for bass but there are always bass guys hitting the shoreline in front of my place so i would have to assume they don't fish there that much without getting something. As far as the Crappie, just find a marina you have permission to fish and you can do well. alot are private and will get chased out if you are coming by land. I know alot of guys fish the battery park area, etc and do well. Good luck. ER


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## Tailchaser (Feb 5, 2009)

I fished that river many years ago. Even before they rerouted the river in Fremont. The dam was there ,& we caught a ton of walleyes. I think when they did re- routed the river in the downtown area & close to it, it might have changed the river bottom & had a minus affect on the walleyes. But, then again by removing the dam the fish might seek more suitable waters. Just a thought.


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## island troller (Nov 14, 2007)

I believe that the walleyes do stage up before they go into the sandusky river. Not necessarly in the bay but out in front of the bay around Marblehead, Lakeside, Cedar Point and toward Kelleys. Ice out and to the end of March you can do very well jigging in that area. Why I believe that, is because once April hits they are usually gone. Been fishing for them there for many many years and some years were better that others, but we always manage to catch some. 
Most people that I know that has fished the bay, mainly the railroad tressel funnel area were force feeding them. That is why the state designated the bay area to a single hook. I have never heard of a successful bite actually in the bay before they run up the river.


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## pig (Mar 8, 2008)

do u think any walleye spawn in the bay it is a big body of water


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## ErieEye (Jul 16, 2007)

There are some walleyes that spawn in the bay. Before the DNR went to a single hook only I used to do quite good jigging blade baits between the railroad bridge and rt. 2. I used to use my electric motor and hover about 40 or so yards from the railroad bridge. These fish that I caught were always male fish that were dropping "milk". 4 out of 5 fish that I would get would be legally hooked in the mouth. While at the same time there would be guys ripping blades directly under the bridge bringing walleyes in one after the other backwards, most of which were kept. That used to be a fun fishery for me, its a shame a few bad apples had to ruin it for all.


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## AC_ESS (Nov 15, 2008)

Depends where in the bay you are fishing... and when


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## pig (Mar 8, 2008)

how deep is it there buy the railroad bridge and can you night fish it at all is there a current there also could you jig there with out a stinger hook and have any success thanks erieeye its bad that people mess up so many things 
ac -es where would you fish there and when


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## overcheck (Dec 13, 2010)

There is a section in the fish regs.on the bay.


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## ErieEye (Jul 16, 2007)

If I remember right it comes up fairly shallow directly under the railroad bridge, I want to say 5 to 8' with large jig eating rocks. However on either side of the "main" bridge its washed out with depths down to 12 to 14'. In that area it is a nice hard gravely bottom, perfect spawning area. I gave up on the area when they outlawed treble hooks. Like I said blade baits are what worked for me, I tried jigs with zero success. I even tried cutting off all the hook points but one on the blade baits but couldn't hook em. I think the reason jigs didn't work for me was because the water clarity in the bay is like chocolate milk most of the time during spawning season. The blade baits would put off enough vibration that the fish could find them. I litterally could hold my blade bait 2" below the surface of the water and not be able to see it. I will say the current can get extremely strong under the bridge if the wind picks up out of the right direction. The bridge creates a bottleneck for the current. When the current picks up its not fishable. I know a few years ago a guy caught a 16lb. female out of the bay. The story I heard was that he caught her at the railroad bridge on a blade bait.


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## AC_ESS (Nov 15, 2008)

A lot of guys fish the Cedar Point breakwall after the spawn and the Marina in the spring. Mouth of the bay as well by the Light house. I have cought them there as late as july 4th weekend.
In the fall lots of guys fish off of the peirs in sandusky using cranks baits and do ok


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## idontknow316 (Mar 21, 2008)

island troller said:


> I believe that the walleyes do stage up before they go into the sandusky river. Not necessarly in the bay but out in front of the bay around Marblehead, Lakeside, Cedar Point and toward Kelleys. Ice out and to the end of March you can do very well jigging in that area. Why I believe that, is because once April hits they are usually gone. Been fishing for them there for many many years and some years were better that others, but we always manage to catch some.
> Most people that I know that has fished the bay, mainly the railroad tressel funnel area were force feeding them. That is why the state designated the bay area to a single hook. I have never heard of a successful bite actually in the bay before they run up the river.


I agree that they stage more at the mouth of the bay, versus at the mouth of the river. After the Sandusky run is over, and or winding down, you can catch walleye around Newmans bouy just off of Cedar Point. If you try jigging right after ice out in the Lighthouse area, I always use similar jigs used for ice fishing, tipped with a minnow.


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## AC_ESS (Nov 15, 2008)

island troller said:


> I have never heard of a successful bite actually in the bay before they run up the river.


 I want to say 92 give or take a year. Everyone was catching them from the shoreline in Sandusky. Did not matter where. I can remember going out with my father and only being allowed to stay out and fish with him until 10pm (mom made sure of this I was pretty young)
we were catching eyes on Silver Rat traps with green or blue backs and ablack dot on the side.

http://rat-l-trap.com/
just like the one on the main page


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## weight forward (Sep 15, 2010)

AC_ESS said:


> I want to say 92 give or take a year. Everyone was catching them from the shoreline in Sandusky. Did not matter where. I can remember going out with my father and only being allowed to stay out and fish with him until 10pm (mom made sure of this I was pretty young)
> we were catching eyes on Silver Rat traps with green or blue backs and ablack dot on the side.
> 
> http://rat-l-trap.com/
> just like the one on the main page


I think it was 92, AC ESS. I was there too, and it was awesome. It was in the fall though. At least for us.


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## thistubesforu (Mar 30, 2009)

as far as the blade baits go u can take the hooks off of them use a split ring and a single hook. ive got all of my blade baits set up that way, not sure why ive only fished that spot 2 times and didnt catch a thing. also there is cables in the water there i believe. the guy i was with had a c clamp and rope instead of an anchor, we hooked right to the bride with the clamp. he said that u would have to cut ur anchor rope 9 out of 10 times if u put one down. we also fished under the edison bridge not sure if thats any better or worse.


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## AC_ESS (Nov 15, 2008)

weight forward said:


> I think it was 92, AC ESS. I was there too, and it was awesome. It was in the fall though. At least for us.


 Yes that fall was amazing I'll never forget it. ( I was 7)


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## weight forward (Sep 15, 2010)

AC_ESS said:


> Yes that fall was amazing I'll never forget it. ( I was 7)


I was 18. The 1st time I went down there I was out partying with friends and my step-dad got ahold of me. Told me to get to his work asap. It was the Chesapeake factory right next to Jackson Street Pier. We fished off the dock at Chesapeake and had the whole thing to ourselves. Jackson Street was packed. I didn't even know what he wanted. I was wearing a t-shirt & a jean jacket. It was freezing rain sideways. My mom showed up yelling at us for being out in it dressed like I was. lol! We weren't leaving. Told her to go home! We were taking turns running for the net. I stopped down there one night this past fall and there was noone around, so I just stopped at Daly's


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