# Walleye Population???



## AFadenholz

I have been fishing Lake Erie on a regular basis for the last five years and I have always done very well Walleye fishing. I was docked in Vermillion my first three years and have been in Lorain for the last two. I have pictures and videos during April and May catching my limit on walleye almost every time out. It was almost like you could throw down a piece of bubble gum and catch a fish. I know Erie has not always been like this though. 

I have been out around 10 times this season and I have really struggled putting together a pattern to catch consistent fish. We have been averaging around 6-10 walleye per outing. I have talked to others that have also struggled this season. 

I know there is a lot of very experienced fisherman on here, so I wanted to get your opinion on why we haven't had the type of season we have had for the past few years. Do you think the fish are not schooled up yet? Do you think the bugs coming in early have shut them off? Do you think the walleye population is starting to decrease? Do you think the cold spring we have had is the issue? 

I don't know that there is an absolute answer, but thought I would open it for discussion......

Thanks,

Andy


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## juggerman

edgewater right now...been here since 600 a.m. only a 1 man ticket...out at the crib

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## set-the-drag

I think i saw you on the camera!


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## set-the-drag

AFadenholz said:


> I have been fishing Lake Erie on a regular basis for the last five years and I have always done very well Walleye fishing. I was docked in Vermillion my first three years and have been in Lorain for the last two. I have pictures and videos during April and May catching my limit on walleye almost every time out. It was almost like you could throw down a piece of bubble gum and catch a fish. I know Erie has not always been like this though.
> 
> I have been out around 10 times this season and I have really struggled putting together a pattern to catch consistent fish. We have been averaging around 6-10 walleye per outing. I have talked to others that have also struggled this season.
> 
> I know there is a lot of very experienced fisherman on here, so I wanted to get your opinion on why we haven't had the type of season we have had for the past few years. Do you think the fish are not schooled up yet? Do you think the bugs coming in early have shut them off? Do you think the walleye population is starting to decrease? Do you think the cold spring we have had is the issue?
> 
> I don't know that there is an absolute answer, but thought I would open it for discussion......
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Andy


Walleye population is the highest its been in 50+ years and expected to stay high for at least 10 years from amazing hatch survival rates. Try a different stuff depth/lures/colors exct. The bugs have seemed to slow the bite down from what i have seen and heard. Try different depths. We've been trolling in super tight and doing good. Gotta mix it up


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## threeten

You got spoiled the last few years. Lol
It’ll happen again here shortly.


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## threeten

Double post


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## K gonefishin

Every year is different, migration patterns are similar but not always the same, try not to fish memories. The last couple years have been odd, in Cleveland I fished 70 ft of water in December and couldn't keep 6 rods in the water, night bite was terrible the last couple years, based on what I'm seeing this year, migration is ahead of schedule. Change locations, speeds, and use your sonar to find active fish, population is crazy high right now but it's still fishing and at times have to put some effort in. I had a terrible day in the western basin left me and tons of other scratching my head. Keep at it and don't be afraid to move around alot, this time of year is high transition time post spawn fish are moving fast, even while catching them.


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## bud690

Walleye population is the highest its ever been says the same biologists who said the perch population was doing great and then lowered the limit to 10 due to low numbers. I caught way more throwbacks back in 17 then I have the years since. Also have not had the fast limits last couple years like on years past. I myself think the numbers are down a bit from 17 and 18 but Def up from the mid 2000s, after the 03 hatch leveled out. Just my 2 cents


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## portney

I’m docked in Lorain now, and having a slow time of it this season. Went out 2 or 3 times for a few hours with limited success and zero limits. Caught enough to eat. Count my blessings.

Some of it was self inflicted- got my large Amish trolling bag caught in my starboard engine last Friday as soon as my lines were set. Didn’t get to fish much. Limped back into port, and had to pull the boat to un-wrap the damn thing. Thought about jumping overboard with a Bowie knife clenched in my teeth in my skivvies, but the water was 59 degrees - way too much shrinkage.... 

Heading East tomorrow morning and trying again - 4 of us. Going to try Rocky River and work East. I read most posts on here and will try switching it up. 32’ of water, cast Erie Dearies w crawlers for awhile, then if no good, am trolling bandits, spoons, worm harnesses at various depths until we find them.

appreciate all the advice - this forum really is a band of brothers trying to help each other!

Port


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## Bluewalleye

My graph was reading a 54 degree water temp as of this morning at 9 am. So I think that has a lot to do with it. With the rest of this week being in the mid 80s with light winds, I suspect that the water temp will raise a bit. The bug hatch really slowed things down trolling wise for me. So today I switched up and went shallow and caught 9 really nice 22" walleye in 16' of water around the gold coast. Just snap jigging a jig and paddle tail bait. Caught a bonus 29 incher as well, that I put back in to let another person catch. All of the fish were super healthy and 2 had full bellies of 2 and 3 inch shiners. With some green gew stuff that was probably bug larvae I am guessing. lol


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## Popspastime

bud690 said:


> Walleye population is the highest its ever been says the same biologists who said the perch population was doing great and then lowered the limit to 10 due to low numbers. I caught way more throwbacks back in 17 then I have the years since. Also have not had the fast limits last couple years like on years past. I myself think the numbers are down a bit from 17 and 18 but Def up from the mid 2000s, after the 03 hatch leveled out. Just my 2 cents



I agree 100%.. the numbers are dwindling since 17. Central didn't produce the large numbers last year as it did the years before. Biologists....well.....I'll leave that for another discussion. The lakes, all lakes go in cycles, and one thing effects another. So far.. my friends out west aren't really banging them this time of year. We shall see.


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## K gonefishin

Walleye numbers are not dwindling no way no how there are crazy numbers in the lake.


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## dgfidler

I troll with a forward facing LiveScope to see undisturbed suspending depth and this is the third year doing this. Usually you’ll see 3-4 fish in a 70 ft range but this year there are more like maybe 10-15 and they are darting around and moving up and down almost like they’re chasing each other around. I’m no marine biologist, but my theory is the larger walleye are trying to feed on last year’s class which is probably pretty abundant, but unlike typical forage they’re matbe not so easy to catch. I swear I saw fish big enough to show up being chased by other fish in front of the boat on Sunday. I also noticed green and light green crankbaits caught the most fish. What do those mimic? My vote is the population is up to a level that their behavior is changed. 


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## HeaVyMeTaLFiSHinGFiEnD

went up a couple weekends ago and we had a 3 man limit in like 5 hrs. had to keep moving around, but there is so many walleye in that lake its insane.


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## Beepum19

I agree the population is fine. One thing I noticed Saturday was a lot of guys trolling we’re just driving straight lines I didn’t see much speed difference or zigzagging. The first thing I do when running over fish without a bite is stall boards or speed them up. 2nd is change colors or methods. I know it sucks to keep changing colors or leads but something will usually trigger a bite. Sunny bright days on last Saturday I was thinking chrome based colors. Didn’t work. Switched to green or white based started to put a pattern together. I found stalling boards for a min then back to 1.8 -2 triggered the bite. Also last year the bug hatch in Lorain was a week behind than this season. After that it was on. Good things are coming. My 2 cents. Good luck


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## AFadenholz

I appreciate all the insight - I will likely be heading out there for most the weekend. I will be sure to post a report. I’m really hoping this warm weather will turn them on!


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## rnewman

Most of the fish we have been catching last 4yrs have been from 2015 yr hatch.When they were 3 and 4yrs old there didn't seam to be as much bait around so those fish were plentiful and easy to catch.Now those fish are older and there seams to be more bait and a lot of short walleye to eat.Those older fish are tougher to catch and the 2015 numbers have dwindled over time from harvesting.Had a charter captain tell me last week,that all the fish on the bottom are shorts hiding from the feeding walleye higher in water column.
I believe the numbers of walleye are at all time highs.Not sure when those shorts are going to show up,but seams when we are catching keeper walleye we don't catch any or few shorts and visa versa.


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## Seaturd

I think the lake is loaded with walleye, the migration is ahead of schedule and the fish are well fed. I also think the fish are in smaller more numerous schools instead of the monster schools of years past - why I don't know. I've been spending more time searching for the marks I want than usual but its been paying off. We limited out Friday out of Edgewater when it sounded like most were struggling by the radio chatter. I gave my depth, program and general location over the radio and one boat showed up - the only one we saw ALL DAY within a few miles of us. We marked fish shallow, a 35' and 42' but could only get a couple to go. The fish we found at 55' were in loose groups, suspended and very active.


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## aquaholic2

Seaturd said:


> I think the lake is loaded with walleye, the migration is ahead of schedule and the fish are well fed. I also think the fish are in smaller more numerous schools instead of the monster schools of years past - why I don't know. I've been spending more time searching for the marks I want than usual but its been paying off. We limited out Friday out of Edgewater when it sounded like most were struggling by the radio chatter. I gave my depth, program and general location over the radio and one boat showed up - the only one we saw ALL DAY within a few miles of us. We marked fish shallow, a 35' and 42' but could only get a couple to go. The fish we found at 55' were in loose groups, suspended and very active.


I fish hard read posts here talk to charter friends..watch others on the water...but heres the deal. In the late 80's I could take rookies out in my old 18' starcraft and everyone had 10 fish limits in less than 2hrs. That never happens now. Lots of "experts" tell us we are doing it wrong but bottom line is when the population is actually high like in the 80's the completion for food creates the easy bite we experienced then. We don't have that condition now regardless of what the DOW says..


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## Seaturd

aquaholic2 said:


> I fish hard read posts here talk to charter friends..watch others on the water...but heres the deal. In the late 80's I could take rookies out in my old 18' starcraft and everyone had 10 fish limits in less than 2hrs. That never happens now. Lots of "experts" tell us we are doing it wrong but bottom line is when the population is actually high like in the 80's the completion for food creates the easy bite we experienced then. We don't have that condition now regardless of what the DOW says..


We had it as recent as two - three years ago. Hour and a half limits were common, my wife and I boated 70 + legal walleye in one day. Everybody was an "expert". You can' expect to hold that kind of catch rate every year. I've fished Erie since the late 70's and seen the good and the bad. In my "non-expert" opinion we'a re in stretch of good right now.


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## bridgeman

Fish are there ya just gotta do some work to get em. Sometimes there's years where they're suicidal and attack anything pulled behind the boat. Last year for example I had to keep checking lines to keep the junk off, if I got lazy and let the baits wash the catch rate went down. You can make your own luck on the pond just gotta have confidence in what your doing, ain't no new great lure of the year. Stuff that worked 25 years ago still produces


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## Gottagofishn

Out twice this week and seeing the same everyone else is, lots of small pods of fish. Had a tough time getting them to grab cranks yesterday but they were willing to take crawlers... I guess it’s time to dust off the harnesses.
The fish are there and healthy... lots of them. If what you’re doing isn’t working, change. Believe your sonar, don’t fish if the fish aren’t there. Resist the temptation to fish where you caught them yesterday if you’re not marking them. Fish above the fish and don’t overlook the skinny water.
Location, depth, action (live, style) speed and color.... pretty much in that order.. ish. IMHO


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## IceFission

Doing some simple math...Lake Erie has 116 cu miles of water, 10k square miles of surface area, and approx 100 million walleye. This means, ON AVERAGE, each cubic mile of water has ~600k walleye, and each square mile of surface area has 10k walleye in that water column. Of course you need to take into account migration patterns, and depth, but on average these should be close. Someone double check my math.

Now assuming that on average there are 1000 fishing boats on the lake every day for ten months, with each boat having and average of 4 fishermen, taking 24 fish per day per boat. This puts the walleye take from fishermen about ~7m, or 7% of the population. These numbers are likely high, its probably a stretch to assume 300 fishing days and I really have no idea on the number of boats per day on average. This doesn't take in account commercial fishing or other natural deaths to the fish but it gives some sense of how many fish are actually in the lake and how healthy the population will be for years to come.


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## slashbait

Rocky report to add to this. 0 fish. Only marked fish in 46 ft of water and they were flat to the bottom. Also tried skinny water, zip. From Bradford landing to Lakewood almost no marks. It’s amazing there’s no junk fish? 3=boats behind me at dock had same results? Kind of wierd because rocky was loaded with shiners most of winter, but now no bait to mark? This is exactly how the lake was the end of summer last year. Also wild not a single small mouth? This time of year skinny water usually piled up with them? Did talk to guys on one boat going out that said 55 ft been decent this week. Never have seen the graph that void of any sign for that much area. And it’s not because of clear water, color is perfect? Side bar if rocky only has one dock for Memorial weekend , that will be one place to avoid for sure😎


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## Gonefishing57

The lake is loaded with fish, but I think more people fishing the less fish eventually.


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## rickerd

SeaT, what radio channel do you and others use in CLE area? I tried 78-80 on Sunday morning and didn't hear a peep.
Thanks,
Rickerd


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## rickerd

slashbait,
I thought is was the sonar on new boat I'm getting used to. I also saw little bait and few fish especially shallow. I'm also surprised no smallies or rockbass or sheep in close that day.
Rickerd


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## eyeman_1

I was up around the islands last week for a week with our group. All three boats caught limits most every day. There were a few things that we did different than each other boat in our group and it paid off for us each day. If we got slow we'd ask the other guys what was working at that time... light conditions, wave action, wind direction... changes throughout the day and week. Here is what worked for us pulling mostly cranks and a bouncer or inline. 

We fished away from the packs. Finding fish suspending in the 10-20' down range. When it was bright skies, go metallic colors, or metallic pinks and purples. When it was overcast, go more subtle baits, and natural colors. Speed was very important. Some days 1.5 - 1.8mph... but we had wave action that makes a more dynamic difference in the way the baits pull and surge. Flat days, we got the boards out away from the boat. We also had great success when it went flat by bringing baits up but further out away from the boats... also sped up to 2 - 2.2mph... reaction bites. Water temps were 54 - 57.... we caught very few fish on crawlers when we tried them and I can move faster with cranks... S turns or Crazy Ivan's as we call them... when it's flat the speed changes made a big difference. Sometimes it was an inside board on a turn or just the opposite... I also stalled the boat... coast and then hit the full speed on the troll master...every day was a different set of conditions. Breezy early followed by a lake that was settling down... wind direction changes... we had what seemed like all four seasons in one day on the first two days out.... Some days the graph looked like it was in demo mode but fishing was slow.... we moved, kept moving... suddenly we caught fish where we weren't really marking any... Dropped a waypoint or icon and circled back.... catch a few more.. still not marking....hmmm... Fish were way up and we moved baits around accordingly... I really enjoyed trying to figure it out and it's more fun when I have to think about it than when we get lucky and its easy pickings.

We just kept working at it until we put together something that was working, shared our information with the other guys in our party and everyone was able to get a program working.


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## kdn

AFadenholz said:


> I have been fishing Lake Erie on a regular basis for the last five years and I have always done very well Walleye fishing. I was docked in Vermillion my first three years and have been in Lorain for the last two. I have pictures and videos during April and May catching my limit on walleye almost every time out. It was almost like you could throw down a piece of bubble gum and catch a fish. I know Erie has not always been like this though.
> 
> I have been out around 10 times this season and I have really struggled putting together a pattern to catch consistent fish. We have been averaging around 6-10 walleye per outing. I have talked to others that have also struggled this season.
> 
> I know there is a lot of very experienced fisherman on here, so I wanted to get your opinion on why we haven't had the type of season we have had for the past few years. Do you think the fish are not schooled up yet? Do you think the bugs coming in early have shut them off? Do you think the walleye population is starting to decrease? Do you think the cold spring we have had is the issue?
> 
> I don't know that there is an absolute answer, but thought I would open it for discussion......
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Andy


All of the above including sporadic weather. 
Capt. Ken
I Chase Her Charters


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## snuff1

kdn said:


> All of the above including sporadic weather.
> Capt. Ken
> I Chase Her Charters


The lake is fine. According to DNR there are over a 100 million walleye in the lake right now which is more than than the 80's hayday's I just came off a head boat yesterday. Got my limit and then some.Other good fishermen were doing well also. The night before the boat limited out with 1 guy catching 18. Also caught about a dozen throw backs which in a year or two will be nice eaters. Don't know about this years hatch but the waether was conducive to a good hatch.Did real well in the south bass , kelly's area on my boat last year. Lots of limits in short time frames trolling spoons and deep cranks. Keep at it. Use your electronics to find them, then chang up until you find out what they want. You will get there. Right time, right bait = fish.


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## Seaturd

Rickerd - ch 68 from cleveland on east


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## walleyeseizure

Too Early to tell but what it seems is the population is not what they say it is. Prior to the big hatches of 14/15 we were starting to struggle to put daily limits in the boat. 2016 we had to catch so many fish just to squeeze out a legal limit. 2017,18,19 were great. You could tell 2020 there were a little less fish in the lake. So far 2021 has been all work. For the number they claim we should be fighting to keep small walleye off the hooks from these 2018/2019 hatch. Imo the biologist and DNR just guess at what there could be. Maybe they are just better at scooping walleye than they were years ago. Maybe these yoy walleye are being consumed after they are surveyed. Maybe the constant year round pressure has hurt the lake population? Maybe they are all sitting on the Canadian side of the lake. Guess if the fishing isn’t good this year we will figure out some answers next year. 


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## dgfidler

I just think it’s just been an odd spring. On feb 20, I stood on 12 inches of ice north of Clinton reef. Two weeks later you could troll there. The water went from 32 to mid 40’s very quickly, then has taken 4 weeks to add another 10 degrees. With water temps still under 60, it’s still kind of ‘cold water’ conditions. I’ve never considered cold water walleye fishing to be something where I’d expect a lot of fish. Just wait until the water temperature is above 60 and you’re running scorpion sized spoons. Those small walleye will make their presence known! Most people are still fishing bandits and other brands of large crankbaits. I think that explains why last year’s class is not being caught yet. Hooking an 8 inch walleye with a five inch bandit would be like hooking a 21 inch walleye with a 13 inch muskie crankbait.


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## captainshotgun

On the hb last year, we took a lot of yoy eyes while perch fishing


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## BFG

The transition from cold water to warm water period always results in sporadic fishing for a week or two. Same thing happens in the rivers, small lakes, reservoirs, hell even ponds.


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## kit carson

Have caught quite a few 7 to 8 inch walleye while vertical jigging, those little ones smash a swedish pimples, lol!!!

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## set-the-drag

walleyeseizure said:


> Too Early to tell but what it seems is the population is not what they say it is. Prior to the big hatches of 14/15 we were starting to struggle to put daily limits in the boat. 2016 we had to catch so many fish just to squeeze out a legal limit. 2017,18,19 were great. You could tell 2020 there were a little less fish in the lake. So far 2021 has been all work. For the number they claim we should be fighting to keep small walleye off the hooks from these 2018/2019 hatch. Imo the biologist and DNR just guess at what there could be. Maybe they are just better at scooping walleye than they were years ago. Maybe these yoy walleye are being consumed after they are surveyed. Maybe the constant year round pressure has hurt the lake population? Maybe they are all sitting on the Canadian side of the lake. Guess if the fishing isn’t good this year we will figure out some answers next year.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Been catching 2-4 man limits in a couple hrs every time out the last 4 years maybe your fishing a bad area or need to change tactics?? As far as smalls try perch fishing you'll catch a ton 8". The big fish beat out the smaller fish when trolling so you're not going to really get smaller eyes to much unless you go through a school of them. And walleye will eat each other so small eyes group up and stay away from the packs of big girls.


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## Super G

To quote Olan West - West Wind charter captain out of Nags Head NC, “That’s what they call it fishing and not catching!” (I had to ask him to turn our charter into a catching trip! Which he did!) But the quote stuck with me. Last year was hit and miss for me after a solid year of punched tickets in 2019! Curious to see how this year shapes up. Let’s keep changing it up and seeing what works! Good luck this season!


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## AFadenholz

Fished North of Beaver in 26-54 FOW, one sheepshead on blue chrome bandit. Moved and ran all over Lorain dump, no marks got about a dozen white perch on crawler harnesses, moved to Avon point, good marks, picked up two eyes. We three the kitchen sink at them yesterday. Great day on the water though.

headed west of vermillion currently - will post results. I may be on the market for a wake boarding boat if the fishing doesn’t pick up soon hahaha

i Personally think the walleye population has gone down. I know the ODNR says there is a lot but they’ve said the same thing about the perch for years and moved the limit to 10.

good luck to everyone


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## Kenlow1

Good luck Al and let us know how you do today. Good Luck!


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## c. j. stone

Couple tips from someone who hasn’t fished Erie in a few years “but knows someone who goes there(various spots, depths) frequently“-and rarely doesn’t Limit:
-Don’t just rely on electronics to show fish!(ex-one limit, Nothing on sonar screen!) in the past month off Gold Coast throwing big black hair jigs tipped with crawler-11.5, 10, rest 5# and up);
-fish shallower early/late;
-as mentioned by others, try different depths 10 ft and up to say 35-40 fow(til mid summer, then deeper);
- try various rigs til you find out what they want. Don’t be reluctant to mix it up(lures).
THEY
are there!


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## miked913

Most of the fish we have caught over the past few weeks have been from less than 5' to 15' down, there are days you could net fish with the board still attached. Sundays hot set up was a #9 glass perch flicker minnow, 20 back, it pulled 3 fish ohs, 5 or 6' down over 41 fow.

reelylivinsportfishing.com


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## rickerd

If you cannot see the fish on your sonar, how do you know where to fish for them shallow?
What conditions are you looking for on the bottom or shoreline?

thank you,
Rickerd


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## Misdirection

miked913 said:


> Most of the fish we have caught over the past few weeks have been from less than 5' to 15' down, there are days you could net fish with the board still attached. Sundays hot set up was a #9 glass perch flicker minnow, 20 back, it pulled 3 fish ohs, 5 or 6' down over 41 fow.
> 
> reelylivinsportfishing.com


Did my shakedown trip this past Sunday...of the fish we caught, we were running our Husky Jerks down about 8' and they were ripped off the boards.

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## allwayzfishin

These walleye dive when you spook them with your boat...use side imaging and you'll see them. Last time out I was trolling bottom bouncers with harnesses and two boards with shallow stick baits. Both caught fish. I've also done really well fish shallow with jigging raps and shiver minnow and swim baits and Berkeley twitch minnows on a drop shot rig.


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## rickerd

My sidescan only works on starboard side. I've never had confidence in it.
Rickerd


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## Eyeonthefly

rickerd said:


> My sidescan only works on starboard side. I've never had confidence in it.
> Rickerd


Trim your motor up.


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## allwayzfishin

Or move the transducer. When I had my 25hp motor on I had the same problem. Then when I mounted the 40hp the problem went away.


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## rickerd

I have trimmed the motor up and it improves only slightly. I'm thinking the boat has a slight list to starboard, and the sonar is not horizontal? I have my batteries and my arse on the starboard I guess. It didn't always do this only started to act up a couple years ago. 
Rickerd


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## lawrence tracey

Lake Erie walleye numbers continue to climb - Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal


By Dan Armitage, host of Buckeye Sportsman, Ohio’s longest running outdoor radio show This past summ




ocj.com





This past summer, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife trawl surveys found that there was yet another walleye hatch that is well above average, as fisheries biologists reported the 2021 walleye hatch was the fifth largest recorded over the past 35 years.
The 2021 walleye hatch index was 90 fish per hectare (a standard measure of area), well above the rapidly increasing prior 20-year average of 34 fish per hectare. The young walleye averaged just over 4 inches long and were caught at every site sampled.
“Our fisheries biologists survey nearly 40 locations between Toledo and Huron by dragging a large, concave net along the bottom of the lake,” said Travis Hartman, Division of Wildlife Lake Erie Fisheries Program Manager. “Smaller first- and second- year fish tend to feed near the lake’s floor and are captured in the net, while larger fully-grown fish dodge the net and are not routinely caught.”

An acre is 40% the size of a Hectare .... so 
2021 hatch index Approx 36 per acre
20 Yr average 14


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## lawrence tracey

We did fish the Lorain Dump area yesterday ... NE N NW West... .. believe last Thursday storm scattered the bait and the walleye scattered to find em. Good day on the water until rains hit about 2pm. Ran dipseys with spoons... cranks w 2 oz .... and unassisted. Got 1 4lb on wonderbread 120 unassisted. Couple throwbacks came on the dipseys.


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## penalty box

usually I catch walleye close to shore but this year they are way off shore. I had a great year fishing off shore, there are a ton of bait fish off shore as well. All summer long there would be huge schools of minnows around my boat, I haven't seen that the last couple years. I did catch some fish in close but struggled when I did. they changed their pattern this year.


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## RealSlimshady

RealSlimshady said:


> That's strange... the area North of the Beaver is usually a great place to start. Especially up around the humps. The area North of the humps can be a good place to pull out the meat and give it a shot. Sometimes they inhale it, other times they just nibble on the end and spit it out. Occasionally they swallow it, but that doesn't happen very often.
> 
> But my favorite spot is immediately South of the Beaver. I like to work that area over with a deep diving crank (Bare Naked is best). I try not to venture too far South of the Beaver (the Dumping Grounds), as that area can be crappy at times. Be careful not to pump the rod too much, especially when you are just getting started, as you may cause it to release early, then you have to pull it out and start all over. Slow and steady does the trick. Tight lines.....or tight something anyway....


I think you guys missed the point of my post from above. The previous poster said that he was "North of the Beaver" and didn't do well. The post above was my carefully worded reply. Read it again and I think you will see the what I was getting at....


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## miked913

RealSlimshady said:


> I think you guys missed the point of my post from above. The previous poster said that he was "North of the Beaver" and didn't do well. The post above was my carefully worded reply. Read it again and I think you will see the what I was getting at....


Trying too hard now Slim, the time has passed

reelylivinsportfishing.com


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## One guy and a boat

RealSlimshady said:


> I think you guys missed the point of my post from above. The previous poster said that he was "North of the Beaver" and didn't do well. The post above was my carefully worded reply. Read it again and I think you will see the what I was getting at....


Missed it first time I read it. That's funny though

Kip


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## Eyegagger

I'm not an expert either but I personally have fished the lake for over 30 years,I think the 2018 through 2020 year catches have spoiled me. Had many days in those 3 years where I handled 50 walleye and I was actually thinking I was getting bored of catching walleye out of lake Erie, and started going for different species at inland lakes just for a change of atmosphere.now it's almost like I take it for granted that I'm supposed to catch fish like that all the time and catch my limit every trip which I may add I almost do. (Toot toot) I think a lot of other people are on that same page. Especially when I hear people complaining about catching too many sheep head and other fish besides walleye. The fact of the matter is we have the best in my eyes, if not one of the best fisheries in the world for walleye! If there's somewhere else like this please enlighten me as I didn't think walleye fishing got any better than this ! Where else could you go and match this type of fishing. Those who don't think they're catching as many fish as they should be should maybe try fishing a little bit harder, maybe do a little more research.Or just go buy your fish from giant eagle it'll always be there in the same isle, and it also comes with a pretty steep price too. Of course all this is just my opinion so I hope no one takes it personal. Just my two cents! And the real kicker is most of my fish come in 15 ft of water or less my dipsys and Jets don't see much action anymore but my bombers and smithwicks sure as hell do! The fact that the lake makes us have these types of discussions is amazing in itself if you ask me....


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## HappySnag

Eyegagger said:


> I'm not an expert either but I personally have fished the lake for over 30 years,I think the 2018 through 2020 year catches have spoiled me. Had many days in those 3 years where I handled 50 walleye and I was actually thinking I was getting bored of catching walleye out of lake Erie, and started going for different species at inland lakes just for a change of atmosphere.now it's almost like I take it for granted that I'm supposed to catch fish like that all the time and catch my limit every trip which I may add I almost do. (Toot toot) I think a lot of other people are on that same page. Especially when I hear people complaining about catching too many sheep head and other fish besides walleye. The fact of the matter is we have the best in my eyes, if not one of the best fisheries in the world for walleye! If there's somewhere else like this please enlighten me as I didn't think walleye fishing got any better than this ! Where else could you go and match this type of fishing. Those who don't think they're catching as many fish as they should be should maybe try fishing a little bit harder, maybe do a little more research.Or just go buy your fish from giant eagle it'll always be there in the same isle, and it also comes with a pretty steep price too. Of course all this is just my opinion so I hope no one takes it personal. Just my two cents! And the real kicker is most of my fish come in 15 ft of water or less my dipsys and Jets don't see much action anymore but my bombers and smithwicks sure as hell do! The fact that the lake makes us have these types of discussions is amazing in itself if you ask me....


all canadien lakes were destroid from comercial fisherman till goverment fishing managment took over,they put restriction on comercial fishing,the lakes bounce back from over harvesting.
lake Manitoba was completly destroid but now it has same size eyes like erie and planty off them.
check out ice fishing manitoba lake.
i am not promoting anything,i do not like canadian comunist,they save their lakes but destroi Lake erie with oveharvesting.


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## pitchin

Find the bait and I usually find fish. I don't always mark fish but marking a lot of bait in the area is a good place to start.


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