Capt Tony's Lake Erie News Reel (March)
Lake Erie News Reel
March 2008
Over the past two months I’ve written about techniques and tactics for Lake Erie walleye. I’ve covered lure selection, bottom bouncers, early spring jigging, and worm harnesses.
Well, none of this will do you any good unless you have a good idea of where to fish once you get to the lake. Contrary to popular belief, the walleye aren’t everywhere.
So, to make things interesting for this March issue of Lake Erie News Reel, I put together a map that shows the approximate locations of known walleye hangouts. I’ve successfully fished all of these areas numerous times in 24 years of charter work. Keep it handy and learn from it.
Every year on Lake Erie is different, from water temperatures, to fish migration, to weather. So boating fishermen are always forced to go with the flow.
In starting the season we first head out to familiar areas that we know always hold walleyes. Generally these areas include the reef complex northwest of the city of Port Clinton , and the nearshore areas from the Davis Besse power plant to Toledo . This is where a lot of the spawning activity occurs. Fish are always here, maybe not in the exact location as last year, but this is their early spring home.
After spawning, the fish start to spread out. Some move north into Canadian waters by June 1, some move east into the Central Basin . The game plan always is to tag along.
Lake Erie fishermen spend a great deal of time moving from one fishin’ hole to the other. It’s no wonder. Biologists tell us that walleyes often move 20 miles in one day. Consequently, the spot where I limited yesterday may not hold any fish today. But then again they just may have only moved 100-200 yards to get away from all the boat traffic. Always have a look around before acting on a tip 10 miles away.
The locations that I’ve marked on the map are approximate. I’m not giving out waypoints so use this map as a general guide. Explore these areas and wet your lines. In most cases you won’t be alone as other fishermen know these waters just as well.
Capt. Tony Denslow
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