Lake Erie/walleye: The summer doldrums have imposed their will on the western end of the lake, meaning that rising water temperatures have driven many of the larger fish east to find cooler water. The water temperature off Port Clinton was 76 degrees midweek. Anglers are dealing with a lot of undersized fish but still bringing in limits from the waters off Toledo and east to the islands, and there have been good catches taken straight out from Huron and Vermillion. Trolling with spoons or worm harnesses has been the most productive approach in recent days. The pros at Netcraft relay report of walleye limits coming from the waters west of South Bass Island for anglers trolling crawler harnesses with Tru-Trip 30s in 25-30 feet of water.
Lake Erie/perch: Angler Jon Marquardt reports that on a recent Lake Erie outing he and his fishing partner hit the yellow perch trifecta — big fish, lots of them, and all from one spot. The 60-year veteran of the lake’s waters said he was fishing several buoys out from the harbor light, put the anchor down, and never moved until a limit of 10- to 11-inch perch were in the cooler. The team at Netcraft reports very good perch fishing has been taking place in 26 feet of water between the water intake and West Sister Island. Most fishermen have been using spreaders with blades to attract the fish and tipping their rigs with shiners or goldies.
Maumee River: The catfish corps continues to harvest fish from this waterway, tight-lining worms, shrimp, or cut baits along the deeper holes and fishing the low-light hours. Rossford Marina and Orleans Park seem to experience the most fishing pressure, but several adventurous anglers have found some huge cats upstream in the pockets of dark water at the base of several long runs. There also have been reports of smallmouth anglers doing well in the late evenings while working fly gear and crayfish patterns around the clusters of vegetation just above Weirs Rapids.
Irish Hills: The drought continues on Devils Lake, where tough fishing in recent weeks has dramatically reduced the number of anglers who are pursuing the lake’s historically productive bluegill fishery. Even some of the lake’s most savvy fishermen, who have patterned these fish for years, are struggling to put anything close to a limit in the box. The fishing has been better on Wamplers Lake, Round Lake, and Clark Lake, where anglers report finding bluegills in the transition depths near the bed complexes. Live crickets or worms fished under a float are the preferred rig for shallow-water bluegills.
Poachers fined: A Maumee River walleye run angler who took a limit one morning, then returned to the waterway that evening and took three more fish, was busted for over bagging. The penalty in Perrysburg Municipal Court was just $167 in fines and court costs. Two scofflaws who were nabbed earlier this year with 20 largemouth and smallmouth bass taken near East Harbor during the closed season, including five that were under the 14-inch minimum size, received suspended jail sentences and were fined a total of $716 in Ottawa County Municipal Court.
Poachers banned: Two Ontario men who had a cache of 260 yellow perch — 185 fish over their combined limit — when they were checked by a conservation officer after ice fishing on Lake Simcoe in March received more than a fine. Song Jiang was slapped with a $5,000 fine and a lifetime fishing ban, while Wei Yee Su got a 10-year fishing ban. The fish were confiscated.
Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.
First Published August 9, 2018, 4:00 p.m.
