Presque Isle Bay Solid and Ready for Ice Fisherman

Cold weather has really improved the ice conditions over the past week.  Remember, ice is never really safe; however, most of Presque Isle Bay can now support ice fisherman.  Today, fisherman ventured into the deeper waters off of the foot of Chestnut Street.  Fisherman were also spread out and were fishing popular spots like Misery Bay which is usually really good fishing early season.

A good number of big lake perch are being caught in all areas with some steelhead also being caught.  The weather is looking to be cold the next few days so the ice should even improve.  Good luck fishing!

Lake Erie Perch Schools are Primarily Mixed Age Classes

Recently, I went out fishing on my friend Rob's boat and we have been doing pretty well on perch.
This year, we seem to be catching more White Perch than in other years.  Also, the age classes of the Yellow Perch seem to be mixed.

There are quite a few smaller fish mixed in with the jumbos.  Here is a video of our latest Lake Erie trip.  We caught quite a few Yellow Perch and White Perch.  My friend Rob also caught an extraordinary double that you can see in the video.  Good luck fishing!

Fantastic Spring Perch Season Still Going Strong.

I have been fishing quite a bit lately and sorry have not had time to update my blog.  The Yellow Perch fishing in Presque Isle Bay has been fantastic this year with many fish and quite a few jumbos.  As of today, the perch are present in heavy numbers in the channel.  Many people are catching limits of nice fish. 

My last outing was with my good friend Rob and his son.  He also blogs about his outdoor experiences at:  Robfisherie.  We caught a lot of perch.  Most of them were not jumbos but good eating size of 8 to 10 inches.  We also threw back a number of smaller fish that we might catch next year. 

I kept 21 fish and Rob and his son kept 22.   After filleting them, I have quite a pile of nice fillets that I will be tossing in the fryer soon.  I estimate another week or two of perch fishing before they head out of the channel into the open Lake Erie. 

Good luck fishing! 

Cold Day of Fishing for a Few Fish.

Today I headed down to Presque Isle Bay to try for jumbo yellow perch. The bay was calm and the skies cloudy. The temperature was pretty chilly. I would guess that it was in the upper 40's.

The fish were biting but I don't think the numbers are there yet. My brother and I caught 10 fish or so and kept three. One fish was nice but I would not call it a jumbo. It was around 9 and a half inches. The perch in the bay right now are running pretty small. The jumbos are still in 50 feet of water in the lake. The weather forecast is calling for real chilly nights so the lake water temperature will start dropping fast. By November, the jumbos should be showing up off of the piers.

Usually by now, steelhead are caught off of the piers throughout the bay. I have not seen any caught yet but did hear about a big steely caught off of the North Pier. Steelhead are entering the creeks now in good numbers but fishing pressure is pretty heavy. Nice fish are being caught in the usual spots like Elk and Walnut Creeks. Good luck fishing and I am going back out Wednesday!

Emerald Shiners Moving Back into the Bay.

Today, I did a little scouting off of the South Pier.  I talked with several fisherman and they were catching a few perch.  I guess the other day was a good one for jumbos.  Today, the perch I saw were around 8 inches but the biggies should be there as there were thousands of emerald shiners migrating into Presque Isle Bay. 

Hopefully, I can get out tomorrow and catch some perch.  The water temps are now ripe for catching perch in the bay.  Our nice days are numbered so grab that rod and catch a few fish before the ice jams the channels.  Good luck!

Fall Fishing Report and Update- October 2011

The perch are beginning to move back through the channel.  Jumbo's have been reported, however, I have been doing quite a bit of scouting and have not seen too many caught.  Today, the weather was sunny and warm for October and I fished the North Side.  The action was fast and furious.  In fact, I could only fish with 1 rod.  I ran out of minnows well before dark.  I caught roughly 50 fish and the vast majority were very small.  I managed to catch 3 fish that were keepers in the 8 to 9 inch range. 

Generally in the fall this is what happens.  The small ones show up first and then in a couple weeks the size improves. 

Steelhead fishing in the local streams has been very good with many fresh fish in the streams.  I generally stick to panfish but after tasting my friend Bill's smoked steely recipe, I might have to go after 1 or 2. 

Bill has the best recipe for steelhead that I have ever tasted.  Thanks Bill!  He said he got it from Gander Mountain and modified it a little bit.  Hopefully, when I see him again I can get the recipe for you steelheaders. 

Bass are in until the end of the year and are still being caught in good numbers around Presque Isle and the channel.  Today, the gentleman next to me caught a largemouth about 15 1/2 inches.  He put it in his bucket as it was a legal fish (15 inches). 

The weather forecast is supposed to be great for the next few days so grab that rod and catch your favorite fish!  Good Luck!

Perch Still Hanging on in Channel.

Yesterday, my friend Rob and I decided to do a little bit of evening fishing.  The weather was very nice and there was not a cloud in the sky.  The wind was directly from the east.  We both concluded that we would not be catching many fish.  I managed to catch a couple nice jumbo's before dark and Rob caught a couple small ones that he let go.  He also caught two mud puppies and one of them was orange!  The fish still might be in the channel but today conditions were not ideal.  We'll try again soon.  Good luck fishin'

Perch Still Present in Channel in Good Numbers.

Today was a beautiful spring day and I decided to head down to the South Pier.  The water temperature in the bay warmed up a couple of degrees and now the invasive round goby is active and stealing the bait.  My brother and a friend Randy went fishing with me and we sat there for quite some time just catching gobies.  About a half hour before dark, the perch starting biting.  The size is smaller than just a week or so ago.  Most of the fish were around 8 inches give or take an inch so quite a few that we caught were thrown back.  We managed to put two jumbos in the bucket along with 9 keepers.  My brother also caught two mud puppies which is a good sign.  Mud puppies are a great indicator of a healthy ecosystem.  Pollutants that sink and stay in the substrate tend to kill the sensitive mud puppy.  The more mud puppies the cleaner the channel substrate.  I would have loved to take a picture of the mud puppies but did not have my camera.  They were both very large for mud puppies with no sores.  Both of them very healthy.  Good luck fishing and if you catch mud puppies, please toss them back in the water.  The gobies;  well, you can feed them to the seagulls as they love to eat them.

Another Excellent Steelhead Weekend.

Steelhead, steelhead, steelhead; that one word describes this weekend's fishing opportunity. The streams are full of nice shiny fish which have recently entered the streams to spawn. The streams are somewhat low and clear but the fish didn't seem to mind. I saw many fish being caught and there is some really big fish being caught this year. If you have a nice picture of you with a fish and want me to show it off on this website, simply email it to me and I will put it here.

A couple words of importance: fishing organizations recently released a ton of smolts into the area's streams. Please don't target these little guys. Most of them are less than 9 inches but each year I am surprised to see fisherman catch and measure the fingerlings. Although it is not illegal to keep smolts that are larger than 9 inches during the regular trout season that begins on April 18, 2009, these fish should be returned to the stream so that they can venture out into the lake and become adult steelhead. Remember, right now all of your steelhead have to be larger than 15 inches and you can only keep three.

Having said that, warm weather is expected this week. The weather will undoubtedly raise the water temperature in the bay at least a few degrees. Crappies and jumbo perch may start to hit. Any day now I expect to get news of fisherman catching them. My friend Rob is a very avid "bucket" fisherman that tries to go out almost daily the next couple months. I will be talking with him for updates and checking out his blog. If you are interested in following Rob's blog, you can do so at Robfisherie.blogspot.com. He doesn't really care about steelhead but he loves his panfish. He also talks about the history of the old time pier fisherman in Erie and how the "old-timers" are disappearing. A good blog with some fine history. Have fun fishin' this week and stay tuned for more updates!

Stream Levels are Good, Steelhead in Streams

The streams are running a little high but have cleared up significantly. Steelhead fishing should be excellent over the next few days. All of the ice has blown out of Presque Isle Bay and perch fishing should start to pick up. I checked Dobbins Landing today and no one was really doing any good yet, just a few small perch. A few steelhead are being caught off the piers in the bay but I have not talked to anyone as of yet that has caught a bucket of perch.

The weather forecast is indicating that this weekend should be excellent steelhead fishing but the clear weather may slow it down a little. Watch for the next front coming early next week which will bring rain.

Remember when steelhead fishing that the water is still very cold so it is best to get your bait down to the fish in the streams. Imitation egg sacks, real spawn sacks, live minnows, and maggots should all perform well for bait fisherman.

Glo bugs, hare's ear nymphs, imitation sucker spawn, imitation eggs, and spring wigglers should be great choices for fly fisherman.

With the recent heavy rains raising stream levels, fish should be well upstream so you should be able to get away from the crowds this weekend. Fishing pressure will be intense, though, so early mornings may be best before fish are spooked out of the riffles. May your lines be tight and your hooks be Happy!