Steelhead Season Just Beginning.

Today we had some heavy rains which should have raised stream levels to allow steelhead to run up from the mouths of the tributaries. The 2012-2012 Lake Erie Steelhead season is just beginning and the outlook for this year looks fantastic. Steelhead have already been caught off of the North Pier and a few have been in the streams before today's heavy rains. I took a ride out to the Walnut Creek Access area on Sunday to see how the fisherman were doing. It was sunny and warm and not a great day to fish, however, one lucky fisherman did manage to catch one steelhead. The next few days should be much better if indeed there was enough rain to get the streams flowing. October will be a great month to catch fish.

Fishers of Men Bass Tournament This Week

The Eastern Regional Fishers of Men Bass Tournament is this week in Presque Isle Bay/Lake Erie. Practice days are Tuesday thru Thursday and the Tournament begins at first light on Friday. The Tournament concludes on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Weigh-ins are at 3:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Presque Isle State Park Cookhouse Pavillion. The weigh-in event is free and open to the public. The limit of bass is 5 for each day and the first place prize is a 2012 Skeeter Bass Boat with a Yamaha outboard motor valued at $30,000. Other cash prizes will be awarded based on the number of boats that enter. Good luck to all of the fisherman who qualified for this tournament!

Group Names Presque Isle Top Fishing and Boating Park.

Presque Isle State Park was named one of the top eight state parks for boating and fishing in America. The Nature's Waterpark Showdown national competition was sponsored by the Recreational and Fishing Foundation and asked its fans to vote for the top parks on Facebook. Voters had 24 parks to choose from in the eight week contest, said a news release. In addition to Presque Isle, the champions were Lake Murray State Park in Oklahoma, Itasca State Park in Minnesota, Blue Spring State Park in Florida, El Dorado State Park in Kansas, Cave Lake State Park in Nevada, Fall Creek State Park in Tennessee and Wellington State Park in New Hampshire. For more information, visit Take Me Fishing on Facebook.

In Search of Crappies

In case you have not seen one, Erie PA has some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Erie also is home to Presque Isle bay which is home to some very big crappies. Unfortunately, the crappies this year have been as elusive as a 12 point buck. A friend of mine did catch some in the spring but this summer the fish are being difficult to locate. Another problem exists also; the local bait shops are out of emerald shiners which crappie love to feed on. The bait shops are selling fathead minnows but they do not catch nearly as many fish. This week I am going to focus on catching some crappies. Normally, they are found this time of year suspended in the deeper waters of the bay. Therefore, I am going to fish a variety of colored jigs a couple feet under a bobber.

I am also going to fish according to the major and minor solunar periods. If these are right, tonight I should catch the majority of fish between 8:06 to 10:06 p.m. I will be out there fishing unless we get a big thunderstorm which might happen. Interestingly, my nephew went out yesterday with a couple buddies and they did catch some beautiful slabs during the major period. The fish averaged about 12 inches and were turned on for only about an hour. I have an arsenal of jigs that I am going to toss at the fish this week. Hopefully, I get into them and will post pictures of my success. Good luck fishing!

New Sportsman Classified Website

Due to popular requests, I have created an all exclusive Sportsman Classifieds website. Here you can list guns, ammo, fishing, trapping, and camping items. Please check it out and join for free! Sportsman Classifieds-Click Here!

"Ghost Deer" Seen on Camera.

What's up fisherman? I know, this is a fishing blog however I had to pass on this extraordinary buck. Many people go a lifetime without seeing a "ghost deer" but my nephew just last night captured one with his trailcam. The buck is not a huge one but he is pretty nice. I personally would not shoot it because I was a good friend to some Native Americans that consider them sacred. My nephew, on the other hand, is going to pass up deer in hopes of sticking it. So far, my nephew has 8 legal bucks that he can shoot including this one. I will pass on more pictures of this deer if he appears on the trail cam again. Hunting season is approaching so I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable time in the great outdoors.

August Fishing Report -Lake Erie and Surrounding

Bluegills and Largemouth bass are still biting well in the bay. Crappies are being caught in the deeper waters of the channel. Perch are still being caught in the hot spots in the Lake. No early steelhead as of yet. In fact, last week the mouth of Elk Creek was as still as a pond. Heavy rains are needed to blow out the tribs and steelhead should begin running within a month or so. Other waters like Pymatuning Reservoir have been very hard to fish from shore due to low water conditions. Try fishing near the spillway from shore where catfish and bass are hitting. Walleye are schooled up in the deeper waters of Pymatuning. Walleye fishing in Lake Erie has been good with the fish showing up in the trenches and off of the mountain. If you want to find plenty of fish, try booking a fishing charter out of Erie. Currently, the perch fishing has been so good that three perch boats go out daily. Good luck fishing and remember the big bass tournament coming to Erie next month.

Panfish and Bass Hitting Well in Bay.

Todays fishing report has perch being caught at the usual spots in the Lake.  Off of Shades Beach and Seagull Point have been excellent fishing.  If you don't have a boat, fishing in the bay for bluegill, bass, and drum has recently been excellent.  A few channel cats are being caught off of the piers and I heard a report from one fisherman that said he caught ten channels in one night off of the border patrol.

The border patrol is very hard to fish because of the high wall.  Crappies are beginning to show up in the deeper water.  If you are fishing for crappie, try using a jig on a bobber about 2 to 3 feet down.  And as always, tip your jig with a minnow or grubs.

I went fishing the other night and caught some large Sheepshead (Freshwater Drum).  I don't keep them but they are very good fighters.  Good luck fishing!

Big Fishing Tournament Planned for Erie

Big Fishing Tournament Planned for Erie



By Paul Wagner- WICU12

A major fishing organization has chosen Erie for the site for a large regional event.

The "Fishers of Men" bass tournament will bring up to 300 fishermen from several states to Erie in September. That will mean a big boost for local motels, restaurants, bait shops and gas stations.

For many years, Erie has had a solid reputation as a "hot spot" for perch, walleye, and steelhead. Now increasingly, bass fishermen from around the country are drawn to Presque Isle Bay.

Bass Fisherman Jacob Wilson said, "It is just amazing. There is no place to really compare it to. We love coming up here."

Another bass fisherman, Stan Bollinger said, "This is a first class fishery in Erie. We have a great place to come and fish."

The tournament came to Erie in 2006. VisitErie and the Erie Sports Commission worked for the past 2 years to convince organizers to return.

Bluegills Biting in Presque Isle Bay.

In case you have never tried them before, bluegills are very tasty.  True, you don't get much meat off of them but what you do get is very good and worth cleaning them for.  This morning I got up at light and went down to the public dock to see what I would catch. 

I caught 5 bluegills and kept 4 of them.  Not too many, but I am going to go out again this evening and see if I can add to the pile.  I caught the bluegills on a white feathered jig tipped with grubs.  One nice thing about bluegills is that they are great fighters.

Perch schools have now tightened and are located off of Seagull Point.  There are a lot of boats out there and limits of jumbos are being caught.  Bass are hitting well off of both piers and in the bay.  Good luck fishing! 

***notice one in the bucket is actually a pumpkinseed sunfish.  The one on far right.

Arranging Fishing Tackle

Arranging Fishing Tackles

Serious fishermen are very particular about their fishing tackles. They would choose nothing but the best. And they are also the first one to be buying the brand new products when launched or on sale in the local departmental store. But where does one store these? A common answer is the garage or the basement. If you just enter a basement of an ardent angler, you would understand just from the huge collection of tackles that this cannot but be a fisherman’s den.

We are here with some tips that will help you organize your array of fishing tackles. It is not at all pleasant to have to sit and untangle the mess in the tackle box and be looking frantically for your lucky bass lure without any signs of finding it. There are crank baits, jig baits, spinner baits, hard body lures, soft plastics this and that all over the place. Unless you keep them organized, it is not going to be a pretty picture when you are getting ready for a much awaited fishing trip.

Tackleboxes are simply great but sadly they do not have ample space to fit in all your tackles that come in different sizes and types. A better idea is to use tackle bags or plastic utility boxes- it offers more room.

Try dedicating one or two compartmentalized utility boxes for the types of fish you generally are after. This way you do not have to carry the entire box and take only the ones you need with you.

As we all know spinner baits takes up a lot of room in the utility boxes- carry them in specialized pouches and save space. These look like sandwich bags and easily fit into the external pockets of your tackle bag.

Keeping soft plastic lures is a good idea. Again, use specialized bags and put them in your tackle bag. Arrange them by technique or size.

The hooks often get jumbled. There is however a simple way to take care of this problem – secure the hooks tight against the lure bodies with the help of elastic bands.

The splitshots often tend to get to get misplaced. Empty plastic film containers can work as dividers as well as serve as storage for your splitshots.

One important thing – don’t forget to label the boxes according to their contents. It makes it a lot easier when you have to get ready for fishing. It is also a good idea to arrange the fishing tackles in your boat. You might be a very busy person with no time to be organizing your fishing lures and tackles with such precision! Your boat is where you store all the stuffs and it is almost like one cannot even find a tiger if it hides under the entire heap.

There are certain magnetic tools available in the market which helps you to separate your hooks and fishing lures. This way you also reduce the chances of hurting yourself with the sharp hooks. The magnetic tool is powerful enough and allows secure holding your rods, lures, knives, hooks, hook sharpener, pliers, clippers and anything else that you might need.

Arranging and organizing tackles saves more time and energy that you can invest in doing what you like the most – fishing.

Author- John Anderson

http://www.marinews.com/

Presque Isle Bay Fish Could Be Worth 2 Million Dollars!

In case you have yet to hear it.  Cabela's is running a fishing contest and one of the lucky waters selected is Presque Isle Bay!  In order to qualify for this fishing contest you have to pre-register at Cabela's Fish for Millions.

Fish have been tagged and released into Peninsular waters.  If you are registered at Cabela's and catch a tagged fish, it could be worth as much as $2,000,000 bucks!  There are lots of other prizes too, like bass boats, rod and reels, Cabela gift cards, and other cash prizes from $10,000 dollars and up. 

Some of the fish tagged are smallmouth and largemouth bass, bluegills, perch, and crappie. 

If you catch a tagged fish and did not pre-register, you will get zip so make sure to register and catch a fish worth big bucks!  Good luck! 

Bay Perch Season Nearing the End for 2012.

Today was a perfect evening to try catching some perch off shore.  The fish were either not cooperating or have moved out into the lake already.  A friend of mine told me that he is catching them in 50 feet of water so I believe the majority of perch have left the bay and are in the lake.  Last year, there was excellent shore perch fishing until June but this year the water temperature raced up quickly due to the lack of ice in the bay and a hot spell during March when the temperatures for several days approached 80 degrees.

I managed to catch only one fish this evening.  It was a big Rock Bass.  I guess its' time to get the boat ready!  Good luck fishing!

Frying Lake Erie Perch

Yesterday, a couple of my friends and I had a fish fry.  I used Legendary Northwoods Mild Cajun breading and everyone loved it.  The key is to not overfry the perch.  Fry them at 375 degrees for about 4 minutes and that's all it takes.  Be sure that if there are kids coming to your perch fry that you bring along hot dogs and fries.  Mild cajun breading is usually too spicy for kids and they might not like it.  You can also fry up a few fish using lemon pepper breading which is not so spicy.  I like the Northwoods breadings because all you have to do is wet the perch filet and then roll the filet in the breading.  You can also place the breading in a zip lock back, add the fish, and shake them until the filets are lightly coated.  

 Perch are excellent tasting fried but also taste good if grilled or baked.  Have fun catching and dining on your fish!

Big Smallmouth Bass but no Perch - 4/28/12

Today the weather looked perfect for perch fishing but I did not catch any.  I did a little bit of bass fishing also, and caught this nice smallmouth.  Great fighter...fish did not give up easily even though the water is still frigid. 

I caught this fish off of the north pier.  I used a glo-jig with a pink head.  Still too early for my homemade bass lures I think.

I did not see anyone catching any perch today off of the north pier.  

I will be going out again soon for Lake Erie jumbo perch.  They gotta start biting soon!  Good luck fishing!