Take a last shot at Erie walleyes
As Pennsylvania's share of Lake Erie's walleye fishing opportunities wind down for the season, anglers can reflect on another excellent summer.
Major schools of walleyes will soon be doing their east-to-west exodus. Though another two to three weeks of good sport may remain, the time is short.
Late last week I squeezed in one more Lake Erie walleye trip, an outing that exemplifies the quality of fishing the lake has provided the past two years.
Driven by a bumper crop of walleyes produced in 2003, the fine catches recorded by most anglers reminded them of the glory days experienced during the early 1990s. Last year the 2003 fish averaged 16 to 18 inches throughout the summer.
This year, in the food rich waters of Lake Erie, walleyes from that year class ran in the 20-inch range and averaged three to four pounds.
During my day with veteran Lake Erie angler Craig Mason of Export, along with two other anglers, we boated four limits in a few hours.
According to Mason, who regularly fishes out of the port of Conneaut, Ohio, this summer has been on a par with last year's exceptional action. Though '03 walleyes dominate the catch, there are still enough older-class fish to keep things exciting. The biggest one we boated was a 28-incher.
Currently, most schools of walleyes off of the Conneaut area, as well as Pennsylvania's Walnut Creek access area, are located in about 70 feet of water. This is about an 8- to 10-mile run out on the lake. Though fish can be caught much farther from shore, this is about as close as one is going to find them this late in the summer.
Dipsey Diver trolling sinkers teamed with flutter spoons, a favorite combination among Lake Erie walleye anglers, continues to be an excellent way to present a bait deep enough to catch these fish.
In waters in the 70-foot range, the walleyes have been holding at about 50 to 55 feet down. Dipsey divers are capable of pulling lures this depth.
In the clear waters of Erie, gamefish often will move up in the water column to strike a lure presented above them, so it's not always necessary to put the lure right at the depth where fish appear on a sonar unit.
It's much better to present a lure above the fish than below them. The fish are accustomed to feeding upward, as this is where they most often orient themselves in relation to schools of bait.
A 6- to 10-foot leader is used to connect the Dipsey Diver to the spoon. Mason said a common mistake many anglers make is to use leader material that is too light.
"A lot of folks use 12- or 14- pound test line," said Mason. "Under the shock of a big fish, many times the leader will break, especially when you get hit by something other than a four-pound walleye. Steelhead trout and sheephead (freshwater drum) provide a lot of initial shock. A few years ago, I switched to 20-pound test fluorocarbon line for leader material, and haven't had any break-off problem since."
As in the past, gold or copper flutter spoons that also include shades of chartreuse and orange have been productive. Minnow-shaped plugs, such as the Bomber Long A and Storm Thunderstick, can also be good, particularly on bigger walleyes.
You can reach walleye- holding depths with plugs by fishing them on leadcore line or by the use of downriggers.
