WalleyeLJ Posted June 23, 2021 Report Posted June 23, 2021 My Dad is 83 years young, but time is catching up. He has fished for and been obsessed with walleyes his whole life. Gave me the fever too:) Caught almost all his walleyes on Lake Champlain. He's always dreamed of a #10+ walleye, but just can't find too many of those in Vermont. He asked me this weekend if I'd fish Erie with him next year. I said of course, but when I was home this weekend to visit, I can see his mobility is rapidly becoming a challenge. I decided I'd like to make the trip happen next month, as I don't know what a year will bring in terms of his health. So, looking to work out of the Buffalo/Dunkirk area. Is this a good plan mid to late July? Is a 10 pound plus fish possible in this area this time of year? Any particular area better than other for Erie rookies to work? Checking a few recent reports, fishing looks pretty good already. We've got a 24 foot Crestliner with 4 riggers, planer boards, flatline options (we've never run lead cores). Most of our experience is running stick baits and spinner harnesses. I plan to read as much as I can here, but need to set up travel arrangements ASAP, so any pointers not only for fish but lodging (full kitchen - hotel, Airbnb, Vrbo, etc. ) would be greatly appreciated! L.J.
Fyshon Posted June 23, 2021 Report Posted June 23, 2021 Go ahead and schedule mid July, that's usually a very productive time all over the lake... My Dad is 83 years young, but time is catching up. He has fished for and been obsessed with walleyes his whole life. Gave me the fever too:) Caught almost all his walleyes on Lake Champlain. He's always dreamed of a #10+ walleye, but just can't find too many of those in Vermont. He asked me this weekend if I'd fish Erie with him next year. I said of course, but when I was home this weekend to visit, I can see his mobility is rapidly becoming a challenge. I decided I'd like to make the trip happen next month, as I don't know what a year will bring in terms of his health. So, looking to work out of the Buffalo/Dunkirk area. Is this a good plan mid to late July? Is a 10 pound plus fish possible in this area this time of year? Any particular area better than other for Erie rookies to work? Checking a few recent reports, fishing looks pretty good already. We've got a 24 foot Crestliner with 4 riggers, planer boards, flatline options (we've never run lead cores). Most of our experience is running stick baits and spinner harnesses. I plan to read as much as I can here, but need to set up travel arrangements ASAP, so any pointers not only for fish but lodging (full kitchen - hotel, Airbnb, Vrbo, etc. ) would be greatly appreciated! L.J.Sent from my SM-N981U using Lake Erie United Mobile App 1
Fyshon Posted June 23, 2021 Report Posted June 23, 2021 LJ, see if you can book a room in the Hamburg NY area. That's right between Buffalo and Sturgeon Point. Might be a good home base.Sent from my SM-N981U using Lake Erie United Mobile App 1
J. Sparrow Posted June 23, 2021 Report Posted June 23, 2021 (edited) One thing to consider is that there is much deeper water off Barcelona and Dunkirk, than say Buffalo and Sturgeon Point. The Western ports offer access to cold water species if you would like to change it up during your trip. While the entire NY portion of Lake Erie offers pretty good walleye fishing in July/August, the cold water off the Western ports holds some pretty good Lake Trout fishing...... with occasional steelhead. Edited June 23, 2021 by J. Sparrow
J. Sparrow Posted June 23, 2021 Report Posted June 23, 2021 (edited) 10 minutes ago, J. Sparrow said: One thing to consider is that there is much deeper water off Barcelona and Dunkirk, than say Buffalo and Sturgeon Point. The Western ports offer access to cold water species if you would like to change it up during your trip. While the entire NY portion of Lake Erie offers pretty good walleye fishing in July/August, the cold water off the Western ports holds some pretty good Lake Trout fishing...... with occasional steelhead. Edited June 23, 2021 by J. Sparrow 1
mr 580 Posted June 23, 2021 Report Posted June 23, 2021 Mid to late July, Dunkirk would a good spot to work from. Lots of places to stay and you can launch from Dunkirk or Cattaraugus Creek. Can work a variety of depths. Should be plenty of walleyes available especially “eater” size, getting a 10lb one you’ll likely sort through a few to find one. Should be able to get fish from boards with leadcore, divers and riggers. 1
Misdirection Posted June 24, 2021 Report Posted June 24, 2021 I fish out of Ashtabula OH on Erie for walleye. If your after a 10 lbs + walleye, run larger lures. We've been running the Michigan stinger magnum spoons off of true trips and the old Bombers #17's (their about 8" long) off wire or leadcore. The bigger lures trolled at summer speeds (2.5 knots and above) do extremely well. Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk 1 1
WalleyeLJ Posted June 24, 2021 Author Report Posted June 24, 2021 Misdirection, So, my Dad's reaction to next month was not what I expected. Long story, but now he wants to look at next spring, further west (I still think by this weekend he might change his mindl. Is you area in Ohio good in early May? Great tip on the summer speed! L.J.
Misdirection Posted June 24, 2021 Report Posted June 24, 2021 In early May, I would head west of Cleveland, like Lorraine, OH. We have a resident population of walleye in Ashtabula, but if your dad wants a big girl, he'll need one that spawned out on the western reefs and then took off east as the water warmed. Those fish ususlly dont make it to my part of the lake until late June, early July.Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk 1
sherman brown Posted June 24, 2021 Report Posted June 24, 2021 Ashtabula Conneaut or Geneva are all good spots to have a chance at a 10#+ walleye in late july and aug. the best way this time of yr is with big boards with 300' of 15# wire using deep diving dhj, deep bandit, and at times bay rats will work great. work the deeper water from the 02 line to the border produces but big spoons works great also. galeforcetackle.com has some great large walleye spoons. the best color i've found is jaw breaker with dr death and reverse muffin also being my 3 favorite but they have other great colors. i would make the run if i really wanted a chance at a 10#er with lots of 22" to 24" to make the game fun.
WalleyeLJ Posted June 25, 2021 Author Report Posted June 25, 2021 Thanks! Those look like great salmon spoons as well! How far out is the 02 line? L.J.
sherman brown Posted June 25, 2021 Report Posted June 25, 2021 1 hour ago, WalleyeLJ said: Thanks! Those look like great salmon spoons as well! How far out is the 02 line? L.J. i'm not sure but i'd guess about 10 or 12 miles out of geneva. sometimes you can get fish closer to shore but by late july i make the run out sometimes farther than the 02 line to find great fishing. the fish are usually deep. so if you dont run wire you'll need something to get your lure deep. dipsies, deeper divers, and lite bite slide divers will get the job done with 30# power pro and a 6'+ leader of 20# seaguar premier fluro 1
Misdirection Posted June 25, 2021 Report Posted June 25, 2021 The 02 line is 8 miles out of Ashtabula and I would guess 4 to 5 miles out of Conneaut. Out of Ashtabula we fished inside the 02 until almost August when the lake really started to warm up. Then we had to venture out into the lake.The best way to locate walleye in the summer on our part of the lake is to look at the bottom temps. Once you find the colder water, you've found the walleye.See attached pic, that was from late August. Once the lake warms up, you gotta run out to where the (yellow) colder water is, at least for those of us who fish eastern OH waters.Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk 1 1
sherman brown Posted June 25, 2021 Report Posted June 25, 2021 misdirection has been fishing the eastern waters much more than i have so i would listen to what he has to say. and you can trust him to be honest. misdirection, is fishing the 02 line out of Ashtabula the same as fishing it out of Geneva?
Misdirection Posted June 25, 2021 Report Posted June 25, 2021 Because of the orientation of Erie being angled to the NE/SW, if we were fishing the 02 in Ashtabula, you can fish the 00 in Geneva and 04 in Conneaut. Thats a general rule of thumb. Its all about finding the right currents, temp, and baitfish. But in Conneaut, you find the humps and trenches that are more pronounced inside Pennsylvania can offer different opportunities. Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
sherman brown Posted June 25, 2021 Report Posted June 25, 2021 3 minutes ago, Misdirection said: Because of the orientation of Erie being angled to the NE/SW, if we were fishing the 02 in Ashtabula, you can fish the 00 in Geneva and 04 in Conneaut. Thats a general rule of thumb. Its all about finding the right currents, temp, and baitfish. But in Conneaut, you find the humps and trenches that are more pronounced inside Pennsylvania can offer different opportunities. Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk thank you so much for the info.
Recommended Posts
You must be logged in to view content
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now