Lake Erie Fishing Report: July 25, 2002 Western Basin - Lake Erie water temperature off Toledo is 74* F. Good walleye action continued through the week but was interrupted by strong easterly winds Wednesday. Good catches should resume as wind and waves subside. Winds are expected to moderate and vary from NW to SW through Monday. The triangle area from C can NW to West Sister Island east to Green and Rattlesnake Islands has been the most productive with many limit catches of walleye. Other areas producing fish include Gull Island shoal and Kelly's Island shoal. Anglers are trolling with deep diving crank baits, spoons and drifting with weight-forward spinners, mayfly rigs, and bottom bouncers with worm harnesses tipped with nightcrawlers. Trollers are doing best. Most fish are 18 to 22 inches with some larger fish. The legal bag limit for walleyes on Lake Erie and its tributaries is six fish from May through February. Yellow perch fishing continues to be good at many locations in waters over 25 ft. in depth with some limit catches. Some good perch fishing locations include C-can, Kelleys Island Shoal, Gull Island Shoal, Rattlesnake Island, Ballast Island, and Starve Island, SE of Perry's monument and east of Marblehead Lighthouse. Perch catches are in the 7- to 11-inch range. Smaller perch are now showing up in the catch. Anglers are using perch spreaders tipped with minnows. The yellow perch bag limit is 30 perch per angler per day. Central Basin - Water temperature off Cleveland is 74*. Walleye fishing has been fair, 1 to 5 miles north of Ruggles Reef, Vermilion and at the sandbar, 8 miles northwest of Lorain. Anglers are using dipsy divers and jet divers with stinger spoons in silver/chartreuse, watermelon, purple, and blue and worm harnesses 8 to 12 miles north of Cleveland to Eastlake in 62 to 70 feet of water, north of Ashtabula (10 to 12 miles out) in 70 to 72 feet of water, and 6 - 10 miles north of Perry to Geneva in 65 to 70 feet of water. Trollers are also picking up good numbers of steelhead trout at the Cleveland to Ashtabula locations. Walleyes are measuring 18 to 28 inches and steelhead 20 to 29 inches. Perch fishing has been very good off Vermilion, Lorain, Cleveland, Eastlake, Fairport Harbor, and Ashtabula to Conneaut, 1 to 3 miles offshore in 35 to 50 feet of water.
Source: ODNR
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