St. Louis River walleye

St. Louis River walleye bite continues to be good. Success is being found trolling, casting and jigging. Bigger fish seem to come on bigger profile soft plastics pitched near drop-offs or other structure. Pike and smallmouth bass continue to be found near walleye areas as well. Most boats are sticking to areas south of Clough Island, but fish are scattered throughout the whole system.

We have found decent walleye fishing as far as Superior Bay. Trolling hard-sided shiner color baits in 5-12 feet of has been good.
Inland lakes are having a good panfish bite going on. Small hair jigs wiggled under floats have been on fire. Seek out shallower areas with vegetation. Having a good pair of polarized sunglasses can help located scattered fish. Walleyes are being found in similar areas.
The jig and minnow bite continues to be awesome. Pike and bass are also sticking near vegetation and sunken lumber. Working rattle baits will turn good numbers of predator fish.

Detroit River:

Detroit River: Guide Spencer Berman reports that the walleye fishing has been exceptional, with limit catches coming quickly most days. To avoid the incoming white bass, walleye anglers are working in 20-40 feet of water with minimal irritation from white bass. Up the waterway, Berman said the smallmouth bass are on the beds in the northern half of Lake St. Clair, and in pre-spawn mode in the cooler southern half of the lake.

Abiquiu Lake

The smallmouth bass fishing at Abiquiu Lake is good and the bass are entering their spawning stage. The smaller male bass will keep you busy and the bigger female bass are heavy with eggs. They will soon be making their spawning beds.

 

The walleye fishing has been fair-to-good. Fishing for walleye is usually better in the evening or early morning, when they will move into shallower water. During the day, walleye will be in a little deeper water. The trout fishing will likely start to slow down as the water warms up, but the catfishing is picking up. Catfish are also more active early and late in the day. Fishing at night for catfish can be productive.

Pentwater Lake

Pentwater Lake: Perch fishing slowed. Anglers have started to catch bluegills and sunfish along the drop-offs in 8 to 12 feet with red worms and wax worms. Those casting body baits reported good catches of smallmouth bass and northern pike in 8 to 15 feet. A good number of smallmouth bass were caught from Longbridge Road on jigs tipped with soft plastics.

Lake Erie

Lake Erie fishing action is really starting to take off for perch, walleye and bass  and not necessarily in that order. Night walleye trolling and casting has been good for the most part but paying attention to details can make a difference. Capt. Mark Lorenc of North Tonawanda did well off Dunkirk trolling Bay Rats at night in 8 to 10 feet of water over the weekend. He switched gears and started picking up some walleyes during the day off the windmills in 30 feet of water trolling 1.4 mph with worm harnesses on the bottom with three-ways. He was picking up four to six ‘eyes a trip and then switching over to bass with green tubes to keep the action going. Gerry Begier of Bill’s Hooks in Dunkirk says that the walleye action has been good at night between the Sherwood Country Club and Van Buren in 8 to 15 feet of water. They are catching some during the day, too. Saturday is the perch contest for Southtowns Walleye and information isn’t coming easy. Capt. Joe Fonzi of Gasport reports that the perch are mostly spawned out. You must search for them. He found 100 fish on Sunday. Look in 58 to 65 feet of water off Evangola. Steve Brzuszkiewicz of Marilla found 57 foot to be a magic number for a limit catch using goldens. Good news that the Sturgeon Point dredging project is now completed according to Capt. Jim Skoczylas of Southtowns Walleye.

Spirit Lake

 Marble Beach campground, including the boat ramp, is closed for the season for renovation. Smallmouth Bass – Good: Use a jig tipped with a minnow in shallow rock structures. Action is best during sunny, calm days. Black Crappie – Good: Good numbers of fish are being harvested from the Templar Park lagoon; Buffalo Run has been “hit or miss.” Walleye – Good: Best action is during the night off the docks. Fish leeches under a bobber or cast a twister tail. Black Bullhead – Good: A good bite is reported at the north grade; fish traditional baits on the bottom

Sandusky River:

Sandusky River: A stringer won’t be enough to get the job done if the white bass continue to hit so aggressively on this waterway. The past few days have seen the downtown Fremont stretch of the Sandusky produce coolers full of white bass, and Bernie Whitt from Angler’s Supplies has the stacks of photos to prove it. Most of the fishermen are using minnows floated under a bobber, or dressed on a jig. The Sandusky has a history of producing mega white bass runs, and 2018 will do nothing to diminish that reputation.

Oneida Lake

 Reports are indicating that the opening weekend of walleye season on Oneida did not disappoint anglers. Limit catches on both days were taken in 15-35 feet of water. The activity seemed to be in the more shallow depths earlier in the day and as the sun got higher, anglers found the action in the 25-35 foot range.