Marblehead, OH 
United States
United StatesLake Erie Western Basin Fishing Report 07.20.12
Submitted by Coe Vanna Charters & Lodging
Submitted on 07/20/2012Fishing Spot:
Fishing report Western Basin West of the Islands Area
Yellow Perch fisherman have been having good success near B can - Niagara Reef - D can - near Green and Rattle Snake Islands. Anchor up to perch fish. Perch are a schooling fish and the trick to catching these tasty critters is to get them fired up. To do this you anchor up near a shelf break if possible and I tend to lean on near 30 feet of water. Perch need to get chummed in and fired up. We do this by barley hooking about 3 sets of minnows on your rig. Drop it to the bottom and jerk the bait off. This helps to get them started feeding. When the perch get started as you pull them in they spit out their stomach contents which in turn acts as chum drawing in more perch from the surrounding area. Don't make the mistake of taking a break because they are easy to catch. They will leave as soon as the chum slick is broken. So do not break the rhythm. When you get them turned on stop when you reach that magic number - Your Limit!
Canadian waters near Pelee are producing a notch better grade of Perch. The Wheel to Hen Island and my favorite 30 feet of water off Sheriton Point.
July 20 2012
Walleye fishing has been very good for the drift fisherman.
West of the Island Areas
Drift fisherman have been enjoying good catches on the western basin of Lake Erie. Except for a couple off days in the extreme heat walleye fishing has been and remains very good. July has always been a very good month for walleye on Lake Erie. Drifting working the shelf breaks has been working very good for us. A - B cans and the reefs including West Reef which has personally been very good for me recently. Casting weapons and working from shallow early to deeper as the sun rises. Best over all depth west of the islands has been 24 to 30 feet.
Walleye fishing East of the Islands is very good.
You name it American Eagle -Buckeye- Gull and Kelly's Shoals - Airport Reef and Sunrise Point as well as the deep waters off Huron and Vermillion all have been taking nice boxes of walleye.
July 20 2012
Walleye fishing Canadian Waters around Pelee Island
Where do you want to start. The waters near Pelee are fired up for those who know how to work the reefs. Hen and Chicks - King George - Wagon Wheel - Chickonille- Mill Point all are having their days giving up nice boxes of walleye. The deeper waters from Middle Island to North Bass on the border has been a recent hot spot for open water drifters.
Trophy Walleye and Bass Season will be here soon.
As the days grow shorter and the water starts to cool from its warmest point Perch - Bass and Walleye will pick up their feeding pace. This combined with Lake Erie's walleye annual migration patterns makes the areas EAST of the Bass Islands the prime areas to fish. Trophy fishing starts every year the last week of August making September and Oct prime times. We will be docked at Catawba Landing by mid August to take advantage of this fall fishery.
Water Clarity on Lake Erie
Algae blooms are not happening on the western basin at this time. The western basin reef complex and the surrounding areas have very clean water. By this time last year the entire western basin of Lake Erie was infested with microsistis algae. Last year we experienced above average rainfall and above average storms which produced excessive amounts of rain. The fertilizer run off from the farmers fields combined with the over flow from sewage treatment plants along Lake Erie and its tributaries consistently feed this algae to epidemic proportions. This was Lake Erie's cry for HELP ! It is black and white as you will read. This year we have experienced the exact opposite drought conditions on the western end of Lake Erie. There is no harmful algae bloom or very little. No run off from fields and no major over flow from water treatment facilities and no or very little algae. The only areas that has algae to any extent is the areas east of the islands which is the final resting place for the majority of last years enormous algae bloom. As I understand it the currents in Lake Erie deposit the algae in the area basically off Cleveland for its final resting spot. This is the area known as having the dead zone and also where left over phosphorus is reintroduced into the eco system of Lake Erie.
I hope our political leaders in the local- state and federal levels read this. Lake Erie has given us her warning signal. She is ok now. Thank you mother nature. It has been put in black and white. Lake Erie's future depends on actions taken now. Everyone adds a little from lawn fertilizers - weed killers - farming practices & fertilizers and water treatment facilities.
Our leaders could make a win win situation out of this and start up dating water treatment facilities and city infrastructures putting people to work and saving Lake Erie. Farmers could also be subsidized to change their farming practices and help cut down on the phosphorus loads that feed the harmful algae blooms that have occurred on Lake Erie
Yellow Perch fisherman have been having good success near B can - Niagara Reef - D can - near Green and Rattle Snake Islands. Anchor up to perch fish. Perch are a schooling fish and the trick to catching these tasty critters is to get them fired up. To do this you anchor up near a shelf break if possible and I tend to lean on near 30 feet of water. Perch need to get chummed in and fired up. We do this by barley hooking about 3 sets of minnows on your rig. Drop it to the bottom and jerk the bait off. This helps to get them started feeding. When the perch get started as you pull them in they spit out their stomach contents which in turn acts as chum drawing in more perch from the surrounding area. Don't make the mistake of taking a break because they are easy to catch. They will leave as soon as the chum slick is broken. So do not break the rhythm. When you get them turned on stop when you reach that magic number - Your Limit!
Canadian waters near Pelee are producing a notch better grade of Perch. The Wheel to Hen Island and my favorite 30 feet of water off Sheriton Point.
July 20 2012
Walleye fishing has been very good for the drift fisherman.
West of the Island Areas
Drift fisherman have been enjoying good catches on the western basin of Lake Erie. Except for a couple off days in the extreme heat walleye fishing has been and remains very good. July has always been a very good month for walleye on Lake Erie. Drifting working the shelf breaks has been working very good for us. A - B cans and the reefs including West Reef which has personally been very good for me recently. Casting weapons and working from shallow early to deeper as the sun rises. Best over all depth west of the islands has been 24 to 30 feet.
Walleye fishing East of the Islands is very good.
You name it American Eagle -Buckeye- Gull and Kelly's Shoals - Airport Reef and Sunrise Point as well as the deep waters off Huron and Vermillion all have been taking nice boxes of walleye.
July 20 2012
Walleye fishing Canadian Waters around Pelee Island
Where do you want to start. The waters near Pelee are fired up for those who know how to work the reefs. Hen and Chicks - King George - Wagon Wheel - Chickonille- Mill Point all are having their days giving up nice boxes of walleye. The deeper waters from Middle Island to North Bass on the border has been a recent hot spot for open water drifters.
Trophy Walleye and Bass Season will be here soon.
As the days grow shorter and the water starts to cool from its warmest point Perch - Bass and Walleye will pick up their feeding pace. This combined with Lake Erie's walleye annual migration patterns makes the areas EAST of the Bass Islands the prime areas to fish. Trophy fishing starts every year the last week of August making September and Oct prime times. We will be docked at Catawba Landing by mid August to take advantage of this fall fishery.
Water Clarity on Lake Erie
Algae blooms are not happening on the western basin at this time. The western basin reef complex and the surrounding areas have very clean water. By this time last year the entire western basin of Lake Erie was infested with microsistis algae. Last year we experienced above average rainfall and above average storms which produced excessive amounts of rain. The fertilizer run off from the farmers fields combined with the over flow from sewage treatment plants along Lake Erie and its tributaries consistently feed this algae to epidemic proportions. This was Lake Erie's cry for HELP ! It is black and white as you will read. This year we have experienced the exact opposite drought conditions on the western end of Lake Erie. There is no harmful algae bloom or very little. No run off from fields and no major over flow from water treatment facilities and no or very little algae. The only areas that has algae to any extent is the areas east of the islands which is the final resting place for the majority of last years enormous algae bloom. As I understand it the currents in Lake Erie deposit the algae in the area basically off Cleveland for its final resting spot. This is the area known as having the dead zone and also where left over phosphorus is reintroduced into the eco system of Lake Erie.
I hope our political leaders in the local- state and federal levels read this. Lake Erie has given us her warning signal. She is ok now. Thank you mother nature. It has been put in black and white. Lake Erie's future depends on actions taken now. Everyone adds a little from lawn fertilizers - weed killers - farming practices & fertilizers and water treatment facilities.
Our leaders could make a win win situation out of this and start up dating water treatment facilities and city infrastructures putting people to work and saving Lake Erie. Farmers could also be subsidized to change their farming practices and help cut down on the phosphorus loads that feed the harmful algae blooms that have occurred on Lake Erie
