Fishing report for January 1, 2013.: , ,
Fishing Report Posted: January 01, 2013

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Posted by Capt. Walt Ermansons on January 01, 2013 at 14:49:05:

Happy New Year ! And welcome to the new and upcoming fishing season ! The year 2013 will mark my 27th year of being a full time charter captain and guide on Lake Erie. Wow is all I can say. It seems like just yesterday I was informing my wife that I was quitting my good paying machinist job and buying a big boat which by the way was going to cost more then the house that we had just purchased and be a full time fishing guide. Somehow we got past all of that and here we are with 26 years under our belts now and thousands of trips run and with many more countless thousands of Walleyes captured over those 26 years. We are looking forward to yet another new fishing season and seeing a lot of our old friends that we have made over those years and making some new ones too !

Last seasons fishing was about as good as it could be. Most of that could be attributed to the nicer then usual average weather that we had in 2012. Not that we didn’t have our share of crap days here and there. And if you were one of the groups that drew that particular straw, well your catch probably reflected it. But as a whole, it was pretty dog gone decent and along with good weather comes decent fishing conditions and great catch rates. We had plenty of fish in the area to work with last year and when everything was all said and done, we ended up capturing 2,683 Walleyes and thousands of more Perch in 2012. A very good year ! Perhaps we will have another mild spring followed by a great summer. And if so, we should have another banner year. One can only hope !

I don’t foresee any major changes with anything for the new year. Fish limits should remain as they were and I don’t foresee any big changes on my end. We will once again be in the western basin for the early spring fishing operating out of the same dock location in Port Clinton for the months of April and May. Then it will be back to Ashtabula Ohio my home port for the rest of the year. Rates will again remain at $650 for a group of 5 or less but I am really urging those that do not do it already to consider coming as groups of 4. It is just so much more personal and comfortable with just that one less person. And on the trolling trips your turn on the rod comes up quicker and at the end of the day you end up splitting your catch 4 ways rather then 5. It is a lot easier limiting the boat out with 4 people then 5. Many days with a full boat it’s just plain tough catching that many fish and frequently come up a few short where with 4 people it’s usually highly obtainable. At the end of the day it’s a win, win for everyone. Especially for me. I just don’t move around as well or bounce back from my daily beatings that the lake dishes out as I did 27 years ago! I see a day coming in my final years where I may just cap it at 4 people maximum. Period.

So now it is 2013. It really is time to start firming up those fishing plans for this spring and summer that will be here before you know it. For those that are tentatively on the books already, we need firm commitments from you followed up with deposits so that we can lock you in. And if you are not coming, we need to know that too so that those dates can be offered to others. I am blessed with a very good schedule each year but the scheduling and getting everyone what they want is no easy task. It certainly helps when everybody starts setting things up sooner then later and not bother me so much after we actually start fishing. My days are long as they are and with a necessary policy of early to bed, I’m not too happy when I have a lot of e-mails to answer and phone calls to return along with all the associated paper work that goes along with processing deposits and so fourth. I’d rather be just concentrating on catching fish and keeping the equipment up which is almost a full time job in its self. So I urge everyone to book soon for both of our sakes. Remember, the best dates go first and fast ! See you guys on the water in a few short months !

Capt. Walt





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