Lake Erie fishing report for the week of April 26, 2015.: , ,
Fishing Report Posted: April 26, 2015

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Posted by Capt. Walt Ermansons on April 26, 2015 at 17:10:57:

Bad, Bad, Bad! Actually I should have said bad five times. That’s how many days in a row that no one fished and the amount of trips that I lost because of a weeks long big blow here in the western basin. It started with last Sunday where I sadly had to send my scheduled group for the day which was in town already away. As late as the day before it looked like we may have a small window for Sunday morning and possibly get our trip in. There was none. Everybody here in the western basin woke up to a extreme howling northeaster Sunday morning with chilling temperatures. And this was just the beginning of it. For four more days both day and night the wind just screamed. The only thing that it did was change directions on occasion. Last Tuesday was the worst of the worst. We had sustained winds from the southwest at around 40 mph with gusts to 53 mph! You could hardly stand to walk outside! Most all week long the wind was steady in the 20 to 30 mph range. Still horrible!

We finally got a bit of a reprieve on Friday after still a cold and choppy start to the day. I had my hardest working group of Amish fishermen onboard for the day and we set out. Shockingly, the water color was not all that horrible! At least, not as bad as I had feared. It seemed like you had ribbons of all different water colors out there depending on where you went. Actually from very clean water in limited areas to big areas with just a heavy stain to some sections that were indeed truly pure mud. But once again, the big blow did us no favors. Fishing for us aboard “The Trophy” was very slow. I did my usual amount of post blow high mileage running around trying to get something going for the guys trying different spots. And as per usual after a big blow, it didn't really pay off. We did find one spot where we would catch 1 or 2 on a long drift but that was about it. After a exceptionally long day we quit with a couple of handfuls of fish. And that’s only because the boys worked so very hard for them. After about a 10 or 12 year run with me, I think this was the first time that this particular group did not limit out with me. They are one of the luckier groups!

And then came the weekend. Friday ended up being a nice sunny mild day and winds continued to back off all day. Saturday, oh boy. Back to just about unbearable. Overnight a cold raw wind kicked in again from the northeast. It was very damp, very cold, and very windy once again. With one of my all time favorite groups onboard for the day I had really hoped for a big day for these folks that have gotten in the rut here the last few years of catching really crappy weather and consequently a bad fishing day. Once again it was not to be. We did next to nothing. After trying a few different spots and even a troll for a few hours out of desperation in the miserable cold and terrible wind, the guys let me off the hook early and we just packed it in. They seemed to take it better then me. I was highly discouraged, totally frustrated and by now just about sick and tired of this years spring time crap weather that we have been getting. Weather and post weather in which I’m supposed to go out and perform miracles in. Sunday unbelievably started out pretty much exactly the same except the sun was out. After putting the guys on a 2 hour weather delay first thing in the morning, we finally just sucked it up and went. It was another tough day. The lake did eventually go flat but the fishing remained very slow for us with only a few fish. It was not for lack of trying though for everyone involved. Sadly as always, it is what it is.

So for the sake of full disclosure, these pictures in this weeks report are from the week before where I was complaining that I had more great shots than I could possibly use! After not fishing all week long because of weather I didn't have much to choose from for this week. We had some nice fish on Friday but with respect to my Amish group that day who don’t care to have their pictures taken, the camera stayed in it’s case. The weekend wasn't very good for us and although we caught a few fish, I decided just to use a few of my more favorite shots that I had wanted to feature. If nothing else, just to reaffirm the fact that when things do go right around here and the weather cooperates, it can be totally awesome! So what will this coming week bring? The forecasts that I am seeing right now look for things to settle down and be a much more kinder week. I’m seeing days again predicted at 2 foot or less. I am so ready! It’s also hard to that believe next Friday will be May the 1st already, which by the way is an open date for me should anyone be looking for a fishing trip. If I haven't scared everybody off already that is! I sure would like to fill it to make up for some of the trips that I've lost thus far this year. It’s been a tough April this year but maybe this May 1st will be a fresh start! We’ll see!

Capt. Walt





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