Fishing report for the week of 05/23/04: , ,
Fishing Report Posted: May 25, 2004

This past week we trolled on all of our trips and concentrated our efforts around the islands. The best action has been tight to the landmasses, right on the contours where the water depths drop off quickly. Best depths have been right towards the bottom of the slopes where the water is about 28 to 30 ft. The fish that most of us are catching in these areas are suspended in the 15 to 20 ft. depth range. The fishfinder shows an incredible amount of fish everywhere and anywhere around all of the Erie Islands. However, the drifters are not doing as well in these areas. With the suspended fish, it’s tougher to get your lure constantly in the “sweet” spot when casting as opposed to the precision trolling. When trolling, your planer boards take your lures off to the side in the “quiet” water, undisturbed by the engine noise and shadow of the boat. It also enables you to cover much more water with a lot of lines, and it just plain works. The drifters are doing better closer to the south shore where the water is not as deep. In the shallower water a lot of the fish are on the bottom and are easier to catch with bottom bouncers when the wind is up. The action was good just north of the Camp Perry range makers this past week but these fish are not as big as the “lunkers” that we’re catching around the islands.

I am down to my last week here before I head back to my homeport of Ashtabula, OH, for the rest of the season. For those that may be interested, I still have Wed., Thurs., and Fri., available this week for anyone that might want to cash in on the incredible action that’s going on right now. Boy, it’s been a fast two months, I only wish the whole spring could have been as good as it is right now!

Capt. Walt