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WESTERN ERIE COUNTY / WCO JOHN BOWSER & DWCO RANDY LEIGHTON Conditions
Lake temperatures have struggled to reach the mid 60's making the West Basin migration to our area later than usual. Perch continue to school, but are moving around. 25' - 40' of water due north of Walnut Creek. Similar depths north of Seagull Point continue to produce. Anglers have been having fair to good success from the shore at Walnut, Chestnut Street and the East Avenue launches. Bass action has been great with regular bass season in effect. Trolling the lake shore at various depths until they are located and then jigging when you locate them is most productive. Tube baits and jigging blade baits have been hot. Walleye action has been sporadic but is picking up. Patrols this Tuesday noted Walleye in the 20" range being caught just east of Crooked Creek. The water was slightly discolored by the 6-8' waves the previous day so depths may increase as water clarity improves. Early Walleye target areas will be the "triangle" area east of the Ohio line and south of the Canadian line and along the second trench. Carp fanatics have been doing well in Misery Bay and the Lagoons area. These monsters can put up a great fight and are easy to catch. Strong line and a rod with a stiff back along with minnows, dead or alive and crawlers fished on the bottom are the ticket. Carp are the number one game fish in many European countries and have just started to gain popularity here. The weedy areas near shore in the Lagoons, particularly near the canoe livery at Presque Isle is a good place to try. ...rgl Law Enforcement
Careful management and calculated experiments in minimum size and limits along with many natural factors have given anglers on Lake Erie some of the best Perch fishing in years. This year is starting out as another banner year with limit upon limit being brought in by happy anglers. Unfortunately, there are those few individuals that see no reason for limits or minimum sizes and elect to keep everything they catch. Typically these individuals either do not understand the reasons for these regulations or just don't care. As tempting as it may be to take more than the allowed daily limit, it is wise to remember that "tomorrow is another day" Officers will be strictly enforcing these regulations in an effort to apprehend the greedy. If we ask to see your catch, don't be offended, but instead look at as your part in allowing us to find those individuals breaking these laws. All seasons, sizes and creel limits for Lake Erie as well as all Commonwealth waters are clearly defined in the angler regulations book received with your fishing license. They can also be viewed on the PFBC website. ... rgl DISPOSITION OF FISH
I realize that the Gobie is a nuisance and some organizations encourage them to be killed if caught. This is fine, however, after they are killed... discarding them in the brush or back into the water is a violation of several sections of law. One of course is littering plain & simple... the other is Unlawful Retrieval & Disposition of Fish. This basically states that any fish that is killed must be disposed of in a lawful manner.
The practice of throwing Gobies in the brush at the North & South Piers creates a health hazard as well as an odor problem. While not as apparent when thrown overboard dead in the lake... there is no distinction in the law saying that it is OK. They have developed into a major food source for the bass population reaching a level of over 60% of their diet. Due to their efficient spawning abilities, the killing of them by anglers is akin to taking dixie cups of sand to Presque Isle to aid in sand replenishment efforts. If you feel an obligation to kill these fish...fine... but carry them home & dispose of them in a proper manner.
As far as the bowfishing for Carp, Gar, or Suckers... it is a licensed & legal past time. The disposal of the catch maintains a legal requirement for PROPER disposal. Several violations of dumping 100 # + of Carp into the brush at Horseshoe Pond have been addressed by citations. Shooting the fish & releasing them back into the water doesn't constitute "Catch & Release". If you are going to participate in this sport... you must follow the rules of legal disposition of these fish by lawful disposal. The thought of dogs or families trying to enjoy the outdoors next to 150# of decaying fish laying in the sun on an 80 degree day does not do the Sport of Fishing any good in the eyes of the public and paints us all in a bad light. ... jb
CENTRAL ERIE / WCO TOM EDWARDS
(Tom was out of town for training so is acting as the guest weatherperson with the Erie Forecast))
Thursday: Sunshine. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 60s.
Friday: Isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 60s.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 60s.
Sunday: A few thunderstorms possible. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 60s.
Monday: Considerable cloudiness. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s.
Tuesday: Scattered thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 60s.
EASTERN ERIE & WESTERN WARREN COUNTIES / WCO MARK KERR UNION CITY RESERVOIR BASS:
The opening weekend of the regular bass season yielded nice harvests of bass from the Union City Reservoir. Plentiful numbers of Largemouth Bass were being taken in as little as 4'-5' of water. Bait of choice seemed to be none other than rubber worms. The majority of those fish caught were from 14-16 inches in length. LAKE ERIE BASS (EAST COUNTY WATERS):
Bass are being caught in waters ranging from 8'-25'. Off those taken, many are juvenile males with some large females mixed in. Reports seem to indicate that the bass are still on the spawning beds. EAST COUNTY WALLEYE:
Reports show that Walleye are beginning to show up in east county waters in some numbers. Try your luck in 50'-60' of water from McCord's Point on through the inside of the 'mountain', north of the North East Marina. North East Marina employees weighed one Walleye in today (06-18-02)that went 11#'s. EAST COUNTY LAKE TROUT:
Lake Trout are still being caught in 110' of water, fished 90' down, in that area north of the 'mountain'. NK spoons (silver with green stripes) are still choice picks. EAST COUNTY PERCH:
Yes, I said Perch in East County waters. Some are being caught in 28' of water just north of the North East Marina Walls, with the major school still moving east and located off Sixmile Creek and the Sunoco Cribs.
WESTERN CRAWFORD COUNTY / WCO JOE RUSSELL
Pymatuning Lake- The fishing pressure still seems to be going strong on the lake however the success rate seems to have dropped off slightly for legal walleyes. Most of the luck seems to be centered on the southern and western side of the lake with several nice keepers being taken from the pines area, the handicap point just south of Jamestown marina. I personally went out on the boat this evening (6/19/02) and used the fish finder in the area of the gravel beds that were just placed there and the number of fish in relation to other areas I checked was unbelievable. I saw large school of fish around most of the entire point and the gravel piles were definitely evident. Bass seem to be picking up in numbers and fishermen are picking up more of them from shore as well. The bait of choice remains night crawlers, with Minnie's and creek chubs not doing much at all. Bluegills and small perch have been picking up in the shallows however you have to find the structure that is holding them. My 9 year old and I had a lot of fun this evening with ultralights landing quite a few of these bait robbers on the south end around Ackerman Island and with an ultralight the kids think you have hooked a whale. I have also heard that some fishermen are having limited luck trolling Wallydivers and Hot & Tots in the north end near the stumps but as of yet I haven, to seen any fish from there. I also had reports of boats out of Manning catching numerous sub-legal 13.5 to 14.75 inch range which isn't really a bad thing because at least we know there will be some there for next year. I have included some tips to help you trigger a strike for bass now that bass fishing is picking up, hopefully you will find something that you didn't already know and turn your success around. HOW TO TRIGGER A STRIKE. Some lures on some days may attract bass but not trigger a strike. There are no simple rules so you have to let the bass tell you what makes them strike on a given day. Experiment. If one technique is not working, try something different. Some days a plastic worm or lizard on a Carolina rig worked slowly is the best bass fishing to be found. Other days this just does not work. Maybe the bass are not actively feeding or they are not relating to the bottom. Some days bass seem to only look up. Try a faster moving lure like JERK FLASH, SOFT JERK or a FLASH RUNNER SPINNER BAIT run over the fish. Use an erratic retrieve. Make the bass react. The bass has to strike before this flashing thing gets away. Keep these lures even with or just above the depth the bass are holding. Give the bass something that is just too easy to pass up. Tie on a SOFT JERK OR FLASH RUNNER SPINNER BAIT and erratically let it fall right in front of the bass's nose. Work the lure and then kill it and let it fall just as it passes bass holding cover. Often bass only follow a lure but not hit it. Stopping the lure and letting it fall often triggers a strike. Try letting your crank bait or spinner bait pause for just a moment then start cranking again. This works very well just as the lure passes bass holding cover. If you cannot see the cover, just stop the lure every few turns of the reel. Often the pause triggers a strike.
Fishing Tips Complements of www.bassfishinglures.net Conneaut Lake- Crappies and white bass are hitting really well according to one of the rangers from Pymatuning who lives over there. He says he is having luck just about every night after work so it might be worth a try before it gets to busy with the summer boat traffic. Evenings right before dark and early mornings are always best here. fish the edges of the weed beds on the north end for the best luck. Also a word of caution, Diquat was applied this week to kill some of the weeds so if you go you may have a problem locating you favorite weed bed. Jigs and Minnie's seem to be working the best so far.
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