West Erie County, DWCO Randy Leighton, WCO Brook Tolbert Conditions: Perch fishing is still on the soft side with many anglers puzzled as to why this year has slowed down so much compared to last year. Many local anglers and area bait shops theorize that significant numbers of perch have moved further towards the Eastern basin of the Lake in search of colder water. This would make sense in that the Lake temperatures are on the high side for this year and the colder deeper waters of the eastern basin would provide a better temperature environment as well as a higher oxygen content. Reports between Dunkirk and Buffalo indicate some of the best perch fishing in years which would also support this theory. Higher water temperatures in the west and central basins may also be accounting for the recent good walleye catches and a significant number of undersized walleye being pulled in. As most Lake Erie anglers know, large spring time numbers of walleye in the Western basin will typically move east over the summer to cooler, deeper water. With the Lake temperatures in the West being higher than usual, anglers may be enjoying a larger than usual migration through our area. Deep water fishing in the lake has been good to excellent in the trenches and around the "mountain" in Northeast with good numbers of walleye being caught along with a fair number of steelhead Lake Erie Average Temperatures as of this writing: off Toledo 77 degrees, off Cleveland, 75 degrees, and off Erie. 73 degrees. Discarded Fishing Line Can Kill: Quality fishing line is the most important link in your tackle for catching lunker bass, big walleye and line busting steelhead but loose line on the ground and in the water is a life threatening hazard to birds and wildlife. Loose line tangle in a boats propeller can quickly destroy an out drive seal causing leakage an possibly hundreds of dollars worth of damage. The vast majority of fishing line is monofilament. In addition to being strong, it is long lasting, and reportedly can last for many years. Since it is usually clear or light colored, it is difficult for birds, aquatic animals and wildlife to see so they can easily become entangled. Once entangled, an animal very often will strangle, drown, or starve to death. As was the case recently. a wild duck was discovered at the Walnut Creek Marina Basin tangled in carelessly discarded fishing line. To make the matter worse, a duckling was behind the mother tangled in the same line. As the mother tried to flap her wings in panic and move about, the duckling was being dragged underwater and on the verge of drowning. Fortunately, a courteous and concerned boater was able to retrieve the ducks with a fishing net and with some assistance, was able to delicately free the badly tangle ducks, relatively unharmed. All this perhaps from angler that gave no thought to properly disposing his used fishing line. When you throw away used line, it is best to cut it in pieces less than 12 inches long when possible. This is easier than it sounds and really not a lot of trouble. Just take the knotted ball of line and cut it up as much as possible. Make yourself an easy container to use for collecting your used line by cutting an X in the lid of a potato chip tube or tennis ball canister. Be aware of the age of your line and wear that might allow it to break while fishing. Remove leader, hooks, and any other terminal tackle before recycling or disposal. Whenever possible, recover line you find while out on the water. If you miscast, try to recover all of the line that becomes entangled in weeds or trees. Try not to "just cut it" unless absolutely necessary. Wednesday night. Thursday. Thursday night. Friday. Friday night through Saturday night. Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. Highs around 80. Sunday. Sunday night. Monday. Monday night. Tuesday.
|
(71.116.29.177)