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Buddy was over on South Bass Monday Tuesday Wednesday. 11 inches of clear ice on Tuesday, between South Bass Island and Rattlesnake Island. He did pretty well on Walleye, with a few big ones. I will update when I talk with him.
Other buddy is fishing East Harbor today. I will give report after I hear from him.
I don't have any reports from Catawba or anywhere else.
Buddy got 44 total walleye with another guy this past week at South Bass. Two days with limits. 11 inches of ice on Wednesday. Another buddy got a good mess of panfish and a nice crappie on East Harbor on Friday, 12 inches of ice. Plus two nice Largemouth Bass, which he released.
Looks like Erie ice fishing is on good! I heard of a freighter caught in the ice in the Eastern Basin. Need to confirm that.
Maumee River at the spring walleye run areas in almost all froze. Saw that on Friday. Buttonwood area. Only open water is a few small areas. Current is flowing under the ice in most areas.
Hi WB,
Hope you enjoyed the holidays!
Are the guys able to get that far out going out of Catawba or are they coming off of South Bass?
I see on the Catawba shoreline camera there are lots of huts recently. We fished out there many years in the past but I'm leary of marginal ice out there for good reason as I am sure you know we should be as guys that arenon-locals. One day we had 11 inches of ice at daylight and we lost 4" from the underside in about 6 hours due to warm water and undercurrents. The holes were opening up and swirling a little😳. It can also be inconsistent thickness.
Curious if this weather holds for a couple more weeks if we could use machines and safely get out to the islands from Catawba.
I value your knowledge and any other locals who are experienced.
news said 4 got rescued today off catawba
Thanks fisherman 2. I am not surprised at all. I looked at the cameras again today after posting and it looked like some cracks of open water. I also didn't see any huts.
I'm not even gonna think about it again knowing this and seeing warmer temps coming soon.
Hope we can get on the open water again in March. That'll be here soon enough. I'm going to start in the Huron area again this season.
Cheers all...
You would need an extremely cold winter to make ice thick and safe enough to travel from Catawba to south Bass. I would think it's been a long time since anyone has accomplished it.Most of the ice fishing that occurs off south bass is on ice locked in between South Bass,Rattlesnake,Green and Middle Bass. I do not think anyone ice fishes off the south side of South Bass.If planning to ice fish off Catawba,you would want wind with a northerly direction to keep cracks and ice flows from opening up.Quote:
Originally Posted by DW72
Yeah, we used to do it in the late 2000's with a friend who had an airboat. Haven't been since and I am not expecting to honestly.
I'm considering trying Saginaw Bay sometime as it's a different thrill on the ice. However, I most likely will just wait for open water. I am thankful to have plenty of fillets left and vacuum sealed from last summer and fall.
Last year out of Huron we had 38-39 degree surface temps and it was great fishing!
I appreciate all the great folks who share info on this site and the Central Basin. Have met a couple in person. Have also worked with several via texting while fishing and have had some great times!
🎣
Haven't heard much since weather turned. It appears the wind shifted a lot of ice. Open water along the Catawba Point / Marblehead South Passage. Appears they are still ice fishing off the NW corner of South Bass Island. I saw the Maumee River today at the 475 bridge west of Maumee and there was a channel of flowing water about 1/2 half the width of the river. Last week it was 1/10th.
My time has been very limited due to family issues. I doubt I will be able to get up even if the ice fishing continues well into February. Forecast isn't real good for ice fishing, but it's not currently a killer either. We'll just have to wait and see.
Lake ice has so many factors. One of the biggest is wind. During early formation and then all through the winter season. Wind has not been favorable, and that looks to continue for at least awhile. We did get very favorable temperatures, but unfortunately that wasn't enough to create good all around ice conditions, except in a few areas.
One can look forward, as I always do, to the winter fishing shows. Columbus Fishing Expo is this coming weekend, February 7 - 9. I hope to attend and go to the Lake Erie / walleye and other seminars. If family time doesn't prevent it.
WB
Enjoy WB! I will be watching cameras, weather, water temps and if course this message board almost daily.
Will be out to Huron as early as possible when the air temps at my place are staying above freezing.
Hooefully March like last season!
DW
Buddy is out off Rattlesnake Island today. 7 walleye in 7 hours. Two nice size. Plenty of shanties and 'tents' out there.
Two off Catawba on the webcam. Only out about a quarter mile.
Looks like South Bass Island is the only place really main lake ice fishing right now. I will get a report from my buddy this evening.
It looks like there could be 75 to 100 shanties out between South Bass and Rattlesnake area. Any of you care to give us a fishing report? I'm planning to head up to Saginaw Bay in about 2 weeks to see if we can get into some eyes. First time trying my hand at catching walleye through the ice, they tell me there's nothing like it. Good luck and be safe out there!
Planning on going to Sag. Bay if you aren't taking a snowmobile during boards to get across the cracks
We are actually going with a guide so I trust he will be experienced with those kind of issues. Thanks for the heads up!Quote:
Originally Posted by stampman
Which guide are you using if you dont mind, thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynn M
I believe it is Northstar Fishing Adventures out of Standish. I know this isn't a Saginaw Bay site, but I may report how we did after the trip. Heading out today...Quote:
Originally Posted by Redmack
Please do report how you do. Thanks in advance.
Sorry I haven't added any ice fishing reports. My father is in Hospice in Maumee, so I haven't had any time to keep up with it.
Deep freeze weather has the ice fishing on strong. Lots of good ice off the NW corner of South Bass Island, and as someone already stated there are a lot of shanties and tents out there between Green Island and Rattlesnake Island. Just like open water fishing, all depends on the day. Buddy of mine was up there 10 days ago and did well, I think 24 walleye and some yellow perch for two guys for a few days of ice fishing. I think he's going back, may be there now.
Web cam shows folks out ice fishing off Catawba State Park area. Saw a snowmobile go by. Looks like it should be good through the weekend. Haven't looked at the forecast after that.
East Harbor should be going strong too, as well as all the ponds and lakes.
Get out and enjoy if you can. A good experience to get to the Lake and just see the ice, drive around a little. You don't have to go ice fishing. Walk out a hundred yards at Catawba State Park, just to say you've been out on the ice (follow the traveled paths - don't go where nobody has gone!). I know a lot of you don't like winter, but Lake Erie has some fun and adventure to offer in the winter too.
West
Buddy's buddy and friends caught 90 walleye ice fishing in two days, north of Rattlesnake Island. Either Thursday and Friday or Friday and Saturday. 14 inch thick ice.
I don't know about any other places.
Saginaw Bay report. We fished Thursday and Friday, Feb. 20 & 21. First day it was just the 3 of us and the guide. Fished from sun up to sun down and caught 2 fish. One was a decent size perch, maybe 13" and a small 17" walleye. Second day wasn't any better. There were 6 that went out plus the guide and got one 18" walleye on the right side of the ice. The guide mentioned that when the cold front came through about a week earlier that the bite shut off. So, I can't really blame the guide, the fish just weren't in the mood.
We fished 15 to 23 fow on the bottom using various jigs and minnows. Ice ranged from 9" to 15" thick.
For those considering going, we paid $250/person/day. I ended up giving my 2 fish away to the Grandpa and his grandsons that went out the second day since I still have fish in the freezer from last fall. So it was definitely a bust as far as the fishing went but I was glad for the experience.
.
Thank you for the report, I've fished that area before but it's been 3-4 years ago. Always enjoyed it over there.
Ice fishing continues at South Bass. This weekend's cold weather should keep the ice in good condition. Warmer temps coming this week, then a few days of colder, then warmer again. Ice could hold up for another week / weekend. We'll see.
Question. Did the guide move you around or did you fish 1 spot. I quit using a guide cause the word "Guide" will move to find fish. I rarely have seen that from most guides anymore. 25 yrs. ago and for the next 20 yrs . I went with a guide that I would leave the camp with him and find fish if nobody was seeing fish. Then go back too camp and see if anyone wanted to bucket fish. Never left without a limit but once.
The first day we moved 4 or 5 times because of how slow the bite was and the only place we caught was the first spot. Everyone else was saying the same thing. The fish were in the area but just had lockjaw. Second day we didn't move around because of how futile moving around was the day before. The people that fished the "good spots" only got a couple at best.Quote:
Originally Posted by stampman