My first outing on Erie

Hi everyone. I have enjoyed reading all the post from everyone. My friends and I have taken a few charters over the years and have enjoyed it a lot. My buddy has been trying to get me to put my boat on Erie. This year I have spent some money upgrading my electronics, so I'm finally going to try Erie with my boat. We are going to be there May 22-28. My main tactic is going to be trolling, but am open to suggestions. This will be my first time with my own boat so looking for some pointers and maybe some locations because I'm not real familiar with the lake. Also if anyone can tell me where to get a detailed lake map that would be great. I'm excited about the trip but nervous too. I just want everything to go well. Anything specific I should try? Where should I start? Any help would be greatly appreciated ....Thanks

So the first place for a new to Lake Erie person I would suggest is NOAA chart 14830. It gives you a great look at the western basin and is zoom able so will provide all the info you need. I'm don't troll so won't offer anything there. Hopefully the spinner/worm bite will start soon offering options.

It is encouraging that you upgraded your electronics. I would suggest pay close attention to them and don't fish until you see fish. Best of luck.

Hey. If you don't have mapping on your fish finder you can probably add a chip to it. Idk what electronics you have. Another great option IMO is the Navionics App. I have the US & Canada and it's $25 per year. Can use anywhere open water and ice fishing. What do you have for tackle, planer boards, crankbaits, etc? I am more than willing to share what I know and on this site the best captains tell you what colors and leads are best to run. Hard to go wrong with Bandits. Read articles on colors on Slimshady's website. Get some of his custom painted baits and maybe a couple stock like taco salad and blue chrome. I hope.to be out there middle to end of that week as well. I'll stay in p
Port Clinton and launch from.Catawba. text me if you want more personal help/talk. You'll be addicted soon doing it on your own.

Let me know if you want my cell #. The other veterans and captains on this site have been a huge help over the past few years for me. 🙂~Don

Not sure how big your boat is and how many and type of rod holders you have but the fish seem to be in transition now from the crank/jig bite to a spoon/harness bite. So any of those lures could be catching next week when you fish. Not sure how many lines you feel comfortable using, but if you have any inline boards, I would run 2-4 boards. I would run bandits on one side and spoons on the other side and let the fish tell you what they want. Soon you could be running dipsey divers too, if you have them and run spoons or harnesses off them. Make sure you can run from 1.8-2.2mph next week and vary speed between those numbers to find out what the catching speed is.There should be plenty of boats out by next week, so you can spot the packs and see if anyone is catching. Memorial weekend usually a zoo out on water, so good luck.

Thanks for the info I'll keep that in mind. Haven't a lot of experience with boards but have ran them once or twice so hopefully have successful trip with them. I plan on having harnesses aboard the boat so we can switch to those if needed.

Thanks for all the info everyone. It will help the first trip to be a success and hopefully spark more trips for my boat this year. I'll keep checking the posts, I'm trying to learn as much as I can and maybe collect info during my trip that I can pass on to everyone to return the favor.