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Looking for recommendations to Camp 1 night on a Weekday and fish the following day for Perch. Trailering boat and looking for the best logistics of Launching, Shiners and Perch grounds. Lots of choices with smaller places but not looking to spend much time camping. Considering Wild wings but may be too far west at the moment. I appreciate all the great advice given here!
I stay at east harbor state park. It has a ramp for boats I use when fishing around the islands.
I just did yesterday exactly what you're planning.
I stayed at Camp Perry. I only had a tent to camp in but their tent spots are just a square on a mowed field next to the shower house. No fire ring or picnic table. So I upgraded to an RV spot, which also had water and electric. About $55 for one night. They do also have a beach but no boat ramp.
There is a free boat ramp just a couple miles from there on the Portage River. However, you then have a very long, no-wake drive all the way out the river before you get to Erie. So we launched from Fenwick Marina instead. It's maybe 5 miles from Camp Perry. $10 cash to launch and leave your truck parked there all day. We arrived at 5:30AM. There was no one there so we left money in the box and were on our way.
We ended up fishing straight out from Fenwick. Just drove until we reached 23' of water. We marked fish on bottom there so we anchored and had our limits before 9am. N41.67516, W083.13626 to be exact. By the time we left, there were 50 other boats there on a Friday morning.
We got our bait at A&J Bait and Tackle, which is a mile and a half from Camp Perry on the way to Fenwick Marina. They don't open until 6am so get them the night before if you want to go early.
I don't know what kind of boat you have, but mine is only 16' and not very deep so weather has to be perfect for me. I learned that when Just a moment... says waves are zero but there is a slight chop, what they really mean is that it's not safe for my boat at all. I need to hear "smooth seas" on that web site. Even that is quite an exaggeration. They were not smooth. I could only go 8 mph all the way out into that northern breeze. But the ride back to Fenwick wasn't bad.
Hope this helps.
I second Badboards.
East harbor state park. It is nice. Free boat launch and fish cleaning if your inclined to clean your own. Highway Baits is close with good shiners.
Good luck, stay safe out there.
East Harbor has some nice conveniences. Campground is nice, discount for 60 and over with Buckeye. Highway bait opens at 5, big shiners. Cut them in half. We got our 60 on Aug 16 near the PB Monument. 7-9 inches around 19 lbs at cleaners. Fast and hard bite early, then the Perch got picky as the lake flattened. Great day on the water. Thanks again!