Great Aug/Sept Walleye & Perch Fishing?

[West Basin]

With the 2014 year class walleye now reaching the legal length limit, more as each week goes by, and there being so many of them, I think this could be a great August and September combination walleye/perch fishing season. If you're willing to 'settle' for a walleye limit of mostly smaller fish (the best eaters anyway) I think there should be a lot of fishing trips for walleye in the early morning followed afterward by perch fishing. I think two species limits are very probable in 3-5 hours on some days, both in the same general area.

I've put off a few July fishing trips up to the Lake (usual time to go), staying home and getting work done here in favor of going up starting this weekend through September. Opinions?

West
www.ilakeerie.com

[RIPNLIP]

I've never fished the Western Basin after the spring/early summer. What is the best time & what fishing tactic do you use? Trolling? Casting? Drifting? I alway have a lull with nothing to do between my last trip to Lake Ontario for salmon & archery season. I'd love to catch some later season walleye either drifting or casting. We troll enough for eyes out of Erie Pa.

[ErieEye]

September is one of the worst months of the year for walleye fishing. It just seams like when the lake starts doing its fall turnovers the walleyes scatter. In my opinion don't expect much from a walleye fishing perspective in the month of September. Perch on the other hand...

[walleye2go]

Agreed...September is usually rough for walleye, but then again the whole season has been screwed up to begin with. So who knows...

September is one of the worst months of the year for walleye fishing. It just seams like when the lake starts doing its fall turnovers the walleyes scatter. In my opinion don't expect much from a walleye fishing perspective in the month of September. Perch on the other hand...

[West Basin]

The general pattern is usually spawning reefs and nearby in April and May, out in a broader area from the reefs in late May and June, in late June and July the fish are more spread out and fishing hot spots vary day to day, week to week, all over the Western Basin. Late July and August the fishing gets tougher as the fish move all over and some out of the Western Basin or up into Canadian waters. By the middle of August the large majority of people who fish for walleye have quit for the season. Most of the fishing then is from Huron east.

But this year there are huge numbers of the 2014 year class walleye in the population that are now attaining legal size. My thought is many of these fish will still be in the Ohio waters of the Western Basin, near traditional perch fishing areas. They probably won’t move around as much as the larger fish, and even if they do there are so many of them there still would be a good number around. With many boats so far this season catching 20-50 of the undersized fish a day, so many of them in the Lake, it would seem logical that you could still catch them in August and September in the traditional June / July areas.

Ripnlip – trolling or drifting / casting. Drift fishing gets more successful (and is more fun for most people) as the water warms up and then decreases as the water cools in the fall. Trolling pretty much always works and generally is more successful. Both are subject to the fish bite of the day. The next month or two for larger walleye go east (Huron east) or north (along the border or into Canadian waters), for the 2014 fish you can fish all around from the Camp Perry range to North Bass Island to east of Kelleys Island to Catawba Point, that whole area. Early to midmorning is the traditional time but this time of year evening fishing can be as good or better. There are always walleye around, of all sizes, you just have to find them, and active fish.

[RIPNLIP]

Thank you all for the information. I wasn't sure about the walleye. And during that time of the year (early August till mid Sept) I'm usually pretty involved with archery at that point. Cutting lanes, checking trail cams, shooting & hanging treestands. But i thought if there was good walleye fishing available why not try it. But from what everyone said, maybe I'll just stick to archery around this time of the year.

Again. Really appreciate all the information.

B Safe!