mud

[jig]

matter of fact i did get into somthing fun i got laid off and fished the river down here by my home like 5 min from home and got lots of northers one that snapped 17 ib test line when set the hook it took three big chubs before i hooked it i would figure it to be 50" or more to break line that easy and that was this fall and i got into walleyes down there only got one but i had fish hitting four about two hours i thought where pike so i didnt set the hook right away the end of this month going to go try again when they come back in i just put minnow on a bar hook about foot to six " off the bottom got a nice buck this last day at 12:00 this didnt went to die i put three good shots in him and he still laid there for about 15 to 20 min before it die he had 16 " spread 8 points should of also had a bear bear hunting saw two in about 1 hour had asum fall other than getting laid off

[spoontang]

Hey there Jig. I might hit some jigging action in late April. My favorite time to fish is about the 3rd week of May when they switch over to worms and the sow females start to feed agian. That is when we should hit it hard.

[West Basin]

This time of year, spring, as long as northern Ohio, particuarly the Maumee River drainage, keeps getting moderate to heavey rains, the Western Basin of Lake Erie won't clear up. Windy days also stir up the nearshore waters along with creating currents that move the muddy water around.

Once the Maumee River gets back down to near "normal" flow, and there hasn't been any windy days, the Lake will start to significantly clear in four to five days. Unfourtunatly with the recent heavy rains in the Lake watershead, there is a lot of muddy water out there, and it will take it quite awhile to significantly clear up.

The quagga and zebra mussesls also have a big impact on Lake Erie water clarity. They filter the water as they feed, which is why the shallower, rocky areas generally clear up first and faster. Since the water is cold in the spring, the mussels metabilisim is slower, so they don't filter as much water in the spring.

Remember the thermocline issue. Just because the surface water is muddy doesn't mean the bottom water is also. Plus the walleye are out there around the reefs no matter what the water clarity, so you can still have good catches in muddy water (think of the river fisherman this time of year). Just adjust your tactics.

Use the Lake Erie Modis satilite imagery to help guide you to the less muddy waters.

West Basin