Line counter reels

[slimshady]

How soon can we catch them on crankbaits?

Now. Is that early enough for you?

[sherman51]

Thanks Sherman. I'm going to research all of those models. Hey, I posted another question but got a little long winded. How soon can we catch them on crankbaits? I'm sure early April. Perhaps even March if good weather? Thanks again for the info.

the earliest I've fished on the western basin was the 1st week in May. we just trolled the deeper waters around the reefs. but I guess you might even catch them earlier. if I was going up that early I would plan on giving the reefs a try with heavy jigs and live minnows. then if I wasn't doing good after a while I would switch to cranks and troll them very slow maybe 1.5 or less depending on what they wanted. another thing about jigging you want to get a couple of bags to slow you down. but instead of getting drift bags I would get a set of good trolling bags that way you could also use them for trolling to get your speed down. trolling bags are made much better than drift bags and trolling bags have a place on the back end to tie it off to your boat which gives better boat control. without a kicker motor, it's almost impossible to get down slow enough to troll. but bags are a great alternative to a kicker if you don't have one.

[Madd Matt]

Okuma Convectors are well worth the money. For the price, they are my go-to reel.
Okuma Magda Pros are junk and make people never want to own Okumas again... There is no comparison between the Magdas and the Convectors.

However... I was on a charter boat last year that had some new version of the Okuma Magdas and he really likes them... and he runs a lot of charters. He said that they are a totally new design and he tried them and liked them... They were a lot better than the old ones, but I don't know enough about them to recommend them.

[Karlforester]

Thank you for all the info and replies! I use mostly diawa spinning reels and have been very happy might buy some of both diawa and cold water

[DW72]

Now is soon enough . I worry a little to get the boat out of winterization too early being an I/O. We had 40 below wind chill for a while here in western NY. I'll be there in March will be my plan. Always willing to share info if any of you wish. Thanks again!

[slimshady]

Now is soon enough . I worry a little to get the boat out of winterization too early being an I/O. We had 40 below wind chill for a while here in western NY. I'll be there in March will be my plan. Always willing to share info if any of you wish. Thanks again!

Yes, with an I/O you can’t get away with fishing right now unless you have indoor storage where it’s warm. If you wait until May to fish the Western Basin you are missing some amazing fishing!

[sherman51]

some of my best lures lately have been sun spot bandits as the best then chrome and metallic blue then a dark perch pattern. but bandits have so many colors that catch fish. i like a lot of galeforcetackle.com spoons and harness at lower prices than most other good spoons. and the paint is bullet proof. but jawbreaker dr death, nnd anything with some pink or purple has been good. salamander and a black with purple have also been good for us. but when buying lures i do tend to favor lures with some pink or purple. dreamweaver purple alewife has been out best spoon ever for eyes on Erie. but anything is worth a try if things are slow.

when we started trolling Erie back around 86 we caught so many walleye on the western basin by using the 2" hot n tots and wiggle warts using spinning gear. we just let out line until we thought would catch fish. one weekend we weren't doing worth a crap. so we started changing baits. someone put a tiny wart out and it started catching fish. we all started fishing these shallow-diving little cranks and caught our limits of good fish both days. we had just been fishing too deep for them. when we got back to the ramp and were carrying the cooler to our truck a friend up there stopped us mid-way across the lot and wanted to see our fish. when we opened our cooler we had about 25 to 30 guys around us looking at our fish. and they all said the fishing had been the worst they had ever seen. my point is don't be afraid to change things up a bit.

[DW72]

Right on. I'll be there in March! Hey I received my new lures and they look great. Fast shipping too, thanks.

[cohoho]

Right on. I'll be there in March! Hey I received my new lures and they look great. Fast shipping too, thanks.

April 3rd - the 13th for the cast and crew of the Crooked Hook. Can't come soon enough!

[DW72]

It sure can't! I'll post what I do when I get out there. I'm still learning and appreciate what is posted here to help. It's about 5 hours away for me and I do a few 3 day trips per season. I get my fish but it takes quite a while sometimes. I think I need to better on quicker turns to get back on biting fish.and going all in with more rods once a lead is established that is working. I'm improving on bandit colors based on water clarity and cloud coverage. I haven't been very good at high fish in deeper water...like 25-30 fow. I assume they are schools of eyes between 6 and 12 feet down because they are big marks?? I may not be high enough. How high above the fish have you all had luck pulling the cranks? 1-3 feet or more? I've never caught crap above 12 feet down from the surface unless I was in shallower around H Can. I usually seem to de best between F and Green Island. Leads 55-100 feet back with bandits unassisted. Thank you for the feedback if someone doesn't mind!