Weekend Warrior report

[tomdury]

Our weekend trip to fish and get the boat cleaned for the season went off without a hitch!!

We got up Friday around noon and got the boat loaded up and hit the water. Started off the green can a little NE of Mouse (mostly E, what is that can called?). We set up and drifted long drifts across that flat all the way to in front of Mouse. My BIL picked up his MONSTER as our first walleye boated of the day! Went 29" and we didnt have a scale but had to be every bit of 10lbs. Biggest walleye I have seen personally off Erie in 35 years up there, it was HUGE! We ended up with 8 total just doing those long drifts off the can. Had a handful of shorts in there too.

Spent the night on PIB and hit the water a little late Saturday morning (all overslept). Decided to try Lucy's Point first to see if there were any fish staging in that deep water or holding on the transition. Made 3 drifts with nada so we moved East to a pack of boats that was drifting the line. Good amount of charter guys in there with waaaay better electronics so we assumed they were at least marking fish. Did about 5 drifts through there and picked up a couple keepers but mostly short walleye and white bass/perch. Decided to move back to our Mouse green can area and try the afternoon there again. Picked up 4 nice ones doing the same thing as the day before but that was it. We motored back to PIB and had a nice afternoon catching hog smallmouth (catch and release).

We tried bottom bouncers with harnesses, erie dearies, hair jigs, and simple white curly tails. Harnesses and the basic 4" white curly tail split as being most effective.

Not the hot and heavy "limit out" bonanza that can happen up there BUT we were suuuper happy with our haul and had a blast!

ps: anyone out sunday to see that crazy fog?? Never seen it that bad up there, couldnt see more than 50 yards in some spots!! Erie was aptly named that day!

[fishfinder]

That is one NICE fish, I would be happy with that many fish. What did you catch those small mouth on?

[DW72]

Congratulations on a giant walleye and a very successful trip!

Thank you for posting Sir.

[itsbob]

Congratulations on your personal best walleye and thanks for your report.

[FourDees]

Nice report. I was in that low fog on Sunday around 1:00 Could not see 100ft in front of you. A lot of casting boats and charter boats SW of Kelly. Tried casting and nothing. Not many nets out. Switched to trolling and got 4 in 1 hour with my unintentional zig zag pattern (was by myself an no electric). The fog was surreal!

[nickpaolini81]

Sunday 5/5/24 pulled the boat up from Mercer PA primarily to get it settled on the slip @ Channel Grove Marina. Didnt even start fishing until 11AM SE of Niagara Reef (ya we joined the 50+ other boats). Picked up 4 shorties sliding past the D-can on bottom bouncers harnessing gold blades. The old man, who wont give up on his box of Erie Dearies from the 90s picked up a nice 18"on gold....that was our only keeper and I'm never going to hear the end of this! "First keeper on this boat on an Erie Dearie".

This was the maiden voyage on Erie for me as a new boat owner, so the trip was primarily to get familar with the boat and take dad along for a trip down memory lane. Saw lots of trollers pickin' up fish. Lovely lady @ Channel Grove pointed us out to the Niagara reef and said, "Gold blades on harness is all we ever drift with."