Big Perch

[wallytracker]

We made it to fenwicks at 6 am. I knew things were bad when we were not the only boat at the launch..but the only truck with an empty trailer there. We went out in the fog...NE. Stopped at crib..nothing. Casted and caught a few white bass...and a sheephead. Went to trolling. Nothing. The water was clear. I have seen it a lot worse and caught fish. But we could see our lure go down 3 feet or so easily. We casted again. Trying everything. Had 7 charters in a pack. We fished all around and funally had one on. Got him to the boat and he got off. But the dead eyes....my god. You can bet the bottom of the lake is covered with 100,000s of thousands....if not millions of fish. The western end is dead. I hope it can come back. We need to push the DNR to restock. We pay the license fees....they need to return some back to us and restock the lake. I think we will end up east next week. I am afraid a few years down the road this fish kill is going to kill the fishing. No reproduction one year is a huge loss. Been fishing this lake since 83. Have never seen it like this this time of the year.

I think we all share the common concern over the recent slump in fishing, but I would not venture to say that hundreds of thousands or millions of dead walleyes are lying on the bottom of the lake, and I certainly wouldn't say that the western basin is dead. Yes, the fishing has been poor and the fish kill is peculiar, but I think jumping to a conclusion as bold as the ruination of the western basin fishery is a little far fetched at this point. The last estimation of the walleye population in Lake Erie was around 40 million fish, and I doubt that the death of several thousand jacks has ruined the livelihood of that population. I only ask that you have some patience in making it through this stretch of tough fishing before you post such malicious reports about the condition of the western basin fishery. I fished last monday off west reef and rattlesnake and caught 12 fish in 5 hours of trolling (ripsticks 75 ft back & stickbaits w/ 2oz snap weights) and was very happy with my success, so for anyone thinking about trying their luck I say there are plenty of people catching fish, just choose your location and days carefully.

[maul35]

Well said Wallytracker!!!!