Michigan Waters

[bobd47fish]

You have no clue . Bet you have never kept a female walleye anytime of the year weather it be 18 inches or 30 inches ? Funny that the ice season and spring fishing were banner years for walleyes and the bite east of the Islands has been outstanding as well . Yep no eyes left in Erie. Time to find a new lake to fish .


Dale

The big problem with this post is Dale doesn't know how to analyze OR read. The original post stated MICHIGAN waters, and trust me, I've been fishing LE for 21 years and it has changed, due to GLOBAL WARMING. My catch rate is down as is that of a number of fishermen I know as well as most of the MI charter captains. I've caught more sheepshead and white perch than walleye the past three years and my catch rate (# or fish/ trip) is substantially down. White perch ( a warm water species) has exploded in LE. Charter captains out of Michigan ports used to take 36 walleye in the morning and 36 more in the evening (asuming 6 guests) (60 each when the limit was 10/angler). That RARELY happens now. Additionally, Ohio captains used to line up on the MI-OH line to fish AND I used to have to pay close attention to the drift of my boat to stay out of the way of other boats. That is past history, there are very few boats fishing MI waters compared to 4 years ago. THe reason in my opinion is that the lake is warming too quickly. The fish are moving east sooner. July used to be the best month but now it's May and/or early June. Quite a few MI anglers are switching to yellow perch on the 4th of July because we don't want the 25 mi run to West Sister. We rarely had to make that run in the past, now it's almost necessary mid June and beyond.

[fishhead315]

Being from Toledo, I would say 75% of my fishing is done in the Michigan waters out of SSP and Bolles. Yes I know how to read . Fully agree it is water temps as well. The main reason is that the majority of fish are now the bigger fish from the 03 year class in the lake meaning they dont tolerate the warm water. Erie goes in cycles with her bounty. I will be fishing out in the Michigan waters tomorrow evening as there are still plenty of fish there just not schooled ip .

Like Tom Ebijack said in his post, the Michigan fish in the summer are in places you wouldn't think. Guys who look for a steady report to catch their fish there are never very successful. Think outside the box and you may be surprised by the results.In this case this summer the pack is not your friend. Learn the area and try different areas and you may be surprised. Fishing memories will make for some not so good trips.

Dale

[Blue Eyes]

WOW, I started the thread and it got hijacked, lol! I've been fishing since I was a kid but only seriously fishing since my daughter was 2, so almost 14yrs. As to the hijacked topic I will throw in my 2 cents since I did start the thread. DNR sets the limits based on what the lake/fish population can support. We follow those laws. The laws state quantity caught and minimum size. They do not specify maximum length or ***. That is a personal decision for each angler to make for whatever reasons they chose. If I caught a 30 incher, that baby would be coming home with me whether its male, female, or hermaphrodite! I don't care what anyone thinks about it. I am not breaking the law. It would be my RIGHT to make that decision.

[half pole]

Totally agree