Need some advice

[Madd Matt]

Whoever you go out with just make sure that you can ask them to specifically go after trophy fish and to customize the trip for that. Most captains will not do this.

Lake Erie Guy is right, it is no secret that anyone can catch an occasional large fish, and right now they seem to be catching a big fish or two on most trips close to Huron and Lorain (See my post last week entitled "Still Catching Big Fish.") As I said last week, everyone was catching a big fish or two by fishing the spots that where producing a lot of eaters as well.

What I assume that you are asking is who will take you on a "Trophy" trip.
Right now, this week, if you can get a captain to commit to taking you specifically after monster walleye, you should end up with a limit (or close to it) for the whole boat with the smallest fish being 24" and a half dozen or more "Fish Ohio." I was out with a few boats going after big fish last weekend and between the 5 boats that were trophy fishing we had well over 20 Fish Ohio that I know of.

As far as cost, travel time, etc.... Don't let that factor in (in my opinion). I'd rather pay $50 extra to a captain that will promise me that he won't go 4-5 miles out where all the average fish are and limit out in 3 hours, instead he will run 17-24 miles to go after trophy walleye and maybe only get 30-40 fish that are all over 24".

Most captains will not spend the time and money to trophy fish when they can take a boat load of people 5 miles out and be back at the dock in 4 hours with a limit of 16-20" walleye. Some customers are happy with that, so that's fine. No problem...

If you want to trophy fish then ask a more direct question to your captain. Or post the question in here.

Who will promise to drive right past the average fish that are biting like crazy and go the extra mile to take me on a trophy walleye trip?

If you want the best shot at catching the biggest walleye of your life, that is what you want. Then ask your captain. "How many Fish Ohio have you caught in the last 4 weeks on your trips?

If you captain can't say that they will take you after only trophy fish, or if they can't tell you that they have caught 30 Fish Ohio in the past month, and over 60 this season on their trophy trips then I'd keep looking.

Also, just because a captain tells you they will take you on a trophy trip doesn't mean that they have the ability to produce... So follow up with the question of, "How many trips do you run or have you run this year specifically for trophy walleye?"

Sorry to ramble, but you asked about catching big fish. If you want to just go on a charter that is going to a hot spot of walleye that happens to be producing an occasional big fish then there are a lot of good charters, Lake Erie Guy is right.

If you want a charter that will target big walleye, and go the extra mile and promise to customize the trip for you then there aren't very many choices.

-Matt

[Madd Matt]

By the way, I am NOT a charter captain so I am not self-promoting.

I am however a hunter and a fisherman. My family manages over 800 acres for Trophy Whitetail deer. We also have traditional un-managed land that people pay to hunt.
Every once in a while they get a trophy buck in a traditional area.

However, when someone wants a trophy buck, it costs more money and takes more effort...

You don't want to go trophy hunting with a guide that is content with getting you a shot at any legal buck... Same with fishing. If I'm going after trophy walleye its a totally different trip than just going to limit out on eaters.

Am I nuts, am I the only one who thinks this way? I got a response from a guy that told me that most people never limit out on Lake Erie and if a charter can limit out on legal fish in 4-5 hours then it would be an amazing experience for almost any fisherman...

I disagree.

-Matt