Spring fishing

[mc captain]

I am needing little help just bought a boat for fishing was wondering if I could get some input were to fish we probably will be ramping at wild wings or tibbels and spring walleye fishing are they drift fishing or trolling this is alittle new to us thanks

[dirtball]

Out of wild wings would be better there seems to be better fishing in the western basin. As far as trolling or jigging there seems to be boaters doing both

[kwall]

You will see a hundred boat jigging out there, myself I like to troll with ddhj, bandits , in the reef area , probably the best time of the year to fish.

[skipper9]

If you want you can give me a call and I would love to talk fishing with you. Jim 614.327.7144

[ebijack]

Welcome to the site! I see your in MI. There are a lot of places to fish in Mi and or Oh waters. Just depends on how you want to fish, and what the weather is letting you do and where due to waves, wind etc. I'd suggest you plan a trip with Skipper9 or go out with folks to learn the methods and areas to look for. Will also help you decide how you want to set up your new boat. And equipment to buy/use. A one day trip you will learn more than you will learn yourself in a few years of trying to figure things out and having problems.
Welcome to the addiction.

[wajski]

mc captin type and size of boat will also dictate where/when you fish. I would suggest a trip with skipper9 also in the spring jign is fun, if your not a troller trolling can be frustrating. I do both but cast/jigging is a lot of fun, Magee east,Wild Wings or Fenwick are good to launch from. Welcome to the site lot of info learned a lot here my self

[Madd Matt]

Mc Captain,

You came to the right place to ask questions and get "opinions"... I mean answers....

Here's mine. But first if you tell us what boat you have it will change some people's answers. If you have a 30' Sportcraft, 40' Hatteras or a 20' Ranger it DOES make a difference in how "some" responses and given. Mostly you can get a lot better information and very helpful and specific details to your boat and possible setups.

You can troll or drift and jig from any of them... But running tadpoles off of big planer boards isn't a preferred method... lol

Now, in regards as "where" to fish. Just go to where the fish are and try there. lol
In the early Spring you have a couple choices to make. Go after the large fat "trophy" females (controversial because they are full of eggs, but perfectly legal), or go jig for nice eating males on the reefs (many times limiting out with a boat of 8 fishermen (women) in 45 minutes to an hour!

My first go to spot for Spring Walleye on the jig bite is Toussaints Reef. There are plenty of other reefs to hit too, but that is where I try when no one has any reports and I am going out the first trip. Read my post below to get an idea as to why the reefs are the place to jig.

If you are going after large trophy walleye and want to catch a few Fish Ohio in the Western Basin, there is no better time to try than in the Spring and to troll for them. That last comment is going to get some backlash, but regardless of what anyone says, results say that trolling during this time produces more fish and overall average of larger fish. If anyone doubts that then go to any marina that has a decent number of charters and hang out about 12-noon - 3:00 pm and watch them come in. The casters will have their limits of nice walleye and some monster Fish Ohio. The trollers will probably all be docked early and have more Fish Ohio per angler and a higher weight average than the casters. Later in the year those results fluctuate, but I have fished Lake Erie for over 30 years, casting and drifting for the first 25 and stubbornly wouldn't troll... Now I'll do either. If people want a nice relaxing Sunny day on the Lake and catch some fish and not worry about how many or how big, and want to hold a rod in their hand, then we drift. If people want to catch the most fish with the highest chance of a trophy walleye or two and are ready for an exciting energetic trip, then we troll. (I haven't talked anyone into casting for a couple years).

Having said all of that, during the jig bite my boat goes Jigging! We can troll later and still catch fish, but you can't jig but only for a few weeks in the Spring!

I posted it last year on a similar question about Spring Walleye. No one chewed me out or argued with me so I must have been somewhat on target. The original topic is here "Spring Walleye"

"Many older veteran jig bite fishermen will laugh a little if you tip your jigs with minnows. You can find that whole debate in another thread on here. I can't tell you facts, just my experience. I have done it both ways. The truth is that if the males are excited (which is why they are on the reefs) then it doesn't seem to matter if they are tipped or not. I will also say that I have definitely never had any experience that would indicate that they like it "better" without a minnow, but maybe just the same... So my opinion.. Tip the jig with a minnow just for fun and it won't hurt, and may help.

Keep in mind that many times close to the spawn the jig bite is great because the males are coming into the reefs to milk. Walleye are broadcast spawners and don't spawn over "beds" but more over "spawning areas" such as reefs and other substrate. The females come in and release their eggs (mostly at night some studies say) slowly, several hundred at a time. The males hang out in the spawning areas and "milk" the water. As the eggs fall through the water they are fertilized. The males are there longer and hang out, the females tend to spawn and leave the spawning areas. This is why you will catch some monster females, but tend to catch a lot more jacks.

The males are quite excited and energetic, and also biting at almost anything that moves. The walleye are not typically a protective fish over the eggs. Many people speculate that the males are in there "protecting" the eggs from gobies and other predators. Most marine biologist don't agree and say that fish that broadcast spawn do not protect their eggs like bass over a small bed.

So really, the males are just excited and energetic.

There could be 3 more threads on what causes the spawn to occur and for how long, but most would agree that water temp is a factor (along with others) in the spawn. Many would agree that the spawn is pretty much done (thus the jig bite is over) at 45-48 degrees. The best time is when the water temp hits 39-40 degrees because this is when the spawn begins.

Many long time anglers also agree that best time to fish the reefs during the spawn is from dark-1:00 am, but I would not recommend anyone that is not VERY VERY familiar with the exact area that they are fishing be out on Erie reefs after dark. This is when most of the fish come in to spawn. Walleye also tend to be in the same areas year after year and so the jig spots are pretty well known because of their repeat behavior.

Once the spawn is over many casters and drifters still do quite well and catch their limits throughout the Spring and Summer on the reefs with different lures, baits and techniques. But the Jig bite is pretty well over when the spawn is done. There tend to be a lot of questions in here about how long the jig bite lasts... the answer lies more in the temperature of the water rather than a calendar date (although obviously the two coincide).

The trollers right now are going after trophy walleye. That is why you see a lot of people trolling sticks right now. 2 weeks ago everyone was catching limits quickly and having 50% - 80% all over 28" and a lot of 30" fish being caught trolling. You definitely can catch the big females jigging sometimes too... just not as likely, and chances are that you will catch a lot more males than females jigging the reefs.

I would say that the real question that needs to be answered when you come is, "is the jig bite still on." Then you will know if you need to jig or change lures and fish worms etc...

I ran into a guy the other day that said that he still uses Erie Dearies almost exclusively and catches all he wants on the reefs. That wouldn't be my personal choice this day and age, but there are tons of drifters and casters out there that could better answer the question as to what to use on the reefs after the jig bite for best results."




I hope this helps! Sorry for the long post, but I'm just sitting here waiting for ice to form! Kinda like watching paint dry in the rain right now.

-Matt

[mc captain]

Thank you very for the info my boat is 27 ft searay amberjack with 10 ft beam I have everything for jigging and planner boards I been out last summer with charter there out of wild wings we went twice so we bought our own boat and want to give it a try there is a lot of great info on this site which I think is awesome how big are some of these reefs

[ebijack]

Here ya go, you can zoom in/out. But it doesn't show all the reefs. But you can get an idea of some of the size and where. Make sure to pick up Erie's triangle guide to better fishing at one of the tackle shops when your down there. I have one on the wall ( large size) and a smaller one I keep in the boat. Very handy and they show what your requesting w/ waypoint #. When you hear chatter on the radio you can look to see where folks are at. There are 10 reefs in the range zone alone.
http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/14820.shtml

[Capt Juls]

Thank you very for the info my boat is 27 ft searay amberjack with 10 ft beam I have everything for jigging and planner boards I been out last summer with charter there out of wild wings we went twice so we bought our own boat and want to give it a try there is a lot of great info on this site which I think is awesome how big are some of these reefs

What electronics do you have on the boat and what mapping chip do you have for it? It's important to have accurate mapping info if you're going to fish near the reefs. You do not want to go over the top of some of them...you could lose your prop, or do some other damage.