Fishing Report Port Stanley Sept. 2nd

[Wave Runner]

Today did not start well when I let down the outboard I could hear a low battery groan and thought oh boy. Then when I turned the key and got those familiar clicks without so much as a little turn of the starter I knew. I must have an electrical drain somewhere because I put in a brand new battery this spring and this is the second time it's been dead. Anyways a nice man heard us talking and came out of his 35 ft. boat saying with a big grin on his face "you fellas didn't come prepared" then held up some jumper cables. Well that was candy to me got them then jumped the starter motor with my trolling motor battery and away we went. The lake was a little bouncy but not too bad so after a late start got lines in the water about 9 am. Fish were almost on bottom, lots of them but did not have the feed bag on and managed a 3 man limit by noon throwing some back and losing a few besides. First trip this year no bows??? Also worst trip for junk fish I've seen in a long time, at least 18 sheep and a couple of silvers. Something I haven't seen before most of the walleye were chuck full of mostly baby perch but also shiners, smelt and gobies. Now I know where at least some of the perch have gone. When cleaning they are just layered with thick fat along the belly like we have never seen before. Some post earlier this year said the walleye are starving with not enough bait around... are you kidding me. I was also marking tons of bait balls everywhere.

All spoon bite once again with no colour any better than another, riggers down 40 ft. and #1 Dipsys on 3 setting back 140 ft. with both being equal taking fish. We fished 43-53 fow with around 45 ft. being the best, deeper fish faded out. All in all another great day on Erie. ?

 

[Dewworm]

we had a similar experience. lots of farm animals, 3 man ticket by 1030ish..lots of fish marked, i think tonight will be fire..

 

[Joey D]

I seem to recall a post earlier this year that alluded that the very significant increase in walleye numbers weren’t the cause of the perch decline and it could only be attributed to the gillnet harvest. Do you still agree with that @Wave Runner? I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just asking if you’re opinion has changed at all?

It sounds like this years walleye hatch is going to explode the lake. I think it may be a very long time before there are good perch numbers like years past. Looking at commercial perch harvest data, I still can’t believe that it’s just merely a coincidence that perch numbers declined as soon as walleye numbers significantly increased. But, maybe I just don’t know.

Congrats on the great day of fishing. I hope you had an enjoyable season, and if you fish into the fall I hope it continues.

-Joe

 

[Red Hering]

Today did not start well when I let down the outboard I could hear a low battery groan and thought oh boy. Then when I turned the key and got those familiar clicks without so much as a little turn of the starter I knew. I must have an electrical drain somewhere because I put in a brand new battery this spring and this is the second time it's been dead. Anyways a nice man heard us talking and came out of his 35 ft. boat saying with a big grin on his face "you fellas didn't come prepared" then held up some jumper cables. Well that was candy to me got them then jumped the starter motor with my trolling motor battery and away we went. The lake was a little bouncy but not too bad so after a late start got lines in the water about 9 am. Fish were almost on bottom, lots of them but did not have the feed bag on and managed a 3 man limit by noon throwing some back and losing a few besides. First trip this year no bows??? Also worst trip for junk fish I've seen in a long time, at least 18 sheep and a couple of silvers. Something I haven't seen before most of the walleye were chuck full of mostly baby perch but also shiners, smelt and gobies. Now I know where at least some of the perch have gone. When cleaning they are just layered with thick fat along the belly like we have never seen before. Some post earlier this year said the walleye are starving with not enough bait around... are you kidding me. I was also marking tons of bait balls everywhere.

All spoon bite once again with no colour any better than another, riggers down 40 ft. and #1 Dipsys on 3 setting back 140 ft. with both being equal taking fish. We fished 43-53 fow with around 45 ft. being the best, deeper fish faded out. All in all another great day on Erie. ?

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Another great post and a great day of fishing again with your fishing buddies @Wave Runner!! ? The main boat ramp at port stanley must of been packed,(unless you used Stans Marinas boat ramp up river),on such a beautiful day and also being the last day of holidays for kids and likely for workers as well to get out to enjoy this great fishing that lake erie has been offering off glasgow,bruce and especially port burwell as well.Enjoy the rest of the walleye season,and hopefully it will be around for a while longer,now that we are into September already.?????

 

[EthanC]

@Wave Runner I think it was you I spoke with while passing by stans launch asking for a boost

 

[Wave Runner]

Another great post and a great day of fishing again with your fishing buddies @Wave Runner!! ? The main boat ramp at port stanley must of been packed,(unless you used Stans Marinas boat ramp up river),on such a beautiful day and also being the last day of holiday

Thanks Erich, yes I did launch at Stan's and wasn't busy at all. ?

 

[Red Hering]

Thanks Erich, yes I did launch at Stan's and wasn't busy at all. ?

I thought so @Wave Runner Stan’s is a good ramp and I have used it as well,and it is protected nicely especially from the south wind when it blows hard off lake erie compared to the main boat ramp right by the lake which isn’t protected by the winds,and the main boat ramp can also get “quite crowded!!” and “no thanks!!” Stan’s in that case would be a lot better to use. ? ????

 

[Wave Runner]

@Wave Runner I think it was you I spoke with while passing by stans launch asking for a boost

It certainly was me looking for a boost at Stan's. I asked a few boats so not sure which one was you. Were you the 2 young guys in a black aluminum boat and one of you had a mustache I believe? Wish it was under better circumstances. ?

 

[EthanC]

Yeah, small aluminum turned back around and talked to you guys. Sorry we couldn't help you out! Glad the day got better

 

[Wave Runner]

Yeah me too thanks to a nice guy in a big boat beside the dock. Thanks for turning around and at least trying to help us out. I was just about ready to pull one of my trolling motor batteries and switch out my starting motor to get us going when the guy handed us the jumper cables. It worked out great and we still got to use the I-pilot trolling motor for steering which makes for a more enjoyable day. ??

 

[fallguy]

Have to agree,caught more farm animals today than I've hooked in the last 2 years must have been at least 25 sheephead, made for a good workout though lol.

 

[Wave Runner]

I seem to recall a post earlier this year that alluded that the very significant increase in walleye numbers weren’t the cause of the perch decline and it could only be attributed to the gillnet harvest. Do you still agree with that @Wave Runner? I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just asking if you’re opinion has changed at all?

Hi Joey, not quite sure which post you're referring so I really don't know what your question is. Can you clarify?

 

[Ticker]

@Wave Runner I wised up this year and bought a jumper cables for the boat it came handy once already to boost my kicker battery
Left the fish hawk monitor on one day that runs off the kicker battery ?

 

[Joey D]

Hi Joey, not quite sure which post you're referring so I really don't know what your question is. Can you clarify?

Hi @Wave Runner , we were discussing the TAC of the lake and I believe we have differing opinions on the reason for the recent decline in Lake Erie perch populations. You had indicated that you believed the commercial fishery has done harm to the populations and is the cause of the recent decline. I believe the spike in walleye has more to do with it than commercial harvests.

 

[Wave Runner]

Okay @Joey D I understand what you're referring to now and yes we do have differing opinions about reasons for the decline of perch. I agree the walleye spike may be a small contributing factor as well as some other factors involved but I also believe the commercial overharvesting over the years takes the lion's share of the blame. Back in the 1980s the lake exploded with walleye as well and those walleye for the most part were huge where a 7 lber was considered a small one. In fact I could probably count on one hand the number of walleye I caught under 6 lbs. during the entire 1980s. I can assure you those huge walleye were eating a lot more bait than these little walleye we have now but the perch population was not devastated anywhere near to the degree you see now. I have fished perch going back to my childhood days covering more than 60 years now and I have not seen the perch fishing this bad ever. My guess is in the coming years with the big commercial increase in the 2019 walleye quota along with a massive drop in the perch quota you are going see a lot less walleye and a lot more perch. Regardless of personal opinions any of us hold I think that alone will sufficiently prove what factor really changes the numbers the most, at least in my view it will. In the mean time lets all enjoy the great walleye fishing because I think that's about to change just like it did after the 80s explosion.

 

[ch312]

Okay @Joey D I understand what you're referring to now and yes we do have differing opinions about reasons for the decline of perch. I agree the walleye spike may be a small contributing factor as well as some other factors involved but I also believe the commercial overharvesting over the years takes the lion's share of the blame. Back in the 1980s the lake exploded with walleye as well and those walleye for the most part were huge where a 7 lber was considered a small one. In fact I could probably count on one hand the number of walleye I caught under 6 lbs. during the entire 1980s. I can assure you those huge walleye were eating a lot more bait than these little walleye we have now but the perch population was not devastated anywhere near to the degree you see now. I have fished perch going back to my childhood days covering more than 60 years now and I have not seen the perch fishing this bad ever. My guess is in the coming years with the big commercial increase in the 2019 walleye quota along with a massive drop in the perch quota you are going see a lot less walleye and a lot more perch. Regardless of personal opinions any of us hold I think that alone will sufficiently prove what factor really changes the numbers the most, at least in my view it will. In the mean time lets all enjoy the great walleye fishing because I think that's about to change just like it did after the 80s explosion.

Keep in mind the lake is much different now than in the 80’s with gobies, water clarity, weather and fish populations (salmon) being much different now.

Shore anglers and boaters fishing traditional spots not getting perch could be as simple as the perch being in different areas with different habits. For example, in the last 5-10 years deer have “disappeared” from many places guys hunt when in reality the deer have simply changed it up.

 

[Joey D]

Okay @Joey D I understand what you're referring to now and yes we do have differing opinions about reasons for the decline of perch. I agree the walleye spike may be a small contributing factor as well as some other factors involved but I also believe the commercial overharvesting over the years takes the lion's share of the blame. Back in the 1980s the lake exploded with walleye as well and those walleye for the most part were huge where a 7 lber was considered a small one. In fact I could probably count on one hand the number of walleye I caught under 6 lbs. during the entire 1980s. I can assure you those huge walleye were eating a lot more bait than these little walleye we have now but the perch population was not devastated anywhere near to the degree you see now. I have fished perch going back to my childhood days covering more than 60 years now and I have not seen the perch fishing this bad ever. My guess is in the coming years with the big commercial increase in the 2019 walleye quota along with a massive drop in the perch quota you are going see a lot less walleye and a lot more perch. Regardless of personal opinions any of us hold I think that alone will sufficiently prove what factor really changes the numbers the most, at least in my view it will. In the mean time lets all enjoy the great walleye fishing because I think that's about to change just like it did after the 80s explosion.

I agree with you @Wave Runner that the lake is going to experience some significant changes in the coming years. I guess I feel that if the commercial harvest was the cause of the perch decline that it would have happened many years ago since the harvest isn't new. The walleye are also being commercially harvested and even with 4.3-5.8 million pound commercial harvest rates in last the five years the population was still able to explode, indicating to me that commercial catch rates are not the driving factor in determining populations, but I do think they impact populations. Maybe

No need to beat a dead horse and we don't need to keep debating. Most anglers seem to agree with you and are strong opponents of the commercial fishery. I am enjoying the current state of the walleye on Lake Erie and it looks like you are too. Happy fishing.