Fishing Report SM Bass/Perch - Long Point Bay - Sunday, June 25th

[Duck Soup]

Wow! Fewest number of boats I've ever seen fishing the Inner Bay on a gorgeous opening Sunday of the Bass season. I guess most anglers were aware that there aren't a whole lot of SM Bass in the Bay. I hit three of my best GO TO spots this morning without a bite. I talked to some bass guys and they're saying the spawn is done and and so are the Bass. I checked out one of my favorite summer bass spots in the Outer Bay and was greeted by a flock of Sheep-Heads. One almost spooled me. We ended up with a few perch caught along the north shore and called it a day at noon; not even the perch were cooperative.
The only good news was that offshore anglers were doing pretty good on walleye and bows.

 

[Red Hering]

Wow! Fewest number of boats I've ever seen fishing the Inner Bay on a gorgeous opening Sunday of the Bass season. I guess most anglers were aware that there aren't a whole lot of SM Bass in the Bay. I hit three of my best GO TO spots this morning without a bite. I talked to some bass guys and they're saying the spawn is done and and so are the Bass. I checked out one of my favorite summer bass spots in the Outer Bay and was greeted by a flock of Sheep-Heads. One almost spooled me. We ended up with a few perch caught along the north shore and called it a day at noon; not even the perch were cooperative.
The only good news was that offshore anglers were doing pretty good on walleye and bows.

Thanks for your report from this morning @Duck Soup but at the same time,it is sad to read,about the lack of smallmouth bass being caught in the inner bay! Some angler’s are saying for what I have read,that the water temperature in the inner bay had gotten too warm for the smallmouth bass,( up to 75 degrees),so therefore,the smallmouth bass vacated the inner bay for much cooler water temperature’s,likely somewhere out in the outer bay for the summer months. Here’s hoping that most of the smallmouth bass did spawn,before the water temperature did rise in the inner bay!! It will be now two years in a row,that we haven’t fished for smallmouth bass on long point bay,after the bass season had opened. In the past year’s as well,we would camp for up to a week,at Long Point Provincial Park,during the opening of bass season,with excellent bass fishing! It might be a walleye/rainbow fishing trip out on Lake Erie soon instead for my wife and I,because of the lack of smallmouth bass being caught,so therefore,we likely won’t be making the 3 hour round trip drive to Long Point Bay unfortunately,and the remaining bass,( if there are any ),don’t need the extra fishing pressure! Tight lines to All,and Walleye’s & Rainbow’s ON!!

 

[jerk bait]

Thanks for your report from this morning @Duck Soup but at the same time,it is sad to read,about the lack of smallmouth bass being caught in the inner bay! Some angler’s are saying for what I have read,that the water temperature in the inner bay had gotten too warm for the smallmouth bass,( up to 75 degrees),so therefore,the smallmouth bass vacated the inner bay for much cooler water temperature’s,likely somewhere out in the outer bay for the summer months. Here’s hoping that most of the smallmouth bass did spawn,before the water temperature did rise in the inner bay!! It will be now two years in a row,that we haven’t fished for smallmouth bass on long point bay,after the bass season had opened. In the past year’s as well,we would camp for up to a week,at Long Point Provincial Park,during the opening of bass season,with excellent bass fishing! It might be a walleye/rainbow fishing trip out on Lake Erie soon instead for my wife and I,because of the lack of smallmouth bass being caught,so therefore,we likely won’t be making the 3 hour round trip drive to Long Point Bay unfortunately,and the remaining bass,( if there are any ),don’t need the extra fishing pressure! Tight lines to All,and Walleye’s & Rainbow’s ON!!

Water temp was only 72 on opener and up to 73 today. Most have definitely left . A bit surprised they vacated already

 

[Red Hering]

Water temp was only 72 on opener and up to 73 today. Most have definitely left . A bit surprised they vacated already

Sorry about mentioning the wrong water temperature being at 75 degrees Fahrenheit,it’s what I have heard. But as you had said @jerk bait most bass have definitely left,and perhaps it’s a good thing that they had spawned,and fingers crossed ,meaning,more bass hopefully in the year’s to come.

 

[morgan]

This is old news , the smallmouth bass fishing has been deteriorating at a rapid rate for the last 10 years ( or more ) lots of reasons why , what is the mnr. doing about it ?

 

[jerk bait]

This is old news , the smallmouth bass fishing has been deteriorating at a rapid rate for the last 10 years ( or more ) lots of reasons why , what is the mnr. doing about it ?

The 2020 and 2021 bass season was phenomenal in the bay. Perhaps the best ever witnessed on the inner bay . I agree its been bad the last 2 opening days for most . With water temp at 72 I would have thought they would still be there in large #s this year. I'd be interested to hear what others think .

 

[Ryan V]

The largemouth bass virus (apparently it is fatal) has had an awful effect on the smallmouth of long point bay starting at the beginning of last year. Many of the fish (up to half) that I caught in the fall of 2021 in the long point bay had those open sores on the sides of them and I heard a report from a local who I met on the inner bay last year that there were thousands of dead smallmouth bass in the spring of 2022. Consequently the smallmouth bass fishing in long point bay last year was terrible compared to previous years and is not looking good this year either as it will take awhile for the population to rebound.
I did a scouting trip in early June with my eelectronics and eyes around bluff bar etc. searching for signs of bass spawning and was very disappointed that I hardly saw anything at all.
However, the smallmouth bass fishing in other parts of Lake erie is phenomenal and very few of those bass have any sores on them at all. Also the largemouth bass fishing in the long point bay area has been incredible last year and based on reports seems to be the same again this year.

 

[fishsmith]

I really think the small mouth are over fished in the bay. You can't tell me that when hundreds possibly even thousands of fish are harvested on opening days every year its not detrimental to the fish population in that area.

 

[Ryan V]

2020 and 2021 were amazing years where we caught more bass than ever before (120 fish days with 4 guys) and I've been fishing the inner bay for smallmouth since 2008. We probably released at minimum 95% of the bass we catch and I don't think overharvesting is the primary cause of the population crash that we are currently witnessing. Of course harvesting plays a part, but over the previous decades its been pretty balanced.

 

[jerk bait]

2020 and 2021 were amazing years where we caught more bass than ever before (120 fish days with 4 guys) and I've been fishing the inner bay for smallmouth since 2008. We probably released at minimum 95% of the bass we catch and I don't think overharvesting is the primary cause of the population crash that we are currently witnessing. Of course harvesting plays a part, but over the previous decades its been pretty balanced.

I agree about 2020 and 2021 . Was amazing in the inner bay. In fact it's really been good every year except the last 2. I don't think more bass are being harvested than 10 or 15 years ago. Something has definitely crashed the population. This is the first I heard about a largemouth disease. There is no doubt the massive plane a couple years ago during spawn time caused alot of damage.
Have they changed spawn locations ? Bad years class or 2 ? Or something else had drove them out?

 

[Ryan V]

It's called Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) because that's where it was first found, but it seems to reek havoc on the smallmouth. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/newsroom/release/50921

Below is from a wired2fish article.

"Recently, smallmouth bass have been found to be infected with Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) Santee-Cooper ranavirus, Family Iridoviridae. In 2018 the LMBV virus was found to be a cause of young of the year smallmouth death in summer months within the Susquehanna River Basin. Additional positive fish were found shortly after in the Juniata and Allegheny rivers. In 2021 additional studies found LMBV in smallmouth throughout Michigan.

LMBV positive fish have also been found to have lesions on sides that have secondary bacterial infections of both Aeromonas and Flavobacterium columnare. The lesions are the primary external clinical sign of the virus, additionally LMBV positive fish may have protruding eyes, enlarged internal organs and before death, extreme lethargy. Unfortunately due to the tight-schooling nature of smallmouth bass the LMBV can spread quickly during summer and winter months. The extent of adult mortality is still being studies, but mass juvenile mortality has been confirmed."

 

[hawgseeker]

I also caught many smallmouth the fall of 2021 off Nanticoke with external sores. At the time I wasn't sure what it was. LMBV makes sense and could explain the Inner Bay results the last couple of openers.

 

[fishsmith]

well I agree had two years that was really good but its nothing like it was early 2000s. The smallmouth were like if you got into a school of perch. Couldn't even get your baits to the bottom and you had a fish on. The 2020-2021 were more the anomaly then the rule recently

 

[Bandwagon]

This is old news , the smallmouth bass fishing has been deteriorating at a rapid rate for the last 10 years ( or more ) lots of reasons why , what is the mnr. doing about it ?

Erie is still world class, it took 28Lbs to win down at Crystal beach Saturday. I do agree however that Long point is struggling, between all the catch and keep charters and the sheer number of boats catching and keeping can anyone be surprised? Other parts of Ontario have opened up the season earlier and the data shows that catch and release works, even during the spawn. What is the point of having a fish sanctuary if many end in the fryer weeks later?

 

[Bandwagon]

I also caught many smallmouth the fall of 2021 off Nanticoke with external sores. At the time I wasn't sure what it was. LMBV makes sense and could explain the Inner Bay results the last couple of openers.

Agree about 2021 but the last two years the fish I caught in the fall looked really healthy, the bass I caught in Buffalo all good this spring as well.

 

[Ryan V]

Agree about 2021 but the last two years the fish I caught in the fall looked really healthy, the bass I caught in Buffalo all good this spring as well.

Agree! All bass I got in Buffalo are healthy. Same can't be said about nanticoke

 

[jerk bait]

Erie is still world class, it took 28Lbs to win down at Crystal beach Saturday. I do agree however that Long point is struggling, between at the catch and keep charters and the sheer number of boats catching and keeping can anyone be surprised? Other parts of Ontario have opened up the season earlier and the data shows that catch and release works, even during the spawn. What is the point of having a fish sanctuary if many end in the fryer weeks later?

Yes other parts of erie are much better. I completely agree about a catch and release season, it works . The Americans are literally light years ahead of us on bass fishing and research. Iam just interested to theories on way its crashed so hard. I was unaware of LBV..

 

[Robs_Raft]

I'm no biologist, but I agree on the LMBV theory. We've had warm springs in the past and the charter fleet is actually less than it use to be on LPB during opener and fishing continued to be strong. We almost had a sudden 'crash' which coincided with the sores showing up on smallmouth and some largemouth in 2020. Will see what happens but I think we're in for some tough smallie fishing over the next while.
I don't think a 'catch/release' spring fishery is a good idea for LPB specifically. Its a known spawning area and would impact an already fragile fishery. The balance of the lake is a different conversation.

 

[jumbos]

Wow! Fewest number of boats I've ever seen fishing the Inner Bay on a gorgeous opening Sunday of the Bass season. I guess most anglers were aware that there aren't a whole lot of SM Bass in the Bay. I hit three of my best GO TO spots this morning without a bite. I talked to some bass guys and they're saying the spawn is done and and so are the Bass. I checked out one of my favorite summer bass spots in the Outer Bay and was greeted by a flock of Sheep-Heads. One almost spooled me. We ended up with a few perch caught along the north shore and called it a day at noon; not even the perch were cooperative.
The only good news was that offshore anglers were doing pretty good on walleye and bows.

No small mouth for Bryce and I either…..went straight out to bluff bar…..fished both sides, nothing but a few perch. Back to the inner bay to my last resort spot, had a small guy follow but no hookup. Got into some Rockies off old cut to save the day though. I think the MNR need to consider a date adjustment for bass opener…..the weather is a changing…ask any farmer

 

[Tyler0420]

No small mouth for Bryce and I either…..went straight out to bluff bar…..fished both sides, nothing but a few perch. Back to the inner bay to my last resort spot, had a small guy follow but no hookup. Got into some Rockies off old cut to save the day though. I think the MNR need to consider a date adjustment for bass opener…..the weather is a changing…ask any farmer

Are the smallmouth still spawning at opener? If there’s no fish around doesn't that mean they already spawned for opener and took off to the lake already.