Spring/ Summer Walleye

J

JIGGIN

Member
new to the site and i have been reading the summer eye reports and im starting to get antsy. i dont have much experience fishing lake Erie with a boat but i have just purchased a 16.5 footer. with a 75 hp outboard. Will that size boat sufficient enough to regulary be out fishing eyes and bows. I would like to get into buying the gear to troll (rods, riggers, dipsy divers, leadcore)but want to make its not money poorly spent. I hear it can get pretty choppy out there.

anybody regularly out with a boat roughly that size?? would appreicate any feedback..
 
Jiggin welcome first of all:
all I have to say is that you need to watch the weather report and or the wave conditions for western or eastern lake erie. there are many sites to do this from salso sailflow is great for the wind direction. I have a 16 ft. springbok with a 90 hp. outboard. I have been out many times in this craft,I also think that that it depends on your abilities as a captian as well. First thing to think about is a graph with a GPS and or chartplotter. it can blow up quick I belive in mine very faithfully. second is to get a marine radio and certification if you do not have one. (against the law to use one without it]. then go and worry about the gear for fishing. I don't have riggers but I run dipseys usually 3 and I also have torpedeo weights that work great for my situation. inline planers as well. hope this info helps ansd enjoy the water.

keepen'er afloat is always better than sinkin.
 
Walleye fishing off port burwell/bruce can be anywhere from 8-15 miles off shore and to fish long point is approx. 16 miles from old cut to the elbow. Fishing in boat's 18ft and less is not an everyday event. The weather/wind are a constant issue, also as binkley stated a GPS is a "must", as you can't just wing it from that distance. The shore line disappears when you are out that far. I would stick with dipsey's and foresure leadcore for walleye/bows. There is also a great perch fishery off Burwell/Bruce and it is only 4-5 miles out in 30-45 fow.

Brian (Legend Man)
 
As all have said that you have to be very mindfull of the waves and how they can blow up quickly. You may launch in the morning with flat water and by the time you get set up and trolling you may be dealing with 1-2 ft rollers. Then decide to troll down hill and with the waves without really paying attention to the size. By the time you notice you could easily be dealing with 3-4 rollers with a 1 ft chop on top of the rollers. Below is a link to sailflow.com, this is a good site that I have used over the years to predict the wind and thus waves. Everything you have heard about lake Erie is probably true...and in some cases worse.

http://www.sailflow.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=96&regionProductID=30&timeoffset=-1
 
Check this site out when it is boating season. I have found that if it says the waves are 1.0( which means from the bottom of the wave to the top of the wave)the real size of the wave is between 2 and 3 feet, which is going to rock and roll you[xx(]http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=45132&unit=E&tz=STN


Brian (Legend Man)
 
Great info guys, i will definetly add those sites to my favorites lists. I have no doubt that perch fishing wont be an issue, but i am sure it will take me a while to get the hang of the eye fishing. on clear day how far do you go before you don't see land anymore??


From what i have been reading, its sounds like the eyes move from west to east during spring and summer, is that the case?? are they always 8 to 15 miles out, is it the same in erieau and glasgow.
 
I just looked up some of my waypoints from Glasgow & Burwell over the last few years. We fished in 65 fow about 7-9 miles out of Glasgow and we did well last year in that area in July. Last year in Burwell the fishing was in about 55 fow, 10-12 miles out. In 2009 the fishing was hot way out of Burwell around 20-22 miles in 65 fow or so. In genereal, the fish do move from West to East as the summer progresses but each year seems to be a little different.

I have done all of the above in my Princecraft 174 (17 foot) but you need to do your homework before venturing out that far in a small boat such as mine & yours. I have seen 14 footers out there with 25HP outboards on them and some days, it really isn't a risk and they catch lots of fish. As mentioned in previous posts, a VHF with DSC (and the ability to use it), a good GPS/chartplotter, back-up motor, etc etc etc are all good ideas. Go out with another boat, watch the forecast and don't take chances. It can get crazy out there quickly and coming in is always tougher than getting out for some reason...

Before blowing a bunch of dough on downriggers, buy the safety gear and don't gamble with your life. You can catch lots of fish on Dipsies and lead core anyway.

IMG_1403.jpg
 
Love that pic G Mech. Reminds me of why I'm a creek rat. ...No Friggin Waves!

Stick

DSC00152.jpg
 
thanks guys for the info, i dont think i would ever attempt to go out 20 miles out at this point great fishing or not, but i will definetly try 10 or 12, glasgow might be a good option as well.
 
I don't know where you live but the tillsonburg powre squadron holds one everytime there are enough people to attend. the cost was 60$ last year includes the book a cd the course and exam. london also has one but I heard the cost was over 100$ when I get home today I will post the phone # foe you of the squadron. the channel of choice is 68.

keepen'er afloat is always better than sinkin.
 
Jiggin if your fishing out of Glasgow give me shout on 68 and I'll see if I can direct you to the walleye and steelhead. good fishin from www.scrimmyssportfishing.com
 
quote:
Originally posted by JIGGIN

thanks guys for the info, i dont think i would ever attempt to go out 20 miles out at this point great fishing or not, but i will definetly try 10 or 12, glasgow might be a good option as well.



The difference between 10 or 12 miles and 20 miles is pretty much irrelevant on lake erie. If it gets rough, it gets rough fast. You need to have the boat and/or abilities to get yourself back safely. You can be caught 2 miles out if it blows up quick enough, and everyone who fishes regularly out there knows what I mean. I ran a 16.5 Lowe for a couple years before I upsized to my 22', and I always checked the weather and made sure I was out on high pressure days. If it's real hot and muggy, you have to watch out for the little pop-up storms that come out of nowhere as well.

I was out 3 miles from Port Colborne this past summer, in my 22' Starcraft, and I can tell you with 100% certainty, if I ran into that weather that day in my old 16ft'er, it would be sitting on the bottom of the lake. Gotta watch it out there.
 
If you don't mind the drive Leamington,Colchester,Kingsville and later Erieau are better fishing than Burwell and you only need to be half mile or closer to shore at times.Sometimes eight feet of water,and all you really need is in-line planer boards nad some bottom bouncers and worm harnesses.
 
I actually live in Delhi,but every year I start fishing the west end and follow the fish east as it warms,starting in mi-May.It starts producing limits of Walleye usually around May 24,depending on the year.Most years a couple of hours to get 18 is quite normal.
 
I actually live in Delhi,but every year I follow the fish as they migrate fom west to east,beginning in mid- May.May 24 it really starts heating up.Most years a couple of hours is all you'll need to box 18, provided you stop and talk to Bill at bakies baits in Kingsville; if you've never fished there He'll put you on the fish every time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
✖
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Advertising is what keeps Channel 6-8 on the air. To this end, please take a moment to disable your AdBlocker. If you would prefer an ad-free experience, but would still like to help support site operations, please consider making a donation.

I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks