May 3, 2018

Lake Erie:  Walleye fishing picked up with limit catches coming in.  A few boats found success while jigging minnows just outside of Otter Creek and around Turtle Island in 10 to 14 feet.  Stony Point was good and was producing larger fish in a variety of depths.  Anglers were fishing anywhere from 15 to 22 feet and some did well running their baits eight to 10 feet deep while others did well 13 to 18 feet deep.  Those trolling a crawler harness and bottom bouncer also did well.  Hot colors were Wonderbread or purple with yellow spots.  Bandits were the other hot lure and the colors were green and white, Reel Naughty, Huff Daddy and chrome.  Reef runners in a variety of colors were also taking fish. 

Michigan DNR

May 17, 2018

Lake Erie:  Boat anglers caught walleye on a purple crawler harness with a bottom bouncer in 20 feet in Brest Bay, trolling just north of the River Raisin in 24 feet as well as when drifting a gold and purple harness around the River Raisin humps in 13 to 14 feet.  A few fish were also taken by those jigging near the Dumping Grounds in 15 feet with an orange and green jig tipped with a minnow.  White bass, white perch and a couple freshwater drum were also caught.   

Michigan DNR

May 24, 2018

Lake Erie:  Walleye fishing slowed after the storms came through and stirred up the lake, which was fairly muddy.  Fish were caught on a gold crawler harness in 17 feet out of Bolles Harbor, a purple crawler harness and bottom bouncer in 18 to 20 feet near the Edison plant, a blue crawler harness and bottom bouncer in 20 feet off Stony Point, fire-tiger, red and chartreuse harness in 16 to 20 feet in Brest Bay, or a green and purple harness with inline weights and bottom bouncers in 18 feet off Sterling State Park.  Fish were also caught in 20 to 24 feet off Fermi when drifting red and white Erie Dearies or trolling UV colored spoons and green and purple crank baits 10 to 15 feet down.  Perch were caught in Brest Bay in 15 feet on perch rigs with minnows.  Channel cats were caught in 24 feet in the Hot Ponds with chicken liver or in Bolles Harbor with shrimp.   

Michigan DNR

Lake Erie and tributaries

There is a little bit of everything going on out there in the big lake. The nighttime walleye bite in the shallows along the shoreline has started to lighten up for some but continuing hot and heavy for others. Large stickbaits are the way to go. According to Gerry Begier at Bill’s Hooks, the daytime bite is slowly starting to pick up off Dunkirk. Target 25 to 50 feet of water with stickbaits or worm harnesses. Jim Skoczylas, first VP with Southtowns Walleye Association, agrees that the transition is starting to happen. He had reports of people catching a dozen ‘eyes during the day using 3, 4 and 5 colors of lead core line and stickbaits from Silver Creek and west. Try and keep your baits in the top 25 feet of water and his best depth contour over the weekend was 30 to 40 feet. Some walleyes are also being caught off the windmills near Buffalo. Timing should be perfect for the Southtowns Walleye tournament set for June 9-17. Check out www.southtownswalleye.org for details. You must be registered by Friday night June 8. In the meantime, bass action is really starting to pick up, too. According to Brad Brodnicki of Buffalo, smallmouth bass are starting to make their way into the spawning areas as lake temperatures approach 60 degrees. Bass can be caught from 5 feet to 25 feet. And with the full moon last Tuesday, many more bass will be moving shallow. Smokes Creek, Seneca Shoal and Myers Reef will all be holding fishing according to Brodnicki. He was surprised with a 25-pound catfish this past weekend while bass fishing. The big fish hit a swimbait. Perch action has slowed again according to Skoczylas. They caught a couple dozen over the weekend near Cattaraugus Creek in 50 to 60 feet of water but the quality of those fish was very good. Don’t be afraid to move around.

http://buffalonews.com/2018/05/30/the-fishing-beat-44/