Lake Erie Trophy Walleye

Lake Erie Walleye Charter
April 10, 2019
Lake Erie Walleye Charter
May 25, 2019

Trophy Lake Erie Walleye

April fishing for Lake Erie trophy walleye always presents some challenges; big winds, storms and cold fronts.  These  can wreak havoc for Lake Erie charter captains. The storm front that pushed its way into Ohio, created some difficult working conditions as I tried to wrap up the preseason prep work on the Erie Breeze.

With the aft drop canvas kept blowing all over the boat, I stayed sheltered in the boat as the prep work was completed just in time.  As the day went on, the wind had driven the water well past flood stage in what is known as a Seiche.  Causing the water level to rise several feet in just a few short hours, causing docks to flood and Channel Grove Marina store to be closed for the day.

The tasks that I needed to complete prior to the charter, went well despite the weather, and I was ready for the morning’s trip.  The morning started off late due to some complications with some clients travel and a small storm that passed through delayed our leaving the dock by an hour and a half.  The storms yesterday cause Lake Erie to turn into a muddy mess for several miles in all directions.

Day 1

In the past after high winds my game plan has always been to head north of Kelley’s Island, because that area seems to always have clean water when no other location does.  Arriving on the north west corner proved my theory to be right and we were fishing in no time.  We worked the 35-45 feet of water drop off adjacent to the shoreline on the corner of the island.  The marks were great but figuring out the fish after the storm took some time.  Our best success came at slow trolling speeds of around 1.3-1.7 mph with Bandit Crankbaits 70 back.  The best colors of the day were sour grape and blue chrome.

We managed 3 Fish Ohio Lake Erie Walleye and 12 other good eating size fish to fall just 1 short of the clients limit.  This group of guys come to Lake Erie for trophy Walleye and wanted to keep our focus on them.  We finished the day dry but wanting more for the following day.

Day 2

Day two of their charter I headed right back to the same area as the previous day.  I started the program at 1.7 mph with bandits 60-115 back.  I chose to place more of the sour grape and other green bandits into the program because of the success from yesterday.

It turned out to be a grind all day long to catch fish.  Sticking with it and changing baits, speeds, locations and lead lengths throughout the day.  The best catch rates of the day came at 1.9 mph with green bandits at 90 back for us, however we caught fish as fast as 2.4 mph.  They only lost 1 fish that seemed like a great one according to Bill, who was on the hunt for another Lake Erie Trophy Walleye, to beat his personal best of 29” the day before.  Saturday provided a better haul of fish with several Fish Ohio’s and several 24” plus Walleye on our board.

We finished up their Lake Erie Charter fishing trip with their limit plus a couple bonus fish for the mate ending with 26 Walleye.  The trip was a success and these guys have already booked next years’ trip in April.  If you are looking for a Lake Erie Trophy Walleye then April should be your choice.  It isn’t for the fair weather fishermen but can produce great results to those who are tough enough to venture out.

Thank you and looking forward to seeing you out there

Captain Jerod