Almost as if it were by fate, I got an e-mail from an Indiana walleye fisherman on Friday afernoon talking about Lake Erie ice fishing and his plans to go there. He said he was going out with John (FISHAHOLIC19) and they were meeting up with High Tide (Doug) and Randy on Saturday morning early. I mentioned to Bret that I was going out Saturday morning as well Lake Erie walleye fishing. Bret said I was welcome to join them and I said sure. I had met High Tide at Summit last year and he is a great guy to fish with. I knew from the "get go" these were a great group of guys to go walleye fishing with...High Tide, Randy, Bret (Super Seal), and John - Fishaholic 19.
Visited the local bait shop. got plenty of Lake Erie emerald shiners. Then unloaded the quads, loaded up the gear and headed out for 3-4 mile on Erie's ice. We launced the Erie Quest from Metzger's Marsh around 7:00am.
Targeting walleyes in the winter on big lakes isn't hard once you know that they pre-stage near spawning areas...early. On Lake Erie, these areas include the waters surrounding the Reef Complex, Bass Island area, and areas near the Maumee River Basin...these areas are target rich environments for walleyes.
Lake Erie walleyes are like fish anywhere, they are definitely tuned in to their predominant food source. When ice fishing on Erie...it is very important to obtain the walleye's favorite type of food and offer it up to them. I watched a group struggling on the ice yesterday and then found out that they were not using emeral shiners for bait. Trust me...use emerald shiners boyz and put one on all three hooks of a treble, which is attached to your jigging spoon. It may look odd, but Erie Eyes want a smorgsboard.
We caught over 20 walleyes, with our biggest being 8 pounds. We had 4 or 5 fish between 6-8 pounds. No doubt there were over 10 walleye that "unbuckled" as we were bringing them to the surface...but hey, thats part of fishing on the Big Pond.
On Friday, High Tide (Doug) clebrated his birthday by catching an 11 pound walleye.
A BIG thanx to High Tide (Doug), Randy "Gaft Man", Bret (Super Seal), & John (FISHAHOLIC19) ......what a special day on the Big Pond !
