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Walleye fishing remains strong on Lake Erie
Ask a friend, co-worker, cousin or stranger to name a Lake Erie fish and the chances are pretty good that person will say “walleye.” The odds go up considerably if you pose the same question to an angler.
Over the years, we’ve dedicated many columns to the fantastic walleye fishery that has developed since the late 1970s up on Lake Erie. The lake has rightfully earned the superlative title “Walleye Capital of the World.”
Now as we look to the start of 2019, says the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife, evidence suggests the future remains very bright for our great lake’s walleye population.
Many Youngstown- and Warren-area anglers enjoy fishing for Erie’s perch, steelhead, smallmouth bass and even burbot and other species. But walleyes top the list of favorite Erie species. Lake Erie has been synonymous with walleye since the early 1980s.
Recent superbly successful spawning seasons and good management practices have contributed to excellent walleye fishing. The good news now is the 2018 hatch in the lake’s central basin appears to be the best in the past 20 years.
“The ODNR Division of Wildlife’s results from the 2018 survey indicate that young-of-the-year walleye catch rates were the highest recorded in the past 20 years of the central basin trawl survey (32 fish per hectare),” said a pre-Christmas news release from the Division of Wildlife. “This year’s results, combined with the excellent 2015 year class, will ensure adult walleye abundance in the central basin will continue to increase.”
The survey was conducted aboard a boat dragging a trawl net. The western basin survey was done earlier this year, while the central basin trawl occurred in the fall due to low oxygen conditions that are often present in the central basin in the summer.
Central basin trawls were completed from Vermilion to Conneaut. The results, combined with data collected by fish management agencies from New York, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada, show biologists how many young fish are present.
Those numbers, in turn, are the foundation for projections about walleye populations two years from now when the fish are legal harvest size.
Many factors contribute to the popularity of Lake Erie walleye among anglers.
Sport fishing by anglers aboard their own private boats continues to be widely enjoyed. A large number of charter boats skippered by talented angler-guides are docked all along Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline. People throughout Northeast Ohio and from all over the Midwest and South book charters for sport and food.
Walleyes are prized table fare. Their flaky white flesh is mild and meaty, perfect for frying, baking, broiling or blackening.
They also provide great sport. They are not spectacular jumpers, but they are stubborn fighters that don’t come easily to the landing net.
Finally, they are not difficult to catch yet provide a fun challenge for anglers of all ages and skill levels. Fishing tactics range from simple live bait offerings dragged through the walleye schools to sophisticated techniques involving coordination of boat speed and precision depth control via high-tech sonar and GPS.
Walleyes are fish for all. Thankfully, there looks to be plenty of them in Lake Erie for us to share for years in the future.