LAKE ERIE WALLEYES?

A friend of mine has invited me to join him the last week in April to fish Walleyes on Lake Erie
He said we will be doing primarily all jig fishing.

Do any of you IDO guys have any suggestions on types/sizes/colors of jigs and if plastics would be beneficial or not. My buddy says to just bring a box of jigs but i don’t want to be short handed

any suggestions would be great as i have never been there before

bull cans,
I’ve fished Erie quite a bit and will actually be out there that same time. That is typically gettin toward the end of the jig bite on the reefs of the western basin. With that said this has been a different year and has been cold recently. The typical method for the majority of the jig fishermen is to set up a drift and cast hair jigs to the side of the boat and allow the jig to drift behind the boat and then work it back.If you go to the bait shop called the happy hooker, by turtle creek marina they can get you the latest info. The reef bite can be fast and furious with a 3 man limit in a matter of minutes, alot of guys work jigs in 3/8 to 1/2 oz sizes, purple and black hair jigs are the go to for most. Expect the majority of the fish to be 3-5 lbs and you’ll probably catch alot of smallies with them.I myself am a troller and will be somewhere from the bass islands to kelly’s pulling spinners and or cranks. The trollers typically average 6-8 lbs a fish and is not unusual to catch 8-10 eyes a day from 27-32 inches. If you’ld like any help or want to follow us or get info on the trolling bite while you are in port clinton feel free to call me or send me a pm. I’m more than happy to help any way I can. Best of luck

Cdemeyes
(corey) 651-338-4982

Bull cans, I have been to Western basin many times over the past 20 years. You’re going at a very good time.
A few things I can throw out.

1st, CDEMEYES was right on about the jig bite, and preferences. Although many clolors (like anywhere else) can be good, the go to is Purple head, with purple & black hair jigs. He’s also right on the head with stopping at Happy Hooker. They will have exxactly what you need, and a ton of other goodies too. Make sure you get at least a few with the stinger hooks. And check out there T-Shirts!

2nd, if I get a chance to go down this spring, I would FOR SURE be stopping into see Dean @ Everts. He has some hair jigs (very simular to what you’ll be using out therre) but I really think he’s got some that could put a real hurt on the Erie Eyes. If you decide to take a look, make sure you go heavy enough. 1/2 – 5/8 ounce is not un common.

Another thing you be watching for (and I sure your freind is well aware of this) will be water clarity. This time of the year, the Western basis does some some crazy things regarding water clarity. You will be trying to target stained water. The extremely dirty/muddy water you will want to avoid, but at the same time, you’re not looking the the crytal clear either Right below is a link you can click on, then click on lake Erie and a couple times daily, you can get updated Satelite images. If nothing else, you will have fun watching what’s going on over there.
http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/region_map.html

There’s one thing to keep in mind. Lake Erie is not called “Erie” just because. When the winds blow from the East/Northeast, you will want to be careful. That shallow water western basis can put the “Erie” feeling in a guy.
Be Safe!

Only last thing I can think of at the moment is, and just so you know, the limit on Erie changes from 4/day too 6/day on May 1st.

Have a great trip

great info from both of you guys.

Thanks for the help. Now i know what to put in my jig box for the trip

i fished last year flw tournament as a co-angler, both days the guys i fished with fished in the detroit river using purple 1/2 – 5/8oz jigs either tipped with fin-tech plastics clear colored minow shapes(4-5″) and also they used a ryndots crawler worm pumpkin/black color- (forgive the spelling on the manufacture of the worm). the weather was pretty wicked both days so that is why the two guys i fished with elected the river, we averaged 4-5 pounders. the guys that braved the weather averaged 6-8 pounders trolling. good luck, its awesome verticle jigging 5-6lb fish