Smallmouth bass fishing good around islands

CATAWBA ISLAND – Smallmouth bass fishing around the Lake Erie Islands has been so good lately, anglers are asking charter captains to take them bass fishing instead of perch, a bait store employee said.

Anglers are catching smallmouth around most of the islands and the reefs, said Cory Aust, employee at Herb’s Sportsman’s Supply on Catawba Island.

“They’re getting big ones,” he said.

The bait of choice has been soft crawls and spinner baits, he said.

Meanwhile, yellow perch still are being caught in good numbers in the region, said Jerry Tucholski, a head boat captain with Sassy Sal Charters.

“We’re mostly catching little ones,” he said.

Sassy Sal sends head boats out daily, weather permitting, and most days anglers are catching their daily bag limit, Tucholski said.

Good places to get them are 3 miles from the mouth of the Portage River and around Kelleys Island, he said. Herb’s said other spots are the stone dock north of Cedar Point, the weather buoy north of Vermilion and 3 miles east of Kelleys Island, Aust said.

Anglers are using perch spreaders with minnows, Tucholski said.

“It’s been pretty good lately, but I don’t know how it’ll be with the rain and all this wind today,” Aust said Tuesday.

Crappie fishing at the marinas on Catawba Island and Marblehead usually picks up this time of year. So far, some anglers have reported catching some crappie on Catawba at night, Aust said.

mksmith@gannett.com

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Twitter: @kristinasmithNM