SPORTS

Air cooling, time for fishing perch warming up

Dick Martin

It’s not unusual for outdoorsmen from all over Ohio to make the sometimes long drive up to Lake Erie for fall perch fishing. And Lake Erie yellow perch can be well worth the drive. They’re an extremely tasty fish, selling in supermarkets for up to $14 per pound, and easily caught requiring only a bottom rig and minnows. Better yet the top time of the year for these small green, white and gold fish is September and October, a season when the air is cool and pleasant, the shoreline beginning to color in autumn hues, and fish are feeding up for winter’s near dormancy.

Purdue University researchers were surprised to learn in their study of yellow perch that the species recovered from overfishing in Lake Michigan to reach reproductive maturity at a later age and larger size must faster than what scientists had believed was possible.

Already, the fishing report from Rickard’s Bait & Tackle on SR 53 is better than good. According to the report “We’ve been here for a long time, and I have a hard time remembering when perch fishing (numbers-wise) has been as good as this. Now I have fishermen coming in complaining because they had to stay out until noon to get their perch limit.” Where are they catching them? Green Island has been tops lately, rocky areas around E Can on the firing range, Rattlesnake Island and areas west, around Kelleys and Gull shoal in deeper water, even right off the Marblehead Lighthouse. Hard to go wrong right now.

Veteran Lake Erie fishermen know where to go and how to fill a limit, but those who visit the big lake seldom might wonder how they can enjoy the current bonanza and catch some good eating. For these, there are several possibilities. One, and it can sometimes be fairly productive, is to shore fish, an inexpensive way to try your luck. All it takes is a pair of rods rigged with two snelled No. 6 hooks one about a foot above the other with a half ounce to one ounce sinker on lines end, a bucket of minnows, and a cooler for your catch.

There are plenty of places to go. In the Western Basin you might try traditional hotspots like the pier in downtown Huron where best luck is usually found right out at the end.  There’s the Dempsey Fishing Access near Marblehead, the little pier at Catawba island State Park, the Sandusky Bay Fishing Access on Old Bay Bridge which parallels Route 2 across Sandusky Bay, and a fishing pier at South Bass Island State Park on South Bass. For a full list, Google “Lake Erie Fishing Piers” which will show every pier from border to border.

A second choice is to fish off a head boat, called that because anglers pay by the head, usually around $40 to fish with others on a large boat with restroom facilities and a captain and first mate to help you with your catch, even provide fishing poles and bait in many cases. Traditionally, the best spots on a head boat are the bow and stern, but even those fishing along the sides of these big craft can usually fill their limit. Check the weather before you go and look for sunny days with a light breeze. You can find head boats from Port Clinton east with a number situated right in or around that city, and a list of others coming from the Lake Erie Shores & Islands at 800-441-1271 or other tourism groups further east.  Well heeled anglers might opt for a “six pack” which are much smaller boats that will take up to six anglers.  These might cost $600 – $700, but the cost can be shared among several fishermen.

Finally, comes towing your own (hopefully very seaworthy) craft to the big lake for a day or several of fishing perch.  That should work fine since there are plenty of launch ramps along the lake, and there’s only one thing to keep in mind – MOVE.  Try one spot for half an hour and if nothing much happens, go elsewhere, and elsewhere again.  Sooner or later you’ll find a hungry school and fill your ticket.  Then it’s dinnertime!

Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor columns for 30 years.  You can reach him at richmart@neo.rr.com