Lake Erie Ohio Walleye Fishing Charter

OUR MOST POPULAR FISHING TRIPS

Hello and thanks for your interest in our Lake Erie Ohio Walleye fishing charter! Our boat is professionally rigged and outfitted for serious and productive walleye fishing. We specialize in personalized teaching of how to catch Walleye while handling your own fishing rod and reel. Many other charter services use trolling as their main method of fishing. Primarily they fish deep waters with heavy trolling rods, reels, lines and leaders with planer boards and multiple rods per person. The boat hooks the fish and you stand up and reel it in. It is certainly a productive way to put fish in the cooler and the rack of fish looks great at the end of the day, but the process is where that type of fishing loses it’s appeal. I personally feel the trolling technique is not necessary to catch Lake Erie Walleye. Here at Sundance Lake Erie Sportfishing, we will show you how the pros catch the same nice sized Walleye mostly in shallow water by casting out a variety of different lures. When deep water is necessary to fish, we have those techniques covered as well after many years of testing what works best deep. All racks of fish look great back at the dock.. it’s how we catch them that sets us apart! We think the way we catch them is the most fun. If you have been to Lake Erie and have not caught Walleye casting, then call us today to set up your trip and find out what fun you have been missing!
Many conditions can directly affect the walleye bite: wind, waves, sunlight, water temperatures, water clarity, current, etc. Capt Bob is the best in business at understanding walleye migration, feeding and wind direction as it relates to the hot shallow or deep water bite locations. Anyone that has pursued these fish knows that they can be very elusive and finicky, being in the right place, at the right time, with the right presentation is critical to put fish on the boat.
You will learn techniques pioneered on these waters by a true professional who learned from the best in the business and then updated and honed those techniques over 35 years of actual guiding on Lake Erie.

EARLY SPRING WALLEYE BITE

The early spring bite has the fish west of the Island Triangle on the reefs and these fish will come in the boat with a jig or casting presentation using hair jigs tipped with minnows or worm harnesses, this is generally a very lazy or light bite. These fish can also be taken trolling deep diving crank baits, trolled from planer boards. Early spring (April 1 through May 15) trips requires hardy and dedicated fishermen that are outfitted for cooler air and water temperatures and overall potential harsh weather, rain gear and heavy insulated clothing is a must. Remember; you can always take off layers, but they will do you no good if they are at home in the closet! Those willing to “tough it out” will have some very good opportunities to boat serious trophy walleyes, 9 – 11 pound fish are common 12 – 15 pound trophies can be taken. All of our boats are equipped for the early spring bite and all the methods required for a productive trip. It should be noted however, that the early spring or late fall bite tends to be more for the walleye anglers that are more interested in trophy fish and “Wall Hangers”.

May 1 – June 1: This span of time is the absolute best time for a Trophy, as big females and large aggressive males are cruising the flats on the feed. These fish are very aggressive and hit hard nearly ripping rods out of the holders. The best method is tolling crank baits and spoons at slightly higher speeds as these fish are rogues traveling the flats generally alone. We run the boards out at their maximum spread, towing a wide variety of colored deep diving crank baits. This time frame books very rapidly each year —–book early and get your date reserved!

PRIME WALLEYE SEASON

The Prime Season walleye bite (May 15 – July 15) yield numbers and generally the eater class walleyes (16 – 24” fish). During this time the walleyes are generally on the feed every day while constantly moving in search of the best food plots. Structure, even the slightest bottom change will hold bait fish, which in turn holds walleyes. The Lake Erie Island Triangle fits the bill! This area holds a large number of aggressively feeding walleyes due to the number bottom structure changes available in this area and the variation of bottom makeup. This area is known for bottom variants such as mud, gravel, rip rap, rock piles, and large under water boulders. But please note that water clarity generates the need for precision depth trolling (*see note below) as the fish are generally scattered and feeding in smaller schools. As the water temperatures near the 58 – 64 degree marks the fish really turn and seriously chase baits. Yeck Spoons are the bait of choice, trolled in the 1.5 – 2.2 knot range and 2 – 5 fish on simultaneously is common upon hitting a hot pocket of fish. This time frame generally yields the largest numbers of fish boxes of 15 – 25 are common and limit catches occur regularly. The majority of the Lake Erie walleyes are taken during this time frame.