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| FishTails |
Destination, Lake Erie
[September 26, 2002] - Jim Davis, Crooked Run Bassmasters
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Author Jim Davis with two fine Lake Erie smallmouth.
[ Submitted photo ] |
I had heard the stories for years of the seemingly impossible numbers of smallmouth bass caught in Lake Erie by
local Wfisherman. Fifty-to-one hundred fish a day was the norm - not the exception. Fishing the Ohio River for
so many years I could not even imagine catching this many smallmouth in a year let alone a weekend.
Those of you that know me, know that my fishing partner is my dad. I kept telling my dad the stories of the huge
numbers of large smallmouth our buddies were catching. Before long a few fishing friends that frequently make the
journey north to "smallmouth heaven" talked dad and I into going along. I am so glad we did. In most
lakes and rivers, with the exception of a few, you can go fishing. On Lake Erie you go catching.
I do not want to give you the impression that if you drive up to Lake Erie that you can launch your boat and instantly
catch smallmouth, because that will not likely be the case. You need to make sure you are equipped to handle the
unpredictable water conditions of the lake. The waves can blow up in a hurry and you can be in SERIOUS TROUBLE!
I recommend you try to find someone you know to go with your first time. It made a big difference for dad and me
to travel up with several boats that had been there before and could show us the ropes, so to speak.
I would recommend that you have at least an 18 foot boat with good bilge pumps. I run a NITRO 901 CDX and it handles
the unpredictable waters of Lake Erie like a dream. Some other items I recommend are a good fish finding graph,
and a GPS. I spend a lot of time graphing the lake before I start fishing. I will not even start fishing until
I locate a good school of smallmouth. It can take some time to locate a good school but it will be well worth the
time. I have located schools one day and marked the location on my GPS and the next day navigate to the exact spot
and usually find them not too far away. I usually find good concentrations of fish in 20 to 40 feet of water. With
the wind and waves it is almost impossible to keep your bait on the bottom. This leads me into the next piece of
equipment you will need and that is a good drift sock. I use two drift socks at times to slow down the boat and
allow my bait to stay in contact with the bottom. Armed with these items and several marker buoys ( Orange, because
they are easer to see than yellow) you will be ready to try your luck on Lake Erie.
Due to the unpredictable weather of Lake Erie, I always monitor the local weather on the internet. It will give
you the updated forecast along with the expected winds. Because of the possibility of driving to Lake Erie and
possibly not even getting on the lake because the waves are too large, I fish the section in Barcelona Harbor,
NY and Dunkirk Harbor, NY. If I am unable to fish Erie, Lake Chautauqua is close and full of good largemouth and
smallmouth.
Now, to the actual fishing equipment and lures you will need. With the irregular bottom features and rocks you
are likely going to loose a lot of baits. I recommend you take 50 to 100, 3/8 to 1/2 oz tube heads. Venom has a
tube jig with their death grip hook that is awesome. I also recommend 50 to 100 tubes. I use Venom Salt Series
Tubes in lots of colors , the Avocado color is a good choice. You can check out the tubes and tube heads by logging
on to Venoms website at www.venomlures.com. I also keep plenty of 1/2 oz Silver Buddies on hand, www.silverbuddy.com.
As far as rods go, I use a 7"MH spinning rod spooled with 10 pound test YO-ZURI HYBRED LINE. I use this line
for its strength and sensitivity.
Once I locate the fish with my graph I drop an orange buoy and go past the fish throw out my drift sock and set
up a drift towards the fish . I make a long cast behind me and do the Lake Erie drag. I drag the tube behind the
boat hopping it from time to time and hold on! FISH ON! Do your self a favor and find someone who fishes Erie on
a regular basis and plan to go with them on their next trip. You will be glad you did. GOOD LUCK!
Editor's note: This
story was written by WVBF Member Jim Davis. If you would like to contribute to the web site and/or newsletter,
your input is welcome as always. As we've mentioned many times in the past, your contributions and comments are
needed to improve the communication and posture of the WVBF. Thanks and good reading! Send me a line: jm@dominionpost.com |
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