Fish In The Walleye Capital of The World

Lake Erie is as healthy as it has ever been. Thanks to initiatives that improved water quality, long gone are the days where the Cuyahoga River caught on fire. Instead, we now have a clean healthy lake with a population of more than 100 million walleyes. These incredible numbers have easily crowned Lake Erie with an appropriate title, the walleye capital of the world.

While the Michigan waters of Lake Erie represent a relatively small portion of Erie’s overall size, they are very important. The Western end of Lake Erie is encompassed by both the Maumee and Detroit Rivers, which in the spring time are prime spawning areas for Lake Erie’s walleye population.

Most years when the calendar flips to March you can almost be assured that walleyes in big numbers have migrated to Monroe County, Michigan waters giving anglers from both shore and boats some of the best fishing of the season. Several distinct bites can be found during this time.

The first bite, often not much after ice out, can be found by trolling from boats for the pre spawn female walleyes that are staging to spawn. Areas up and down the entire Michigan coastline can play a part. Waters just north of the Ohio and Michigan line near Luna Pier, up the coast to Sterling State Park, continuing north to Brest Bay and all the way up to the Detroit River mouth can be prime waters.

While many tactics can come into play, trolling these relatively shallow mud flats with crankbaits is often the preferred tactics by locals. Look to use suspending stick baits such as the Rapala Husky Jerk when the water is less than forty degrees and slightly off colored to clean. When winds have muddied the waters look to use similar baits but with louder rattles to help the fish better target your lures.

As the water begins to warm males will start to move into shallow rocky structures as well as the rivers in order to prepare to spawn. When this takes place a jig and minnow or a jig and soft plastic presentation can be tough to beat. When in the strong currents of the Detroit River or any snaggy rocky bottom anglers prefer to vertical jig to best present lures and keep from constantly breaking off.

While it’s not uncommon for the pre spawn bite to not last much more than a week or two, the bite during and after the spawn can last nearly a month. During this time many tactics come into play. For trollers that means an arsenal consisting of crankbaits, spinners and even spoons as the water temps begin to rise. For those that prefer to cast it means switching from jigs and blade baits in the early part of the spawn to weight forward spinners and casting harness’ as the temps rise.

Aside from having a big population of walleye in Michigan’s waters at this time it can be the best place to be due to the predominant South West winds that Erie receives. The entire Monroe County, Michigan shoreline acts as a giant wind shield and can make for much more comfortable and safer boating. Pair this with short runs to the fishing grounds and you can see why so many anglers in the know travel to Michigan in the Spring months.

As things transition from spring to summer walleyes gradually leave the shallower waters and rivers and migrate back out to the deeper waters to the East. That’s not to say the bite is over, just slightly longer boat rides and fishing closer to the border waters of Ontario and Ohio. When this occurs many of the same tactics work as they do in the late spring, but trollers tend to troll faster and casters tend to fish both deeper water and deeper within the water column.

While Lake Erie is definitely the walleye capital of the world, if walleye aren’t your jam, other species such as crappie, catfish and bass are plentiful enough to be easily caught. In the fall of 2022, the largest smallmouth bass ever to be caught north of the Mason Dixon line and 4th largest ever documented was caught in its waters.

While many anglers and boaters primarily think of Spring, Summer and Fall as the primary seasons, the winter also can play a major role. A mild winter means that anglers can get a jump start on the spring bite with a nearly traffic free lake. A hard winter means that hardcore anglers can have the opportunity to ice fish on the years the lake freezes over. The more protected bays such as Brest Bay can offer a chance at walleyes and perch. Make sure to check with local bait shops for current ice reports before heading out.

The aforementioned areas in Monroe County along Lake Erie and into the Detroit River offer almost countless private and public boat launches, parks, bait and tackle stores and facilities to clean fish. The same great amenities can be found for fisherman friendly lodging for your visit.

Plan a trip to Michigan’s Cornerstone | Monroe County to fish, boat, learn some of its history or just enjoy some time away. You won’t be disappointed.