Lake Erie Walleye Run,,,2014 Was Great!!

[Capt.Bob]

Been fishing this river run for over 40 years, this year was great, kinda different than the last 10 or so years. This year with the real winter and spring back on time (it was not late) everything was back like it used to be. The rains kept the water levels high for the most part, and the fish kept pull'n. This was the first year in a long time you could still pull limits after the first week of May. The freezer is restocked and I am stocked up for another year. The last few tripp's kept a few White Bass for the smoker as well.    

 

Didn't unhook the "METAL "MISS" FIT" the whole month of May!! Been pretty descent Crappie fish'n the last 2 weeks,love this time of the season.

 

 

 

 

[SirSnookalot]

Nice to see you released the larger breeders and kept the small ones for the table.

[Capt.Bob]

Nice to see you released the larger breeders and kept the small ones for the table.

Don't think this is an average limit. This was the last one of the year, the 11th of May. This is when the limit goes to 6 fish after May 1st. For 42 years I have fished this run, the largest Walleye Run in the World! Less than 10% of Lake Eries Walleye run up the rivers, 85 to 90% spawn out in the Lake on the many reefs, and Lake Erie has held the title #1 Walleye destination and fishery in the world for some time, and the fishing stays world class!!! Sometimes you have to understand, whats good for some bodies of water isn't for others,,, and vise versa!!!!  Walleye Bluegill and Yellow Perch,,,,,I DON'T PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE. I do however fill my freezer ever year with the finest table fare there is available.

 

I keep mainly 20" - 23" fish, and mostly males, as that is what I find has the least red meat to remove and the texture is my favorite for deep frying and baking. I do however keep several limits a year of fish over 26" for the grill, these thicker fillets are better as they don't dry out as much. Bass are not what I consider edible and are great catch and release species, the best thing about them is they fight great for there size, that's about it! Walleye are the best eating fish and are considered by most catch and eat!! Trust me, when I was young and did iron work my Buisness Agent knew better than try and get me to go to work from the middle of March to the middle of May,,,,,,priorities. I fish it 4 to 6 days a week during that time every year, the flooded river is full of life this time of year, and by mid May, the walleye are almost non existent till the following March, when fisherman that know the river can catch a 100 or more of these beautiful fish most every day during that time. It hasn't changed in 42 years and there are many that keep nothing but the big hogs,,,,,,to each their own, but one thing is for sure, fishing these fish is showing no harm to one of the best fishing Lakes in the world!!!!

 

Now that the freezer is full for another year,,,,,,I can practice catch and release, come home and kick back after a day of fishing, not have to get em filleted freeze yesterdays and soak todays, get a shower and get to bed to run 65 miles agin at 4am day after day,,,,,,,,,whew,,,,,,it's tough but someone has to do it!!!!

[F14A-B]

I never caught a walleye... I know it's a game fish

I would love to have had access too! However

We do have runs of Sauger in the Ohio river

By louisville .. And it's a blast... Just super fun!

Sounds like a great year for you!

[MCS]

Good catches bob. Man I remember walleye as a kid my uncle would catch and grandmother would cook. Good eats indeed