Lake Erie And Presque Isle Bay

[Fordman]

Anyone fish just outside the bay for smallies? I've fished the bay 6 times in the last 5 years but never ventured to the lake. Was wondering if it was better fishing just outside the bay. Ive talked to different people and some say it's better on the main lake and some say the bay. Any info would be great. Not looking for anyone's hot spot just some good info. Thanks

[Phish]

It always depends on timing and the main lake will almost always be better. If you hit the spawn right in the bay, then it's comparable. In my experience at least.

From my experience and from everything I've read over the years, the main lake is of course the best for smallies. Average size on main lake is also far better than the bay, save for a small window in spring where perhaps the bay can fish almost as well as main lake, at least for numbers. And there are plenty of opportunities within just a mile or two of Presque Isle. I hope to try some areas in that section tomorrow.

I'm on vacation at Erie now and the bay has been a complete dud compared to many years. It's also an absolute zoo on weekends with tons of boat traffic / pressure around common smallie staging and spawning areas. It was on fire in mid-May but has since cooled. Perhaps it's the rain and temp drops, but it's possible many have spawned already and started to migrate back to main lake. I was catching largemouth already with red sores in their tails, a sign they've even started prespawn bedding.

I typically average 25 a day in the bay in June, after the peak bay fishing has typically passed, but so far this week it's been 10 a day, per person, biggest one was 3.5 pounds and only about 3-4 around 3#. If you follow pro Dave Lefebre on Facebook he was posting 75-125 fish per day results a few weeks ago in the Bay. Maybe it will pick up again with some steady weather. One last note, that bay is very stained. 1-2' visibility. Main lake around North East on Tuesday was clear. Can't stand seeing the bay so murky.

We did much better for numbers and size in main lake.

[Fordman]

Thanks great info. We did good the weekend of May 17th. Went back memorial weekend and caught less than half the fish. I would like to fish outside the bay but know nothing about that area. We took a ride out just to look and there were no boats anywhere and the bay was full of boats. Is it worth fishing outside the bay like around the old smoke stacks and the shoreline? Don't really want to go far out on lake just outside the bay.

[Phish]

Shoot me a direct message or email. There are some great areas within a mile of the bay, but I don't need to post them here. Some are common some, not so much.

I was stuck to the bay today. Hope to get out on the lake tomorrow and should at least be able to tell you how they're biting near shore on main lake.