Lake Erie Smallmouth

[wileybass]

Hey everyone, 

I spent this past sunday on Lake Erie out of Sandusky Bay.  I've had great days on Erie around the islands but that has mostly been in Spring.  Sunday was a grind with only 6 smallmouth to show for the day all less than 3 pounds and all coming on a drop shot or ned rig.  The lake was pretty rough so that made it hard to effectively fish shoals so we spent most of our time behind islands out of some of the wind.  I'm headed back this saturday to try and redeem myself.  If anyone had any advice on depths or presentations to try it would be greatly appreciated.  I don't need or want specific spots just a fresh idea or two to help make a better day.  Thanks!

[tkunk]

I'm not familiar with Lake Erie, but I do fish Lake Michigan. You said you were out of the wind. For smallies, you should almost always fish the wind-blown side of any structure, assuming you can do it safely and water clarity isn't an issue. If the water's turbid, find a different wind-blown spot with clearer water.

 

When it's windy, burning spinnerbaits and fishing deep cranks and jerkbaits aggressively is usually a good idea. If those presentations aren't working, point your bow into the wind, try to keep your speed at 0.8 with your trolling motor, and troll a tube or drop shot across the bottom. Try to stay on the windy side of every piece of structure.

 

Wind is your friend once you figure out how to fish it. I don't think I've ever had a huge day in the summer in anything less than three footers.

[J Francho]

They're probably still in their scattered, summer patterns.  Look for bait fish.  On Ontario, that can mean 15' or 40'.  Don't forget the Hopkin's Shorty spoon either.  That with the drop shot are about the only tools I need.

[Crestliner2008]

The key here (and on any other body of water this time of the year) is location. Find bait fish, with your sonar, relating to structure (humps, drop offs, submerged islands, etc.) and start there. Don't go looking for fish. If you find the bait, the fish will not be far away.

 

In your situation I certainly would be focused on the drop shot as my main presentation technique.

[J Francho]

45 minutes ago, Crestliner2008 said:

Find bait fish, with your sonar, relating to structure (humps, drop offs, submerged islands, etc.) and start there. Don't go looking for fish.

 

Exactly.  I don't often see actual bass on the graph, but I do see carpets of bait, a couple of fee thick on the bottom.  Once I start fishing those areas, then I see the bass appear, and come off the bottom to take my bait.  Then, hopefully, there's that thick jagged line to the surface, where that fish meets my net

[wileybass]

Thanks for all of the input.  I tried drifting shoals but couldn't keep my speed below 1mph with 4 footers so I got out of the wind hoping to run into a few stray bass.  I'll hope for slightly less wind and give the shoals another shot.  

Tight lines