Erie, PA

[Bass Afishinado]

Anybody going out around Erie, PA?  My brothers - Jenga / AlThang are out right now through this weekend.  Black Skeeter - should be fishing around the Cribs and Shades beach.  Go over and say hi if you see them.

[NateFollmer]

If you take me out on the lake I'll come up and say Hi Erie's a good 4 hour drive for me but I really want to get up there! I hope to hit it next spring when the Steelhead are running through the streams, that way I can fly fish and then also fish for bass

[Bass Afishinado]

I just spoke with my bros said the fishing out there is awful!  There is a major Emerald Shiner spawn and the bass are gorging on them.  Almost impossible to catch in Erie.  They are ready to pack it up and go to the best smallmouth fishery in America - Lake St. Clair. 

[jenga]

Yep, just got back from Erie on Sunday.  Fished between the cribs all the way to the W's.  Did not catch one fish in Erie.  Caught all my fish in the bay.  I saw a bunch they just wouldn't bite anything.  I threw everything I had at them, even put a jerkbait right in front of a bass and it didn't want it.  I even tried live bait and that didnt work.  I don't think I will ever try Lk. Erie again (at leaste near Erie PA). I might try closer to home.   But I can tell you one thing I have fished Erie twice and from what I can see Lk. St. Clair is way better.

Jenga

[roadwarrior]

I think it depends on where you fish and who you

are fishing with. This is a typical post by Dwight:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1274298524

8-)

[midnighthrasher]

I drove 7 hrs this weekend to fish ERIE and the fishing was awesome. Caught about 125-150 fish over  2 days. Best fishing of my life

[jenga]

Where did you fish.  When I was there fishing was really hard. I drove 6 hrs and didn't catch much.  Everyone I talked to that weekend said that fishing was tough on erie.  When I got back I fished LSC and caught alot of smallies in 4 to 5 fow most were 3 to 4 pounds.

Jenga

[Lucky Craft Man]

These are the reports I like to see.  Erie sucks, everyone please stay home.  (Actually, there are way too many boats out there nowadays, so this is more of a wish)

[bugman]

Erie & PIB are a great fishery, that being said not every outing is going to get you 100 fish days. The Smallie fishing seems to be off a little bit this spring.

Large Mouth bite has been above average for me this year.

I'm not concerned about the amount of fishermen on the water, it's the pleasure crafts that are a pain.

[jenga]

Im sure erie is a great smallie fishery.  But I only live 45 min from Lk St. Clair and I think I can catch as big of fish there as I can in erie.  Plus it seems that PIB smallies are really small.  Im not going to make the drive anymore when I can catch the same thing only 45 min. away.

Jenga

[Lucky Craft Man]

Im sure erie is a great smallie fishery. But I only live 45 min from Lk St. Clair and I think I can catch as big of fish there as I can in erie. Plus it seems that PIB smallies are really small. Im not going to make the drive anymore when I can catch the same thing only 45 min. away.

Jenga

I know when I first fished Erie, I didn't do so great.  I'm sure if I went to Lake St. Clair, I would suck it up the first few times as well.  This is true with any lake.  It takes a little time to find those sweet spots, but when you do, you will be rewarded.  I agree with you, if Lake St. Clair is that close and you know the water well, then why make the drive to Erie? 

[jenga]

I am sure I would improve as I fished it more. When I first started fishing LSC I didn't do so well.  But now I can go and catch fish everytime I go out.  I know I will give Erie a try again just wont be for awhile. 

Jenga

[Dwight Hottle]

Jenga,

A bad fishing trip is like a hemroid. It takes time to get over it.  ;D

[reo]

Im sure erie is a great smallie fishery. But I only live 45 min from Lk St. Clair and I think I can catch as big of fish there as I can in erie. Plus it seems that PIB smallies are really small. Im not going to make the drive anymore when I can catch the same thing only 45 min. away.

Jenga

I cannot fathom driving to Erie, Pa to fish for smallies if I was living 45 minutes from St. Clair unless I had family or business in Erie. Just don't make sense to me. Traverse Bay area or western Lake Erie would be my choices if I wanted a change from LSC.

[jenga]

The only reason why my brother and I drove to fish Erie was because my cousins live in Maryland and it is half way between us to meet up and fish.  So we gave it a try for two years and now we won't go back for awhile. There are a ton of spots I would like to try like torch lk and Grand lake and traversbay area as well for smallies.  They are a lot closer to home so maybe we will try those next year.  The other thing that sucks is while I was out in Erie. LSC was on.

Jenga

[Lucky Craft Man]

The only reason why my brother and I drove to fish Erie was because my cousins live in Maryland and it is half way between us to meet up and fish. So we gave it a try for two years and now we won't go back for awhile. There are a ton of spots I would like to try like torch lk and Grand lake and traversbay area as well for smallies. They are a lot closer to home so maybe we will try those next year. The other thing that sucks is while I was out in Erie. LSC was on.

Jenga

Well, at least you got to spend time with your cousins...that's what fishing is really all about anyway.

[bugman]

Every lake has it's own style of fishing. I fish central Fla in March and spend 90% of my time in 3' of Tea stained water. In September you can find me in northern Michigan in gin clear water 65' deep. PIB has weed & sand flats, 25 ' ledges and every thing between. I hear LSC has massive flats of 10' water.    ( would love to give it a try) My point is that there all good in their own way. I fish within 1.5 hours of my home 80% of the time but take road trips as much as I can.

[Waynesurfin]

Where are the W’s on lake Erie? I hear it’s close to Erie PA but I’m not very familiar with the place. 

[Jeff Browning]

I'm curious about the landmarks (lake marks) people use up there too.  The "W's", the cribs, Camel Humps?  Huh?  Nothing on the charts look like that to me and there are cribs everywhere.  This will be my first year going Erie as I finally have a boat that I think is suitable.  Any help for a new guy would be greatly appreciated.  

 

I plan to try the Cleveland area too, I live about equal distances between Erie and Cleveland.

[Ksam1234]

I see this is an old thread but I can’t imagine how they think st Clair is better than Lake Erie. I have lived next to Lake Erie my entire life and the first fishing is amazing. You can catch 50 smallmouth a day easy, specially the time they were out. May and June is best season.. if anyone ever want something to fish Lake Erie let me know. @Jeff Browning

[Jeff Browning]

Thanks - I definitely will!

[fishballer06]

On 4/18/2019 at 11:54 AM, Waynesurfin said:

Where are the W’s on lake Erie? I hear it’s close to Erie PA but I’m not very familiar with the place. 

 

I'm still not sure why they're called the W's, but if you launch out of PIB, once you get out of the chute, run about ~10 miles (I'm honestly not sure how far it is), and stay about a mile from shore. If the fish are biting, you'll know you're there because there will be a bunch of boats there. 

 

 

As for the cribs, I believe they're a little further out from the chute at PI. I've personally never been there, but guys have taken my money by running there. 

[KHNC]

I didnt do any good at the cribs, shades or the w's during the 3 days i tried it June 2016. Did pretty good in PIB and thompson bay tho. Wasnt worth the trip from NC in my opinion. I am going back this year, but plan to try the Central Basin Ohio this year.