World-class Lake Erie smallmouth bass fishing!

[eriequest]

Fall is by far one of the best times to fish for Smallmouth Bass and Yellow Perch on Lake Erie. This is a great time to catch your limit of big fish.

Lake Erie smallmouth bass like to stock up ahead for winter, a time when they are likely feeding heavily on Emerald Shiners and gizzard shad plentiful in the lake. So, the key is to locate baitfish. That's where you will find the smallies.

Smallmouth bass are pound for pound, one of the strongest sport fish in fresh water. Lake Erie smallmouth bass will put up a fight that will test even the most seasoned angler. They're big, powerful fish with a hearty disposition! Just ask these young bronzeback anglers from Indiana!


When fishing for smallmouth bass in October and November, I focus on rock laiden shallow structures. This past Saturday, Oct. 25, we fished shallow rock shelves that were adjacent to deeper water, also with some rocky humps. Fish can be at any depth, but you will mostly want to look in 9 to 14 feet of water, due to the cooling water temperatures and location of bait fish.

Smallmouth Bass gather in big schools of up to 50-80 fish, at this time of year. So once located...it can be some fantastic Bronzeback fishing! We caught 46 smallmouth bass, most averaging around 3-4 pounds, with 6 bass over 5 pounds...in about 4 hours




We fished for yellow perch in the deep water along the American and Canadian border, and were rewarded with a "limit" of Yellow Plumpkins. A friend of mine was fishing for walleye on one of my favorite shoals near Pelee and caught his limit of "toothy ones" on gold bladed harnesses, tipped with crawlers.

Capt. Rick
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