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We are looking for a clean place to stay mid April that won’t break the bank. Boat parking a must

I put my 18ft deep v on lake Erie for the first time last year, and thanks to all the help from this forum, I had a great experience. Was planning on going some more last year, but I moved and took some time to sell old house so didn’t get a whole lot of fishing done. This year I am planning on giving it another go. Last year I had two buddies with me that were pretty good fishermen. This year my first trip will be in early June, and I’m taking my daughter, my brother, and his son. They are nowhere close to the fisherman I had with me last year, so this could take a little more work on my part. Anyway, this year I was planning on staying in Port Clinton. Last year I launched out of Catawba. Is there a good boat launch close to Port Clinton that I could launch from? What would be my best choice? Again any help is much appreciated.

Thought I’d start a little ice fishing conversation.

Lake water temperature off Toledo is 37 degrees (Wednesday, January 10). That means it has to drop five degrees to get to freezing temp. 39 off Cleveland.

Even with this forecast real cold spell coming, starting this Saturday and going through all of next week (daytime highs in the low 20’s / upper teens, nights in the single digits), I don’t think it’s going to be enough to get any significant ice on the main Lake by the 20-21 weekend. However, just looked at the Port Clinton Janauary forecast and the real cold is forecast to continue, with only a few days into the upper 20’s. If that holds, we may get good enough ice (barring lots of wind) by the January 27-28 weekend. If the cold continues into February, by the first weekend in February we could have good ice fishing.

Rare for water temp to be so high a third of the way through January. Wondering if that might be too warm to cool down to freezing and allow for good ice formation by the January 27/28 weekend.

Thoughts?

This is my post so bear with me… You all share so much that I feel wrong to not contribute what experiences I have. Also, I may get some pointers as I am only in my 2nd year of serious fishing. We launched from Catabwa at sunrise despite the below freezing temps and worse than expected wind. Put the soft enclosure up and had a heater though never needed to turn it on. We headed out north and east just below and probably a mile or 2 east south bass. Started marking fish as soon as we hit 32 FOW. Tried trolling the break around the edge of a deeper bowl. Wind was kickin my butt. The trolling motor auto-pilot i believe runs off GPS signal VS direction I point the motor because it wanted to turn 20 degrees into the wind. Obviously I was tracking sideways, but it was frustrating with the current pulling pretty hard to the ENE I believe. (forgot the fish hawk just guessing by way boards ran) So I screwed around most of the morning trying to troll with the wind( couldnt maintain my heading and keep it under 1.7 due to wind speed) so I tried going into the wind which was equally frustrating and unproductive. Decided we would just be at the mercy of nature and do our best. Got on a school of feeders right about 40 FOW and trolling NNE with the wind it lasted around 1 mile. Out even or a bit past the small “island” there. We had 1 triple trying to get turned around. Picked up ran back up and we were done about 12:30pm. 3 man limit. We stuck with bandits from 100-130 back at 1.5 give or take. Best colors were taco salad and orange crush for us. Though we didnt switch many out only to put more of those 2 colors on as they were bringing in fish. Nothing very large My wife got to come and she had a blast enjoying the amazing fishery God has given us. The whole experience, from being fortunate enough to own a boat that is safe and well equipped, the ride out on the water this time of year- building ice on the boat, getting on some active fish… Its all just an amazing gift. Thank you all for the time and effort you put into this forum. Good luck to all and be safe. Cold water is no joke. I am looking at weather reports now for tuesday. Our PA has been on maternity leave and we have been going through it. Tomorrow will be down due to parts and I really want to head out but it looks pretty close to dangerous. 3 hour drive.

Anyone go out of Turtle Creek/Locust Point recently?
Wondering if it is iced up or open to launch.
thanks,

ben tying jigs all year orders 166 dozen on one order 6000 jigs on another one same contact number text is best but can call 419 708 0131 sizes 5/8 3/4 and[ 1 ounce all jigs come with wire stinger and hook bonnet

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It was wet, overcast and foggy most of the day, just how the walleyes like it :). It was also very calm, but that didn’t seem to matter. Launched out of Catawba about the time of sunrise and headed toward to an area just south of Starve Island. I trolled the south side of “the hole” for a couple hours and easily got my limit and then some of decent size eyes. Seemed to be hitting best in 32 to 35 fow. I tried the deep area and noticed some good marks on the bottom in 50 to 60 fow. I did get a 25 incher down deep with a DDHJ14 but decided to try a little jigging with a jigging rap and an Acme hyper rattle. The only thing I pulled up was a couple of snagged catfish, so maybe most of those marks were cats instead of eyes.
I left that area and wanted to try the area between Green and Rattlesnake so I headed up there until I found some good marks in 33 fow. Fished there for a couple hours, landing what was probably the largest of the day, around 6.75 lbs. The bite was fairly slow there and a guy told me at the launch that they were having pretty good success jigging and trolling around F can so I decided I would finish the day down there.
I really wanted to get some by jigging, so I tried I tried a gold Thundermist Stingnose for about a half hour and only got a very small (maybe 13″) walleye using that method. I really feel lost when it comes to jigging, just never have much success. I’m sure someone on this forum could probably give me a lot of pointers on how to successfully jig for eyes in cold water conditions.
In summary, best lure was a yellow pink and purple DDHJ14 with black marks on the sides, probably pulled in 10 with just that lure. The lures that worked best were the ones with contrasting color, but yellow seemed to be a consistent catcher. Speed was 1.1 to 1.7 depending if I was trolling with the current or against it. Bite was mostly deeper, anywhere from 4 to 8 feet off the bottom depending where I was. Definitely one of my best days on Erie.
Hope you all have have a great end to 2023 and a blessed New Year!
Lynn

Merry Christmas! And thanks for all the helpful posts throughout 2023.

While cleaning perch this fall, a fellow I met at the fish cleaning station talked about casting crankbaits for walleye off of the brake walls protecting the entrances to the harbors on Catawba. He talked about doing it from dark until midnight right up until the ice forms. I’m curious if folks still do that and wonder if it’s too late this year to give it a try. With the mild temps I’m wanting to give it a try between now and the first of the year.

It was a slow pick today. We managed a two person limit, but we fished from 8:15 am to 1:30pm to get them. We had several fish that bit, but didn’t stay hooked up. Found fish about 2.8 miles NE of the lighthouse in 32-35 fow. Marked lots of fish deep but had our best luck getting the ones around 18-20 ft down to bite. Best trolling speeds were around 1.5 mph and we use a variety of lures. Boated a few with Madeye Minnow in Icy Barbie color, a few on a Gold/Orange Berkley Hit Stick on 2 colors of lead core, and several on PWC custom with yellow belly and dots on the side. The average size was around 22″ and we released a 28″ mama. It was a beautiful, calm, Christmas Eve day on the water, even with the fog. We are truly blessed to be able to enjoy this fishery. Merry Christmas everyone.

We caught a 2 man limit today off Lorain. Fished in 45′ to 55′ water. Fish finder was lit up from 30′ to the bottom. Most were 24″ to 28″ and fat too. The hot bait was P10 “Marvin”. We caught several on custom orange & gold bandits. 3 ounce weights 80 to 100 feet back, 1.5 to 1.9 mph. Lake was flat and the fog was thick…. maybe 200′ of visabity. A little nerve racking when you can hear a boat coming in hot but can’t see it. Great day to be on the water especially for the end of December.