Hey Lake Erie! 2024
roadwarrior reply :
I want to see some fish.
You guys "got it goin' on", but let's see what ya got.
8-)
bassnleo reply :
Wish I could help ya! I have not yet been able to make it up but after this weekend Erie is my plans.
flyhatch pm'd me yesterday, he is planning on going up this weekend.
flyhatch reply :
i am leaving at 4am this sunday
look for some pics on sunday night
Dwight Hottle reply :
Roadwarrior,
Here is a Lake Erie smallie from 4/30/08 caught on a hair jig. 22" long by 17" girth, weighed 6lb-14oz.
zo6fisherman reply :
WOW what a cow nice fish man
flyhatch reply :
well we still plan on heading up tommorow but there is a small craft advisary untill 10 am west winds 15 to 20 knots with 3 to 5 foot wave subsiding to 1 to 3 footers.
we will probaly hang out in the bay until we see whats up with the main lake.
ill keep ya posted
Don B reply :
Dwight Hottle.......That is a freakin' pig! That fish is just a goby meal or two shy of being a 7 pounder!
roadwarrior reply :
QuoteRoadwarrior,Here is a Lake Erie smallie from 4/30/08 caught on a hair jig. 22" long by 17" girth, weighed 6lb-14oz.
Welcome aboard!
That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
She's a beauty.
8-)
Hung up Paul reply :
Holy cow! You caught that in the lake proper?
I grew up on Lake Ontario fishing mainly the tributaries for smallmouth. It never even crossed my mind to fish in the lake itself. Too cold, no cover, rough water etc... I figured lake fishing was primarily for the salmon fishermen.
SuskyDude reply :
Thats a beautiful fish! I gotta get to Erie!
thetr20one reply :
It was supposed to be a nice weekend for the big lake. Man I wish I wasn't busy today. I do have plans to be there next weekend though. I can't wait!!!
dgquail reply :
Thats awesome, I want some!
flyhatch reply :
well I am back
the big lake was too rough for our 17 footer, we gave it a go but no dice.
we spend the rest of day catching hungry largies, but did manage two smallies in the bay. This is my Buddy Ron with one of them.
even confined to wind free areas we managed a 16 healthy fish with the best 6 easly going over 20 pounds.
tubes and jigs and dropshotted worms worked well near packs of bait fish.
flyhatch reply :
sorry about the pic, croped and shrunk the heck out of it.
but thats what im left with
roadwarrior reply :
I see most of it, nice fish!
8-)
muskyxl reply :
QuoteRoadwarrior,Here is a Lake Erie smallie from 4/30/08 caught on a hair jig. 22" long by 17" girth, weighed 6lb-14oz.
Thats a beauty!! Nice going...
SissySticks reply :
QuoteRoadwarrior,Here is a Lake Erie smallie from 4/30/08 caught on a hair jig. 22" long by 17" girth, weighed 6lb-14oz.
Isn't it amazing how much different in physical appearance a 7 lb. smallmouth appears than a 5 lb. smallmouth? It seems like a much bigger discrepancy than the difference between 5 and 7 pound largemouths. That thing makes my pb 5 lb. smallie look like a minnow.
roadwarrior reply :
Smallmouth tend to be shorter and fatter, hence the
nickname "football". In a picture the difference is striking
because the 7 is literally much more massive than the 5.
Typically, a 7 lb largemouth is longer and thinner than a 5
and doesn't appear that much different in a lot of photos.
Also when 5s are not weighed on a scale, they look exactly
like 7s & 8s!
8-)
SissySticks reply :
You're totally correct there, I'm just always astonished when I see one that size how just truly WIDE they are. I love smallies. Spots kind of are the same in that regard actually... Short and powerful.
QuoteSmallmouth tend to be shorter and fatter, hence thenickname "football". In a picture the difference is striking
because the 7 is literally much more massive than the 5.
Typically, a 7 lb largemouth is longer and thinner than a 5
and doesn't appear that much different in a lot of photos.
Also when 5s are not weighed on a scale, they look exactly
like 7s & 8s!
8-)
thetr20one reply :
I caught a 5-9 smallie that was 18 inches long literally. I wish I had the pics to show the girth of that fish. It was july at Erie so I don't thinks she was full of eggs. I think she have may have just gorged herself, her belly was huge and her back was a good 4 inches plus thick. Some Erie fish just amaze you especially the range of colors and striping!!!
Dwight Hottle reply :
Here is a new PB from last week. Weighed 7lb-6oz and measured 22" long by 17" girth. She is still swimming.
thetr20one reply :
Dwight those are awesome fish. That hair jig? Would you care to elaborate on the presentation? No secrets of course just in general do you drag em, cast em let em sink and work them over structure or possibly cast to suspending fish and work it through the pack?
Dwight Hottle reply :
I typically drift with the wind over structure dragging the jig tipped with golden shinners. Most of the time I work jerk baits. Here is a picture of my long time fishing buddy holding two smallies weighing 13 lbs caught last week.
SuskyDude reply :
I've said it before, and Ill say it again: I gotta get to Erie!!!
thetr20one reply :
Nice smallies also. I just wished you had said I drag em over structure and there is something bout that hair jig that just makes em go nuts. :'(D-mm-t. Maybe I'll have to give the shiners a go when I am just fishin for fun.
Masshole Mike reply :
those are some massive smallies! i'm in awe... 
roadwarrior reply :
Dwight Hottle,
Welcome aboard!
Your PB is one of the most beautiful smallmouth I have ever seen.
Congratulations!
8-)
Dwight Hottle reply :
Roadwarrior,
Thanks for the compliment. Breaking the the 7lb mark has been my goal for the last couple of years. Here is a second shot of the same fish. The biologists say the great lakes smallie population is sufering from the gobies interfering with successful spawning but the extra food source the gobies provide in the food chain makes the existing smallies even bigger & thicker per inch of length. We catch a very high ratio of six pounders to overall fish caught. I keep thinking that yesterdays 6 lber is tomorrows 7lber & todays 7lber is soon to become an 8lber.
FrenchCrkBasser reply :
QuoteI typically drift with the wind over structure dragging the jig tipped with golden shinners. Most of the time I work jerk baits. Here is a picture of my long time fishing buddy holding two smallies weighing 13 lbs caught last week.
I was wondering about those hair jigs you caught that big guy on. It looks like it is made out of Rabbit Fur. Can you elaborate on the construction of it? Also what kind of Jig head is used on it?
Not, asking you to share your secrets, I'm just looking to tie a few myself.
thanks
Dwight Hottle reply :
Good eye. The hair jigs I use are made by Jensen Jigs. He does tie some with rabbit fur.
roadwarrior reply :
Well, I recall an article by In-Fisherman that expressed an entirely different view. The clearing water (zebra mussels) combined with a new and abundant food source (goby) has resulted in a smallmouth population explosion. For the foreseeable future, your numbers will continue to grow exponentially and size should improve.
I hope they are right!
8-)
thetr20one reply :
QuoteWell, I recall an article by In-Fisherman that expressed an entirely different view. The clearing water (zebra mussels) combined with a new and abundant food source (goby) has resulted in a smallmouth population explosion. For the foreseeable future, your numbers will continue to grow exponentially and size should improve.I hope they are right!
8-)
I believe I read a similar article RW. They also noted walleye are the fish that have had trouble adjusting to the clarity because of their supreme vision and light sensitivity . We still catch smaller smallmouth.I have a charter captain friend who books more night charters now than ever. I have read before my time Johnny Carson joked that Lake Erie was the place fish go to die. I am 33 and the first time I saw Erie it wasn't the oily chocolate milk that caught fire but, it was not beautiful. Now it is! At times I would say the most beautiful lake water I have ever seen. I have a book copyrighted 2001 that says water clarity has improved 200% lakewide and as much as 600% lakewide since 1972. WOW. Now instead of seeing 6 inches into the water I can so 600 inches. I think how far you can actually see with your eyes is only limited by light penetration and your eyes. Depth vision changes with wave height, sun height and river runoff. I will try to find or take a pic with an angle good to see the color to post. I think this lake has spoiled me in the way that unless I would have a tournament at another big fish lake in the South or West I really have no desire to travel that far to fish them. Even with the beautiful landscapes surrounding them. Erie has everything from shallow waters around the islands too the deep around Buffalo. Good fishing in every harbor and the best walleye fishing in the world. Conservative areas /Parting areas it's all here. #1 problem IMO. It freezes and gets really cold here. I will take that in trade I guess I do sometimes need motovation to hunt anymore and ice here gets me in the woods. This problably sounds like alot of hype but,all you have to do is ask around. As I sit here typing the local news is on the weather with a shot of the lake and one of its lighthouses and the weatherman says "AND HERE IS A SHOT OF OUR BEAUTIFUL LAKE". I will leave this post there
Masshole Mike reply :
dwight my man, that 7+ is an absolutely gorgeous smallie. congrats on landing a real beaut!
zachvii reply :
Those are some nice fish.....That 7lb smallie is a DONKEY!
Hung up Paul reply :
The size of these fish that I'm seeing is SICK!
I grew up on Lake Ontario and still visit family every July. How come Ontario doesn't produce the same fish as Erie? Is it because it's deeper and cooler??
SPAZ reply :
QuoteThe size of these fish that I'm seeing is SICK!I grew up on Lake Ontario and still visit family every July. How come Ontario doesn't produce the same fish as Erie? Is it because it's deeper and cooler??
Lake Erie is the warmest great lake and that pretty much has a lot to do with it. The other lakes are still too cold to have Smallies the same size as Erie.
Champ Girl reply :
I fish Lake Erie a lot... most of the pictures i've posted have come from there...
here's another picture 
Erie is awesome fishing!
BassinBoy reply :
QuoteThe size of these fish that I'm seeing is SICK!I grew up on Lake Ontario and still visit family every July. How come Ontario doesn't produce the same fish as Erie? Is it because it's deeper and cooler??
Erie is also very shallow for its size. I dont know what affect this has on the fish but it makes it warmer too.
related Smallmouth Bass Fishing topic
previous topic
next topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.