Maumee River and Lake Erie Conditions, November 16, 2018

Havent heard many reports the last few days from anyone on the river. I went down and took a quick look yesterday and the conditions looked  great for some steelhead- cold and relatively clear water.  I know the saugeye have been biteing decent up in Grand Rapids Ohio. Just a reminder that Grand rapids is a small town on the Maumee  just about 15 miles up the river from us here in the baitshop here in Maumee.

Western Basin Lake Erie Surface Temp is 40 degrees along the shallower shoreling and around 44 degrees towards the deeper water.

As water temperatures drop and Lake Erie  and  many inland lakes experience fall turnover, walleyes go on the offensive, simply meaning that most of the walleyes begin to feed aggressively in the middle of the day, in addition to the prime times of twilight and after dark.  Trolling crankbaits is great way to catch big fall walleyes. Anglers have sucess running crankbaits about  14-20 feet down, over edges and drop-offs. It can be important to “match the hatch,”  on several lakes in the in this part of the country  there is a fall migration of perch.What i mean is the  perch move into mid-depth weedlines,and reefs and can stay there until falling water temps chase them into deeper water. Wherever the perch go, so go the walleyes.

Cast artificial floating minnow baits in late fall, at night, and be stealthy about it. Big walleyes can be skittish, but if you approach them carefully and get baits where they are feeding, the results can be spectacular.

Be Safe, Have Fun and Good Luck Fishing