Tips for successful Lake Erie fishing in 2024

Danielle Langenfeld
·3 min read
Tips for successful Lake Erie fishing in 2024

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(WJW) – Lake Erie has been called The Walleye Capital of the World and experts expect that name to hold throughout the 2024 fishing season.

In addition, experts at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources predict a good season for bass anglers and a stable season for yellow perch anglers — that’s if they know where to look.

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Here is a 2024 outlook with tips for anglers provided by ODNR:

Walleye

  • The walleye daily limit on Lake Erie is six fish per angler with a 15-inch minimum length requirement.

  • Walleye hatch success has been well above average for six consecutive years.

  • Anglers will mostly catch abundant 2- to 6-year-old-fish ranging from 15 to 24 inches.

  • Anglers are encouraged to release sub-legal fish with as little handling as possible so they can contribute to the future fishery.

  • In 2023, Ohio’s anglers caught and released more than 1 million small walleye.

  • “The 2023 walleye hatch index showed above-average results in the western and central basins,” said Travis Hartman, Lake Erie Fisheries Program Administrator for the Division of Wildlife in a press release. “We expect walleye anglers to find outstanding fishing across the lake.”

Bass

  • Smallmouth bass and largemouth bass fishing will remain good with opportunity for trophy catches.

  • The daily limit is five bass per day, with a 14-inch minimum size requirement until Tuesday, April 30, 2024, and again from Saturday, June 22, 2024, to April 30, 2025.

  • During the spawning season, from May 1 to June 21, 2024, anglers may harvest one bass per day with a minimum size requirement of 18 inches.

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Yellow Perch

  • Yellow perch daily limits remain unchanged compared to 2023, with a daily limit of 30 perch in the west zone, 10 in the central zone, and 30 in the east zone

  • Conservative quotas ensure that sustainable spawning stocks will allow the best opportunity for population recovery.

Lake Erie’s West Zone: Toledo to Huron

  • Yellow perch abundance stable

  • Warm water during July and August provided a majority of angler yellow perch harvest in 2023.

  • The best success is anticipated during July through mid-August when the water temperature is above 76°

  • And, again from mid-October through November as adult perch move to shallower water to feed at water temperatures below 60°.

  • Abundant perch from 7 to 10 inches will dominate the catch, with jumbo 12-inch and larger fish from older year classes also contributing to the catch.

Lake Erie’s Central Zone: Huron to Fairport Harbor

  • Low yellow perch abundance

  • Catch rates are expected to remain low

  • Late-season fishing in 2023 provided some limited opportunities from Vermilion to Avon and off Cleveland.

Lake Erie’s East Zone: Fairport Harbor to Conneaut

  • Yellow perch population has declined below the prior 20-year average

  • Moderate hatches from 2019 and 2021 have kept abundance above that in the central zone

  • Catch rates are expected to remain low during the 2024 season except for times such as late fall when adult perch congregate in larger schools near harbors.

  • Five-year-old perch from the moderate 2019 year class will average about 9 inches in length with some reaching 12 inches.

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