Two days of Lake Erie fun

PORT CLINTON, OH — When the calendar flips to May, I start scanning the Weather Channel to read the forecast for Port Clinton, Ohio. The fishing at the Buckeye State’s ultimate fishery can be nothing short of the best catching of the season. Walleye limits are the norm for anglers who make a May run to Lake Erie. Largemouth bass in the harbors are never more cooperative as they are in May.

Originally, I decided to chase smallmouth bass on my mid-May run to Lake Erie. My lodging was a campsite in East Harbor State Park where I receive the Golden Buckeye “old guy” discount. When I decided to pitch my tent after angling instead of before, I headed across East Harbor with my sights on the Bass Island waters. However, the breakwalls leaving East Harbor were void of anglers and the temptation to make a few casts was too much to overcome.

A dozen largemouth later, I made the run to the north shore of Kelleys Island to find it empty of fellow fishermen. An hour of fishless casts made it clear as to why nobody else was fishing there. I scooted over to South Bass Island where the smallmouth were hiding in nine feet of water close to the rocky shoreline.

The other contribution from Mother Naturewas the violent thunderstorm rolling across the lake from west to east. Since I already possess a death defying Lake Erie storm
story,  I ran across the channel between South Bass Island and Middle Bass Island where I waited out the storm at restaurant that serves the best grilled cheese sandwich and tater tots anywhere on the planet.

The smallmouth bass proved very cooperative after the storm finally dissipated, especially around Middle Bass Island’s southern shoreline. The action on day 2 of my mini-trip proved to be another successful outing for the brown bass. This time I found the bass around Rattlesnake Island, as did Colton Blanton. Colton was using a different approach than the Ned rigs I was throwing, but his success rate was very close to catching a smallmouth bass every time his lure got wet.

This young man was using a dropshot rig to sight fish the smallmouth bass that must have been on or guarding their nests. As soon as Colton unhooked each bass, he carefully returned the fish to the water. I asked him where else he had been fishing and he gladly informed me where he had spent the entire morning.

“I haven’t fished anywhere except around Rattlesnake,” replied the very successful angler.

I made it back to the mainland to hit my favorite Chinese buffet for a late lunch as well as checking out the first class tackle shop that is Fisherman Central. The path back to Perry County is pockmarked with highway projects complete with aggravating detours, but a great two days of fishing at Lake Erie took away much of the stress that highway delays usually cause.

After Erie, my attention switches to Lake St. Clair and two weeks of smallmouth bass fishing along that lake’s western shoreline. Look for that story and photos very soon.

See you on the water!