Free guide covers 312 miles of Lake Erie fishing

OutdoorsAndrew McCrodden of Broadview Heights reeled in a trophy Lake Erie walleye recently while fishing the Cleveland shoreline.Jeff Liskay, special to cleveland.comBy D'Arcy Eganspecial to cleveland.comCLEVELAND, Ohio — Lake Erie’s wonderful fishing opportunities are often a moveable feast, depending on the seasonal opportunities to catch walleye, steelhead trout, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. For anglers fishing from shore, or launching a boat, the free Lake Erie Coastal Guide published by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Coastal Management is a welcome resource.The 348-page publication covers the 312-mile Lake Erie coast, including boat ramps, fishing piers, public parks, nature preserves, wildlife areas, beaches and scenic vistas. The guide features in-depth site information for each location, including maps and photographs, and how to access the water at each site. The publication is available this summer at 30 locations listed at coastal.ohiodnr.gov. The guide can also be downloaded by chapter on the Ohio Office of Coastal Management webpage. Lake Erie walleye fishing is suddenly red hot and charter captains are filling coolers before lunch: NE Ohio fishing reportJul. 24, 2026, 5:00a.m.How much time, energy and money do you spend on your lawn in Our Best Life?Jul. 17, 2026, 10:00a.m.Smallmouth bass bites light up Lake Erie: NE Ohio fishing report for the weekend of July 17-19, 2026Jul. 16, 2026, 8:12p.m.Lake Erie settling downBrisk winds and big waves have kept anglers off the big waters of Lake Erie lately. The fishing conditions will still be a bit bumpy heading into this weekend. While charter boats will run to the 60- and 70-foot depths to troll for walleye and steelhead trout, small boat anglers should find good numbers of walleye in the 30- to 40-foot depths.Trolling with side planer boards and Jet Diver and Dipsy Diver diving planers will take spoons and nightcrawler harnesses to suspended schools of walleye and roaming trout. Expect some anglers to cast single spinner harnesses and nightcrawlers with 3/4- and 1-ounce barrel sinkers to reach the deep waters. Steelhead trout are being caught far offshore, and a few of the big trout are already coming closer to the Ohio shoreline. Western Basin yellow perchParty fishing boats and small boat anglers had a good week of yellow perch fishing, bringing in surprising numbers of the popular fish. The top locations to anchor and dunk perch fly rigs, crappie rigs, spreaders and jigs, all tipped with emerald shiner minnows, were the 25-foot depths on the northeast side of the Lake Erie Firing Zone off Camp Perry, around Green and Rattlesnake islands and southwest of Kelleys Island.The daily bag limit on Lake Erie yellow perch is 30 in the western zone from Toledo to Huron, just 10 in the central zone from Huron to Fairport Harbor, and 20 in the Eastern zone from Fairport Harbor to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.LEWT in Keystone State watersThe Lake Erie Walleye Trail made its first foray into the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie last Saturday, and despite the challenge of deep-water fishing, almost every team weighed a five-fish limit of walleye, said tournament director Jason Fischer. “The deep waters of the Eastern Basin (of Lake Erie) reminded everyone that sometimes the old ways are still the best ways,” said Fischer. Forward-facing sonar has dominated competitive walleye fishing, but anglers had to shift away from those casting platforms in the deeper Pennsylvania waters and rely on traditional trolling tactics to target schools of mature walleye feeding heavily on yellow perch.Tyler Berthold of Huron, with mates Duane and Devon Phillips, weighed 31.50 pounds for the slim win. Tim Bock and Mike Ruffo were second (31.47 pounds), with Zak Jobes and Chris Romano third (31.40 pounds). Tim Lander of Hermitage, Pa., landed the big walleye, an 8.56-pounder.The LEWT returns to its usual schedule with the Geneva on the Lake event on Aug. 29, a day after the DB Marine Big Fish Open.