By MARK CAHLIK

Fishing in Lake Erie continues to be very erratic, even though some good Lake Erie walleye catches are coming out of the west and some are coming out of the east. Every day has been a challenge. If you have been running out of the Port Clinton or Catawba areas, then you know that the best spots always seem to be 20 miles one way or another.

If you have headed east to fish, then chances are you were around Vermillion. The fishing there was excellent for casting and trolling. The same thing goes for the westerly fishing. The water 20 miles south of Little Sister Island on the Canadian line has been a hotspot.

The walleye have been going deeper now to about mid-range.

Weapon lures are still the best choice and now the count for that retrieval is 15 to 20 feet. Fishermen who are trolling are using Tru-Trip diving planers set at 50 to 85 feet back. The difference for trollers this year is that they have been using a lot of “worm burners.” It seems like when you are trolling the fish like the meat.

I also want to touch on catfishing in the Sandusky Bay this week. We haven’t heard much but from the reports we have gotten, the catfish bite has been fabulous. Everybody seems to have their own little hot spots they like to go to, but the dingy waters under State Route 2 bridge have been on fire for channel catfish.

Fresh shrimp is everyone’s go-to bait and the catfish are loving it. Fishing for catfish has been getting national attention of late, so from now on we will update you as to when and where you can hook up with them.

Also, not many people are yellow perch fishing yet but there have been some nice catches coming in from off the coal docks in Sandusky Bay. We aren’t sure if it’s the walleye chasing them in there, but for the last couple weeks there has been some nice catches by anglers baiting crappie rigs with emerald shiner minnows.

Until next week stay safe, have fun, and get out here and fish!