Yellow perch fishing continues around Western Lake Erie, with limit catches reported around the reefs off Camp Perry and Port Clinton.

BY MARK CAHLIK

The hot weather has arrived on the North Coast of Ohio, but it has not affected the great fishing this summer.

It was good to see that last week wasn’t just a fluke, as limit catches of yellow perch keep pouring into the shop. The D Can area around the Niagara Reef complex off Port Clinton and Camp Perry continues to be the hot spot for perch fishing.

Perch are also being caught north of Rattlesnake Island and the West Reef area is also a good spot to anchor. Also, the northwest corner of Kelleys Island is producing perch.

The best bait for perch has been mixed. Some days golden shiners, or goldies, are working. Some days emerald shiner minnows are the key to success, depending on what bait shops can get. The same techniques that we have used in the past are working great. Anglers are anchoring over the top spots and lowering spreaders or crappie rigs with hooks tipped with minnows.

The walleye fishing has not slowed at all, and continues to be excellent. Those fishermen choosing to troll have been going five to seven miles east of Kelleys Island and putting a lot of nice fish in the cooler. Several different things have been working for those trolling.

As always, trolling Tru-Trips diving planers with spoons have been the number one tactic. You are going to want to set these rigs back 80 to a 100 feet back. YUK spoons have also been working great. Some guys and gals have also started switching over to crankbaits, or diving plugs, now with great success. The best speeds while trolling are 2.0 to 2.5 miles per hour.

Casters had an amazing week probing the rocks and the deep waters from east of Kelleys Island all the way to the weather buoy on the Ohio-Ontario border north of Huron and Vermilion.

The annual captains fishing tournament was held this past week. The winning teams fished Gull Reef and West Reef. Many came in with limits of walleye and the fishing was a huge success.

As we report every week, catfish have remained strong in the Sandusky Bay with it being very consistent off the Edison Bridge by boat. Chicken livers and raw shrimp along with the artificial baits work best.

In this tough environment its great to see fishing so good for the many different species. Get out there and fill your freezers with perch while it lasts. Until next week, stay safe and have fun out there fishing. And as always keep a tight line.