The story around Lake Erie this week has been very limited fishing for walleye, yellow perch and most everything else due to the northeast winds that anglers have experienced. It has made for some very rough days on the water, and limited success even with the wonderful walleye we had experienced so far this year.

Throughout the last week we only had good fishing days at the very beginning of the week and on Sunday. Towards the end of the week the easterly winds were extreme, which put a damper on fishing.

The best spots to fish for walleye before the blow arrived with a vengeance were just off Catawba Island and Starve Island. Trollers were using Bandit lures set at 40 to 60 feet back at speeds of 1.8 miles per hour. Drift-and-cast fishermen have switched over to worm harnesses — a spinner rig tipped with a nightcrawler — to take advantage of feeding walleye now that the spawning season is winding down, and fishermen had been having the best luck between Kelleys Island and South Bass Island.

With the weather being so inconsistent this past week, we can only hope that with the temperatures being in the upper 70s this coming week and perhaps into the 80s quite soon, the fishing will be on fire for all of us.

The windy weather has muddied Lake Erie’s nearshore waters in recent days, and caused a postponement of the Walleye Slam Saturday tournament in Sandusky from May 7 to Saturday, May 14 hosted by the Sandusky Bait Company in Sandusky.

Next willl be the Walleye Slam Saturday event on Saturday, May 21 based at Cranberry Creek Marina in Huron. The Walleye Summer Slam event will keep anglers on the water from June 10-July 17. For details visit www.nationalfishingexpos.com.

If the winds are still a problem in the coming weeks, visit Port Clinton for its annual Walleye Festival on Thursday, May 26 through Monday, May 30, a Memorial Day weekend celebration that draws crowd to Waterworks Park in downtown Port Clinton each spring.

So until next week, be safe, be courteous of other boaters and get out there and fish!