BY MARK CAHLIK

Fishing remains to be the best ever despite the massive mayfly hatch that we had in recent days all along Northwest Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline. The good news about the hatch is that even though the walleye are feeding off the short-lived bugs and eating well, they are the healthiest walleye I’d ever seen in June.

The walleye we have been putting in our coolers have all been fat and sassy. The downside to the massive hatch is that we are having to fish further from the Lake Erie shore and our docks in order to catch walleye. That’s an expensive inconvenience these days, but worth the extra effort.

Casters have been going to the 30 line, setting up East and West on the Canadian border. Anglers are getting their limits out there, but it is just a bit of a haul and takes extra fuel to get there. One thing that has changed this week is that we have increased our weights on the spinner rigs we’re casting from one ounce up to one and a half ounces. Since the weight has increased, we are going slow and deep with our lures and having a little more success.

Trollers have been having their best luck at the Cedar Point dumping grounds and the Huron dumping grounds. Limits are being brought in daily. Tru-Trip Diving Planers and Jet Divers are being set at 65-70 feet back are working best.

The best speeds to use right now are 2.2 to 2.3 miles per hour.

Casters and trollers have been having luck up by Middle Sister Island as well.

The catfish bite has remained unchanged, with very good numbers of Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay channel catfish coming in daily. Fresh shrimp still seems to be working best. All along the Edison Bridge shoreline have been the prime area for many visiting catfish anglers.

Until next week, as always, get out there and fish. Have fun and be courteous!