Yellow perch have been caught from the Marblehead Peninsula to the Cleveland Breakwall, but anglers must be cautious of chilly waters.

BY MARK CAHLIK

This week the Lake Erie fishing report is going to be short and sweet.

Trolling for walleye has been excellent east of the Lake Erie Islands, with the Fall Brawl and the Walleye Slam fishing derbies luring trailer boat anglers to launch from Huron to Lorain in search of trophy walleye and the big derby prizes.

The entry deadlines for both the Fall Brawl and the Walleye Slam closed a while ago, but both derbies will keep walleye fishermen chasing the top prizes through closing day on Sunday, Nov. 28.

This is the time of year when the biggest walleye are landed, and Ronald Masal leads the packs of walleye derby competitors as of Sunday, Nov. 7 with a 12.665-pound, 31-inch walleye

Most of the walleye being caught while trolling have been 5- to 7-pounders. A personal best for the Mark I Charters this week was an 8-pound, 11-ounce walleye.

The Bay’s Edge crews had been trolling with Bandit lures, running unweighted lures 40 to 80 feet behind the boat and putting out Bandits with 2-ounce weights at 100 to 130 feet behind the boat.

Most of the walleye that have been landed were suspended at 15 to 35 feet. The most productive areas have been off Huron and Vermilion.

For small boat anglers who are keeping an eye on the wind and waves, the yellow perch fishing has been pretty good lately from Marblehead to the Cedar Point Foghorn.

Shoreline fishermen are pretty secretive about their walleye hot spots, but good catches of trophy walleye have been reported while casting after dark from the piers and breakwalls with minnow-style plugs. The Huron Pier and the Lakeside Pier are both favorites, as well as many Sandusky Bay areas.

Unseasonably warm weather this week, and a south wind, is going to give walleye fishermen an advantage after the sun goes down. You won’t need a boat to hook up with a few nice walleye in the coming days.

It looks like it is going to be a good week for walleye and yellow perch, so get out there and fish!