Lake Erie, Sandusky, OH

[lizardsrule]

Well against my better judgement I signed up for a couple of BFL tourney's launching from Sandusky, OH. I have no knowledge of the lake, have never fished it. I will be a non-boater, which for those of you who don't know what that means. I will go wherever the boater drives, just a passenger who has a guide(if he's good anyway). I have a tourney on 8/20 and then a Super Tourney(2 day) starting 9/10. Anyway I would like some ideas on baits and presentations from any of you who have knowledge of the lake. I am strictly going, because I want to catch some smallies. I figure if in fact I get a good boater, then it's a cheap guided trip I would love to catch a couple. Anyway they told us to get a Ontario non-resident license so I could be anywhere on the water. I'm "ASSUMING" tubes, cranks, and jigs would be good choices, and jr spook's if they are hitting topwater, but that's all I can even guess at. Thanks for for any help.

Lizards

[JB]

We fish Sandusky bay and lake erie, stock up on your tube baits, I'll get a list of what works up there, just about everyone from work goes up to erie from time to time, the ol chartruse mr. twister is on the list too
check this out lizards
http://www.walleye.com/fall2001/smal...onspreview.htm

[BassAddict]

I don't do a lot of Smallmouth fishing but from what I understand they go crazy over chartruse. Here in VA we catch them on small crawdad cranks and 4" pumpkin seed worms. I also catch them on Tiny Torpedo's when they're hitting topwater. I fished a BFL tourney last weekend (co-angler side) for the first time. It was on the James River. It was fun. My boater was pretty cool but didn't know the river or river fishing much. Great guy though. I managed a 16th place finish and got a check so I was happy. Good luck in your tournament!

Eric

[JigHead1121]

I fish Lake Ontario regularly and always seem to do very well on a drop-shot rig with a tiki-drop(green/Chart.) or a 3" Yum Dinger. Watermelon red flake always works or Ozark Smoke. Fish it 15-35 ft. around structure such as humps, ledges, weeds, rocks, etc. This rig has accounted for more 5lb. plus smallies for me than my future father-in-law catches on live bait. One more tip. USE FLOUROCARBON LINE! I don't know about Erie, but the zebra mussels in Lake Ontario have it clear as a swimming pool. Good luck!

[rrw4258]

Well, I live about 20 minutes south of Sandusky and they have been hitting on white, or pearl colored tubes, and deep runnin crankbaits. If you got to www.ohiogamefishing.com, It will give you a weekly fishing report on where they are hitting.

[lizardsrule]

Thanks for the info. Great read too JB thanks a lot. I know I can fish a c-rig with a lot of success. I see nothing about cranks or flukes. I guess it's as I thought all craw type colors and styles. Well I guess I better start going through all the 1000 lbs or so of plastics to get to all the tubes. My favorite color is Green Pumkin, and nothing like the smell of some good old Powerbait scent Anyways, sounds like just a lot of dragging the bottom, or near it anyway. Do the smallies tend to feed shallow in low light conditions, in the open water? In other words, is topwater usually a good technique early in the am, when we first start off this time of year, as it can be for the LM's Again thanks for all the tips, I have already printed this page off for reference.

Lizards

[zooker]

get a life vest and keep it on ask zilla he got swamped recently in erie he was in his 20 foot ranger. he told me that he was thrown 50 yards from the boat and was "40 miles from no *******where." in case you are wondering it bent the tilt trim arms..


so zilla was i right? 2-3k


zooker

[JB]

good idear there zooker,

lizards I too would keep the life vest on the whole time, and instead of dragging that tube or twister you need to hop it, you'll discover in some areas big rocks that will hold the smallies, and what the other poster said about crankbaits is true, I 'll get with some of the guys that go up there all the time and get back with ya on thier recommendations, You wont believe how nice a football shaped smallmouth that is 3 or 4 lbs feels tuggin on your line!
The bay has largemouth too, we always fished middlebass island for smallies, but the bay is more user friendly for bass boats, the island is sweet!
With all-metal jigs, spoons or vibrating blades, silver has traditionally been the best color. Various shades of brown have been productive lately, perhaps because of the shift in the smallmouths' diet to gobies, or perhaps because it resembles crayfish. Red-brown metal primer paint is excellent for doctoring metal jigs.

One major exception to lure choices occurs in some of the bays or harbors where springtime smallmouth action starts first. Water in these places often has more color. Fishing might take place in depths of less than 10 feet, where crankbaits or spinnerbaits can be very effective. If you use a spinnerbait, start with a single, silver Colorado blade. If you opt for a crankbait, start with a fire tiger pattern.

In Lake Erie, finding smallmouth bass is a matter of finding the right bottom structure.

Rocky rubble, a jumble of rocks of various sizes and shapes, is the best bottom type. Find a hump, a hole, or a dropoff in rocky rubble, and you will almost certainly find smallmouths. Another major smallmouth structure type is bedrock ledge. Bedrock flats rarely hold more than a few scattered smallmouths.