Walleye fishing as good as it can get right now

Not everyone who enjoys the outdoors hunts. Those whofisharejustaspassionate and fishing is something you can do year-round in Ohio.

Aswegetclosetotheendof the year, I thought itwas time for a late fall fishing update focusing on some opportunities on Lake Erie and some others closer to home.

ItalkedtoMikePattersonof Mike’sSportsfishing inNorthwest Ohio and he saidWalleye fishing is as good as it can get rightnow, fromCleveland all theway to Michigan. The fish are getting fat and really biting good.

Patterson said Perch are hit or miss right now. Largemouth Bass fishing is very good. They’re easy to target anywhere in the harbor or along the shore on the rocks.

Smallmouth Bass aroundthe island are starting to feed. Opportunitiesshouldbegood well into December for smallies on the big lake.

A hunting note re: Lake Erie: Ducks are starting to show up in good numbers. Try the public hunting area at Pickerell Creek. The Division of Wildlife holds daily draws for blinks.

Closer to home, both HuestonWoods’Acton Lake and Rocky Fork are showing someofthebiggestCrappieof the year, according toDistrict 5 fishbiologist JustinWalters.

At Indian Lake, saugeye bite is hot. The lake might be Ohio’s best for saugeye. If you have fished Indian Lake you know how good it can be. If you have not, give it a try. Nowis the perfect time.

Winter fishing tip

MikeTeachisfromthearea and fishes the Great Miami River more in a year than some people fish in their entire career. He is a master of the Great Miami.

Mike says look for Smallmouth Bass and Northern pike in slow current areas. Mike says the top-producing lures are the Rapala J9 jointed perch color stick bati, the pearl-colored soft plastic jerk bait and the chartreuse/white spinner bait. In slow current areas, roll the spinner bait along the bottomwith subtle twitches, followed by a long pause. For jerk bait, cast downstream and retrieve extremely slow.

Deer update

Deer- gun season ends today. We will total how manydeerweretakenduring archery and gun seasons in our 2020 wrap-up column later this month.