Anyone that catches his or her own fish for the table knows that no freshwater fish tastes better than the yellow perch. These delicious fish taste best if they are cooked with the skin on. That is a little bit of aggravation. It is much easier and quicker to simply skin the fish but so much is lost in eating quality when you remove the skin. I recently put together a drum fish scaler in a short period of time and it works remarkably well. I thought I would put together a quick video to show how easily you can do this.

I am happy to say that jig fishing for walleye on the Detroit River has begun already. This latest round of fantastic weather has brought out the boats and walleye are making their way down the Detroit River. This is a welcome change from the disastrous weather last year that pretty well destroyed the season for the average angler. Fish were caught last year in a few locations that offer the chance in poor conditions but it required much water travel and the discomfort of bad weather.

I personally fished Monday (March 20) and Tuesday and with my grandson. We managed to boat 7 real nice walleye on Monday. The biggest was a spawned out female measuring 29 inches long.

Monday we pretty well fished the day just out of LaSalle in what we call the “Salt Mine Drift”. With conditions perfect and water extremely clear, I stick to natural colors. That meant I used a white jig head and a natural color finesse nminnow (black, gray, white) or a 4″ brown rubber worm.

Pretty well repeated the same on Tuesday – 7 walleye and great conditions. The fishing is not fast and furious yet but this is the earliest I have caught walleye on the Detroit river.

Caught 4 females in the 2 days and they were spawned out completely. I covered a little more territory Tuesday going up-river from LaSalle as far as the freighter refuelling station (near the Ambassador bridge). It was a day of just steady fishing and occasional catching but sure has been a great start to the season. I will likely be off the river for a few days now.

Catching walleye in the Detroit River can be a challenge for some newcomers to the game. I have seen some fishermen go fishing someone with a little knowledge and experience and catch fish immediately. They then try it on their own, sometimes with little success. The game appears (and it is) quite simple and straight forward. The few little important details need to followed precisely.

Boat control must top the list. Most river jiggers prefer boats with low profiles and low wind resistance that are finely controlled with electric trolling motors. This allows the fisherman to resist the wind and current at exactly the level required so that when you are jigging, your fishing line remains vertical and you can easily maintain contact with the bottom. If you lose contact with bottom, chances are good that your line is drifting away from you. Reel in and start fresh. YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME IF YOU ARE NOT VERTICAL JIGGING!

Jig selection is a topic that will create debate. I will present my view. You are going to hear many of the best jiggers out there telling you that you must use a small jig. (3/8 ounce) I am going to tell you that I have caught more fish than those fisherman on occasions using a 1 ounce jig. Many new fishermen I provide either 3/4 or 1 ounce jigs and they catch fish. If a person is unable to maintain bottom contact and know for sure where his jig is, he is lost and out of the game. A heavier jig may get dropped quicker by the fish but if you need that heavier jig to get you hits, go with it. Don’t be intimidated into fishing something that doesn’t work for you.

Another topic for discussion will be bait. Some guys carry live minnows all the time. They catch fish. I haven’t used live minnows for several years now. I catch a lot of nice fish. Do what you do best! I prefer rubber worms or rubber minnows. Use realistic looking worms that fall to the bottom quickly. Colors vary with conditions but in ideal conditions I would start with a natural color (brown for worms, black/white for minnows)

Use stinger hooks. Again, many of the good fishermen out there won’t do this. Seems to be an ego thing?? I guarantee those stingers are going to get you some fish you would have otherwise missed.

USE BRAIDED LINE. It doesn’t stretch and provides maximum feel. Don’t even bother going without it.

I think most guys prefer short stiff fishing rods (med heavy) and quality reels. You need the best drag system you can get. (fast retrieve is a plus)

Fish the cleanest water you can find that holds fish.

Jigging methods vary from something akin to snagging to short delicate movement. I prefer to WALK THE BOTTOM jigging up and down slowly only about 6 inches and setting the hook immediately at any indication of a hit. Bring the fish up quickly. Putting on the TV show and playing with them, will lose fish. Set fast, and reel fast!

That’s about all you need to know. Follow everything I have said to the letter and I promise you – you will catch fish!!!!!!

Detoit River Walleye

I expect to get out on the Detroit River fishing for walleye in the next week. I’m just looking for a few days where the wind is favorable to clearing up the water. Clean water is a key component to success when jigging the Detroit River for walleye in the spring. It is not unusual to see one shoreline clear and blue and the opposite shore with murky water so having a fishing licence for Michigan and Ontario is beneficial.

With the river ice free quite early, it bodes well for a long season on the river and odds are better that we will see several perfect days with light winds and clear blue water. When that happens, a lot of fish get caught. I prefer fishing out of LaSalle because there are so many locations nearby that consistantly produce fish.

Should be some good news VERY SOON!

Southeast Lower Peninsula Fishing Report

Lake Erie: A few walleye have been caught in Ohio waters near the Maumee River when trolling crank baits. Pike and panfish were caught near the Metro Park Marina.

Huron River: Is producing some bigger steelhead as well as walleye near Flat Rock. Try small jigs with hair or twister tails.

Detroit River: Boat anglers are looking for the walleye run to start but few have caught fish. Some are fishing between Wyandotte and the Edison Plant. A few pike and perch were caught in and around Gibraltar.

Lake St. Clair: Wind and rain has muddied up the waters. The ramps are open but the docks were not in so launching or retrieving a boat will be difficult.

Lexington: Guys with waders were launching boats and catching a mix of lake trout, coho and brown trout. The near shore waters were a bit murky from all the wind.

Well, the season is about to start again. Not a lot of news kicking around yet but a few tidbits show that guys are getting the itch and things should fire up early this year.
Lake Erie: Has open water fishing only. Walleye were caught on crank baits in Brest Bay. At the Metro Park Marina, anglers are punching holes in the thin ice and catching perch, bluegills and even a few pike on shiner minnows, wax worms or spikes. There are two docks in at the boat launch.

Detroit River: Boat anglers are catching perch in the marinas and yacht clubs along the south end of Grosse Ile. Try perch rigs with shiner minnows. Small boats are catching fish in the canals around Gibraltar. Perch and bluegills were caught off the south Gibraltar Road Bridge, but anglers will need to park on King Bridge Drive so the roadway will not be blocked.

Unseasonably warm weather last week provided some good walleye fishing for trollers on Lake Erie.  Fish were caught around the outer buoys of the Camp Perry firing range on Reef Runners and Rapala deep husky jerks.  Recent winter weather has at least temporarily limited fishing opportunities on the open water (as of 2/8/12).

Feb 5 – Mark Schaller 1st walleye report for the new year. Went down to the channel this morning and picked up one 20 inch male on an F11 Clown Rapala. Caught him 100 yards NW of the Catamaran. Surface temp on the water was 34.8 degrees and very clear. A few floating weeds, no wind and no other fishermen.

Map showing some of the fishing boundaries and regulations for the Detroit River and Western Lake Erie.

Check out this cool webcam that lets you look around the Detroit River and get an idea about current water conditions. Hit the start button and select the view you want.

http://www.detroithistorical.org/webcam/

Yeck Spoons Rule

Well I remember posting quite some time ago that it appeared the rainbow fishing was setting up very nicely out of Wheatley. I would say that is turning out to be an under-statement. I went out again Saturday and took an older friend with me in the SS Minnow.

We had another great day and rainbows were there to be taken again. We really had a lot of fun and we had 21 fish on. As with that game we lost a bunch of them but we did manage to boat 9 rainbow trout and 5 walleye and most of the fish were big. I can’t ever remember the season going on so long and so consistent.

Nothing changed with my baits. As has been the case the whole season – I could have fished my 2 favorite colors of Yeck Spoons and my custon painted color that I call RDP. Yeck spoons are simply the best. Now I just need to convince them to paint my RDP and send me some  “Black Demons” and my my lure dreams have all come true.

NOTE FROM JASON
“Hey Tom! We went out today and we were somehow able to catch two rainbow! It was pretty awesome and I’m hooked, no pun intended!.
Thanks for all your help, I pretty much owe these to you.”

Well, the fishing is really hanging in there at Wheatley. Rainbow and walleye continue to be caught and should hang in until a severe weather change. My whole gang was out fishing saturday. My son Tyler had a good day and boated several rainbows and walleye. My other son Trevor had a great day as well. His trips have been limited this year but he certainly had a big day with the bows and eyes. My luck held on as has been the case this year. I limited out on rainbow and walleye and actually had to release a few bows while trying to fill my limit of eyes. My best color yesterday was the copper “Killer Bee” by Yeck Lures. It caught nearly all my fish. I can’t say enough about Yeck Lures. I could have taken 3 colors most days this year. One color that has been big is my custom painted purple/pink/white bait you will see in previous posts. The other 2 are copper variations by Yeck. There is one more color I need to get to complete the starters for me. I think the purple variation would have also caught me many fish this year and I will be adding some to my arsenal soon.

Yeck Lures Jerry Lee

Yeck Lures Killer Bee

Gotta Get Some of These

Yeck Spoons Black Demon

Tom's 2010 Moose

1)  hunters using natural attractants (for example deer urine used for hunting)
2)  anyone who wishes to transport or possess carcasses or their high risk parts of any member of the deer family (moose, deer, caribou) into Ontario from out of province

Refer to these Pages for More Info:

http://www.ontario.ca/cwd
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/FW/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_168766.html

If you hunt in Ontario, natural attractants containing body parts of any member of the deer family may no longer be possessed or used for the purposes of hunting.

If you hunt outside of Ontario and want to possess and/or bring in carcasses or parts of members of the deer family (i.e. deer, American elk, moose and caribou) from out of province, you need to know about the new regulations. These changes are now in effect.
Natural attractants containing body parts of any member of the deer family may no longer be possessed or used for the purposes of hunting
Possession and use of products that contain body parts of any member of the deer family, including blood, urine, gland oils, and other fluids, for the purposes of hunting, is no longer permitted. Hunters will still be allowed to possess and use artificial or plant-based products that can attract wildlife or be used as a cover scent, but they must not contain any body parts of a member of the deer family.
Possession of out-of-province harvested carcasses and their high-risk parts of moose and caribou banned
The possession in Ontario of high-risk parts of moose and caribou killed in other jurisdictions is no longer permitted. Possessing high-risk parts from all other members of the deer family killed out-of-province was banned in 2005.
Generally, it is now illegal to possess any part of the antlers, head, brain, eyes, tonsils, hide, hooves, lymph nodes, spleen, mammary glands, entrails, internal organs or spinal column of any member of the deer family that has been killed outside Ontario. For details about this regulation and limited exceptions to this prohibition, see http://www.ontario.ca/cwd