Put-in-Bay Lake Erie Walleye

The Walleye is the number one sport fish anglers seek while fishing at Put-in-Bay. Each year, anglers filled coolers with many limit catches of Put-in-Bay’s popular Walleye game fish and this trend should continue. Anglers should anticipate reeling in many 17 to 18-inch and 22 to 26-inch fish are not uncommon around Put-in-Bay. The current state record walleye was caught off Cleveland in November 1999 and weighed 16.19 pounds, a remnant of the large 1986-year class.

The Walleye harvest last year on the Ohio waters of Lake Erie was 1.2 million fish, slightly higher than the two previous years. Walleye catch rates last year were the highest since 1998, with catch rates for private boat anglers peaking in July at more than one walleye for every two hours of fishing. Catch rates for Put-in-Bay charter boat anglers peaked in July at just under one walleye per hour.

About 35 percent of the walleyes caught last year were fish from a strong hatch in years past. These two-year-old fish averaged 14 to 16 inches. A reduced bag limit, which took effect in March 2001, will help conserve these young fish. Ohio’s reduced bag limit was part of measures taken in a walleye management agreement with the Lake Erie states and Ontario to help rebuild Lake Erie walleye stocks from lows in the late 1990s.

The reduced bag limit for Ohio anglers remains in effect at four walleyes during March and April and six walleyes the remainder of the year, however, this is subject to change and you should always check with state officials to verify. Anglers are reminded that an Ohio Fishing License is required to catch fish in Lake Erie. While fishing anywhere on LakeErie proper safety measures should be in place as Lake Erie can go from calm to rough quickly.