Lake erie islands

[Fish.Team.Rose]

Hello all. Wife and a friend planning a trip to middle bass, and put in bay in july.


Generally speaking, can an 18’ bass boat make that run provided winds are low? Thinking of going out at first light, and coming back probobly at last light or after dark. Ive fished erie but never went that far. My range is 90 miles so i dont think fuel is an issue. Any things to consider for that time of year? With it being the 4th of july weekend, our plan go eary come late might avoid alot of the big boats like on st clair and other lakes.


Thanks.

[bigbass201]

Hello all. Wife and a friend planning a trip to middle bass, and put in bay in july.


Generally speaking, can an 18’ bass boat make that run provided winds are low? Thinking of going out at first light, and coming back probobly at last light or after dark. Ive fished erie but never went that far. My range is 90 miles so i dont think fuel is an issue. Any things to consider for that time of year? With it being the 4th of july weekend, our plan go eary come late might avoid alot of the big boats like on st clair and other lakes.


Thanks.

Winds are light and you beat most of the crazy boat traffic you will be fine. Back in the day I use to take my 17' Bass Tracker out there and back.

[Jbass123]

If you launch at Catawba, the run is barely 3 miles to the tip of South Bass. If the wind is from the west or east, you can run on the lee side of the island to get smoother water. Keep an eye out for the ferries. There’s a lot of open water to the west of South and Middle Bass, so a lot will depend on the wind direction. And there is a lot of boat traffic between Mouse Island/Catawba and South Bass, so you really will want to make your runs before and after all that traffic, because all of those other boats will be much larger and throwing a lot of wake. I’ve run from Sandusky to the north end of Pelee many times in an 18 foot boat, which is more than 25 miles. Running Erie in an 18-footer is safe enough in normal weather, but novice boaters and newbies can get easily alarmed anyway.

[Fish.Team.Rose]

If you launch at Catawba, the run is barely 3 miles to the tip of South Bass. If the wind is from the west or east, you can run on the lee side of the island to get smoother water. Keep an eye out for the ferries. There’s a lot of open water to the west of South and Middle Bass, so a lot will depend on the wind direction. And there is a lot of boat traffic between Mouse Island/Catawba and South Bass, so you really will want to make your runs before and after all that traffic, because all of those other boats will be much larger and throwing a lot of wake. I’ve run from Sandusky to the north end of Pelee many times in an 18 foot boat, which is more than 25 miles. Running Erie in an 18-footer is safe enough in normal weather, but novice boaters and newbies can get easily alarmed anyway.

Is there decent fishing around the islands that time of year? Wife and friend wanna visit the state parks, and i will to. But ill try to fish if i can. Also whats the boat docking situation like? On the holiday weekend i assume scarse. But is there places to tie up on the shore?

[OH_Ranger]

I go from East harbor to Middle Bass. It's about 8-9 miles. 21 ft bass boat. Definitely gotta pick the right day.
Docking at Middle Bass Marina. Call when you get there. It's $20-25. Not much at middle bass. Couple dive bars and the winery ruins.
Put in bay is too much of a party scene for me.
I would go to Kelly's. Dock at West Bay for free. Nice beach at the state park you can anchor in and visit glacial grooves.

[Fish.Team.Rose]

I go from East harbor to Middle Bass. It's about 8-9 miles. 21 ft bass boat. Definitely gotta pick the right day.
Docking at Middle Bass Marina. Call when you get there. It's $20-25. Not much at middle bass. Couple dive bars and the winery ruins.
Put in bay is too much of a party scene for me.
I would go to Kelly's. Dock at West Bay for free. Nice beach at the state park you can anchor in and visit glacial grooves.

nice, thanks for the info!

[hawghunter.419]

Don`t go out if the winds are forecasted out of the north. Take your time, don`t try to go too fast and you`ll ne fine. I have drove a 360 Ranger out to Peele Island and all the way around it, a long ride from East Harbor.

[eriedude]

That time of year it's not so much the wind but the boat wakes around the islands that will beat the crap out of you. I ran an 18 ft Procraft out there for 10 years (cracked the hull up twice) and then a 19 ft Nitro. Now days my bac k and hips are shot so I don't go.

[Jbass123]

Yep ^. There are two really rough areas for boat wakes in that part of the lake, between Sandusky Bay and Kelly’s Island and between Catawba and South/Middle Bass. Everything boat-wise has ramped up over the years, so tales of when we all drove 18 foot boats out to the islands in comfort [20-30 years ago] have to be tempered with the fact that walleye and pleasure boats of that era were 20-22 footers. Nowadays the average boat tossing you with its wake is more like 26-28 feet. And some are obviously much larger. There are two tricks, other than staying away from those traffic slots entirely. Either travel when no one else is traveling, or go very very slow.

[bigbass201]

Yep ^. There are two really rough areas for boat wakes in that part of the lake, between Sandusky Bay and Kelly’s Island and between Catawba and South/Middle Bass. Everything boat-wise has ramped up over the years, so tales of when we all drove 18 foot boats out to the islands in comfort [20-30 years ago] have to be tempered with the fact that walleye and pleasure boats of that era were 20-22 footers. Nowadays the average boat tossing you with its wake is more like 26-28 feet. And some are obviously much larger. There are two tricks, other than staying away from those traffic slots entirely. Either travel when no one else is traveling, or go very very slow.

Great advice. I tend to go early and take it easy coming back. I went out there in my aluminum bass tracker this Tuesday for a few hours. I left early when traffic was minimal and came back around 10:30 am when the winds picked up. It was an offshore wind, but was cranking. Water surface temperature was still running 44 to 45 degrees. Managed one smallmouth and ton of sheephead before heading back to the harbor to finish the day out. Heading back out there again next week. Plan on checking some more areas and hopefully find more bass pulling up.

[Tom1985]

I would just watch the weather very closely ... i run charters on Lake Erie out of Lorain (lake Erie Charter Service LLC http://justwalleye.com) i have seen that lake change in a matter of a few minutes. i like the app iwindsurf gives you hour by hour wind speed and direction. the rule we use is 1ft of wave per every 5mph of wind speed in most bass boats 2ft waves are about all the more you want to be in 3fters and your putting your self and gear in danger. i dont tell you this to scare you away there are plenty of days where running a bass boat out there is perfectly fine. june july and aug are generally stable as far as winds go but the 4th of july weekend you can bet there will be 100s of huge pleasure boats making the pass from east harbor and Sandusky to the bass islands making the pass from shore to the islands area a total washing machine of waves coming from all directions it might not be a bad idea to jump on miller ferry and launch the boat from one of the islands rather then trying to make the run over there in your bass boat. what ever you decide to do good luck be safe hope you smoke some big brown ones !