He is also an avid Lake Erie fisherman who has been fortunate to be able to fish walleye tournaments with his dad and oldest son, now 7. He is also a frequent contributor to the division’s Wild Ohio program, offering advice on Lake Erie fishing.
Here are Hartman’s tips:
1. Big yellow perch move inshore as the water temperature cools. In the western basin try areas like the Marblehead Lighthouse, the green buoy off of Catawba State Park and the Kelleys Island airport reef.
2. Some adult yellow perch in the western basin are now eating gobies. If you don’t catch “keeper” fish in open water (muddy substrate) areas, try reef edges. Look for rock to mud transitions around areas such as Starve Island, Kelleys Island Shoal, Gull Island Shoal and West Reef. Some of the biggest perch move into those areas to eat abundant gobies.
3. If live emerald shiners aren’t available, try other options. Many times yellow perch can be caught on frozen shiners, salted shiners or shiners cut in half. Preserve shiners from past trips so you don’t run out of bait on future trips.
4. Yellow perch aren’t “glued” to the bottom every day. If you aren’t catching perch, try bringing your bait up off of the bottom before you head to a new spot. Also, watch your sonar. If most fish are a few feet or more off the bottom you might be anchored over suspended perch.
5. Perch spreaders and crappie rigs are not the only tackle options. Try using a drop shot setup with multiple hooks tied inline above a weight tied at the end of your line. Having your hooks tied inline using palomar or uni knots gives you better sensitivity to detect bites. Combined with braided line and a barrel swivel above your drop shot rig you will feel every bite.
Small weighted jigging spoons with a leader and hook below them are becoming popular. This allows you to easily try different depths within the water column and also try different actions from subtle to aggressive. The spoon functions as an attractor to bring perch in from a distance. Simply remove the hook from the spoon and tie on your leader and hook baited with a shiner.
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