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Lake Erie walleyes are certifiable nomads. They depart the reefs of the
western basin in spring and circle the lake in a counterclockwise direction
to return come fall. The bad news is that the fish are never in the same
place very long. The good news is that their patterns are highly predictable
based on water temperature and time of the month.

As a pro angler who fishes the In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail and
Operation Walleye's RCL tournament circuit, I've competed in many tourneys
on Erie over the past decade, learning all about the wandering ways of
big-water walleyes. While it¹s true that the here-today, gone-tomorrow
tendencies are tricky, it's a whole lot easier to follow the spring fish if
you know the next steps in the progression from reef to open water and jigs
to crankbaits and spinners.

Where's the Reef?
In late March and early April, often when the water temperature is still in
the 30s, Erie's walleyes will stage near the reef complexes west of the Bass
Islands before the spawn. There they hang in 20 to 30 feet of water before
sliding atop the reefs when the water gets into the low 40s.

Pinpoint 7520 Sonar

Before the spawn, I look with my Pinpoint electronics for walleyes hanging on the edges of the reefs. And before dropping a line, I motor around at a slow speed, watching the liquid-crystal unit for blips of fish tight to bottom. When I spot them, I head slightly upwind and drop anchor. In a way, how you fish on the edges of the reefs is similar to ice fishing.

Lindy's Fuzzy Grubs

The best bets for prespawn walleyes around the reefs are jigs, spoons and blade baits.

It's hard to beat a 1/4- to 3/8th-ounce Lindy Fuzz-E-Grub with a minnow. Other options are Swedish Pimples baited with a minnow or Reef Runner Cicadas, hard-strumming blade baits that excel in cold water. With blades, you can lift the bait six to 12 inches and let fall, which is when most strikes occur. Or, after pumping a Cicada and letting it fall, you can shake the blade in place to trigger strikes.

Reef Runner Cicada

The walleyes, however, can slip atop the reefs, spawn and depart in no time,
often within the span of a couple of warm days and with the coming of the
full moon. One day you catch walleyes full of span, the next they've dropped
their eggs. But on Erie, unlike many other places, the fish start biting almost immediately.

Going for a Troll
The next step is to follow the fish farther beyond the reefs to open water.
That¹s where the postspawn females chase bait with water temps in the 40s,
cruising to the east and northeast toward the Bass Islands, while the
smaller males tend to stay on the reefs.
 

Mark Brumbaugh holding and early Erie Eye

Reef Runner Lil Ripper

Crankbaits pulled slowly are my first choice right about now. Of all the crankbaits out there, I have the most confidence in Reef Runners, Ripsticks and deep-diving Little Rippers. The ones I run, though, are determined by water clarity.

If crankbaits are a first choice, spinners with night crawlers are a close second, particularly as water temperatures reach the high 40s and low 50s. What's nice about spinners in spring is that you can pull them at the same speed as your slow-moving crankbaits, which is about the only time of year crank and spinner speeds coincide. 

Off Shore Tackle OR-12

To see which offering the fish prefer, I put crankbaits on my outside Off-Shore planer boards, spinners on the inside boards. I get the spinners down to depth with Off-Shore¹s handy Snap Weights. Most of the time I choose No 4 to No. 7 blades, and sometimes I drop spinners to bottom with a three- or four-ounce bottom bouncer. Be sure to check the bottom after storms or spells of rough weather.

The bottom line is that Erie's walleyes demand constant adjustment. But with
knowledge of their movements from reefs to open water, it's possible to
anticipate the highly predictable next steps in the big-water walleye's
wandering ways.  For more information on great walleye fishing you can also visit me at www.markbrumbaugh.com

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