LAKE ERIE “BEST” FOR SMALLMOUTH BASS
By Darl Black
(Reprinted from the Erie Times News, May, 2004) 

The best restaurant.  The best automobile.  The best cola drink.  Everyone has an opinion on the “best” of just about anything.  But at times agreement may be difficult to come by. 

However, ask hard-core bass anglers where the “best” smallmouth fishing can be found and one location rises to the top of almost everyone’s list: Lake Erie.   

“The only anglers who could possibly disagree with Lake Erie as the best smallmouth fishery are individuals who have never fished there,” claims professional bass angler Dave Lefebre, a lifelong resident of Erie County.  “In my profession as a competitor on national bass tournament circuits, I’ve fished many of the top largemouth and smallmouth bass waters around the country.  But I say most emphatically that in terms of numbers of bass and average size of smallmouth, nothing holds a candle to Lake Erie.” 

Somewhat complacent with regard to Erie’s smallmouth, many local anglers focus instead on perch, walleye or steelhead.  Interest in Erie bass runs highest from anglers in other areas of Pennsylvania and other states. 

“Anyone from out-of-state who experiences what we consider an ‘average’ day of bass fishing here on Erie is quick to say it’s the best smallmouth fishery anywhere,” explains Lefebre.  “And if they have what we consider a ‘good’ day on the lake, that individual is simply blown away.  Heck, even a low-catch day on Erie is better than a good day of smallmouth fishing almost anywhere else!”  

Lefebre notes that with increased publicity about Lake Erie, each season more boats are seen with out-of-state registrations.  During May and June at launch ramps in the Presque Isle Bay and safe harbor sites on Lake Erie, vehicle and trailer licenses from half a dozen different states can be observed in a single day.   

“Several years back – before I started fishing the national bass tour – a short article on smallmouth fishing in Pennsylvania’s waters of Lake Erie appeared in BASSMASTER Magazine which provided my name as a source for information.  As result I received over 100 phone calls and letters from all over the U.S.  That showed me that anglers across the country are interested in traveling to exceptional bass fisheries – especially smallmouth fisheries.” 

Even though there are no major national tournaments on Lake Erie conducted on Pennsylvania, Lefebre explains many professional bass anglers and fishing industry representatives stop by to fish on their way to or from tournament sites in other states – often at Lefebre’s invitation.   

“If the wind allows us to get out in the limited time available during their visit, they readily concede the smallmouth fishing here is even better than in the Western Basin around the Bass Islands or in Lake St. Clair,” states Lefebre. 

Skeeter bass boat representative Mark Burgess of Massachusetts has fished Erie with Lefebre on several occasions.  “We have some very good smallmouth fisheries in New England, but for numbers of big bronzebacks, nothing can match the fishery in Lake Erie.  I certainly like the catch-and-release season that prevents harvest in the spring.” 

Veteran professional angler Pete Gluzsek of New Jersey visited the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie for the first time last June.  “I fish dozens of different lakes each season on tour, but my favorite fishing is for smallmouth on northern waters.  However, after fishing Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie, I’ve been spoiled.  Even though there are no major tournaments on this part of the Lake, I’m going to come back whenever I can.”    

For the last two years, Dr. Gene Gilliland, a bass fisheries researcher from the University of Oklahoma, has visited Lake Erie following an annual fisheries conference hosted by the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission.  “We have a smallmouth fishery in Oklahoma, but an angler could fish all year on our best reservoirs and not catch as many smallmouth as someone can catch in a couple days on Erie.  And the size of Erie bass is simply astonishing.” 

What amazes Lefebre and other longtime bass anglers is the fact the smallmouth fishery does not appear to be faltering in spite of fishing pressure and threats from exotic species.  “I started fishing seriously for smallmouth back in the late 1980s.  I recall the day in 1991 when Charlie Pence caught the 7-pound 10-ounce state record smallmouth from Erie.  Back then, two anglers could catch 50, 60 and even 100 in a fish day – weather permitting – with the average weight of each bass about 3 pounds.  Today, if you apply yourself, it’s still possible to have a 50 to 100 fish day.  But the average weight this season is better than four pounds,” says Lefebre.   

Chuck Murray, biologist with the PF&BC’s Lake Erie Research Unit, says Lefebre’s assessment isn’t far off.  “Our surveys show the average weight of smallmouth bass has continued to increase.  According to our angler log program, smallmouth catches are as strong as ever.  All this in spite of the fear of what might happen when exotic species like the zebra mussel and round goby took hold in Lake Erie in the past years.” 

Work done by Murray and other fisheries biologists in Ohio and New York show the goby has become the number one prey consumed by adult smallmouth.  The concern was the goby – being an egg eater – would decimate the nests of bass.  However, the smallmouth apparently turned the tables on the invader with bass getting heavier on a diet of gobys.   

Roger Kenyon, head of the Lake Erie Research Unit, says it appears gobys may have peaked and are on the decline.  He further explains that smallmouth in Pennsylvania Lake Erie waters have such a rich environment for bedding that any losses do to exotic species or fishing pressure during the spawn have not affected the production of young since year classes are as strong as ever.  

Now you better understand anglers' claim that Lake Erie is “best” for smallmouth bass. 

Luring Smallmouth 

Unlike Lake Erie walleye and perch fishermen who generally judge the success of an outing by the number of fish they bring home, hard-core bass anglers release all the smallmouth they catch.  Geared to the thrill of the chase and the fight, bass anglers rarely troll or fish live bait.  Instead, their tactics are focused on rod-in-hand manipulation of lures. 

“From early spring to early summer with water temps ranging from the mid 40s to the 70s and smallmouth at depths from extreme shallows to 35 feet, Lake Erie bass anglers employ a variety of lures,’” explains longtime angler Dave Lehman of Titusville.  Lehman has religiously fished Presque Isle and Lake Erie at least weekly for the past 25 years.  Now retired, he is traveling to the Lake three or more times a week.   

“Some of the more productive presentations in the shallower waters of Presque Isle Bay include grubs, hard jerkbaits, soft ‘Fluke’ jerkbaits, wacky-rigged worms, spinnerbaits, topwater and crankbaits,” details Lehman.  “On Lake Erie proper where fishing shallower than 8 or 10 feet is uncommon, the focus is directed to deeper baits like jigging spoons, blade baits, spoonbill jerkbaits, Carolina-rigged lizards, and a variety of soft plastic jig-type lures.”   

However, Lehman admits one lure is the epitome of Lake Erie smallmouth fishing.  It is the tube bait  -- a 3” to 5” hollow soft plastic cylinder with rounded head and multiple thin legs on the tail.  The design allows it to spiral in a circle on the drop, to “tail dance” enticingly with minimal rod movement and to swim in an undulating manner when pulled through the water.  With a variety of riggings and retrieves, this bait has proven effective in an incredibly wide range of water temperatures and depths.   Insert a 3/8-ounce leadhead to fish a tube in 35 feet of water, or rig it nearly weightless on a wide-gap offset hook to fish the shallow sand flats of Presque Isle Bay. 

“By choosing a particular color pattern and applying nuances to the retrieve, a tube can imitate almost any prey consumed by adult smallmouth bass.  It is the most versatile and most productive lure in the Lake Erie smallmouth angler’s arsenal,” concludes Lehman. 

Productive tube colors have generally included smoke sparkles and muted greens to imitate baitfish and muted browns to imitate crayfish and darters.  However, with a major shift in smallmouth prey to round gobys, a “Goby” pattern tube is one of the hottest colors on the Big Lake.   

Seasonal Rundown 

The most impressive catches of Erie smallmouth come during the spring and early summer when fish are relatively shallow.  Actually, along the Pennsylvania north coast there are three uniquely different fishing possibilities that involve Lake Erie smallmouth – Presque Isle Bay, tributaries (primarily Elk Creek) and Lake Erie proper. 

Smallmouth activity kicks into gear each spring when water temperature reaches the upper 40s in Presque Isle Bay.  Smallmouth from the lake move into the Bay shortly after the first of April to feed on baitfish, and eventually spawn sometime in May or June.  A feeding/spawning run occurs on Elk Creek beginning around the end of April or first of May, just about the same time that smallmouth activity begins to pick up on the main Lake. 

Initial spawning in all three venues does not occur until water temperature stabilizes in the low to mid 60s at each respective site.  Bedding will take place in the Bay and tributaries up to a month before Lake Erie warms sufficiently for such activity to occur.  It’s not unusual to find spawning bass on the main Lake into July.  Meanwhile, by early July the vast majority of smallmouth have already departed the Bay and tributaries.    

While PF&BC regulations do not permit making repetitive casts to bass on visible beds, throughout the spawning time frame anglers will find pre-bedding and post-bedding bass cruising shallows and staging in somewhat deeper water.  During the months of May and June, smallmouth may be encountered anywhere from as shallow as 2 feet in the Bay to as deep as 35 feet in the Lake.  By mid July, practically all shallow-water smallmouth have moved into summer patterns that typically includes suspension in the water column further offshore.
 

Past Articles

EAST MEETS WEST ON LAKE ERIE
TACKLING RIVER SMALLMOUTH IN THE FALL
INDIGENOUS BAIT
SUPER SHALLOW SUMMER
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT
CRANKY SMALLMOUTH
TINY TORPEDO
LAKE ERIE “BEST” FOR SMALLMOUTH BASS
HOW TO CATCH THE BIGGEST SMALLMOUTH OF YOUR LIFE
IN QUEST OF CENTER HILL SMALLMOUTH
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