Family Owned and Operated since 1924!

LOCAL FISHING INFO

Channel Grove Marina is located on beautiful East Harbor, which is a protected inland harbor off of Lake Erie. Many people don't know that East Harbor, along with West Harbor and Middle Harbor was once part of the widely spaced out mouth of the Portage River. Not only is there good fishing in Lake Erie just to the north of the harbors, the harbor fishing can be quite good with a wide variety of fresh water fish.
Back in the 1970's a state record Northern Pike caught in East Harbor of just over 18lb. Northern Pike fishing isn't what it once was in the harbors but there are Northern's caught every year by harbor fishermen.  Largemouth Bass are around in good numbers in East and West harbor which can be easily accessed by boat. Middle Harbor has good Bass fishing also, but there are no ramps or access areas to it. Canoes or very small boats that you can carry and launch from private property are the only option there. Along with the Pike and Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Sunfish, Crappie, Yellow Perch, Freshwater Drum, White Bass, Catfish, Carp, Smallmouth Bass, and even an occasional Sturgeon populate East and West Harbor. Largemouth fishermen have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of fishing in the harbors with some tournament fishermen finding winners in the local waters. On windy days when the North wind blows, a few anglers anchor up their boats in East Harbor down toward the State Park and find good catches of Yellow Perch. White Bass and Smallmouth Bass tend to hang around the rocky breakwalls that protect the harbor entrances.

Lake Erie is the Walleye capital of the world!!  Long known for it's great Walleye and Smallmouth fishing, Lake Erie is unrivaled for numbers and size of Walleye. Lake Erie holds many if not all pro Walleye tour records for size of winning catches. Many IGFA line class world records were caught in Lake Erie or one of it's tributaries. The island area of the lake is home to some good Smallmouth Bass fishing and fantastic Yellow Perch fishing as well. Our location right in the middle of Lake Erie's island area, puts you close to all the best fishing.

The great Walleye fishing is what keeps anglers coming back year after year to Lake Erie. The western basin of the lake is the hot area in May and June with some easy limit catches of 6 fish per person coming in at this time of year anywhere from the Bass Islands to Toledo and Monroe, MI.  July and August find good fishing in the island area and central basin.  In September and October the best action can be found off of Lorain and Huron, OH. in open water, or around Kelley's or Pelee islands.  The size of fish tend to be bigger around reefs and islands but numbers tend to be better in the open water west of the islands out near West Sister and Middle Sister islands. Walleye can be caught drifting and casting weight forward spinners such as Tom's Walleye lure, Crooked Eyes, Erie Dearies, and others. Also, a modified crawler harness called the "weapon" works well. This harness has only one hook and is tipped with a small piece of night crawler. Trolling for Walleye is a successful way to produce fish although a bit less fun and more work in my opinion... Trollers use a variety of hardware to gain success. Dipsy divers, Jet divers, Planer boards, Stinger spoons, and larger plugs like the Reef Runner Ripsticks are some of the things you will need to catch Walleye trolling. Then you need to figure out how to use the equipment to catch fish which can be done without too much trouble. Chartering a boat that is good at trolling can get you to the head of the class in a big hurry. Learning from an expert is the best way to get the knowledge you need to be successful. We have several good trolling charter captains at Channel Grove Marina. If you are a caster and new to Walleye fishing, we have the best casting charter captains at our marina as well that you could learn tons from in a day of fishing. In the long run the price of a charter might be money well spent in saving you the time and effort to figure it all out on your own. Remember when Walleye fishing on lake Erie that there is a 15" size limit.

Smallmouth Bass fishing has slowed a bit in recent years, but some can still be caught after the opening of Bass season on the last Saturday in June. Both the Ohio and Ontario side of the lake have this closed season. After the opening, Smallmouth can be caught on a variety of hardware and live baits. Tube lures (jigs), crank baits, Twister tailed jigs, and Spinners are some of the hard ware that works on the Bass. Live crawdads, minnows and leeches are some of the live baits that work. You have to be careful about taking live bait to Ontario waters as they have a rule about transporting live bait across the border. Also, Smallmouth Bass has a 5 fish per person bag limit and a 15" size limit.

Great Eating Yellow Perch are a popular item for fishermen in the Lake Erie region. Perch can be caught all seasons but August through October is considered the best time.  Best way to catch Perch is to get away from the islands and reefs a bit in 30-40+ ft of water and fish near the bottom with small minnows. Best bait is lake Shiners fished with a multi-hook rig like a spreader or Crappie rig with snelled hooks. Limit on Perch in Ohio is 30 per person.

Other fishing info:
Fishing licenses for Ohio can be purchased at Channel Grove and other bait and tackle shops around the area as well as on the internet at www.ohiodnr.org. Seasonal licenses: Ages 16-65 - $19. Seniors age 66+ $10. 1 day license $11. Out of state: seasonal $40. 3 day license $19. One day $11.

If you need any other fishing info, you can stop in at Channel Grove marina store and just ask! Or drop us an email and we will get back to you and answer your question as best we can.

Good luck in all your fishing adventures!

Capt Bob Brown, Jr.
Channel Grove Marina