Thegatewaynews.com - Lake Erie smallmouth bass hordes move east

There is no longer any doubt among Lake Erie's smallmouth bass fishing fraternity that the days of the Western Basin being the big lake's pre-eminent bass fishery have gone the way of the hula hoop.

The islands near this area are still named after bass and an inordinate number of bass tournaments still originate from the same old Sandusky-to-Lorain stretch.

However, the days of 100-fish days at Ruggles Reef or off Kelley's Island are now as much the stuff of history as the Oldsmobile.

It is clear the residual effects of decades of tournaments displaced huge numbers of big spawning fish.

Likewise, charter captains making at least a transition from walleye to bass -- often without their boats even featuring any livewells at all -- brought an uninformed and insensitive tableau to their bass fishing.

These captains' worst habits carried over from their walleye fishing, including keeping and eating of these valuable sportfish or keeping smallmouth on stringers or in coolers like they were walleye for end-of-the day photo ops. After such treatment, their carcasses were often thrown dead and dying into the waters in and around shipping lanes, harbors and boat slips.

To be sure, other variables may also be at work in Erie's ecosystem that may also contribute to or better explain transition of small-mouth prominence from the west end.

It's true the west end still boasts more productive smallmouth days than any inland lake.

However, the bass waters seem to improve exponentially as one heads eastward, including a noticeable jump in the central basin's breakwall areas and drop-offs around Geneva, Ashtabula and Ohio's current bass champ at Conneaut.

The improvements continue seasonally heading eastward, toward the smallmouth nirvana to be experienced at Pennsylvania's Presque Isle and New York's Dunkirk shorelines.

Savvy anglers have learned to remember the season now migrates, much like walleyes and yellow perch migrations that roam easterly as the open water season goes on.

The bass fishing in the western basin peaks in April, the central basin peaks most often in May, and the eastern basin peaks in June.

Key variables include greater depths and consequently slower-to-warm waters the further east one moves.

Sadly, for many of us older Erie bassers who have been spoiled by years of 100-fish days in the western basin, even at the West end's current April peak falls far short of average days at the lake's other end.

This is evidenced by the increasing number of the more prestigious tournaments that have abandoned the Sandusky area for venues closer to New York.

Here's hoping that a more enlightened and motivated generation of bass anglers can instill a new ethic.

Combined with Ohio's long-overdue closed season on smallmouth bass, this could usher in not only safe maintenance of the eastern basin's bass bounties, but the eventual comeback of Erie's once predominant western locales.

Editor's note: Readers can reach Jack Kiser via the Web at www.buckeyeangler.com.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3913