Lake Erie Fishing Report Updated July 1, 2008   Updated Steelhead Information  |  Lake Erie Weather Forecast  *NOTE: Effective July 1, 2008 Lake Erie Yellow Perch: Daily limits on yellow perch west of the Huron Pier will be reduced from 30 to 25 fish per angler.   In all Ohio waters east of the Huron Pier, daily limits on yellow perch remain at 30 per angler.  Shore-based anglers or those in returning vessels to any marina or boat ramp west of the Huron River and Pier will be permitted to have only 25 fish in their possession effective July 1 and thereafter.  Shore-based anglers or those in returning vessels may possess daily bag limits of 30 fish per angler anywhere in the Huron River and Pier and all waters eastward.   March 1 through April 30 the walleye limit is 4 fish per day, and then returns to 6 per day on May 1. The minimum size limit for walleye is 15”. The yellow perch daily bag limit on Lake Erie is 30 fish per day.  The black bass (largemouth and smallmouth) daily bag limit is 5 fish with a 14” minimum size limit. The steelhead trout daily bag limit is 2. The minimum size limit for steelhead is 12 inches. **The black bass (largemouth and smallmouth) daily bag limit is 5 fish with a 14” minimum size limit.**   **The daily bag limit for Lake Erie yellow perch will dropped from 30 to 25 fish per angler effective July 1, 2008 in waters west of the Huron pier.  The daily bag limit will remain at 30 fish per angler in Ohio waters from Huron eastward.   Any boats landing west of Huron, Ohio will be subject to the 25 fish daily bag limit, while boats landing at Huron or points east will be subject to a 30 fish daily bag limit.   Shore-based anglers west of the Huron pier will be subject to a 25 fish daily bag limit, while those on the pier and eastward will remain at 30 fish daily.**   **The walleye bag limit is 6 fish per day. The minimum size limit for walleye is 15 inches.**   **The steelhead trout daily bag limit is 5.  The minimum size limit for steelhead is 12 inches.**   Western Basin   Walleye fishing has been good in the western basin over the past week.  West of the islands the best fishing has been between WestSisterIsland and the turnaround buoy of the Toledo shipping channel.  Farther east the best area has been 3 to 4 miles E and NE of Kelleys Island.   Steelhead have also been incidentally caught NE of Kelleys Island by walleye anglers.  Drifting with bottom bouncers and worm harnesses or casting mayfly rigs has been productive.  Trollers have been catching fish on spoons with divers, or worm harnesses fished with inline weights, snap weights, bottom bouncers, or divers.   Yellow perch fishing has been best off of Lakeside and off of the airport reef on the E side of KelleysIsland.  Perch spreaders or crappie rigs with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish.   Central Basin   Walleye fishing has been good S of the Huron dumping grounds in 32’ of water, N of the Vermilion breakwall, N of Beaver Creek, NW of the Chagrin River in 60 to 65’ of water, NW of Gordon Park in 56 to 63’ of water, NW of Fairport Harbor in 65 to 74’ of water, NW of Geneva in 60 to 70’ of water, and N of Ashtabula in 60 to 70’ of water.  Trollers are using crankbaits or spoons and worm harnesses off jet divers, dipsy divers, planer boards and downriggers.  The best action has been 20’ down and the best spoon colors have been gold, orange, green and pink.   Yellow perch fishing west of Cleveland has been best N of the Vermilion breakwall and off of the Lorain lighthouse.  Fishing has been good NW of Gordon Park in 50’ of water, NW of Fairport Harbor in 50 to 55’ of water, N of Geneva in 60 to 70’ of water and N of Conneaut in 55 to 65’ of water.  Perch spreaders or crappie rigs with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish. Fish have ranged from 7 to 12 inches.   Smallmouth bass fishing has been very good in 5 to 20’ of water around Cleveland, FairportHarbor, Ashtabula and Conneaut harbors.  Fish are being caught on watermelon, pumpkinseed and green tube jigs.   Steelhead fishing is picking up and fish are being caught off ChagrinRiver, Fairport, Geneva and Ashtabula.  Anglers are catching steelhead on spoons while trolling for walleye.   Based on the nearshore forecast the water temperature is 70 off of Toledo and 68 off of Cleveland.   Anglers are encouraged to always wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device while boating.   To view the predicted weather forecast for LakeErie visit: http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?file=/raw/fz/fzus61.kcle.glf.le.txt   To view Lake Erie boating information, safety tips, and launch ramps visit: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/default/tabid/2062/Default.aspx