News For 2011:
Bo-Kay Fishing Charters

Hi, Guys & Gals: Yes I am going to do it again!

There are a lot of changes at the marina for this year. They have really done a lot to make the parking area look nice. The parking area has been enlarged with new black top, lamps, benches, walkway pavers, and refinished gate houses. I won't say anything about the mess we had last fall.

The Walleye fishing was great this past year until July when things got real ugly again, as some of you know. We had a very hot summer and the fish went north east. I canceled most of the trips for walleyes after that. Let me be the first to admit that some fish did stay here and some of the guys got a few when they could get out. I can't book trips on the hope that I can get you out and that you can catch those scattered fish. The steelhead didn't show up, I am not sure why, so we only got a couple all season.

The throwbacks we got in 2010 will be keepers in 2011. This does not mean that we will have a bumper year. The hatch of '03 has All But Gone and has been replaced with the 07 hatch. We hit those fish pretty hard as many of you know. On a good day we were catching customers' limits in anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. All those great aggressive Walleyes were hitting everything they could get their mouths on. We didn't see too many big ones (10+) this past season. I didn't give the taxidermist any fish to mount. Well, that may have been a problem last season, but that just means there will be some really big wall hangers for this season.

You can look for the limit to be 6 walleyes this year, perch will be 30; this information will be verified in May. Even so, they are going to allow the ice fishermen and the early Commercial Canadian Fishermen to catch those big hens again before they can spawn. In addition, Canadians are permitted to fish on our side of the line. We have tried to change the minds of the ODNR but all of our attempts to provide them with information that may lead to better decisions have failed; they simply turn a deaf ear.

Last year the water temperature came up pretty fast and just kept climbing to 79 deg. Last read at the yellow weather buoy, north of Vermilion, OH at the Canadian line, I made a couple trips out there and did pretty well until the fish went north into Canadian waters and that was it. The walleyes stayed in the area through mid July. We caught a lot of 24-29 inch fish.

The outlook is very good for the early part of the 2011 fishing season. We have had six years of fair to good reproduction, which means that the hatches have been normal, not great. There will be some smaller fish joining the pack and the ones that we released will grow, and by spring they should be another couple of inches bigger and fatter. I don't expect the walleyes to change their feeding habits this season, so we will probably have some good fishing early in the season. There are some big ones out there…remember the one that jumped out of the net at the back of the boat last year?? The biiigggg one that got away!

I normally tell everyone that the prime time for Walleye is from mid-May to mid-September. Last season it was from mid-May to July. We have had five years of the best fishing that I have seen since the 80's. The Steelhead season was less than expected and will probably be two weeks either side of the Fourth of July again this year, and again in October, depending upon the water temperature.

This was a good year for perch fishing, the problem we had getting emerald shiners seems to be over. The best time for good Perch fishing is May to mid-June. The perch are a little lighter in weight in the early season, but they are really hungry and aggressive since they are about to spawn. The perch fishing picks up again in late August and just keeps getting better through October and into November. The major problem in the late season is the weather—it can be a real problem just trying to get out on the water. Plan to book early so you can have your choice of dates.

Regarding fishing licenses, if you are on the boat you are considered to be fishing or helping someone fish, so you must have a license. All kids over 16 must have a license.

The fish cutting/cleaning service at hot waters worked out great for everyone — less handling and quicker too.

I'm looking forward to a fish-filled 2011 season on Lake Erie, so, Call Me, And Let's Go Fishing!

Captain Bob Schmidt / email: Bo-Kay@Centurytel.net

Bo-Kay Fishing Charter / 1715 W 26th St / Lorain OH 44052-4331 / Ph 1-888-551-0440

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