Fishing Season 2018

[divemaster99]

Nice catches, those lake trout are likely around 30 yrs old

Thanks! My estimate for those two was around 6-10. They’re definitely slow growers, but these guys are about the upper end of average for Lake Erie and most of our adults are in the 5-8 range. I did hit a pair of 37” and 38” fish last July that were estimated around 28-35 years old, though.

 

[divemaster99]

Double post.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Double post.

Where are you getting your ages from?
What is the weight of those fish?
From what I know a lake trout of about 15 pounds is at least 18 years old, but this depends on a variety of factors

 

[divemaster99]

Where are you getting your ages from?
What is the weight of those fish?
From what I know a lake trout of about 15 pounds is at least 18 years old, but this depends on a variety of factors

The main agency that studies Lakers on Erie posts an annual report and part of it includes the average length-weight-age relationship for the fish. Our average fish are 24-28” and 5-8 years old while the two I posted were 28-30” (11-14 pounds) and somewhere around 6-10 years old, maybe 12 but I can’t see them being too much older. In more northern lakes they take longer to grow to that size but Erie is one of the most southern lakes in their range and so they seem to grow a bit faster.

 

[itrebebag99]

Thanks! It’s a Common Carp.

That size is bluecat chow here in the Midwest!

 

[itrebebag99]

Nice weekend on the water. Found some beefy Silver Redhorse yesterday.

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You know, I've tried catching Northern hognose and whites, and never had any luck. I always assumed they were filter feeders, and catching them would be impossible. What's the secret? Those are some real chunkers as well. They pull any drag?

 

[Deadliestviper7]

You know, I've tried catching Northern hognose and whites, and never had any luck. I always assumed they were filter feeders, and catching them would be impossible. What's the secret? Those are some real chunkers as well. They pull any drag?

Crickets work

 

[divemaster99]

You know, I've tried catching Northern hognose and whites, and never had any luck. I always assumed they were filter feeders, and catching them would be impossible. What's the secret? Those are some real chunkers as well. They pull any drag?

Hogsuckers are an odd fish, they don’t behave like any other species that I can think of. They definitely will eat larger food items, though. They’re a pretty opportunistic omnivore with more carnivorous tendencies. Most of the time when I fish for them, they’re either all feeding, or none of them are feeding. When it’s on, I’ve had my best days when the water is super clear and I can sight fish them. Put a whole redworm or a quarter nightcrawler on a size 12 J hook with enough splitshot to anchor on the bottom 8-12” above the hook. Toss it out and drift it so that the bait lands within an inch or two of their mouth and they’ll usually go straight for it if they’re hungry. A challenging fish for sure but one of my favorite species due to their feeding habits! And yeah all of these guys were total reel burners, Redhorse fight just as well if not better than Salmonids in my experience. There’s plenty of Trout around here but on the streams I mainly target Suckers and Redhorse this time of year.

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

We went fishing Sat. morning, no pics, but we caught a 22" Togue, a 19" Salmon and a 15" Salmon.

 

[fishnatics]

Pike was caught on Sunday and other 2. Fish were caught last on weeks opening day