COLUMBUS — Lake Erie anglers can expect the 2024 fishing season to once again offer world-renowned opportunities, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
Following years of strong walleye hatches, Lake Erie continues to prove it’s The Walleye Capital of the World. Additionally, a stable population of yellow perch in the western zone of Lake Erie will provide good fishing in 2024, while low catch rates are expected to continue in the central and eastern zones.
“Lake Erie is known around the world as a premier fishing destination for a variety of species,” said Travis Hartman, administrator of the Lake Erie Fisheries Program for the Division of Wildlife. “Lake Erie’s sustained high performance is due in part to science-based management that guides regulations and ensures long-term angling opportunities.”
The Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch fisheries are managed through an interagency quota system. Each jurisdiction regulates its catches to comply with annually determined safe yield levels that ensure sustainability. The quotas were announced by the Lake Erie Committee on March 22.
Walleye
The daily walleye limit on Lake Erie is six fish per angler with a 15-inch minimum length requirement. Walleye hatch success has been above average for six consecutive years, including the three largest hatches surveyed. Anglers can often catch plentiful 2- to 6-year-old fish from 15 to 24 inches. Larger fish from the 2015 and earlier hatches will provide opportunities to reel in a Fish-Ohio-qualifying walleye (minimum 28 inches).
Abundant young fish will spawn late and range from 9 to 14 inches, with increasing numbers of 2-year-olds reaching 15 inches as the season progresses. Anglers are encouraged to release sub-legal fish with as little catch as possible so they can contribute to future fisheries. By 2023, Ohio anglers caught and released more than 1 million small walleye.
“The 2023 walleye hatch index showed above average results in the western and central basins,” Hartman said. “We expect walleye anglers to find exceptional fishing across the lake.”
Yellow perch
Yellow perch abundance in the western zone from Toledo to Huron is stable because a large year class of 3-year-old fish will anchor the population in 2024. The best success is expected in July through mid-August when water temperatures are above 76 degrees, and again from mid-October to November as adult perch move to shallower water to feed in water temperatures below 60 degrees. Warm waters in July and August have provided most of the angler yellow perch harvest in 2023. Abundant perch from 7 to 10 inches will dominate the catch with jumbo 12-inch and larger fish from the older year classes which also contributes to the latter.
The middle zone of Lake Erie from Huron to Fairport Harbor continues to experience low yellow perch abundance, primarily driven by poor to moderate hatches over the past decade. Although catch rates are expected to remain low, the last fishing season in 2023 has provided some limited opportunities from Vermilion to Avon and out of Cleveland.
In the east zone, from Fairport Harbor to Conneaut, the population dropped below the previous 20-year average, but moderate hatches from 2019 and 2021 kept abundance above the central zone. Catch rates are expected to remain low during the 2024 season, except at times such as late fall when adult perch congregate in large schools near harbors. From the average 2019 year class, 5-year-old perch will average about 9 inches in length with some reaching 12 inches.
Conservative quotas ensure that sustainable spawning stocks allow the best chance for population recovery. Yellow perch daily limits remain unchanged compared to 2023 with a daily limit of 30 perch in the west zone, 10 in the central zone and 30 in the east zone.
Bass
Smallmouth bass and largemouth bass fishing in 2024 will remain good with opportunities for trophy catches. The daily limit is five bass per day with a 14-inch minimum size requirement until April 30, and again from June 22 to April 30, 2025. During the spawning season, from May 1 to June 21, anglers may harvest one bass per day with a minimum size requirement of 18 inches.
Lake Erie fishing reports, information on Lake Erie research and management programs, fisheries resources, maps and links to other Lake Erie web resources are available at wildohio.gov. Current fishing regulations can be found on the HuntFish OH app, at wildohio.gov, or locations where fishing licenses are sold.
2022. By 2022, anglers will generate $5.5 billion in economic spending in Ohio, according to a recent report released by the Wildlife Management Institute, Responsive Management and Southwick Associates. The survey found that 18% of Ohio adults, approximately 1.7 million individuals, participated in fishing and 37% of them took at least one trip to Lake Erie to fish.
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