Ottawa River

The Western Basin of Lake Erie is extremely popular with fishermen and recreational boaters. This basin is regarded by many as the best and most productive walleye and smallmouth bass fishery in North America. This is a destination ice fishing trip for trophy walleye.

Emerald shiner, spottail shiner, gobies and gizzard shad are abundant. Yellow perch are also important food sources for walleye.

In early spring, walleye migrate towards the reefs and islands of the Western Basin to spawn while some of the population spawns in the incoming streams and rivers. The Maumee, Portage and Sandusky rivers receive the greatest concentrations of fish. After spawning, walleye spread out throughout the Western Basin. A number of fish move into the Detroit River and continue upstream into Lake St. Clair and vice versa. As the shallow water warms during the late spring and early summer, walleye migrate towards Bass Islands and into the Central Basin of Lake Erie to find cooler water. White bass, white perch and yellow perch have similar spawning movements as walleye. In the fall and winter time, the majority of the walleye make their migration back to the Western Basin of the lake around the many islands. Ice fishing around these islands is extremely popular. During the springtime, smallmouth and largemouth bass will move to shallow water to spawn. Look for pea gravel or holes in the weeds for bedded bass. Post spawn, the bass will start to move to their summer areas near deep water.