I enjoyed the Lake Erie walleye fishing so much on my New York trip that I knew I would have to try it again in Ohio. Walt Ermansons (trophycharters.com) not only consistently catches limits of walleye, he also consistently produces trophy fish, a combination that made him an easy choice for my Ohio fishing trip. Ashtabula is only six hours from my house, so this was an ideal weekend trip.
We left Ashtabula before dawn, arrived at one of Walt’s many reliable spots, and started putting out the lines. I had not even gotten the first one set up before a huge walleye slammed it. By 5:30 a.m., Ohio had officially become my 46th state, courtesy of a beautiful 29-inch, 10-pound trophy walleye, my first Ohio fish. I did not have much time to bask in my accomplishment though because, for the next 90 minutes, the fishing was non-stop. Everyone on the boat had a chance to reel in fish too because there were often multiple fish on at the same time. By 6:00, we had caught nine walleye; by 6:30, we had caught 13 walleye; and by 9:00 we had caught our limit of 24 walleye. The smallest of the fish was 22 inches, far exceeding the 15-inch minimum size limit, and the vast majority were over 24 inches, including a 28-inch, 8-pound trophy to go with my trophy to start the morning. We were back to the marina by 9:30, and I was headed back to Virginia before lunch with a cooler full of walleye and a big smile on my face after an amazing morning of fishing.
