The perch fishing is great right now. Anglers are reporting catches in Sandusky Bay, Toledo, and the Lake Erie Islands. Walleye fishing continues to be hot offshore. Steelhead have started showing up in numbers offshore to feed. Smallmouth bass are in their summer patterns. Learn where and how to catch your favorite species in this Lake Erie fishing report for August 2025.
Walleye Fishing Report
Western Basin: Walleye can be found throughout the Western basin. Recent catches have been around West Sister, NE of Kelleys Island, West Reef, and the Cedar Point Dump. Canadian waters are the hot spot right now, the Wagon Wheel around Pelee island is producing fast limits. Casting using single blades with worms has been working well lately. Trolling spoons or worm harnesses is working also.
Central Basin: Huron and Lorain are the hot areas right now. South of the Huron dump all the way to Vermilion has a school of fish hanging around. They are huge, but they will fill the cooler. In Lorain, the offshore bite (10-15 Miles) has been great. Don’t be surprised if you hook up with a steelhead while walleye fishing out there. Schools of walleye are moving fast in search of food. You may have to move around a little bit to find them from day to day. Spoons and dipsy divers are ruling the trolling scene in the central basin. Note: Don’t be afraid to look in shallow water right now. You may be surprised to find schools of walleye roaming.
Eastern Basin: In PA, 40-70 FOW has been great walleye fishing. Most anglers are trolling, but some have been catching them jigging at those depths. Most likely with forward facing sonar. Trolling plugs or spoons with dipsy divers has been the most successful method this month. Pro tip: Marking fish is key, especially with the thermocline setup now. If you can mark fish on plane, even better.
Perch Fishing Report
Perch fishing is starting to heat up in the Western basin of Lake Erie. Anglers are reporting seeing schools start to roam around the water intake in Toledo, as well as the islands. Sandusky bay is a hot spot for perch right now. They are shallow and can be caught right off the piers and docks in Sandusky. The Canadian shore around Pointe Pelee has been great perch fishing for the last month. The deep waters off of the Northern shore attract perch year around. If you are looking to target perch, anywhere in Lake Erie, using a sibiki style bait has become the norm. Using a lure such as a Perch Assassin.
Steelhead Fishing Report
Steelhead are found offshore this time of year. They are schooled up and ready to be caught. If you are looking to target offshore steelhead you should be fishing 65+ FOW. Popular ports to target are Avon, Cleveland, Erie, and Barcelona. If you are fishing the North shore, any port will do because the water is deep closer to shore. Use bright colored spoons and dipsy divers to target the fish. 2.5 – 3 MPH is a good starting point to troll for steelhead. Sometimes even faster speeds work!
Smallmouth Bass Fishing Report
Although you can catch smallmouth around the US islands, Pelee Island (Canada), is the place to be. If you fish the North shore in Canada, even better. The structure and features just setup better in Canadian waters for smallmouth fishing. The entire area round the island is riddled with rubble and boulders. Along with the islands, the rocky shorelines on the South and North shores can be great places to find smallmouth. In these areas, smallmouth roam, so finding them might take some time. Good July baits for smallmouth include a tube, dropshot, ned rig, and a swimbait.
For more Lake Erie fishing reports, be sure to visit our fishing reports page!