Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
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By Louie Stout
The walleye bite is on big time on Lake Erie.
Just look at the kind of weekend Pat Kleppert, Zack Guerin (Marcellus, Mich.) and Dion Deans, a boat salesman at D&R Sports Center, had last weekend.
Shown here is an 8 pounder Dion boated while the group trolled Rapala Husky Jerks (fire tiger) on planer boards.
They were fishing out of Port Clinton, Ohio from Kleppert’s 20-foot Ranger 620. They targeted about 28 feet of water east of South Bass Island.
“The weather was challenging,” said Kleppert, a Rapala sales rep who lives in Jones, Mich. “There were a lot of boats out there.”
Kleppert said they had 13 walleyes Sunday that weighed 65 pounds and 5 Monday that weighed 29 pounds.
“I fished there before the guys showed up and had four fish over 8 pounds,” said Kleppert. “The fish were pre-spawn walleyes and the water temperature was 48 degrees. It was a lot of fun!”
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IDNR Report
The Midwest Walleye Challenge is back! If you’re interested in a little friendly competition with other Midwest anglers; enjoy fishing for walleye, sauger and saugeye; and want to help DNR’s fisheries biologists; this tournament is for you.
The challenge runs from April 1 through June 29 and offers a great opportunity for anglers to win prizes in a variety of categories. These include Most Waterbodies Fished, Most Fish Caught, Longest Fish, and even a Tough Luck category for those who log a trip but get skunked.
There is a $25 entry fee to participate in the 2025 tournament. Once you’ve entered, use the free mobile app, MyCatch, to upload photos, fishing trips, and fish measurements. All data collected from participating anglers help DNR fish biologists better understand the walleye, sauger, and saugeye populations in Indiana’s waters, which leads to more informed management practices, which leads to better fisheries for Hoosier anglers statewide.
For more information, and to register for the contest, visit www.anglersatlas.com/event/840/2025-midwest-walleye-challenge-indiana.
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Whitewater Report
Among bucket-list spring walleye fishing destinations, the Detroit River is legendary. With both trophy potential and numbers, the river draws scores of anglers each year, many partaking in the run as an annual rite.
One of those anglers is Judson Rodriguez, who escorted Whitewater Fishing staff on the metro moving waters, all in search of big, photo-worthy fish. Below, Judson offers his advice for anglers thinking about fishing the Detroit—including the when, where, and how of it.
“In early April, the water temp was between 43.3- and 43.8 degrees. As we got into a little more stained water, the water temp came up a bit. We fished a lot of those water areas where clear water met dirty and found fish there, which is typical,” says Rodriguez.
“There was a good mix of spawning females with lots of smaller males in the mix. We started fishing at 6:30 a.m. each day so we could see what we were doing. The best bite is typically around daybreak, so we had about an hour to pluck big females. Then, the rest of the day, it’s sorting males until about 6 p.m., and then you’ve got a shot at another big one.”
Rodriguez says time of day and water clarity are consistently two big factors on the Detroit River and other major river systems—as well as water temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees. “For us, it was a mix of big fish still hanging around and others filtering back out.”
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MDNR Report
Fishing the Muskegon River this spring? Be on the lookout for Michigan DNR personnel collecting walleye eggs below Croton Dam. Egg collections with electrofishing boats will start as early as the week of March 24 and conclude by April 12.
Four days of egg collections are planned this spring. The date those collections will begin depends on water temperatures and the presence of ripe fish (fish that are ready to spawn), and the schedule may change based on conditions.
The egg-take zone runs from Croton Dam downstream to the Pine Street Access Site, so anglers who wish to avoid the walleye collection activities should fish downstream from the Pine Street Access Site. Anyone fishing near the egg-collection zone should use caution when fishing near the electrofishing boats. For safety, anyone wading will be asked to exit the water when electrofishing boats approach.
Electrofishing usually begins at Croton Dam each day at 8 a.m. and proceeds downstream to the Pine Street Access Site. If more eggs are needed, additional collections may occur downstream to the Thornapple Avenue (High Rollway) Access Site.