Bumper hatches of walleye that not long ago would’ve seemed extraordinary have during recent summers become ordinary.
None of nature’s present production should be taken for granted, nonetheless. A turn in another direction is not only possible but at some future time probable.
Still.
“We’re on a pretty amazing run of walleye production,” said Travis Hartman, Lake Erie fisheries program administrator for the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
The preliminary hatch results, which concern walleye taken in trawl surveys during the summer in the western basin, again is rated exceptional. In numbers, the hatch is estimated at more than 20 million fish “with the potential to be extremely large,” states a recent wildlife division fact sheet.
The estimate offers
a glimpse of the potential number of young walleyes likely to enter the pool of fish large enough to legally keep – that is, 15 inches – two years from now.
At this point the fishing pool is already locked and loaded.
Last year’s hatch, most of which won’t reach 15 inches until late summer or early fall a year from now, also was rated exceptional. As were the hatches in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, making exceptional the byword for six of the past nine years.
The hatches in 2020 and 2022 were designated “large” at more than 20 million. The only klunker in the batch occurred when the 2024 hatch received a “low” ranking for producing fewer than 10 million walleyes.
The walleye catch rate in 2025, the most recent year for which results are available, was 0.93 per hour, a record covering 46 years during which results have been tracked.
Asked whether Lake Erie might hold too many walleye, Hartman indicated that few signs exist that such is the current case.
“The lake is generally self-regulating,” he wrote in an email exchange. “In the regard that when lots of walleye are being produced there are also enough prey being produced.”
The condition of adult walleyes suggests that high numbers appear sustainable, Hartman stated.
“I was cleaning some central basin walleye this summer,” he shared. “When I was going through the body cavity to find the stomach to see what they were eating, I had to sort through lots of fat to find the stomachs. We have a lot of healthy adult walleye, and without sufficient prey that wouldn't be the case.”
More definitive hatch results won’t be available until December after lakewide trawl surveys conducted by Ohio and Ontario personnel are complete. Sampling covers walleye and yellow perch to help fix populations that help determine next year’s catch regulations.
Steelhead
While Lake Erie isn’t exactly a short run for central Ohio anglers, the lake’s steelhead fishing is strong enough to lure more than a few waders north during cool- and cold-weather months.
Steelhead, or lake-run rainbow trout, are stocked in several streams, including the Ashtabula, Chagrin, Cuyahoga, Grand, Rocky and Vermilion rivers and Conneaut Creek. Rocky River is especially accessible because a parkway traces the stream.
The growing fish fatten up in Lake Erie until they are old enough to attempt to spawn. They enter the streams during fall months and continue to do so throughout the winter and into spring.
The returns in recent years haven’t reached expectations after access to wild strains of steelhead were reduced because of COVID. However, the wildlife division is looking for better returns this year because wild strains of steelhead from Michigan and Wisconsin again make up the stock.
Steelhead are raised at the Castalia hatchery near Sandusky. Search Ohio Fishing Reports and Forecasts for catching tips.
outdoors@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Lake Erie walleye numbers are booming again
