Lake Erie is historical. Let me explain my opening statement. From the beginning of time, Lake Erie has been important. Local Indian tribes would use the lake as a travel route.

Recently RJ and I took a ride to Westfield. Along the way she noticed several roadway signs that read Portage Trail.

She asked, “Hey, what is the Portage Trail?” I went on to give a very brief history of how Lake Erie, at one time, was a major travel route. If folks needed to get something from the Midwest to the East Coast, they would ship their items on Lake Erie.

A portage is a piece of land — it could be a few yards or several miles — between two waterways. The Portage Trail in our part of the country was basically from Lake Erie to what we now know as Chautauqua Lake.

Folks would have their items/goods transported from Lake Erie ports — for example,Westfield/Barcelona to Chautauqua Lake — to be sent down the river to various other ports, such as Pittsburgh or beyond.

Lake Erie saw plenty of action for wars that were fought on American soil/waterways. Most notable was the War of 1812 (thank you, U.S. Commodore Oliver Perry. This was when the folks in England realized how bad they needed America and how to revisit the Revolutionary War. Well, as everybody knows, that didn’t go so well for the Brits.

Ports along the shoreline of Lake Erie are still used for sending and receiving. Cities such as Erie, Cleveland and Buffalo have grown from small tent towns to major markets, mostly because of their start as a Lake Erie port.

While not used as much as major shipping lanes and more, there are still designated shipping lanes on Lake Erie with cargo ships making their runs from one port to another.

The history of fishing on Lake Erie is as old as the lake itself. The lake’s fishing history can be separated into three general periods, beginning with Indigenous tribes’ utilization of the lakes for their subsistence.

That was followed by the commercialized harvesting of fish on massive scales, and then the current state of the lake’s fisheries: modest commercial utilization combined with extensive recreational angling.

Through these three periods, Lake Erie has gone through many changes. Hence the fishery itself has evolved. Depending on which section of the lake one is fishing, the lake offers different structure. One thing has always been consistent with Lake Erie — the weather dictates fishing or any other on-the-water activity, for that matter.

While I am no means an expert on fishing Lake Erie — I have fished it hundreds of times over the years — I learned a long time ago that caution cannot be stressed enough when fishing there.

Fishing Lake Erie is best when the wind is blowing out of the west. I know that is an old wives’ tale, but when it comes to Lake Erie it’s a hard-and-fast rule. Another hard-and-fast rule is always keep one eye on your rod and the other on the wind. Wind on Lake Erie can kick up quickly.

For this and many other reasons I strongly recommend fishing with an experienced Lake Erie captain. These folks know the lake, understand the wind, know where the fish are and will protect their clients over catching fish at all costs.

Unfortunately, things happen, and this past week we received word of the loss of one of Lake Erie’s own — Captain Fred Forsythe Jr. Captain Fred was an experienced charter boat captain with years of experience on the lake and will be sorely missed by all those who knew him. Take a moment and say a pray for Fred’s family and loved ones.

The loss of Captain Fred brings to light that all the experience in the world doesn’t mean anything when things go wrong on this mighty lake. Respect is the key for any body of water, but a vast fishery like Lake Erie needs your respect every time you head out.

Lake Erie offers such a diverse fishery, and it is just one of the reasons anglers travel from across the country and world to take advantage of the excellent fishery that it offers. From jack/monster perch to trophy walleye to record smallmouth bass to salmon and a few less desirable species, Erie has it all.

Sharing its shoreline with four states and two countries allows fishing anglers to test their skill in a very diverse fishery.

This summer has been good for walleye anglers. A recent creel survey has shown its been excellent for many anglers. The survey showed a June walleye catch rate of 0.39 fish per hour, which is the third-highest June catch rate recorded in the last 20 years.

The bite will continue through the end of July. Anglers are catching walleye out of all ports, although the most effort and best action has been out of Barcelona and Buffalo. With that being said, Dunkirk Harbor, the walleye capital of the northeast — has seen a huge uptick in success.

As long as Mother Nature allows, anglers have been finding large schools of walleye 70-80 feet with some schools being suspended. Currently the bite has been with spoons on down riggers and dipsey set to 180 with lead core tipped off with stick baits.

“Most boats are boxing out, out of Dunkirk right now,” said Captain Joel Ruggiero of Baitmaster Charters. “The season started a little late for some but currently the walleye bite is on.”

Barcelona trollers report a steady bite in 50-70 feet of water. From Buffalo to Sturgeon Point, anglers see good action in 45-65 feet of water. Out of both harbors, bottom-bouncing with worm harnesses has been most productive. Harnesses and stickbaits run within 20 feet of bottom are taking some suspended walleye, too. Expect to also catch a bunch of drum if running worms near the bottom.

This past week reports out of Dunkirk have also been right around 80 feet. Some fish have been schooled up in the top 40 feet of those columns. Of course, once anglers are finding a good school of bait fish, walleye will also be holding close by.

It’s been a few years since the walleye capital of the northeast/Dunkirk Harbor has landed a national fishing tournament with all the national exposure brings, but on Aug. 24-26 that will change. Cabela’s National Walleye Tour will see how Lake Erie will produce for its season championship. The Con Clubs annual tournament begins Aug. 5 and Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge will take place on Aug. 20.

According to longtime Lake Erie charter boat captain Terry Jones, “the key summer success on Lake Erie is the current. The head of the river where the lake bottom necks down to follow into the river is great during summer months. Downsizing your artificial offerings to Strike Kings 2.75-inch tubes are always a good bet. Keeping your line invisible is important. That is why 6-pound test fluorocarbon made by Seaguar’s Abrazx Fluorocarbon has been producing great for us this season.”

While other parts of the lake have been a bit slow, successful smallmouth anglers are still finding fish rocky structure in 30-45 feet of water. A drop-shot rig with live shiners and crayfish are good offerings. Expect to also catch plenty of drum, regardless of fishing live bait, though.

Summer is a great time to be an angler and there is no better time than filling your freezer with few Lake Erie walleye filets. Remember, if you are new to Lake Erie fishing, it’s always best to go with an experienced charter boat captain. They will show you more in a day than most of us can learn in a lifetime.