11/3/26 Lake Erie Walleye Fishing Report — Central Basin out of Lorain
November 3, 2026
Lake Erie walleye fall fishing is heating up as the fall tournaments get into full swing — the Fall Brawl, the Walleye Slam, and the Walleye Derby, each offering top prizes of new boats, cash, and more. Sir Walleye does not fish these tournaments, because Captain Kris is guiding Lake Erie waterfowl hunts for Huckeye Charters from October through January. If you’ve fished with us, you already know how we catch Lake Erie walleye fast and furious — and we shoot ducks the same way off the Lake Erie shorelines and islands.
As for the fishing report out of the Central Basin — Lorain, the walleyes are slowly moving closer to the shoreline and sitting in 44 to 51 feet of water. Trolling dominates the catch rate right now — jigs and spoons, Bandits, and Flicker Minnows. Pick your poison and let ’er eat this time of year. The night bite is starting to pick up in the shallows with Smithwick P10s anywhere from 10 to 35 feet back.
For those who may not know the term “back” — it refers to the amount of line we let out before clipping it to a trolling board. So when I say 10 to 35 feet back, I mean 10 to 35 feet of line out to get the lure to the right depth before hooking it to the small trolling boards. To my knowledge, no limits have been reported consistently at night yet. I’m sure someone, somewhere is catching a few, but it’s not everywhere at the moment.
Lake Erie Waterfowl Report
Our Lake Erie waterfowl hunting zones, A & B, closed on Sunday for a two-week split. The first split in both zones started with a bang — both boats shooting into the mid-20s on duck numbers each day, with the most plentiful harvest being greenwing teal, gadwall, and mallards. The fast-paced action slowly faded as the weather warmed up and we got unfavorable winds for big-water duck hunting, and opportunities dropped to 1 to 5 per day rather quickly.
We don’t always measure success in waterfowl hunting by how many ducks are in the boat, but by how many plays or opportunities we had to shoot. In the second half of the split, a few divers showed up down toward Maumee Bay — bluebills and buffleheads, in small numbers. For that last stretch we gave our clients the option to reschedule or join us if it was the only time they could make it, given the low bird and harvest numbers. Some folks chose to reschedule; others decided to join us and enjoy good company in the blind with a few opportunities each day. Hunting and fishing isn’t always about how much you harvest. It’s about the quality of the time spent.
We expect north and northwest winds with small cold fronts over the next two weeks during the split to get the divers moving down from up north and the puddle ducks moving into the Lake Erie region in larger numbers. We haven’t seen the main migration of any species up to this point, so we’d expect the start of the next split to bring a good number of bluebills and buffleheads, as well as puddle ducks — so hang on, folks, the second split should be a banger. We’re not the guide service that tells you what you want to hear to get a booking. We report the good with the bad and stay fully transparent about our hunting and fishing adventures.
Stay tuned for updates — we’ll post Lake Erie news and events every couple of weeks to monthly. I’ll be running the 24’ Custom Gator Trax for Huckeye Charters, hunting Lake Erie waterfowl for the next 90 days or so. Join me for an action-packed Big Water duck hunt — just ask for Captain Kris.
Call (574) 253-8314 to book your Lake Erie walleye charter for April–October 2027 with Sir Walleye Charters.
Mustad Pro Tips:
- Fall trolling is hard on hooks — re-tune and swap out any that are dulled or bent before your next trip. Grab quality Mustad hooks and boat tools at the Mustad Fishing website and use code SIRWALLEYE20 at checkout for 20% off the entire site.
Until Next Time,
Gotta Go, Fish ON 🎣 Get The Net‼️,
Captain Kris
Sir Walleye Charters