8/18/26 Lake Erie Walleye Fishing Report — Central Basin out of Lorain
August 18, 2026
Lake Erie Central Basin walleye fishing remains strong — limits are very common, except on the odd day here and there when the fish decide not to cooperate. We’ve made some changes to the crankbaits we’re trolling and, man, it’s really paying off. Skies have been mostly cloudy, air temps in the upper 70s to low 80s, and the humidity has been very tolerable. We still don’t have a thermocline set up yet — I attribute most of that to north-northeast winds that have kept the water mixing, cooler air that hasn’t warmed the surface, and seas averaging about 2 feet over the last week. We’ve had a few rain showers, but that doesn’t really affect the fishing much — they’re already wet!
Now for the good stuff you all read these reports for. I’ve transitioned to fishing 38 to 44 feet of water. Some of you may think, “Wow, Captain, you’re really close to shore.” Well, that’s not always the case out of Lorain — there’s a wide, wide, wide area from the shoreline west toward Vermilion, all the way out to the weather buoy, that holds that depth. Like I mentioned, we changed crankbaits. I’ve gone to the number 11 Berkley Flicker Minnow painted by Big Moe’s Custom Crankbaits — running some of his standard colors and mixing in a few I’m testing for the Sir Walleye series coming out in spring 2027. Hot colors have been blue chrome, cranberry crush, and a new one I’m testing called pink nighty. I went to these Minnows to gain depth: I’m still on 200-foot wire, but the Flicker Minnows dive considerably deeper than the Jr. Thundersticks. By my estimate I’m getting down 38 to 40 feet, and I’m marking most of the fish under 40 feet in the water column. As we all know, once I speed up we need to be just a tad above them — and with the clean water in the Central Basin, I can run 4 to 6 feet above and the walleye will still attack!
The Dipsy program hasn’t changed at all — I’m still running shallow-diving Jr. Thundersticks on the 3, 2, and 1 settings. The grade of fish seems to be improving each day: a little nicer, a little bigger, and we’re even seeing a few that aren’t quite official Ohio keepers yet. Speed at the Fish Hawk probe has stayed in the 2.8 to 3.0 MPH range.
Sir Walleye Charters is closing our 2026 new-booking calendar on September 1, 2026. Have you been thinking about fishing with us? Now’s the time to get on the schedule — we still have a few open dates in the last of August. Call (574) 253-8314 to book your Lake Erie walleye charter with Sir Walleye Charters.
Mustad Pro Tips:
- Use lure colors you have the most confidence catching fish on.
- Dark days, dark lures; bright days, bright lures.
- Upgrade the hooks on any bait from the factory — premium hooks land more fish. 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