GREAT OUTDOORS: Back to trolling as jig-biting walleyes hard to find

Although there have been a few reports of lingering pods of walleyes being taken in the Maumee Bay, some Western Basin rock piles, and near Locust Point over nearshore sand and gravel areas, the odds of catching aggressive "jacks" on hair jigs are diminishing for this season.Anglers looking to ensure a successful day on the water chasing walleyes will be better off to return to trolling crank baits until the water temperature warms enough to also use spoons and spinners.Even in the summer, when traditional weight-forward spinners and the more modern "mayfly rigs" have their best success, casters are now outnumbered by trolling anglers.These popular minnow imitations include the Rapala Deep Husky Jerk, Bandit Walleye Deep, Original Reef Runner and a sprinkling of others in a seemingly endless variety of color combinations.In fact, along with lures custom painted in colors only available at certain bait stores and other proprietary locations, some anglers have even begun to paint their own lures to express their own artistic and angling creativity.For those of you who have not tried trolling for walleyes or wish to fine-tune your understanding of all that is involved with this effective technique, thankfully there is no need to re-invent the wheel or be forced to learn through trial and error.A fine reference book written by W. H. "Chip" Gross entitled Trolling Big-Water Walleyes published by Black Squirrel Books (Kent State University Press) will substantially diminish the learning curve for catching walleyes on the aforementioned crank baits, spoons and worm harnesses (spinners).Released in 2013, it only has a couple of outdated pieces of information. One is the absence of the now extremely popular Bandit Lures and the other is the notation that Ohio law allows two rods per angler, which has since been changed to three apiece. The spiral-bound book is still available on Amazon for $24.95. Perch newsReminder: Ohio's Lake Erie yellow perch daily bag and possession limits changed on May 1 to 10 per day per licensed angler between Huron and Fairport Harbor. The rest of Ohio's portion of the lake will continue to observe a 30-fish daily limit.The Ohio Division of Wildlife hosted a public information session about yellow perch Wednesday night on Facebook. Lake Erie Fisheries program administrator Travis Hartman addressed perch management and how the Interagency Fisheries biologists use population estimates to make annual total allowable catch recommendations.He was followed by Lake Erie law enforcement supervisor Matt Leibengood, who explained where and how that rule will be enforced. He explained that the boundaries that will mark the Management Unit 2 zone with a 10-perch daily bag and possession limit -- on the water or on shore -- fall in between the longitude lines in sexagesimal notation as 82 degrees, 30' 00" and 81 degrees, 20' 00". Leibengood assured those attending that their enforcement would be primarily complaint driven. You may recall my annual prompting to fellow anglers to consider getting some of your perch fix during the spring when they are assembled close to shore for spawning.I had a chance to get out Tuesday, but we could not find any schools worth anchoring over in the first of several spots we tried off Marblehead or Kelleys Island.We finally anchored when the fish finder screen showed some fish near the Lutes's (Lucy's) Point green bell buoy off the east tip of Middle Bass. This not-so-secret perch spot gave up a couple of small white bass, a few more jumbo white perch, a handful of undersized walleyes and cooperative sheepshead and a grand total of two prime, 9-inch yellow perch.While good catches have been reported from some harbors and marinas this spring already, it may be too early yet for large, dense schools to be present at island area spawning locations.