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Jackson: Lake Erie is a hotbed of walleye for ice fishers

I've listened very carefully to what Matt Markey reports to me several times a month.

He doesn't have any ax to grind, nor does he speak for any fish and game department.

Markey is an outdoor columnist for one of Ohio's premier newspapers. He has also been on my outdoors radio talk show numerous times reporting on some pretty severe Lake Erie poaching issues and conservation police arrests.

I knew from past excursions to that wonderful fish factory I could stand a chance of catching walleyes over 10 pounds in the fall, just before ice-up. And the dream came true when I stood on a boat dock and made long casts to the outer rim of a very thick mud line. The action didn't immediately happen, so I kept bullet casting a large Rapala back into the cold water time and time again.

For the record - I am not a great fan of trolling, especially for walleyes. My first choice is to locate a school of fish, hold the boat over the pod and use a vertical jigging technique to arouse the fish's interest. In fact, one Lake Erie regular suggested I use a very large jig to "wake 'em up" so we could get the ball rolling and tease the fish into an early feeding frenzy. It worked.

So there I was, late autumn, with spinning gear, 10-pound braided line and extra large Rapala minnow baits.

It was like a light switch. My rod doubled over and I knew I was fast into a big fish - whatever it was.

Minutes later, I hauled a 7-pound fish to the net and then kept the ball rolling. I caught and released a dozen more walleyes, all caught on the big minnow bait, and all of them over 5 pounds.

But now Matt Markey informed me the action is very hot and heavy, only he and his partner are catching fish through the ice.

"You don't have to give the exact location where the hot angling is happening," Markey implored. "There are plenty of good spots not far from shore all over the western basin of the lake."

The communities around Lake Erie have experienced a fairly good jump in their local economies with a combination of local and out-of-state anglers making use of the lodging and tackle shops. The restaurant businesses are also the recipients of a decent seasonal cash flow as well.

And once again the soapbox has found its way into my life, with topics ranging from crooked politicians to an Illinois economy that floated precariously over the financial edge when it couldn't pay its bills let alone lottery winners who had their dreams shattered when state coffers dried up.

Lake Erie and its wonderful fishery is a miracle story after it came back to life after decades of abuse and pollution. Lake Michigan continues its day-to-day battles with shoreline polluters many of which reportedly had streams of cash going to some officials to look the other way.

Matt Markey knows he sits on a gold mine of great angling. And as long there is safe ice, he plans to continue mining - as long as he can handle the weather.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.

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