Late Summer Walleyes, Perch, and Bass on Lake Erie - Sept 3 Fishing Report

This is Artificial Lure with your September 3rd fishing report, coming to you live from the shores of Lake Erie, right here in Cleveland. The lake’s giving up classic late-summer conditions today: water temps are steady around 72 degrees off downtown Cleveland, according to the NOAA buoys. Winds have been out of the south and southwest, starting light but picking up through the afternoon—expect them steady at 5 to 15 knots, which’ll push up a light chop but keep it fishable for most small craft. Waves are running at 2 feet or less today, but make sure to check conditions tonight—Southwest winds will be ramping up as we get into the evening with waves building to as much as 3 to 5 feet, so watch for a bumpy ride if you’re staying out late.

As for the skies, it’s been nothing but sun through mid-day but clouds have been building to the west—National Weather Service Cleveland says there’s a chance of showers and even a rumble of thunder tonight and into Thursday morning. Highs touched the low 80s in the city this afternoon but we’ll be down into the upper 60s by sunrise tomorrow. Plan accordingly. Speaking of which, sunrise was right at 6:54 AM this morning, and sunset’s coming up at 7:55 PM, so you’ve still got some solid prime-time evening fishing ahead.

The fishing’s been consistent with this weather trend—walleye are the main headliner on the nearshore reefs off Cleveland, out by the Bratenahl and Euclid piers, and especially in that 32-38 foot depth range. Several charter crews reported scoring limits by mid-morning—best numbers on crawler harnesses in chartreuse and purple, but folks running deep-diving crankbaits off planer boards have also been filling coolers. Silver and blue Flicker Minnows and Bandits were hot, especially trolled 40-60 feet back in the top 15 feet of the water column.

Yellow perch have been a bit spotty but improving. Most action’s out of East 72nd, heading east between the Cleveland water intake crib and the mouth of the Chagrin River. Perch are holding close to the bottom, 33-42 FOW, and really keying on emerald shiners—if you can get ‘em live, that’s the ticket. Otherwise, salted shiners on tandem rigs or drop-shot setups will do the trick, tipped with a sliver of worm. Catches have been mixed but plenty of buckets had a dozen or more jumbos by noon.

Smallmouth bass are in transition with the start of September—local YouTubers and guides are finding them stacked on rock piles and breakwalls. Target 10-15 feet of water with tube jigs in green pumpkin or goby patterns, or try Ned rigs when the bite gets tough. Some good bronze were tagged at the rocky shoreline just west of Edgewater Park and off the Mentor lagoons.

Quick rundown on best baits for Lake Erie right now: for walleye, bring worm harnesses in purple/chartreuse, Bandits and Flicker Minnows in silver, blue, and clown patterns. For perch, emerald shiners (live or salted) remain unbeatable. Bass anglers—bring tube baits, Ned rigs, and a couple topwaters for low-light periods.

For hotspots close to Cleveland:
- East 72nd Street Harbor for perch and walleyes.
- Bratenahl reef edges, especially for big evening eyes.
- Rocky shoreline west of Edgewater for bronzebacks.

Remember, a blow is coming through tonight—double-check your weather windows, and always watch the marine forecast if you’re planning a late trip or heading offshore.

Thanks for tuning in to your Lake Erie fishing fix today! Subscribe for more daily updates and tips, and drop us a line with your catches or questions. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is artificial lore. With your September third fishing report
coming to you live from the shores of Lake Erie
right here in Cleveland. The lakes giving up classic late
summer conditions today. Water temps are study around seventy two
degrees off downtown Cleveland. According to the Noah Buys, Winds
have been out of the south and southwest starting light,

(00:22):
but picking up through the afternoon. Expect them steady at
five to fifteen knots, which will push up a light
chop but keep it fishable for most small craft. Waves
are running at two feet or less today, but make
sure to check conditions tonight. Southwest winds will be ramping
up as we get into the evening, with waves building
to as much as three to five feet, so watch

(00:43):
for a bumpy ride if you're staying out late. As
for the skies, it's been nothing but sun through midday,
but clouds have been building to the west. National Weather
Service Cleveland says there's a chance of showers and even
a rumble of thunder tonight and into Thursday morning. Hies
touched the low eighties in the city this afternoon, but
will be down into the upper sixties by sunrise. Tomorrow

(01:06):
plan accordingly, speaking of which, sunrise was right at six
fifty four am this morning, and sunset's coming up at
seven fifty five pm, so you've still got some solid
primetime evening fishing ahead. The fishing's been consistent with this

(01:29):
weather trend. Wally are the main headliner on the nearshore
reefs off Cleveland, out by the Brighton Hall and Nuclid piers,
and especially in that thirty two to thirty eight foot
depth range. Several charter crews reported scoring limits by mid morning.
Best numbers on crawler harnesses and chartrews in purple, but
folks running deep diving crank baits off planar boards have

(01:51):
also been filling coolers. Silver and blue flicker minnows and
bandits were hot, especially trolled forty to sixty feet back
in the top fifteen feet of the water column. Yellow
perch had been a bit spotty, but improving most actions
out of east seventy second heading east between the Cleveland

(02:12):
Water Intake Crib and the mouth of the Chagrin River,
perch are holding close to the bottom thirty three dash
forty two fow and really keen on emerald shiners if
you can get them live that's the ticket. Otherwise, salted
shiners on tandem rigs or dropshots setups will do the
trick tipped with a slipper of worm. Catches have been mixed,

(02:34):
but plenty of buckets had a dozen or more jumbos
by noon. Smallmouth bass are in transition with the start
of September. Local YouTubers and guides are finding them stacked
on rock piles and break walls. Target ten to fifteen
feet of water with tube jigs and green pumpkin or
Gobi patterns or tried medrids when the bite gets tough.
Some good bronze were tagged at the Rocky shoreline just

(02:55):
west of Edgewater Park and off the Mentor Lagoons. Quick
rundown on best baits for lake Erie right now. For Walya,
bring warm harnesses and purple chart trees, bandits and flicker
minnows and silver blue and cloud patterns. For perch, emerald shiners,
live or salted remain unbeatable bass anglers bring two baits,

(03:16):
ned rigs and a couple top waters for low light
periods for hotspots close to Cleveland East seventy second Street
Harbor for perch and waaliers Brightonhall reef edges, especially for
big evening eyes. Rocky Shoalline west of Edgewater for Brown's backs.
Remember a blow is coming through tonight. Double check your
weather windows and always watch the marine forecast if you're

(03:38):
planning a late trip or heading offshore. Thanks for tuning
in to your Lake Eury Fishing Fixed today. Subscribe for
more daily updates and tips, and drop us a line
with your catches or questions. This has been a quiet
please production. For more checkout Quiet Please dot ai