Fishing:
Muskie Fishing on Lake St. Clair:
Belle River Marina

Muskie Fishing Video 1
Muskie Fishing Video 2

Walleye Fishing on Lake Erie:
Colchester Harbour & Wheatley Harbour

Steelhead Fishing / Rainbow Trout Fishing on Lake Erie:
Wheatley Harbour

Maps:
Map showing locations of Belle River Marina, Colchester Harbour & Wheatley Harbour

Contour Map of Lake St. Clair

Fishing Tips:
Walleye Weight Calculator
Muskie Weight Calculator
Trout Weight Calculator
Ways of Cooking Walleye
How to Clean Walleye
How to Butterfly & Bake Trout
Muskie Catch & Release Tips

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Photos & Video:
Muskie Photos
Walleye Photos
Trout Photos
Muskie Fishing Videos

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Lake Erie Rainbow Trout Fishing / Steelhead Fishing Charter Boat:

Lake Erie is stuffed with Rainbow Trout, which are sometimes called Steelhead on the Great Lakes and the pacific coast. Rainbow Trout numbers have been on the rise while salmon and Brown Trout numbers are declining. Many believe it's the weather, which has caused perfect spawning conditions in the spring and horrific spawning conditions in the fall. Rainbow Trout spawn in rivers and streams in the spring and for the last 10 years we have had nice high water, which enabled Rainbows to reach their spawning grounds. The unusually wet summers enabled young trout to been able to stay in the streams all year and grow to a size where they are less vulnerable versus entering the lake as small fry and being eaten. The fall months have been very dry and traditional streams where salmon and Brown Trout have spawned are too low for the fish to reach their spawning grounds. As a result Rainbow Trout have been taking over.



There are so many trout in the Wheatley Harbour area that sometimes we catch more trout than Walleye while Walleye fishing. Not only are the trout found in great numbers, they are easy to catch and can get big. Rainbow Trout are most common in the 5 to 8-pound range. Occasionally we run into bigger trout in the 10 to 15-pound range. There are bigger Trout. Even though they are rare, some people get lucky and pull out bows that are close to 20 pounds.

On Lake Erie, the Rainbow Trout and the Walleyes like the same depth and feed on the same fish. 30 to 35 feet down in 60 to 80 feet of water seems to be the magic conditions. We have never been under water with a camera to witness this but it almost seems like the trout and Walleyes are schooling together. We are still able to target trout by putting on lures that the trout like more than the walleyes. With this in mind, if the trout are really hitting and you specifically want to target trout, we use trout lures and if you reach your limit we just have to charge lures to target Walleyes.



Some people like using downriggers and some don't. We will put a couple of lines down on downriggers and have the baits just under the bait-fish, which is one of the areas Rainbow Trout congregate because it's easy striking distance at any unlucky minnow. We also free-line with Dipsy Divers and Jet Divers to run lures (Silver Streaks, Pro Kings, Nasty Boyz, Sutton Silver Spoons, Sutton Creeks, Northern Kings & Ludington) beside the baitfish and just above the baitfish. Sometimes we use inline weights depending on the wind. The Rainbows will be found all around the school of baitfish. We use a variety of trout spoons such and once we know what they are hitting best that day, we can switch the other lines.

Our boat is a 24-foot Trophy Bayliner. It's fast and comfortable and has a washroom on board. We have equipped the boat with state-of-the-art electronics and the best fishing equipment.

  • Garmin chart plotter / GPS
  • Garmin fish finder
  • Scotty electric downriggers
  • Planer boards
  • CD/mp3 player
  • All safety equipment
  • Rods, reels and loads of fishing tackle

  • Rainbow Trout Photos
  • Trout Weight Calculator
  • How to Butterfly & Bake Trout