| Summary: | Author Institution: Ohio Division of Wildlife, Lake Erie Fisheries Unit, Sandusky, Ohio The winter hook and line fishery of the South Bass Island Area in western Lake Erie has contributed phenomenal catches to the angler over the years. This fishery which operates on a sport and commercial basis has had a history of continual changes in species composition of the catch. Early records indicate that herring, Coregonus artedii (Le Seuer), saugers, Stizostedion canadense (Smith), burbot, Lota lota (Linnaeus), and walleye, Stizostedion vitreum vitreum (Mitchill), dominated the catches. During the more recent years yellow perch, Perca flavescens (Mitchill), and American smelt, Osmerus mordax (Mitchill), have dominated the catches. A creel census of the catch was made during the winter of 1963 to compare the past and present fishery. Estimates of the 1963 catch when compared to previous years were high. The total catch in 1963 was estimated to be 90,280 pounds or 285,280 fish. Of this total, 97.3 per cent were yellow perch. American smelt, white bass, Roccus chrysops, and walleye each made up less than 1 per cent of the catch.
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