LAKE ERIE WALLEYE FISHING: GET READY FOR A BIG 2025

We all know Lake Erie is the walleye fishing capital of the world. If you have always wanted to experience Lake Erie walleye fishing, 2025 is going to be another exceptional year.

The walleye population is exploding in Lake Erie. This stems from consecutive massive hatches in 2014 and 2015, again in 2018 and 2019, 2021 and 2023. We’re seeing very respectable-sized walleye from those big hatches. Walleye measuring over 20-inches should be common in 2025. In addition, we should see an occasional 30-inch dinosaur.

Before 2018, the challenge when booking a charter was to find a captain who knew how to put you on the walleye. Since then, the challenge when booking a walleye charter is different: It’s to find a captain who is willing to extend your experience if the “fish are jumping into the boat” — a very reasonable possibility.

Ryan Snyder

As the walleye size increases, fishermen have more fun with the better bites and fights on the water. You’ll take home more more meat for the freezer. If you’ve never experienced walleye before, I think you’ll agree that it’s the best tasting fish in the world. Walleye fillets are very mild and easy to prepare.

Leave your favorite lures and rods at home. We have hundreds of lures and 30 to 40 rods on the boat.

Be prepared for the weather. A full day fishing trip can last from 6 am to 2 pm. That’s a long time to be exposed to the elements. I strongly recommend long-sleeved shirts with UV ray protection, a baseball cap, and sunglasses. It can be quite chilly in the mornings, so dress in layers. Our boat has a hardtop to protect you from the rain. But as long as there are no thunderstorms, we will fish through rain showers. Therefore, if there is rain in the forecast, bring a raincoat.

Pack snacks, lunch, and refreshments. While the primary goal of every charter is to catch a boatload of fish, you also want an enjoyable experience on Lake Erie. Not to say that your trip will be unsuccessful, but we can only catch what the lake gives us, and somedays are better than others.

Lastly, regardless of the fishing conditions, clients can: enjoy watching one of the best sunrises in the world, take a much needed break from work, and make memories with friends and family to last a life time. Many customers come back year after year for this experience.

When the conditions are right for Lake Erie walleye fishing, you can expect incredibly fast action and a full cooler before you realize what has happened.

The fishing was so good in the past six years that it is difficult to not catch our clients limit of walleye too fast.

Ryan Snyder

On the best days of fishing, the first rod in the water gets a fish before the second rod is out. That was the case since the 2018 season. The fishing has been so good in recent years that it is difficult to not catch our clients limit of walleye too fast. It’s an unusual problem to have. When it does happen, you quickly realize that being on the water and experiencing the beauty of Lake Erie is just as important as catching a limit of walleye in a few short hours.

This uncommon challenge — catching your limit too fast — caused us to deploy fewer rods to slow the bite as well as throw back some legal sized fish in hopes of catching bigger fish! On days I first mated on the Vision Quest (another Erie, PA charter that offers excellent guide services to larger groups) we would catch 30 walleye (i.e., five man limit) by 8:30am. The customers were always incredibly grateful for their fruitful day on the lake but often commented that they didn’t even get to eat lunch on the water.

The bottom line is we take what the lake gives us and this coming walleye season should be a historic one. To anyone on the fence about whether or not to book a fishing trip, I can promise it will be an unforgettable experience and well worth the cost.

Captain Ryan Snyder is a recent graduate The Ohio State University. He’s fished the Great Lakes with his father his entire life. He’s also been first mating for his dad, Captain Paul Snyder, on Ditch Chicken Charters since he was 13 years old. At age 16, Ryan was offered a job mating for Captain Pete Alex on the Vision Quest. Captain Pete has been chartering the Great Lakes for over 30 years and is a highly respected captain on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Captain Paul Snyder, Ryan’s dad, primarily offers walleye charters on Lake Erie. But he also offers Lake Trout charters in the spring and steelhead charters in the late summer and fall. With Captain Paul operating mainly on weekends, Ryan obtained his own Master’s Captain’s License to run the operation during the week.

For anyone planning to book a walleye charter, consider Ditch Chicken charters. Captains Paul and Ryan Snyder offer an incredible service for a fair rate. Their boat accommodates up to six guests.

Learn more about Ditch Chicken Charters. Contact Captain Ryan Snyder at 814-873-8629.

Explore a vacation home rental for Lake Erie fishing trip at the Just Beachy Lake House rental and Little Red Lake House, a pet-friendly vacation rental.