Walleye, Smallmouth, and a Brewing Storm: Lake Erie Fishing Report for Cleveland, Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Artificial Lure here with your Lake Erie fishing report for Cleveland, Wednesday, August 20, 2025. We kicked off the day with **sunrise at 6:37 AM** and can expect **sunset at 8:24 PM**. The weather is shaping up classic late-summer: **Morning haze giving way to mostly sunny skies and temperatures working their way into the upper 70s**. The lake’s surface temps are comfortable for fish and anglers alike—**76 degrees off Cleveland as per NOAA**. But heads up: the National Weather Service has issued a **small craft advisory** starting tonight, with northeast winds 15-20 knots and **waves from 3 to 6 feet** likely through Thursday. If you’re running a smaller boat, best stay close, keep your eye on the water, and don’t press your luck. Lake Erie doesn’t truly have tides like the ocean, but wind-driven seiches are a thing—expect some chop by evening due to that northeast breeze. The fish don’t mind; they just tuck back and keep feeding. The bite around Cleveland is solid this week, especially for **walleye and smallmouth bass**. Charter captains like Captain Ken’s Wild Wings report folks regularly hitting their walleye limits, with the average haul in prime spots running 4 to 6 keepers per angler per day. Many boats are heading northeast toward the **Canadian line** around the border waters where the deep schools are stacked up, but locals are also finding luck close to shore when conditions allow. Best tactic right now? **Trolling harnesses** with *nightcrawlers* and **silver or purple Reef Runners** continue to do the trick for walleye. If you’ve got a good set of planer boards, set them to run between 25 and 40 feet down near drop-offs or over structure. Reports from Thundermist Lure Company last week suggest the old standby—**Stingnose jigging spoons**—has also pulled in solid fish. Don’t forget a deep-diver for midday runs when the sun gets high. For bass anglers, Wired2Fish advises working the **shallows with subtle presentations**—think **hair jigs** (Great Lakes Finesse Marabou Jig is hot right now) or **spybaits** like the Duo Realis Spinbait 80. Cast long, keep your approach quiet, and target rocky flats or submerged humps in 10 to 15 feet. Smallmouth are a little spooky in skinny water, but they’re there—try probing around the old breakwalls near Edgewater Park, or the rubble piles east of downtown for a shot at a bruiser. **Recent catches** in the Cleveland basin are a mixed bag: plenty of “eater” walleye in the 16-22" range, a handful of tanks at 25"+, and good numbers of summer smallmouths from 2 to 4 pounds. Perch have been slow, but some anglers picked up enough for dinner using **emerald shiners** on crappie rigs over deeper mud flats. **Hot spots:** - **Edgewater Park breakwalls:** Lots of rock and current, prime for smallmouth and walleye at dawn and dusk. - **Avon Point to Euclid:** Deep trolling is working on big walleye schools. - And if you want a scenic steelhead try, keep an eye on Lake Erie’s tributaries—Thomas’ Gui This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.