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Lake Information for Lake Erie


Map: 
Description: 

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake (by surface area) of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario, on the south by the U.S. states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, and on the west by the state of Michigan. The lake is named after the Erie tribe of Native Americans who lived along its southern shore.

Because it is the shallowest, it is also the warmest of the Great Lakes.

Lake Erie is primarily fed by the Detroit River (from Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair) and drains via the Niagara River and Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario. Navigation downstream is provided by the Welland Canal, part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Other major contributors to Lake Erie include the Grand River, the Huron River, the Maumee River, the Sandusky River and the Cuyahoga River.

The drainage basin covers 30,140 square miles (78,000 sq. km).

Fishing Description: 

In 2007, sport anglers made over one million trips to fish Lake Erie. Private sport fishing effort topped 5.0 million hours. This was an increase of 23% from 2006. Charter boat fishing effort was about 0.4 million hours; a 1% decrease from 2006 levels. Most of the private boat effort (63%) was directed at walleye, followed by yellow perch, 29%; and smallmouth and largemouth bass, 5%. White bass (0.3%) and steelhead (0.8%) were minor components of the open water sport fishery. Private boat anglers seeking anything that bites made up 1.2% of the 2007 estimated angler effort. Charter boat anglers mainly sought walleye (85%), followed by yellow perch (14.7%), then steelhead (0.2%), and smallmouth bass (0.1%). Sport harvest of walleye, steelhead, and channel catfish increased over the previous year, but declined for many other species.

Fish: 
Lake Trout
Fish: 
Largemouth Bass
Fish: 
Rainbow Trout
Fish: 
Smallmouth Bass
Fish: 
Walleye
Fish: 
White Bass
Optional Information
Maximum depth: 
210ft
Surface area: 
6361600.00
Name: 
Lake Erie
Lake type: 
lake
State: 
Michigan

Businesses Located Nearby

Bait & Tackle

    Jeff's Bait & Tackle
  • 1756 N Dixie Hwy - Monroe, MI
  • (734) 289-4901
    Bottom Line Bait & Tackle
  • 32660 W Jefferson Ave - Rockwood, MI
  • (734) 379-9762
    Little Dipper Bait & Tackle
  • 26464 W Huron River Dr - Flat Rock, MI
  • (734) 782-4277

Boat Rental

    Shell Nay Boat
  • 11840 Toledo Bch - Carleton, MI
  • (734) 242-7469
    Charlie's Boat & Bait Market
  • 13468 Laplaisance Rd - Monroe, MI
  • (734) 241-1545
    Gibraltar Canvas Incorporated
  • 28599 N Gibraltar Rd - Rockwood, MI
  • (734) 675-4891

Vacation Rental

Bar and Restaurant

    Pinky's Bar & Grill
  • 4717 Dewey Rd - Newport, MI
  • (734) 289-1123

Lake Michigamme - 2009/02/16/ - Had some great like catching pike in the shallow, weedy area... Continued

Muskegon Lake - 2009/02/16/ - Too my son out several times and he caught quite a few fish.... Continued

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