By DANIEL GRETZNER
Sunday Times Newspapers
The greater Dearborn-Downriver area offers close-by opportunities for anglers to pursue fishing activity, without spending a lot of time and gas traveling up north. With the present down economy, a number of those who like to “wet a line” are deciding to stay in their own geographical setting.
For anglers, two questions stand out. Are the fish biting? And, if I don’t have a boat of my own, where can I rent one? The answers are the following:
Yes, the keeper perch (8 to 12 inches) are hitting and can be found in 8 to 12 feet of water. These schooling fish are being caught in the lower Detroit River, near the mouth of Lake Erie. They are taking live bait fished on the bottom, using emerald shiner minnows. Most of the fish can be caught not far off the Grosse Ile coast line and subsequent islands, Stoney, Powdershous, Sugar and Celeron.
Smallmouth Bass fishing is also good along the cuts and bays that dot the Livingston Channel, along the United States side of the international waterway. Night crawlers with harness has worked well and produced good results. Walleye fishing is slow this time of year, during the dog days, they prefer deeper water as the hot summer continues.
Local anglers, a father-son team, Nick and David Hertlien, were out on the water earlier this week.
“My son and I met with good results on our most recent fishing trip,” Nick Hertlien said. “We rented a boat from Mid-River Boat Rentals. We cruised along, saw ocean freighters pass by, the U.S. Coast Guard vessels and caught plenty of perch and smallmouth bass.”
Nick Hertlien, a Dearborn native and Fordson High School grad from the 1950s is an avid fisherman. He no longer has his own boat but doesn’t let that stop him from getting some time in on the water.
He did point out that he prefers live bait over fishing lures, this time of year.
“In my opinion, the best two places to pick up live bait is at Zubok’s in Taylor for night crawlers and crabs,” he said. “The Wyandotte Boat Ramp has a tank full of shiner minnows, they work like magic on perch and bass.”
His final words about local fishing: “I would repeat the beat anytime.”