Throughout Lake Erie, daily limits are not only common but expected on each outing if anglers match the correct portion of the lake with the time of the year, heed the latest fishing reports, have the proper equipment, and use effective techniques.

Summer finds walleyes on the move as surface water temperatures warm. Larger female walleyes seek the cooler water found now through September in the Central and Eastern Basins as they forage for suspended schools of emerald shiners, smelt, alewives and other prey fish.

For the most part, a boat is necessary to catch walleyes during this time of year. Lake Erie is a temperamental lady, and sometimes even the commonly used 27- to 30-foot charter boat may seem inadequate far offshore.

Ever since more national and local walleye tournaments began in the early ‘90s, many anglers, including charter captains, professional and amateur tournament contestants, do well in 20- to 24-foot fishing boats whose durability have been markedly improving in the decades since.

Sportcraft, Marinette, Penn Yan, Wellcraft, Baha, Carolina Skiff, and Grady White make up a lot of the larger fiberglass hardtop models that are still used by charter captains.

Nothing short of an 18-foot vessel with high gunwales and transom heights should be considered safe enough for open water fishing, even within sight of safe refuge.

Fortunately, for those who are without a boat of their own who want to catch walleyes, there are over 1,000 licensed charter captains on Lake Erie.

Getting out is as easy as choosing one that has a vessel that matches the number of friends and family that want to participate.

For first-time visitors to Lake Erie, having hundreds of captains operating from Western Basin marinas from Curtice, Oak Harbor, Port Clinton, Marblehead, and Sandusky make it a daunting task to narrow down the search for a suitable match.

Fortunately, by searching on a laptop or smart phone, many options for captains are at your fingertips. Some have Facebook, You Tube, other social media pages, and/or websites with video clips or pictures that highlight their operations.

As summer progresses, most walleyes will find comfort in the cool Detroit River plume as it flows “downstream” from north of West Sister in the North Passage. and from North Bass to the Middle Island/Kelleys Island lane.

Walleyes will be the closest then to the charters that run to the lake from the many marinas in West Harbor and East Harbor.

One of those who docks at East Harbor and regularly advertises in these pages is Capt. Mark Cahlik, who operates a fleet of charter boats that are recognized for their years of safe, reliable service, with skippers with proven fishing experience under their belt.

You may have seen Capt. Mark as several episodes of MidWest Outdoors TV were filmed on his boat Dead Eye—the name of his line of successful crankbaits.

As water temperatures reach their summer peak, most of the larger fish will move into the cooler Central Basin, when fishing goes off the charts for trophy catches from Huron to Conneaut in Ohio, and in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Other popular Central Basin ports in-between include Vermilion, Lorain, Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, and Ashtabula to name a few, each with willing and able charter captains.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Basin, from Barcelona to Dunkirk to Buffalo, New York, a large fleet of fishing vessels operate in their cities’ marinas.

Many captains here are members of the Eastern Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, which has a very informative website comefishlakeerie.com to assist with choosing a captain and vessel to suit your needs.

In addition to having plenty of big walleyes in this portion of the lake, lake trout, steelhead and an occasional brown trout may be landed.

Their own walleye population is joined by the “Ohio fish,” as they are called by some of the avid fishermen there. They are recognized by their larger head and meatier body shape due to the ample food supply they get in the richer waters to the west.

Ohio Sea Grant offers advice on how to choose a charter captain. They urge would-be clients to verify that they are properly licensed, insured, and have all of their safety equipment up to date. For some, an operable toilet is a necessity.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Ohio Division of Wildlife Lake Erie law enforcement are on the lookout for unlicensed captains running trips for hire that may put customers in danger from their lack of navigational training, substance abuse, or poor safety practices.

Ohio Sea Grant also trains willing captains to voluntarily become PrOH certified, a program that makes them more knowledgeable about the latest environmental practices and sustainable angling techniques.

They remind anglers to confirm the trip details ahead of time such as the departure location, trip duration, price, what is included (bait, ice, fish cleaning), type of fishing techniques offered (trolling, casting, both) and what to bring on board (coolers, rod/reels, food/drinks) to avoid awkward conversation at the dock.

No matter when you plan a chartered fishing trip on Lake Erie, maxing out the number of anglers to the ideal fishing capacity of the boat helps to split the costs most economically.

There are hundreds of captains with boats that can fit smaller groups of 3 to 4 customers and even more traditional “6-pack” charters that carry up to 6 clients, plus the captain and a first mate assistant.

When setting up a trip with 1 to 2 anglers or for larger groups, several “head boats” in Port Clinton and Marblehead allow individuals to buy a seat on a vessel that can hold 16 to 25 customers, and at least 1 each in Vermilion and Conneaut, Ohio, and in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Limited opportunities to catch fish from shore occur, particularly at night from the Cleveland area, but persistent anglers may land a few fish elsewhere from shoreline rocky outcrops, harbor breakwall piers, or along deepwater ports docks anywhere that walleyes can corner baitfish, especially their favored emerald shiner forage.

However, the odds of success are much lower than fishing for walleyes from a boat during summer.

If you enjoy walleye fishing, you’ll find plenty of helpful walleye fishing insight in every issue of MidWest Outdoors. Subscribe on our website.