Lake Erie Fishing Update: Walleye Bite Heats Up, Perch Patterns, and Late Fall Action

This is Artificial Lure coming to you with your Lake Erie, Detroit-area fishing report for Sunday, November 2nd, 2025.

We’re heading into early November with a brisk east wind at 15 to 20 knots, mostly sunny skies, and Lake Erie giving us a good chop—waves in the 3 to 5 foot range, and sometimes pushing up to 7 feet if you’re out a ways, according to the latest from the National Weather Service in Detroit. The water temperature is holding right around 52 degrees at Belle Isle, and local dock talk has it maybe a tick or two lower out on the open lake. Expect a partly sunny morning, but plan ahead for increasing clouds and a decent chance of showers rolling through tonight.

If you’re rigging up early, sunrise hit at 7:13 AM, and you’ll want to wrap up before sunset at 5:25 PM. According to FishingReminder, your primary feeding windows are late morning and again right before dusk, so don’t leave too early or you’ll miss the magic hours.

Fish activity this week is classic late fall—walleye are firing up as water temps drop, and the Detroit River continues to serve up solid catches for those vertical jigging near the Trenton Channel and up by Wyandotte. Reports just in from Luna Pier show folks boating limit catches of walleye, mostly 16 to 22 inch fish, plus a handful of big ones pushing 8 pounds. The perch bite’s been a little spotty, but they’re still coming from deeper water edges between the River Mouth and the Raisin.

Best baits this week: for walleye, 3/8-ounce jig heads tipped with minnows or soft plastics are getting it done, with bright chartreuse, fire tiger, and purple hues doing work in that slightly stained water. If you’re trolling, stickbaits like Husky Jerks or Bandits in clown, blue chrome, or purple descent patterns are producing when run 10 to 15 feet down behind boards. For perch, nothing beats a perch rig sweetened with live emerald shiners fished right on the bottom.

Don’t overlook the smallmouth bass action around the Grosse Ile and Belle Isle flats—tube jigs in green pumpkin and Ned rigs are a top pick as the bass bulk up before the winter slowdown.

A couple of hot spots to circle in your logbook: the “Dumping Grounds” east of the River Mouth is loaded up with baitfish and birds, and the mouth of the Detroit River by Fighting Island is a classic for late-season walleye staging. Just keep an eye on those wave heights and dress warm—fall can bite harder than the fish out here.

Commercial activity on the lake, according to local news over at CTV Windsor, remains strong, reminding us just how vibrant this fishery is even as we slide towards the winter lull.

That’s today’s rundown from your local, Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and remember to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.

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