Good morning anglers, it’s Artificial Lure with your Lake Erie Cleveland fishing report for Friday, August 15, 2025.

Lake conditions are setting up nearly perfect for a summer outing. According to the National Weather Service, expect a calm lake today with waves at 1 foot or less and water temps hovering around 75°F off the Cleveland shore. Winds out of the southeast around 5 to 10 mph will make for easy drifting and trolling. Cleveland is basking in clear, pleasant weather, thanks to a stable high-pressure system overhead, so pack some sunscreen—the UV index is very high and you’ll want to protect yourself under that summer sun. Sunrise was right around 6:34 am, and you’ll have daylight until sunset at 8:25 pm, plenty of time to target all your favorites.

Walleye action remains the star, with local charters like Bercaw Sportfishing reporting plenty of success on both morning and afternoon trips. Recent groups around Cleveland and out toward Port Clinton are still taking home limits, with plenty of eater-sized fish in the 15 to 20 inch range and the occasional 25+ inch bruiser. Perch are heating up too, especially on the western basin, and yellow perch catches are starting to show up in the buckets as temps peak.

Trolling is king right now for walleye. Anglers are putting fish in the boat with Stinger spoons—hot colors this week include Dirty Little White Boy, Angry Bird, and Carbon 14, matching the clear skies and bright light. Dipsy divers and inline weights help get spoons down to 30–50 feet where suspended fish are roaming. If you want fast action, don’t overlook blade baits and lipless cranks, especially during first light and the evening bite. According to a recent Walleye Tour angler, "Drop it just past a fish, then slowly reel it up by them"—if you don’t get bit on the first pass, another try usually gets their attention.

Perch are most consistent with emerald shiners on a spreader rig or drop-shot, fished right off the bottom near rocky structure. A couple scoops of live bait from your local shop will keep you busy, but don’t be shy with small artificial soft plastics—tube baits and finesse worms are producing for both perch and bonus smallmouth. Bass are hitting well along rocky shorelines and harbors, with drop-shot rigs, tubes, and swimbaits doing the damage. Upnorthvoice recommends dragging tube baits or casting swimbaits along the bottom for a chance at a trophy smallmouth.

Best hotspots lately: In Cleveland proper, put your time in near the breakwalls around Edgewater Park and the mouth of the Cuyahoga River for numbers of walleye and smallmouth. If you’ve got a boat, work the 38–45 foot depths north and slightly west of the harbor, where you’ll find schools of active walleye. Another hot area: the reef complex off Lorain, especially early or late in the day. For shore anglers, E. 72nd St. fishing area remains a reliable bet, particularly at dawn and dusk.

The bite’s hottest around sunrise and again in the last two hours before dark, so plan your trip accordingly. If you’re headed out this weekend, watch for an uptick in boat traffic as we move into some of the best weather and action of the season.

Thanks for tuning in to today’s Cleveland Lake Erie fishing report with Artificial Lure. Be sure to subscribe for your next report and more angling intel. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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