Enormous numbers of walleye within a day’s drive of much of the Midwest.
Free printable map (PDF) ↓
Download the free printable map (PDF) ↓Draft map. Depth bands where a public survey exists; each map has its own scale bar.
Where: Ohio, Michigan and Ontario · Port Clinton
Size: Western Basin about 1,000,000 acres (all waters)
Access: Drive-to: marinas, launches and hundreds of charter boats along the Ohio shore.
Deepest: 62 ft
Average depth: about 24 ft
Species to target: Walleye (also yellow perch)
Walleye limit (US angler): 6 (Ohio); 15 in minimum
Typical ice-out: ?
Who else is on the water: 936 Ohio charter captains
Size (acres)
Sydney & Kilburn: about 17,570 (Sydney 14,240 with the Sturgeon River + Kilburn 3,330)
Lake Erie (Western Basin): about 1,000,000 (all waters)
Boats on an average summer day
Sydney & Kilburn: 10 ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 1,013 (Ohio waters)
Acres per boat
Sydney & Kilburn: 1,760 ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 520
Rough-water days a season
Sydney & Kilburn: 1.7 (Kilburn 0) ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 88.7
Sheltered water
Sydney & Kilburn: 75% ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 8%
Walleye a US angler may keep each day
Sydney & Kilburn: 2, both 18 in or under ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 6 (Ohio); 15 in minimum
Clearest summer water
Sydney & Kilburn: 26 ft ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 8½ ft
Deepest spot
Sydney & Kilburn: 240 ft (Kilburn 213 ft) ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 62 ft
Cisco (tullibee)
Sydney & Kilburn: ● ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): –
Whitefish
Sydney & Kilburn: ●
Lake Erie (Western Basin): ●
Free of invasive smelt
Sydney & Kilburn: ● ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): –
Mayfly mud flats
Sydney & Kilburn: ●
Lake Erie (Western Basin): ●
Disturbances on or upstream (of 6)
Sydney & Kilburn: 0 ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 5
Typical ice-out
Sydney & Kilburn: about May 5
Lake Erie (Western Basin): ?
Hours from Minneapolis
Sydney & Kilburn: 7 h drive + 0.5 h flight ✓
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 11.3 h drive
Who else is on the water
Sydney & Kilburn: 1 lodge, 0 cottages
Lake Erie (Western Basin): 936 Ohio charter captains
✓ marks the better value. ? means we couldn’t find accurate data or a close estimate. We’ve made every effort to be accurate, but some figures are estimates and there may be errors or gaps. How we measured
