Fall Walleye Conditions, Every Lake Erie Port at a Glance
A quick reference for the fall run: the current water temperature, wind, and waves at every Lake Erie port from Toledo to Buffalo, side by side, plus any active marine advisories. Check your port before you go. The board is live below.
Fall Walleye Conditions Board
Updated Sep 8, 6:07 AM ETHow to read it: Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania cities pull from their nearest NOAA buoy, and neighboring cities share one, so the label under each name says which. The New York shore has no buoy, so those rows come from the NWS Buffalo forecast and are marked with an asterisk.
| City (west to east) | Water temp | Wind | Waves | Ride | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western basin | |||||
| ToledoMaumee Bay buoy | 74°F | SSE (150°) 10 kt | 1.3 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| Monroe, MIMaumee Bay buoy | 74°F | SSE (150°) 10 kt | 1.3 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| OregonMaumee Bay buoy | 74°F | SSE (150°) 10 kt | 1.3 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| Port ClintonPort Clinton buoy | 75°F | S (180°) 6 kt | 0.7 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Catawba IslandPort Clinton buoy | 75°F | S (180°) 6 kt | 0.7 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Put-in-BayErie Islands buoy | 75°F | SE (140°) 8 kt | 1 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| MarbleheadErie Islands buoy | 75°F | SE (140°) 8 kt | 1 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Kelleys IslandErie Islands buoy | 75°F | SE (140°) 8 kt | 1 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| SanduskyErie Islands buoy | 75°F | SE (140°) 8 kt | 1 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Central basin | |||||
| HuronHuron buoy | 76°F | S (180°) 8 kt | 1.3 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| VermilionHuron buoy | 76°F | S (180°) 8 kt | 1.3 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| LorainSheffield buoy | 74°F | S (170°) 12 kt | 1 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| Avon LakeSheffield buoy | 74°F | S (170°) 12 kt | 1 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| Bay VillageSheffield buoy | 74°F | S (170°) 12 kt | 1 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| Rocky RiverEdgewater buoy | 75°F | SSE (160°) 12 kt | 0.7 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| LakewoodEdgewater buoy | 75°F | SSE (160°) 12 kt | 0.7 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| ClevelandCleveland Crib buoy | 76°F | ENE (70°) 16 kt | 2.3 ft | Moderate | Conditions·Temp |
| EuclidEdgewater buoy | 75°F | SSE (160°) 12 kt | 0.7 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| MentorFairport Harbor buoy | 73°F | SE (130°) 10 kt | 0.3 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Fairport HarborFairport Harbor buoy | 73°F | SE (130°) 10 kt | 0.3 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Geneva-on-the-LakeFairport Harbor buoy | 73°F | SE (130°) 10 kt | 0.3 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Eastern basin | |||||
| AshtabulaAshtabula buoy | 73°F | SSE (150°) 10 kt | 0.3 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| ConneautAshtabula buoy | 73°F | SSE (150°) 10 kt | 0.3 ft | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Erie, PAErie, PA buoy | 74°F | SE (130°) 12 kt | 0.7 ft | Light Chop | Conditions·Temp |
| Barcelona, NYNWS Buffalo forecast | 74°F* | SE 8 kt* | 1 ft* | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Dunkirk, NYNWS Buffalo forecast | 74°F* | SE 5 kt* | 1 ft* | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Sturgeon Point, NYNWS Buffalo forecast | 74°F* | SE 6 kt* | 1 ft* | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
| Buffalo, NYNWS Buffalo forecast | 74°F* | SE 2 kt* | 1 ft* | Calm | Conditions·Temp |
- Western basin
- ToledoMaumee Bay buoyLight ChopWater74°FWindSSE 10 ktWaves1.3 ft
- Monroe, MIMaumee Bay buoyLight ChopWater74°FWindSSE 10 ktWaves1.3 ft
- OregonMaumee Bay buoyLight ChopWater74°FWindSSE 10 ktWaves1.3 ft
- Port ClintonPort Clinton buoyCalmWater75°FWindS 6 ktWaves0.7 ft
- Catawba IslandPort Clinton buoyCalmWater75°FWindS 6 ktWaves0.7 ft
- Put-in-BayErie Islands buoyCalmWater75°FWindSE 8 ktWaves1 ft
- MarbleheadErie Islands buoyCalmWater75°FWindSE 8 ktWaves1 ft
- Kelleys IslandErie Islands buoyCalmWater75°FWindSE 8 ktWaves1 ft
- SanduskyErie Islands buoyCalmWater75°FWindSE 8 ktWaves1 ft
- Central basin
- HuronHuron buoyLight ChopWater76°FWindS 8 ktWaves1.3 ft
- VermilionHuron buoyLight ChopWater76°FWindS 8 ktWaves1.3 ft
- LorainSheffield buoyLight ChopWater74°FWindS 12 ktWaves1 ft
- Avon LakeSheffield buoyLight ChopWater74°FWindS 12 ktWaves1 ft
- Bay VillageSheffield buoyLight ChopWater74°FWindS 12 ktWaves1 ft
- Rocky RiverEdgewater buoyLight ChopWater75°FWindSSE 12 ktWaves0.7 ft
- LakewoodEdgewater buoyLight ChopWater75°FWindSSE 12 ktWaves0.7 ft
- ClevelandCleveland Crib buoyModerateWater76°FWindENE 16 ktWaves2.3 ft
- EuclidEdgewater buoyLight ChopWater75°FWindSSE 12 ktWaves0.7 ft
- MentorFairport Harbor buoyCalmWater73°FWindSE 10 ktWaves0.3 ft
- Fairport HarborFairport Harbor buoyCalmWater73°FWindSE 10 ktWaves0.3 ft
- Geneva-on-the-LakeFairport Harbor buoyCalmWater73°FWindSE 10 ktWaves0.3 ft
- Eastern basin
- AshtabulaAshtabula buoyCalmWater73°FWindSSE 10 ktWaves0.3 ft
- ConneautAshtabula buoyCalmWater73°FWindSSE 10 ktWaves0.3 ft
- Erie, PAErie, PA buoyLight ChopWater74°FWindSE 12 ktWaves0.7 ft
- Barcelona, NYNWS Buffalo forecastCalmWater74°F*WindSE 8 kt*Waves1 ft*
- Dunkirk, NYNWS Buffalo forecastCalmWater74°F*WindSE 5 kt*Waves1 ft*
- Sturgeon Point, NYNWS Buffalo forecastCalmWater74°F*WindSE 6 kt*Waves1 ft*
- Buffalo, NYNWS Buffalo forecastCalmWater74°F*WindSE 2 kt*Waves1 ft*
Live readings from NOAA National Data Buoy Center stations, refreshed every 15 minutes. "--" means the station is not reporting that value. NOAA's nearshore buoys are deployed seasonally, so some stations read offline late in the year. The per-port conditions pages carry the marine forecast year round. * Wind from the NWS forecast for that port when the buoy's own wind sensor is not reporting; the ride rating then uses the forecast's upper wind speed. New York cities have no NOAA buoy: their water temperature and waves come from the NWS Buffalo nearshore marine forecast (the water temperature off Buffalo and the zone's forecast wave height), and their wind from each city's NWS point forecast, all marked with an asterisk.
Active marine advisories
The fall safety check for the central and eastern basin. Small craft advisories come frequently once fall weather arrives, and the open water east of Cleveland gets dangerous fast.
No active marine advisories right now
Nothing in effect for the fall-run zones. Always recheck the alerts page right before you launch.
Watch the lake cool down
NOAA's daily satellite surface-temperature map shows where warm and cold water sits across the lake. Through fall, watch the deeper eastern basin hold the cooler water that concentrates the run.

Source: NOAA GLERL CoastWatch (GLSEA), updated daily. Per-port live temps →
Radar
Live NEXRAD radar · NWS data via Iowa State Mesonet · drag and scroll to explore
More tools for the run
Conditions
Waves, wind & forecast by port
View conditionsWater Temps
The fall run's pace clock
View water tempsAlerts
Every active NWS marine alert
Check alertsTrip Planner
Plan the run out & back safely
Open plannerLive Cams
Eyeball the water pre-launch
Watch camsBuoy Data
Raw NOAA readings, station by station
View buoysBlown out today? Lake Erie news and stories for the days the wind keeps you on shore.
Fall walleye run FAQ
When is the Lake Erie fall walleye run?
The fall walleye run builds as surface water cools, roughly from late September into November and December. Rather than watching the calendar, watch the cooling trend: falling water temperatures pace the run, and the live water temperature pages on this site show exactly where each port stands.
What water temperature is best for fall walleye?
There is no single magic number. What matters is the trend: steadily cooling water pushes walleye to move and feed hard ahead of winter. Track the live surface temperature at your port and pay attention to sharp drops after a big blow, which can reshuffle where the fish sit.
Where is the fall walleye bite on Lake Erie?
The fall bite concentrates in the central and eastern basin, from Cleveland east to the Pennsylvania line. Cleveland, Lorain, Fairport Harbor, Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ashtabula, Conneaut, and Erie, PA are the classic fall ports, and the deeper, cooler eastern-basin water holds big schools of fish, including trophy-class females feeding up for winter.
What do I need to fish the fall run safely?
A current marine forecast, an eye on active alerts and advisories, and real wave data before you commit to a run. Fall weather turns fast on the open central and eastern basin, and small craft advisories are frequent. Check the conditions and live buoy pages for your port, review the alerts page, and use the trip planner to sanity-check the crossing before you launch.
What methods work during the fall walleye run?
Trolling with crankbaits, worm harnesses, and spoons covers water and finds feeding schools, and casting shines when fish push in close. Tactics matter less than being on the water when conditions line up, which is exactly what the live tools on this page help you time.
Ready to watch the cool-down? Check live Lake Erie water temperatures →
