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Fall Walleye Season · Sep to Dec

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.

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Fall Walleye Conditions Board

Updated Nov 13, 8:28 PM ET

How 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.

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 come out of the water for the winter (roughly November through April). Values marked * are not buoy readings: water temperature comes from the nearest NOAA CO-OPS shore station or the NWS nearshore marine forecast, waves from the NWS nearshore forecast for that zone, and wind from the city's NWS point forecast (the ride rating then uses those forecast values). New York cities have no NOAA buoy and use these sources year round.

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.

MinorSmall Craft Advisory

Small Craft Advisory issued November 13 at 2:52PM EST until November 15 at 4:00AM EST by NWS Cleveland OH

Zones: LEZ149 (Conneaut, Erie, PA)

Full details on the alerts page →
MinorSmall Craft Advisory

Small Craft Advisory issued November 13 at 2:52PM EST until November 15 at 10:00AM EST by NWS Cleveland OH

Zones: LEZ144 (Marblehead, Sandusky, Huron) · LEZ145 (Vermilion, Lorain, Avon Lake) · LEZ146 (Bay Village, Rocky River, Lakewood, Cleveland, Euclid) · LEZ147 (Mentor, Fairport Harbor) · LEZ148 (Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ashtabula)

Full details on the alerts page →

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.

NOAA GLSEA daily satellite surface water temperature map of Lake Erie, showing the cooling pattern across the western, central, and eastern basins

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 conditions

Water Temps

The fall run's pace clock

View water temps

Alerts

Every active NWS marine alert

Check alerts

Trip Planner

Plan the run out & back safely

Open planner

Live Cams

Eyeball the water pre-launch

Watch cams

Steelhead Streams

Is the creek in shape? Live USGS gauges

See the streams

Buoy Data

Raw NOAA readings, station by station

View buoys

Blown out today? Lake Erie news and stories for the days the wind keeps you on shore.

Fall walleye gear

Shirts and hoodies for the run, from the Lake Erie Pulse shop.

See all 7 →
Unisex Long Sleeve Tee Pumpkin Spice Walleye
Unisex Long Sleeve Tee Pumpkin Spice Walleye
From $26.95
Unisex Long Sleeve Walleye Calling
Unisex Long Sleeve Walleye Calling
From $26.95
Unisex Hoodie Walleye Are Calling
Unisex Hoodie Walleye Are Calling
From $26.50
Unisex Long Sleeve Tee Walleye Are Calling
Unisex Long Sleeve Tee Walleye Are Calling
From $23.65

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 →