A friend and I are heading to PA to fish Lake Erie the first week of August. Wanted to know if you have any recommendations of where to fish at that time of year for smallies and also where to stay? Also if you know of any boat launches that would also help. Thanks.

I recommend using one of the launches on the Presque Isle pennisula, the West Pier (also called Marina Bay) launch is the largest and most used launch.

Just do a search for hotels around Pennisula Drive, Erie PA. I personally like the Inn at Presque Isle. It's close and there are tons of stores and places to eat very close. If you do make a reservation at the Inn or any hotel, do it soon, they book up regularly. Also be sure to mention you are fisherman, they offer a fishermans discount.

August may be a tough month for the Lake. Often times the fish are out deeper and kinda tight mouthed, but if you cover depths of 20-40 feet and look for structure, you should be able to find some. If the lake is too rough to fish, the Bay will have lots of weeds and the largies always bite.

Best of luck.

I'll be up for a 2 day tournament that same week, then the next week i'll be moving into penn state at the erie campus. see you on the water!

Thank you so much for your help. I looked into all you sent me and can't wait to get there and fish. Hope you have a great year of fishing.

-Patrick