Lake Erie Smallies

[java]

After suffering a cancelled charter (wildfire smoke) last summer my son and I are looking to figure out Lake Erie smallies on our own this spring. We run a small boat (20ft) with nice bells and whistles that can handle a slight chop. A few questions (1) Best launch point when considering travel from Rochester (2) Good forums similar to this worth monitoring (3) Camping near a favorable port?  I will forego the best tactics question and cover this in my research. Thanks all. 

[JHoss]

Lake Erie United is great, you may know of it already:

Lake Erie Fishing Reports for Perch, Walleye, Bass & Trout | Lake Erie United

[Gill-T]

Time of year?  It is hard to beat the structure along the shore south of Buffalo to Angola

[mr 580]

Suggest you take a second look at a smallmouth charter.  Visit the Come Fish Lake Erie website and select bass charters from Small Boat Harbor in Buffalo.  That interactive site lets you choose species and port then gives you a list of captains with links to their websites. These are all licensed captains and contact several and discuss your needs.  Sorry you had a bad experience your 1st go around but I’m sure you can find someone to shorten your learning curve.