WE GOT THE WIN BABY!! Portage Lakes Recap

Posted by jared on July 31, 2020

You ever just know when something is going to go your way? That’s how my two tournament wins this season have gone. Two things I noticed that were similar between both besides being two totally different fisheries - 1. I had a gameplan. 2. I was overly prepared. What I mean by this is usually I’m the guy who the night before an event is still rigging rods, playing around with tackle, and has a million thoughts going through their head. In both tournaments, my boat was packed, everything was rigged and prepared two days before the event. I was so prepared, I constantly kept thinking I was forgetting something haha. Let’s first go back in time to my first ever outing on Portage Lakes two Saturdays ago: 

July 18th: 

Portage Lakes is a really interesting place. For starters, it’s idle only through 95% of the entire chain of lakes except for two speed-zones which are obviously mobbed with pleasure boaters at all times. But you can only speed around from 12pm - 5pm. It’s also unique to run through all the different canals and “lock through”, so to speak, to each lake. It’s also a very well known bar hopping lake here in Ohio. So you can only imagine the number of drunk people there is out on the water on a normal weekend. Let’s also add, they rent pontoons boats on the lake too. I would love to know what the qualifications are to rent one of these because I can assure you, the majority of the people driving these have never driven a boat before. 

But moving on, I ventured out with my friend David for my maiden voyage on Portage Lakes. This lake is known to be very hit or miss. In the springtime, however, you need well over 20+lbs to win an event here. There’s a variety of structures as well - Boat docks, grass, rock, lily pads, deep water, you name it. There is grass everywhere and multiple different types. So going into this event, I knew I needed to find key grass areas that had fish. Well, we started at 6:30am and probably didn’t get off the water until at least 4pm. Out of that entire day, I had two bites; one in which I hooked, the other I felt but thought it was a sunfish or something small pecking at my bait. More on this particular comment later. I ran through the entire chain and fished just about every lake, or at least idled through each one, to check them out. So much nice-looking water but I couldn’t buy a bite. This particular day was also 100° weather and the water temp in the high 80s. To say I felt defeated was an understatement and was not looking forward to this event.

July 23rd: 

I came to the realization that in order for me to really seal the Angler of the Year title I needed to win this event. Usually, I just focus on being consistent and cashing a check but this time I knew I needed to win. My buddy Ryan joined me on this day and we got to the ramp around 6:30 am. This day was totally different conditions - mid 80’s, a bit of wind, and overcast. I’ve come to realize, especially here in Ohio, that there are always fish in that 7-9 foot range. To be honest, I’ve realized this throughout the country. Of course, the old saying “there are always fish shallow” (less than 5 foot) is true but I haven’t really been able, or should I say 100% confident, in targeting super shallow fish this year. Since I’m a shallow water fisherman at heart, that 7-9 foot range is deep to me most of the time. 

We started in an area where a few days prior at the end of the day, I had what I thought was a small fish that bit my bait. Remember when I brought this up just before? Well here’s why. We roll up to this area, I make my first cast of the day, still talking to my buddy, go to pick up my slack and I feel something biting my bait. Again, it almost seemed like bluegill or small fish nibbling at it. So I reared back, set the hook, and much to my surprise, it was a 3lber. So now the wheels are turning and I say to myself, that must have been a bass that bit me the other day in this same location. Usually catching a fish on your first cast is bad luck so I was a little weary. Ended up going down a bit and I found an isolated patch of nice-looking grass which led to me catching a nice 4lb Largemouth. So here I am, less than an hour into my day, and I have already caught more fish and bigger fish then my entire 10 hour day the Saturday prior. 

We moved to the other side of this lake that I did not fish in the other day. Everyone always talks about this area but I fished the whole left side Saturday morning with absolutely nothing to show for it. I started at the point leading into this bay which again had some thicker, isolated weeds on it. I caught another good fish. Go down a little bit more, my buddy catches one. Every single bite I ever get, or fish that I catch, will get a waypoint and notated as to what it is. When you start to do this, you will be able to look back and begin to notice clusters of waypoints where you caught fish. Most of the time, you will notice particular shorelines, grass flats, etc., have key areas within those areas where fish tend to congregate. A “spot within a spot” is the usual term for it. 

We head around the point and start fishing a grass flat. I came across an area in the beginning of this flat where we just unloaded on them. I’m talking 5+ fish in a matter of minutes. This kind of thing doesn’t happen often and you need to take note of it. We go down a bit more, not getting any bites, then towards the end where it starts to bend towards another shoreline, we get multiple bites within minutes. 

At this point, I scan over these areas again where these “clusters” of waypoints are. Again, to the naked eye, this grass flat all looks the same. But what I begin to realize is that underneath all that grass, there is an actual ditch that runs through it. To the average person, they may never notice this. But here I am in 7ft, then all of a sudden it drops to 8ft out of nowhere then back up to 7ft, that says something to me. The other area towards the end was in 9ft, came up to 7ft, then immediately shot back down to 9ft. Once I started throwing in these areas and dragging my bait around, I started to notice very subtle gaps where I would be in the grass, then nothing, then grass again. So to me, this was a sure sign that there was in fact a contour difference here and that this ditch did in fact have what I call a “bald spot” on it. These fish use those tiny areas to ambush prey and also use it as sort of a highway. 

Myself, my buddy Ryan, and our other friend George ended up getting lunch on the water then proceeded to fish the rest of the lake and didn’t get a single bite the rest of the day. So I knew at this moment, these 4 spots/ditches I found, which were maybe half the size of the front deck of a bass boat, are what I needed to fish come tournament day if I wanted a chance to win. I knew what I needed to do well, and I felt I had winning fish.

Just a side note here - I have a pretty good system I use when marking things on my Lowrance units. 

The blue circle icon for me stands for an object, drop-off, etc. I will also note what this icon is when saving it. Then I use the diamond icon in green to represent any Largemouth I catch or get a bite from. I will also note the date, what bait I used, and how big it was. Then I use the same diamond icon except in the color red to represent any smallmouth I catch or get bit by. Everyone has their own way of doing things but it’s what I have used for years and works perfectly for me. 

July 26th - Tournament Day

The event was from 6-3 pm but we started a little earlier than 6. The one thing that had me nervous was the conditions were not the same as they were Thursday when I did well (overcast, mid-80’s air temp, some wind). The conditions for this event were supposed to be almost 100°, no wind, and bright sun; the same exact conditions as the Saturday prior where I had two bites all day. This didn’t feel good. Whenever it’s a hot summertime event, you always need to realize once mid-day comes, the bite is just going to die. It happens time and time again. So I knew if I was going to catch them, it needed to be before 10 am. 

Given the amount of pressure this lake receives and my assumption as to how many anglers would go into this bay, I decided to start on my one grass flat where I had caught numerous fish on Thursday where I first found those ditches. By 9:00 am, I had my limit and was beyond excited and was already on track to have a bigger bag than I had on Thursday. I was just hoping to have 5 bites all day due to the conditions. The amount of fish in this one area is honestly unbelievable. At this point, I for sure thought this area would have been pounded by other anglers but I literally had it all to myself for most of the day. Every single angler in my event I passed, they had no fish when I already had my limit. For some, it really spun them out and they became extremely frustrated. 

My gameplan was truly unbeatable now looking back. I would say after 9am, I would get one bite per hour for the rest of the day, sometimes more. It was so early in the day, I figured screw it, I’m going to try and expand on this area by moving a little further out into deeper water as well as fish a little further down past my prime areas then I did practice. I ended up catching a few fish here and there that expanded the areas but still couldn’t get consistently bit unless I was inside these ditches. By 1 o’clock I just wanted this tournament to end as I knew I had the winning bag since 9 am and the anxiety was killing me. My number one concern at that point switched from fishing to fish management. This is a major key which I don’t think many anglers realize. So many anglers just throw fish in their livewell, put on their recirculation, and call it a day. This is great in spring and fall events when the water is cool. But in the summertime where water temps are 85°, you need to be smart otherwise you’re going to have dead fish. Knock on wood, I have never had a fish die on me. These Bass Cat livewells are fantastic. But I still took the necessary precautions to care for these animals as their lives are in your hands. If you wouldn’t want your beloved pet to die, then take the same consideration for the fish you're handling. I maintain my fish by alternating between putting ice in the livewells as well as G-Juice. I always bring an extra bag of ice with me in my boat for summertime events to put in my livewells to bring the water temperature down. 

Towards the end of the day, I had 8 competitors in my area. All friends of mine. Mainly because I gave the spot to a few people to try and catch a few more fish so they could gain some valuable points, but also because I’m that type of person. But man, did it feel good to stick giants all day in front of my fellow competitors while they just sat there scratching their heads wondering what I was doing. I don’t believe there are that many “pro-tour” moments in my life compared to this one haha. 

Winning Setup: 

• Big Bear 7’3” 3/4H Kodiak micro guide casting rod - Click HERE to check out these products
  

• Lew’s Tournament Pro Speed Spool 7.5:1 - Click HERE to check out these products 
  

• Hi-Seas 15lb Fluorocarbon -  Click HERE to check out these products                         

• Netbait B-Bug - Can’t give away my secret color. Sorry friends -  Click HERE to check out these products 

It’s been a great 2020 season so far. I am definitely excited to see how the rest of the year pans out. My next event is August 15th at Milton Lake where a month ago I placed 3rd. I enjoy catching Smallmouth and also enjoy cranking so looking forward to this one. As always, I appreciate everyone’s constant support and following me on my adventures. Until next time, Tight Lines!!