OKBT #3 Long Point Bay (Lake Erie)
Here we go! I had been looking forward to this one all season, I love these big water tournaments and most of the fishing that I have done in my life has historically been in one great lake or another, excluding a couple trips here and there from time to time. Having just relocated to the town of Port Colborne and only 5 or so minutes from a marina on the lake now I venture out when I have some free time just in my local area to check on some spots that are known producers for me. Having said that I should also mention that prior to the week of the tournament I had never actually fished in the long point bay area specifically, most of my lake Erie fishing is centered around targeting smallmouth, pike, and walleye when the weather allows. Knowing that largemouth can play a factor and having caught some good fish in practice I thought maybe it was time to reconsider my target species for the event. So I had planned to start out a ways near the eastern boundary and locate some deep water and hope to find a school or score with some roaming fish cruising the shallower flats near by and then move into the shallow weeds and upgrade there. I rigged the rods and was set to go but the day before the event a message was sent out, due to some unfortunate situations and interactions all marinas and slips would be out of play for everyone in the tournament, we could launch there, but we could not fish. Damn! So now I had to figure something else out, I could still move shallow and flip grass along the shore but that is alot of water to try and break down in a short amount of time and with the projected weather saying that the wind would be switching directions and picking up mid day I relied on previous general lake Erie experiences I had to make my decision. Anyone who knows me knows I love to throw a crankbait I've probably talked about it in every tournament report, but it just works, it's something that just gets bites! So as I mentioned the wind would be switching and increasing which usually means it's go time for alot of predatory fish and covering water quickly and effectively is what crankbaits are tailor made for. So as of the day of the tournament I still had plans to start out a ways in the lake but I was mainly just cruising around looking for areas I wanted to make sure to hit when that wind picked up and capitalize on that for as long as I felt comfortable enough doing so.
As 5 a.m rolled over and I was just finishing my final check of the kayak before launching out for the day, everything looks good so we are off and starting the 3 plus km paddle. I had two screens showing on the garmin the first and most of the screen being side image and the other being 2D sonar. As I paddled out of the marina I was looking around at all the great fishable water that was no longer fishable and really hoping that I wouldn't end up regretting not practicing more open lake stuff. As I got out close to the general area I wanted to fish I started marking ever single weed clump or edge I could to give me a better point of reference later in the day, I should also mention that at this point it was flat calm so I figured being that I am in 8-12ft with tall weeds scattered around a walking topwater or shallow diving jerkbait might get me a couple early bites as I scan around and mark spots for later. It really didn't take long either but unfortunately it didn't set a good tone for the day, 13.25" largemouth hit a megabass vision oneten plus 1 but before I was able to snap a photo it managed to hop off the bump and back into the water. It's an issue I've only recently been experiencing I'm looking into things that can be done to prevent this going forward but in the mean time I'm just happy it wasn't a high caliber fish. But I regroup and keep marking up the map and fan casting as I go, I come to an area that is about 12ft deep and choked with two 10ft weedbeds running parallel for maybe 15-18 feet with about a 2-3ft gap between them I mark it and throw a cast with the oneten plus 1 as it lands I turn to reposition something on the backside of the kayak and as I come back around I give my reel handle a half turn and I get a tug back, without doing anything a bass came up and ate the lure, it quickly takes to the surface and gives me a nice tail walk only to show me what I'm losing as I see the jerkbait fly out into the air. Having not even had the time to really set into that fish I wasn't surprised at the outcome I was however disheartened because it looked like a 16-17" class fish. I cast back into that lane way right away and never get hit again but because that fish was so eager to come to the surface and it is still flat calm I start throwing the teckle kicknocker pup in place of the jerkbait, second cast in that general area and the topwater produces, first fish scored 14.50" largemouth. I continue in that area but move up to the shallower (9ft) range of this area and continue to fan cast the top water, I miss what was likely the same fish twice in one cast and the third time finally hook up 15.50" largemouth that fish would not be denied. As I continue casting and scanning a ripple starts to show up on the water the wind had picked up a little since the start of the morning, but nothing like what was coming. I continue on rotating between the jerkbait and topwater fan casting and target casting while gathering waypoints to come back on later, given that at this point it is only about 9:30 a.m I move up and check out the sand bar that I have been fishing near all morning, partly because I know fish will cruise structures like this periodically throughout the day and also just to see if there is much going on as I come up shallower. So as I meander on and off the bar I that ripple that had formed on the water goes away and the water is calm as can be, so I know that I have about an hour before the wind switches direction and picks up so I turn back around and start to head back towards a cluster of marked areas I had made earlier in the day. I decide to get the crankbait rod out and start working that into the line-up as once the wind gets going it will likely be locked in my and anyway. As 11:30 a.m approached the wind slowly starts at first it's not much but it's enough to start breaking the flat calm surface and that is all the reason I need to start putting more focus in the deeper weeds I had found, and it doesn't take long. At about noon I sent a cast over a couple small weed clumps and begin to burn the strike king pro model series 5 back to the kayak I hit into a clump and kill it allowing the crankbait to slowly back out and get over the weeds again, no sooner do I get a half handle turn and I get throttled. I have to say that might be the best bite in all of bass fishing and this 16.25" largemouth was no exception he choked that strike king crankbait and after a quick photo on the bump went right back home. About five minutes later was casting a different patch of weeds and same thing stopping it dead as soon as I feel the mushiness of weeds and cranking fast after 2-3 seconds letting it rise and back out, whack! It never gets old a, 15.50" largemouth for the board. One more left to fill the card, the wind had gotten going pretty good at this point and the waves were starting to build but in my experience that only makes this bite better. I knew as long as I could manage the waves this was going to only help me climb in the standings. It was about 1:10pm and I had a good stretch of water coming up with how the wind was blowing I was forced to either position and peddle into the wind and try and stay as stationary as possible or get in a position to quickly drift over the area, so with being a large area of scattered weed patches I decided to drift it multiple times. The area is probably 300 feet long by 150ft wide and about 11 feet deep as an average. On the first pass through I hooked up and landed a 14.75 and another 15.50 largemouth. So as I paddled back to position for another drift it felt good to know the card was full and it was culling time. I slid out into a deeper section of the area and started drifting again casting at the weed patches i had marked earlier using side image, hooked up right away 16.25" smallmouth, the first smallie of the day, on this drift there were 5 different weedbeds I wanted to cast at that first fish came off the first weed edge unfortunately he made a mess of my net having barely been hooked the trebles really dug in, by the time I was freed up again I was already coming up to the last marked point. I throw out and start burning the crankbait back and as I turn to address a loosely positioned rod, thanks to the constant waves, the one I'm fishing with almost gets ripped from my hands, I set back into the fish, and get it in and measure 17" largemouth for the board. That's more like what I need so I peddle back and start pretty much that same drift again having missed multiple points last time on this drift, at this point I have a 17", two 16.25", and two 15.50" on the board and it's a little after 1:30 p.m I catch a couple more fish under that 15.50" inch range on that last drift but nothing bigger and with time coming down and still more fishable areas I move and set up by a large weedbed I start infront and work that edge then parallel to the side and as I am able to reach the back corner no sooner does the crankbait hit the water my line starts going to the right, without even reeling down I wait for tension and set, being right at the end of the cast it was a pretty good fight and this fish just refused to come up to the surface, but finally I get it within distance of the net, 17.50" largemouth. The waves made it hard to get a clear picture but finally got it done and released. It was coming up to 2 p.m and I was sitting in 10th but I wanted to get another upgrade and get that last 15.50" culled out and I'd feel alot better about the top ten. Unfortunately though the waves and fact that I was still over a kilometer out from shore kept me from exploring the last couple of points I had marked so I moved in shallow and started throwing a Zman chatterbait Evo around and managed to get a couple more bites but everything was under expect one that matched that 15.50" size. That would be how my day wrapped up no other measurable fish were caught in the last hour.
Unfortunately I never got that 15.50" culled out, but at the end of the day I was able to put together a decent limit pulling from my experiences on the lake before and applying it to a different part of the lake in tough conditions. I made my way back to where I launched. I loaded up and headed to the awards eager to see how that last hour changed the standings, as the results came in a had done enough for 11th and $150, I also won a draw for a new streamside predator elite 7'3" rod so im definitely happy with that turn out but I'll still always be chasing that top spot. As always congratulations to all the competitors that had a good showing and thank you to all the anglers who come out and make it all so much fun both on and off the water. An even bigger thank you to those who put in all the work to organize and run these events, but as always it is because of people like you that this sport continues to grow and get better and bigger every year. And lastly thank you to the sponsors that support the OKBT and Ontario Kayak Bass Nation we are so fortunate to have the best companies in the sport fishing world supporting us and helping us maximize our time on the water making us more proficient anglers. Being a leader of innovation and quality in their respective product areas you can be assured that if they are on the OKBT Banner or website they are top tier. Cheers.