The Ohio Retirement Series held a tournament on Thursday on Portage Lakes, and since we have the pleasure of being over 55, we jumped in – even though we are not “retired”. Its was a surprise to see 19 teams fishing on a 28 degree morning! No surprise with the chilly overnight temperatures we’ve had that the water temperatures dropped. We saw 53 degrees early morning, only warming to 59 in certain bays by 3:00. The water has also turned gin clear compared to the stained water we saw last time out on the lake.
The thing that changed for us also is that we caught fish! We had bites on a jointed swimbait and a crankbait. Dangled Texas and wacky rigged worms in front of some 3 pounders, but they weren’t interested at all. Put eyes on a 6 pounder, but didn’t catch her either. There are many schools of blue gill and shad in 3 – 5 feet of water, and the bass seem to be building beds, but not on them. Maybe the cooling water slowed the process.
We weighed in the two fish we caught for 4.16 lbs. The winners, Hankins & Bennett weighed a beautiful limit of five fish for 20.29 lbs. The big fish are still swimming in Portage Lakes! Congratulations to the champs for catching them on a tough day where many teams blanked.
Are you over 55 and want to fish the Ohio Retirement Bass Series? Check out their schedule here: https://gofishohio.com/ohio-fishing-information/ohio-fishing-events-tournaments/ or check them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2501518226835867