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FLW to Open Season on Erie
Over 260 anglers will take part in the first National Guard FLW Walleye Tour event of the season at Port Clinton, OH. The tournament will take place from May 12-14 on Lake Erie, where anglers are looking to bring in some big weights.
Jason Przekurat will be looking for the post spawn fish suspended in about 30 feet of water over the mud flats. He said that the key will be water clarity, “Right now the water is pretty muddy, but once it clears up they will be pretty hungry. The fish will put the feed bags on and will be biting.”
Przekurat explained that the bite has changed over the years, “While the size hasn’t changed, ten years ago you could troll for two miles and catch fish. Now you tend to find a pod of fish a quarter mile long.”
His presentation will most likely be trolling cranks, however, he noted that typically it’s not as much of a what, but a where when it comes to fish in this area.
“Once you find the fish, they will eat. It’s just a matter of staying on top of them. They may move a quarter or half mile. They move vertically in the water column,” he said.
Danny Plautz, who fishes the lake a couple times each year, is looking forward to the event. He explained the type of area the anglers will be fishing. “The west basin is a lot of structure. It is a shallow area, about 35 feet. The fish are moving off the spawning reefs and making their migration east.” He plans to attack the lake by looking at a map for areas they may flow through, along with checking spots that have been productive in the past. The key will be finding clear water.
“You have to search for a pod and stay with it. They will be following the currents from west to east” he said. While it is common for a school to move up to a mile in a day, Plautz has fished tournaments in the past where they have moved several miles in a day. “You just have to troll until you find them again. A lot of times the big females will hunker down on bottom after spawning to relax. The key is to watch the Humminbird to try to find them.”
Take off will be at 7:00am daily from the Nor’ Easter Club. Weigh-in will be at Water Works Park in Port Clinton on day one and two, beginning at 3:00pm. Day three weigh-in will be held at Wal-Mart in Port Clinton at 4:30pm.
WalleyeCentral will be live streaming the weigh-in on day one and two from Water Works Park. We will be providing photos and articles all three days of the event.
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