JACK WOLLITZ Big lake, big smallies, big catch

You know you're on a world-class fishery when 4-pound smallmouth bass hardly turn any heads.
Lake Erie has gained a reputation for producing bumper crops of lunker smallmouths and she's already demonstrated this summer that the recognition is well-deserved. Big smallies litter the lake bottom from Buffalo to Toledo and diehard anglers have refined their tactics to capitalize on the abundant bass.
I traveled to my favorite Lake Erie fishing hole last weekend and witnessed the bronzeback bounty firsthand. Fishing out of Presque Isle Bay off Erie, Pa., tournament partner Steve Zarbaugh and I enjoyed a fine day along with more than 100 other teams of bass anglers in the X Series event.
We ended up with a three-bass limit weighing 13.66 pounds and finished 16th. George and Nick Prvonozac of Warren won with three fish totaling more than 16 pounds. The tournament lunker was a smallmouth in the 7-pound class.
Hard day's work
While the numbers tallied at the X Series event indicate outstanding fishing, the truth is the contenders had to work pretty hard to find the better fish. As productive as Lake Erie is, catching big smallies requires attention to detail.
The casual observer watching a pack of anglers drifting the swells out on Lake Erie might assume that all that is required is dragging a bait along the bottom until you encounter a fish. Truth is the fish congregate around specific places -- even out in the seemingly trackless expanse of Erie.
Smallmouths relate to changes in the bottom contours. It doesn't need to be a radical break; a drop or hump that is even one foot might hold a number of good fish. Good spots also include rock piles, a number of which are scattered around the lake bottom.
The catch
Last Sunday, bites were not exactly the kind that make for memorable experiences. We'd notice the line just sort of tighten up as the boat moved with the breeze, indicating either a fish had snuck up on our tubes or the jig was fouled on the bottom. Either way, it's time to set the hook. The result was either a tremendous surge of power on the other end of the line or a confounding snag.
Once hooked, Lake Erie smallies are capable of rocketing from the bottom 25 feet down to the surface in a matter of seconds. Several of our fish broke the water in acrobatic cartwheels and belly-slapped back into the lake in a shower of spray.
And at the boat, they display the characteristic repeated nose-dive tactics known to all who fish for smallies. Zarbaugh boated a bass that weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces and our other two fish in our tournament limit were 4-pounders.
The lunker was hooked on a spinning rod that Zarbaugh spooled with fluorocarbon line, which is another little trick that veteran Erie anglers employ.
Tough and dense for its size, fluorocarbon line enables anglers to get their lures to the bottom a bit easier than with conventional monofilament line. The density of the line contributes to making it sink more readily than mono.
The action will continue throughout the summer and into October and, weather permitting, even November. Good spots can be located in 25 to 30 feet of water all along Erie's shore, including the harbors of Conneaut and Ashtabula, as well as Presque Isle and Erie, Pa.
Anglers who decide to try their luck on Erie smallmouth bass are well advised, however, to keep an eye on the weather. It doesn't take much of a breeze to kick the big lake into a frenzy. Caution is necessary anytime on the water, but particularly on Lake Erie.
jwwollitz@aol.com