Big water equals big smallmouth. Johnston closer to AOY.
by David A. Brown
FLW PRESS RELEASE
He was hoping to preserve a special spot for later in the event,
but when Jared Rhode realized he had to hit the sweet stuff, the fat smallmouth
therein did not let him down. Sacking up a limit of 23 pounds, 10 ounces the
pro from Port Clinton, Ohio, grabbed the day-one lead at the Rayovac FLW Series
Northern Division event on Lake Erie.
“I have a spot where I’ve been catching quite a few fish, but I
went there this past weekend and they weren’t there,” Rhode says. “I wanted to
try to avoid fishing there today, in hopes that I could save my best spot.
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| Local knowledge propels Jared Rhode into lead. (Photo: FLW) |
“I fished elsewhere and I only had three bass, so I went to my
best spot and caught them very quickly. There seems to be quite a few fish
there and there are no other boat around, so I’m very excited about tomorrow.”
Fishing in the general vicinity of Pelee Island, Rhode’s first
spot was shallow — about 10 feet. According to Rhode, this spot had kicker
potential, but the fish didn’t cooperate.
“I only fished where I started for 10 to15 minutes because I
could tell they weren’t there,” he says. “Once I went to my main spot offshore,
I had my limit by 9 o’clock in the morning and I had most of my weight [shortly
thereafter].
