Portage Lake
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Species
Season
Portage Lake Overview
Top Techniques Reported for Largemouth Bass + Spring
- Frogs/Toads1
- Hard Jerkbaits1
- Hard Topwater (Popping)1
- Wacky Rigs1
- Largemouth Bass4 Reports
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Most Reported Baits for Largemouth Bass + Spring
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Portage Lake Fishing Reports
7 Reports on Portage Lake
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Frogs/Toads
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
65°
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Hard Jerkbaits
Structure
Open Water/Basin
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
61°
Had a late start, water temp was around 60-62°F, wind was 3-5 mph. Water was amazingly clear for Portage Lake. Probably a solid 5-6' visibility. Had a hard start getting a pattern going. Early catch on a Ned and then a nice keeper in the shallows on a red Berkley Power Blade. Eventually got further out of the shallows (6-10') of water and got a few short strikes on a Shad Fillet Stunna. The bites were coming when I let the bait sit for 3-4 seconds. After 3 fish on short strikes I switched to a Hankie Pankie and the bass really started to hit that one hard. I had another 20 or so in the next hour with about 2/3 keepers. Pretty much all of them were after a short 3/4 second pause coming out of the shallower water.
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Spring (Post-Spawn)
Technique
Topwater Popping
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
73°
Lake was treated one week prior. Temp was right around 73, and no wind when we hit the water. Baitfish were popping everywhere. No luck just east of the ramp in the shallows. We moved north to the thick stuff and immediately got into a good top water bite on poppers and a couple on wacky's. Missed several on frogs. Bass were just sucking at the surface and not really exploding. Moved to the docks by Klines and picked up a few on worms and a good one on a frog, and a few more smaller as we moved down the coast. Overall decent numbers but sizes were underwhelming. Bring a small child, makes all the fish look bigger.
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