Top 5 Patterns From Lake Erie Day 2
Crankbaits and drop-shots reign supreme
Pennsylvania pro Dave Lefebre and Ohio pro Jared Rhode tied for the day-two lead in Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division action hosted by the City of Sandusky and Lake Erie Shores & Islands Welcome Center on Lake Erie with 43 pounds, 9 ounces. Both pros caught their fish on drop-shots.
Click here to read about the leading patterns of Lefebre and Rhode.
Here are the details of the rest of the top five.
3rd Place — David Matual — 42 pounds, 10 ounces
Moving up from 11th on day one, the pro from Chicago sacked up the biggest bag of the tournament – a limit of 23-15. Matual was short on specifics, but says he has dialed in a particular pattern that’s delivering tremendous opportunity.
“The fish are doing something now that is playing into my type of fishing,” Matual says. “It wasn’t one particular bait — it was a hodgepodge of baits.
“These fish are so jacked up, you throw anything down there and they’re all over it. There’s a high pressure system over the Great Lakes right now and I think that might have something to do with [the fish’s aggression].”
His main spot was fairly close to the take-off site, so Matual got to work quickly.
“I had just under 21 pounds at 10 ’til 8,” he says. “I think I caught a total of 10 or 11 today.”
Matual says he’s confident his spot has the potential to produce another big bag in tomorrow’s final round.
“I didn’t push my spot too hard yesterday, but I pushed it a little more today,” Matual recalls. “I’m going to floor it tomorrow and see what the spot can do.
“I did cull out at some other spots I checked, so I do have some backup there.”
4th Place — Trevor Jancasz — 41 pounds, 9 ounces
Gaining one notch from day one, the pro from White Pigeon, Mich., did most of his damage on the shallow reefs in the Pelee Island area. Mirroring his day-one routine, he got his limit on shallow spots and then moved out to deeper water.
“I started shallow again and they were biting,” Jancasz says. “The only thing that was better was there was bigger fish up shallow than yesterday. I went out deep and only culled one time, whereas yesterday, I culled multiple times out deep.”
Up shallow, Jancasz caught fish on Strike King Series 5 and 5XD crankbaits. Out deep, he fished a drop-shot.
5th Place — Matt Vermilyea — 40 pounds, 9 ounces
With 20 pounds on day one and 20-09 today, the pro from Perrysburg, Ohio, has remained consistent in finding quality fish.
“There’s a school of shallow fish and there’s nobody fishing around me,” Vermilyea says. “I’m just working my way in there really slow with a drop-shot in the morning until I locate them.
“I’m locking my Motorguide Xi5 down on anchor so I don’t spook them. As the sun comes up, I switched to a crankbait and just wore on them. There’s a ton of fish there.”
6th — Joe Balog, Harrison Township — 39 pounds, 6 ounces
7th — Matt Elkins, Spencerville, Ohio — 39 pounds, 4 ounces
8th —Mike V. Oberski, Ann Arbor, Mich. — 36 pounds, 13 ounces
9th — Jeff Vizachero, Grosse Ile, Mich. — 36 pounds, 6 ounces
10th — Michael Sitko, Pinckney, Mich. — 36 pounds, 2 ounces