To borrow a popular claim, if you know, you know.

Anglers get it. Fishing a new lake for the first time is one of the great adventures in fishingdom. If you are an avid angler, you know what I mean.

Nearly 50 years have passed since I towed home my first boat and began exploring lakes and rivers on my own. Prior to that, I fished aboard Dad’s Starcraft and on foot wherever I could find a fishy-looking riverbank or causeway.

I was always thrilled at the prospects of what I might discover as I headed out on new waters. I recall my first visit to Mosquito Lake, the tailrace below Berlin Reservoir and the U.S. 224 causeway across the lake, the Bass Islands of Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay, Pymatuning Reservoir, Chautauqua Lake and dozens of other lakes and rivers near Youngstown and Warren.

So it was with a sense of pending adventure that I drove into Mogadore Reservoir’s launch ramp parking lot to meet fishing friend John Shriver just after sunrise Thursday. My lifetime of fishing trips had somehow failed to check off Mogadore. So I happily accepted Shriver’s invitation to join him to cast for largemouth bass.

Buoyed by optimism after spying the shoreline littered with laydowns and lily pads, I stowed my rods and readied for a day of fast action on a lake known for lots of big bucketmouths.

But anglers have another IYKYK. It’s the sense we get when we know the day has the potential to shape up with less than ideal conditions. A brisk breeze blew out of the north, pushing gray clouds across the chilly sky. After weeks of hot, humid weather, Thursday’s cold snap might put a dent in our game plan.

Shriver shoved his electric-powered jonboat from the dock and we headed out to an offshore hump rimmed by aquatic grass. The sun beamed through occasionally and a Goodyear blimp hummed over the horizon south of the lake, but it was certain we weren’t going to be mopping sweat Thursday morning.

Mogadore is approximately 1,000 acres of some of the bassiest water I’ve ever seen. I have fished lakes and rivers from northern Michigan to southwest Florida. I’ve cast my lures in Lake Okeechobee and the bayous of Louisiana’s Mississippi Delta. I’ve dragged plastic worms across the bottom of Tennessee’s famed Chickamaugua, the tidewater of Virginia’s James River and dozens of other great American waters.

My view from the back deck across Portage County’s Mogadore revealed flats strewn with hydrilla and coontail, spreads of water lilies and uncountable trees toppled from the banks. Bass anglers know those twisted witch-finger branches are perfect shelter for big bass hunting yellow perch, bluegills and other forage fish.

Weather or not, we knew we’d connect with our share of largemouths, and sure enough Shriver struck first with a two-pounder that couldn’t resist his gold-bladed buzzbait.

He maneuvered his boat, which he acquired 35 years ago from his angler uncle, toward a bank he knew would reward our efforts. Mogadore does not permit gasoline-engined boats, so Shriver’s craft is outfitted with four 12-volt batteries to power two electric trolling motors and accessories, which enabled us to fish miles of shoreline efficiently.

Shriver’s experience paid handsomely as he overcame the tough conditions to put us in front of 18 or 20 bass up to three-and-a-half pounds.

Mogadore is an impoundment on the Little Cuyahoga River, sprawling across western Portage County near Ohio 43 not far from Goodyear’s blimp base. The lake is popular with northeast Ohio bass anglers, as well as those who enjoy fishing for crappies, yellow perch and catfish.

Our day’s weather wasn’t perfect, but Shriver was up for the challenge and Mogadore did not disappoint — and I got to fulfill the thrill of adding a fun lake to my list of favorite fisheries.

If you know, you know, right?

Jack Wollitz has written this column since 1988. His book, “The Common Angler,” was published in 2021. Email him at jackbbaass@gmail.com.