2020 Challenge Cup Borden Lake

 It was a windy cloudy cool day on Borden Lake for the 2020 Challenge Cup. The Snatchers were a lost cause without Chuck Steinbauer to lead the team. We came in Last. Tim Benson did leave with 2nd Place Money though. All of the Snatcher Co's only caught 2 keepers apiece. My fish being the lightest of the bunch. The fishing was more difficult than it should have been. I expected the fish to really be snapping, but they weren't. Which led me to become discouraged, disinterested, and bored. After a long dry stretch, my boater finally started getting some fish and I perked up for the final couple of hours.  I caught my second keeper with about 5 minutes left to go. My boater Jason Schmitt ended up being just shy of the money. He got his fish on the chatter and swim jig with a swimbait trailer. His boat was sweet.

 

B.B.S. Cedar Lake

  

If I never see Cedar Lake again it will be too soon. We started out with a slow-motion start in heavy fog that was lifting by the time we arrived at our starting spot in Sunrise Bay. The fish were inactive.  So we started covering water. I got a couple pike. I think Nate connected with his first fish around 10:30AM in some pads on a swim jig with a Kalin's Mogambo Grub, He missed a bite and then caught one off a dock. We then tried the North end of Sunrise and he missed a couple there. We briefly tried the Slop Hole. That wasn't happening so we quickly left. Just outside of the Slop Hole Nate got a nice keeper and had a couple other good ones boil on his jig. He gave me a Mombo and I got my keeper that was 12.25". We then left Sunrise and worked in the mid-section of the Lake. We were fishing pads with reeds and about to leave when Nate caught a good fish. That bite clued us into a pattern, but we couldn't land out bites and I got a pike.  I did lose a small keeper that hung me up on the pads. We went back to the place in Sunrise where Nate had the boils. I had a feeling one of us was going to get smoked and it was me first. I got too excited and jerked the jig out of the fishes mouth. Nate caught his limit shortly after that. We went back to our starting spot and didn't get anything. Then we went and worked the area across from where I missed the blow-up. I missed a blow-up in the reeds there as well. We went back to where Nate got his first fish and I got a pike. We spent the last 15-minutes by the access. Nate got his biggest fish of the day there and I got another pike. Fricken Cedar Lake.

Results: My fish weighed 1lb and put me in 12th Place. Nate won the tournament with 16/3. Tim Benson caught the 3/12 Lunker and Placed 3rd making him the 2020 Bass Snatcher Mr. Bass. Theo won the final Co-Angler Challenge of the Year out of Tim's boat.

My Thoughts: It was a tough bite and even if I had caught that other bass I had on I don't think it would have moved me up any. Who knows if my other bites were even bass or not. I finished in the Club Super 6, so I do get Wood for this year. I set new personal bests for Total Points, One Out Points, and Average place of finish. I wasn't because I fished that great, I didn't. We just didn't have our full complement of guys this year.  

B.B.S. Gull Lake

 

 Conditions: 36-48℉, Cloudy in the morning turning PC around noon, Clouds returned the final couple of hours, 0-4mph

My Boater: Club President Tim Benson (2nd Tournament I've fished with him) 

Oopsie: As I started North on 25 toward Brainerd I remembered I didn't put my cull tags in my bag. 

The Day: Everbody was there early in the belief that there wouldn't be parking spaces due to a big walleye tournament, but that wasn't the case. I was the last guy to arrive. I got my stuff in the boat and Tim had four extra cull tags. We blasted off a little before 7:30AM and we headed right to the reeds on the West side of  Round Lake. It wasn't long and I flipped up my big bass of the day 2/15 on a Texas Rigged junebug craw tube.  Tim got 2 or 3 keepers on our first pass along the outside edge in maybe a 60-yard stretch. We then worked our way back inside the reeds but not too far from the edge. I missed a bite on a Hack Attack Jig and caught a pike around the same area where I got my bass. As we started back on a second pass Tim got a nice one. I think he was culling by the time I got another bass. I did lose a fish that broke me off. Tim threw a chatter jig to a small reed island and had a good one jump all over it. I cast my craw tube to the area and was immediately hit by my second biggest bass of the day. We thought maybe we found a school, but nope. So after checking the area out resumed fishing down the reed line. Not too far down Tim got another good one on the chatterjig. I caught a 12.5" just outside of the reed line on a Hack Attack Jig. Then I got on the reed line on a tilapia craw tube. The sun had come out prompting me to go to a lighter color. I got my fifth fish on a D & M Baits junebug Piranha 2 Swim Jig (chatter). I got my limit fish around noon on the craw tube. We then worked our way back with me missing or losing several bites.

We then tried a small reed bed and Tim got a couple of upgrades. At that point, we decided to leave Round. We went to reed bed on the North end of Gull. I got one upgrade on a junebug craw tube and caught a dink on a LiveTarget Baitball Popper. It wasn't happening. We spent the final hour and a half on the South end not catching anything.

The Results: My fish weighed 12/13oz putting me in 7th Place. Tim had 18/9 putting him in 4th. Keith Tuma won with 20/6 and got Lunker with a 4/7 fish  Second went to Smitty with 19even and Al Steinbauer got third edging Benson by 6ozs. The Co-Angler Challenge was won by Beau again.

My Thoughts: I am satisfied with my day. It took me a couple hours to relax and get comfortable and in tune with pitching the reeds. We were the only boat in Round and because of that fact we probably should have stayed there the whole day.  

This Tournament guaranteed I will finish 5th or 6th in AOY.

B.B.S. Little Boy/Wabedo

Conditions: 50-58℉, Cloudy to Mostly Cloudy with occasional drizzle, 0-4mph SE
The area received a pretty good rain overnight.

The Day: We started in the reeds just to the East of the YMCA Camp in Little Boy. I may or may not have missed a couple of bites. After about an hour and a half with nothing to show for it we left the those reeds and headed to some reeds on the NE side of the lake. Bill missed a bite along a tree in the water. I had something very pike like attack my Fluke and get off quicky in the reeds. I had a couple other boils, but nothing hooked up. We then went to the dock by the outlet where Al had already taken a fish. We then headed to Wabedo. We started fishing to the east right at the entrance to Wabedo. Bill was working the shoreline reeds and I was throwing out with my orange Shower Blows knock-off. I had a 35 or so inch muskie jump over the lure and miss thankfully. From there we went and worked a weedline.  Finally, I got the skunk out of the boat with 2.5lb bass on a junebug Piranha. Bill then caught a line burner on a Senko. Then he got a fish that almost went 2lbs. I got a pike on a craw tube. It was calm and overcast. Perfect topwater conditions. I started throwing a River2Sea Bubble Walker. Something boiled behind the lure. I let it sit for a few seconds then popped it. Whoosh, the 6.5 pound pike took it. After putting up a good fight Bill netted it for me. Thankfully, It didn't put up any fuss in the boat and the hook came out easily. We fished Wabedo for maybe 15 more minutes then headed back to Little Boy with maybe 2 hours left in the day. We went back to the YMCA camp area starting to the West of where we did in the morning.  There is a breakwater at the camp. I made a cast to it with a bone Shower Blows and good bass blasted it. It jumped got down in the weeds and came off. I was not happy. We worked the reeds again. I had something pike like take a shot at my Spro Sprinker knock off and not hook up.  Bill was pretty frustrated as was I. I suggested we move in closer to shore into an area that was good for me and Al in the last tournament. We started working the pads and rice, nothing. Then we came to boat lane. I probably should have directed Bill on how to best approch the high percentage area. Sure enough there were a couple of fish there. I got a decent hookset, but the fish quickly got off. It was 2 to 3lber.  Bill put on frog as I peppered the area. I think he got a bite on his third cast by a smaller fish that didn't hook up. We came to the next boat lane and sure enough their were two fish in the high percentage area. We both landed our bites this time. That happened right in front of Hammer and Checkbook who were working towards us.  We quickly ran out of slop. With 20 minutes left we went to another slop area where Bill lost a fish and I caught a pike.  I was quite disappointed to only bring in two fish and thought I would be a bottom dweller for sure. But a lot of guys struggled, so I reached my goal of a Top 8 finish.

Results: My fish weighed 5lbs 6ozs, which put me in 8th Place. The tournament was won by Tim Benson with 18/9 and he had lunker with a 4/8. Beau Bacon won the Co-angler Challenge out of Tim's boat with 14/03, which put him in 3rd Place. Al Steinbauer was 2nd with 15/8.

My Thoughts: I don't know what the fishes deal was. I would have thought everbody would have come in with limits under those conditions, but the fish were just not up and feeding like you wold expect in the Fall. 2/3rds of the field caught 3 or fewer fish. Ouch

We figured out something that would work to late. Oh well I am now in a three way tie for 4th in the Angler of the Year. It looks like I stand a decent chance of making the Clubs year end Super 6 provided I don't skunk at either of the final two tournaments, which are back to back the first weekend of October on Gull and Cedar Lake.

 

B.B.S. Rush Lake (Ottertail)

Smitty's Anchor Fish in a 21lb Bag

What My Scale Said I Had

Conditions:
Started late due to fog turning sunny around 11:30 or so. Light WSW Wind.

The Day:
Started with a fog delay, so we bumped the weigh-in time to 4:30PM. I think we had our 5mph blast off at 8:20 or so. Herman and I were headed to the East end so it was a good long time before we started fishing. We stopped at some reeds along the South shoreline with some rice and pads closer into shore. I got a pike on a frog along some reeds and then the first bass of the day (1.94lbs) along some rice.  Herman got a 2lber out from some rice on a spinnerbait. That made his day. We hit some Reed/Rice/Pads in the middle of the Eastern Bay next. I got a 1.27lber out of some pads. Had a couple of probable pike swipe at me and not come back for seconds. I launched one pike that bit 12 feet through the air when I set the hook on it.  I then had the 2.40lber ambush the Sparrow about 8 feet out in open water after coming off of some pads. We worked around the backside of the stuff we were fishing. I cast to some pads landing on the edge when a 3 to 4lb fish body slammed the Sparrow. I quickly dropped the rod and set the hook sending the Sparrow back towards me at Mach 1.  The dang fish didn't eat the frog. I threw the kitchen sick at her trying to get it to bite again, but she gone!  That was my last bite in this stuff. As we worked our way over to the access area I switched the Sparrow from my 7' 4" Xtra Heavy Frog Rod to my 7'4" Heavy Tatula Frog Rod. It was clear that I was going to be throwing a frog for the next few hours, so I wanted to do it with my favorite rod.  Over by the access I had a 14/15 bass get off at the boat. I figured that fish would have been culled so I didn't stress it. The sun came out.  We were working some open water between slop pockets when I caught a dink. When we got to the next slop line I lost another 14/15 fish, no biggie.  We went through a little dead zone of rice.  We were approaching a rice/pad point where Bruce lost a bite during pre-fish. I think Herman missed two separate fish there. I think Herman missed another fish in some pads/reeds.  The area turned to pads. Herman gave me control of the boat as he made sandwiches. I had a pike miss me.  I then had the 2.66lber give his location away. I caught her on the next cast.  I doubled back to re-fish the area and got the 2.73lber. The sandwiches were now ready so we sat there and ate. I finished first so I went back over the area again and got the 2.22lber. We doubled back one more time and didn't get anything so we proceeded along the pad edge. I got me big fish of the day which weighed 2/13. Shortly after that, I had a fish smoke the frog and bury me in the pads. Thinking it was another good one I put way to much pressure on the rod and it snapped. The fish was still hooked and I reeled in a 13-inch dink. I quickly put the Sparrow back on the Xtra Heavy and tried to get the fact that I busted my favorite rod in the world with little hope of being able to procure another one out of my mind. I caught a couple fish that didn't help and Herman lost a couple of quality blow-ups.  Herman was not happy about missing the fish and that his trolling motor was continuously needing to be freed of weeds. And I wasn't happy I had busted my rod.  Smitty came over to talk letting us know his smallest fish was 3lber.  After he left I should have suggested we re-fish over the pads again. I don't know if Herman would have gone for it or not seeing the trouble the weeds were giving him, but the thought didn't even enter my mind. I did want to go back to the area where I got my first quality bite. That is where I got my final cull of the day, a two and a quarter. At about 2:30PM we left for the West side of the lake. We went to some reeds where he got some bites in pre-fish. Nothing going on. We then tried some docks. Herman got a dink. We then went to some reeds/pads along the Southside of the lake. Herman got his third fish and I got a couple of dinks.

The Results: My fish weighed 15/15, which put me in 4th Place. The tournament was won by Smitty's 21/05 bag. Beau won the Co-Angler Challenge again with 16/13 which put in 2nd Place. Getting "wood" for the first time was Jonathan Notsch in 3rd Place with a 16/7 bag and Bruce Groulx with the 4/1 Lunker.

My Thoughts: This tournament is going to sting for a while.  Breaking my favorite rod because I was so amped up burst my bubble.  Devastating! I love that rod.  I can't believe I only had that one 3 to 4lb bite and the doggone fish didn't get the frog. It's like losing the smallmouth that would have filled my limit on the Mississipi. I am snakebit as far as getting wood. We really should have gone back over that padded area a second time.

On the positive side, fourth place is solid points. I am now definitely in the hunt for the Super 6 as I currently sit in 5th Place and the next tournament is on Little Boy/Wabedo.  A lake I feel good about.

   

B.B.S. Serpent Lake

2/8ozs Z-Man TRD

Boater: Chuck Steinbauer
Conditions: 65-84℉, Mostly Sunny, 0-3mph Various directions

The Day: We blasted off for this one at around 6:40AM which is nice.  It became quickly apparent to me with Chuck getting bites almost immediately on a stick worm and nothing going on topwater that finesse fishing would have to be a bigger part of the program than I wanted it to be.  I switched to a Z-Man TRD on an Outkast Perfect Ned Head and caught me a 9" dink and a rock bass.  I didn't get a hit on anything on the next two spots we tried.  I finally got my first keeper in the boat on the Ned Rig at Darrin's Point. The fish was 14.5" long and in my haste to get back fishing I didn't weigh it till later.  It ended up being the smallest fish in my bag at 1/7. I then caught a line burner followed by my big fish of the day at 2/8.  We then went to the spot Chuck got a nice smallie and a couple of good lmb's on in pre-fish.  I caught a 2lber and Chuck got bupkiss.  We then went to the public access where I got a couple of small topwater fish that would take forever and a day for me to cull out.  I did manage to get rid of the line burner and the one I replaced him with on our next stop before we hit a long dry spell.  We came back to that weedline spot later in the day and I got an upgrade that stuck along with some dinks and a multitude of rockies.  In the final hour, we hit one of Chuck's old spots, and both upgraded a couple more fish.  We spent the final 20-minutes down by the landing where there was a chop on the water. I had two fish hit at the Whopper Plopper and not hook up.

Results: My fish weighed 11lbs 15ozs which put me in 6th Place. Chuck's weighed 14/10 and put him in 2nd Place. Hammer took 1st with 16/5 and lunker with a 4/02 smallie. Tyler Czech was the first Co-Angler Challenge Winner of 2020 with 13/05.

The 6th Place finish is my 3rd best finish in the 1st tournament of the year.  It looks like we are going to have small fields this year and there is a possibility we won't make up the first tournament which was postponed.  Every point counts and this finish gives me a leg up in finishing in the Club Super 6 at the end of the year.

My Thoughts:  Pre-fishing is a big deal for my confidence level. Last year the late June tournament was held on Alexander under similar circumstances, but I was unable to pre-fish that one.  The report coming in last year was that the bite was on fire.  When it wasn't on tournament day I got caught flat-footed and never got comfortable with what I was throwing.  I only brought in 3 fish that day.  This year I was prepared for what I was going to throw if the fish didn't cooperate and the plan worked out pretty well.

I should probably pick up some more of those Outkast Perfect Ned Heads.  I only have 3 of them.


Final Standings: