B.B.S. South Long Lake

  

Beau Won (16/14) and Got Lunker (3/15)

Mr. Bass 2022, Snatcher Fields

Conditions: Overcast temps 61-50℉, Wind 3-8mph ESE

The Day: We were the last boat out, and the first boat out went right to where my boater, Snatcher Fields, wanted to start. It seemed like 75% of the field went to the same general area to the NE of the narrows. We joined the scrum on the Eastern edge of the line of boats. Nothing on starting spot, so we headed up the lake to an area where we found a school during pre-fish. Chuck got a keeper in the boat. I think I got a pike, then lost a keeper and one that looked like it wouldn't go 12-inches. I got a walleye down the way a little bit. Ran some docks, but nothing. It was an extremely slow morning for us. We \went back to the starting spot and got an 11-incher. Ran back up the lake to a calm weedline. Finally got a keeper in the boat on the big Bubble Walker. Ran down to Bill Bongs Challenge Cup Starting Spot and got another keeper that took the LiveTarget Wake Gill. Chuck put several fish in the boat in short order, then culled with a couple of good 3lber in the cane. Game Over for Mr. Bass 2022. I got my 3lber out along the weed line out from the cane. We ended up back where I got my first keeper. I got my 4th keeper right before we were going to move on a spinnerbait. We went back to the starting area. I caught a short and a small keeper on the spinner bait. Went back up to Bongs Starting Spot. Got bit off twice with jigs and caught several pike on the spinnerbait. Had the craw tube get a bit off. Chuck caught a couple that didn't help and culled once or twice with minor upgrades, and then the day was over.

Results:  My fish weighed 10/09, which put me in 14th Place (2nd to Last Place). Beau Bacon won it with 16/14 and got Lunker with a 3/15. 2nd went to Snatcher Czech (14/11), who showed his face for the first time this season. And 3rd Place went, and Co-Angler Cash went to Snatcher Sarah.

My Thoughts: At long last, I finally got paired with Chuck Fields, and it was cool to do it when he clinched his second  Baxter Bass Snatcher Mr. Bass title. He accomplished the feat back in 1994. This was the first complete season he has fished with the club since winning it in '94. As for the fishing, I figured there was no way, under those conditions, I wouldn't be able to get a limit of keepers in the boat. Besides a half-hour window when Chuck caught most of his weight, it was really slow for us. Unfortunately, I didn't get any bites fishing on the bottom during that window, and when we returned to the spot, the pike had moved in. Whatcha gonna do? It just wasn't my year.  

B.B.S. Blind at Platte/Sullivan

  

4 and a 5

Got Wood Again, Finally

What my scale said

Conditions: 54-72℉, Partly Cloudy to Cloudy, 0-4mph S

The Day:

Darren was kind enough to give me control of the boat for the day. I elected to start in Sullivan at the Intersection. I had Darren set us down a little short of the juice. A decision I almost regretted as Snatcher Ludenia and Nate set down in the general area but fortunately didn't get a bite to slow them down. Darren had something big boil on his frog on about his fifth cast. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get it to strike again. I got us up to the juice and had a fish suck under my frog in a spot where my vision was a bit obscured by reeds. I ended up getting a less than optimal hookset, and the fish quickly got off. A couple minutes later, I had a fish suck my frog under, but this time I was ready and got the day off to a good start with a fish close to 3lbs. I began to work to the East when a boat not in the tournament fished through where I was heading. They caught one small fish, and that was it. I ended up fishing the Intersection instead. It just wasn't happening, and the wind was staying still, so we fished the GOMH on the Sullivan side and then headed into Platte for the rest of the day. 

We spent the next few hours on the North end of Platte in Inlet Bay. I started by fishing the rice line from East to West. I got a small keeper on a Terminator Frog. I think Darren got his first keeper shortly after that. It just wasn't happening on top, so I started throwing a Magnum Super Fluke. We were at the Cookie Jar, and I was just about to pull us off of the rice line when the 4lber bit the Fluke. That kept us on the rice line longer, but we didn't get any more bites. The wind came up a bit, so I pulled us out onto the flat. I got a small keeper and a bunch of pike on the Jackhammer and a craw tube as I worked our way back to where we started. It got calm again. I got my feet set and threw the Terminator Frog way back in the rice line, and 5lber slammed a couple seconds after it landed. I could have sworn I locked the weight at 4.93lbs, but apparently not. I wasn't surprised that my scale weighed it light. We worked the rice corner, then turned around, went deeper into the junk, and I worked our way South. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the slop in Center Inlet. As we made our way into South Inlet, I cast to the coontail mat, and a 3lber took the Terminator Frog about 10 feet out from the mat. A couple minutes later, Darren had a good fish boil on his frog, but unfortunately, his line snapped on the hookset. Darren did get a keeper there in South Inlet. We ended up working our way back to the north with Darren missing several opportunities and me getting pike on a buzzbait. The sun came out, and we got back on the rice line. I got a quality cull, and Darren got his last fish of the day.

As we were coming to the end of the rice, I noticed the front flasher was flickering on and off. Turns out his starting battery was out of juice. I headed us in the direction of the public access, and Smitty came by to see what was up. Smitty has a lithium jumper pack, which got us back in the game for the final hour and a half.  We made a couple of more stops with me getting a few pike, no bass. Just couldn't get one more Platte Lake Special to put my weight for the day over 20lbs.

Results: I won my first Snatcher Tournament with a weight of 19/12, and I also got wood and $ for the 5/2 Lunker.  Smitty came in 2nd with 17/9, and Nate got 3rd with 16/13. 

The win also allowed me to reach my goal of finishing in the club's Top 10 for the year in 10th Place.

My Thoughts: I am so grateful to have drawn Snatcher Darren as a boater and that I fished clean for the most part. I thought I had screwed my chances catching a twenty-pound bag on Wednesday when I didn't know we would be fishing my home lake; Thankfully there were still some melon heads up North. Winning on a lake that has disappointed me so many times made my first win so much sweeter. With the way my season had gone, I seriously doubted I was ever going to reach my number one goal, but I did it. Victory Was Achieved on August 26th, 2021!

B.B.S. Leech Lake

 

Conditions: 47-74℉, Mostly Sunny, clouded up in the final hour, 8-25mph S

My Day: We started on the South End of Bear Island, where Bruce caught a couple while pre-fishing. I had a pike steal my Dinger about 20-minutes into the day. We then went around Partridge Point. From there, we went to the North end of Bear Island in the reeds. I thought we might get a bite there with the wind blowing on it, but we didn't. We then went to the East end of Center Rice. We started by drifting along the edge.  Thought for sure I would get a bite there as it looked great, but nope. Then we went on the lee side, and I frogged it, trying to make a perfect cast to get a reaction bite. When we met Snatcher Ludenia and Al, they confirmed that it was a tough bite. We then made the run back west to Uram Bay and finished the day there. Bruce missed a bite, and I got the muskie in the final 15-minutes. So we both ended the day skunked for bass.

Results: Goose egg buys a goose egg as good as DNF or DQ'ed. Snatcher Nate came in first with 21-8. Snatcher Chuck got 2nd with 17-8, and Smitty came in 3rd with 15-1. Snatcher Chuck and Bacon tied with a 4-9 Lunkers.  Only 4 limits were caught, and we had 6 guys skunk. So half the Co-Anglers blanked and one boater (My boater).

My Thoughts:  The bite was off, and wind conditions were not favorable. We fished too fast most of the time. I'm not going to beat myself up over this one. Dennis only put two keepers in the boat, and Hammer, who was fishing with Chuck, only caught 3 keepers. Nate's non-boater got skunked as well. I am just glad it warmed up, and I was able to listen to tunes while we were making our long runs through the waves.

 

B.B.S. Lake Edward

 

Mick Ziebell 19/03 Lunker 3/15

2/15oz R2S Bully Wa 2

What My Scale said I had

Conditions: 63-85℉, Mostly Sunny, 0-15mphSW

My Day: We got all the boats launched, then we headed to our starting spot, which was just to the South of the Public Access in the reeds. We worked our way South along the reed line with Beau pitching a jig and me throwing a frog. I think I got the first bite of the morning in some pads and reeds up by the shore. It was a small fish that got off after I had reeled it in about 10 feet. I am pretty sure it was a bass, but I'm not 100% certain. The reeds came to an end, and we worked the cattails and docks for a little bit with Beau catching two pike.  It wasn't happing, so we ran to some other reeds. I got the first keeper in the boat with the frog. Beau then caught a 2lber on a jig. Shortly after that, I got my final keeper of the day on the frog. As we worked the reeds. I would get hung up occasionally. I would put about 15lbs of pressure on my 50lb braid, and my line kept breaking, frustrating. After about the 5th time that happened, I switched to a different rod. Beau got his second keeper and missed some bites. Beau spotted what he swore was a muskie. I saw the fish but only saw its back.  I had a fish swirl on the frog but not get it. Neither Beau nor I could get it to bite again.  Beau switched to a Senko and got a couple of good fish. I switched to a Yum Dinger and missed one bite. The wind came up, and we headed to a weedline spot. I missed a couple of bites on the Havoc Pit Boss. Beau filled out his limit on the Senko. I switched to a Yum Dinger and got a couple dinks and a pike on that, and the day ended with me only getting two keepers. I thought maybe I was headed for a last-place finish, but it turns out lots of people struggled on this hot, windy day.

Results: My two fish weighed 4/05, which put me in 15th Place out of 21 anglers.   Mick Ziebell won the tournament with 19/03 and got Lunker with a 3/15 fish. Dave Smith got 2nd Place and won the Co-Angler Cash out of Dennis Lothspeich's boat. Great Job, Dave! Nate Steinbauer got 3rd. Beau came in 4th.

My Thoughts: What a frustrating day. I let the frustration get to me with Beau catching fish and me not getting bites. I think I just fished too fast and didn't concentrate on what I was doing enough. Once we left the reeds, I just couldn't get settled in mentally and didn't fish well at all. Thankfully we have two more tournaments this year for things to come together for me. On to Leech.

B.B.S. Whitefish Chain

 

Tuma's 27lbs 4oz is a new Snatcher Record

3/5 Yum Dinger (Gum/Orange)

14/2 My Best Ever Whitefish Weight

13.55lbs What My Scale Says I Had

Boater: Dwight "Hammer" Hammermeister (3rd Time I've fished a tournament with him)

Conditions: 72-96℉, Mostly Sunny to Mostly Cloudy, 0-4mph SW

The Day: We started off on the Southside of Lower Whitefish, where smallmouth spawn and Dwight had a bunch of beds GPSed. . Dennis was sitting there when we arrived. A good sign. About 10 minutes in, Dwight had his first smallie in the boat. He was sight fishing. I started throwing topwater because there was some activity on the surface, but I didn't get a hit.  Dwight put 3 or 4 smallmouths in the boat pretty quickly, and Dennis had his limit in the first half hour. I got a hit from something small on the 

Crackle Jerk Shad that came off about halfway back to the boat. I put on a Bluegill KVD Jerkbait and got a couple pike and a perch on that. After about an hour, Dennis left. Dwight got his fourth and fifth fish off of some deeper beds, both quality fish. I eventually tried throwing a Ned rig to bedders but didn't have any takers. The wind put a ripple on the water, so we got out of there around 9AM. We went to a nearby point where we could see largemouth swimming around, but I couldn't get any to bite other than one small fish that I threw back that I didn't bother to measure even though it was close to 12-inches.

By 9:30, we headed to Berth to fish docks.  We spent an hour and a half in there with only one fish for Dwight to show for it. We headed to the Pike River Inlet area, and I finally got on the board with a quality frog fish, but that was the only bite we got there. So next, we headed up to Arrowhead to see if maybe the slop was going there. Dwight got a frog fish in the first 10 minutes, then nothing. I switched to a swimbait and got a 13-incher on that, but that was the only bite. I tried a swim jig and missed a bite that felt pikey on that. With two hours left, we headed back to the starting spot in the hopes that Dwight could upgrade with a smallie and contend for the win. However,  Dennis was sitting there again. We went to a nearby secondary area. I ended up picking a solid 2.5lb largie off of a dock just letting the Dinger sit on the bottom. With that clue, we headed to some nearby isolated docks in search of my limit. I lost a really good fish right away but quickly rebounded with a two-pounder and two more keepers.   I ended up culling twice, including one off the last dock we fished in a Hay Lake.

Results: My fish weighed 14/2 which put me in 13th Place. Dwight had 19/1, which was only good enough for 8th😲. Keith Tuma blew the field away and the previous Club Record Bag taking 1st Place with 27/4 and Lunker with a 5/3 smallmouth. Dennis got 2nd with 21/10. I guess the key for Keith recognized that the big smallies were still pre-spawn; thus, he was looking for cruisers, not bedders. His Co-Angler Dave Smith also had a 20lb bag.

My Thoughts: I came in expecting the fishing to be pretty good, and it was, for the most part. I did, after all, catch one of my biggest bags as a Snatcher and my biggest of the 6 tournaments I've fished there. It just took me forever to get on the same page as the fish, which was frustrating. Thankfully the heat really didn't bother me, and I was comfortable all day.

Congrats to Tuma; that was impressive. 

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:

B.B.S. Leech Lake

2/11 Evergreen Soft Shell Frog

Sarah getting prepared to teach Chuck Steinbauer how it's done

Beau Wins 4th Co-Angler Challenge of the Year.

Tuma Wins and Got Lunker As Well

Conditions: 37-57℉, Sunny turning mostly Cloudy around 2PM, 0-4mph NE

The Day:
I forgot to bring my sunglasses. Fortunately, my boater had an extra pair in his glove box.  Also, it was nice to draw a partner with dual consoles so I didn't freeze on the ride to Boy Bay.  We started in the reeds on the North end of Bear Island.  I got the first bite of the day on a junebug Craw Tube, but it got off.  I thought it was a bass, but my line was frayed so maybe it was a pike.  I got two other bites in the reeds.  The first one dropped it immediately and the second had me into a reed before I could even set the hook.  Wasn't able to get either fish to hit again.  After an hour of that, we headed for some rice.

We started shallow working our way along the rice line to deeper rice.  Ruff had a couple fish strike at his frog, but not hook up.  The second fish was 2/3lb bass that jumped completely out of the water but didn't get the frog.  Once we got to the deeper rice Paul but the first small keeper in the boat on a craw tube.  I think slightly before that Dennis showed up and started fishing about 50 yards up or so in the direction we were heading. I took that as a positive sign.  Paul got the second fish of the day as well.  He only got one more non-keeper for the rest of the day.  He had about the same number of bites as me.  Over the next couple of hours, I managed to get 4 keepers in the boat on the junebug Craw Tube.  I missed a couple of bites on a frog and a few on the Craw Tube.  By noon my upper back was sore.

At About 1:30PM we left the rice for the northern Shoreline of Boy where we fished a couple of docks, some rushes which transitioned into rice.  We didn't get anything.  So we went in search of reed beds on that northern shore.  Ruff got his short there. With an hour of fishing time left, we headed back to the rice and Dennis was there again.  We put into the rice about 50 yards away.  Paul missed a fish and then I got a keeper on a Green Pumpkin/Brown craw tube.  Shortly after that Dennis motored in much closer to us and informed us we came right in on the juice.  He also reported his non-boater Snatcher rookie Jon Notsch was kicking his ass.  I asked Dennis what size weight they were using.  He was using 1oz and said Jon used a 1/2oz, but Jon said he was now using a 1oz as well.  I ended up getting bit off so I switched back to the junebug Craw Tube and upgraded to a 1/2oz weight: I had been using 5/16th.  We motored back on the other side of Dennis and I quickly got my limit fish in the boat.  I got a fish that wouldn't help and got bit off two more times.  With 20-minutes left I got two culls on an Evergreen Frog including my big fish of the day.

The Results: My bass weighed 11/04 which put me in 10th Place out of 20 anglers. 1st Place and Lunker were caught by Keith Tuma (20/02) (4/01).  The Co-Angler Challenge was won by Beau Bacon for 4th time this year with a 3rd Place finish out of Tim Benson's boat.  Three anglers blanked and only 8 limits were caught.  Tough bite.

I ended up in 9th Place for the year

My Thoughts: I didn't fish particularly efficiently because I struggled with casting accuracy all day long thanks to a poor night's rest coming in and the really long day I spent on the water on Thursday. Other than that I thought I fished pretty well.  We spent at least half the day where there were no fish.   Once again a kicker fish eluded me.