WI Goes to Year Round Bass Fishing

Wisconsin is now the latest state to do away with a totally closed season for bass.  Congratulations WI bassheads for getting it done.  Hopefully, MN gets with the program and follows suit in the next couple of years.

Update: This change isn't official yet. 

Women And Professional Tournament Bass Fishing

So I was reading through my blogs from January 2010 and I came across this one announcing the end of the ill-fated Bassmaster Women's Tour.  I was bummed out about it at the time.  So here we are 10-years later and it would seem that women haven't made any progress in that time in the world of professional tournament bass fishing.  The one exception to that is Kristine Fisher who has made a name for herself in the kayak tournament scene.  Kayak tournament fishing is in its infancy but is exploding in popularity and Kristine successes speak for themselves. 

So what will the next ten years hold for women tournament anglers?  I think incentives for women to get sidetracked from perfecting the craft required to be competitive against men will continue to hold women back from reaching success at the top levels of the sport.  I hope I am wrong about that.  I would love it if there are more unicorns than just Kristine.         

2019 Fishing Goals Achieved (And Not)

Goals achieved in bold green
Goals not achieved in red
Partly achieved in purple
Commentary in blue

Fishing Buddies:  Once again in 2019 I struggled with getting out fishing with people.  I talked about doing it with several people on the list but never got it done.

1. Fish with Dad
2. Fish with Mike Thompson
3. Fish with Jim Bonin
4. Fish with  Mike "Spike" Miller
5. Fish with Jeff and Renee
6. Fish with Todd, Isabelle, and Mallory
7. Fish with Peter W.
8. Fish with Matt W.
9. Fish with Dave Lindmark
10. Fish with Steve and Devin
11. Take Corey Hicks frog fishing.
12. Fish with Kane Phongsavat
13. Fish with Rick Nichols
14. Fish with Pete
Dream Fishing Buddies:
1. Fish with Josh Douglas
2. Fish with Al Lindner
3. Fish With Nattie Up North


Bass Snatcher Goals: Not exactly a banner year for achieving my Snatcher Goals


1.  Get "Wood" in at least one tournament. (1st-3rd Place Finish or Lunker or Co-Angler Challenge). Won the Co-Angler Challenge at Rabbit Lake and was just a few ounces out of 3rd Place.
2. Win my 1st tournament. (My best finish to date is 2nd Place.)
3. Get "Lunker" in a tournament.   (Preferably one over 5-8 to win the revolving big bass pot.)
4. Get paired with Chuck Fields.  (He usually only fishes a couple of tournaments a year so chances of it ever happening are not very good.  I may look into bribing Dennis)
5. Finish in the Top 10 at the end of the year. Finished in the 9th. 
6. Catch a limit at every tournament of the year.  Failed to catch a limit at Alexander and Gull River
7. Pre-fish with at least 3 boaters.
8. List the Rods I'm bringing for each tournament before the tournament.
9.  Win the Co-Angler Challenge at least twice Once is not twice.
10. Make the Challenge Cup Team Team Snatcher Won the Cup once again.  I think that makes the Team 4 out 5 when I am on the team.

Technique & Tackle Goals:
1. Win something in Fantasy Fishing or Facebook giveaways/contests. BBC Fantasy in May and Sept. along with various prizes in Sept. for a 3rd Place overall line up.
2. Catch a fish on % of Mystery Tackle Box Lures (Hold over from 2017)
    2a. 1st Box 100% (5 Lures, 2 Lures to go)
    2b. 2nd Box 60% (3 out of 5, only more lure and I've got this one)
3. Catch a fish on % of Lucky Tackle Box Lures (Hold over from 2017/18) The topwater bite was just to hot this spring for me to mess with the Lucky Tackle Box stuff.
   3a. 1st Box 100%  (6 Lures, 3 Lures left to go.)
   3b. 2nd Box 100% (6 Lures)
   3c.  3rd Box 75% (4 Lures)
4. Catch a bass on the Salmo Bass Bug (Hold over from 2017) Just can't get a bass on this lure.  It catches pike though.
5.  Officially Open the Tackle Warehouse this year.
6. Experiment with the Neko rig to see if it something for me. Neko rig gets a thumbs up!
7. Experiment with the Ned Rig to see if it's something for me. (Hold over from 2018)
8. Get the trolling motor fixed or replaced

Blogging:
1. Blog about anytime I reach a goal.
2. Record all fishing trips at Fish Swami
3. Fish at least 150 days and blog about them I found myself backlogged several times this year.  Hopefully, I'll get those trips put up sometime this winter.

Fish Goals:
1. Catch* 3,000 Fish (3,021 caught in 2018) If it weren't for the motor break down and crappy Fall weather I would have made it. 2,945 was the number for 2019.
2. Average 5 fish caught per hour. (4.07 in 2018, 3.99 in 2017, 4.08 in 2016, 3.62 in 2015, 3.55 in 2014, 4.41 in 2013, 4.31 in 2012, 2.77 in 2011) 4.4 fish per hour was the number for 2019 
3. Have a 100 fish day. Yeah baby, May 21st.

Crappie:
1. Catch a new personal best. (Currently 14.25")
2. Catch* over 100 this year. (Caught 306 in 2018) (I almost put the goal down to 50 crappies due to the fact that I'm not getting out ice fishing anytime soon and the uncertainty of when the ice will get off the lakes.  I could see a situation developing where I catch very few this year.) Caught 58 crappies this year.  No ice fishing and no big schools at the GOMH.

Dogfish:
1. Win my 3rd Minnesota Bowfin Club Grand Championship
2. Catch an MN State Record fish. (11-4  or 35" x 20")
3. Catch a new personal best.

Pike:
1. Catch* over 1,000 this year. (Caught 804 in 2018) Only got 813
2. Catch a 38" or over/personal best. Did catch some nice fish though.

Bass: 
1. Catch a 21plus inch or 6lb Largemouth Yeah Baby, 6.26lber Aug 2nd on Big Sexy on 6lb Flat
2. Catch a 21plus inch or 6lb Smallmouth
3. Catch* over 1,500 bass this year. (Caught 1,281 in 2018) 1,685 for the year
4. Catch* at least 25 smallies.  (I caught 0 last year) Got 4 this year pretty disappointing for as much as I fished Eddy's in June.
5. Catch a 25lb 6 Fish Bag Just didn't put too many big sacks together this year.
6. Have a 50 bass day

Walleye:
1. Catch at least 50. (Caught 279 in 2018) 258 walleyes in 2019 thanks to the motor being down in June.
2. Catch 30" or new personal best. (28.5 is current PB)

It was a very good year for fishing to bad I didn't ger my motor situation straightened around sooner.

Baxter Bass Snatchers 2020 Tournaments (Tentative)

This is the tentative schedule this year for the club along with my thoughts on the lakes.

May 30th Gull Lake:
I think this lake is getting switched out because it conflicts with the annual Teen Challenge Tournament.

June 27th Serpent Lake:
This will be my third time fishing Serpent.  I like the lake a lot.  Two thumbs up!

July 18th Mission Lakes:  This will be my 7th tournament on these lakes.  The lake has never been particularly good to me, though I did catch the Lunker in the last tournament I was in out there.  My attitude, meh!

Aug 15th Big Winni: Too much driving.  I really hope this one gets changed.

Sept 12th: Little Boy/Wabedo:  Will be my 3rd Tournament on these lakes. I really like them. 

Oct. 3rd: Cedar Lake:  Will also be my third tournament on this lake.  I've never gotten a limit here and had my boater kick my butt both times.  Don't care for this lake. thumbs down.

In place of Gull, I would like South Long

In place of Winni, I would prefer Pokegama

I think the rest of the lakes will remain the same.

Vikings Divisional Week Outlook: House Money Baby, House Money!

How can I help but not be more optimistic than I was last week?  The Vikes beat a hot Saints team in the Superdome.  Too beat the #1 seed this week will require similar great play the team is now proven themselves capable of offering.  We are playing with house money now, so let her rip boys.  SKOL!

B.A.S.S. Fantasy Fishing Is Live For 2020

So get yourself registered, pick a team and join all the leagues giving away free stuff.

Can Kirk?

Can Kirk Cousins win in San Franciso?

My answer is yes if Kubiak/Stefanski can keep the 49er's Defence off balance.

My answer is yes if the Vikings O-Line holds up.  If Dalvin is able to find holes and Kirk has time the Vikes are a dangerous team.

If Kirk gets help we have a chance.

Vikings Wildcard Week Outlook: Not Optimistic

It's not that I think the Vikes have no shot.  It's just that this team has too many question marks for me to get up on the bandwagon for this game.

Is Dalvin healthy?
Will our O-Line be able to hold up?
Is Theien able to meaningfully contribute?
Will bad Kirk show up?
Is Kendricks healthy?
Can the D play shut down Payton/Brees, and Company?

The Vikes will probably need to play their best game of the year to win.  The team has just been too inconsistent for me to place any faith in them.

Top 3 Fishing Memories of 2019

1. Todd's 5 Pounda

2. Plopper Fishin' Platte With Cyberfish

6. My 6 Pounda

2019 Lure Of The Year: Tru-Tungsten Mad Maxx Frog

Grapes of Wrath

311 Fish Caught

6.26lbs/20.25 (Big Sexy)
August 2nd, 2019

It was a landslide victory this year for the Mad Maxx Frog.  Not only did it account for the most fish, but also my biggest bass of the year.

Bass Pundit's Lure Of The Decade: The Craw Tube

When I joined the Baxter Bass Snatcher back in 2008 I noticed that a lot of the guys were into the Lake Fork Craw Tube, a lure with which I was personally unfamiliar.  Me being the hardheaded knucklehead that I am didn't try using them myself until 2010 when Guy Henkensiefken was kicking my butt with them during a tournament on Rabbit Lake and insisted I use one of his baits.  He also gave me a lesson on how he fishes them.  After that tournament, I bought some for myself and have been using them ever since.  They have without a doubt been my most consistent producer this decade and that is why I am naming it Lure of the Decade.  Guy saved Lake Fork Craw Tubes for tournament day and generics for fun fishing.  Lake Fork discontinued making craw tubes sometime mid-decade.

1st Runner Up: Tru-Tungsten Mad Maxx Frog

Tru-Tungsten went out of business in 2011, which is really too bad because they were a company that made a quality product.  I scored a bunch of their Mad Maxx Frogs when they were closed out by an online retailer.  I wish I had bought more because I am almost out of them now thanks to toothy critters.  They do come up occasionally on eBay, but usually, for a price I won't pay.

Honorable Mentions:

The Berkley Havoc Grass Pig: Caught my personal best largemouth on this lure in 2014 and really really caught the fire out of them on it in 2013 when the GOMH was loaded with fish form Opener well into June:  It was my top producer in 2013.

   The Stanley Phantom:  Caught the fire out them on this lure in 2013.

Chatterjigs: D & M Baits Piranha's, Pure Poison's, and assorted other chatterjigs have been among my most consistent producers this decade.

I Disagree With This Headline

Kirk Cousin's play was not high on the list of why the Vikings lost to the Packers on Monday night football.  Adam Thielen dropped a perfectly thrown ball that he is normally money on.  Instead of a momentum building big play on third down, Kirk is credited with an incomplete pass and the team has to punt.  The gadget play with Diggs throwing the ball to Kirk was there and Diggs missed a wide-open Cousins.  We had the Packers defense fooled and let them off the hook;  This missed opportunity as a momentum shifter cannot be overlooked.  We didn't score another point.  The running game was almost non-existent probably due to bad Offensive Line play.  The Offensive Line flat outplayed poorly with multiple sacks and pressures with only 3 or 4 guys rushing.  Kirk had that 4th quarter touchdown pass taken away due to one of our linemen getting beat and having to hold.  On the interception, Diggs has got to make a better play on the ball either not allowing the interception to take place or making the tackle and thus not allowing any kind of return.  The Offensive staff clearly got beat by Green Bay's Defensive staff.  The team failed Kirk way more than the other way around.     

Is This Really True?

From a Matthew Coller article at SKOR North.

From my understanding, the Vikes being the two seed takes a lot more to happen than that.  Right now the Pack, Saints, 49ers, and Seattle are all a game up on the Vikes.  It's as if Coller forgot about the Saints entirely.  As I said in my previous Vikings blog, the Pack losing next week to the Lions is extremely unlikely.  The Pack owns the tiebreaker. 

Thankfully, the people at Bring Me The News wrote an article spelling out how things have to break down for the Vikes to land in the 1 through 3 seed.

All three are extremely unlikely scenarios predicated on a Packers loss or tie to the Lions.

If I haven't said it here on the blog before, I am going to say it right now for the record.  I think it's a travesty that teams with the best records don't necessarily get a home playoff game.  It would be one thing if Division winners and wildcard teams had records that are tied.  Then OK, give the game to the Division winner.  But if the wildcard team has a game or more on the Division winner it just isn't right for them not to be rewarded with home-field advantage.  Hopefully, the NFL will eventually set that right.

Vikings Week 16 Outlook: Blah And Bah Humbug

It's Cheese week and I should be exited.  I assume the Rams are going to lose to the 49ers on Saturday thus the Vikes will be assured of a playoff birth as a wildcard.  With the Packers playing the Lions in the final game of the year the chances of the Vikes winning the Division are pretty much nil.  So really the Vikes don't have much to play for this week.  While the Pack is playing for a first-round bye.  It's as if the football gods are once again smiling down on the Packers franchise this year.   If the Vikes do beat Green Bay this week it's only a pyrrhic victory to me unless the Vikes make it farther in the playoffs than the Packers.  The Packers beating the Bears last week took all the wind out of my sails as far as enthusiasm for the Vikes playoff chances.  I suppose my blahs are nothing a Packer beatdown on Monday Night Football wouldn't cure. SKOL! 

Vikings Week 15 Outlook: Let The Chips Fall Where They May

There is a lot on the line this week in the NFC North.  Da Bears play the Cheese in Lambert at noon.  A Pack victory probably means they win the Division and Da Bears would be eliminated from the playoffs.  The Bears seem to have hit their stride and it is my belief that the Pack are pretenders this year.  I think we may see a Bears upset at Lambert.   May it be so.

A Pack loss opens the Door for the Vikes to win the Division provided they can get a victory against the Chargers in L.A. this week.  The Vikes should be able to beat the Chargers if the Vikes play reasonably well on both sides of the ball.  I think the Vikes will do that. 

If the Pack do beat the Bears, that isn't the end of the world for the Vikes provided the Vikes don't have an end of the year collapse like they did last year.  The Vikes should make the playoffs and a Pack victory this week most likely means the Vikes will face the Pack in Lambert in the first round of the playoffs. So let the chips fall where they may I think the Vikes have a better team than the Packers.

Vikings Week 14 Outlook: Thumbs Up

First my thoughts on the Loss at Seattle.  What a disastrous 3rd Quarter and start of the fourth.  I wonder how the game would have turned out had Rhodes not gotten that unnecessary roughness penalty.  The team lost the plot there for a while after that mistake. I am impressed that the Vikes/Cousins fought back as effectively as they did.  It's quite astonishing that we actually had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter.  It's a shame they couldn't finish the job, what a missed opportunity.

I am pretty sure the team is going to be in a surly mood come Sunday at home.  The Lions will have the advantage of a long week for them and a short week for us. That shouldn't matter that much.  The Lions undrafted rookie QB is starting his second game.  I am sure the Lions are going to want to run the ball as much as possible.  The Vikes D has to be embarrassed about how many yards they gave up on the ground in Seattle, so good luck with that Detroit.  Zimm vs. a rookie QB.  This one could get ugly in a good way.  I highly doubt the Lions will be able to come in and pull what Denver did.  Last week the Lions allowed Trubisky to throw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns.  But I think the Vikes need to get the running game re-established.  Pound the rock boys, SKOL!

(I also think if Dalvin isn't 100% healthy than they should sit him for this one.)