On the Fantasy Bass Fishing Front

B.A.S.S. has rolled out there Fantasy Game for 2012 and as you can see it looks and plays the same as last year.  You pick one angler from each of the five different presorted groups of anglers and that's all their is to it. One thing that

is nice is they have decent prizes this year with $5000 plus an Anglers cap and jersey 1st Place.  2nd through 10th get $200 worth of Stuff and 11th through 25th get a shirt and hat.

Meanwhile FLW isn't going to have their game ready until the 2nd Tournament at Lake Hartwell.  So they are skipping the Big O tournament next week.

And as far as I can tell Advanced Angler isn't doing Fantasy again this year.

New to the Blog I've got Pages

If you look up you can see I've added an About me page and Classic Bass Pundit Page, which replaces that blogroll on the sidebar.  I'm thinking I'm gonna add Livewell Page for fish Pics.

2011 Derby Results

Yes I know this is way way late, but now I get it on the new Blogger interface.

Jason Holmer 2011 Champion!!!

6.62Lbs

Now of Bass Utopia Blog

Well it was another huge year for Jason Holmer bringing a massive 32.24Lbs. Shattering the 6lbs average barrier.  This is his 3rd Derby Championship in a row!

He also had Big Bass with a 6.87Lbs Fish, which is also his third in a row.

Congratulations Holmer!

2nd Place Josh Douglas

5.60lbs

Joshdouglasfishingcom

Josh had is best year yet with 27.30Lbs

Congratulations Josh!

3rd Place Andy Nitchals

5.13lbs

From: Andy's Bass Blog

This was Andy's first year in the Derby and he jumped out to a fast start with all his fish caught by June 7th.  He predicted he would have a rough time culling up from there and was right.

Congratulations Andy!

Personally it was my best Derby year so far with 23.90lbs, which put me over Cyberfish for the 2nd straight Year.  Overall it was a very good year with a record 4 bags topping 25lbs.

Great Job Everyone!!!

HMMM Can't Get Major League Fishing to Load

I want to do a screen capture but the page isn't loading on IE. Loads up fine on Google Chrome, problem is my Screem Capture is here on Explorer. I'd know understand it.

Oops Just Loaded UP

Advance Cast Pay Per View went on sale today

The ADVANCE CAST total-event BassPass, a package of seven broadcasts, will cost $17.94, with individual episodes available for $2.99 each. (The seven-event BassPass package features a “free” week.)

However:
The ADVANCE CAST that begins on February 13 will feature the first day of competition. Each subsequent week will offer the next consecutive day of competition. The seventh ADVANCE CAST broadcast will be a wrap-up show that features in-depth, on-the-water segment with the winners from each round and the Challenge Cup champion.

I assume they are going to run the first show on a loop and then switch to the second show the next week or maybe you will be able to watch it on demand.  It does say anything about how long the episode will be.

So who's in? I probably will be.

New Bass Blog: Bait My Line.com

Bait My Line.com is a new Bass Fishing blog out of Kansas.

Holes For Hero's Ice Fishing Tournament Medicine Lake

Next Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM (CT) is the Fishing For Life Holes For Hero' Ice Fishing Tournament out on Medicine Lake.

Registration
Advance registration is just $5 per person. Same-day registration (walk-up) is just $10. Your registration helps provide free fishing opportunities for men & women who have served our country.
Military personnel and their immediate families can register in advance or day-of at no charge.
Online registration & advanced ticket sales will end on Friday, Feb 3 at 6 pm.

Prizes
Over $2,000 in prizes includin Frabill StormSuit, Aqua-Vue, HT Auger Set, Dicks Sporting Goods cards, Ice Hunter combo. Category prizes plus random drawings throughout the day.

Official Rules are found Here (PDF)

NBC Cuts Out God in Lindner's Angling Edge Show

Yesterday we got this word from Lindner's:
We received notice from NBC Sports regarding the inspirational message Al presents at the close of each program. The following is a quote from NBC Sports (formerly Versus) “Moving forward, NBC Sports Network will no longer allow any non-sports related content, such as religious content in their programs. Any religious references need to be removed entirely. This includes, but not limited to, on show opens or logos, graphics, animations or any references by talent or guests. This change goes into effect immediately.” Therefore, we have no choice but to remove this segment from our Angling Edge series. We have made the required adjustments and Angling Edge will air as scheduled.

I'm a little bit dumbfounded by this decision on NBC's part. Do they expect that Lindner's audience for the show isn't gonna be just a bit unhappy about this? Up until now the LAE show has been what it has been and that apparently has been acceptable to NBC. Now NBC has dictated these changes and it seems that that the Lindner's were contractually obligated to cut out everything. It's a shame!

However, at the end they tell us; The inspirational message will remain part of Fishing Edge airing on numerous networks. Below is a link to the TV air schedule and then they link to the TV Schedule

I Could Use a Break!

Bass Parade Blog is giving out a Core Reel and sweet G. Loomis NRX853C Jig & Worm rod (7′ 1″, med-heavy, extra-fast tip).

Here is what they say:
Back to the question in the title. As much as I love the NRX and Core – and I do love them (*sniff*) – I’m giving them away, only slightly used. Why? I know life is tough for a bunch of folks out there right now, maybe this’ll make someone’s day, month, who knows. Plus I got plenty other rod/reel combos to catch the fishes.

Some of the folks out there who are hurtin’ are bassers, and no doubt they’d appreciate a job or some cash or a miracle more than an expensive rod/reel combo. But that’s all I got.

So: Anyone know someone who can really use a killer combo – and hopefully will really use it/fish with it?
Well in light of my Stroke at Christmas it is certainly something I could use and would use.

If anyone out their wants to send Jay at ( jay@bassparade.com ) a good word for me it would be much appreciated.

Thanks Bass Pundit

Missing My BPS Catalog

HMMM my 2012 Bass Pro Shops Master Catalog has gone missing.

Like It!

B.A.S.S. Bans Alabama

Well at least for the Elites and Classic. I guess this isn't that big deal, we'll soon see if FLW takes any action.

Grilled Cheese!!!

Well Rogers clearly sold out "the Belt" for the Discount Double Check. Looks like Rogers should of kept the money as his game winning mojo was gone. Didn't even make the NFC Championship.

Bye Bye Cheese!

Bass Snatchers Meeting Today

Unfortunately I will not be attending not so much do to the stroke, but because of my cold. Oh well!

Anyway the club is going to bring up lakes and I don't have any brilliant suggestions. I hear Bay lake is going up, but that's the only one I've heard of for sure. Should be interesting to hear what they come up with.

Update: Here are the tenative lakes
Bay Lake
Leech Lake
Whitefish
Pokegema
North Long
Alexander

I like the looks of the schedule and hope the lakes stay the same. We also are gonna have a tournament of Hubert. Not sure what that is all about.

Fall Outing Last Year!

Amazing this had not made it up here by now. This is video of me and Cyberfish catching some nice fish on the 2nd day of the Fall Outing. The biggest was 36" and more than enough to put me on top for FallEE WallEE.

Think Tank Lures Triggerfish

I won these three Triggerfish from The Bassholes in a contest.

More MLF

BP had a Stroke!

On Dec 23rd I had a stroke. I was in St. Cloud until Tues. and then was transfered to residential faculty in Pierz. Tomorrow I get to go home.

Thank You!

The MLF Promo

To be honest up until this point I had been kind of lukewarm about Major League Fishing. Maybe it's that I haven't fished in a while, but this promo got my juices flowing. I'm pretty sure I'll do the online Pay Per View, which is suppose to be available in January. I don't know what they were thinking matching Marty Stone up with that blonde babe Sheli Sanders. Who wants to look at the Stone Pony when you can look at her instead?

Mike Hart Convicted

From WONnews.com: Mike Hart Case Closed, Pleads Guilty To Misdemeanor

My Commentary: Actually it's impossible to know if justice was served in this instance. It is possible, but I think unlikely, that this was the first and only time he tried to cheat. In that case he probably got what he deserved. However if he cheated more than once and profited from it, which I think is more than likely, than justice would only be served if he got the full force hammer blow indicated in the article. I am pretty sure a $1000 bucks is pretty meaningless to this guy, really a paltry slap on the wrist. The only true punishment is the disgrace he brought upon himself and the fact that he will probably never be allowed to fish a bass tournament again. But there is one caveat to my thinking on that. Most bass tournament organizations are secular in nature and are under no obligation to be forgiving. However, I do not believe the same holds true for Christian faith based tournament organizations. With that type of tournament trail or club, if there is evidence of true repentance then I think those trails/clubs would be betraying their core principles if they did not offer forgiveness and a path to reconciliation. I think that fact puts the Christian trails in a very tough position. On the one hand I think it would be wonderful if Mike Hart could find some measure of redemption for himself, but on the other hand the guy should man up and reap what he sowed. He doesn't deserve the privilege of the pursuit of the passion because criminal fraud is just not acceptable; it should be one strike and your out. I really hope he doesn't seek out a Christian trail to fish, but I think seeking to fish in a small Christian fishing club along the lines of the Fishers of Men Fishing Club would be ok, in fact would be a good thing.

Jared Allen Is Justifiably Pissed

In the post game interviews Vikings Star Defensive End and one of the only good reasons to watch the team at this point was a unhappy camper in post game interviews. Apparently he was held out against his will towards the end of today's blow out loss. Jared is having a great season and is within reach of NFL and MN team sack records. YES stats and records matter or we wouldn't keep them. What in the heck was coach Frazier thinking?

Terrible! (Terrible for the player and Terrible for the franchise and fans)

I'm now starting to lean towards Frazier being fired. I'm going to have to give this some thought.

Liveblogging Vikings vs, Saints

I've got nothing better to do

End of 1st 7-3

Saints defense is looking pretty good, our offense not so much.

Fumble #2 Saints

and then a screen to Kliensauser that doesn't connect, what?

man does our offense look bad today, AP loses 6 then Ponder sacked
Offensive line playing terrible but at least Longwell hits 7-6 Saints

Note- We had yet another CB go down Asher Allen. Not good!

Wow crappy late hit call and then 2 penalty's for saints. Lots of penalties so far

rough pass int call gives Saints ball on 1 after 1st and 25

Saints 14-6

This sucks!

Saints onside kick, we are very lucky to recover. The way our O is performing can't say it was a dangerous call. Shows a total lack of respect for our team. Will our guys respond?

AP for 39. I don't think he is full speed or he would have been gone
2 crap plays with Webb, than Toby takes it for a TD 14-13
Credit to the Vikes for answering the insult

Just not getting pressure on Breeze

My prediction- we will be down 21-13 at half

Yep Saints get the TD, however there is enough time for the Vikes to get a score if we can complete a few passes. Right now Vikes are 3/8 passing for 18 yards and 10 of that was a shovel pass

1st down Ponder sacked
2nd down pass for no gain
man this is terrible
3rd 8 yard run
Saints will get ball back with under 30 left- Sheesh!
27 sec left
come on Jared level Brees

Halftime 21-13

Analysis- We are getting almost no pressure on Brees and our QB's are pressured on every play. 18 yards passing for us 247 for them.

Vikes 1st series
3 and out thanks to QB pressure and a dropped pass by Aoamashadou. Intentional grounding or he would have been sacked yet again.

Another Saints screen for big yards.
Man our pass D is bad, another Saints TD

my prediction. Vikes 1st upcoming play will be a pass
Nope I was wrong
Great Hutch is down

Have I said our O line is bad yet? This is just pathetic, Ponder just had to run for his life on a rollout pass and got creamed as he tried to throw.

And 3 plays for 53 yards and another Saints TD 35-13

Wow Ponder had time to throw the ball, but he missed on the pass. Down came the boo's. Vikes basically go 3 and out.

D Line isn't having a very good game, even with best pressure of the day can't get a sack.

3rd and 20 can vikes get stop?
Nope penalty (kind of a crap call IMO)

I don't think Sproles quite got in. Will be interesting to see what they do on replay
yep no TD
next play TD 41-13

Seriously, why does this announcer sound like he wants Ponder benched. It isn't Ponders fault he's getting no time to throw it.

why isn't the crowd booing the D fense. They Suck!
and then the D finally stops them (back up qb) and missed 50 yard fieldgoal. If your the Saints coach you can't feel good about that

Breaking news Packers down 19-7 with 5min to play

And Ponder gets a TD pass- good for him. Amazing what can happen when he gets a little bit of time and a good play call.

Yes the Vikes are getting killed by the Saints, but Da Bears are getting killed by the Seahawks in Chicago

Pack lose Pack Lose!
Ha Vikes crowd gives quite a cheer.

Ponder gets picked on last play. Pathetic effort by Aromashadou to make sure that doesn't happen.

Analysis: What can you say, the Vikes got their ass kicked. I didn't realize the Saints D was that good. They are gonna be dangerous in the Playoffs.

Another Frog, Booyah! (And Another)

I see that a new hollow body frog has hit the market that I wasn't aware was coming. It's the Booyah Pad Crasher and it sells for a very reasonable $5.79 a frog at Tackle Warehouse. It only comes in a 1/2oz size and is suppose to have really soft plastic body. The frog has a drain hole so it's not very likely to sink. Not sure what kind of hooks. I think they kind of look like the Knoppers frog only not as detailed. The 3 reviews at TW were all positive, but I can't find anything at Tackle Tour or Bass Pro for reviews.

And under the frogs that I will not be trying:
This is the new Jackall Lobee Frog which goes for $12.99 at Tackle Warehouse. At that price I can't believe they are gonna sell very many

In more frog news I have been racking up the deals on Ebay with Spro's, Snag Proofs, and Zoom Horny Toads. I don't think I will every need to buy a Horny Toad again and probably am set for life on hollow bodies at this point, but at $3-$4 a frog I'll pick up as many hollow bodies as I can. Next Spring I am going to need to buy a box for Spro's and a box for Snagproofs. I'm probably going to try to sell off a bunch of the Horny Toads for $2.25 a pack (retail on Horny Toads is $3.50 a pack).

Ha!

One of my Japanese Facebook Friends doesn't quite get it right.

Worst Vikings Team Ever?

Possible, but I don't think so.

The worst team in Minnesota Vikings history was the infamous Les Steckel team of 1984 that went 3-13. Currently the purple have only 2 wins with 3 games to play. I would say chances are better than not that the Vikes win at least 1 more game this season. I even think there is a chance this years club could upset the Saints in the next game and then run the table. I suppose a lot depends on what happens with AP and Ponder. Ponder clearly wasn't ready to play vs. the Lions and in my opinion should have been benched after he threw the pick 6. However, I don't blame Ponder for the 1st play fumble touchdown which was on Loadholt. I am guessing that AP will be back in the lineup vs. the Saints and barring re-injury will play the rest of the season.

This Viking squad has only been embarrassed twice this season, at Green Bay 45-7 and at Chicago 39-10 vs. a healthy Bears offense. The Vikings have pretty much been within a touchdown in the rest of the games (yes they lost by 10 in Atlanta, but the Vikes would have had another touchdown had Frazier challenged). The 1984 Vikings were blown out 6 times by at least 3 touchdowns, including a 44 point loss to the 49ers. In 1984 the NFC North wasn't one of the best divisions in the League. Clearly this team isn't 1984 bad even if they only finish with 2 wins.

Some people are calling for Leslie Frazier's head, but I am not among them. I do understand the sentiment as the level of coaching play seems to have been pretty poor this year in many aspects and respects. Still I think Frazier deserves a true full year of coaching, which he did not have this year due to the lock out.

KVD Cookie Auction

Have you ever wanted one of KVD's "magic cookies", well now is your chance to get one for a good cause. Tackle the Storm Foundation is auctioning off one on Ebay.

Ponder vs. Tebow (I'll take the Christian)

I will probably start bass blogging again sometime soon, but today it's about the purple.

In today's Vikings game our rookie QB Christian Ponder faced off against Broncos 2nd Year player and first year starter Tim Tebow. If you didn't know, the Broncos won the game 35-32 on a last second field-goal that was set up when Ponder made a bad throw while in Vikings territory with over a minute to go. Ponder also threw a "Pick 6" and lost a fumble in the red zone. Still I would not even think about trading Ponder for the 6-1 miracle man Tebow.

The Broncos have a pretty good Defence while the Vikings beat up secondary is probably the worst secondary in the NFL, maybe the worst in team history. The second half performance of the Vikings Defence today was an epic embarrassment with blown coverages and missed tackles. No doubt Tebow had the easier match up today in terms of Defence faced. Consider that previous to this game Tebow had not had a game with a completion percentage over 50%, but vs. the purple it was 66.7%. Ponder had a completion percentage of 61.7% with 3 times the number of throws.

Today's game not withstanding I think Ponder has a bigger upside than Tebow; Ponder is getting better and I think has the potential to develop into an above average QB, which is something I don't know is possible with Tebow. I don't know if Ponder can become an elite Quarterback, but he is already fun to watch, which is desperately needed in this lost season.

Ouch!

I expected my Viking were going to lose to the Packers, but I did not expect it to be that ugly, especially in light of the fact that the Purple was coming on a bye week. It was as if none of the problems from the first half of the season were addressed and instead things went backwards. The Packers deserve a lot of credit because they are a very good football team and they were at home. However, that doesn't excuse the miscues and mistakes, which were legion particularly in the 2nd half. The Vikes were pretty darn lucky they didn't get humiliated with a shut out.

On Ponder:
Ponder is lucky he didn't give up a pick 6. I thought his overall level of play was OK, but he needs help from the Offensive Line and the Receivers. He escaped the pocket multiple times where he had ample time to throw the ball and he had to just throw it away. The receivers have got to do a better job. I also don't think the Offensive Coordinator is doing Ponder a lot of favors in terms of play calling and game planning. OCMusgrave has shown no ability to make meaningful adjustments at half time.

Just went to Wikipedia to read about Bill Musgrave. Honestly from what is written there I don't know what Leslie Frasier saw to bring the guy in for the position. He doesn't have a very good track record at all in terms of the OC position. The guy is a quarterbacks coach, not a strategist. This guy either needs to show serious improvement or be fired.

Derby Updated

Yeah it's been a while since I blogged anything and far longer than that since I updated the Derby. But I think the Derby is caught up now with 2 Days to Go. Get those entries in if you have got em'.

Pondering the Future

Note-The lack of blogging lately is in no small part due to lower back problems. You can bet I would have been in early on the Alabama Rig buzz had I been able to comfortably sit at the computer.
REUTERS/Frank Polich

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say Christian Ponder got off to a great start as the Vikings starting QB, when he nearly through a TD on his first pass and soon after that found Shiancoe for 6. And all things considered he had a pretty good game. Honestly, I had no idea what we were getting in Christian Ponder. I don't follow College Football and I didn't look into him when he was drafted. In the pre-season he looked like a good athlete, but to me didn't look ready to be a NFL QB yet. After his first two appearances in the regular season, things look positive. This kid might be pretty good, which is something the Vikes need desperately in a Division with excellent QB talent. If nothing else he and Adrian Peterson give us Vikes fans something to watch for the rest of the season.

I was a little unhappy with the Vikings final drive of the game. It started with yet another special teams screw up that backed us up to the 2 yard line. We got out past the 20. After an incompletion on 1st down I really thought the Vikes needed to run the ball to get some yards as Adrian was having a very good day. We threw the ball instead and the drive ended with 3 straight incompletions. Lousy play calling added to having Percy Harvin out with an injury and with a nicked up Shiancoe it's impossible to blame Ponder for not leading a come from behind upset of the Packers.
The Vikes elected to kick, which is a call that could have gone either way facing 4th and 10, and the D gave up two rushing first downs and it was game over.

The Vikings Defence had their moments today, but they were mostly bad. However the Pack is the best offence in the NFL, so what are you gonna do?

Viking Season Almost Down the Drain

The hope was McNabb could have a good year and so would go the Vikings team. Obviously that hasn't happened. I don't think McNabb deserves too much blame for the way things have gone. I mean tonight vs. the Bears he played pretty darn good and yet it was by far the worst loss we have taken all season. To start the game our receivers couldn't catch the ball and our secondary gave up a big play that at a minimum should have been contested, instead it was an easy touchdown. Special teams play was terrible in every respect possible. Offensive line play was terrible, especially after a couple of injuries. The running game was terrible. I guess when the score ends up being 39-10 probably a lot of things are going to have been bad.

The one bright spot was the relief appearance of rookie Christian Ponder. Somehow he managed not to get sacked and he made a few good plays. In the title I didn't say the Viking season IS down the drain, because we can still beat the Packers, which at this point would be a major upset. And our back up QB's should be able to get some valuable experience now. I am sure most fans are going to want Ponder as the starter vs. Green Bay but I think Leslie should only do that if he feels Ponder gives us the best chance to beat Green Bay next week. If those injuries on our offensive line are serious than the mobile Ponder may be our best bet. However, if our offensive line play can be shored up and improved than McNabb might be best. Whatever else our running game can't be as bad as it was vs. Da Bears. The Defence is also going to seriously need to up it's game next week.

Bass Snatcher Win!!! The 2011 Challenge Cup@ Fishtrap Lake

(Bill Ludenia, Mark Munson, Dennis Lothspeich, Charles Steinbauer, and me. (Missing is Tony Bauer)

Well Team Baxter Bass Snatchers has done it again and won the Challenge Cup Tournament that pits the Brainerd area bass fishing clubs against one another. I fished the Challenge Cup Tournament in 2009 on Mission Lakes and 2010 on Sylvan Lake, and we won the Cup those years as well. Previously when I fished it was only the Snatchers and Range Bassmasters fishing against one another, but this year the Brainerd Lakes Bassmasters showed up to fish. The Brainerd Lakes Bassmasters had the Challenge Cup Trophy so I had never seen it before; As you can see in the picture, it's quite large.

Here is how it went down:
Baxter Bass Snatchers 66-5
Range Bassmasters 60-8
Brainerd Lakes Bassmasters 53-12

Normally each club provides 6 anglers to fish and the Challenge Cup winner is decided by the the best total team weight, but one of the other clubs was a person short; Because of that only the 5 best weights for a team counted towards each teams weight total this year. We went by the Range Bassmaster Club's rules this year and that meant a 5 fish limit. I had the Bass Snatchers worst bag, so my limit didn't count towards our winning total.

1st Place was taken by Snatcher Chuck Steinbauer with 14-14
2nd Place was Ranger Kevin Tengwall with 14-12
3rd Place was Snatcher Dennis Lothspeich with 14-8

Big Bass was 4-9.5 and caught by Ranger Mandy Uhrich who was in Brainerd Lakes Jim Eide's boat. She caught the fish around 9:30am on these Chompers Tubes:Mandy bought the tubes the day before at Gander Mountain just for this tournament. She had never used these tubes before but thought they looked good. I don't know if it was her instincts or training as a biologist but she obviously made the right call.

My Day:
The forecast was for clouds, showers and possible thunderstorms with 10-15mph winds out of the SE and temps starting in the mid-50's and getting above 70. Temps were on the money, and we had showers and clouds in the morning but around 11:30am the sun came out and never left. Wind speeds were about right, but out of the NE for most of the day.

I was suppose to be paired with Ranger Boater Brian Smude, but he dropped out so I fished with Ranger Jeremy Bjorgaard in his boat. While his boat wasn't much to look at it was actually really nice to fish out of as a non-boater. Jeremy was a really good guy and he went out of his way to try and make sure I caught fish. Still he kicked my butt pretty good with a black/blue Lake Fork Crawtube.

Jeremy had pre-fished and was pretty confident we would be on quality and numbers. Our first spot, actually the very same first spot I fished the only other time I had been on Fishtrap Lake in the Fall of 2007, was a bullrush Island on the South end of the lake. We went around the whole thing keeping our distance and Jeremy got the first keeper in the boat on a spinnerbait. After we got around the whole thing once we moved in closer so we could pitch with a vertical presentation. Jeremy confessed that he thought we would both have a limit after one pass. I started throwing a green pumpkin jig with a orange crawdad Yum Wooly Bug trailer and was rewarded with a nice 15.25 fish. That was the last fish we got on the bullrush Island. Next we went to a reed bed off the end of a point. Jeremy caught a small keeper on a blue/black crawtube which he immediately threw back. I had my green pumpkin crawtube get bit off by a pike.

Next we went to some reeds that were around an Island. I got a 14.5" bass on the jig with Wooly Bug. I missed a hit on a Herb's Dilly Buzzbait and Jeremy got a nice bass on the back side of the Island on a spinnerbait.

Next we went to another Island to an inside turn that went to a reed point. Jeremy proceeded to whack the fish, while all I could muster was a dink and 12.25" swimmer. It was kind of ugly as Jeremy must have gotten 10 good fish to my 2 and we were both throwing black/blue crawtubes.

Next we went to a weedline where Jeremy had gotten a couple of good fish in pre-fish. We were working our way up the side of a point where I told Jeremy we had caught fish the last time I was on the lake. Just about a minute later I had a hit on my spinnerbait and brought in a 12.5" swimmer. Jeremy said I pretty much called my shot.

Next we went back to our starting spot. I finished off my limit with a 14.5" on a spinnerbait and I had my green pumpkin jig bit off by a pike. I suggested we work the near by weed flat with the wind blowing on it. We were throwing spinnerbaits and I starting catching pike including a nice one we both thought was a bass at first. Jeremy got the first bass and then a couple of minutes later I got a 15.75", which was my big fish of the day. We worked up to another tournament boat and they said they hadn't gotten any bass on blades. At that point the sun came out and we headed to a weedline where Jeremy got quality fish in his pre-fish. It was dead.

We went to another weedline on the North end and that was pretty dead until we got to an inside turn and Jeremy pulled two fish in quick succession, but then that was it.

Next we headed to a saddle with a reed island. The wind was blowing in on it and it just looked prime. I got a 14.75 on a spinnerbait and I was very glad to have the 12 inchers out of the boat. On the back side of the reed island Jeremy pulled his big fish of the day on the crawtube. We worked along the back side of the saddle but nothing was home.

We went to another weedline where I missed a couple of bites on the crawtube.

Our last stop was the inside turn where Jeremy whacked them earlier in the day. I missed a bite that hit almost the second the crawtube hit the water. I decided to throw the Repo Man and I had a fish smack it, but not hook up. I threw back with a crawtube and got bit but I pooched it and that was it for the day. I think I had 9-12 or 9-14, which was on the small side for this day. Jeremy beat me by a little over 3 pounds.

As I said my weight got tossed and we won, so it's all good.

Baxter Bass Snatchers Birch(Hackensack) Oct. 1st.

Conditions: Cool and clear Morning with moderate wind out of the SE growing to 15-20mph throughout the day.

We blasted everybody off as we were last boat out and we went right to our planned starting spot, which was the weed flat to the SW of the public access. Nobody else went that way. I put on a Paycheck Baits Repo Man "drag stripper" and within the first 10 minutes I had 15" bass in the boat. Within the next 10 minutes I had number two in the boat. My boater Owen then quickly caught 2 on a spinnerbait and we thought we were on to something, but it just died. Maybe we moved off the best area a little to quick. Unfortunately the two fish I pulled from this spot in pre-fish were both 16.5".

Next we headed into the West basin to the spot where Owen got his hawg in pre-fish. I saw a lot of baitfish, but we came up empty. We worked up to the other point and I had a hit on a crawtube, but didn't hook up. I cast back and got another quick pick up and drop. The crawtube had a pretty good rip in it, so it was probably a pike. As we were working down the point along the reed line. Owen brought in a small keeper bass and then so did I (12.5")on a black spinnerbait.

Next we headed to a point farther South where I wanted to go in and work the slop. We started along the point and I pulled a pike on the spinnerbait. Owen caught a bass a few minutes later out of about the same spot. We got down into the start of the slop and there were some reeds on both sides of the boat. I made a cast with a Zoom Horny Toad out into the lake and had a fish nail it right before I was out of the reeds. Wouldn't you know it but it got hung up. I watched the fish struggling back and forth and then it pulled free. I really should have muscled that one more. It wasn't a huge bass but it was a quality one probably around 2lbs or more. I was really hoping the slop would go, but it was dead. We worked some awesome looking stuff with wind blowing on it, but there was nothing there. On a long cast out across the weed flat with the spinnerbait I had a hit and brought in one just over 14". We then worked down in the wind along the weeds. I did have a nice bass that I could have used nip at a Cordell Spot and I got a couple of pike on the spinnerbait.

We got down around the big Island and I made a cast up by a buoy and got nailed by a 14.5". It seemed like a spot were a school might stack up, but that was the only one there. As we worked back around the island I had another bass that I could have used nip at the spinnerbait and not hook up. We got around the Island to where it was calm and I started throwing the Repo Man, but there was so much debris in the water that I kept getting hung up. We got a little past the debris field and I caught a small pike, then a 12.5" squeeker bass. I was glad to have a limit.

We only had a couple of hours left and with those topwater bites I thought maybe our starting spot would go, so we went there. I worked through several topwaters and couldn't get a hit. Finally Owen pulled a quality bass on a spinnerbait and I switched. I caught a 10 inch pike. We drifted along and I had one last good hit, but it got off about half way in.

Results: I thought I had 9 something, but my fish only went 8-12, which put me in 15th which was my worst finish of the year. Owen only had 5 for 7-00 which put him in 17th place. The winner had 15-8 and a little over half the field had 10lbs or better. Obviously we missed the quality fish.

Top 6 Race- Bill Ludenia placed 6th which tied us for 6th place in end of the year points (best 5 of 6 tournaments). Bill owned the tie breaker, so I dropped to 7th and out of "the wood". It's my bad as had I not counted that live fish as dead at Cullen I would have been in 6th free and clear. Also if all 6 tournaments counted than I had one more point, one more fish, and .88lbs more than Bill, so I actually had the better year statistically. I know I deserved 6th Place and I get to fish on the Bass Snatcher Challenge Cup Team, so it's all good.

Analysis- I don't think I was necessarily doing the wrong things in this tournament. We just spent far to much time on bad water. Some of that water I don't regret trying because it really seemed fishy. Our bites were just so random that there was nothing to key on. I am still flabbergasted that I was unable to pull a few fish on topwater at the end of the day. Between tournament day and pre-fish we may have just sucked that flat dry.