Snatcher's Tournament Farm Island Lake

 

Tuma 3rd, DJ 2nd, Arnie 1st

Conditions: 50's to 80'S, Light wind and Sun

The Day:

Herman elected to take us down South to Ludenia's Reed Island. Unfortunately, Herman didn't shut down in time, and fish scattered everywhere on the surface as we arrived. I got one hit on a buzzbait casting out over the break, but it just swiped at it, so it was probably a pike. When we got over by the reeds, I got a pike on a spinnerbait and the skunk out of the boat with a small bass on the Frenzy Popper. On our way back South, I got a 2.5lber  and a pike on the buzzbait. And missed something that bit twice next to the reeds on a frog. I thought the first hit was a bass. The second time, I thought it was a pike. 

After we had circled the Island once, we went to the South Shoreline reeds working West. We passed DJ and Tuma, who were fishing the deep weedline. I didn't get a hit until we got to the cattail point of the Slop Bay, which I missed. Herman wanted to go somewhere else, but I insisted we fish a little farther, telling Herman giants live in this stuff in the Fall. Shortly after, I got a pound and a half fish in the boat. I lost a 2lb plus fish that got off in the slop. Herman didn't convert on a couple of bites. The Western side of the bay was dead. We then went back out to Ludenia's  Reed Island. I got a pike and a dink, and Herman made us sandwiches. 

Next, we headed up to the NW Corner of the lake. Tuma and DJ were there fishing the weedline. It started out dead, but then we got to a slop/reed point. I got a 2lber out of the coontail and 3lber, my lunker, in the reeds on the frog. I missed a good fish on the other side of the reeds on a coontail mat and got a little guy, which I culled.  We worked the shoreline reeds that are farther to the North. Herman got his first bass and I missed several bites. Herman got another keeper. We then returned to the slop/reed area where I first got bit when we came North. When we got to the back side of the reeds, I had a 3lber not get the frog. Bummer! Herman missed a blowup and had me throwback to the spot. I caught a slight upgrade. And I think Herman missed another fish. We tried working the outside reed islands but didn't get any bites. I  suggested we head East and work the slop bay with a steep drop next to the Catails. I missed a few hits. I caught one that didn't help and got a small cull. Herman got a 3lber. This was our final stop.  As we waited for people to get loaded up, Herman made me a giant sandwich with the remaining fixings. Man, it was good after a hard day of fishing. Thanks, Herman!

My Thoughts: Because of the sporadic slow frog bite this Fall, I just was not in top form and probably lost a couple that I probably would have gotten in the boat if I had more practice. It was a fun day, and I had opportunities to make the Top 5, maybe even the Top 3. But it just wasn't my day or my year.

Grade: B- 

My best finish of the year.

Results: 7th Place for me.

 

Bass Junkies Frog Pond Blog

The guys at Bass Junkies Fishing Addiction have added a new blog to their slate.  It's all about the frogs.

The Frog Nation

Thanks to bass blog TBrinksFishing.com I was alerted to the website The Frog Nation, which you might guess is all about fishing topwater frogs. It looks like the site is fairly new, but it is off to a good start. If you are a frog fanatic like me, than I recommend signing up.

My Top 10 Baits of the 2000's

Ok I know I said I wasn't going to do a retrospective look back at the 2000's decade but then I saw Hellabass do one on his Top 10 Bass Baits of the past Decade . I thought it was a cool idea and so I am going to do my own Top 10 list.


#10 Mann's Minus One- I use all 3 sizes and they have caught many bass and some big pike. I threw thew them a lot more often earlier in the decade and in the latter part of the decade I have used them primarily for going after pike.

#9 Buzzbait- I don't throw buzzbaits a whole lot but they were the key lure for winning the 2008 Fisher of Men Fishing Club Fall Outing Fally WallEE Trophy  and I caught a 5lb bass on the Herb's Dilly Buzzbait this decade.

Top Brands: Herb's Dilly, Northland, Blue Fox.

#8 Rapala Subwalk- The Subwalk gets the nod mainly because I caught these 2 bass on it in one cast and then there is the episode of getting one bit off, retrieving the lure several days later, and then losing that particular bait never to be seen again.

#7 Rattlebaits- This particular family of baits was hot for me early in the decade, but I have developed upper back issues that interfere with me being able to rip the bait.

Top brands: Cordell Spots, Berkley Frenzy, and the venerable Rattletrap

#6 Swim Jigs- I have pounded bass and pike hard over the last couple of years thanks to swim jigs and of coarse there is the episode of The Lost Jig.

Top brands: Bass Pro Shops Tom Monsoor Enticer, Outkast, All-Terrain, Brovarney.

#5 Buzz Toads- This type of bait is #6 because I just love to throw em and a white Sizmic Toad caught one of my Top 5 biggest bass of the decade.

Top Brands: Zoom Horny Toad and Sizmic Toad.

#4 Suspending Jerkbaits- This decade I hammered bass (Larry and Sally), pike, and walleye on suspending jerkbaits. A green Smithwick Dead-Stick Rogue caught one of my Top 5 biggest bass of the decade and I believe a Husky Jerk was probably responsible for my personal best walleye which was caught trolling in the Fall on Mille Lacs.

Top Brands: Rapala Husky Jerk, Rapala X-Rap, Smithwick Dead Stick Rogue, Smithwick Suspending Rogue, and Bomber Long A.

#3 Slop Frogs- Snagproof Tournament Frogs were responsible for my two biggest bass of the decade and accounted for more 4 and 5lb bass than any other lure. Also Mike Thompson caught the biggest pike I witnessed get caught this decade on a Snagproof Frog.
Top Brands: Snagproof, Spro, River2Sea.

#2 Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke- I have caught a lot of bass (mostly Larry's but some Sally's too) on Zoom Super Flukes over the past 10 years and it has been clutch for me in tournaments. My Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke is responsible for my 3rd place finish and Lunker at the 2008 Baxter Bass Snatcher Club Tournament at Serpent Lake (4/02), Big Bass and Tournament win at a Fishers of Men Club Tournament on Rush Lake (20.5"), My 3rd Place in the 2004 Excel Singles Tournament at Rabbit Lake, and was partially responsible for my 2004 Team Bass win at Bone Lake, WI; there is more but those are the biggest Super Fluke highlights.

#1 Berkley Frenzy Popper- Some of my most fun and prolific times on the water this decade involved the now discontinued Berkley Frenzy Popper. Fortunately for me I snapped up lots of Frenzy Poppers off Ebay before they were discontinued.

Bass Snatchers Club South Long June 21st Report

South Long Lake was the location of my 2nd Baxter Bass Snatchers Bass Club tournament of the year. The weather forecast for the day called for overcast with showers arriving in the late morning and continuing into the afternoon with 10-15mph SE winds building in the late morning. The actual weather was pretty close to the forecast although the sun came out from about 9 to 11AM and the winds seemed to be lighter than predicted. At the end of the tournament day there was light rain that got a little heavier around weigh in at 3PM. I never put on rain gear and was saved at the weigh in because there was a tent set up for us. We were fortunate to be able to weigh in at a home on the lake.

My boater Dwight and I launched on the North end of the lake around 6AM and then we had to make our way South to the Public Access where we would have the blast off. On the way South Dwight pointed out some docks that we would hit first thing if a lot of boats went to the South end of the lake at blast off. Dwight and I were last boat to blast off out of 11 boats so we would see where everyone else went first.

I think we had blast off around 6:50AM and all but 1 boat went North, so Dwight and I went back to the original plan which was to go to the South end of the lake to start the day. On our way South we hit some docks that we pulled some good fish off of when we pre-fished. Nobody was home and so we made our way to the South End of the the lake just to the North of where the river flows out. The plan was to spend the morning and possibly most of the day working the slop in the South end of the lake. I started out throwing a white Zoom Horny Toad and had a fish blow up on it right away but I missed it. It wouldn't go after the Horny Toad again, so I followed up with a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke which was promptly slashed at by the fish which turned out to be a pike. We moved on.

As we made our way North Dwight had a blow up on his Spro Frog and it was a good fish that we got a good look at when it jumped. Unfortunately it buried itself in the lily pads and got off. I think that was the only bite we got working North in this particular run of slop. When we got to where the slop ended there was another tournament boat so we headed across the bay to work some more slop, predominated by pads. While working this stretch I had a big blow up on a yellow Zoom Horny Toad that didn't hook up and I didn't get anything with my follow ups. We went for a long stretch without anything but when we got close to where the river flows out I had another blow up that didn't hook up. I threw right back and let the toad sink and there was a swirl so I set the hook and landed 12.5" keeper. As we kept moving North we were now reworking the water we started on. As we were passing a dock with a pontoon I made a nice long cast with a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke beyond the pontoon in front of where a short section of dock came out. Sure enough there was a swirl and I set the hook. The fish moved to my left behind the pontoon and my line got caught up with a rope on the pontoon and the bass completely came out of the water. Dwight quickly moved us over there and netted the 12.75" bass. That would be the last fish on the far South end of the lake. After running pretty much to the end of the slop run we decided to move out of the area.

Once again when we got to the narrows we hit the docks that gave up good fish when we pre-fished. Dwight pulled a small keeper off of one of the docks. We ended up running a lot of shallow docks moving North and didn't get anymore bites. We moved out into some reeds and didn't get any bites. We moved on to a weed flat and didn't get any bites. We moved into some slop/pads and Dwight pulled a solid 2 pounder on a black/blue jig and beaver pitching in the pads. I was throwing a Horny Toad and not getting any bites. We worked the area without any more bites, so we decided to head to the North end of the lake to some slop where we got some hits in pre-fish.

The area we went to on the North end of the lake had junk weeds, pads, and some docks. Near a dock I spotted a 2lb bass close to the boat and cast to it with the yellow Zoom Horny Toad. It started swimming towards the Toad like it was going to take it, but then veered off and disappeared; none of my follow ups would find this fish. As we were moving along Dwight spotted a solid 2+ pound fish that had a lure in the side of it's mouth but all the fish did was swim right by the boat. We got to another dock and I had a blow up on a black Zoom Horny Toad but once again I didn't hook up. Dwight flipped into some weeds by this dock and had a pick up but he didn't hook the fish. I immediately threw back to the spot of my blow up with the bubblegum Super Fluke and was rewarded with a 14.25" bass. We kept working this area which looked awesome but couldn't find anymore fish.

Dwight conferred with me and I suggested we go hit an area about mid point in the lake where there was reeds, pads, maidencane, cattails and slop and so that is where we went. Dwight was working us into some docks before we would go into the reeds and pads when he connected with a 2lb bass on a white spinnerbait. I sent a short fish flying on a hook set with the black Horny Toad. As we got into the reeds there was a pontoon fishing to the South of us and Dwight spotted them pull in a dogfish and two bass on spinnerbaits, so he threw his spinnerbait and was rewarded with keeper bass that filled his limit. I started throwing a gold/white Brovarney Swim Jig with gold glitter 5" Action Plastic Super Mag grub and caught a 12inch keeper. I threw the swim jig into an opening in the reeds and something bit at the jig but didn't get it. I threw back and it was fish on. As I was reeling it in it jumped way out of the water and then dove and pulled off. Dwight thought it was a 4lb+ fish; I didn't get the greatest look at it but it was a 3lber minimum. Missing this fish really hurt me. I continued to throw the swim jig and caught a 14.75" and another fish that was just over 12.

Dwight culled a couple of times pitching a black/blue jig in the weeds. I tried a black/blue jig without success and then went to throwing the black Zoom Horny Toad with which I culled a 12 incher with a 12.75" and a 12.15" with a 13.5". We went back and worked over the most productive stretch of water but couldn't get bit so once again we headed South to the pads where Dwight pulled the fish on the jig. I was throwing the Horny Toad and had a couple of fish that had to be small swipe at it. It started to rain and conditions seemed perfect for the fish to get active so we worked ourselves into a reed bed but couldn't get bit.

We were running out of time, so we headed across the way to some sparse pads. I had a big dogfish follow my Horny Toad, but there were no bass to be found and it was time to head to weigh in on the North end of the lake.
At weigh in my big bass was a measly 1lb 10ozs and my 6 fish bag went 7lbs 12ozs which put me in 15th out of 22 anglers. My partner Dwight had 10lbs 15ozs and captured 9th place. The winning bag was 14lbs 3ozs and big bass was 3lbs 15ozs.

Due to the low club turn out, the 15th place finish tied my 2nd best placement in the club this far to date. Had I caught the big one that got off I probably would have moved up 3 more places and possibly as many as 6 if it was over 4lbs like Dwight thought.

Post Tournament Thoughts: This one was a disappointment in that the fishing wasn't nearly as good as I expected it to be. The quality of the fish I got on the Horny Toad was a let down. My execution on fish that bit was a bit of a let down especially due to the fact that my opportunities were limited. The size of the fish I am catching so far this year is a let down. Basically I am now scrapping the bottom of the barrel among those who have fished both tournaments and weren't disqualified. I am not fishing as well as I did at this point last year even though I actually have 1 more point than I did at this point last year. Bottom line is that I expect to fish better than the level I have been performing at this year in the tournaments.

Our next tournament isn't until July 18th and is at Lake Ida North of Alexandria. I have never fished the lake and don't really know much about it other than it has smallmouth in addition to largies. I am thinking that my partner draw in this one is going to be especially crucial to the outcome for me. My partner draws so far this year are better than my results should indicate. If any Bass Pundit reader wants to fill me in on Ida my email is basspundit@hotmail.com .

Frog Rods

Talkin Froggin at Futurebass.com BB...
Frog Rods: I use the 7'3" St. Croix Avid and it is by far the best frog rod I've ever used. They claimed this rod a Med Hvy. They are no longer made:(, Gulp! better not break any more of them. Glad I have 2)

There are a number of manufacturers that are now making rods specifically for frog fishing.

St. Croix Legand Tournament SlopNFrog Rod is a 7" Heavy Fast ($240)

Bass Pro has a Johnny Morris Signature Series Frog Rod that is 7'2" Xheavy Xfast ($170). That same profile is also found in their Nitro Big Bass Rods ($150) and Extreme line ($100).

G. Loomis Frog Casting Rod 863C 7'2" Med Hvy ($230)
Same Profile in GLX ($440)
Loomis has numerous other rods that would probably make good Frog rods in sizes 7',7'1",7'3", and 7'5"

Daiwa Light and Tough Frog Rod 7'4" Hvy Fast ($130)

Kistler Graphite Plus Frog & Slop 7'3" Hvy ($150)

Lamiglass Certified Pro Graphite 7'2" Frog Rod ($185)

Powell Max Flippen Rod 7'3" Med Hvy X-Fast ($200)

Quantum Tour Edition Dean Rojas Frog Rod 7' MH ($190)

Dobyns Champion Series Frog Rod 7'3" Hvy XFast ($190)

Team All-Star Big Boy 7'2" Med Hvy Fast ($120)

Shimano Cumara Rods have 2, 7'2" Med Hvy models that would probably be awesome Frog Rods ($220)