Bass Snatcher Tournament At Rabbit Lakes

 

Snatcher Dennis Gets The W

 

Snatcher Notsch Gets the $ (Lunker and Co-angler)

Conditions: I arrived at the access just in time to do my stretching outside. I got back inside the car, and it wasn't more than a couple minutes before the thunderstorm hit. It stopped raining at about 6:30 or so. Conditions during the tournament were cloudy to mostly cloudy, 67-77℉, And mostly very windy out of the SE with a little break in the afternoon when the winds settled down under 5MPH.

The Day: We fished on the pit side all but for about 20-minutes. It was windy right from the get, and our first spot didn't go. We didn't stay long. Next, we hit some reeds on the East side of the lake. I had a swim jig get bit off right away. I would lose 3 jigs and 6 Texas Rigs on the day, dang pike. I put the first bass in the boat, pitching a brown/orange Hack Jig in the reeds. We then worked a weedline. I had a 30-inch pike break me off. It put on quite a show before it did.

I then caught a couple dinks on a spinnerbait, and Baily got a few keepers throwing a Senko on docks. Bill started getting better bites fishing a swimbait on the weedline, filled his limit, and started culling. We ran west, and I picked up a line burner on the Billy Goat Grub in some reeds. We worked our way back to the weedline, and I finally put a craw tube on (watermelon/red). I missed a bunch of bites, caught a few dinks, and had two keepers, including my big. The wind slacked off, so we went over by the East Island, and I got a bass throwing the Billy Goat to the cattail island. The wind came up. Bill got two good culls, and I got my last fish of the day on a black/blue Hack Jig. We moved to one more spot on the pit side, then went to the lake for about 15-minutes. I fished in the access area as well, and that was it.

Results: My limit weighed 10/6 minus 2oz dead penalty, so 10/4, which put me in 12th Place. Snatcher Dennis won with 16/12. Snatcher Fields got 2nd with 15/14, and Snatcher Darren 3rd with 15/02. Lunker was 3/13 and caught by the top Co-Angler, Snatcher Notsch, who had a 12/8 bag. 12 of the 17 anglers had limits.

My Thoughts: I figured with conditions being what they were, the fish would be on fire, but the weights in this one tell a different story. The weights last time had 14lb bags down to 10th Place; this tournament, there were only 3 bags over 14lbs. I gambled on a big worm on my Texas Rig rod to start and lost. When I finally put a craw tube on around 11AM, I got bit immediately. It took me a while to get comfortable with the craw tube; I missed quite a few bites. Not my greatest tournament execution-wise. I will have to step it up in the final two tournaments to have any hope of finishing in the Top 10 for the season.

 

Snatcher Rabbit Lakes Preview: The Plan and Rods I'm Bringing

 The Plan: I did not be getting out to pre-fish. Snatcher Bailey usually brings in a quality limit on this lake. I am really hoping the overcast and wind have the fish up and chasing, making for easy pickings to get a limit. If that is the case, I have some lures that catch bigs. 

Rods I'm Bringing:

Tatula 7'4" H  (Frogs,Toads, Buzzbait)

Tatula 7'4" H (Chatterbait, Topwater)

Avid 7' H (Texas Rig)

Tatula Elite 6'9" H (Jig) (Braid)

GLX 6'6" MH (Jigs) (FC)

Avid 6'8" M (Topwater)

GLX 6'6" M (Ned Rig, Neko)

July 27th Snatcher Tournament @Rabbit Lake

Typical Rabbit 2lber caught Pre-fishing in the Pads

Conditions: 83-65℉, Partly Cloudy, 3-12mph WNW
WT: High 70's

The Day:
We blasted off 4th right behind Chuck Fields and wouldn't you know it he went right to our starting spot as well which was off of the big point on the North of the pit side of the lake.  Darren set us down to the West of Fields and we started working towards him.  I had a 1.91lb bass jump on my 3/8 black/blue jig pretty much immediately.  I got it in the box and it was a repeat performance with a slightly smaller fish.  The fished seemed to shut down on the jig after that. I threw out a Neko rigged Yum Dinger and got a 1.30lber on that immediately.  I think Darren got his first fish shortly after that and I got a short.  We worked back over where I got the fish to start and didn't get anything, Fields worked to the East so we went to where he started and I got 1.70lb fish that hit my jig on the fall.  After maybe an hour and a half we went to our second spot which was in the NE section of the pit lake.  I made the mistake of checking our fish while we were running and I shut the livewell on one of my rod tips breaking it, doh!  I got a 1.19  and my 2/8 lunker to fill out my limit on the jig.  I then culled up with 1.71lb fish on the jig.  Darrin was getting a little better quality of fish on a blue/black craw tube, so I started throwing that and I got a  1.63lb fish on that;  I thought the fish was a weed at first.  We were just about to leave to go fish the pads when I got a 2.05lb fish on the jig next to a dock.

The pads didn't even yield a blow-up for me, but Darren got a couple of fish there and missed some solid blow-ups.  Next, we went out and worked the roadbed.  I think I got a 2.13lb out there along with a couple that didn't help.  We went back to our second spot and I got my last fish of the day there on the craw tube (2.20).

Results: My fish weighed 13/02 with 2/8 big fish which beat Hammers 2/06 big thus putting me in 12th Place.  Darren's fish weighed 14lbs with 3/04 big which put him in 10th Place.  The tournament was won by Jim "Smitty" Smith 17/03.  Lunker weighed 3/14 and was caught by Mick Ziebell.

My thoughts: I don't think I lost any fish that hurt me.  I just didn't have a shot at a kicker that would have put me in the top half of the field.

  

Rabbit Lake Quick Recap

3 out of 4 for Beau Bacon

Had a fun good day on the water with plenty of fish caught. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get a kicker bite. A limit of 2lbers just doesn't get the job done at this lake.  I think everyone that is in my tier of people in the AOY race beat me.  Making the Top 10 this year is going to be a challenge because as it appears there are 15 anglers with a legitimate shot of making the Top 10 this year.  Who I draw for our next tournament at Gull River is probably make or break for my Top 10  hopes.  Reputation is that it is a really tough fishery and not getting skunked should be my number 1 goal for that tournament right now.   

Snatcher Tournament On Rabbit Lake Tomorrow

Rabbit Lake 2lber from Pre-fish

Since 2007, a year before I joined the Bass Snatchers, the Snatchers have fished Rabbit Lake very three years.  So this will be my fourth tournament there with the club.  I've fished a "Mini-Bucks" and an old Excel Bass Circuit Tournament that I finished 3rd in when I first moved up here.  I have a lot of experience on the lake and have fished it with some of the clubs best fishermen.  My boater Darren usually brings in an over 2lb per fish average here.   We had a productive pre-fish.  Hopefully, the weather will be a little cooler and cloudier than forecast.  Feeling good about this one, but know I can't take anything for granted in a tournament.

Rods I'm Bringing:
7'4" H Tatula (Frog)
7'4" H Mod Zillion (Tokyo Rig/Jig)
7'1" MH Tatula (Jig)
7' H Avid (Craw Tube)
7'MH Mod Mojo (Bladed Jig)
6'8" M Avid (Topwater)
6'6" MH GLX 783 (Jig/Texas Rig)

Spin:
6'6" M GLX 782 (Dinger, Neko, Ned)

Bass Snatchers Schedule for 2019

As I thought the tournament schedule got tweaked when we finalized it. Here are my thoughts.

Whitefish Chain: This will be the fourth time the Snatchers visit the Whitefish Chain since I joined the Club and the 2nd time it kicks off the tournament season.  Whitefish Chain, a lot of water with a lot of bass.  As of yet, I haven't been able to pre-fish The Chain with my boater.  Hopefully, that changes for this one.  It will be interesting to see what role smallmouth play.

Lake Alexander:  This will be the 2nd time I've fished a Snatcher tournament on Alexander. Club records suggest fishing should be pretty good. Also another lake with smallies.

Farm Island Lake: This will be the 4th Snatcher Tournament and 5th Tournament I've fished on Farm Island. (The Challenge Cup was held here last Fall).  Hopefully, the frog bite is on and my boater wants to fish it.

Rabbit Lakes:  Also the 4th time the Snatchers will be holding a tournament on these lakes since I joined the club.  I also have fished a Snatchers Mini-Bucks and Excel Bass Tournament on these lakes.  I'm a little bored with this choice.  Who knows maybe I'll get lucky and land one of those elusive Rabbit Lakes Smallmouth.

Gull River:  The Snatchers haven't fished here in a very long time.  I'm shocked it made the final cut.  This tournament is going to be a total wild card.  Hopefully, I'll draw a boater with some experience because I am clueless on this one.  I don't know what the Gull River consists of or where it is exactly.  I know in the past it was known for big fish, but not a lot of them.

Leech Lake:  I am always up for Leech. (Also the 4th time I will be fishing a Snatcher Tournament)   

Mini Bucks at Rabbit Lakes Oct 8th

Guy with the Lunker that Dwight Caught

9:00AM-3:00PM Rabbit Lakes
Conditions: 53-36 degrees, Alternating between Mostly Sunny to Mostly Cloudy throughout the day,  Wind out of the WNW 8-2MPH less wind towards the end.

I was asked to fish the annual Snatchers Mini Bucks Tournament by Charles Steinbauer because Nate, his usual partner, wasn't able to make it this year.  The lakes were divided into 5 holes, one for each boat. Holes 1,2,4 and 5 were in the lake and the pit was a hole #3.  We would get an hour and 10 minutes in each hole with  I drew for us to start in Hole 4, which meant we got an extra 10 minutes to fish the pit.

In Hole #4 we didn't get anything on our first two spots.  I caught a 14" keeper on our 3rd stop on a bluegill D & M Baits Piranha Swim Jig.

In Hole #5 (The northern most quarter of the lake) Chuck got 14" right away and I got a 12 incher on breen Crazy Legs Chigger Craw.  I think Chuck got another 12 incher and then got a quality 17+ fish off a dock.

Hole #1 (The farthest SW quarter of the lake) Chuck got another quality 17+ bass.  It hit like a pike and I got 13"on a Craw Tube along a reed point to cull out the smallest fish.  This is the hole the Lunker for the tournament came out of in the Slop in the far western bay.

Hole #2 I got a 13" fish culled out our other dink on the Horny Toad in the reeds.

17.15" Craw Tube brown/grn pumpkin

Hole #3 (The Pit).  I think my 17'er was the first fish we got in the Pit providing a good upgrade.  Chuck got a couple of fish that didn't help and I got 1 that didn't on the craw tube.  With about 15 minutes left I got 14" that was a small up grade.

   When we went to take off to go in, we didn't have enough juice to start the motor.  We had been having trouble with the electronics all day.  I was eventually able to get a hold of Guy who came and towed us in.

Waiting to see what Guy and Dwight brought in.

 Dwight and Guy won the tournament and got lunker.  We got 3rd.  Here are the results.

My Snatchers Rabbit Lake Tournament Aug 20th.

17.33" Craw Tube Grn pumpkin/brown

7:45AM-3:55PM
Conditons: 65-59 degrees, Cloudy to mostly cloudy, Windy to very windy N, Light to heavy rain

Pre-tournament thoughts:  Rabbit Lake has always given me fish and my boater Dennis' confidence had me pretty confident I would get a limit.  Turned out getting there was more difficult than we thought.

The Day:
The last two boats waited until 7:30 to put in, which annoyed Dennis and me as well.  Conditions were perfect and we easily could have been fishing by 7:30, but as it was we blasted off at about 7:45.  We went straight to one of Guy's spots with Dwight right behind us.  We fished it for about 20 minutes and didn't get anything.  Dwight caught a nice one, but we didn't see it.

Next we went to a spot that was protected from the wind where Dennis got some good fish pre-fishing.  I put on the small Plopper and immediately had a 11.75" bass on.  I think Dennis first fish was a pike. He then got a couple small keepers.  I had a couple fish not get the Plopper, unfortunately all I have is the one color.

Next we  headed to the wood and Dennis got a little better keeper, but that was it.  We got to the spot where I got my best fish in pre-fish and I got an even bigger one (17.66) on a Lake Fork Craw Tube.  Unfortunately that was all we got.  We followed the road out and I got a 15.33" by where I got one in pre-fish.  I also got a pike on the Craw Tube as well and Dennis got a walleye.

I think we then went to the island and didn't get anything there.  We went back to our starting spot and Dennis got a quality fish that came off just as I got the net under it.  Dennis was quite thankful.  We spent quite a while there and Dennis got one more keeper.  I just couldn't buy a bite there except a pike that bit me off.

We left to go to the numbers spot.  Dennis forgot to put the trolling motor up and we got drenched.  We had a good laugh.  I missed a hit right away on the Craw tube and Dennis had a fish on pretty quickly as well.  I think it might have been a pike.  Dennis got a keeper and then he got his big fish.  I got bit off.  I started throwing a white spinnerbait and got a pike. Then I got a 14" and 12.75" pretty quickly as we worked back over the area.  I think Dennis got a couple more keepers and missed some bites as well getting a nice walleye.

We went back to the island and I got a big dogfish.  It put up a great fight.  Unfortunately my attempt at a selfie with it failed.

Dennis got himself a cull.  A rain storm was moving in on us, so we went to our second spot.  I missed a fish on the Craw Tube right away.  Then it started raining.  I had a bass hit the Craw Tube as I was reeling it back to the boat and I landed it (14").  It started pouring.  Dennis missed a few more bites. We got out in the wind and I cast out the Craw Tube and had an over run.  When I picked the bait back up I thought I felt a fish, so I set the hook.  My line cracked as my line broke just above the rod.

We headed back to where Dennis got his big fish.  I got a nice pike on the black blue Piranha and I got a dink on the jerk shad that was only a couple inches longer than the bait.  We got up by the pads and I got 15.5" on the white spinnerbait; the fish really thumped it.  I got my limit with about 2 hours left

We went back to our starting spot and I discovered I didn't have enough line to fish on the craw tube rod.  We didn't get anything.  We went back and tried to expand on our numbers spot, but came up empty.  We finished expanding on our second spot.  Dennis had a fish that would have culled get off just before I could reach it.  My last hit didn't get the spinnerbait and the day was over.

Results:
My limit weighed 11lbs 4ozs and put me in 12th Place out of a field of 16.  Dennis was one more big fish short of contending for the win.  His 15/11 put him in 5th Place.  Dwight "Hammer" Hammermeister took his very first Bass Snatcher victory with a 16/8 limit.  Paul Ruff had a 4lb 3oz smallmouth that took Lunker.

My Thoughts:
I wish I could have gotten rid of the 12 incher.  I would have moved up 1 spot for sure and possibly 2.  I tried a number of lures that came up empty: Super Fluke, Swim Jig, Rattlin' Rap, Baby Minus One, Fat Free Shad, Chigger Craw, Jig and Chigger Craw, KVD Sexy Dog, and RI Vixen.  For whatever reason I just cannot get in sync with the fish, it's frustrating.  I should have been able to catch more than 6 keepers.  Thank goodness I chose to bring the spinnerbait rod with as it was a last minute addition.

Next tournament is at Whitefish Chain on Sept. 24th.

Snatcher Quick Report Rabbit Lake

Big Dog

I didn't quite make it to 12lbs, but I got close.  It took almost all day to land 6 keepers.  Just couldn't get rid of a 12.75". The guys caught them pretty good so I'm pretty sure I'm in the bottom quarter of the field.  I got bit off 3 times and with a couple hours left had the line break at the rod on my craw tube rod with a lot of line out; It was unusable after that.  I couldn't get a hit on the Chigger Craw.  You can't tell from the picture, but the dogfish was a brute that put up a really good fight.  I'd say it was 7 or 8 pounds.  I didn't get a length because I tried to take a selfie holding it up with pliers, but it wiggled loose and off the back of the boat.  I'll have the full tournament report sometime later this week.

Bowfin Selfie fail.

Baxter Bass Snatchers Tournament at Rabbit Lakes Today

Will I finally break out of the slump I've been in the past two seasons?  I've got a good draw and it's a lake that has been good to me in the past.  It will be interesting to see if the cool, cloudy, windy, and rainy weather turns them on or off.  With the way club tournaments have gone this year, I'm betting on turns them off.  Hopefully I'm wrong.

My goal today is first to catch a limit and then to catch 12lbs by the end of the day.

Aug 3rd Bass Snatchers Rabbit Lakes Tournament

Weather: The day went back and forth between partly and mostly cloudy.  Wind was light in the morning building to about 10 MPH out of  the NW in the afternoon. Temps went up quickly from a cool morning into the low 70's.

The Day:  We started right around 7AM thanks to my boater Art showing up a bit late.  We got our starting spot, a reed point with boulders on the West lake, despite going out 9th.  The point didn't give us anything but about 15 minutes in as we headed back to the East I got 14.5" on a yellow Zoom Horny Toad out of the reeds.  I was awfully glad to have it, because I came into the tournament awfully pessimistic.  About 10 minutes later I caught one that was to small on the Horny Toad.  Eventually we pulled off of the reeds and slop and I got another dink that didn't measure on a black/blue Berkley Powerbait Crazy Legs Chigger Craw texas rigged with a 3/16oz tungsten weight.  Nothing else happened out there so we moved.

We went to the mouth of a slop bay and worked our way in.  In the pads I got a 15" fish on a Yellow Spro Frog.  I think that was the only fish we had hit in the slop.As we came out of the bay I think that is were Art got his first fish of the day.  Next we headed to a hump that Guy and I fished in my last tournament on Rabbit Lake.  Art just got done telling me "this didn't seem to be the deal" when I hooked into a quality 16.5" bass on the Chigger Craw.  Next at my suggestion we went to a weedline off of some docks that Guy showed me at the previous tournament. I cast into a clump of cabbage weeds that were on the edge of a weed point with the Chigger Craw.  I thought I was caught on some weeds but then my pole kept bending, so I set the hook.  It immediately jumped showing me it was a bass and it was a good one.  When I got it in I estimated it at 19.25".  I had to estimate it because Art ruler was only 17.5" in length.  Art guessed it was close to 5lbs and I said it was a 4 for sure.  It turned out to be 4lbs 4ozs and won me the Lunker/ Big Bass "wood".  Needless to say I was feeling much more positive about the day at this point.

As we worked our way East I spotted a stick in the cabbage on a reed edge and pulled a 15.25" off of it on the Chigger Craw.  Art got a fish off of some  pads with the wind blowing into them.  I missed a good bite in the reeds with wind blowing into them on a craw tube near our starting spot.  We ended up going to the far West end of the lake.  Art lost a good fish right away on a frog, then he caught a dink that was too small.  We worked around the bay.  I did have one hit in the slop, but it may have been a pike.  As we came to the mouth of the bay Art got one in the pads on a frog.  As we worked our way East I got my limit fish, a 14", on a Hack Attack Jig with a Chigger Craw trailer out of a pad edge that had wind blowing on it.  We got back to Guy's docks and I pulled a 13 incher that didn't help me off of a boat lift on the Hack Jig.  On the next dock I culled out the 14" with a 15" with the Hack Jig.  That was my last bite of the day.  We fished some more slop and Art missed some hits.

Results:  The guys really sacked them in this one.  My 14lbs 6ozs bag was only good enough for 13th Place.  Chuck Steinbauer won his 3rd tournament of the year and second in a row with 18/05.

Thoughts:  Huge thank you to Guy Henkensiefken for showing me the area/ spot where the big bass came out of.

We didn't fish in the East Lake at all.

Turns out Guy is my boater for the next tournament, which is a "blind" tournament where we won't find out what lake it's at until that morning.

Rabbit Lakes Tournament Quick Report

Well today far exceeded my low expectations.  I caught a quality limit and got Big Bass with a 4.25lber.  I was reminded that I have yet to do my full report from Rush Lake two weeks ago.  I'll probably get on that tomorrow.  This is the 2nd time I have gotten the clubs Lunker Award.

I also won another Stanley Jigs Phantom on Ebay today.

Bass Snatchers Rabbit Lakes Preview

This will be my 2nd Tournament on Rabbit Lakes.  I fished an Excel Bass Tournament there in late June of 2004 and I fished with the Snatchers there in late July of 2010.  I don't know if those experiences are going to be of any benefit or not. I got out to fish with my boater Art for about 3 hours on Wednesday.  Art doesn't have good track record at the lake.  He also doesn't have a GPS, only an old Garmin fish finder.  I took him to 1 place we got fish on the West Lake and told him about 2 others.  We didn't get anything but panfish hits off the hump.  On the East Lake I took him to 1 weedline where we got fish in the last tournament.  I got 1 bite that I think was a bass and Art mostly retied from a bite off he had in the West lake.  Art didn't like fishing in the wind so we moved.  The next two places we went were spots we fished in the last tournament, but hadn't told Art about; He caught a nice keeper off of one of them.  We did see a couple of other of our guys catch fish.

Honestly my expectations for this tournament are at an all time low.  I just hope I can get a keeper.

I've got 3 rods rigged up with Frogs: A Spro, Horny Toad, and SnagProof Buzzbait
1 Jig Rod
2 Texas Rig Rods
1 Topwater/ chatterjig/ crankbait rod
1 Jig worm/ Dock  

Bass Snatchers 2013 Official Schedule with My Thoughts

Here is what my club is fishing this year, with my comments.

June 1st South Long-  Other than the parking situation,  I like the lake.  I've fished it twice when we fished our 2nd tournament in 2009, which was on June 21st.  I have some revenge to get on those bass.

June 22nd Mission Lakes-  I like these lakes.  I've fished them twice, but that was in October both times.  I'm sure they will fish a bit differently than it did in 2008 and 2009 because those were after all in early October.

July 21st Rush Lake-  I don't even know where this lake is, let alone anything else about it other than the Snatchers have fished it before twice, once in mid July of 2000 and once in late August of 2003.  The lake took 19lb weights to win both times but there weren't many limits caught either time.  Hopefully the lakes bass population has improved since then.

Aug 3rd Rabbit Lakes-  I have fished these lakes 2 times as a Snatcher, once for pre-fish and once for the tournament in late July of 2010;  And I fished it 3 times in 2004 for an Excel Bass Tournament I fished in late June 2004.  I look forward to getting a bit of revenge on the fish there for 2010, but the lake has generally treated me well.

August 17th Blind-  We won't find out the lake until the morning we go to fish it.  It could be any lake within 30 miles of Brainerd that is 1000 acres or more and that we didn't fish last year, so North Long, Alexander, Bay, and Whitefish Chain are out.  I believe the 30 mile rule puts Platte/Sullivan in play.  I believe the Mississippi River is in play as well.  Should be interesting.

Sept 21st Little Boy/Wabedo-  I'm not happy that the club refused to switch this with Mission so the smallies could be in play.  I fished there twice but that was for Muskie Tournament also in late Sept. or maybe it was Oct..  I don't recall what I caught other than 1 tiny muskie and maybe a couple of pike and bass in the reeds.  I lost a box of topwater lures there.  It just stinks that there could be a topwater smallie bite going on.

Hopefully my back will be OK this year, that's my biggest concern.

Baxter Bass Snatchers Rabbit Lake Tournament July 24th

Note: Rabbit Lake has a West Basin (lake side) and East Basin (pit side). There was an Iron mine on the pit side.

The first thing I will say is that I really could not have gotten a better boater draw for this lake. My boater Guy Henkensiefken has fished it for years and it's pretty clear from our pre-fish and tournament day, that he's got it dialed in.

We blasted off 10th out of 13 boats at around 6:45AM. Our first stop was going to be either where I caught my big fish in pre-fish or a weed hump we pulled a couple of nice fish off during pre-fish. Guy's son Adam went right to the big fish spot, so we headed to the hump.

I started off throwing a purple Berkley Frenzy Popper and I caught a 5" perch and a little sunfish and had a couple of other little ones be hooked up for a few seconds. Guy started off the day with a good fish from sub-surface. I switched up to a wacky rigged watermelon red fleck Zoom Z-Nail on an Outkast Money Jig and got a 15.75" largie on it. We worked the spot for about 45 minutes and those were the only two bites.

Next we headed to a weedline on a close by shoreline. Guy caught a fish right away. I got a 13.25" on the Z-Nail. Guy then had a keeper bass jump him off half way to the boat. I connected with a 12.10" squeaker.

Next we headed back across the lake to a spot that gave up a few fish, including a good one, in pre-fish. The spot is basically a weedline off of a small weed flat. Guy landed 2 or 3 fish in short order. I switched the Frenzy Popper out for a spook type topwater and had a fish slap at it. I think it may have been a pike, but am not sure. After working that spook for a while I switched to a frog pattern Rapala Skitter Prop because there was a bit of wind. While I was working the Skitter Prop a fish swirled but missed so I killed the lure and let it sit for about 5 seconds before twitching again. Sure enough the fish nailed it and it was a good one but it was on for only a few seconds and then the lure came flying out of it's mouth. Guy got a good look at the fish and said it was probably 17" maybe bigger. Missing this fish would really cost me.

We didn't get any more bites in this spot and Adam was still on his starting spot so we headed to the pit side. Guy picked a spot that didn't have any boats on it where he got a couple of good bites in pre-fish. Guy got a good fish in this spot, I didn't get any bites on the wacky rigged Z-Nail. We moved closer to shore and Guy got a small fish. We fished shallow for about 5 minutes and then went to a new spot.

I believe Guy caught a fish right away in this spot. I made a cast by a deadhead and my line started moving off quickly. I set the hook and my Z-Nail was gone. I cast back to the area quickly but couldn't get hit again. A couple of minutes later I got hung up on something and when I tried to free it, my line broke. Finally I caught a bass that I got to measure right at 12inches (we have a 12inch minimum size). I flipped the fish over to see if it would measure any longer and it flipped out of my hands up to the front of the boat and into the water. At this point I was not happy with how my luck had turned.

We moved to a "big fish spot" and sure enough Guy caught a good bass. We both got bit off by pike and I think Guy caught one.

Next we moved to a weedline near another Bass Snatcher boat and Guy got a couple of fish including 1 good one. I got a bit on the Z-Nail and brought in a 14.5". The other boat left and so we headed in that direction. I got a 12.75 off of a piece of wood and when we got to where the other boat was sitting I got a 15" largie to fill my limit. We then started working our way back to where we started. Club curmudgeon and very good angler Dennis Lothspeich was headed in that direction so we moved quickly to cut him off. We saw Dennis catch a fish about 10 minutes earlier and in a profanity filled tirade he let us know that was his first fish of the day. Apparently Dennis doesn't like Rabbit Lake.

Next we headed back to the lake side and tried fishing by Guy's son on the spot I got my big fish in pre-fish. We didn't get a hit so we went to our start spot. Nothing there. We then went to our 2nd stop and I got to cull the 12.10" with a 14.25" caught on a wacky rigged 7" Strike King Ocho. That was all we got on the spot so we went to the place I missed the good fish in the morning. We didn't get anything, so we headed back to the pit side.

We hit several spots on the pit side without any luck until I caught 12" bass that didn't help me on the 7" Ocho. When I got the fish the Ocho came off and Guy suggested I put an O-ring on (he has an O-ring tool). I decided to try it, but that would be my last bite of the day on the Ocho.

With about an hour left we tried a spot on the pit side where we had not been yet where Guy got a good fish in pre-fish. Guy got into a little flurry and culled up 2 or 3 times. He talked me into using the lure he was using on the same type of rigging he was using. I got a bite most likely from a pike, then I had a pike bite me off. With about half an hour left it started to rain hard. When the rain was coming Guy said, it looks like some heavy rain is coming. He put on a full rain suit, while I figured I would just put on my rain jacket and not my bibs. Wrong call it poured. The rain ended after about 10 minutes and we decided to head in about 5 minutes early because Guy had such a good bag of fish and he wanted to get a good spot to park where he could keep his livewells working until it was our time to weigh in.

I came in 11th which is slightley better than expected. I actually was 11th because of another guys dead fish penalty and I won the tie breaker. Had I caught the big one I missed, I could have been as high as 5th. Guy was in first with 15lbs 10ozs. He actually won because a guy brought 1 to many fish to the scales.

Analysis- This one is a slight downer because I could have done much better had I landed that one good fish. As it was I was stuck with a 12.75" swimmer. I really failed to capitalize on a very good boater draw.

Next Tournament: Washburn Lake August 28th.

Quick Rabbit Lake Tournament Report

The one that got away is going to haunt me in this one. If you read my pre-fish report you know I found a big fish pattern. That pattern was topwater (Berkley Frenzy Popper or Rapala Skitter Prop) off the deep weed edge of weed flats. Today I got one hit on that pattern and it was a good one. Unfortunately the fish got off. At the end of the day my smallest bass was a 12.75incher. In losing that fish I probably lost a pound and a half maybe more. As it turned out my 6 fish went 10lbs 4ozs. There were a bunch of bags in the mid to low 11's and upper to mid 10's.

My guess is that I'll be somewhere around 15th instead of being in the top 10.

Full Report when I have the final results.

Rabbit Lake Pre-fish

Today was my best day on the water as a Baxter Bass Snatcher. Too bad for me it wasn't tournament day because I would most likely have been a contender for the win. I am pretty sure I had 16lbs+ anchored by the fat 19.25" in the picture (thank goodness my boater had a camera phone as I left my camera in the car).

My boater Guy was fun to fish with and he knows the lake well. I think it was a productive pre-fish, but you never really know until tournament day. We found multiple patterns and locations. Guy was telling me there is an old club saying that "it's fun to catch fish, but it's even funner catching fish in the tournament." Meaning, what you do in pre-fish doesn't mean squat if you burn your fish. Hopefully we didn't do that too bad as we tried to lay off them once located. As for my part I took advantage of conditions, and found something nice size fish were on today; Whether that pattern holds for tournament day will most likely be dictated by weather conditions.