That Escalated Quickly

 I won this LiveTarget Wakebait through Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing back in the Fall of 2016; it arrived in early October.  I caught 4 fish with it in 2016, 19 fish in 2017, and 1 fish last year. Basically, until about a week ago, it was in pristine condition. Then in the span of about 3 trips, it caught me 60 fish and now looks like this. I'll be buying a couple more soon. I don't know why I didn't throw it that often in the past. Quality fish love this thing.

Frustrated Incorporated

 My last Vikings blog was after the Week 1 loss to the Bengals. The next two games left me feeling pretty optimistic as they scored at least 30pts in both games and D improving.  Then inexplicably, the wheels fell off the Offence vs. the Browns and continued to sputter vs. the Lions; They almost lost the game blowing a 10-point lead with 5-minutes left. Thankfully, the Lions left too much time on the clock, and Kirk got us in field goal range in three plays, and Joseph made the kick.  It is hard to feel good about the team after the last two Offensive performances. Still, a wins a win, no matter how ugly. There is a lot to feel good about on the defensive side of the ball. Vikes are going to be a tough out because of that fact. And I think our offense is close to working. Maybe things will click next week. 

I just was looking at this year's stats. They are in the top half of the league or higher in most of them. If the Vikes can just perform a little bit better and cut down on the penalties on Offense, they should be alright. 

My Platte/Sullivan Bass Snatcher Tournament Victory Recap

  

4 and a 5

Got Wood Again, Finally

What my scale said

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

The Day:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Josh Douglas Qualifies For The Elite Series

All my fishing energies were focused on Platte Lake this past weekend, so I missed Josh Douglas making the ten cut at the Southern Open. Thus qualifying to be the second Bass Pundit MN Blogger Derby participant to make the Elite Series. Bob Downey was the first.  I have so much respect for Josh as a person and angler. He is the ultimate grinder who just kept at it getting closer season after season.  This guy hustles, and his love for catching bass and sharing bass fishing knowledge is really something special. He put in the work for his sponsors everywhere he went in venues small and large.  Josh wanted it, and now he's got it. Congratulations man, can't wait to see you up there with Mercer and making it to your first Classic. I don't think anything is going to stop you from reaching your goals. Get that Rookie of the Year in 22.

Check out this Bass Pundit flashback from 2011: (Near as I can tell and recollect I found out about Josh in 2008, through Rich "Hellabass" Lindgren, who will also probably walk across the Classic Stage sometime in the future and would stand a great chance of making the Elites if he put his mind to it.)

The Blind: Platte/Sullivan Goals/Rods

My goal's for this tournament is to get at least a 15lbs limit and finish no lower than 3rd.

Have either Darren or I win the days Lunker

Get Darren a limit 

 
Rods I am bringing:

7'4" XH Zillion (Frog)

7'4" H Tatula (Frog, Swimbait)

7'4" H Tatula (Fluke)

7'4" H Zillion (Jig)

7'3" H 736 Dobyns Fury (Swim Jig, Chatter Jig,  Spinnerbait, buzzbait)
7'2" MH Tatula (Topwater, Chatterjig)

7' H Avid (Crawtube)

6'6" Abu Veritas (Fluke) 

My Initial Thought On The Platte/Sullivan Draw

 

Last January, I wrote the above about Platte/Sullivan when the blind tournament initially went on the schedule. I was highly confident if my lakes were drawn, I would have a pretty good chance of having a really good day. Fast forward to now after struggling all year to get bites with so many good Fall areas being complete trash or almost trash due to low water and the proliferation of carpetweed in Platte Lake.  Three of the areas I was thinking about specifically back then have been an extremely rough go this year. The weed set up this year is garbage in so many formerly productive spots. The spots that aren't I have pounded relentlessly. Some places that still look fishy haven't given me anything.

I really should have taken a couple of days to search out some new non-froggy spots. Oh well, that is water under the bridge now.

Because the lakes are off-limits today, I put together a spreadsheet of all my spots/areas. I then gave a percentage for my confidence level in catching a fish there right now and in catching one 3lbs or above. In my mind, I have 13 spots where the chances of getting a keeper are better than 50%, and pretty much every spot has a 50% chance of getting a quality bite. Not bad at first glance. However, many of them are either a small one or two fish spot or a wide area that is only good for a bite or two. The highest probability of getting into fish is 60%, which I have for one area on Sullivan and two areas on Sullivan. I will have to see what the wind does, but I tentatively have my starting spot picked. It will be interesting if there is a morning bite or if we have to wait for things to warm up.

Bass Snatcher Leech Lake Tournament Recap

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

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

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

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

 

Snatcher's On Leech, My Plan and Rods

The Plan:

The Rods I'm Bringing:

7'6" H Mod LTB (Punching)

7'4" XH Zillion (Frog)

7'4" H Tatula (Frog,Swimbait, Swim Jig, Fluke)

7'4"H Tatula (Crawtube)

7'4" H Zillion Mod (Pitching Jig)

7'3" MagH 763 Dobyns Fury (Spinnerbait, Swim Jig)

Spin:

6'6" MH Abu Veritas (Fluke, Dinger) 

 

MN Vikings 2021

 

Update after the Game 1 27-24 loss to the Bengals.

The team looked shaky in the first half, especially on offense with penalty after penalty. The second half went quite a bit better. 

The D looked much improved. It will not surprise me if Burrow has a breakout year and Mixon runs for 2,000  yards.  Sure the Bengals sucked the last two years. What I  saw was a team in the playoff hunt this year, provided they can stay healthy. I was really impressed with Burrow other than that one terrible throw that should have been a TD. It looked to me like Hunter and Kendricks had quite a bit of rust to shake off.  

On the O side of the ball, Cousins played good enough to win. I am concerned about the O-Line. Not nearly good enough protecting Kirk or making holes in the run game. Hopefully,  they will improve quite a bit with a game under their belt. I wasn't happy with play calling in the moment, but we probably should have won the game. I think the Cook fumble was a blown call. 

The next two games look to be dog fights. Maybe Arizona will lose a little bit of their edge with a win under their belt and will underestimate Zim's squad.  

Tuma & Walls On the Hellabass Livestream

 I finally found the time to listen to this podcast. So glad I did. Good stuff! They discuss the 27lb five fish bag they got on Woman Lake, Smallmouth Fishing, and Frog Fishing.

Goodbye August!

. 

August was a tough month on my fishing confidence and frog fishing rods; I had three of them get broken. Two original Tatula 7'2" Heavy's at the rod tip and an original Tatula 7'4" Heavy above the first rod guide(picture). Hopefully, with the arrival of more moderate September temps, the fishing will improve.
 

Wired2Fish on Fishing Largemouth In River Rice

 What I got from this video is using the Tokyo Rig and 2' foot in 2' out of the grass rule. This video could be helpful to me on Pokegama, the Mississippi River, and Gull River among other places. 

Wheeler Talking Fishing Pressure

 Excellent video by one of the smartest guys to ever dedicate his life to catching them.

My Lake Edward Snatcher Tournament Recap

 

Mick Ziebell 19/03 Lunker 3/15

2/15oz R2S Bully Wa 2

What My Scale said I had

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

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

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

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

Snatcher's at Lake Edward, The Plan And My Rods

 

My boater Beau Bacon has spent a lot of time on Lake Edward. What we are hoping is that hawgs are up in the reeds. We will go out deep if it just isn't happening, but the hope is the reeds play.

The Rods I'm Bringing: 

7'4" H Zillion (Jig)

7'4" H Tatula (Frog)

7'4" H Tatula (Swim Jig, Swimbait)

7'2" H Tatula (Craw Tube)

6'6" MH 763GLX (Jig, Neko)

Spinning:

6'6"MH Veritas (Fluke, Ned)