What's Up With B.P..!

I haven't been feeling very well since last Friday night.  I have been running a low fever off and on and been spending most of my time sleeping. I'm still planning on fishing my Bass Snatcher Tournament on Pelican Lake on Saturday.  I was bummed out I didn't feel well enough to pre-fish with my boater on Tuesday.  And I didn't go with Dad on a launch trip on Mille Lacs on Sunday night.  Oh well, that's life.

I fished 10 days in July catching just a disappointing 45 fish total.  I believe I have blogged all of my outings for July at the Log Blog, except for the Leech Lake Tournament  

Vikings Training Camp opened!

Package In the Mail from FLW Today

Winner! Winner!

Don't know which league they are talking about.  Don't know when I'll have occasion to throw a 6XD, but I'll take it none the less.

MN Plans to Implement Early Catch and Release Season in 2015

Thank you for your question.  We only received three requests.  This does not meet the 25 requests needed; consequently, we plan to adopt the rules without a hearing.  At this time, we are reviewing the comments for possible changes that have been requested and take them under consideration.

This is the e-mail I got today from the DNR on the purposed rule changes next year which contained the early bass season.  Since only 3 people requested a hearing, there is no more bureaucratic red tape standing in the way.  If they "plan to adopt the rules" than I would say there is a 98% likelihood we can fish for bass starting on the MN Fishing Opener next year.

Update: I was wrong about the bureaucratic red tape part.  I was informed it will probably be 3 months at least until this is finalized. 

Bass Snatcher Leech Lake Tournament Quick Report

17.75" Horny Toad

I caught about the same weight fishing at the Platte River Culvert for 5 minutes as I did in 8 hours fishing Leech Lake.  I had fun, just didn't get very many bites today.  Full report later this week.

Bass Snatcher Leech Lake Tournament Preview

How hard will the wind blow?  Is it going to storm and rain in the morning?

Those two questions are big unknowns at this point.  What I do know is I have a partner with a lot of experience on Leech and a boat that he will take anywhere to get us fish. I like the kind of fishing you have to do at  Leech.

Will I be able to land the bites I get?  Yes, and I could be in contention.  No, and I'll be near the bottom yet again this year.  

Woman Lake and Leech Lake Pre-fish with "Smitty"

Woman Lake: 7:00-9:00AM
Conditions- Calm, sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy

I got to fish today with my boater Jim "Smitty" Smith for the Bass Snatchers Leech Lake Tournament next week.  Jim is well known in MN bass tournament fishing community because he's been very successful and as I came to find out a really nice guy.  We hit Woman Lake first, checking it out for a tournament he's going to fish out there next Sunday.  We found some really nice smallmouth, but they didn't want to bite.  Jim caught 3 dinks and I didn't even get a bite.  I kind of had a brain freeze and forgot I had a rod with a Yabbie on it

Smitty with a quality Leech Lake largie

Leech Lake: 9:00AM-6:00PM
Conditions- Wind from light to fairly moderate out of the the SW alternating between cloudy and sunny with more sun late.

We put in at an area of the Lake I'd never been to before.  I got the first bite of the day out of some reeds on my brand new Snagproof Ish's Poppin' Phattie in black and yellow (Cali).

17" or so 

I missed one more good bite, then we switched area's.  In the new area I missed the first bite.  We went a little while and then Jim got two nice one's  in close proximity to one another out of the slop.  We got into an area with bullrushes, reeds, and pads and I got a 15" on a white Horny Toad.  Jim set the hook on a fish and his line broke.  I cast my toad into the area and ended up hooking his line with the fish still on it.  Jim grabbed the line and brought the fish in.  It was a quality 3lber.  In a tournament, who's fish would that be?

Jim was getting an occasional rock bass and I missed a couple of bites on a craw tube.  Jim lost a good one and I caught one that might have been 4lbs on the Horny toad.  We fished a lot of rice without getting any bites.  We pulled the boat out of the water and went to a different area of the lake.  Jim got a couple of nice one's including one on his last cast of the day and I got a 14" on a craw tube.

Over all Jim was disappointed we didn't get more fish.  I don't know why we didn't get more bites, conditions seemed to be perfect.  It was fun riding around in Smitty's sports car, a 19' Stratos with a 200hp motor.  Wind conditions will dictate what we do and where we go on tournament day.

Joe Torbert 2014 Minnesota Bowfin Club Grand Champion!!!

I did put this up on the MBC Blog last month, but not here until now.  Joe is a fellow Baxter Bass Snatcher along with 2nd Place finisher Chuck Fields.

Joe Torbert caught a 30" bowfin on June 14th, while fishing a tournament on Fishtrap Lake. Unfortunately he didn't get a picture of the fish.  It totally destroyed the Rapala DT3 he caught it on.

Congratulations to Joe on being the 2014 Club Grand Champion!!!

2nd Place went to 2 Time Grand Champion Chuck Fields with a 23" Fin caught on a swim jig on Gull Lake on May 27th.

3rd Place went to Club President and 2 Time Grand Champion yours truly Dave Maas with a 22" doggy caught in Platte Lake June 5th on a River 2 Sea Yabbie.

HMMM, C' MON MAN!

This is my first blog here at the Flagship this month and I only had 8 posts total in June.  I only have blogged 12 of the 25 days I fished in June at the Fishing Log Blog so far (but if you go to the link you will see I blogged all 4 trips I've taken this month so far.)  I really should have posted Horny Toad Goes BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! SWOOSH! here at the Flagship this month at least.  I've got to blame my lack of blogging on fatigue from the two tournaments and Pete's short stay.  I didn't even blog who won the Minnesota Bowfin Championship this year yet here at Bass Pundit.  And it's almost Vikings training camp.

C' Mon Man!!!

Fishing Stats So Far This Year:
However, I have been keeping my fishing log at Fish Swami pretty much religiously.  I am happy to report I only caught 63 less fish in June of this year compared to June of last year.  Had we not had that fast warm up in early June, the numbers would have been even closer.  I've gotten 20 more pike this year than I did in all of last year and 6 more smallies.  I didn't catch a single smallmouth last year.  I am way down this year in the bass count compared to last year, but 538 is still a respectable number.  Topwater fish are way down from last year when I already had about 100 at this time on the Stanley Phantom alone.  My Grass Pig numbers are way down, but still a respectable 150 fish caught on them; The Grass Pig is my #1 lure again this year at least so far.  My craw tube numbers are up over last years, but I haven't gotten much on a Chigger Craw;  I just haven't fished Chigger Craws this year.  I did catch 89 fish there over about a 3 week span on a River 2 Sea Yabbie, which is a new bait for me this year.  I have caught fish on 8 more different lures than I did all of last year.

I'm 10 down this year on the walleye count, but dead even on dogfish with 3.  I'm way up on Rock Bass though with 17 more than last year and I've got rock bass factory the Whitefish Chain yet to go.  I may get some rock bass on Pelican Lake too.  One of these days I will get the Trophy on the water.  Our water levels on Platte/Sullivan are back down to normal and the fishing at the GOMH is really off now for the most part, though I did lose a good one out there a couple of mornings ago.