Full Lake Minnewawa Tournament Report

1st Place my boater Keith Tuma 19lbs 11ozs

The Plan:  Hope that the rice fish were going and that we wouldn't have too much company.

The Day: We blasted off right around 7:30AM and Keith beelined for the SW rice bay.  He was shocked that we were the only boat to come into the bay.  Several boats stopped in the cane and rice outside of the bay.  Keith wondered if we had missed something.  Seeing how nobody else came into the bay, we didn't head right to Breanne's Secret Spot.  We started on a point with arrowhead pads just inside the bay.  Keith had a good bass in the boat in less than 5 minutes of fishing out of the arrowheads.  I had a fish strike at my new just out of the package Bluegrass Mad Maxx and not get it.  Keith put the Power Poles down.  The fish struck at me again but didn't get it.  Several more casts with nothing and the Power Poles came up.  I made a couple casts back and finally the fish committed and it was a solid 2lber (2.62lbs).  We then didn't get a hit for about 20 minutes.  We went in by a dock and Keith got a couple of dinks.  I had a fish hit me in the rice, but not get it.  On about the fourth try the fish nailed Maxx and stole it. Damn pike.

Ooops!

I don't think we got another bite for about half an hour.  As we were in that lull I went to make a cast, but my line got caught in the hook keeper and I slammed Maxx straight down resulting in a catastrophic overrun.  I decided to just switch Maxx onto my X-Heavy Frog Rod, not switch rods and reels.   We came into an area that really held some big fish on Keith's first-day pre-fishing.  The wind made presenting frogs difficult, but Keith got himself a good one.  After he brought that fish in he decided to switch out reel handles on the Revo Rocket.  We then got to an area where we had access to the bank.  Keith got a couple of small bass and I had a couple of fish hit, but not get the frog.  We then got into an area with a little more rice.  I got a couple of dinks on a Yum Dinger, before getting a 1.47lber on Maxx.  I also missed some hits on the Dinger.  We came up to another big bank of rice and Keith got himself another quality fish.  Unfortunately, that was the only one we could raise.  I tried pitching a craw tube and got a couple of pike.

Right around noon, we got to Breanne's Spot.  It wasn't but one or two casts and Keith is bringing in a good one.  It jumped and I'm thinking 5lber.  I got it in the net and we high fived.  A couple minutes later and Keith make a good cull.  I missed a couple of hits from fish that didn't get the frog.  Keith got a couple that didn't help.  I ended up getting a line burner, a few shorts, dropping a decent one that got me in the arrowheads and missing another one in the arrowheads in Breanne's Spot.  I should of had my limit when we left.  We headed back to the first big fish area.  Keith got a couple that didn't help and I got a pike or two.  We were working our way out of the bay when I got another line burner out of the rice on the Frog.  With about 2 Hours left, we left the Rice Bay for some slop on the eastern side of the lake.  Keith got a couple of dinks on docks.

For the last 45 minutes or so we worked docks in the public access bay.  I got lucky and got my big fish (3/11) on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke off of a dock.  I got a couple pike as well.  And then time ran out.

Results: My 5 bass weighed 10lbs and put me in 6th Place.  Keith blew everyone away with 19lb 11oz, putting him 5/11 over Nate Steinbauer in 2nd Place.  Keith's big bass went 4/14.  The club really struggled in this one and only 4 limits were brought in.  I'm pretty sure

My Thoughts:  I kind of blew it.  I had the ideal partner for getting a top 3 finish and was on water that held big fish and I just couldn't make it happen.  I didn't even get a limit for goodness sakes.  If only it was a little warmer and the wind was half of what it was I'm pretty sure I would have had a pretty good sack.  The tournament was a day late for that to happen as the weather was ideal on Saturday.  Me deciding not to switch a working reel onto my favorite frog rod was a mistake.

Well, on to the Lake Edward.

     

Snatchers Lake Minnewawa Tournament Quick Report

It was a tough tournament out on Lake Minnewawa today, not very many limits were caught.  I came up one fish short myself.  I had a freak early in the day catastrophic backlash put my #1 frogging combo out of commission for the day. That combined with the wind made for difficult casting on a day where casting accuracy and proper frog presentation were critical.  In hindsight not switching the X-Heavy Frog rod out for the Heavy, the one with the backlashed reel was a mistake.  My boater Keith Tuma took the time to switch out a reel handle after the first hour and went on to win the tournament and got big bass as well.  I think I came in 6th.     

Bass Snatchers at Lake Minnewawa Tomorrow

Tomorrow my bass club the Baxter Bass Snatchers are fishing at Lake Minnewawa near McGregor. The club has never held a tournament there in its history so it's pretty much a new lake for everybody.  I liked what I saw when we pre-fished.  It's a slop fisherman's paradise with acres upon acres of rice.  I'm a little nervous about how the cooldown and wind will affect the bass.  Today, the weather was ideal for frog fishing, tomorrow not so much.  I guess we will see.


The rods I'm bringing:
7'4" XH Zillion (Frog)
7'4" H Tatula (Frog)
7'4" H Avid-X (Sprinker)
7'4" H Zillion (Jig)
7'3" MH LTB (Senko/Swimbait)
7'1" MH Tatula (Bladed Jig/Jig)
7' H Avid (Craw Tube)
6' MH Techna AV (Dock Rod: Flukes)
 

Snatchers Bay Lake June 2nd

Photo credit: SarahJean Fishing Bay Lake 6/2/18

Conditions: 47-64℉, Cloudy with fog for several hours, light and heavy rain after the first couple of hours, Windy ESE.

The Day:
The guys weren't in a big rush to launch the boats on this blustery foggy morning.  I think we blasted off a minute or two after 7AM.  Chuck took me to his starting spot where a couple of loons were milling around.  Chuck got a couple of small keepers in the boat and a pike or two and a rock bass. I think I got a pike and missed a couple of bites.  After fishing the area for around half an hour or so we moved on.  Chuck got a little turned around in the fog for a second, but quickly got back on track.

We next went to a large weed flat where Tuma and Sarah were fishing.  Chuck said they were on the juice.  I got a couple of pike to start things off on the Pure Poison and Chuck landed a couple of small keepers and a pike or two.  It was pretty clear to me at this point that the bass were not in a chasing mood, so I went to the craw tube.  It wasn't that long and I had my first keeper in the boat, a solid 2.18lb fish.  I quickly followed that up with a 1.71lb bass.  Then it was a pike fest for a while and Chuck filled out his limit with little keepers.  Tuma left.  I noticed a fish swirl on the surface.  I picked up a white Pure Poison/RaZor Shad and got a 1.14lb keeper on it.  We got a few more pike and it started to rain.

We headed South to try some docks.  Chuck got a rock bass.  We headed back North.  I got pike on three consecutive casts on the Pure Poison/Craw Fatty.  I also got 1.21lb and .88lb squeaker along with a few more pike.  We fished along Malkerson Island and got some more pike and a rock bass or two.  We went back to the large weed flat where Bailey/Herman were now fishing. I think Chuck got a couple of bass that didn't help and I got a few pike and missed some bites.  I also had a pike bite off my Texas Rig, so I downsized to 3/16oz sinker from 3/8th.

It started to rain harder just as we headed South and West.  We were fishing an offshore point.  Chuck and I both quickly got a small keeper.  Chuck invited me up to the front deck to fish next to him.  I had a fish pick up my Texas rig, but when I set the hook the fish had dropped it and the rig flew out of the water with the sinker nailing Chuck right in the eye.  I saw the whole thing as it happened, quite scary.  Chuck was in quite a bit of pain for a couple of minutes, but then he recovered fairly quickly after that.  I was a gun shy for a little while after that and missed some bites due to a poor hook-set because of it.

We moved back into the central part of the lake and I got some pike on a Whopper Plopper and Chuck got a small bass off of a dock.  We then went back up to the Northern part of the lake to try the starting spot getting nothing,  Chuck asked me if I had any ideas and I did, which paid off in me getting 2.50lber, my biggest of the day during the heaviest downpour.

We went back to work the large weed flat again.  I missed several fish as they bit on the upswing of my jigging motion.  Also caught a few more pike.

We tried a spot over by Chuck's starting spot and I got a very minor cull along with a rock bass and a pike or two.  We tried his starting spot one last time and then the day was done.  It quit raining during the last hour or so.

The Results:
My Fish weighted 10lbs 1ozs, which put me in 14th Place out of 28 anglers.  I jumped 2 places due to some anglers getting to the weigh-in a bit late.  Chuck had 9/14 and finished right behind me in 15th. Jim Smith won with 13/10 and Dave Branum caught a 5/01 hawg for "Lunker".

Thoughts: Both Chuck and I just didn't put enough two-pound fish in the boat.  One more 2lber would have jumped me into the top 10 and another one probably Top 6.

Final Results:

   

Bay Lake Quick Report

Man, that was a super soaker tournament.  Thankfully, the forecasted thunderstorms never materialized, but boy did it rain.  I learned that if ever rain is in the forecast that I should bring an extra pair of socks and shoes to put in the car.  Driving home with dry feet sure would have been nice.  I only managed to get two two pounders in the boat, which was one more than my boater Chuck Steinbauer had, so I managed to beat him by a couple of ounces.  That is the first time I've beaten him out of 5 tournaments fished together.  I'll call this tournament a win for that reason.  My 10lb bag will hopefully put me in the top half of 28 guys, but if past tournaments are any indication I'll land on the bottom half of that line.  I'll have my full report sometime after the official results are released. 

Bass Snatchers at Bay Lake Tomorrow

My tournament year kicks off tomorrow at Bay Lake.  It's supposed to be cool, windy, and wet.  Hopefully, it will turn the bass on because when we pre-fished it on Tuesday in hot, windy, and dry conditions the bass were not exactly on fire.  My boater is Chuck Steinbauer, so I'm confident I'll be around fish all day.  If Bay Lake tradition holds getting 2lb fish is golden.

Here are the rods I'm bringing:
7'4" H Tatula (Frog Rod) (Not likely to be used, but one never knows)
7'2" H Tatula (Jig Rod)
7'2" MH Tatula (Bladed Jigs/Topwater/ Spinnerbaits)
7' H Avid Craw Tubes
7' MHM Mojo (Bladed Jigs)
6'10" MH Crucial (Buzzbait/Spinnerbait/Swimbait)
6'8" M Avid (Topwater)

6' MH Techna AV (Dock Rod/Flukes/Dingers)