I Have Now Fished More Days In 2020 Than In 2019

 

The catching has been more challenging this year. It feels like I have put more time in, but the number of hours proves that isn't true. which kind of makes sense. The difference between 4.4 fish per hour and 4.16 might not seem like a lot, but over 600 hours is. Better fishing makes the time pass quicker and provides motivation for me to stay out a little longer. When the fishing is tough I am more apt to call it a day earlier like we did yesterday on Gull.

2020 Is Going Full 2020 For Vikings Fans

This has the makings of a very ugly year for the purple. Very little is going right and the season may be a lost cause by the time Hunter steps on the field. The way the Offense performed in Green Bay gave me some optimism. Man did Kirk stink this week.  Bad Kirk is nothing new.  What was Speilman thinking in extending the guy's contract? 

And Barr done. 
 

Snatcher Little Boy/Wabedo Tournament Sept. 12th

Conditions: 50-58℉, Cloudy to Mostly Cloudy with occasional drizzle, 0-4mph SE
The area received a pretty good rain overnight.

The Day: We started in the reeds just to the East of the YMCA Camp in Little Boy. I may or may not have missed a couple of bites. After about an hour and a half with nothing to show for it we left the those reeds and headed to some reeds on the NE side of the lake. Bill missed a bite along a tree in the water. I had something very pike like attack my Fluke and get off quicky in the reeds. I had a couple other boils, but nothing hooked up. We then went to the dock by the outlet where Al had already taken a fish. We then headed to Wabedo. We started fishing to the east right at the entrance to Wabedo. Bill was working the shoreline reeds and I was throwing out with my orange Shower Blows knock-off. I had a 35 or so inch muskie jump over the lure and miss thankfully. From there we went and worked a weedline.  Finally, I got the skunk out of the boat with 2.5lb bass on a junebug Piranha. Bill then caught a line burner on a Senko. Then he got a fish that almost went 2lbs. I got a pike on a craw tube. It was calm and overcast. Perfect topwater conditions. I started throwing a River2Sea Bubble Walker. Something boiled behind the lure. I let it sit for a few seconds then popped it. Whoosh, the 6.5 pound pike took it. After putting up a good fight Bill netted it for me. Thankfully, It didn't put up any fuss in the boat and the hook came out easily. We fished Wabedo for maybe 15 more minutes then headed back to Little Boy with maybe 2 hours left in the day. We went back to the YMCA camp area starting to the West of where we did in the morning.  There is a breakwater at the camp. I made a cast to it with a bone Shower Blows and good bass blasted it. It jumped got down in the weeds and came off. I was not happy. We worked the reeds again. I had something pike like take a shot at my Spro Sprinker knock off and not hook up.  Bill was pretty frustrated as was I. I suggested we move in closer to shore into an area that was good for me and Al in the last tournament. We started working the pads and rice, nothing. Then we came to boat lane. I probably should have directed Bill on how to best approch the high percentage area. Sure enough there were a couple of fish there. I got a decent hookset, but the fish quickly got off. It was 2 to 3lber.  Bill put on frog as I peppered the area. I think he got a bite on his third cast by a smaller fish that didn't hook up. We came to the next boat lane and sure enough their were two fish in the high percentage area. We both landed our bites this time. That happened right in front of Hammer and Checkbook who were working towards us.  We quickly ran out of slop. With 20 minutes left we went to another slop area where Bill lost a fish and I caught a pike.  I was quite disappointed to only bring in two fish and thought I would be a bottom dweller for sure. But a lot of guys struggled, so I reached my goal of a Top 8 finish.

Results: My fish weighed 5lbs 6ozs, which put me in 8th Place. The tournament was won by Tim Benson with 18/9 and he had lunker with a 4/8. Beau Bacon won the Co-angler Challenge out of Tim's boat with 14/03, which put him in 3rd Place. Al Steinbauer was 2nd with 15/8.

My Thoughts: I don't know what the fishes deal was. I would have thought everbody would have come in with limits under those conditions, but the fish were just not up and feeding like you wold expect in the Fall. 2/3rds of the field caught 3 or fewer fish. Ouch

We figured out something that would work to late. Oh well I am now in a three way tie for 4th in the Angler of the Year. It looks like I stand a decent chance of making the Clubs year end Super 6 provided I don't skunk at either of the final two tournaments, which are back to back the first weekend of October on Gull and Cedar Lake.

Snatcher Little Boy/Wabado My Plan & Rods

My confidence level going into this one isn't very high. I am worried that the cold weather this week with possible cold rain overnight is going to make for a tough bite.  I think I really need the fish to be snapping pretty good to get a finish in the top half of the field.  My goal is to get a limit and finish in the Top 8.  

Rods I'm Bringing:
7'4" XH Zillion (Frog)
7'4" H Zillion (Jig)
7'4" H Tatula XT (Swim Jig, Swimbait, Sprinker, Buzzbait, Toad, Spinnerbait, Plopper, Sprinker Frog)
7' H Avid (Craw Tube)

7' MH Mojo (Chatterjig

6'10" MH Crucial (Topwater, Jerkbait, Spinnerbait)

5'6" M Avid Spin (Fluke, Jig))

Vikings 2020

 I am really on the fence if I am going to continue to support the NFL and the Vikings this year. Athletes who believe they are standing up for social justice are doing nothing of the sort when they are standing in support of a guy who was terrorizing a female victim; Jacob Blake would not listen to legal orders given by the cops and resisting arrest which results in him getting shot justifiably.  That is the kind of absurdity that pushes me past my level of tolerance for putting up with Marxist Social Justice bullshit that has spread like a wildfire through professional sports. The NFL is precipitously close to losing this fan.

August Was Really Good to Me This Year

Normally my fishing productivity declines each month during the summer. Usually, I don't see an uptick in the downward trend until Sept. If my memory is correct, the last two years Sept hasn't really had very good weather with a lot of wind and rain. Hopefully the weather this Fall is more cooperative.