Snatcher South Long Preview: The Plan and Rods I'm Bringing

 The Plan: Be a good net man so Snatcher Fields captures his 2nd Mr. Bass Title (Snatcher AOY). Plan A is to start on the deep weed edge and only move shallow if it isn't happening. May or may not start with a buzzbait. We are the last boat out, and South Long isn't very big, so who knows what will be available for our first spot.

Rods I'm Bringing: 

7'4" H Tatula (Topwater) 

7'4" H Tatula (Chatter, Topwater, Cranks)

7' H Avid (Craw Tube)

7' MH Mojo (Chatter)

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

6'8" M Avid (Topwater)

6'6" MH GLX (Jigs, Swimbait)

6'6" M GLX (Neko, Ned)

I ended up at the last minute throwing in another 7'4" H Tatula that I threw frogs and a spinnerbait on. Should have had that spinnerbait on the rod from the jump.

Vikes Victory, SKOL!

 Irv Smith Jr. is a buzzkill with his momentum-killing drops. The Vikes got lucky that the Lions once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The Vikes really needed to pull this one out, and they did.

On to London, Here, Here, Woof, Woof. 

Blast From My Past: The 2003 MN Pro/Am Leech Lake

 I had my heart attack on March 14th, 2003. I think by the end of the month, the decision was made for me to move up north to live with my parents as I recovered and discovered just how badly my heart muscle was damaged; initial indications weren't encouraging. I started my cardiac rehab at the Onamia Hospital, which went well despite my heart pumping at a significantly reduced capacity. I had gained enough endurance back that I decided to see if the MN Pro/Am was still looking for amateurs at the last minute in early June. Turns out they didn't have a partner for Joel Stokka, so I jumped at the chance. Joel and I pre-fished the day before the tournament, and he was kind enough to put me up for the night at his place in Walker. While we were pre-fishing, I learned about bass fishing on Leech Lake, the Minnesota Bowfin Club, and the Baxter Bass Snatchers, his bass club at the time. At the rules meeting, I met Snatcher and Minnesota Bowfin Club President Chuck Fields. We planned to frog fish in Sucker Bay, and frog fish we did. It was a fun experience, and I am so glad I jumped on the chance. We came in 54th Place and were one fish short of a limit. I was just a tadpole as a frog fisherman back then. The frogging craze ushered in by Dean Rojas wasn't until a few years later. Oh, to go back in time with the equipment and knowledge I have now.

Monday Night Meltdown In Philly

 24-7, neither team scores in the 2nd half and Kirk threw 3 Int's in the 2nd Half. The D and Special Teams gave the Offense opportunities, but it was the bad Kirk Show Tonight. On to the Lions.

Heh!

Bass Snatchers Gull Lake Tournament

 

3-Time Champ Chuck Fields
(18/13) (5/04)

(3/10)

Conditions: Heavy Overcast with some fog until about Noon, then partly cloudy. Wind: Calm to 4mph from all directions.

The Day: 
At blast off, we headed North to a fairly good size sunken island. Chuck made a self-described rookie move and accidentally ran us right over the juice. About a half-hour in, Chuck put the first bass in the boat. A solid keeper that may have been culled out by the end of the day. About 15-minutes later, I got the skunk out of the boat with my big fish of the day (3/10) on a craw tube. Chuck handed me the net with the fish in it. I went to step down off the back casting deck and got punched hard just under my nose by the net's hoop. Hurt like a son of a gun, and I was surprised I wasn't bleeding. The area is still tender more than a week later. A couple minutes later, Chuck had a 4lber jump him off about 10 feet from the boat just after I grabbed the net. I think Chuck caught one more fish on that jig but lost 3 or 4 more, so he cut it off and gave it to me. Chuck got his second keeper in the boat about an hour in. I wasn't getting any bites on the craw tube, so I decided to see if maybe they would hit topwater as there was some surface activity. I think I missed my first 5 or 6 bites; I think they were little bass. After a miss, I finally hooked into a boil, and it was a good fish (2.46). I got one short, and then the topwater bite shut off.

I think we moved, and I got a 2.25lber that clocked my Strike King Buzz Toad Buzzbait with Z-Man ToadZ. We moved again. Chuck filled his limit. I started throwing a jig and caught 3 pretty quickly. Chuck said I would be an idiot if I were to fish any else but a jig the rest of the day. We tried one more crowded spot on the North End, then headed East, but Snatcher Ludenia was on the juice, so we headed south to try a short stretch of docks. Chuck lost a good one that he very well might have caught later in the day one dock over. We ran back north to the starting spot. I got a pike on the buzzbait. I don't remember if Chuck caught anything. We moved a couple of times. I had a fish miss the buzzbait, fired a cast right back, and got my final cull of the day. We would have had a double, but Chuck lost the one he had on, which he didn't think would have helped him. I think I got a fish or two that didn't help on a jig. We returned to that spot on the East side of the lake, and Ludenia was there again. We went south and fished docks for the final couple of hours. Chuck lost a couple more toads. Culled up a couple of times. I got a few that didn't help my cause. Chuck hit the jackpot on one of the final few docks, finally getting a 4lber in the boat. 

Results: My fish weighed 15/02, which was only good enough for 10th Place. Chuck Fields won his third tournament of the year with 18/13  and caught 5/04 Lunker. Snatcher Nate came in 2nd with 18/7. And Snatcher Dennis got 3rd with 18/05. Hammer was the Co-Angler Challenge Winner with a 17/11 bag out of Snatcher Dennis's boat, which broke down at their first stop on the North end of the lake.

My Thoughts: Basically, all the boaters but one really sacked 'em, and so did Hammer. Whaddya gonna do. I don't think I lost anything that hurt me. All of my fish were over 2lbs. Going to need a high finish and for a couple guys to stumble if I am going to make the Top 10 this year. 

 

 

Snatcher Gull Lake Preview: My Plan And The Rods I'm Bringing

 The Plan: First thing I'm throwing is topwater. If they don't go in that a Chatterbait. That doesn't play then a craw tube. Next Is a jig and finally a Ned Rig. If none of that catches anything I've got Dingers and a few other ideas. Gull is full of nice bass right now, hoping to catch a 13lb limit minimum.

Rods: 

Tatula 7'4" H (Topwater)

Tatula 7'4" H (Chatters and possibly Plugs or Cranks)

Avid 7" H (Texas Rig)

Tatula Elite 6'9" (Jigs) Braid

GLX 6'6" MH  (Jigs)

Avid 6'8 Medium (Topwater)

GLX 6'6" M (Ned)

Abu 6'6" MH (Fluke)

Oops, I realized I forgot to hit publish. I did give every rod a shot.

Props to MLF On Not Giving Out DQ's For Breaking Irrelevant MN Laws

 

MN has a law making it illegal for a fisherman to use two lines simultaneously. We also have a law that limits the number of hooks that can be used depending on the rigging method. The motivation behind those laws is so the unwashed masses and slobs don't end up killing fish. Professional bass fisherman on the Major League Fishing Bass Pro tour doing their craft is about as far from a slob fisherman as it gets. The law shouldn't be applied against fishermen that are the least likely to kill their catch by virtue of the fisherman's skill combined with instant catch and release format. But the Online Game Wardens had their hackles up this week because a few MLF Anglers were on camera this week with two lines in the water, and another angler had an illegal two Fluke rig set up. Those who were angered by this saw to it that citations were issued by the DNR. But that isn't good enough for some Online Wardens; they want to be able to put  Wheelers Angler Of The Year Trophy on their mantle by way of disqualification.

One of the reasons why the Pros broke away from BASS was its ham-fisted manner of leveling penalties that didn't fit the infraction. Major League Fishing is angler owned, so they make the rules. Their collective wisdom decided that a DQ would not be the proper punishment in this case. I 100% stand behind Major League Fishings' decision in this case. Wheeler earned that Trophy, and it should not be taken away for breaking a law that has no business being applied to a Professional Bass Fisherman in the first place, so says the Bass Pundit.       

Vikings 1-0

 Congrats to Coach KOC on his first NFL victory. Vikes got a huge lucky break when that rookie WR dropped a sure touchdown on the Pack's first possession. The Pack are notoriously slow starters, but I think they have to worry about the same thing the Vikes do; Both QB's took a lot of hits.

On to Philly, Skol!

It's Game Day! Will A A Ron Steal Our Lunch $ Again?

 

Can KOC Coach? Can KOC Win?

 Count me in the doubter's camp. After every loss, I am posting one of these:

And after every win, one of these:

I think we are gonna see a lot of Zim in black this season. I hope I am completely wrong and we are a playoff team.