Bass Snatchers Whitefish Chain July 15th

We fished from about 7AM to 3PM.   It was sunny for the first couple of hours, then got cloudy until about the last hour when the sun came out again.

My boater Dave Branum and I were second boat out and we headed to the North East corner of Big Trout Lake.  I decided to start throwing a Paycheck Baits Repo Man and was rewarded on about my 3rd cast with a bass, but it jumped off just before it got to the net.  A few casts later I had another one on that got off half way back to the boat.  Dave then landed the first fish of the day.  Shortly after that I got a 12" squeaker and then I got another 12" squeaker.  About 15 minutes later I landed a quality 15.5" fish also on the Repo Man.  After that the topwater bite died and Dave was getting a few on a jig, so I switched up to a Strike King Ocho on a mushroom head jig.  I got a 13.25" and 12.75" on that.  


We moved to a sunken hump in the middle North part of Big Trout were I missed a good feeling bite on the Ocho.  We then moved to a close by weedline and I got 14.75", 13.25", and another 14.75"on a Blue Bruiser Crawtube and a couple that didn't help. We moved West to another weedline spot where we found rock bass.  Eventually we headed back to our starting spot as it sprinkled a bit.  I got a couple of shorts on the Repo Man, so I switched up to a gold Berkley Frenzy Popper and got a couple that didn't help, then I landed 16".  We moved back to the weedline in the middle North and I got a 16.25" and a 14 on the Frenzy Popper.  Caught a few more that didn't help on the Frenzy and Crawtube.  With an hour left, we headed into Middle Whitefish, then to Upper Whirefish where I caught a rock bass and a pike.  Then it was time to head in.


I ended up with 12/8 but one of my fish died so I dropped to 12/6 which put me in 12th Place.  My boater Dave only got 9/10, which put him in 25th out of 30.  The weights were up again this tournament with 12lb bags to 15th Place and 10lb bags to 24th place.  Last time we were on Whitefish two years ago in early June, my bag would have been good for 5th Place and the time before that in 2006 also in early June it would have been good for 6th Place.  Guys are catching them this year.   The winner was Dennis Lothspeich with 16/15 with an ounce more than Chuck Steinbauer.


My Thoughts:  I was a bit disappointed we didn't get any smallmouth, which I would have thought would have happened with those topwater fish up in Big Trout.  I think we might have actually seen a lake trout that came up to the surface and then swim right by us.   

Baxter Bass Snatchers Birch(Hackensack) Oct. 1st.

Conditions: Cool and clear Morning with moderate wind out of the SE growing to 15-20mph throughout the day.

We blasted everybody off as we were last boat out and we went right to our planned starting spot, which was the weed flat to the SW of the public access. Nobody else went that way. I put on a Paycheck Baits Repo Man "drag stripper" and within the first 10 minutes I had 15" bass in the boat. Within the next 10 minutes I had number two in the boat. My boater Owen then quickly caught 2 on a spinnerbait and we thought we were on to something, but it just died. Maybe we moved off the best area a little to quick. Unfortunately the two fish I pulled from this spot in pre-fish were both 16.5".

Next we headed into the West basin to the spot where Owen got his hawg in pre-fish. I saw a lot of baitfish, but we came up empty. We worked up to the other point and I had a hit on a crawtube, but didn't hook up. I cast back and got another quick pick up and drop. The crawtube had a pretty good rip in it, so it was probably a pike. As we were working down the point along the reed line. Owen brought in a small keeper bass and then so did I (12.5")on a black spinnerbait.

Next we headed to a point farther South where I wanted to go in and work the slop. We started along the point and I pulled a pike on the spinnerbait. Owen caught a bass a few minutes later out of about the same spot. We got down into the start of the slop and there were some reeds on both sides of the boat. I made a cast with a Zoom Horny Toad out into the lake and had a fish nail it right before I was out of the reeds. Wouldn't you know it but it got hung up. I watched the fish struggling back and forth and then it pulled free. I really should have muscled that one more. It wasn't a huge bass but it was a quality one probably around 2lbs or more. I was really hoping the slop would go, but it was dead. We worked some awesome looking stuff with wind blowing on it, but there was nothing there. On a long cast out across the weed flat with the spinnerbait I had a hit and brought in one just over 14". We then worked down in the wind along the weeds. I did have a nice bass that I could have used nip at a Cordell Spot and I got a couple of pike on the spinnerbait.

We got down around the big Island and I made a cast up by a buoy and got nailed by a 14.5". It seemed like a spot were a school might stack up, but that was the only one there. As we worked back around the island I had another bass that I could have used nip at the spinnerbait and not hook up. We got around the Island to where it was calm and I started throwing the Repo Man, but there was so much debris in the water that I kept getting hung up. We got a little past the debris field and I caught a small pike, then a 12.5" squeeker bass. I was glad to have a limit.

We only had a couple of hours left and with those topwater bites I thought maybe our starting spot would go, so we went there. I worked through several topwaters and couldn't get a hit. Finally Owen pulled a quality bass on a spinnerbait and I switched. I caught a 10 inch pike. We drifted along and I had one last good hit, but it got off about half way in.

Results: I thought I had 9 something, but my fish only went 8-12, which put me in 15th which was my worst finish of the year. Owen only had 5 for 7-00 which put him in 17th place. The winner had 15-8 and a little over half the field had 10lbs or better. Obviously we missed the quality fish.

Top 6 Race- Bill Ludenia placed 6th which tied us for 6th place in end of the year points (best 5 of 6 tournaments). Bill owned the tie breaker, so I dropped to 7th and out of "the wood". It's my bad as had I not counted that live fish as dead at Cullen I would have been in 6th free and clear. Also if all 6 tournaments counted than I had one more point, one more fish, and .88lbs more than Bill, so I actually had the better year statistically. I know I deserved 6th Place and I get to fish on the Bass Snatcher Challenge Cup Team, so it's all good.

Analysis- I don't think I was necessarily doing the wrong things in this tournament. We just spent far to much time on bad water. Some of that water I don't regret trying because it really seemed fishy. Our bites were just so random that there was nothing to key on. I am still flabbergasted that I was unable to pull a few fish on topwater at the end of the day. Between tournament day and pre-fish we may have just sucked that flat dry.

Cullen Chain Pre-Fish And More From Shore

Next Sunday is my 2nd Baxter Bass Snatcher tournament of the year being held on the Cullen Chain near Nisswa MN. I had the good fortune to draw Bill Bailey for my boater as he has a good history with these lakes. Bill was kind enough to agree to take me out for a day of fishing, so I could get a feel for these lakes that I had never seen before. I am extremely glad Bill took me out, because in a lot of ways it wasn't what I expected.

The Cullen Chain has pretty good to excellent water clarity and has diverse aquatic vegetation, but seemingly none of the troublesome invasive weeds. I really like the Chain as it has elements of Sylvia/Twin and Platte/Sullivan. Bill has a smaller boat so we are able to fish in all 3 lakes. I don't think guys with bigger boats can get into the upper most lake because of a narrow culvert with little headroom. Getting out of the lower most lake where we will launch is also a challenge. Bill had to get out of the boat this morning because we didn't take the right approach into the boat channel and ran aground.

I was pleasantly surprised by the fish size we discovered, although my first fish of the day didn't show it.

Shortly after this fish, I watched a 3lb+ largie engulf my lure. I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted to set the hook or not because I got such a good look at the fish as did Bill. I think the fish kind of stuck itself and I had it on for a few seconds before it got off. I got another good take shortly after that.

Next we went to a weedline and I experimented with a bait, but that was a bust. After that we ran to the Upper Lake, which turned into a pike fest for me. Bill had a follow from a big dogfish. I tried to catch it, but just spooked it. A little later on we were getting close to one of the clubs more mercurial club members and we saw him catch a fish. I thought it was a nice bass, but he told us it was a dogfish. I'm not sure I believe that.

Anyway we found some productive water and ended our time in the upper lake with a quality double. This was my fish (I think it was probably 16).


Next we went back to the middle lake. It was cloudy with a light breeze and I thought in that clear water topwater might go, so I started throwing a Paycheck Baits Repo Man. We fished some good looking stuff without so much as a sniff for either us, but I just kept chucking the topwater. Eventually I was rewarded with this 18"+ pig that just annihilated the Repo Man.

It was awesome. I knew it was a big fish immediately because it tail walked then jumped a couple of times. I was worried it was going to bury me in the weeds and get off, but it was hooked well and I was able to pull it out of the salad. Man I was jacked after this fish.

We fished a little while longer and I added one more quality bass to my day on something that not get any play on tournament day, but the color will.

Overall it was a very successful pre-fish. I was impressed with the size we discovered and it's a fun lake to fish with lots of options. My boater Bill is probably going to get out for one more trip.

I made a few stops on my way home. I jacked this 14.25" fish at Bulldog Lake.

And I jacked this 13" fish at Jenny's on Platte.

I had one more really good bite at Jenny's but I choked.

I did try the GOMH, but was blanked. John W. was there and told me he caught a very big jumpin bullhead from under the bridge the other day. Maybe I need to get a clue and start throwing stuff under the bridge like John does.

Platte Lake Oct 16th: Something Anyway

Conditions: Today there was sun and the high temp was 61. It was breezy with a 15 to 20mph wind out of the NW. It settled down to a 7mph wind around 6PM. I was out from about 5PM to 7:10PM

The Report:I headed straight back to the spot that was so good to me yesterday and there was nothing there. I fished the area and eventually started working my way down "The Trench" breakline and I got the 15.25" bass in the pic. It hit on a white with white single Colorado blade spinnerbait with bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke trailer. I did throw a marker and worked the area hard with the spinnerbait. I caught a little pike and that was it. If I had it to do over I would have thrown a lipless crank and the crawtube as well. I worked my way around "The Trench" catching 2 more pike. I gave the point off the South tip of the small island a try but didn't get anything.

Around 6PM I made a move to hit up by the maidencaine across from the public access in the Big West Bay. Unfortunately the wind was a little more out of the West than North and I didn't have mostly calm water until I got right up by shore. That was unproductive and a little before 7PM I made a move to hit the rice patch in the middle of the bay where I got into some fish about a week ago. There was still a ripple on the water but the wind had calmed down to under 5MPH, so I tried throwing the Repo Man. It was getting a little dark and with the ripple on the water I kept getting hung up in weeds. Finally I was going to make one last cast with the Repo Man. Sure enough a fish swirled on it a couple of times before hooking up. It felt like a good fish but it got down in the weeds and got off. A couple casts later a little pike came shooting out of the water at the Repo Man, but missed. That was the extent of the nights actions.

Platte Lake Oct. 15th: Hmmmm...Yeah!

Conditions: A very nice day but a bit cooler than it's been. Sun with temps in the high 50's. Wind was out of the SE at about 4-7 turning calm around 6:40PM. I fished from about 4:30PM to 7:10PM

The Report:I started by hitting the first dock to the West of the lake place. Nothing. I then continued in that direction and had a hit, missed it. In fact as I kept going that direction I missed the first 5 hits I got. Visions of another skunk were running in my head until I got this dude on a spinnerbait.

Yeah, no skunk!

I fished the last 3 docks on the South Shore of the Big Middle Bay. That wasn't happening and it was coming up on 6PM and I needed to make a move. I decided to go to the South shore of Platte just to the SE of the small island. I don't think I've fished in this area for at least 3 years. I started out on the weed flat fishing in extremely sparse reeds. I managed to catch one small pike out there on a white Monsoor Swim Jig with pearl essence 5" Action Plastic Super Mag Grub. I worked my way West and towards shore eventually getting to a thicker reed bed. I was working my way around those thicker reeds throwing the swim jig when I got on the lake side where the reeds thinned out considerably. I made a cast by a couple of isolated reeds and I got hit, then hit again, then on the third hit the fish hooked up. I fully expected it to be a pike, but it was this 14.25" bass.

The end of the tail got bit off the grub, but I cast it right out over the same spot and had another bass on that was the same size jump off right at the boat. I cast back to the spot again and got a 13.50" largie. I decided to give the Repo Man a try and it took a couple of casts, but I got 13.50" on that. Then nothing, so I tried the swim jig and nothing. I cast a junebug crawtube to the spot and got bit, but I missed on the hookset. Same thing on the next cast. On the third try I got a 14.75" and that was it. I tried throwing a few more things and it seemed the bite ended. I put a new Super Mag Grub on the swim jig. I cast over the hot spot from a different angle and had a hit that didn't hook up. Cast back a couple of times more and nothing. I then cast back with the crawtube and got a 13.75" and 14.25" on consecutive casts and that seemed to be it for the spot.

It was now about 6:50PM and getting dark quick, and I made the decision to fish the point that comes off the South tip of the small Island. It was a good call. I smacked this 17.5", obviously on the Repo Man.

A couple of casts later a 17.25" largie just lit up the Repo Man right after it landed. I had one more blow up on the Repo Man but it didn't hook up and it didn't come back for seconds. As it was getting dark I moved the boat off the end of the point and was casting over the tip before the drop off with a white single white Colorado blade spinnerbait when I got the last bass of the night, which was 14".

It looks like the secret to catching bass on Platte right now is to find a pod of fish. Easier said than done as the previous two days of no bass proves. I'm not sure what was so special about that one little area to give up so many fish. I plan to go back there tomorrow and try it again and GPS it.

Platte Lake Oct 12th: Topwater Flurry Late Saves Trip

Conditions: Today was cooler than it has been with temps in the mid 60's and sun. It was windy out of the W NW which I didn't like, but it seemed around 6:30 the wind lowered a bit and shifted more out of the North thus giving me almost calm conditions. Water temps had dropped into the high 50's from the low 60's yesterday. I fished from a little after 5PM to about 7:15PM

The Report:
I was hoping the North shoreline would be protected so I headed across the bay to the North Shore just a bit to the West of where I started yesterday. The shore was sort of protected but only very close in as the wind was more out of the West than North. Basically I fished the same water I started on yesterday. There was nothing on the docks. I had a hit on a spinnerbait that didn't hook up and I got a small pike somewhat close to shore on the Repo Man.

Around 6:30PM I made a move to hit the weed flat on the North End of the Big Middle Bay. Due to the wind I went much farther to the West than where I fished yesterday. I stopped in the middle of an area that had space reeds that had stalks that were cut off. The wind pushed me to the SE. I just kept working the back side of the reed bed and eventually I happened into a school of bass with the Repo Man. I got a 14.25" and a 14.75" then I missed 3 consecutive bites including what looked to be a 16" largie that got off right at the boat. I then got a 14.5", 15", missed a strike, 14.25", small pike, and a 14.75" all on the Repo Man.
The way things started out I worried that I might get a skunk, because I was going to try and make topwater work no matter what, but it turned out to be a fun and productive night.

Platte Lake Oct. 11th: A Little Better Night

Conditions: Today was in the high 70's with hazy sun. When I went out around 4PM there was about a 8MPH wind but I fished in protected water and it was calm by 6PM. Water temps were in the low 60's. I stopped fishing at about 7:05PM when it was quite dark.

The Report:
I started out by going to the other side of our bay (North) to fish docks. On the first dock I got a bite on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke and missed it. I switched to a baby bass Fluke and got hit again and missed again. Finally after casting back in a bunch of times I pulled out a 13.25" largie on the Fluke. I then got a 11.75" largie up shallow on a Paycheck Baits Repo Man. I fished a dock to the West missing a bite (I think it was small) and then I went back to the 1st dock and caught a 14.25" bass. Next I caught a 9.5" bass and 7" bass on the Repo Man. Here is the eager 7 incher:

I got a 13.5" largie between docks on a bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. Then I missed yet another dock fish with the Fluke. I pulled off the shoreline onto the flat where there had been surface activity and got a 15.25" largie on the Buzzjet Jr.

It was about 5:30PM and I wasn't getting anymore bites out on the flat so I headed out of our bay and into the Big Middle Bay and I stopped at the first dock as there were 3 in a row still in the water. I missed about 4 bites on the baby bass Fluke before finally catching a 15" largie. I think there might have been more fish under the dock but I hung the fluke and didn't get a bite with the crawtube.

I cast out towards the reeds and got a 12.75" largie on the Repo Man. On the next dock I got a small pike on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke and I pulled a 14.25" bass out from the end of a small tree laydown.

Next I headed out onto the flat where I found the schooling bass last week. My first fish out there was a little pike on the Repo Man. After covering lots of water with the Repo Man I finally had a bass fooling with the Repo Man and after hitting it about 5 times it finally hooked up and was my biggest of the night at 16.25". I didn't take the time to get a pic of the fish, just in case I was on the school. There wasn't a school there. I covered a bunch more water on the flat as it was getting dark. And in about a 10 minute period got a 14, and 2x 14.5"'s on the Repo Man also had a couple of pike attacks. Two of those bass took multiple strikes to hook up. Finally it was pretty dark and I had to leave to catch the Vikings game kickoff.

Platte Lake Oct 10th: Attack of the 14 Inch Bass

Condititions: Today was in the high 70's with sun for most of the day, but it got kind of hazy for about the last hour of fishing. There was wind today, but I didn't notice it where I was fishing and it was calm by 6PM. I fished from about 4:30PM to 7:20PM

As I was was pulling out from the dock there was a boat I thought I recognized heading my way. Sure enough it was one of my blog readers Mike B. and his wife. They were out enjoying the nice afternoon. He had gotten a couple of small bass and pike on a little topwater lure he made; It is a jig with a blade and plastic trailer that kind of has an action on top of the water similar to a Jitterbug. We talked for a little while then I was off the hit some docks on the South shore of the big middle bay of Platte Lake .

On the first dock I pulled a 14" and 10" bass on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke. Didn't get anything on the 2nd dock. On the 3rd dock I lost what looked to be about a 17" bass right next to the boat. I cast the Fluke back under the dock and got a 14" bass. Unfortunately that was it for the docks for about 150 yards because the docks that are usually there have been pulled out. There were 4 docks toward the end of the peninsula point and I missed a pike off the last one.

Next I headed to Loon Sex Point and that was a bust. I fished away's into the slop in Loon Sex Bay because I saw some activity, but nothing would hit my Horny Toad.

Next I headed off to fish in the area that has been productive near the maidencaine across from the Platte Lake Public Access. There was a duck and goose hunter sitting in the maidencaine which would prevent me from fishing some of the water I wanted too. I hit the far outside of the rice and had a fish wake on the Horny Toad. I cast back and it waked again, I let the Toad sit and the fish hit it, but I messed up the hookset by not letting the fish take it a little longer. I worked down the rice a little ways to where I saw some activity but nothing was going. I decided to head out to where there was still some standing rice farther out in the bay. I wasn't going to fish the area much longer when I got a 14" largie on a "Drag Stripper" color Paycheck Baits Repo Man. A couple of minutes later I got a 13.5" that just lit up the Repo Man. Then I had a couple of bass come all the way out of the water hitting the Repo Man but neither hooked up despite striking multiple times. Both of these fish were 14 inch class. Before it got to dark to fish I got a 14.25", and two more 14" bass, plus missing one more bass and a pike.

Sure the fish were not huge, but I had fun.

Platte Lake Oct 6th: A Good Night That Could Have Been Great.

Unfortunately I forgot the camera.

Conditions: Today was sunny and in the high 60's with a 10MPH wind out of the NW that turned calm a little after sunset. I fished from 4PM to 7:10PM.

Naturally I tried to catch that fish off Sherman's dock that I missed yesterday, but it was a no show. I worked a bit on the other side of Sherman's dock, long enough to know that the area to Jenny's probably wasn't going to give me much. I decided to hit wind protected docks on the North End of the big central bay.

On the very first dock I had a good pick up on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke but when I set the hook the line broke. Not sure if it was a pike or maybe part of the dock cut my line. The tag end was frayed up pretty good. I decided to head West 1 dock and give the fish a chance to recover. I think I ended up going two docks with nothing. I got back to the original dock and had a pick up that I whiffed on. I threw the white/chart tail Fluke back to the area and as I was bringing it back I spotted a 12" class bass following. It picked up the Fluke by the tail, and so I couldn't set the hook. After a couple of seconds the fish spit the Fluke instead of sucking it in.

On the other side of the dock is a shallow reed/slop patch that was holding baitfish and there were lots of leaves in the water. I couldn't get anything. About half way across the shallow reed patch I decided to chuck a white single spin white Colorado blade spinnerbait out to the edge of a reed bed that is in a little deeper water. Sure enough I hooked up on a very hard fighting fish that turned out to be a 18" largie. I made several more casts out with nothing and then fished the rest of the shallow reeds. I was casting well beyond the end of the shallow reeds when a 11.5" bass hit the spinnerbait. Next I worked myself out to the deeper reeds but nothing was happening and after about 20 minutes I headed back to the shore. Next fish was a 14" on the Fluke that I think was on the inside weedline in-between docks. The next fish was a 14.75" bass on the Fluke on the inside weedline; I missed this fish about 4 times before I finally caught it. I pulled a 9.5" bass off a boatlift. Next I caught a little pike and the Fluke was done for, so I switched up to an electric Chicken Fluke (bubblegum top, Chart belly, red tail). I got a 13" largie again on the inside weedline.

I skipped the Fluke under a dock to a boat lift and had a fish pick it up. I pulled instead of set and the fish got hung up and got off and the hook hung on the dock. As I was going in to get the hook un-hung I pitched a crawtube over the dock and under the boat and I ended up pulling out a 11.25" largie. I got the crawtube rigged up and pitched it back to the same spot and had another fish pick it up, but I missed it on the hookset. I pitched in several more times. Finally one of the times when I was working the bait up and down it got picked up and I ended up catching a 15" largie. I couldn't get any more bites so I got the hook un-hung and moved on. I got a 13" off another dock and missed a couple of bites. As I was approaching the last dock I was going to hit, I tossed out a bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. and it got hit by a 13.25" bass.

The excitement:
It was now after 6:30PM and I headed out onto the weed flat trying to pull a fish on topwater. I had seen some good swirls on the flat while working the shoreline. I was throwing the Buzzjet Jr. and Paycheck Baits Repo Man and nothing was happening so I was about to make a move to the Big West Bay. I decided on one last cast with the Repo Man and sure enough it got hit by a 15" bass. On my next cast I brought in a 12.25" largie. On the next cast I connected with a 18.75". On the next cast I had another blow up, but it didn't hook up. On the next cast same thing. And then I missed another fish on the next cast. Obviously I had found an active school. On the next cast I had a huge bass come all the way out of the water but it didn't hook up. I paused the Repo Man and started working it slow and the fish blew up on it hard again. It was hooked for a second then got off. I think I had one more cast missing a fish and then it settled down. After about 5 minutes of nothing I had a fish that I think was probably a small pike repeatedly strike at the Repo Man. About 5 minutes later I missed another blow up and that was it.

It was cool to get into a school like that, but my execution was pretty pathetic.

I recorded 13 bass caught and 1 Pike. I think I might have forgotten to write down one small bass.

Bass Snatcher Serpent Lake Tournament Oct. 2nd

Serpent was the 6th and final tournament of the 2010 Baxter Bass Snatcher Bass Club schedule.

Conditions: It was in the mid 30's at blast off, but I think it got into the high 50's by tournament end. It was mostly sunny with a few clouds. Water temps seemed to be in the high 50's.

My Day:
A little before blast off I asked my boater Tony where we were headed and he basically told me we were going to the same bay that I had fished so successfully with boater Mark Munson two years ago. Just after Tony told me, Mark pulls up next to us and says mostly in jest "you better stay off my spots." I informed Mark that I hadn't told Tony anything, which was the truth, and that we were going where Tony wanted and I had nothing to do with it. It turned out we stopped more to the West and they started more to the East and then we fished towards one another.

First thing in the morning I was casting with a white/silver Herb's Dilly Buzzbait and actually had a fish show behind it but not take it. Eventually I switched to a black/red spinnerbait with a large single Colorado blade. I put the first fish in the boat with it, and it was a pike. This is almost the exact same way the tournament on Serpent started two years ago. Mark and his boater 2010 Minnesota Federation Nation Tournament of Champions Champion Nate Steinbauer were approaching us when I got the fish. They were covering water quite a bit quicker than us and said they had one small bass and had caught a couple of pike as well. After they were well past us I was the first one to put a keeper bass in the boat with 13.5" fish. We were working our way East first on the deep weedline without success then we went to the inside weedline and Tony connected with a couple of keeper bass on a white spinnerbait. I switched to a white with white single Colorado blade spinnerbait and got a 14.5" largie and then a 13.25" largie on it. Just after my third bass of the day, Tony brought in a 14"+ smallmouth, which had to go back because they are now in a immediate catch and release season. Tony caught a nice bass off a dock. We worked our way back over the productive water but only caught pike and I missed a couple of bites. We worked our way back West to some docks and I dropped a small bass in front of one of them. Nothing happened after that so we moved to a weedline and some docks on the South East shore. The docks gave up nothing and we kept working down the weedline. I was casting out towards deeper water and bringing it shallow when I connected with a 16" bass on the white spinnerbait.

For a long time we fished a weed flat and picked up several pike, but the bass just were not on the flat. Eventually we went West to a point on the North shore. As we approached the point I flipped a junebug crawtube into some weeds on the break and I had a very bassy pick up. I set the hook and was disappointed that it was another pike. We started fishing the inside weedlines and docks going east. Tony picked up a dink (non-keeper) on a dock and I stuck keeper #5, which was a 13.5" largie on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke in front of a dock. Tony stuck a couple of more non-keepers. Eventually we ran out of docks and made the decision to run to where we got most of our fish, which was a good call. It wasn't long and Tony filled his limit. Soon after that I stuck a 14.5" largie on the white spinnerbait and had my tournament limit. Tony stuck a good 17"+ bass, but it turned out to be a smallmouth.

With my limit, I became totally fixated on topwater and got a 12" keeper that didn't help on a Paycheck Baits Repo Man. Not long after that the day ended with 7 keeper bass and 11 pike.

The Results:
Weigh in proved that the fishing was kind of tough and quite a bit of drama as well. My weight came to 9lbs 4ozs which put me right in the middle of the pack in 8th. I edged Peter Johnson by 1oz despite the fact that he had the days "Lunker" (4lbs 4ozs). Beating Peter was significant because it put me 2 points over Peter in the end of the year standings and helped me capture 6th Place in AOY. 6th Place in Angler of the Year is significant because it gets a plaque and traditionally is the last slot for the Club State Tournament Team. I am not a MN State Federation Nation member, so I am not eligible to go to State but still being in that position is an honor.

My boater Tony had 10/1 which put him in a tie for 4th Place with Chuck Steinbauer. Tony won the tie breaker with Chuck by 1oz on big fish and that 1oz cost Chuck the club Angler of the Year title (Mr. Bass). 5th Place put Chuck in a tie in end of the year points with Guy Henkensiefken for Mr. Bass, but Guy owned that tie breaker. Chuck was totally out of luck.

Analysis: Man was that a squeaker. I probably spent way to much time trying to make a topwater bite happen, but as it was I got lucky and it didn't cost me. The day was a bit of a thriller not getting my limit until the last hour. I think switching to that white spinnerbait was probably a key move. I could cast it farther than the black spinnerbait and a couple of my keepers came right at the start of the retrieve.

Note: Mark Munson who was my partner at Serpent in 2008 and came in 2nd at that tournament got his revenge and captured 1st Place with 11lbs 13ozs.

Next Tournament: Bass Snatchers vs. Range Bassmasters Challenge Cup at Sylvan Lake in Southern Cass County.

Platte Lake Sept 28th

Today I got out from about 4 to 7:15PM. Air temps were in the low 60's with sun and it was pretty much calm until about 7PM when a 5MPH wind came up out of the E SE.

All my equipment was at the lake, so I didn't fish Jenny's. Off the dock I had a strike in the exact same spot I got a pike yesterday, but the fish didn't hook up and didn't go after any follow up casts.

I headed out in the boat and my first stop was at the reed bed off the North point of Channel Inn Bay. There was some activity off the deep edge of the reeds, so I started there. I had a nice bass come completely out of the water as it hit the green/yellow Herb's Dilly Buzzbait but it didn't hook up. I was seeing some activity off the reeds on the weed flat so I went that way. My first fish was a 14.25" largie on the Herb's Dilly. I also got a pike out there on a bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. Eventually I got back to the reeds and in closer to shore where it looked awesome but there were not any fish. I started working North and picked a 11.75" largie from open shoreline by where a dock used to sit. I kept working around the point to the west. This water was now shaded and the docks were worthless. I did get a couple of hits between docks on the Buzzjet Jr. but the fish didn't hook up.

Eventually I decided to motor farther West to some docks that have historically been better; They weren't. I decided to go deeper onto the flat into some reeds. I started seeing some activity. I had a 15" largie jump all over the Buzzjet Jr. in the sparse reeds. I worked west to where there were the remains of a rice bed. I nailed a 18.25" largie just before the sparse rice.

I did work into the rice edge with the Herb's Dilly but didn't get bit.

I decided to motor back to the weed flat reeds. The wind had come up at this point. I was throwing my new jet black Buzzjet and had a pike come out of the water after it but not hook up. Eventually I switched to the Paycheck Baits Repo Man and I got a 13.25" largie and a small pike on that. It was getting dark and the fish seemed to shut down so I headed in.

Mille Lacs Skunk

Tried for some smallies today for about an hour from Eddy's Jetty (5:30-6:30PM). Didn't have a hit. Did get to try the Paycheck Baits Repo Man and a Deps Buzzjet Jr. I really like both and think they will be good for picking off fish. The Repo Man has a super smooth gliding walk the dog action that I've never seen before.

BTD Bait Monkey Madness

Bass Tackle Depot is having a 15% Labor Day Sale and I couldn't resist the Bait Monkey temptation. I went all topwater.

First on the agenda was a bright bluegill color 5" Black Dog Molded Lunker Punker
If it wasn't for the Tackle Tour message board I don't know that I would have considered getting a Lunker Punker. I've never heard of these lures being fished here in MN. I think it has predominately been a West Coast lure. They just recently started making the 5 inch bait. Previous to that the smallest size was a 6" that weighs just under 2ozs and they go up to 10" at 6.6ozs, which I think put the lure more in the Musky category for here in the upper Mid-West. It's quite possible Musky guys here in MN may have been throwing these things, but I'm not a muskie guy, so I don't know. Anyway, on Tackle Tour a lot of bass guys sing this lures praises, so I got one.

The next lure on the agenda was a "Drag Stripper" color Paycheck Baits Repo Man.
It is my understanding that the Repo Man is a remake of the Reaction Innovations Barely Legal Vixen. The discontinued Vixen's sell on Ebay for $40 to $50 a pop maybe even more with certain colors at auction. Rich Lindgren has sung the praises of the Vixen, but honestly I didn't give the $15+ lure much thought, until I recently saw what the things are fetching on Ebay. If a lure is discontinued and then the market dictates they more than double in asking price, well that tells me the lure IS something special.

On top of these two premium priced baits I bought up several more sale priced Tru-Tungsten Mad Maxx Frogs to put myself over $50, so I would get free shipping. Honestly, because those frogs are going for so cheap and with the 15% discount, I think I made out like a bandit.