Snatcher Fishtrap Lake Preview: The Plan and Rod's I'm Bringing

 

My boater, Club President Snatcher Benson

The Plan: During pre-fish, pretty much everything we tried produced a bass or two. So I'm gonna prepare to junk fish and see if I can drill into a pattern. The goal is to get a limit and beat Tuma.

Rods I'm Bringing: 

7'6" H Tatula (Jigs)

7'4" H Tatula (Frogs/Toads, Jigs, Buzzbait)
7'4" H Tatula (Frogs/Toads, Jigs, Buzzbait)

7' H Avid (Texas Rig)

7' MHM Mojo (Chatterbait)

6'9' H Tatula Elite (FC) (Jigs)

6'9' H Tatula Elite (Braid)(Spinnerbait)

6'9' H Tatula Elite (Braid)(Chatterbait)

Spinning Rod:
6'6" MH Abu Vertas (Neko, and Fluke)

Snatcher Tournament Birch Lake

  

Conditions: 65-78℉, PC to Cloudy, 0-7mph SE

The Day:

I met up with Snatcher Herman at Fleet Farm, and we headed North. As Herman predicted, nobody went to our starting area. The area seemed to be a lot less alive, maybe due to it being early in the day. I noticed there was a channel cut into the shore that I didn't know was there. Where the cut meets the bay is a high percentage spot. Unfortunately, we moved in to close and spooked what was there. I did catch a small pike on a buzzbait. About 5 minutes later, Herman had a fish blow up on his swimbait, but miss in a group of pads. A few minutes later, Herman got the skunk out of the boat with a little bass. A couple of minutes later, I did the same thing with a spinnerbait fish (1.56). I switched to Zoom Super Fluke because the area was sloppy. I think I got a bass in the boat (1.58) pretty quickly after going to the fluke. I got more bites, but couldn't get them in the boat. I broke off on a fish that buried me in a pad root and discovered that most of the flukes I brought were torn up and basically unusable. I had four good ones left. We worked our way out of the slop bay, and I took the helm while Herman worked with his tackle. 

I worked a weedline and then some docks that had sunfish on them, but no sign of bass. We bailed on the area and went just West of where the inlet from Ten Mile Lake is. Herman and I quickly put fish in the boat, but mine was barely over 12 inches. Herman got another keeper, and we watched Smitty and Tim pull a couple out of the pads. We worked that northern shoreline, hoping to bump into something, but it just wasn't happening. A little before noon, Herman made us sandwiches. 

We then went to the southern end of the West Basin to a small slop bay, and Herman got his limit fish in front of a tree at the entrance to the bay. I got a keeper and a non-keeper off the tree on a fluke. I then had a pike wreck my second-to-last remaining fluke. I switched to a Z-Man Popping Shad and got a line burner that was hooked in an inopportune way through the eye, so I threw it back.  I lost all three bites I got on a frog in this bay, two of which I had hooked, and they were both 2-lb-class fish, minimum. We then went around the point to work more pads. Herman got a good cull quickly. I got a line burner and pike on my last fluke, which the pike did in. I put on a bubblegum Yum Dinger, but never got a hit on it.  I got my big bass with about 45 minutes left on a frog. We worked pads for 35 minutes. I had a couple of fish boil on the frog, but not take it. With 10 minutes left and still being one fish short of my limit, I pulled the plug on the slop, and we went to the channel between the basins. I fished a tree just to the SW of the channel, nothing. I ended the day getting my limit with a very small keeper on my last cast of the day, just to the SE of the channel.

Results:  I came in second to last. Tuma won and got Lunker (4/03),President Benson got 2nd Place, and Dennis got 3rd Place.

My Thoughts: I had the bites to be in the top half of the field. I didn't bring any Trick Worms, and my packing the wrong Fluke bag was just dumb as well. Lost fish on a frog when you get a good enough hookset to bring them in, most of the time, is tough luck. 

Tournament Grade: C 

I fished hard and got a limit

My Snatcher Whitefish Tournament Recap

  

Snatcher Chuck Takes 1st Place And Mr. Bass

2/8 Jackhammer/Goat (Junbug/blk/blue)

This walleye Tim hit just a couple seconds before my big struck

Conditions: 60-70℉, Mostly Cloudy, 3-8mph NE

The Day: When I arrived at the access it was quickly apparent that another bass club, The Gopher Bassmasters, were having a tournament as well.  There was plenty of room at the access and they blasted off at 7AM and weighed in at 3PM. Our times were an hour later so it all worked out. 

We were the last boat out, but easily beat Snatcher Al to Arrowhead Lake. We went to the far end of the lake where a duck hunter announced his presence shortly after we sat down by firing a couple of shots. I never saw where he was at way back up in the slop in the NE of the lake. We stayed on the SE end slop. I had what I believe was a pike miss my buzzbait pretty quickly. No bites after repeated casts. Tim put a nice bass in the boat at the start of a boat channel. We went all the way to the back of this boat channel with us both picking up a pike. While we were just getting started down this boat lane a non-Snatcher boat started fishing along the slop to the North. We fished a little ways to the North of the first boat channel then bounced to the West side of Arrowhead. Tim got two good bass, but it was really slow and I didn't get a bite. About 2 hours in we decided to leave Arrowhead.

We fished along a weedline just to the West of Arrowhead. Tim caught his lunker on a Chicken Jig and a couple of pike. We then moved quite a bit farther West and caught a few pike. Next, we went to Bertha and Tim got a keeper bass on his first cast with a blue Chatterbait. We didn't get a bite at "the dock."  Tim got his limit and I caught a dink bass on a spinnnerbait and a couple of pike.  We moved to Clamshell. Tim got a bass there on his very first cast and offered the front of the boat to me. I didn't take him up on the offer right away, like an idiot. Tim caught several bass over the next twenty minutes that didn't help him when I had finally had enough of being skunked and moved to the front of the boat when he did cull. I had the skunk out of the boat within minutes and had my limit in an hour and a half or so. Tim caught bass at about the same rate as me from the back of the boat by fishing much slower and having a lot of experience on Whitefish to know higher percentage casts. I think I culled one time at the front of the boat and then we came up to a Gopher and left to hit a deep weedline. I got a fish there on a Brovarny/Rage Bug that culled.

We went back to Arrowhead for the final couple of hours. I think Tim got a cull on the West end in the wind. I tried working a frog and a rat, but it wasn't happening. We then went East and Tim got a nice upgrade pretty quickly. I switched to a Toadz and missed a good swirl that never hit again. I got a few pike.  I got my final bass and a solid cull right after Tim missed a fish in the rice. We worked some awesome-looking pig water for our final 20 minutes of fishing, but it was dead.

Results: My fish weighed 10/15 putting me in 6th Place. I was the only Co-Angler to catch a limit, so I won my second Co-Angler Challenge in a row. I also clinched a spot on the Club's Super 6.  Snatcher Chuck won with 15/14 and earned his 14th Mr. Bass title. Younger bro Al got Lunker with a 4/9 fish that gave him the tiebreaker over my boater Snatcher Benson who also had 15/01.

My Thoughts: Weird day. I thought for sure everybody would come in with a limit. I was shocked to see just how tough it was. I am so thankful I drew Tim. I doubt I would have gotten a limit in anybody else's boat. Tim discovered what they wanted and had us in an area that was full of fish. The fact that I got to run the trolling motor for a couple of hours was huge. I didn't need to slow my retrieval speed to catch willing biters because they were seeing my lure first. 

I lucked out that neither Al nor Tim were able to fish at Pokegama. If either one would have fished that tournament I don't think I would have made the Super 6. This is the 3rd time I have made the Super 6, in 2011 I lost the tiebreaker to Snatcher Ludenia and finished in 7th.

Tournament Grade: B+
I had the good sense to come to my senses an go to the front of the boat. 

 

 

Snatcher Whitefish Plan and Rods

 The Plan: Hope that Tim's experience pays off; we are going in blind.

Rods' I'm Bringing:

7'4" H Tatula (Buzzbait)

7'4" H Tatula (Swim Worm)

7'4" H Tatula (Frog, Toad,Spinnerbait,Swim Jig)

7'3" MH LTB (Free Rig)

7' Avid (Texas Rig, Jig)

6'10" MH Tatula (Chatter, Jerks,Jigs)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Jig,Spinnerbait,Topwater,Wake,Chatter)

6'8" M Avid (Topwater,Jerks)

Spin:

6'6" MH Abu Veritas (Senko, Fluke)

Gull Lake Snatcher Tournament Oct 3rd

 

 Conditions: 36-48℉, Cloudy in the morning turning PC around noon, Clouds returned the final couple of hours, 0-4mph

My Boater: Club President Tim Benson (2nd Tournament I've fished with him) 

Oopsie: As I started North on 25 toward Brainerd I remembered I didn't put my cull tags in my bag. 

The Day: Everbody was there early in the belief that there wouldn't be parking spaces due to a big walleye tournament, but that wasn't the case. I was the last guy to arrive. I got my stuff in the boat and Tim had four extra cull tags. We blasted off a little before 7:30AM and we headed right to the reeds on the West side of  Round Lake. It wasn't long and I flipped up my big bass of the day 2/15 on a Texas Rigged junebug craw tube.  Tim got 2 or 3 keepers on our first pass along the outside edge in maybe a 60-yard stretch. We then worked our way back inside the reeds but not too far from the edge. I missed a bite on a Hack Attack Jig and caught a pike around the same area where I got my bass. As we started back on a second pass Tim got a nice one. I think he was culling by the time I got another bass. I did lose a fish that broke me off. Tim threw a chatter jig to a small reed island and had a good one jump all over it. I cast my craw tube to the area and was immediately hit by my second biggest bass of the day. We thought maybe we found a school, but nope. So after checking the area out resumed fishing down the reed line. Not too far down Tim got another good one on the chatterjig. I caught a 12.5" just outside of the reed line on a Hack Attack Jig. Then I got on the reed line on a tilapia craw tube. The sun had come out prompting me to go to a lighter color. I got my fifth fish on a D & M Baits junebug Piranha 2 Swim Jig (chatter). I got my limit fish around noon on the craw tube. We then worked our way back with me missing or losing several bites.

We then tried a small reed bed and Tim got a couple of upgrades. At that point, we decided to leave Round. We went to reed bed on the North end of Gull. I got one upgrade on a junebug craw tube and caught a dink on a LiveTarget Baitball Popper. It wasn't happening. We spent the final hour and a half on the South end not catching anything.

The Results: My fish weighed 12/13oz putting me in 7th Place. Tim had 18/9 putting him in 4th. Keith Tuma won with 20/6 and got Lunker with a 4/7 fish  Second went to Smitty with 19even and Al Steinbauer got third edging Benson by 6ozs. The Co-Angler Challenge was won by Beau again.

My Thoughts: I am satisfied with my day. It took me a couple hours to relax and get comfortable and in tune with pitching the reeds. We were the only boat in Round and because of that fact we probably should have stayed there the whole day.  

This Tournament guaranteed I will finish 5th or 6th in AOY.

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.

My Sorry Lake Alexander Full Results

Conditions: 84-65℉, Sunny to start then partly cloudy to cloudy, 3-6mph SE
Water Temp: Low to mid 70's (just a guess)

The Day:
My boater Tim was confident we would crush them.  The fish had other ideas.

We started outside a small cove along the South shoreline.  Nothing there.  I started topwater, then went to spinnerbait, then to a jerkbait, then back to a smaller topwater.  As we got to a rocky shoal at the cove entrance Tim got his first keeper a small smallmouth.  I'm not even sure what he was fishing with.  We started approaching some docks.  I think Tim caught a fish and needed to re-tie so I went to the front of the boat.  I had a fish hit my Shower Blows when I wasn't paying attention and lost it half way to the boat.  It was just a small keeper, no big deal right?  A little way down the shoreline I got my big bass of the day on the Shower Blows.  It was a smallmouth that went about a pound and 2/3rds.  That was it for me for quite a while.  We jumped to a couple of reefs.  Tim had a good smallie break him off because he had his drag set too tight.

Tim was drop shotting and hardly getting a bite.  That really played with me mentally because I just was not prepared for the day to go down like that.  Finally, about 3 hours in we headed for some bullrushes.  Tim got a good largemouth on his second cast and then quickly missed one.  I missed hit on my frog in some small pads.  I then got a small keeper off the back side of the rushes.  Tim started culling and I got one that barely went over 12-inches.  I missed a couple more bites in the rushes.

We went and tried some other spots.  I got a couple shorts off of a small point.  We went back to the start spot and Tim got his big bass, a 3lb smallmouth.  It just wasn't happing there so we jumped a couple of offshore spots.  Tim had a smallie get snatched by a muskie when he was bringing it in.  He fought it for a couple of minutes before the muskie let go. Then the smallie got off Tim's line just like that.  It wasn't a very big one and when it got off the muskie was in hot pursuit. We went back to the bullrushes to end the day.  I missed one bite on a frog and I think I missed a couple that hit the craw tube but could have been rock bass.  Who knows.

Three small fish, what a disappointment!

The Results:
My three fish weighed 3/12 and put me in 18th Place out of 20 anglers.  Tim's fish weighed 12/04 and put him in 7th Place.  He was only 9oz out of 3rd Place so breaking off that fish really hurt.  The winner was non-boater Beau Bacon with 16/7.   Lunker went to Chuck Fields with a 3/14.

My Thoughts:  I didn't fish well.  For some reason, I was checked out mentally for most of the day and just couldn't get comfortable with what I was throwing.  I just think I was so unprepared for fishing to be so difficult.  For at least the last two weeks of June catching bass for me became a difficult proposition.  Not sure what it's gonna take for me to get out of this rut.  I better find my mojo quick because the next tournament is less than two weeks out. 

Bass Snatchers On Lake Alex Tomorrow

I've only been on Lake Alexander twice in my life.   One day fun fishing in the Fall and a Snatcher Tournament in early June 2014.  My boater Club President Tim Benson said he caught them doing everything he tried when he pre-fished, but that was a week and a half ago.  I've never fished with Tim before so I'm looking forward to it.  If I'm really lucky the big Alexander smallmouth will be on topwater.   It's going to be a hot one tomorrow   

The Rods I'm Bringing:
7'4" H Tatula (Frog Rod)
7'4" H Zillion (Jig/Tokyo Rig)
7' H Avid (Texas Rig)
7' MH Tatula Elite (Big Topwater, Trap)
7' MH Mojo (Chatterjig, Plopper, Trap)
7' M Avid (Senko/Tube/Light Tex Rig)
6'8" M Avid (Topwater, Jerkbait, Spinnerbait)

6' MH Techna AV (Fluke)