Snatcher Tournament On Upper And Lower Mission

  

3rd Darrren, 2nd Larry, 1st Chuck

Conditions: 75-90℉, Mostly Sunny, 5-35mph S SW

My boater was Al Steinbauer, who was also my boater the last time we were on Mission Lakes in 2020.

The Day:

We started in the NE Corner of Upper in the wind, where it was blowing 5 to 10 for the first couple of hours. I lost my first two bites most of the way in; both bites felt like good bass, but I didn't see either. I caught a 6" sunfish on a Dark Sleeper. I then got a keeper or two on the Bunker Hawg. I got a good-sized dogfish to the boat on the Bunker Hawg where I played it until it got off. I could have had Al net it, but I could see by how it was hooked that it probably wasn't necessary. I got one last small keeper on the Bunker Hawg and caught a non-keeper and a pike. I threw the spinnerbait for a while in the morning and got bumps and hits, but they were not hooking up. I think Al had a limit by the time we finally moved.

I think we then went to the point by the Upper Mission Access; it was blowing pretty good by now.  Al upgraded a time or two there. I got a pike, got bit off a couple of times, and caught a short bass or two. We then moved across to a spot on the South Shore. Al culled, and I got my biggest and final keeper of the day here. I also got a pike and bit off again. 

We went back to our starting spot. I can't remember if we got anything or not. We then went to a couple of places on Upper and didn't get any bites. We then went to Lower. Bill Ludenia was where Al wanted to hit. I got to fish some pads/reeds here with a frog, but only for about 10 minutes. We hit a dock, I suggested, and Al lost a bass he said wouldn't help him. We went to another spot, at which time Al's front graph became nonfunctional for the rest of the day. I lost something here on the Big Blade Chatterbait. We then went back to Upper Mission and fished reeds at my suggestion. I really should have asked Al to take over the front of the boat because his boat control wasn't precise enough;  I ended up catching a dink and losing a 2lb plus fish in the reeds on a spinnerbait; Al also lost something shortly after I lost that 2lber. We re-fished everything on the East end of Upper, and all I got was a few more dinks, a pike or two, and a 9" pumpkinseed on a spinnerbait. I thought for sure I was going to get a keeper on that spinnerbait but somehow, it didn't happen.

My Thoughts: Mission fricken lake! Mission Lake just kicks my butt some days. It's like I was fishing on a different lake from everybody else. The wind was something else, and I was just too far out of touch, having been bedridden for most of the month.  Had the wind been more reasonable I would have caught a limit.

Grade: D+

The day is saved from a F by the wind and my legs and back being at about 80%.

Results: I finished in last place 14th out of 14 Anglers

Snatcher Little Boy/Wabedo Plan, Goals, and Rods I'm Using

 The Plan: Pre-fishing with Chuck didn't give me much to hang my hat on, and conditions will be different on tournament day. So the plan is to wing it and hope I can find something the fish want during the tournament.  Ideally bass will be hitting on a frog and buzzbait and I won't have to resort to finesse. I'm not sure how much attention we are going to smallies, if any.

Goals:

Catch a bass 5/8 or bigger

Win the Lunker Pot

Catch a limit

Finish in the Top 5

Win the Co-Angler Challenge

Rods I'm Bringing:

7'4"H Tatula Elite (Frog)

7'4" H Tatula Gen 2 (Frog)

7'4" H Zillion (Buzzbait, Swim Worm)

6'10" MH (FC15)(Chatter, Texas Rig, Ozark Rig, Ned Rig)

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

6'9" H Tatula Elite (FC17) (Jig, Texas Rig)

6'8" Avid (Topwater, Jerkbait, Ned)

6'6" MH Abu Veritas (Fluke, Dinger, Ned)

Mr. & Mrs. Bass 2023

 Tonight was the Baxter Bass Snatcher Awards Banquet. It was a low-key night because Snatcher Ruff, the club comedian and normal event MC wasn't able to make it.

Fishing with Lois and Chuck On South Long Lake

 

1:50-5:50 PM South Long Lake 

44-54℉, Cloudy some light rain, 3-5mph N
53℉ Water Temp Not much visibility

Thankfully it did not rain. There were multiple rigs parked and no dock. We headed to the West reeds. Lois started things off quickly with a spinnerbait bass. I think Chuck had 4 bass before I got my first bite which was a pike. I got a pounda on the swim jig, then had one close to 4lbs pull off as I tried to lift it in. I got one more bass and pike on our first stop. Then we headed up the lake by the North Reed Bed. Chuck got a couple of bass and I got one pike. As we got beyond the reeds I decided to put on a swimbait seeing as how Chuck didn't have a rod rigged with one like usual. Bam, fish on immediately. We headed farther east shortly after that. Nothing at the top of the lake. We returned to the starting spot and I got 6 bass on the Rage Swimmer including the last three of the trip on three consecutive casts. Lois caught a couple of fish as did Chuck on the last stop. We called it a day shortly after. Chuck beat me on numbers, but I don't think by a great deal.

9Bass 

3Pike 

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. 

 

 

How Bout Those Steinbauer, Kids

Snatcher Chuck on Gull Lake Last Summer

Al and I when he took 1st at Little Boy/Wabedo

The man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Charles Steinbauer, on the strength of a solid Day 2 catch on Leech Lake, qualified for the 25-boat Day 3 cut at the Minnesota B.A.S.S. Nation Tournament of Champions. Chuck's younger brother Alan made the cut in 9th on the Co-Angler side. I'm pretty bummed that circumstances worked against me, so I couldn't be there to congratulate them in person and possibly be fishing with them today. I was planning to fish the T.O.C. this year, but things didn't work out for me to make it.

The Top 6 at tournaments end punch their ticket to the National Championship, and the Top 16 qualify to go to the Regional with another chance to make the National Championship, where a birth in the Bassmaster Classic is the prize.

Snatch 'em up today, boys!

Snatcher Tournament Bay Lake June 4th

2/8 on Jackhammer/GOAT (Purple/Black/Blue)

The small of Nate's two smalls
(Pretty sure he weighed this one as his lunker as well)

Conditions: 

70-84℉, Mostly Sunny to Partly Cloudy, 0-5mph ESE 

Water Temp: Low 70's

The Day:

With only 6 boats and it being a Sunday, everybody was in the water in no time, and we blasted off early. We went to the spot that won the last couple of tournaments, and it was slow. I picked up a few dinks, rock bass, and hammer handles. Nate got a few small keepers on a craw tube and maybe a jig as well. He had me down 5-0 when I got my first small keeper on the KVD 1.5. I got bit off and caught a couple of dinks, pike, and rockies on a craw tube. We fished some docks. Nate got one quality 2lber and a few dinks. I got dinks and rockies on the Dinger. We went west of where we started, probably known as an altogether different bay. I picked up a couple of keepers, including my big (2/8), and some dinks, rockies, and pike. I got two pike in a row, and the skirt on my Jackhammer came off, killing the bite for me. We returned to the starting area, where I got another keeper on the Craw Tube.

We then ran some beautiful docks and a slop bay and only ran into something once we came out to the docks on the other side of the bay. Nate was getting bit on almost every dock, and I picked up a keeper out on the inside weedling on the Bagley Crank. All I got on the docks were rockies and dinks. We ran into Nate's dad, Snatcher Chuck, and he spilled the beans that he had a good bag anchored by smallies. We returned to where we started seeing fish on the docks, and I quickly picked up my limit fish. After about 15 minutes of nothing notable as Nate looked for smallies. He asked me if I knew of any areas smallies might be in. I told him about a large sand flat with reeds, so we headed there. We saw beds but no fish. Next, we went to the rock area, and Nate hit pay dirt, getting two quality smallies on a dead sticked Senko. We ran another rock area and got some rockies and dinks. We tried a couple of other areas, getting the same. We went back to where we got the smallies. I got a rock bass and about a half-pound cull with a largemouth that fell to the Dark Sleeper. We finished on a point off an Island by Rutgers, where Nate made a small cull. I had a pike-like feeling hit that didn't hook up and got a rocky. Day Over!

Results: My fish weighed 9lbs 11ozs which put me in 8th Place out of 12 anglers.

 

It was a massacre for Snatcher Chuck

First Place and Lunker went to Snatcher Chuck with 19/01 and 4/03

Second Place went to my boater Snatcher Nate with 12/13

Third Place went to Snatcher Tuma with 12/06

My Thoughts: If Nate's Plan A had worked, I think I would have been right up there, but the quality and quantity were not there on this day, so we had to scramble. Me losing that Jackhammer skirt to the pike didn't help matters.  Not having my dock-skipping game on point was an error on my part as well. One would have thought on such a nice day, the fish would have been on fire, but it was just a mediocre bite for Bay.

Grade: C, Another pound would have moved me up to 5th Place. It wouldn't surprise me if I lost the fish that would have gotten me another pound on the Jackhammer, Dark Sleeper, and Craw Tube. Any way I slice it, not getting at least 10 lbs on Bay Lake is a disappointment.

 

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 Thunder Lake Tournament

 

Chuck Fields with the W and Lunker,
with Co-Angler Snatcher Sarah.

 

3/8 Herb's Dilly Buzzbait (Yellow Frog)

Conditions: Rain intermittently in the morning with the sun coming out in the afternoon. Wind: 3-8mph

The Day: It started raining as we were waiting to blast off. We headed to our first spot, and Hammer was amazed no one went North along with us. We started off in the best cabbage Hammer had found in his prefish. About 45-minutes in, he got the skunk out of the boat on a craw tube. We worked around a point of reeds, and he got a second bite. I started throwing a buzzbait into the reeds as we worked outside the reed line. I missed my first bite, which was a small fish. I then got two bass in the boat lickety-split. So we drifted into the reeds, and I got my big fish of the day. As we worked inside the reeds, I got fish four and five along with missing a couple. Hammer had a couple fish blow up on his buzzbait, but they got off. Snatcher Chuck and Nate showed up.  Chuck and Nate doubled up on a spot I had my eye on.  I got my limit fish, which was a line burner. The topwater bite quit. I got a couple of fish on the Brovarney/Rage Bug combo with both fish throwing my Rage Bug, rats. Hammer was having a rough time getting his bites in the boat, losing a good one on a jig or craw tube. I also got a case of the misses in the same area not hooking up with 2 or 3 that hit the buzzbait; partly my fault for making ill-considered casts. 

We then went to some docks on the west side of the bay, but nothing there. Hammer borrowed a spinnerbait from me, and we returned to the reeds. Snatcher Bailey and Metalhead were in the area this time. Hammer was getting bit on the spinnerbait and me on the buzzbait and Jig, with both of us catching most of the bites but dropping a few as well. It rained pretty good when we were in the reeds that second time. We then went back to the West side of the bay, where it was calm and worked reeds along the shoreline. I was unaware they were there because they only stood about a foot above the water. I got my frog game on catching several pound and a half to pound and three-quarters cookie cutters. Hammer was throwing a Sprinker Frog and having a rough go keeping them pinned. We got over by Smitty and Mick, where I had a Platte Lake Special miss Little Alan, but it wouldn't hit it again.

We then headed south to try Hammers Smallie areas. He got a couple of largemouths, and I maybe had a small smallie take a shot at the 130 Plopper. For the final hour and a half, we went back North trying the cabbage one more time with nothing happening. I got a minor upgrade pitching the Brovarney to some pads in the reeds. We ended back on the West side of that Northern bay. I checked my fish before we headed out and was dismayed to discover my big fish, which was swimming just fine when I culled  20-minutes prior, was now dead, bummer.

Results: My fish weighed 12/8 with the dead fish penalty, and I finished in 11th Place. Snatcher Fields won it with 19/10, and he got Lunker with a 4/3 smallie; at least that was what I think it was. Snatcher Darren won the Co-Angler Challenge/Cash in a close race, with his 4-pounda putting him over the top.

Thoughts: I just didn't get enough of my bites in the boat. Probably could have had a 14 to15ish bag if I did. I wish I had known those reeds were along the shoreline the first time we went there. We should have given them a try.  

15 Top Fishing Memories of 2021

 

1. Winning my first Baxter Bass Snatcher Tournament Ever. 

2. Belle getting her first ever fish on a frog.

3. Frog Fishing With Mal for the first time. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to land a fish. She had plenty of opportunities.

Sullivan Lake 4lber

Platte Lake 4lber

Sullivan Lake 4lber

Platte Lake 4.16lb

Sullivan Lake 3.88lbs 

4. Getting Steve on multiple pigs this year.

5. Fishing with Kane and getting him on some frog fish.

6. Sumo the Stowaway gets me a sumo bass.

7. Three trips with Lois and Chuck.

8. Getting skunked at Leech Lake, listening to Kid Rock Cowboy as we headed back West riding out the rollers, and the drive home with Darrien commiserating about the lousy conditions. 

9. Catching that sumo gill on Sullivan

10. Pete's 21-inch jumpin' bullhead at the Grumpy Old Man Hole and me laying the hammer down on three golden bullheads that night.

11. Some big pike this Fall and losing a big one that jumped out of the net twice on Opener morning.

12. That short, but hot Fall bite on the LiveTarget Wake Gill

13. Ice Fishing in the New Trap and laying the smackdown on the panfish on Rock Lake

14. Spending a morning in the boat with Lowell Borgan on Whitefish Lake

(5.46lbs)

15. Big Momma of the year at the Cookie Jar on June 7th, on Mad Maxx (Bluegrass)

Bonus Memory:

16. Big Doggo on the same night Steve dropped something huge in the rice. This was my 2nd bowin of the day. I caught one in the morning in a boat lane at the SPRO.