Bass Snatchers Gull Lake Preview and Rods

The Plan:

When we pre-fished on Monday, it was cloudy and breezy. Snatcher Darren caught a few fish, but the bass were not on the chew for the most part. Darren pre-fished on Wednesday as well, and the bass weren't chewing then either.  I fished Platte on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If how I did on Thursday is any indication, the Fall feedbag binge is now on. I expect they will be biting well in the overcast, wind, and rain if we get some. I am going to lean hard on moving baits and hope that comes up aces.

Rods I'm Bringing:

7'6" H Tatula (Jigs, Chicken Jig)

7'4" H Tatula (Spinnerbait)

7'4" H Tatula (Frog/Toads)

7'4" H Tatula XT (Buzzbait)

7' H Avid (FC) (Crawtube)

7' MH Tatula Elite (Big Topwater, Traps, Wakebaits/Minus One's)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (FC) (Jigs, Chatters)

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

Bass Snatcher Mississippi River Tournament Recap

Conditions: 70-90℉, Partly Cloudy, 2-5mph

The Day:

We went straight to Little Rabbit Lake and started in the same section as Arnie and Theo. We were working the slop, and they were working deeper. After 15 minutes of nothing, I started casting out over the calm water with the Walkine Boss. I had a pike miss the Boss. Theo got a couple of pike. I think I had a small keeper take a shot at the Walking Boss, but it didn't hook up. Arnie and Theo, I believe, both got on the board and caught a pike as well. 

We entered the third bay, and I got the skunk from the boat with a 2-lber on a frog off some wood. Darren missed a bite and got hung up. We went a little further into the bay, then Daren got the skunk out of the boat with a small bass off the same piece of wood where we had caught those two bites as we were on our way back out of the bay. We fished almost to the mouth of the Bay we started in with Darren getting a couple of boils, but no hook-ups. We fished in the first basin for quite a while, along with a number of other Snatcher boats. Darren and I both pulled a non-keeper out of a slop area that had some life. 

We then returned to the bay from which we had started. Darren got three small keepers on a Chatterbait, and I got what would be my final keeper of the day on a Chatterbait. I think we could have gotten our limits, but a guy was trolling in the area where Arnie and Theo got their fish. We decided to bail for the entrance to Little Rabbit. The life that was in the area in the morning had mostly left. 

We then went to the backwater where I had success with Ruff. It was lifeless there, other than one attempt by a pike to get my frog. We went to an area where Darren got a 4-lber pre-fishing. We started downriver from the juice, and he got a bonus smallmouth right next to the bank on a piece of wood. The area where Darren got the 4-lber had a lot of life in it. The first time I had seen really abundant signs of life all day. We fished this area too quickly, in my estimation. I don't remember if Darren caught a fish or not. He definitely had a couple of blow-ups. I had a good bass eat my frog, and I got a very good hookset, yet it jumped and got off. Tough luck, I was sure that bass was going to come in the boat. 

We ran a good bit of the river, hoping to duplicate the smallie bite, but it never happened. We then arrived at another area where Darren caught a couple of pigs in pre-fish. He had a blow-up that missed his frog just before we crossed paths with Tyler and Dave, who were both struggling. Darren ate his lunch, and I piloted the boat.  Darren resumed fishing with me on the troller and immediately had a blow-up that missed. A little while later, I had a great opportunity to put a good bass in the boat on a Livetarget Frog. I knew the bass was there because it missed the frog the first time, and I let her have it on the hookset. But it buried me and got off.  I was pretty pissed off, and that propelled me for the final hour and a half. Unfortunately, I only had one more blow-up, and I'm pretty sure it was a pike. Darren got two small keepers with the final one coming in the last five minutes. It just wasn't my day yet again. Frustrating!

Results: Third from last, I'm moving up baby. DJ.Kicker got 1st, 2nd Place  went to Dennis and 3rd Place and Lunker (4/10) went to Nate.

My Thoughts: Lost fish cost me yet again. The bite was much tougher than expected. I thought I would average at least two bites an hour. I had maybe 6 bites from keeper bass for the day. The hot weather didn't bother me, and I fished hard all day. Having an infection in my left eye did affect my vision and casting accuracy. Once again, I could not get my limit on a river. Hopefully, we will schedule the Gull River for next year. With two bombs now on the record, I am in a hole for the year.

Tournament Grade: C

Lost fish suck, but when you get good hooksets on a frog, and that is how things go. Fortune was just not with me again.  

Snatchers Mississippi River Preview: Part 2 (Plan & Rods)

 

Snatcher Darren showing me how it's done.

The Plan: Frog myself up a limit of three to six pounda's.

Rods I'm Bringing:

7'6" H Tatula (Pitching Jigs or Texas Rigs)

7'4" XH Zillion (Frog)

7'4" H Tatula (Frog, Toad)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Fluke)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Pitching Jigs)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Texas Rig)

6'8" M Avid (Topwater)

My Snatcher Lake Osakis Tournament Recap June 1st

Pre-fishing with Darren, his first cast of the morning

Also some pre-fish

Top 3 (Tuma, Sarah, Darren)

Conditions: 50-74℉, Mostly Sunny, 2-9mph WSW

The Day:

I thought I had everything packed and ready to go, nope. Forgot to pack my terminal tackle fanny pack. I also forgot to bring my phone with me to the boat, so I had to walk back to the car and get it. Our Plan A spot in some reeds up the lake was not happening, so after a fruitless hour, we bailed and headed further up the lake and tried a few points and docks getting nothing. We did watch Snatcher Ludenia catch something during that stretch. We went to the smallie area and I got a short smallie on my very first cast with the Stunna. Dennis and Nate joined us in this area, both boats were struggling. I got a 2lb smallie on the Stunna as well as a Rock Bass on the Stunna before we left. It was now about mid-day so we went back to Plan A again; Darren got a keeper in the boat quickly and  I got a ToadZ keeper shortly after. This was the time of day Darren discovered his pattern and it held true. Slow but consistent throwing a jig in the deeper reeds.  Darren then caught the next 4 fish including some really nice ones. He got his fifth fish back where we started the day. I lost two Hack Attack jigs in short order We were just about ready to head South when we got into an active area. I was fishing with my life jacket on anticipating the move. I got my third keeper then lost two good blowups when my jerry-rigged ToadZ because the split ring on the Gami doesn't play well with a Power Clip. Shortly after that trainwreck, we headed South. Darren got a nice one to fill his limit or maybe it was a cull. He was in disbelief he got that bite. The day ended with me being extremely frustrated and angry over the blown opportunity for me near the end.

Results:

My 3 fish put me in a dismal 18th Place out of 20 anglers fishing. First Place and Lunker went to Snatcher Tuma 24/3 and 4/3 all smallies. 2nd Place and Co-Angler Challenge winner went to Snatcher Sarah "The Senko Queen"with 18/14, all largies, and 3rd Place went to my boater Snatcher Darren with 16/8.

My Thoughts:

High hopes dashed; I should have double-checked my stuff to make sure I had everything. Learning that Power Clips and those ringed  EWG hooks don't go together well was an unlucky break. Bad taste in my mouth from this one. But I am happy that Darren's pattern held up and was good enough to get some wood. I'm quite surprised nobody caught a 5lb bass. Hopefully, this will be my throw-out tournament for the year. 

Tournament Grade: D

Opportunity called at the end of the day and I missed it, sucks

 

 

Plan, Goals, & Rods I'm Bringing For Lake Osakis

The Plan: This will be the 8th time I have had the good pleasure of being partnered with Snatcher Darren in a tournament.  We had a productive pre-fish, so I'm confident we will be around some nice-sized largemouth. The fish would not hit a moving bait on Wednesday. My hope is that they will be far more active and I can get them on a frog and buzzbait. We are going to be fishing a lot reeds and cattails. If they will not hit moving baits again I'll throw a jig, Mag Fluke, and a Texas Rigged Dinger. I doubt we will fish for smallmouth, but I've got my smallie favorites just in case.

My Goals:

1. Beat Tuma

2. Get Wood by Placing anywhere in the first three places or catch the tournament lunker.

3. Catch a fish bigger than 5-8, winning both the days Lunker Pot and the Progressive one as well.

4. Win the Co-angler Challenge $

Rods I'm Bringing:

7'4" H Tatula Elite (Frog)

7'4" H Tatula (Mag Fluke, Swim Worm, Swim Jig, Spinnerbait, ToadZ)

7'4" H Tatula XT Gen 2 (Buzzbait)

6'9" H Tatula Elite  (Jig,Chatterjig)

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

6'10" MH Tatula (FC) (Chatterbait, Spinnerbait, Jerkbait, Texas Rig, Jig,Dinger/Fluke)

6'8" M Avid (Topwater, Jerkbait)

Snatcher Pokegama Lake Tournament Recap

 

Snatcher Ludenia Gets the W

Conditions: 55-67℉, Cloudy to Partly Cloudy, 0-7mph SE NE

Water Temp: 66-68℉

The Day:

We got a bit discombobulated on our way to the river. At one point, we lost power on Darren's console GPS. We did eventually find what we were looking for: the Hot Pond Convergence. I suggested we backtrack a bit and fish our way back, seeing how no one followed us into the river. About 20 minutes in, I put a small keeper in the boat that hit a ToadZ. About 10 minutes later, Darren had a pike steal his frog. Darren missed a bite from a good-sized bass along a mat in the rice. I pitched a Turbo FattyZ into the same mat and immediately caught one just shy of 2 lbs. Darren had a pike steal the LiveTarget Frog I gave him with a  huge blow-up. I think Darren had three frogs get bit off in total, along with a couple of jigs and Texas Rigs. I think I got bit off once on a Texas Rig.  Hammer and Jon showed up and fished a bit in the area we were heading for before heading farther upriver. 

Eventually, we got to the Convergence, and I got a nice bass on the ToadZ off of some isolated pads. A couple of minutes later, I lost a similar-sized fish. We then went into the hot, and Darren had his third frog get bit off. It was dead in there other than that. We went back to the convergence to talk to Hammer and Jon. They were catching more fish than us, and Hammer told us what was working for them. We fished back over the area where I had caught my third bass. Darren got bit off a time or two. I started pitching a Turbo FattyZ and got a pike, then a bass over 2 lbs. Darren caught a pike or two more. 

At about 1 PM, we decided to bail on this area just as it was clouding up again.  We fished some slop on our way back to the lake, where I got my final two bass of the day. The first on a swim jig, and my last bass of the day came on a LiveTarget Frog. Darren got a dink that he didn't measure. We got to Tioga Bay with about an hour and a half left. Darren's front mapping wasn't right. Despite that frustration, Darren did put three nice bass in the boat in the final hour. I missed one bite on a jig in Tioga. Turns out it was a tough day.

Results: My fish weighed 11/12, which put me in 5th Place out of 11 Anglers, and I won the Co-Angler Challenge for the first time in a couple of years. Snatcher Ludenia blew the field away with 19/4. Dennis got 2nd with 14/14, and Snatcher Chuck came in 3rd with 14/9. Snatcher Mick had Lunker with a 4/14 brown bass.

My Thoughts: I really thought the largemouth would be on fire, but it seems that was not the case. I also thought there would be multiple fish over 5lbs caught, but it didn't happen. My boater Darren has very little experience on this body of water, and we went in blind, with neither of us getting to pre-fish. That definitely hurt us. I should have fished a swim jig and the Turbo FattyZ more and a Frog less. On the positive side, it was my best finish of the year; I won the Co-Angler Challenge and have a shot at being in the Super 6 going into the last tournament. It could be worse. 

Grade: B 

I was energized and fished hard all day.

The Plan & Rods For Poke

 

The Plan: Snatcher Darren and I are going hawg hunting green fish.

The Rods I'm Bringing:

7'4" H Zillion (Rat/Frog)

7'4" H Tatula (Buzzbait)

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

7'4" H Tatula (Swim Worm)

7'4" H Tatula (Chatter, Wake, Plopper)

7' H Avid (Craw Tube)

6'10" H Tatula Elite (jig)

6'8" M Avid (Topwater, Chatter)  

Bass Snatcher Tournament At Rabbit Lakes

 

Snatcher Dennis Gets The W

 

Snatcher Notsch Gets the $ (Lunker and Co-angler)

Conditions: I arrived at the access just in time to do my stretching outside. I got back inside the car, and it wasn't more than a couple minutes before the thunderstorm hit. It stopped raining at about 6:30 or so. Conditions during the tournament were cloudy to mostly cloudy, 67-77℉, And mostly very windy out of the SE with a little break in the afternoon when the winds settled down under 5MPH.

The Day: We fished on the pit side all but for about 20-minutes. It was windy right from the get, and our first spot didn't go. We didn't stay long. Next, we hit some reeds on the East side of the lake. I had a swim jig get bit off right away. I would lose 3 jigs and 6 Texas Rigs on the day, dang pike. I put the first bass in the boat, pitching a brown/orange Hack Jig in the reeds. We then worked a weedline. I had a 30-inch pike break me off. It put on quite a show before it did.

I then caught a couple dinks on a spinnerbait, and Baily got a few keepers throwing a Senko on docks. Bill started getting better bites fishing a swimbait on the weedline, filled his limit, and started culling. We ran west, and I picked up a line burner on the Billy Goat Grub in some reeds. We worked our way back to the weedline, and I finally put a craw tube on (watermelon/red). I missed a bunch of bites, caught a few dinks, and had two keepers, including my big. The wind slacked off, so we went over by the East Island, and I got a bass throwing the Billy Goat to the cattail island. The wind came up. Bill got two good culls, and I got my last fish of the day on a black/blue Hack Jig. We moved to one more spot on the pit side, then went to the lake for about 15-minutes. I fished in the access area as well, and that was it.

Results: My limit weighed 10/6 minus 2oz dead penalty, so 10/4, which put me in 12th Place. Snatcher Dennis won with 16/12. Snatcher Fields got 2nd with 15/14, and Snatcher Darren 3rd with 15/02. Lunker was 3/13 and caught by the top Co-Angler, Snatcher Notsch, who had a 12/8 bag. 12 of the 17 anglers had limits.

My Thoughts: I figured with conditions being what they were, the fish would be on fire, but the weights in this one tell a different story. The weights last time had 14lb bags down to 10th Place; this tournament, there were only 3 bags over 14lbs. I gambled on a big worm on my Texas Rig rod to start and lost. When I finally put a craw tube on around 11AM, I got bit immediately. It took me a while to get comfortable with the craw tube; I missed quite a few bites. Not my greatest tournament execution-wise. I will have to step it up in the final two tournaments to have any hope of finishing in the Top 10 for the season.

 

Major Award Arrived Today

6'6" Fenwick HMG MH

 I was skeptical with the way the outside box being so flimsy that the rod I won from Major League Fishing Fantasy Fishing was going to be in one piece, but the rod was secured to a sturdier v-shaped piece of cardboard inside the of the outer box. The rod itself itself is really nice lookig to my eye. I already have several rods that fill this niche that I already like, so I am giving the rod to Snatcher Darren as a thank you for being my boater in my first Baxter Bass Snatcher tournament win last year.

My Platte/Sullivan Bass Snatcher Tournament Victory Recap

  

4 and a 5

Got Wood Again, Finally

What my scale said

Conditions: 54-72℉, Partly Cloudy to Cloudy, 0-4mph S

The Day:

Darren was kind enough to give me control of the boat for the day. I elected to start in Sullivan at the Intersection. I had Darren set us down a little short of the juice. A decision I almost regretted as Snatcher Ludenia and Nate set down in the general area but fortunately didn't get a bite to slow them down. Darren had something big boil on his frog on about his fifth cast. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get it to strike again. I got us up to the juice and had a fish suck under my frog in a spot where my vision was a bit obscured by reeds. I ended up getting a less than optimal hookset, and the fish quickly got off. A couple minutes later, I had a fish suck my frog under, but this time I was ready and got the day off to a good start with a fish close to 3lbs. I began to work to the East when a boat not in the tournament fished through where I was heading. They caught one small fish, and that was it. I ended up fishing the Intersection instead. It just wasn't happening, and the wind was staying still, so we fished the GOMH on the Sullivan side and then headed into Platte for the rest of the day. 

We spent the next few hours on the North end of Platte in Inlet Bay. I started by fishing the rice line from East to West. I got a small keeper on a Terminator Frog. I think Darren got his first keeper shortly after that. It just wasn't happening on top, so I started throwing a Magnum Super Fluke. We were at the Cookie Jar, and I was just about to pull us off of the rice line when the 4lber bit the Fluke. That kept us on the rice line longer, but we didn't get any more bites. The wind came up a bit, so I pulled us out onto the flat. I got a small keeper and a bunch of pike on the Jackhammer and a craw tube as I worked our way back to where we started. It got calm again. I got my feet set and threw the Terminator Frog way back in the rice line, and 5lber slammed a couple seconds after it landed. I could have sworn I locked the weight at 4.93lbs, but apparently not. I wasn't surprised that my scale weighed it light. We worked the rice corner, then turned around, went deeper into the junk, and I worked our way South. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the slop in Center Inlet. As we made our way into South Inlet, I cast to the coontail mat, and a 3lber took the Terminator Frog about 10 feet out from the mat. A couple minutes later, Darren had a good fish boil on his frog, but unfortunately, his line snapped on the hookset. Darren did get a keeper there in South Inlet. We ended up working our way back to the north with Darren missing several opportunities and me getting pike on a buzzbait. The sun came out, and we got back on the rice line. I got a quality cull, and Darren got his last fish of the day.

As we were coming to the end of the rice, I noticed the front flasher was flickering on and off. Turns out his starting battery was out of juice. I headed us in the direction of the public access, and Smitty came by to see what was up. Smitty has a lithium jumper pack, which got us back in the game for the final hour and a half.  We made a couple of more stops with me getting a few pike, no bass. Just couldn't get one more Platte Lake Special to put my weight for the day over 20lbs.

Results: I won my first Snatcher Tournament with a weight of 19/12, and I also got wood and $ for the 5/2 Lunker.  Smitty came in 2nd with 17/9, and Nate got 3rd with 16/13. 

The win also allowed me to reach my goal of finishing in the club's Top 10 for the year in 10th Place.

My Thoughts: I am so grateful to have drawn Snatcher Darren as a boater and that I fished clean for the most part. I thought I had screwed my chances catching a twenty-pound bag on Wednesday when I didn't know we would be fishing my home lake; Thankfully there were still some melon heads up North. Winning on a lake that has disappointed me so many times made my first win so much sweeter. With the way my season had gone, I seriously doubted I was ever going to reach my number one goal, but I did it. Victory Was Achieved on August 26th, 2021!

The Blind: Platte/Sullivan Goals/Rods

My goal's for this tournament is to get at least a 15lbs limit and finish no lower than 3rd.

Have either Darren or I win the days Lunker

Get Darren a limit 

 
Rods I am bringing:

7'4" XH Zillion (Frog)

7'4" H Tatula (Frog, Swimbait)

7'4" H Tatula (Fluke)

7'4" H Zillion (Jig)

7'3" H 736 Dobyns Fury (Swim Jig, Chatter Jig,  Spinnerbait, buzzbait)
7'2" MH Tatula (Topwater, Chatterjig)

7' H Avid (Crawtube)

6'6" Abu Veritas (Fluke) 

July 27th Snatcher Tournament @Rabbit Lake

Typical Rabbit 2lber caught Pre-fishing in the Pads

Conditions: 83-65℉, Partly Cloudy, 3-12mph WNW
WT: High 70's

The Day:
We blasted off 4th right behind Chuck Fields and wouldn't you know it he went right to our starting spot as well which was off of the big point on the North of the pit side of the lake.  Darren set us down to the West of Fields and we started working towards him.  I had a 1.91lb bass jump on my 3/8 black/blue jig pretty much immediately.  I got it in the box and it was a repeat performance with a slightly smaller fish.  The fished seemed to shut down on the jig after that. I threw out a Neko rigged Yum Dinger and got a 1.30lber on that immediately.  I think Darren got his first fish shortly after that and I got a short.  We worked back over where I got the fish to start and didn't get anything, Fields worked to the East so we went to where he started and I got 1.70lb fish that hit my jig on the fall.  After maybe an hour and a half we went to our second spot which was in the NE section of the pit lake.  I made the mistake of checking our fish while we were running and I shut the livewell on one of my rod tips breaking it, doh!  I got a 1.19  and my 2/8 lunker to fill out my limit on the jig.  I then culled up with 1.71lb fish on the jig.  Darrin was getting a little better quality of fish on a blue/black craw tube, so I started throwing that and I got a  1.63lb fish on that;  I thought the fish was a weed at first.  We were just about to leave to go fish the pads when I got a 2.05lb fish on the jig next to a dock.

The pads didn't even yield a blow-up for me, but Darren got a couple of fish there and missed some solid blow-ups.  Next, we went out and worked the roadbed.  I think I got a 2.13lb out there along with a couple that didn't help.  We went back to our second spot and I got my last fish of the day there on the craw tube (2.20).

Results: My fish weighed 13/02 with 2/8 big fish which beat Hammers 2/06 big thus putting me in 12th Place.  Darren's fish weighed 14lbs with 3/04 big which put him in 10th Place.  The tournament was won by Jim "Smitty" Smith 17/03.  Lunker weighed 3/14 and was caught by Mick Ziebell.

My thoughts: I don't think I lost any fish that hurt me.  I just didn't have a shot at a kicker that would have put me in the top half of the field.

  

Rabbit Lake Quick Recap

3 out of 4 for Beau Bacon

Had a fun good day on the water with plenty of fish caught. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get a kicker bite. A limit of 2lbers just doesn't get the job done at this lake.  I think everyone that is in my tier of people in the AOY race beat me.  Making the Top 10 this year is going to be a challenge because as it appears there are 15 anglers with a legitimate shot of making the Top 10 this year.  Who I draw for our next tournament at Gull River is probably make or break for my Top 10  hopes.  Reputation is that it is a really tough fishery and not getting skunked should be my number 1 goal for that tournament right now.   

Snatcher Tournament On Rabbit Lake Tomorrow

Rabbit Lake 2lber from Pre-fish

Since 2007, a year before I joined the Bass Snatchers, the Snatchers have fished Rabbit Lake very three years.  So this will be my fourth tournament there with the club.  I've fished a "Mini-Bucks" and an old Excel Bass Circuit Tournament that I finished 3rd in when I first moved up here.  I have a lot of experience on the lake and have fished it with some of the clubs best fishermen.  My boater Darren usually brings in an over 2lb per fish average here.   We had a productive pre-fish.  Hopefully, the weather will be a little cooler and cloudier than forecast.  Feeling good about this one, but know I can't take anything for granted in a tournament.

Rods I'm Bringing:
7'4" H Tatula (Frog)
7'4" H Mod Zillion (Tokyo Rig/Jig)
7'1" MH Tatula (Jig)
7' H Avid (Craw Tube)
7'MH Mod Mojo (Bladed Jig)
6'8" M Avid (Topwater)
6'6" MH GLX 783 (Jig/Texas Rig)

Spin:
6'6" M GLX 782 (Dinger, Neko, Ned)