My Snatcher North Long Tournament Recap

 

Caught Me A Good Speck on a Dark Sleeper

Tourny Champ Keith Tuma

Conditions: 60-78℉, Cloudy with occasional light rain, 3-15mph SE 

The Day:

We started on the South end of the Lake to the West of where Nate started fishing cabbage beds. We stayed in the same 150-yard or so stretch until about 11 AM. I had my limit in the first hour and forty minutes. Al put the first 3 bass in the boat. I'm pretty sure my first fish was a pike on the Big Blade Chatterbait. That Big Blade Chatter was my hot bite in the morning. I think I lost one quality bass after it buried me in the weeds. After I got my limit. I struggled to get bites from keeper bass, getting pike, and a couple of dinks. I should have thrown the Dark Sleeper as the fish Al was getting on the Craw Tube were better quality on average than my Chatterbait fish, with one or two exceptions.

We then went to 371 Bay when the wind was howling around 11AM. I got my big bass (2/15)  in 371 on the Dark Sleeper on our first pass in 371, I was a bite machine with that Dark Sleeper pulling in small pike, rock bass, dink bass, and I culled up a couple of times and one nice crappie on our second pass. We went back to the starting area. The wind calmed down considerably shortly after we arrived. Nate showed up shortly after and thought we had been there the whole time. Not much was going on until I put on a Neko Rigged Dinger, which caught me 5 bass in about 15 minutes. I culled with  3 of the fish putting all, but one fish over 2lbs on my scale. I could have sworn the second to last fish I got on the Dinger was three plus when it wallowed on the surface, but it buried me in the weeds, and when I got it in, it didn't even help me. Al got us out of there to head to Merrifield Bay. I got a dink on a buzzbait and on a Dark Sleeper, along with a couple of pike in Merrifield. We fished for about 15 minutes in 371 Bay to end things, and I got a pike or two, maybe a rock bass as well. I was hoping my fish would go 14 lbs, and indeed they did, right on the nose.

18Bass 16Pike 3Rock 1Crip 

Results: My fish weighed a respectable 14lbs, but on this day that was only good enough for 13th Place.  The winner was Snatcher Tuma with 18/05; Second Place went to Snatcher Dennis with 17/01 and Lunker (4/08), which edged out Snatcher Fields who also had 17/01. Everybody caught a limit today and the average bag was 14.94lbs.

My Thoughts: Should have gone to the Dark Sleeper at the first stop. A couple of lost fish cost me in this one I think.

Grade: B

Sure 13th Place out of 17 Anglers is C-/D+ territory, but I was just ounces behind my boater on a day when Co-anglers got stomped on and I was only one quality cull away from a Top 10.

  

Baxter Bass Snatcher's 2022 Mr & Mrs. Bass Were Crowned

 The Snatchers had our annual banquet on Saturday.  The highlight of the evening was Mrs. Bass getting her crown from Mr. Bass, Snatcher Fields. 

Final Snatcher Tilt of 2022 at South Long Lake

 

Beau Won (16/14) and Got Lunker (3/15)

Mr. Bass 2022, Snatcher Fields

Conditions: Overcast temps 61-50℉, Wind 3-8mph ESE

The Day: We were the last boat out, and the first boat out went right to where my boater, Snatcher Fields, wanted to start. It seemed like 75% of the field went to the same general area to the NE of the narrows. We joined the scrum on the Eastern edge of the line of boats. Nothing on starting spot, so we headed up the lake to an area where we found a school during pre-fish. Chuck got a keeper in the boat. I think I got a pike, then lost a keeper and one that looked like it wouldn't go 12-inches. I got a walleye down the way a little bit. Ran some docks, but nothing. It was an extremely slow morning for us. We \went back to the starting spot and got an 11-incher. Ran back up the lake to a calm weedline. Finally got a keeper in the boat on the big Bubble Walker. Ran down to Bill Bongs Challenge Cup Starting Spot and got another keeper that took the LiveTarget Wake Gill. Chuck put several fish in the boat in short order, then culled with a couple of good 3lber in the cane. Game Over for Mr. Bass 2022. I got my 3lber out along the weed line out from the cane. We ended up back where I got my first keeper. I got my 4th keeper right before we were going to move on a spinnerbait. We went back to the starting area. I caught a short and a small keeper on the spinner bait. Went back up to Bongs Starting Spot. Got bit off twice with jigs and caught several pike on the spinnerbait. Had the craw tube get a bit off. Chuck caught a couple that didn't help and culled once or twice with minor upgrades, and then the day was over.

Results:  My fish weighed 10/09, which put me in 14th Place (2nd to Last Place). Beau Bacon won it with 16/14 and got Lunker with a 3/15. 2nd went to Snatcher Czech (14/11), who showed his face for the first time this season. And 3rd Place went, and Co-Angler Cash went to Snatcher Sarah.

My Thoughts: At long last, I finally got paired with Chuck Fields, and it was cool to do it when he clinched his second  Baxter Bass Snatcher Mr. Bass title. He accomplished the feat back in 1994. This was the first complete season he has fished with the club since winning it in '94. As for the fishing, I figured there was no way, under those conditions, I wouldn't be able to get a limit of keepers in the boat. Besides a half-hour window when Chuck caught most of his weight, it was really slow for us. Unfortunately, I didn't get any bites fishing on the bottom during that window, and when we returned to the spot, the pike had moved in. Whatcha gonna do? It just wasn't my year.  

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

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

Rods I'm Bringing: 

7'4" H Tatula (Topwater) 

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

7' H Avid (Craw Tube)

7' MH Mojo (Chatter)

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

6'8" M Avid (Topwater)

6'6" MH GLX (Jigs, Swimbait)

6'6" M GLX (Neko, Ned)

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

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

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

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. 

 

 

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.

 

Snatcher Gull/Crow Wing River Tournament

 

Chuck Fields wins 2nd Consecutive Tournament.

 

Sara & Herman with "Lunker Wood"

Sara with her 6lb Lunker & a 3/03

4/02 on Big Bite BFE

Pike on the Berkley Fusion19 Jig/KVD Shiner

What I caught fish on

Conditions: Periods of clouds and sun, 70's to upper 80's, a bit humid, light winds

The Day:
I was so disappointed that my Tackle Warehouse order did not arrive on Friday, but such is life. We blasted off as boat #4 and headed West, getting passed by Snatcher Dennis as we headed up river. Our first and second spots were slop areas on adjacent sides of the river, and we didn't get a bite at either place in about an hour of fishing. So we headed up river farther, and Bill got a quality smallmouth right away on a popper. He then got a rock bass and a couple of non-keeper smallmouths. I got a pike on a lipless Frenzy and a rock bass on a Jackhammer. I also had something that felt quality on for a few seconds on our second pass down by where Bill got the smallie.

From there, we headed up in sight of the bridge, and Bill popped a nice large on his first pitch. I think I got a pike and rock bass, and Bill got a couple of non-keeper smallies and rockies. I think we moved down the river just a little way. Bill got a nice smallie throwing a Senko by the shore and a fourth nice keeper smallmouth in the middle of the river. We pulled in behind Snatcher Al, where Bill got his first keeper; Bill got a non-keeper smallmouth.  We went down river a little way, and I got the big pike which put up a good battle. I took my time with it, and Bill eventually netted it and took pictures. I wasn't too pleased because the day was more than half over, and I didn't have a bass in the boat yet. We worked a shaded bank and didn't get anything. So next, we headed back to where the river narrows to the East of the public access. And started working our way West fishing wood. Bill got his 5th keeper pretty quickly. We continued working wood. Finally, I got a keeper in the boat out of some weeds and wood, and it was a good one, 4lbs.

There was a slop area just upriver from where I got my fish, and in the next 10-minutes, I had my bag for the day, catching two quick fish on a frog. We then went back up river to our second stop working that slop bay better than we did the first time. I got one 11-inch largemouth on a frog. Then we crossed the river expanding on our first area of the morning. Bill had to miss 5 or 6 bites on his frog before he finally got his limit fish in the boat, which was a quality largemouth. I think he then caught one that didn't help him. For the final 20-minutes, we worked the slop area by the access. I had a fish boil on my frog but did not get it and didn't try again. And then the day was done.

Results: My 3 fish weighed 7/13, which put me in 13th Place out of 17 Anglers, two of which blanked. Chuck Fields made it back-to-back wins with a 17/01 bag, and my boater Snatcher Ludenia made it back-to-back as runner-up with a 16/12. Lunker went to Snatcher Sara with a 6lb Pig.

Thoughts: I should have thought more about what it would take to catch some smallmouth. I should have thrown a football jig and brought some swing heads and square bills. I really think my lack of forethought cost me a limit. At a minimum, I should have been able to catch at least one smallmouth.  Not getting to pre-fish this one cost me.

 

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.  

My Full Whitefish Tournament Report

Conditions: 50-66℉, Partly Cloudy, 3-8mph NE
Water Temps: Low to mid 60's

The Day:
Neither of us pre-fished so we went in basically blind hoping Alan's experience on the Chain would carry the day.  We got off to a pretty good start running across Whitefish up into Loon Lake.  My first bass of the day was a line burner caught on a 105 size Shower Blows.  The only topwater bite I got all day, but wind and weeds forced that hand.  I was surprised by the amount of weed growth in a number of areas we fished.  At the end of the first hour my boater Alan was culling as he got into a spinnerbait bite in the wind.  I managed to pull a 1.75lber off a dock on a 5" Yum Dinger while that was going on.

We moved up to the North shore out of the wind.  I caught a 13-incher on the Dinger casting towards some pads.  Alan spotted some beds and we drifted over a fish that was still there and Al caught it.  It was Al's biggest of the day (3/10) and only smallmouth.  I didn't catch any smallies.  I caught my biggest one of the day (2.50) shortly after Al blind casting the Dinger.  We continued fishing docks and pads until I got my limit and culled once which happened by 9:30AM when we left Loon on our way to Cross Lake.  One of the fish I caught had a Senko and hook stuck in its gullet.  I pulled the Senko out and the darn thing went belly up soon after.

Al decided to give Hidden Lake a quick look and he got three quick small upgrades.  I missed my bites and Al started losing fish as well.  After that, we hit some spots in Cross that yielded only little fish or nothing.  So we then went to Clamshell.  I think Al got one cull there.  I lost a couple of bites that felt like good fish.  We tried Bertha for a little bit getting nothing then headed to Hay to finish the day.  I missed a good fish and got a small upgrade on the bubblegum Super Fluke fishing docks.

I thought I had done OK, but boy was I wrong.

Results:
My limit weighed 11/13 minus 2oz penalty so 11/11 was my official weight which put me in 17th Place out of 20 anglers.  Alan was only 2 places better with 12/11.  The winner was Chuck Fields setting a new all-time record bag for the Bass snatchers at 23lbs.  Tuma tied the previous all-time record with 22-10 getting 2nd Place. The winner of the Co-Angler Challenge was Beau Bacon with 17/4 out of Tuma's boat.

My Thoughts: Not being able to pre-fish this one relegated us to the back of the pack.  We were the only boat without at least a 13lb limit and you had to have 15/8 to crack the top 10.  Neither I or Al anticipated that.  On to Lake Alex.

My Snatcher Whitefish Quick Report

The guys crushed 'em today at Whitefish Chain and Chuck Fields set the All-Time Snatcher Best Bag of Fish with 23-0. Keith Tuma apparently tied the old record with 22-10; At least that is what I thought I heard his weight was. I didn't quite catch my 12lb goal do to some poor execution. I think I landed in the bottom quarter of the field. My boater Alan Steinbauer faired a bit better than me but also had missed opportunities plague him. We had a good time so it's all good.

Snatchers Lake Edward Quick Report

Longtime Snatcher Chuck Fields had the idea to do a non-boater only side pot and call it the Co-Angler Challenge. He made up all little plaque to go with whatever money the winner gets.  Today I was fortunate to be the first ever Co-Angler Challenge Champion thanks to the super school my boater Nate Steinbauer found.  I think I came in 6th or 7th Place overall.  It was such a fun day I hardly noticed the heat.  Full report later this week once I have the official results.