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.  

Snatcher Thunder Lake Preview: Plan and Rods

 The Plan: I was not able to pre-fish for this tournament and I've never been on the lake. My boater Dwight "Hammer" Hammermeister did get out for a day. He said they got about 10 bass, two of which were smallmouth. He and his bunky finished in 3rd and 4th the last tournament on this lake, but that was on Sept 9th. Basically, it sounds like we are going to wing it and hope something sticks.

Rods I'm Bringing: 

Tatula 7'4" H (Frog, Buzzbait)

Tatula 7'4" H (Chatterbait, Topwater)

Avid 7' H (Craw Tube)

Avid 7' M (Spinnerbait, Neko)

Tatula 6'10" MH (Swim Jig)

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

Spin:

Veritas 6'6" MH (Dock Rod/Fluke,Dinger)

GLX 782 6'6" M (Ned Rig)

Bass Snatchers Tournament At Whitefish Chain June 5th

 

Tuma's 27lbs 4oz is a new Snatcher Record

3/5 Yum Dinger (Gum/Orange)

14/2 My Best Ever Whitefish Weight

13.55lbs What My Scale Says I Had

Boater: Dwight "Hammer" Hammermeister (3rd Time I've fished a tournament with him)

Conditions: 72-96℉, Mostly Sunny to Mostly Cloudy, 0-4mph SW

The Day: We started off on the Southside of Lower Whitefish, where smallmouth spawn and Dwight had a bunch of beds GPSed. . Dennis was sitting there when we arrived. A good sign. About 10 minutes in, Dwight had his first smallie in the boat. He was sight fishing. I started throwing topwater because there was some activity on the surface, but I didn't get a hit.  Dwight put 3 or 4 smallmouths in the boat pretty quickly, and Dennis had his limit in the first half hour. I got a hit from something small on the 

Crackle Jerk Shad that came off about halfway back to the boat. I put on a Bluegill KVD Jerkbait and got a couple pike and a perch on that. After about an hour, Dennis left. Dwight got his fourth and fifth fish off of some deeper beds, both quality fish. I eventually tried throwing a Ned rig to bedders but didn't have any takers. The wind put a ripple on the water, so we got out of there around 9AM. We went to a nearby point where we could see largemouth swimming around, but I couldn't get any to bite other than one small fish that I threw back that I didn't bother to measure even though it was close to 12-inches.

By 9:30, we headed to Berth to fish docks.  We spent an hour and a half in there with only one fish for Dwight to show for it. We headed to the Pike River Inlet area, and I finally got on the board with a quality frog fish, but that was the only bite we got there. So next, we headed up to Arrowhead to see if maybe the slop was going there. Dwight got a frog fish in the first 10 minutes, then nothing. I switched to a swimbait and got a 13-incher on that, but that was the only bite. I tried a swim jig and missed a bite that felt pikey on that. With two hours left, we headed back to the starting spot in the hopes that Dwight could upgrade with a smallie and contend for the win. However,  Dennis was sitting there again. We went to a nearby secondary area. I ended up picking a solid 2.5lb largie off of a dock just letting the Dinger sit on the bottom. With that clue, we headed to some nearby isolated docks in search of my limit. I lost a really good fish right away but quickly rebounded with a two-pounder and two more keepers.   I ended up culling twice, including one off the last dock we fished in a Hay Lake.

Results: My fish weighed 14/2 which put me in 13th Place. Dwight had 19/1, which was only good enough for 8th😲. Keith Tuma blew the field away and the previous Club Record Bag taking 1st Place with 27/4 and Lunker with a 5/3 smallmouth. Dennis got 2nd with 21/10. I guess the key for Keith recognized that the big smallies were still pre-spawn; thus, he was looking for cruisers, not bedders. His Co-Angler Dave Smith also had a 20lb bag.

My Thoughts: I came in expecting the fishing to be pretty good, and it was, for the most part. I did, after all, catch one of my biggest bags as a Snatcher and my biggest of the 6 tournaments I've fished there. It just took me forever to get on the same page as the fish, which was frustrating. Thankfully the heat really didn't bother me, and I was comfortable all day.

Congrats to Tuma; that was impressive. 

Bonus Picture

Official Results

Snatchers at Whitefish, My Plan and Rods

 

Will Whitefish be on fire tomorrow?  It is going to be hot temperature-wise for sure. I wasn't able to get over there to pre-fish. Hammer, my boater, got out there twice. We will spend time going after large and smalls. If the smalls are chewing, it will probably take huge bags to compete, just like the last time we were there in 2019 when Chuck Fields set the Snatcher All-Time Record with 23lbs of fish. Hopefully, Dwight and I will hold up in the heat, and fishing is good. 

Rods I'm bringing:

7'4" H Tatula (Swimbait, Swim Jig)

7'H Mojo (Craw Tube/Jig)

7'2" MH Tatula (Chatterbaits)

7'M Avid (Swim Jig, Spinnerbait, swimbait)

6'8"M Avid (Topwater, Jerkbait)

Spinning Gear:

6'6" MH Abu Veritas (Flukes, Neko)

6'6" IMX 782 (Ned Rig)

June 27th Snatchers at Serpent

2/8ozs Z-Man TRD

Boater: Chuck Steinbauer
Conditions: 65-84℉, Mostly Sunny, 0-3mph Various directions

The Day: We blasted off for this one at around 6:40AM which is nice.  It became quickly apparent to me with Chuck getting bites almost immediately on a stick worm and nothing going on topwater that finesse fishing would have to be a bigger part of the program than I wanted it to be.  I switched to a Z-Man TRD on an Outkast Perfect Ned Head and caught me a 9" dink and a rock bass.  I didn't get a hit on anything on the next two spots we tried.  I finally got my first keeper in the boat on the Ned Rig at Darrin's Point. The fish was 14.5" long and in my haste to get back fishing I didn't weigh it till later.  It ended up being the smallest fish in my bag at 1/7. I then caught a line burner followed by my big fish of the day at 2/8.  We then went to the spot Chuck got a nice smallie and a couple of good lmb's on in pre-fish.  I caught a 2lber and Chuck got bupkiss.  We then went to the public access where I got a couple of small topwater fish that would take forever and a day for me to cull out.  I did manage to get rid of the line burner and the one I replaced him with on our next stop before we hit a long dry spell.  We came back to that weedline spot later in the day and I got an upgrade that stuck along with some dinks and a multitude of rockies.  In the final hour, we hit one of Chuck's old spots, and both upgraded a couple more fish.  We spent the final 20-minutes down by the landing where there was a chop on the water. I had two fish hit at the Whopper Plopper and not hook up.

Results: My fish weighed 11lbs 15ozs which put me in 6th Place. Chuck's weighed 14/10 and put him in 2nd Place. Hammer took 1st with 16/5 and lunker with a 4/02 smallie. Tyler Czech was the first Co-Angler Challenge Winner of 2020 with 13/05.

The 6th Place finish is my 3rd best finish in the 1st tournament of the year.  It looks like we are going to have small fields this year and there is a possibility we won't make up the first tournament which was postponed.  Every point counts and this finish gives me a leg up in finishing in the Club Super 6 at the end of the year.

My Thoughts:  Pre-fishing is a big deal for my confidence level. Last year the late June tournament was held on Alexander under similar circumstances, but I was unable to pre-fish that one.  The report coming in last year was that the bite was on fire.  When it wasn't on tournament day I got caught flat-footed and never got comfortable with what I was throwing.  I only brought in 3 fish that day.  This year I was prepared for what I was going to throw if the fish didn't cooperate and the plan worked out pretty well.

I should probably pick up some more of those Outkast Perfect Ned Heads.  I only have 3 of them.


Final Standings:

Snatcher Pelican Lake August 25th Full Report

The sun rises over a surprisingly fogless Pelican Lake 

Conditions: 60-73℉, Cloudy for most of the day, Light Wind WSW
Water Temp: 76℉ maybe

1st Fish of the Day Caught on a Jackhammer

The Day:  The first spot we stopped at was at a hump offshore somewhere where Dwight caught a good one while pre-fishing.  We both started out throwing topwaters, but with there being a bit of a breeze I quickly put the popper I was throwing down in favor of a junebug color Evergreen Jackhammer.  On about my 5th cast, it was fish on.  I could tell it was a good fish, but it wasn't exactly fighting like a bass.  Turns out it was a nice walleye, maybe 23-inches long.  About 5 minutes later I got a pike.  That was it for the starting spot.  We tried briefly aways off of a point, not getting anything.  Then we tried close to some reeds.  No bites there.  Then we headed out to where I had the big bass miss my topwater in pre-fish. 

On my very first cast with the same smoke colored tube I used to catch some fish on my first ever tournament on Pelican Lake in 2009 I got the skunk out of the boat for myself with a 1.75lb bass.  That was the only bite we got out there.  Next, we went to the reeds on the South side of the island.  Dwight had we thought was a 2lb smallmouth hit at his lure, but not get it.  We then briefly fished off a point and on the north side of the island not getting anything.  Next, we headed to the reeds on the south side of the entrance to Breezy Point Bay.  I had a good fish take my Hack Attack Jig, but it came off as I tried to bring him through the reeds.  Pretty quickly after that Dwight got the skunk out of the boat with a nice one.  Dwight then added a small keeper after missing a couple of bites.  I had a fish hit the Jig, but I swung and missed.  I pitched right back to the spot and got a small keeper.

Next, we were gonna fish some other reeds, but another tournament boat was fishing out in front of them, so we fished a sunken island instead.  Pretty sure this was the spot Dennis started us on back in 2009.  It was calm, so I got out the good old bullfrog color Frenzy Popper I used to catch some fish on back in 2009.  Sure enough, I had a fish hit it, but not hook up.  I threw back to spot missing it by several yards.  A bass that was just over a pound and a half was on it.  Not sure if it was the same fish or not, but that was the only bite I got on the popper for the day.  We next went and tried the reeds, but Dwight didn't like them and we quickly left for a cabbage area somewhere on the eastern side of the lake.  There was a bit of a chop and I elected to throw a swimbait and was quickly rewarded with a small keeper.  Next, we went back to the area where I got my first keeper and I got a 2lber there on the swimbait.  We tried running South, then back to the starting spot.  With about an hour left we went back to the reeds where we caught fish.   They now had the wind blowing on them and we didn't get any bites.  With about a half hour left we ran some docks.  Dwight got a small keeper and a short.  He also had a what was probably a small keeper come off.  With 10 minutes left, we were getting over towards a large swimming area when we came to a dock that was right on the break.  Dwight got a good keeper.  I then briefly had a fish on.  A few casts later I got a 2lber on a green pumpkin Jackhammer.  I was pretty pumped.  My last bite of the day was a nice pike that hit the junebug Jackhammer.  And then time was up.     

Results: My limit weighed 10lbs 4ozs and put me in 10th Place out of 21 anglers fishing. 
Dennis Lothspeich won with 19/2.  Chuck Steinbauer had "Lunker" with a 4/12 largemouth.  Beau Bacon was the Co-Angler Challenge Winner with a 18/6 bag, which was 2nd Place for the tournament.

My thoughts:  There were only 8 limits caught of which mine was the smallest.  I am pretty darn proud that I managed to catch a limit.  With two tournaments remaining I still have a shot at finishing in the Club Super 6, but it's an outside shot with 4 guys ahead of me right now for the 6th Spot.  One more finish in the Top 8 should pretty much guarantee I reach my goal of finishing in the Top 10 for the year.

Full Results:

Bass Snatcher Pelican Lake Tournament Quick Report

1st Bite of the Day Didn't fight like a bass, wasn't a bass

As predicted the tournament today was indeed a grinder.  I didn't get my limit in the boat until the final 10 minutes.  My boater Dwight only got 4 keepers.  Only 8 limits total out of 21 guys fishing. I finished somewhere in the Top 10. Dennis Lothspeich got his second win in a row.  Full report after I get the official results.

My Snatcher Pelican Lake Preview

Probably gonna be a grinder.  Thankfully it is supposed to stay on the cool side all morning and light winds.  Hopefully, there won't be a fog delay. Just hoping for 6 keeper bites.

Rods I'm bringing:
7'4" H Zillion (Jig)
7'1" MH Tatula (Swimbait/Jigs/Chatterjigs)
7' H Avid (Texas Rigs)
7' MHM Mojo (Chatterjigs/topwater)
6'8" M Legend Xtreme (Light Texas Rig)
6'8" M Avid (Topwater)
6'6" MH 763 GLX (Tubes)

6'6"  762 SJR GLX (Ned Rig)

North Long Mini-Bucks Quick Report

It was a tough bite out on North Long today.  Chuck only caught one bass over 2lbs and I didn't catch anything over 1.75lbs.  All the fish in our 10lb Bag (5 fish) were caught by Chuck.  I did catch a keeper size bass in all of the holes, but the first one.  I caught 7 or 8 bass over 12 inches total.  Chuck caught about 12 keepers total.  The tournament was won by Tom "Swannie" Swanson and Keith Tuma with a 13.5lb bag.  Guy and Hammer got 2nd Place falling .09lb behind the leaders.  The Henkensiefken boys came in 3rd and got big bass with a 3.50lber.  We got 4th because Ruff and Ludenia elected not to weigh their fish.   I'll have a full report when I get around to it hopefully later this week.