Bass Snatcher Tournament On Farm Island Tomorrow

Will Bill Put Stock In The Smallmouth Pattern He Discovered?

Bill Ludenia and I are Boat #1 out tomorrow.  It will be interesting to see where Bill chooses to take us because he caught nice fish everywhere we went pretty much when we pre-fished on Wednesday. I only caught 2 fish, but they were good ones.  If they bite tomorrow like they did on Wed. I should be in good shape.  It's going to be sunny with very little wind, so it might be a grind.  I'm breaking out the Zoom Speed Craws which I haven't used in years and trying something I've never thrown before ever, a neko rig.

Rods I'm Bringing:
7'4" XH Zillion (Frog)
7'4" HMod Zillion (Heavy Jig)
7'1" MH Tatula (Jig)
7' H Avid (Texas Rig, Tokyo Rig)
7' MHM Mojo (Chatterjig)
6'8" Avid (Topwater)
6'6" 783 GLX(Jig/Light Texas Rig)

Spinning:
6' MH Techa AV (Fluke/Dinger/Ned)

The Tale Of My Other 25hp Johnson

"The Other Johnson" 

I had mounted my new to me 1993 Johnson 25hp motor back in May of 2010, but there was something about that motor I didn't trust.  Electric start, but it didn't have a pull start as back up in case the battery died or something like that.  There was an eBay auction, I think in June 2010, with a 2001 25 HP Johnson that had an electric start/pull start, so I bid on it.  I didn't win the bid, but the winning bidder backed out and I was given the chance to buy it for my bid amount.  I decided to take him up on the offer as had I won the original bid I was going to get the motor.  So Dad and I drove up north of Bemidji to go and get it.

I had been using the 93 Johnson for a couple of months by then and was pleased as punch with it.  So the newer motor just sat in our garage, then in the pole barn.  I didn't give much thought too it.  So this year on Sunday, June 2nd the older Johnson broke down.  My hope was that it would be a quick fix and I would be up and running in no time.  Pete was coming up the next weekend and he would be able to fix it if that was the case.  That wasn't the case. A part had to be ordered and Pete lives in Lake City in SE Minnesota. I was so depressed out about it not being a quick fix I just shrugged off Pete's suggestion that we get the other Johnson and put it on. Pete went back home and I was catching eyes at Mille Lacs at Eddy's Jetty, so things were OK my world.  My brother Todd got back from his two-week long family trip to Alaska the last week of June. It became clear during that week that trolling motor only fishing wasn't cutting it.

With Todd and Steve both up here over 4th of July week.  We got the motors switched out on the 3rd.  The maiden voyage was a success and now hopefully we are good to go on "My Other 25hp Johnson."   

2001 Johnson On The Trophy

 

15" Shower Blows (Bone)

1993 Johnson in Pole Barn Waiting for Pete

Waiting out a rain delay

Todd and I got my 2001 Johnson onto a stand from where it had been sitting in the pole barn on June 1st. On June 2nd I got it running on the stand, Dad and I pulled the Trophy out of the water,  Steve and family arrived at the Lake Place and Todd had guests up so we didn't get the motors switched out until today.  That process went relatively smoothy other than me making a mess and getting frustrated when I switched the lower unit gear lube.  I had the Trophy heading down the road just after 7PM.  Todd dropped off Steve and Belle at the access just as it was my time to put in and went back to the back side of the Big Island with Dev, Mal, and Kristen.  We got the boat in and the motor worked as it should, so I drove over to Todd and the girls.  Mallory and Dev were paddling over to me in tubes when a thunderstorm started up just to the NW of the lake.  The girls got in my boat.  We brought the tubes to the pontoon, grabbed life jackets for the girls then skedaddled for the Lake Place. I dropped the girls off got things situated for fishing in the Trophy and took it for a quick spin around our bay.  Speed is comparable to the previous motor.  I then parked as we waited to see what the storm that was developing just to the South would do.  It rained for maybe 20 minutes.  Todd and I headed out at about 8:40PM or so.  He suggested we try the slop just to the West of the small island so that is where we went.  He got one small pike on Big Sexy and had a bigger pike come all the way out of the water and miss it.  I had a couple of pike like boils.  It was getting dark so I went to the south point of the small island.  That is where Todd caught the only bass off the night well past the time mosquitoes began harassing us.  We left shortly after    

My Sorry Lake Alexander Full Results

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

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

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

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

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

Three small fish, what a disappointment!

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

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

Bass Snatchers On Lake Alex Tomorrow

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

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

6' MH Techna AV (Fluke)

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.

Bass Snatchers On Whitefish Chain Tomorrow

Tomorrow begins the 12th year of me fishing with the Baxter Bass Snatchers Bass Club. It's amazing how time flies.  Back in 2010, we opened up on Whitefish as well.  We were much farther along in 2010 and that tournament took place on June 5th. My boater is Alan Steinbauer and neither one of us pre-fished.  He's got a bunch of spots and the Whitefish Chain is loaded with bass, so I am sure we will catch our share.  Who knows if we will catch anything for size.  We probably aren't going to try for smallies much.  I better catch a limit and if I can manage to get up to a two-pound average I should be able to have a pretty good finish.

Here are the rods I'm Bringing
Tatula 7'1" MH (Jig/Swimbait)
Mojo 7' MHM (Chatterbait)
Avid 7' H (T-Rig)
Avid 7' M (Senko/Fluke)
Avid 6'8" (Topwater/Jerkbait/Swimbait)
Avid 6'8" (Topwater/Swimbait)
Crucial 6'10" MH (Spinnerbait)
Legend Xtreme 6'8" (Light T-Rig)

Techna AV 6' (Fluke) Dock Rod

Late Rod Add:
Tatula 7' MHM (Big Topwater)

Fishing With The Nieces And Sophia

The girls were able to bring in a few sunnies and perch throughout the day.  The made a livewell out of little float tube.  They had it full of fish when Todd and I got back from our evening trip.  This was all on Sunday Memorial Day Weekend.

BOOM! Had a 100 Fish Day

19" at the Dam in the morning

19" at the GOMH in the Evening

13-inch Crappie on the Junebug Craw Tube

No giants, but a solid 6 fish bag

Morning Trip in the Trophy:
56 Bass (Meeting my 50 bass in a day goal) 
9 Pike
10.8 Fish Caught Per Hour

Evening at the GOMH:
35 Bass
3 Pike
1 Crappie
13 Fish Caught Per Hour

104 Fish Caught for the Day
91 Bass Caught for the Day

One of the crazy things.  3 guys from Arizona were there most of the afternoon busting them there as well.  If it wasn't for the rain I would have been at the GOMH earlier.  This day is what can happen when the lake is really on pre-spawn.  Just didn't get any giants.  I think the big ones I got in the evening were males.

Opener #3 (Sun & Mon)

26" Speed Shad 3.5"

22" X-Rap Shad Shallow

21.75" X-Rap Shad Shallow

By the stinger 19.5" Rage Swimmer

15.75" Shower Blows (1st Top OTY)

8:00-10:00PM GOMH SW NE
58℉, Partly Cloudy, 0-4mph SW, High Water

Surprisingly nobody was there when I arrived tonight.  I went down on the SW side and picked up a couple of quick jumpers on the Vet Chatterjig then nothing so I went to the NE side.  Nothing much was happening there until about 8:40 when there was some boiling, so I put on the Shower Blows and landed my first topwater fish of the year.  John W. showed up as I was bringing it in.  He went to the NW side.  I commenced to whacking them for about 20 minutes then the action quit.  John said he got a bunch of jumpers this afternoon including a few good ones.  Neither one of us got a golden.  As I was loading up Lantern Man showed up.  We talked for a minute then I was off for Mille Lacs.

10:30PM-3:00AM North Eddy's Jetty
42-34℉, Partly Cloudy, 0-4mph SW

Nobody was at Mille Lacs when I arrived, so I went to the North Harbor Mouth.  When I put my tackle bag down, my Vikings sweatshirt fell in the lake, doh!.  By the time I was ready to start casting a local had shown up and took the Center Jetty.  I started with the Rage Swimmer and quickly had a fish on by the stinger hook.  A sign that the fish weren't going to be as aggressive tonight.  I walked down the Jetty and had fish following me in, but not hitting.   I sight fished with the X-Rap and got a couple of 22" fish doing that.  The other guy got an over and keeper, so he left. I went to the Grass Pig and had fish nipping at it pulling the plastic down.  Lantern Man showed up as I was going to get some more swimbaits from the car.  He had some Storm Swimbaits with him. I put on a 3.5" Speed Shad and was pretty much immediately hooked up with a 26-incher.  Lantern Man was impressed.  I then got a 21.75" and Lantern Man got a keeper, so he left.  I got three more eyes on the Speed Shad and lost a couple before I just ran out of energy and had to go home.  I also lost a Speed Shad in the rocks off the NW corner.  I broke the selfie stick, doh!

8 eye's, not a bad night when they really weren't all that aggressive.

Opener Report 2 (Sat & Sun)

Piggie on the Rage Swimmer at Mille Lacs

20.5" Grass Pig

What we had for dinner

8:00-9:30 GOMH NE
57-52℉, Partly Cloudy, 3 mph

We had crappies for dinner then I headed to the GOMH.  There were people on all three sides.  A lady down on the Sw side caught a golden while I was watching.  The guy on the NE side left, so I quickly took the spot.  The first cast under the bridge I got gold on the Grass Pig.  A kid who fishes with Chad Grisby and money tournaments went down on the NW side.  He caught a 30+ walleye out of Platte Lake.  I caught a couple jumpin' bullheads when we talked.  They left and I had to take the walleye back as not to have it in my car when I was at Mille Lacs.
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Before leaving in the morning

11:00PM-5:00AM North Jetty
41-45℉, Partly Cloudy, Light SSE winds
Swimbaits and Shad Shallow

Two guys were there when I arrived, but they left after about 20 minutes. I had caught one by the time they left.  The fish were on swimbaits.  I was getting them on a Grass Pig to start, then I switched to a Rage Swimmer and got the biggest one of the night so I stayed with that for a while.  The action was pretty steady until the moon went down.  I was just about to leave when I discovered they would take the Shad Shallow so I stayed nearly to sunrise.

19 Eyes
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16.75" Hack JIg/Chigger Craw

May 12th Sunday
6:00-7:00AM GOMH SW
49-44℉, Mostly Sunny, 3mph SW
3 Jumpers

Nobody was at the GOMH.  A kid was fishing out of a small aluminum.  I got 3 decent sized jumpers and missed some bites.

Probably a bass/walleye mix
I wasn't real good about weighing everything yet.

Opener 2019

25" X-Rap (Big Fish of the night)

24.5" X-Rap Shallow Shad (Lure saver fish)

24.75" Jerk Shad (1st Fish of 2019)

20.5" Grass Pig

16" Jerk Shad

12:00-3:40AM Eddy's Jetty
40℉, Clear moon till about 2:40 or so, 2-6mph SW, High Water

When I arrived at the Jetty, the North Harbor Mouth was taken and the NW corner was open so I went there.  I could see multiple eye' swimming around. Instead of casting right away I decided to watch the first casts of the 5 guys to the South of me.  A couple seconds in and a guy on the Center Jetty was hooked up, a good sign.  I quickly switched from the Rippin Rap to the Swimbait, to the Jerk Shad.  I saw a few more fish get caught prompting quick changes.  Got a 24.75 on the first cast with the Crackle Jerk Shad.  About 15 minutes later I got a 16-incher.  I switched lures a few times.  I got two (24,25) nice ones on a pearl X-Rap.  They wanted it extremely slow.  I switched to X-Rap  Shad Shallow and got 17" and 24.5" that freed the bait when I was trying to free it from the rocks.   Snagged snagged snagged then the rod was almost ripped out of my hands when the 24.5" grabbed it.  I was very thankful that fish saved my lure.  As the moon was going down I got on last smaller fish on the Jerk Shad. I also had one last bite that didn't hook up on the Jerk Shad.  It seemed like I would get a bite every 15 to 20 minutes. for the first hour and a half.  The other guys picked up a fish occasionally.  As not much was going on I made the call the head to the GOMH at 3:40AM.

4:15-7:15AM GOMH NE
40-52℉, Partly Cloudy, 4-6mph SSE, High rising water

Wheelhouse Guy arrived just a few minutes before me and was down on the SW side.  He was all by himself at that point.  We talked for a couple of minutes then I went down on the NE side.  I got 20.5" golden on my third cast into the tube on the Grass Pig.  I thought this might be good, but that was the only golden bite I got. I gave the fish to WHG.  I was just about to head to the Trophy when I started getting jumpers on the Crackle Jerk Shad.  I also got some jumpers on the Brovarney Jig with Grass Pig Jr. trailer.  After the second boat came through the action stopped. It was awfully sunny out.  Other than a few of WHG family, nobody showed up until I was packing up to leave.  WHG lost a good pike and brought me a banana.

Not a great start, but it was solid.

My Plan of Attack for the 2019 Opener

It is right now 12:03AM 48 hours before the MN Fishing Opener and I have a pretty clear plan of attack in mind for how I am going to go about the first day.  Due to the snow storm, we are right now in the midst of experiencing and the wind forecast for Saturday I am pretty much writing off bass fishing.  Wind and cool/ cold water equal no bueno in my experience for bass.  I think the conditions might be setting up for me to take advantage of walldogs, so that is what I am going to focus my energy on the first day.

The Plan:
Of course, I will be fishing on Mille Lacs at midnight which is now a longstanding tradition.  Hopefully, Eddy's isn't full of people because that is my first choice.  I think I'll plan on leaving the house a little after 11PM. That should give me time to assess the situation and possibly give me the opportunity to pick my spot.  Ideally, no one will be there and I can fish free as a bird wandering the North Jetty at will.  Who knows how having a one fish limit will affect angler interest. I'm betting there will be others there fishing at midnight.  Therefore, I want to get the NW corner.  If I don't get that. There is the Harbor Mouth and Standing Rock.  Less appealing is the Center and South Jetty, but beggars can't be choosers. I better bring the long net, just in case I get stuck on Center.

I am going to start with a Rippin' Rap.  If that doesn't work I'll go to a swimbait, then to suspending jerkbaits.  If they are there they should bite on one of those three.  I think I am also going to bring along some Shad Raps, Flicker Shads, and a hair jig.

Success or lack of it depends on what I do next.  At 3:30AM I will make the call to stay or go.  Three and half hours of straight casting is a long time especially if I"m not getting bit.  If I'm feeling good and catching fish I might choose to go until dawn.  Chances are better that I will be looking for a break and change of scenery so I may head home to give a quick blog and get a bite to eat before heading to the Grumpy Old Man Hole.  If I'm there before 5AM hopefully there is an open side.  If not I may head back to Mille Lacs (unlikely), go to the Trophy (also unlikely), stay at the bridge and watch what happens (unlikely if the wind is blowing).  I probably will just go back home if there is nowhere to fish and return sometime in the afternoon after the wind has kicked up and it's warmed up.

With the forecasted South wind, I think I may be able to pull out some daytime gold out of the GOMH.  Then from there, it's most likely back to Mille Lacs for Round 2 after dark.

That's my plan.   

Winner! Winner! Finally In 2019 I'm A Winner!

The month of April had come and gone and I hadn't won anything yet.  No giveaway's, no Fantasy Fishing prizes, nothing.  My luck changed this week when I won the Bass Boat Central opt-in Fantasy League for the Elite Series at Lake Fork.  So basically I think I'm a few bucks up on what I paid out while participating in this league for the past 3 years or so.

Fishing Goal Reached! 

First Trophy Trip 2019

Calm at least for a bit

15.75" X-Rap size 6 (Firetiger)

Safely returned

I departed the Grumpy Old Man Hole at 6PM in hopes I would be able to recreate the magic of yesteryear at the mouth of the Platte River in Lake Sullivan.  To do that, I would need the assistance of a boat obviously.  By the time I had loaded up and was underway the wind had calmed down significantly just like it was forecast to do.  The water temp was 52℉, which was right but the fish just weren't there other than a few straggler bass.  I went a little way up the river, but that was unproductive.  I got surprised when a front quickly blew over bringing some rain.  But that made the bow light work, so I can't complain.  I ran the hay flat looking for fish with my Go For Wild Headlamp. Unfortunately, the water isn't as clear as it could be and there was some ripple as well.  I mostly spied shiners and a few small sunnies.  Lantern Man was at the bridge and had only gotten one silver bullhead.  I was starting to get cold so I called it a night at 10PM.