Last Topwater Bass of 2025(10/30/25)

19" ToadZ (Green Pumpkin)

At the end of October, I thought I was still going to be able to catch some topwater fish in November, but it was not to be. I got this 19" bass I worked my way up the Intersection NE Reed Point on October 30th and it was my last topwater bass and topwater hit of the year. The water temps kept dropping, and even when it was reasonably calm and baitfish were on the surface, I couldn't draw a bite. But I was getting hit subsurface, so I didn't stay with topwater very long. 
 

I Caught A New Personal Best Walleye, Last Night(10/29/25)

 

29"/9.12lbs Frenzy Diving Minnow (Brown Craw)

It is not the dirty 30',10lb fish that I have been after for more than 30 years now. But it's a half inch bigger than my previous PB, which was 28.5". I recall that I caught a few that size night trolling on Mille Lacs.I think the biggest one I ever got from shore at Eddy's was 27" something. It is possible that I have caught a low 9lb fish out of Mille Lacs, but back when I night trolled frequently, I didn't carry a scale and never believed one that I caught would go ten pounds. So this is my offical and documented walleye PB. 

Todd's PB Pike(10/26/25)

5.59lbs Northland, Indiana Blade/Goat

 Todd brought his pontoon back up today to put it in storage, and we pulled the pontoon lift up on shore. It was windy out of the SE. I decided to run West of Platte Lake Access. Todd got the personal best pikewhere the Melon patch Trough end. Pike were stacked in that spot today. I hadn't cleared my scale yet, so I'm not 100% possitive 5.59lbs is the correct weight.

Vikings 2025 Season Is On Fire

 The Vikes game in LA last night was a must-win. But, without both Darrisaw and O' Neal our QB and running backs are sitting ducks. 2025 is turning into a nightmare scenario. 

Juggling Balls Falling To The Ground , Part Duex

 

O-Line injuries, QB Injuries, QB mistakes, D inconsistent play. Vikes at 3-3. Where are we at, and where is this all headed?

I've got no clue.

New Fishing Goal For 2025 Added

 

Coming into October, I knew if the warm weather held, that I would have a great shot at hitting 1,000 fish caught on a Z-Man ToadZ. So I had hitting 1,000 as a goal in mind, but didn't add it to my 2025 Fishing Goals until now.  As of October 10th, I have caught 987 fish on this lure. That is made up of  649 bass, 333 pike, 4 bowfin, and 1 sunfish. I am over 1,000 if I were to count buzzbait fish. This year, the weeds on Platte/Sullivan set up perfectly for the ToadZ. And the fish just can't get enough of it.

Update 1/6/26:

Goal Achieved for 2025

Juggling Balls Keep Falling To The Ground

 O-Line injuries, QB Injuries, D inconsistent play. Vikes at 2-2. Where are we at, and where is this all headed?

I've got no clue.

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

 The Plan:

Rods I'm Bringing:

7'6" H (Jigs, Chicken Jig)

7'4" H Tatula 1 (Buzzbait)

7'4" H Tatula 2 (Toadz, 

7' H Avid (Texas Rig)

7' MHM Mojo Bass (Chatterbait)

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

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Chatterbait, Spinnerbait)

6'8" M Avid (Topwater)

Spin:

6'6" MH Abu Veritas (Neko)

Snatcher Fishtrap Lake Preview: The Plan and Rod's I'm Bringing

 

My boater, Club President Snatcher Benson

The Plan: During pre-fish, pretty much everything we tried produced a bass or two. So I'm gonna prepare to junk fish and see if I can drill into a pattern. The goal is to get a limit and beat Tuma.

Rods I'm Bringing: 

7'6" H Tatula (Jigs)

7'4" H Tatula (Frogs/Toads, Jigs, Buzzbait)
7'4" H Tatula (Frogs/Toads, Jigs, Buzzbait)

7' H Avid (Texas Rig)

7' MHM Mojo (Chatterbait)

6'9' H Tatula Elite (FC) (Jigs)

6'9' H Tatula Elite (Braid)(Spinnerbait)

6'9' H Tatula Elite (Braid)(Chatterbait)

Spinning Rod:
6'6" MH Abu Vertas (Neko, and Fluke)

I Think I Feel Attacked, Wired2Fish?

 

I will read the article later. That was my reaction to the title, somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

Kids Got Grit! Vikings 1-0!

 Vikings win the opener in Soldier Field 27-24. It wasn't looking good for the purple through three quarters. Da Bears had Da Vikes on the ropes. But the D got stops. McCarthy found his footing and the rest his history. JJ McCarthy wins his first game, capped off by an RPO tuddy run by JJ.

The kid has the heart of a champion.

The Vikes really miss Darrisaw. Hopefully, he is back next week. 

The McCarthy Era Begins On Monday Night

 

Vikes all-new interior on the O-Line, all-new signal caller, new young stud running back, Addison out for 3 weeks due to suspension, Theilen back, a healthy Hock at TE, will Jets and Darrisaw be 100%?

The Defence has an all-new interior as well. How will Caleb and Ben Johnson fare against the Vikings D?

I don't know what to expect. Week 1 in the NFL is usually full of surprises.

Have to wait for answers to my questions, so wait I will, impatiently. 

Snatcher Rush Lake Preview, Part 2: The Plan and Rods

 The Plan: Snatcher Tuma was not impressed with what we saw up shallow, so we probably will not be throwing frogs.  It's going to be windy. If the bass are up in the water column and aggressive, it will be Chatterbaits and Spinnerbaits. If they are not up and aggressive, it will be jigs and Texas rigs on the bottom.

Rods I'm Bringing:

7'4" H Tatula (Plopper, Frogs/Toads)

7'4" H  Mod Zillion (Punching)

7' MHM  Mojo (Chatterbait)

7' H Avid (Texas Rig)

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

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Spinnnerbait)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Jigs)

6'6" MH 763 Loomis GLX (Ned)

BP's Line-Ups for LaCrosse

 I thought I had a really good lineup for St. Clair, but it did not turn out that way. Here is to hoping this lineup hits.

BP's Fantasy Bass Line-Ups For St. Clair

 

I replaced Whitaker with Redwine and Mueller with Gussy. (That last sentence brought to you by Grammerly's AI.)

Snatcher Lake Edward Preview: Part 1

 

Yes, Part 1 is being written and released after Part 2. My prerogative as a blogger to do things that way.

My History with Lake Edward:

Today will be my third tournament on Lake Edward. I'm not sure why the club didn't fish the lake between 1989 and 2017. Access issues, maybe? I'm sure I have heard the story; I just can't remember it. My introduction to the lake in 2018 was positive. I recorded that I caught 18 fish that day.

Light bulb moment, just happened. I am going to add "Bass Snatchers Tourny" to my Fish Swami Fishing Partners list, so all of my Tournaments will be easily searchable once I get them all documented that way. I think I will also make a list of days I pre-fished as well.

The second tournament day, pre-fish and tournament, was plagued by wind. Not a good thing for Edward, which is just a wide open basin pretty much. It looks like wind will be a factor today. It isn't supposed to blow hard hard, but anything above 5 mph is going to have half of the lake rocking and rolling. It is also supposed to be cloudy to partly cloudy, which is usually a positive for clear bodies of water such as Edward.

I had some pretty good finishes in July and some real stinkers, like last year's Last-Place finish on Mission Lake. The 2025 Season has been off to a terrible start. Hopefully, Arnie's fish are there and chewing. That is the secret to success in July, drawing a boater on a school or pattern that is on and stays on long enough to put together a solid bag. 

Wish me luck!

Snatcher's Lake Edward Preview Part 2: Rods and Plan

 

The Plan: I will be blasting out in boat #1 with Ranger Arnie. He will forever be Ranger Arnie here at Bass Pundit, even though he is a part-time Snatcher now. This will be the first time I fish with Arnie as a Snatcher. I did draw him for my boater for the Challenge Cup on Platte/Sullivan back in 2019 when I got skunked. Arnie may have been skunked as well, but I think he caught one keeper bass. 

Arnie took two trips, prefishing for Edward, and did well fishing the cabbage, so that is where we will no doubt spend the majority of our time. I will start with a buzzbait, but quickly switch to a jig and Texas rig if Arnie is catching them and I'm not. If it's a tough bite, I'll go to a free rig, Ned, and Neko. 

Rods I'm bringing:

7'6" H Tatula (Jig)

7'4" H Tatula (Toad, Frog, Jig, Buzzbait) Just in case Arnie has a reed spot.

7'3" MH St. Criox Legend Tournament (Free Rig)

7' H St. Croix Avid (Texas Rig)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (FC) (Flukes, Neko,  Dark Sleeper, Chatterbait, Spinnerbait)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Braid) (Jig, Chatterbait, Spinnerbait)

6'9" H Tatula Elite (Braid) (Dark Sleeper)

6'6" GLX 783 (Jig Worm, Dark Sleeper, Ned, Jerkbait, Paddletail) 

Spinning:

6'6" Abu Veritas (Neko Rig, Ned Rig)

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)

I've Got The Platte/Sullivan Lake Blues

 

These are my trips in the Trophy, so far this year.

Wrecking 'em I ain't. The results from this past weekend can be attributed to the post-spawn, post-cold front conditions, right? Oh brother, it is going to be a tough year if I don't up my game and innovate. 

Here are all of my trips since June 5th,