The bass season has finally opened here in Minnesota this past weekend. From my travels I know people in other parts of the country have no concept of this at all. They can't believe that at certain times of the year we are not allowed to fish for bass. Of course we are allowed to fish for other species and if I accidentally catch a bass that is just fine by me. What the bass season opener really means for me though is that tournament fishing can get underway. This is what I really live for! With club events, a few different circuits, and weeknight leagues my schedule is pretty jam packed for the next few months and I wouldn't have it any other way!
June 3rd - Big Bass Bonanza: Sauk Lake
June 9th - West Central Bassmasters State TOC Qualifier: Green Lake, Spicer & Norway Lake
June 10th - West Central Bassmasters State TOC Qualifier: Sauk Lake
June 17th - Big Bass Bonanza: Green Lake, Spicer
June 24th - West Central Tournament Series: Lake Minnewaska
July 15th - Big Bass Bonanza: Lake Minnewaska
July 22nd - West Central Tournament Series: Lake Koronis/Rice Lake
July 29th - Green Mill/West Central Bassmasters Summer Classic: Green Lake, Spicer
August 5th - West Central Tournament Series: Sauk Lake
August 19th - West Central Tournament Series: Green Lake, Spicer
August 26th - Big Bass Bonanza: Horseshoe Chain of Lakes
September 6-7th - Minnesota B.A.S.S. Federation TOC: Island Lake Resevoir - pending qualification
September 9th - Green Mill/West Central Bassmasters Fall Classic: Green Lake, Spicer
September 15-16th - Minnesota Pro Team Bass Tour TOC: Clearwater Lake - pending qualification via the Big Bass Bonanza circuit
In addition to these events I will also be fishing the West Central Bass League every Wednesday and Thursday night in June, July and August. I'll also be fishing the West Central Fall Bass League every Saturday in September and October. I may also and in some additional tournaments if something interesting comes up but as much as I love competing it is also nice to have a free weekend every once in awhile.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
2011 Season Recap
Normally I write my season recap at the actual end of the season but after an extremely disappointing final tournament last November I wasn't really in the mood to write. Since this blog is mainly about my tournament activities I tend to not post much, if at all, in the winter so it has had to wait until now. Honestly I considered quitting the blog but besides my readers I feel the process of writing this blog has actually helped my fishing. Obviously even before this blog I would go back over tournament days and evaluate them but the process of writing things down really does something more than just thinking about it. So for just personal reasons the blog will continue! I hope you guys get some enjoyment from it as well and maybe even learn a few things.
I consider myself to be a very consistent angler when it comes to my tournament results. I sure don't win as many as I want to (who does), but over these past few years I have had very few really bad tournaments. Last year was completely different though as my results were all over the place. The final tournament of the year illustrates that perfectly. I was fortunate enough to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship on the Ouachita River in Loiusiana. Qualifying for this tournament is a long road through the local B.A.S.S. club to the state TOC to Divisionals and finally to the National Championship. Making the Championship was and is by far the highlight of my tournament fishing career but my results on the Ouachita were anything but spectacular. I just wasn't able to get on the quality of fish I needed despite extensive practice and research and finished 42nd out of 54 anglers in the event. Here in Minnesota I failed to qualify for the Divisional team so my quest to qualify for the BFNC again will have to wait another year.
Over the past 4 seasons the team tournament trail my dad and I fish has been the Big Bass Bonanza trail. The first 3 years included several high finishes and our end of the year placement in the Team of the Year standings was always within the top 10 to secure a place in their Tournament of Champions. Despite a strong start with a 4th place showing and big bass in the first event, it was all downhill from there. We put up several of our worst finishes ever on the BBB trail and slid to 13th in the final points ending our TOC streak.
Closer to home I had a bit more success. Our club, the West Central Bassmasters, holds two open tournaments on Green Lake in Spicer MN every year. In the June event we were able to finish 2nd out of 32 teams and in the September event we found just enough weight to take 1st out of 34 teams! Obviously I love Green Lake and have had numerous high finishes out there but it had been quite awhile since I had gotten a win out there so that one felt good. Our club also runs Wednesday and Thursday night leagues. Those started off with a bang for us as my dad and I were able to win the first 5 nights of the year! With the competition we have fishing these events, that is no small feat. The rest of the year wasn't quite a strong but we ended up 2nd and 3rd respectively in the final points standings.
I didn't go over everything that happened last year so feel free to go back through my archives for more details if you are interested. As I write this our bass season here in MN is still not open yet but finally will this coming weekend! I have another full schedule of tournaments and league nights this year and am looking forward to them all. Besides being more consistent than last year my only goal is to win them all!
I consider myself to be a very consistent angler when it comes to my tournament results. I sure don't win as many as I want to (who does), but over these past few years I have had very few really bad tournaments. Last year was completely different though as my results were all over the place. The final tournament of the year illustrates that perfectly. I was fortunate enough to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship on the Ouachita River in Loiusiana. Qualifying for this tournament is a long road through the local B.A.S.S. club to the state TOC to Divisionals and finally to the National Championship. Making the Championship was and is by far the highlight of my tournament fishing career but my results on the Ouachita were anything but spectacular. I just wasn't able to get on the quality of fish I needed despite extensive practice and research and finished 42nd out of 54 anglers in the event. Here in Minnesota I failed to qualify for the Divisional team so my quest to qualify for the BFNC again will have to wait another year.
Over the past 4 seasons the team tournament trail my dad and I fish has been the Big Bass Bonanza trail. The first 3 years included several high finishes and our end of the year placement in the Team of the Year standings was always within the top 10 to secure a place in their Tournament of Champions. Despite a strong start with a 4th place showing and big bass in the first event, it was all downhill from there. We put up several of our worst finishes ever on the BBB trail and slid to 13th in the final points ending our TOC streak.
Closer to home I had a bit more success. Our club, the West Central Bassmasters, holds two open tournaments on Green Lake in Spicer MN every year. In the June event we were able to finish 2nd out of 32 teams and in the September event we found just enough weight to take 1st out of 34 teams! Obviously I love Green Lake and have had numerous high finishes out there but it had been quite awhile since I had gotten a win out there so that one felt good. Our club also runs Wednesday and Thursday night leagues. Those started off with a bang for us as my dad and I were able to win the first 5 nights of the year! With the competition we have fishing these events, that is no small feat. The rest of the year wasn't quite a strong but we ended up 2nd and 3rd respectively in the final points standings.
I didn't go over everything that happened last year so feel free to go back through my archives for more details if you are interested. As I write this our bass season here in MN is still not open yet but finally will this coming weekend! I have another full schedule of tournaments and league nights this year and am looking forward to them all. Besides being more consistent than last year my only goal is to win them all!
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