West Central Bass League - Lake Florida - July 11th
As we were headed to Lake Florida on this Wednesday night we got a call telling us that someone had just drowned on the lake. When we got to the access nothing seemed to be happening but a short while later the emergency vehicles were flying past the access. As it turns out an older man fell off the dock and did not make it. That cast a somber atmosphere over the evening but the fish sure didn't seem to mind. The lake kicked out more quality bass than I can remember for at least the last 5 years.
1st - Lee & Nick - 3 - 10.94 lbs
2nd - Ron & Joe - 3 - 10.85 lbs
3rd - Jeff & Kris - 3 - 10.46 lbs
4th - Jim & Brad - 3 - 10.32 lbs
5th - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 9.94 lbs
Big Bass - Brad & Bill - 5.44 lbs
Generally a bag such as ours in the 10 lb range is enough to win on Lake Florida but it was only barely enough to squeak into the money on this night. In the older days of league Florida was known as a dock fishing lake and that is pretty much what everyone did. That has certainly changed though as the offshore bite is where many focus there attention. For awhile I had that deal mostly to myself but times have changed. With a middle of the pack boat draw there was no way I could get to my preferred starting area so it was off to another area which ended up being just as crowded. I was able to get right on the juice though and it didn't take long for the fish to start biting. The fish were biting for others in the area too but we were definitely out-catching everyone else. We did move around a bit but the majority of our night was spent sitting on that one hole. Our fish came on a variety of lures such as homemade jigs, 10" Berkley Power Worms, finesse worms either Texas rigged or on a drop shot but the best producer ended up being a slow rolled green pumpkin Z-Man Chatterbait.
West Central Bass League - Nest Lake - July 12th
From all the reports I had heard and my personal experience on Nest this year the fishing had been extremely tough prior to this weeks league but much like Florida on Wednesday night the fish turned on big time and the weights ended up being very impressive. I think part of the reason the fishing was so good is that all of the curly leaf pondweed or June weed had all died off at this point. For some reason the fishing just isn't very good when there is a ton of curly leaf in the lake. Fortunately it dies off around the first of July every year though. Maybe that had something to do with it or maybe not but in any case the fishing was excellent.
1st - Scott & Kelly - 3 - 11.90 lbs
2nd - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 11.65 lbs
3rd - Ron & Joe - 3 - 11.62 lbs
4th - Donovan & Brad - 3 - 11.42 lbs
5th - Paul & Pete - 3 - 9.78 lbs
Big Bass - Donovan & Brad - 5.16 lbs
We started our night on a shallow rocky area that is traditionally known for smallmouth but this year had been holding a number of quality largemouth. Within 5 minutes I hooked up with a good fish but instead of being the expected largemouth it was a smallie. Right then I knew we would focus most of our night on the brown fish and the 3 we brought to the scales ended up being the only limit of smallmouth weighed in on the night. We caught fish on a variety of lures but the 3 we weighed came on a green pumpkin Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss or a green pumpkin Biffle Hardhead jig rigged with a Biffle Bug.
Big Bass Bonanza - Lake Minnewaska - July 15th
We were finally able to break out of the slump we were in to start off the Big Bass Bonanza season. Our middle of the pack finishes in the first 2 events certainly could have been worse but they certainly weren't what I expect of myself, especially when one of the lakes is Green Lake. At Minnewaska we weighed in an 8 fish limit of smallmouth for 21.88 lbs. It was the only limit comprised solely of smallies and was enough to take 5th place out of 32 teams. The finished also jumped us way up in the TOY standings to a tie for 6th place, which is well within the top 15 championship cut with one event remaining.
Going into the event, like everything else this year, Minnewaska had been tough for us. We put in a long day on Saturday before the tournament and finally got a few things going. Our plan was to fish for smallies on shallow sand flats and largemouths on deep weedlines as well as under docks. Since I have already said we weighed all smallmouth it is clear that neither largemouth pattern held up at all. We caught a lot of green fish but none of them were even close to the size we needed. For the smallies the fishing was pretty simple. One of our weigh fish came on a Super Spook but all the rest came on green pumpkin or watermelon/red flake Strike King Coffee Tubes. The key for us was getting tube stuck in the sparse weeds and the popping it free. If we weren't in the weeds we would still hop the tube violently and that is when every bite happened. I know many people think of a tube as a finesse bait but I really like using it as a reaction bait like this especially for smallmouth. There is something about that action they just can't resist.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
West Central Bass League - Unofficial Holiday Week
For the 4th of July week every year the West Central Bass League takes a break from the regular format. Most people want to get away and be with family and friends instead of being forced to come to league when points are on the line. Some people still like to fish though so we give them the opportunity if they want it. This we we decided to go to 2 lakes that are not normally on the league schedule to check them out. Next week league will be back to normal for the rest of the summer.
West Central Bass League - Foot Lake - July 4th
Foot Lake is not known as a very good bass lake although there are some nice fish in there so we decided to see what it had to offer in the middle of summer. The 4th ended up being the hottest day of the year so far and that along with the lake's reputation kept the turnout low. Only 3 teams were brave enough to tackle the challenge. With only 3 boats fishing only 1 spot was paid.
1st - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 5.56 lbs
Big Bass - Grant & April - 3.80 lbs
We ended up with the only limit of the night but it sure wasn't easy. Most of our night was spent on a large milfoil mat that just looked like it should have held a number of fish. We did get our first keeper there as well as several short fish but it just didn't produce as well as it should have. With about a half hour left in the night we moved to a stretch of rip rap and quickly put our 2 other keepers in the boat. All of our fish came on various colors of Berkley HAVOC Pit Bosses.
West Central Bass League - Lake Scandinavia - July 5th
We had a much better turnout as 8 teams showed up to fish a lake that most of us have not fished before. The lake is loaded with 2 lb class bass and most teams reported catching a lot of fish for the evening.
1st - Ron & Joe - 3 - 9.03 lbs
2nd Donovan & Mike - 3 - 8.49 lbs
Big Bass - Donovan & Mike - 3.66 lbs
We ended up fishing deep weed lines for the majority of the night and ended up catching a ton of fish. We caught 25-30 bass but the problem was we just couldn't get over that 2 1/4 lb range. Our 3 fish limit weighed in at 7.20 lbs to give us 4th place for the night. Our fish came on homemade jigs and various plastics.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
West Central Bass League - Week 5
After a hectic and not particularly productive June I finally have a little time to relax and catch my breath. I have a two week break before my next tournament on July 15th. To say the start of the tournament season is a disappointment would be a huge understatement. I'm not sure what's going wrong so far this year but all I can do is keep fishing and hope I work my way out of it. Even though there are occasional breaks in the weekend tournament schedule the West Central Bass League goes every week so I am still able to get my competitive fishing fix.
West Central Bass League - Lake Calhoun - June 27th
It was hot, muggy and calm and actually pretty unpleasant out when we arrived at Lake Calhoun but didn't stop us from having the largest turnout of the year so far. Calhoun is always a popular lake but I was surprised when 26 teams showed up to fish. On a small lake like Calhoun it was pretty crowded but fish were still caught. To me it seemed a little off overall and whether that was related to the conditions or the crowds I'm not sure. Here are the results.
1st - Ross & Rob - 3 - 12.23 lbs
2nd - Donovan & Mike - 3 - 9.22 lbs
3rd - Kyle & Jim - 3 - 8.98 lbs
4th - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 8.57 lbs
5th - Ron & Joe - 3 - 8.07 lbs
Big Bass - Ross & Rob - 4.49 lbs
For us the night was extremely tough and I was very pleased that we ended up taking 4th place. We were one of the last boats out and I thought for sure someone would be where I wanted to start but we were able to start where I wanted. Of course it wasn't very productive but we did get one 2 1/2 pounder that we ended up weighing. That fish came on a Okochobee Craw Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss flipped into thick matted up reeds. After that we bounced around the lake and it was really slow until about the last half hour when I moved to a shallow inside weedline that had been fished all night long by other boats. It had opened up though and with the lower light conditions I hoped that they would turn on and that is exactly what happened. I started getting bit on almost every cast and although most were small we were able to steadily upgrade until right near the end of the night my dad put an almost 4 lb bass in the boat. Those fish all came on watermelon Strike King Ochos or Yamamoto Senkos.
West Central Bass League - Lake Johanna - June 28th
After having the largest turnout of the season the previous night only 16 teams decided to show up on Thursday night. I'm not sure what the reason for the drop off was since the lake had fished really well the previous week. In any case it was nice to move around and actually have areas to yourself. The fishing certainly didn't end up being as good as the previous week although the weights were still pretty strong.
1st - TJ & Isaiah - 3 - 11.00 lbs
2nd - Donovan & Brad - 3 - 10.94 lbs
3rd - Paul & Troy - 3 - 10.41 lbs
4th - Ron & Joe - 3 - 10.20 lbs
Big Bass - Donovan & Brad - 5.00 lbs
We really struggled for the night and only came in with 2 bass weighing 7.08 lbs to take 9th place. One of the goals for our league season every year is to catch a 3 bass limit every night and that ended. I don't believe we have ever done it in fact. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to do but apparently it is. We did basically the same thing we did the previous week when we finished 2nd and what everyone else was doing which is to fish the reeds and bullrushes but it just didn't work out for us. Our 2 weigh fish came on a okochobee craw Pit Boss and a watermelon 6" Yum Dinger.
West Central Bass League - Lake Calhoun - June 27th
It was hot, muggy and calm and actually pretty unpleasant out when we arrived at Lake Calhoun but didn't stop us from having the largest turnout of the year so far. Calhoun is always a popular lake but I was surprised when 26 teams showed up to fish. On a small lake like Calhoun it was pretty crowded but fish were still caught. To me it seemed a little off overall and whether that was related to the conditions or the crowds I'm not sure. Here are the results.
1st - Ross & Rob - 3 - 12.23 lbs
2nd - Donovan & Mike - 3 - 9.22 lbs
3rd - Kyle & Jim - 3 - 8.98 lbs
4th - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 8.57 lbs
5th - Ron & Joe - 3 - 8.07 lbs
Big Bass - Ross & Rob - 4.49 lbs
For us the night was extremely tough and I was very pleased that we ended up taking 4th place. We were one of the last boats out and I thought for sure someone would be where I wanted to start but we were able to start where I wanted. Of course it wasn't very productive but we did get one 2 1/2 pounder that we ended up weighing. That fish came on a Okochobee Craw Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss flipped into thick matted up reeds. After that we bounced around the lake and it was really slow until about the last half hour when I moved to a shallow inside weedline that had been fished all night long by other boats. It had opened up though and with the lower light conditions I hoped that they would turn on and that is exactly what happened. I started getting bit on almost every cast and although most were small we were able to steadily upgrade until right near the end of the night my dad put an almost 4 lb bass in the boat. Those fish all came on watermelon Strike King Ochos or Yamamoto Senkos.
West Central Bass League - Lake Johanna - June 28th
After having the largest turnout of the season the previous night only 16 teams decided to show up on Thursday night. I'm not sure what the reason for the drop off was since the lake had fished really well the previous week. In any case it was nice to move around and actually have areas to yourself. The fishing certainly didn't end up being as good as the previous week although the weights were still pretty strong.
1st - TJ & Isaiah - 3 - 11.00 lbs
2nd - Donovan & Brad - 3 - 10.94 lbs
3rd - Paul & Troy - 3 - 10.41 lbs
4th - Ron & Joe - 3 - 10.20 lbs
Big Bass - Donovan & Brad - 5.00 lbs
We really struggled for the night and only came in with 2 bass weighing 7.08 lbs to take 9th place. One of the goals for our league season every year is to catch a 3 bass limit every night and that ended. I don't believe we have ever done it in fact. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to do but apparently it is. We did basically the same thing we did the previous week when we finished 2nd and what everyone else was doing which is to fish the reeds and bullrushes but it just didn't work out for us. Our 2 weigh fish came on a okochobee craw Pit Boss and a watermelon 6" Yum Dinger.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
West Central Bass League - Week 4 & West Central Tournament Series - Lake Minnewaska
West Central Bass League - Lake Johanna - June 20th
This evening was one of the more memorable league nights we have had in the past few years. The fishing was actually pretty tough overall for the 19 teams competing and the weights at the top are certainly not the highest we have ever seen. What was impressive though was the average size of all the bass weighed in. The 19 teams fishing combined to weigh 46 bass for 160.87 lbs. That works out to exactly a 3.50 lb average per fish. That is pretty impressive for any lake let alone one up here in Minnesota. Here are the results.
1st - Tonya & Jared - 3 - 12.47 lbs
2nd - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 11.93 lbs
3rd - Paul & Pete - 3 - 11.78 lbs
4th - Tim & Grant - 3 - 11.19 lbs
5th - Bruce & Dave - 3 - 10.97 lbs
Big Bass - Andy Nitchals - 4.77 lbs
Since by luck of they draw we are back on Johanna this week I won't have much to say about the details of our night. I can say it was a grind though. I got the big fish of the night relatively early in the evening and then we went nearly 2 hours without another bite. Fortunately things picked up towards the end and we ended up catching 4 keepers on the night.
West Central Bass League - Lake Andrew - June 21st
From Johanna which is one of the better big fish lakes on our league schedule it was off to Lake Andrew which consistently produces one of the smaller averages. It used to be a pretty good lake for big fish but they have just seemed to disappear. On this night the fishing was about what was to be expected for the 21 teams competing. As you will see the big bass for the night was the same as the average fish on the previous night.
1st - Brian - 3 - 9.20 lbs
2nd - Ron & Dave - 3 - 7.88 lbs
3rd - Kyle & Hunter - 3 - 7.60 lbs
4th - Jared & Tonya - 3 - 7.11 lbs
5th - Travis & Tristan - 3 - 6.78 lbs
Big Bass - Ron & Dave - 3.56 lbs
This one was really a struggle for us as we ended up with 3 for 5.75 lbs. That put us in 11th place for the night. Usually I like Lake Andrew and not just because it's my namesake lake. It is mainly a weedline type lake and most of the time I am able to come across a few better quality fish to get into the money. It certainly didn't work out that way on this night though. We stuck with the weedline game plan for pretty much the whole night and it was pretty slow. We picked off a few hear and there but never came across a big school or any decent fish at all. Our weigh fish came on homemade jigs and various Texas rigged plastics.
West Central Tournament Series - Lake Minnewaska - June 24th
June 24th marked the first ever West Central Tournament Series event on Lake Minnewaska. The Tournament Series covers 4 events on area lakes with a low entry fee of $50. Since we didn't want to deal with permits the field was limited to 25 boats and that it was great to get a full field for the first event. The fishing numbers wise was good to as all 25 teams brought a 6 fish limit to the scales. The size of the fish was somewhat down from previous tournaments on Minnewaska though. The full results can be found here.
http://www.wcmnbassmasters.org/resources/LakeMinnewaska.pdf
This was another tough tournament for us to start off the season. We just can't seem to get anything going at all so far this year. Our 6 fish limit of smallmouth weighed in at 13.29 lbs to take 14th place. Our first couple stops of the day were unproductive but on our 3rd stop which was a shallow sand flat we quickly put a 2.25 lb smallie in the boat. That was the only fish we got there but we decided to run similar areas for most of the rest of the day and were able to get into a fair number of smallmouth. The problem was that they all weighed 2.25 lbs. Usually if the smallies are biting pretty good I am able to find a few bigger ones but that just didn't happen on this day. All of our weigh fish came on green pumpkin Strike King Coffee Tubes or chartreuse and white spinnerbaits.
This evening was one of the more memorable league nights we have had in the past few years. The fishing was actually pretty tough overall for the 19 teams competing and the weights at the top are certainly not the highest we have ever seen. What was impressive though was the average size of all the bass weighed in. The 19 teams fishing combined to weigh 46 bass for 160.87 lbs. That works out to exactly a 3.50 lb average per fish. That is pretty impressive for any lake let alone one up here in Minnesota. Here are the results.
1st - Tonya & Jared - 3 - 12.47 lbs
2nd - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 11.93 lbs
3rd - Paul & Pete - 3 - 11.78 lbs
4th - Tim & Grant - 3 - 11.19 lbs
5th - Bruce & Dave - 3 - 10.97 lbs
Big Bass - Andy Nitchals - 4.77 lbs
Since by luck of they draw we are back on Johanna this week I won't have much to say about the details of our night. I can say it was a grind though. I got the big fish of the night relatively early in the evening and then we went nearly 2 hours without another bite. Fortunately things picked up towards the end and we ended up catching 4 keepers on the night.
West Central Bass League - Lake Andrew - June 21st
From Johanna which is one of the better big fish lakes on our league schedule it was off to Lake Andrew which consistently produces one of the smaller averages. It used to be a pretty good lake for big fish but they have just seemed to disappear. On this night the fishing was about what was to be expected for the 21 teams competing. As you will see the big bass for the night was the same as the average fish on the previous night.
1st - Brian - 3 - 9.20 lbs
2nd - Ron & Dave - 3 - 7.88 lbs
3rd - Kyle & Hunter - 3 - 7.60 lbs
4th - Jared & Tonya - 3 - 7.11 lbs
5th - Travis & Tristan - 3 - 6.78 lbs
Big Bass - Ron & Dave - 3.56 lbs
This one was really a struggle for us as we ended up with 3 for 5.75 lbs. That put us in 11th place for the night. Usually I like Lake Andrew and not just because it's my namesake lake. It is mainly a weedline type lake and most of the time I am able to come across a few better quality fish to get into the money. It certainly didn't work out that way on this night though. We stuck with the weedline game plan for pretty much the whole night and it was pretty slow. We picked off a few hear and there but never came across a big school or any decent fish at all. Our weigh fish came on homemade jigs and various Texas rigged plastics.
West Central Tournament Series - Lake Minnewaska - June 24th
June 24th marked the first ever West Central Tournament Series event on Lake Minnewaska. The Tournament Series covers 4 events on area lakes with a low entry fee of $50. Since we didn't want to deal with permits the field was limited to 25 boats and that it was great to get a full field for the first event. The fishing numbers wise was good to as all 25 teams brought a 6 fish limit to the scales. The size of the fish was somewhat down from previous tournaments on Minnewaska though. The full results can be found here.
http://www.wcmnbassmasters.org/resources/LakeMinnewaska.pdf
This was another tough tournament for us to start off the season. We just can't seem to get anything going at all so far this year. Our 6 fish limit of smallmouth weighed in at 13.29 lbs to take 14th place. Our first couple stops of the day were unproductive but on our 3rd stop which was a shallow sand flat we quickly put a 2.25 lb smallie in the boat. That was the only fish we got there but we decided to run similar areas for most of the rest of the day and were able to get into a fair number of smallmouth. The problem was that they all weighed 2.25 lbs. Usually if the smallies are biting pretty good I am able to find a few bigger ones but that just didn't happen on this day. All of our weigh fish came on green pumpkin Strike King Coffee Tubes or chartreuse and white spinnerbaits.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
West Central Bass League - Week 3 & Big Bass Bonanza - Green Lake, Spicer
West Central Bass League - Lake Koronis - June 13th
We had 19 boats fishing lake Koronis last Wednesday night. That is actually the lowest turnout we've had so far this year and that was probably just because Koronis is one of the furthest lakes from Willmar on the league schedule. The windy conditions might have kept a few away as well although the wind did lay down nicely and we had a great night to fish. The fish didn't seem to like it though. It seems like a lot of fish were caught but the size was definitely down compared to previous years.
1st - Ron & Joe - 3 - 11.65 lbs
2nd - Dean - 3 - 9.06 lbs
3rd - Brian & Josh - 3 - 8.46 lbs
4th - Paul & Pete - 3 - 8.23 lbs
5th - Tonya & Jared - 3 - 7.79 lbs
Big Bass - Ron & Joe - 4.65 lbs
My dad and I struggled through another tough night and ended up with 3 weighing 7.67 lbs to take 6th place. It certainly could have been a lot worse though. It was just really bad fishing for us and we only ended up catching 4 keepers on the evening. We were one of the last boats blasting off and the 3 areas I wanted to start on were already covered up by the time we got there. Another challenge was the lack of weeds on my best weedline areas. I have no idea why but they just aren't growing right on what used to be my good spots. We did pick up two 2 1/2 lb largemouth on homemade watermelon jigs out of a small patch of stringy grass near a point that usually has a lot of nice coontail. Our 3rd keeper was a smallmouth that came on a chartreuse and white spinnerbait over a shallow sandy flat.
West Central Bass League - Long Lake - June 14th
Long Lake is always a popular lake even though it can be extremely tough. It is definitely better earlier in the year and the 20 teams competing were looking for giant bags. With the early spring I thought we were maybe going to be a week or two late but I was wrong as some massive sacks came to the scales. Another surprising thing was the number of small limits brought in. That usually doesn't happen on this lake.
1st - Travis & Hunter - 3 - 14.55 lbs
2nd - Greg & Matt - 3 - 13.70 lbs
3rd - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 13.38 lbs
4th - Ross & Daryl - 3 - 12.46 lbs
5th - Paul & Paul - 3 - 10.53 lbs
Big Bass - Donovan & Brad - 5.74 lbs
Any time you average almost 4 1/2 lbs per fish in Minnesota like we did it is an amazing day. It sure wasn't easy though. Our first stop was a bust and after moving to our second area I started seeing a bunch of small bass. I finally spotted a small cruiser I thought was a keeper so I through a watermelon/red flake Strike King Ocho at it and quickly put it in the boat. Before I could get re-rigged a big one swam up right next to the boat. My dad had a black buzzin frog on and let it sink in front of her face and she gobbled it right up. For awhile we continued to look for cruisers but that just wasn't happening so we mostly flipped reeds the rest of the night and ended up getting 2 more good ones on a green pumpkin Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss. There really was no rhyme or reason to where the fish were. It was just a matter of staying patient and fishing hard.
Big Bass Bonanza - Green Lake, Spicer - June 17th
I don't really know what to say about this one. I have had quite a bit of success on Green Lake in recent years. I feel like I understand the lake pretty well and my results have shown that. This year has really been a struggle for me though and even the lake I was hoping would break me out of my slump would not cooperate. We ended up weighing an 8 fish limit of smallmouth for 19.75 lbs which put us in 15th place out of 31 teams competing.
Going into the event I knew a lot of fish were up shallow on beds or just cruising the rock and sand flats. For some reason though I just was not able to catch quality fish up shallow. Generally I prefer to avoid the crowds anyways and get out on the deep breaks and humps, even at this time of year. I felt that would be a solid game plan and it ended up being just fine for numbers but the size just didn't end up being there.
During the tournament all of our weigh fish came on a drop shot rigged with watermelon or green pumpkin Berkley HAVOC Bottom Hoppers or LFT Twitch worms. We did try fishing shallow with various lures for a good portion of the day but like I said earlier we were just not able to get into the quality fish. One thing I found interesting is that it was almost impossible to get a bite out of the milfoil. Usually that is good at any time of the year but it just wasn't happening for this event.
Monday, June 11, 2012
West Central Bass League - Week 2 & West Central Bassmasters MN State TOC Qualifiers
It was a busy week for me with two league nights and 3 tournaments over the weekend. Fortunately by luck of the draw many of the lakes overlapped so it made prefishing much easier to schedule. The unfortunate part is that for the most part the fishing hasn't been very good.
West Central Bass League - Green Lake Cup - June 6th
Wednesday night was the Green Lake Cup. The cup nights are pretty much the same as a normal league night except that the entry fee is a little higher and we pay back 2 big bass instead of just one. Normally for our league nights we have a one week off limits period but because many of the same anglers were also fishing Green Lake over the weekend that was waved. Many of us got out on the water in the days before league are reported amazing fishing. On Wednesday night something changed though and almost everyone reported struggling. The weights were definitely not what I and many of the other 22 teams were expecting.
1st - Scott & Andy - 3 - 9.46 lbs
2nd - Grant & Tim - 3 - 9.20 lbs
3rd - Paul & Pete - 3 - 9.13 lbs
4th - Ron & Joe - 3 - 8.98 lbs
5th - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 8.48 lbs
Big Bass #1 - Grant & Tim - 3.97 lbs
Big Bass #2 - Andy Nitchals - 3.88 lbs
Since I have an upcoming Big Bass Bonanza tournament on Green Lake this weekend I can't reveal too much about our fishing on this night. I can say that it was tough though.We really had to scramble around and change tactics from what had worked so well just the day before. We pretty much ended up junking around and caught our fish in a variety of ways.
West Central Bass League - Norway/Games Lake Cup - June 7th
Just as we did on Wednesday we had 22 teams show up to compete on Thursday night for the Norway/Games Lake Cup. Also as on Wednesday the week long off limits was waved for this night and the expectation of those who had been out prefishing was that it wasn't very good. With the exception of one bag they were proven right as most of the teams came in with very small bags. Noway hasn't been great in recent years but the fishing is downright poor out there right now.
1st - Lee & Nick - 3 - 9.27 lbs
2nd - Tonya & Jared - 3 - 7.57 lbs
3rd - Ron & Joe - 3 - 7.31 lbs
4th - And & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 7.28 lbs
5th - Paul & Pete - 3 - 7.09 lbs
Big Bass #1 - Lee & Nick - 4.00 lbs
Big Bass #2 - Scott & Kelly - 2.86 lbs
Since there was no cutoff I got on the water for about an hour right before league started and was actually surprised to get 5 bites in that hour. I shook them off of course except for a 3 pounder that just wouldn't let go. That one would have went a long way for us later on in the evening but getting those bites formulated a game plan for us that we utilized right off the bat when league started. I had to places I wanted to go and as it turns out the place I didn't go kicked out 3 fish in the first 5 minutes of the night. My starting area also produced a keeper but it was small. We made a move and put 2 more keepers in the boat within the first 15 minutes so we were off to a good start but had nowhere near the size we would need. Eventually we made the move to deeper water where we were able to get on a decent school of fish to catch all of our weight. Those fish came on homemade watermelon/green pumpkin jigs tipped with green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Chunks.
West Central Bassmasters State Qualifier Tournaments
Over the weekend of June 9th-10th my club held 3 tournaments to determine which members would be going to the MN B.A.S.S. State Federation TOC on Island Lake Reservoir in September. We held a 4 hour tournament with a 4 fish limit on Green Lake on Saturday morning and then a 4 hour tournament with a 4 fish limit on Norway/Games in the afternoon. Then on Sunday we held an 8 hour tournament on Sauk Lake with a 5 fish limit. This year our club is allowed to send 8 members and 1 alternate to the TOC. My goal as always is to finish 1st in the club to gain the guaranteed boater slot and the State TOC.
Green Lake
Again because of an upcoming tournament I can't go into much detail about this event. I can say it was much like league night a few days earlier in that I pretty much just junked around and of the 4 smallies I weighed, each came on a different presentation in different areas. I ended up weighing 4 smallmouth for 11.74 lbs to easily secure the win. I also had big bass for the morning at 3.46 lbs.
Norway/Games Lake
In the afternoon I knew I wanted to start on the same school that produced Thursday night just to get some quick fish in the boat and it started of fast as I had what ended up being my biggest fish of the day in the boat on my 2nd cast. My dad then caught one real quick and after that it was over. The rest of the day was spent any shallow cover that looked good. My other 3 weigh fish came on an overhanging tree, and a deadhead that was a little ways offshore and a shallow cabbage bed. Those fish all came on my trusty Green Pumpkin Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss. For the afternoon I ended up weighing 4 bass for 9.04 lbs which was good enough to take 2nd place.
Sauk Lake
I was extremely happy to have the points lead coming into Sauk Lake. I have spent a fair amount of time on the lake this year but just cannot figure it out. Really I was just hoping to catch 1 fish. With the points I had I felt like that would be enough to qualify me for the TOC. Of course I wanted to retain my points lead as well and as it turns out I had the bites to do it. I just didn't put them in the boat. Pretty early on in the day I ended up abandoning everything I planned to do as my dad put 2 good fish in the boat on a toad/buzzin frog. I had been using a Spro Bronzeye Frog but for some reason they really seemed to prefer the toad on this day. I'm no dummy so I picked one up as well and threw it pretty much the rest of the day around shallow matted weeds. I ended up getting 6 bites on the day but only boated 3 of them for 8.24 lbs. This put me in 5th place for the day. After all the points were tallied I ended up in 2nd place, by 1 point, for the club this year. Congratulations to all those who made the State TOC!
West Central Bass League - Green Lake Cup - June 6th
Wednesday night was the Green Lake Cup. The cup nights are pretty much the same as a normal league night except that the entry fee is a little higher and we pay back 2 big bass instead of just one. Normally for our league nights we have a one week off limits period but because many of the same anglers were also fishing Green Lake over the weekend that was waved. Many of us got out on the water in the days before league are reported amazing fishing. On Wednesday night something changed though and almost everyone reported struggling. The weights were definitely not what I and many of the other 22 teams were expecting.
1st - Scott & Andy - 3 - 9.46 lbs
2nd - Grant & Tim - 3 - 9.20 lbs
3rd - Paul & Pete - 3 - 9.13 lbs
4th - Ron & Joe - 3 - 8.98 lbs
5th - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 8.48 lbs
Big Bass #1 - Grant & Tim - 3.97 lbs
Big Bass #2 - Andy Nitchals - 3.88 lbs
Since I have an upcoming Big Bass Bonanza tournament on Green Lake this weekend I can't reveal too much about our fishing on this night. I can say that it was tough though.We really had to scramble around and change tactics from what had worked so well just the day before. We pretty much ended up junking around and caught our fish in a variety of ways.
West Central Bass League - Norway/Games Lake Cup - June 7th
Just as we did on Wednesday we had 22 teams show up to compete on Thursday night for the Norway/Games Lake Cup. Also as on Wednesday the week long off limits was waved for this night and the expectation of those who had been out prefishing was that it wasn't very good. With the exception of one bag they were proven right as most of the teams came in with very small bags. Noway hasn't been great in recent years but the fishing is downright poor out there right now.
1st - Lee & Nick - 3 - 9.27 lbs
2nd - Tonya & Jared - 3 - 7.57 lbs
3rd - Ron & Joe - 3 - 7.31 lbs
4th - And & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 7.28 lbs
5th - Paul & Pete - 3 - 7.09 lbs
Big Bass #1 - Lee & Nick - 4.00 lbs
Big Bass #2 - Scott & Kelly - 2.86 lbs
Since there was no cutoff I got on the water for about an hour right before league started and was actually surprised to get 5 bites in that hour. I shook them off of course except for a 3 pounder that just wouldn't let go. That one would have went a long way for us later on in the evening but getting those bites formulated a game plan for us that we utilized right off the bat when league started. I had to places I wanted to go and as it turns out the place I didn't go kicked out 3 fish in the first 5 minutes of the night. My starting area also produced a keeper but it was small. We made a move and put 2 more keepers in the boat within the first 15 minutes so we were off to a good start but had nowhere near the size we would need. Eventually we made the move to deeper water where we were able to get on a decent school of fish to catch all of our weight. Those fish came on homemade watermelon/green pumpkin jigs tipped with green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Chunks.
West Central Bassmasters State Qualifier Tournaments
Over the weekend of June 9th-10th my club held 3 tournaments to determine which members would be going to the MN B.A.S.S. State Federation TOC on Island Lake Reservoir in September. We held a 4 hour tournament with a 4 fish limit on Green Lake on Saturday morning and then a 4 hour tournament with a 4 fish limit on Norway/Games in the afternoon. Then on Sunday we held an 8 hour tournament on Sauk Lake with a 5 fish limit. This year our club is allowed to send 8 members and 1 alternate to the TOC. My goal as always is to finish 1st in the club to gain the guaranteed boater slot and the State TOC.
Green Lake
Again because of an upcoming tournament I can't go into much detail about this event. I can say it was much like league night a few days earlier in that I pretty much just junked around and of the 4 smallies I weighed, each came on a different presentation in different areas. I ended up weighing 4 smallmouth for 11.74 lbs to easily secure the win. I also had big bass for the morning at 3.46 lbs.
Norway/Games Lake
In the afternoon I knew I wanted to start on the same school that produced Thursday night just to get some quick fish in the boat and it started of fast as I had what ended up being my biggest fish of the day in the boat on my 2nd cast. My dad then caught one real quick and after that it was over. The rest of the day was spent any shallow cover that looked good. My other 3 weigh fish came on an overhanging tree, and a deadhead that was a little ways offshore and a shallow cabbage bed. Those fish all came on my trusty Green Pumpkin Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss. For the afternoon I ended up weighing 4 bass for 9.04 lbs which was good enough to take 2nd place.
Sauk Lake
I was extremely happy to have the points lead coming into Sauk Lake. I have spent a fair amount of time on the lake this year but just cannot figure it out. Really I was just hoping to catch 1 fish. With the points I had I felt like that would be enough to qualify me for the TOC. Of course I wanted to retain my points lead as well and as it turns out I had the bites to do it. I just didn't put them in the boat. Pretty early on in the day I ended up abandoning everything I planned to do as my dad put 2 good fish in the boat on a toad/buzzin frog. I had been using a Spro Bronzeye Frog but for some reason they really seemed to prefer the toad on this day. I'm no dummy so I picked one up as well and threw it pretty much the rest of the day around shallow matted weeds. I ended up getting 6 bites on the day but only boated 3 of them for 8.24 lbs. This put me in 5th place for the day. After all the points were tallied I ended up in 2nd place, by 1 point, for the club this year. Congratulations to all those who made the State TOC!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
West Central Bass League - Week 1 & Big Bass Bonanza - Sauk Lake
It is my favorite time of the year since it is finally tournament season here in Minnesota. The year has certainly not started off anything like I was hoping for though. For some reason everything has been a struggle so far. I'm just in a little funk for some reason and I can't quite place my finger on what's going wrong. The tournaments don't stop though so I'll just have to fish my way out of it.
West Central Bass League - Solomon Lake - May 30th
The first Wednesday night of league this year greeted us with cool, cloudy conditions that turned downright cold and rainy by the end of the night but despite the conditions 23 teams were ready to open the season. On a shallow lake like Solomon I was happy to see the clouds but apparently the cold put the fish in a funk. Despite having a monster bag even the winning team reported catching only 3 keepers for the night. Here are the results.
1st - Donovan & Mike - 3 - 12.75 lbs
2nd - Ron & Joe - 3 - 12.08 lbs
3rd - Ron & Dave - 3 - 10.23 lbs
4th - Grant & Tim - 3 - 8.92 lbs
5th - Paul & Pete - 3 - 8.90 lbs
Big Bass - Ron & Joe - 5.09 lbs
My dad and I ended up with 3 fish for 8.08 lbs to take 7th out of the 23 teams competing. Our night was nearly a disaster though. With only 20 minutes left to fish we only had 1 small bass in the boat. We were able to rally and catch 3 keepers in those last 20 minutes to salvage a terrible night. If it wasn't for that flurry we would have been in way down in the point standings. 2 of our weigh fish came on Senkos fished in the reeds and our big fish, which was nearly 4 lbs, first hit a Strike King S.G. toad before my dad followed up with a Sweet Beaver to get her.
West Central Bass League - Diamond Lake - May 31st
Thursday greeted the 20 teams competing with beautiful conditions and everyone reported catching a lot of fish. The problem was that most of them were pretty small. For this lake I would say the weights were down quite a bit from last year but as always a few people figure out the better ones.
1st - Ron & Joe - 3 - 10.63 lbs
2nd - Dean & JD - 3 - 10.44 lbs
3rd - Tim & Gran - 3 - 8.32 lbs
4th - Brian & Kraig - 3 - 8.08 lbs
5th - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 8.00 lbs
Big Bass - Butch & Jeff - 4.05 lbs
On this night my dad and I had the opposite problem of the previous night. We had our weight in the first 45 minutes and despite catching a number of small fish we were never able to upgrade the rest of the night. At least we were able to sneak into the final money spot. Our fish came on a green pumpkin Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss fished around docks and trees, although our biggest fish came by swimming the Pit Boss on a sandy bank in between docks.
Big Bass Bonanza - Sauk Lake - June 3rd
I generally like to provide a fair amount of detail in my blog posts but for this event that will not be possible. My bass club is holding a state qualifier tournament on Sauk this coming Sunday and since many of the club members read this blog I can't give them any info that might help them beat me. Not that I have any real secrets to share in the first place! This one was tough. With an 8 fish limit in the BBB we only ended up getting 8 bites all day, but only put 6 of them in the boat. Those 6 were pretty decent quality though and ended up weigh 17.26 lbs to take 13th place out of 26 teams. We were the highest finishing team without a limit so as you can see more than half the field weren't able to get a limit. It was tough out there but of course someone always catches them and the weights at the top, especially the winners, were very impressive. 1st place had over 31 lbs and the big bass at 5.5 lbs.
West Central Bass League - Solomon Lake - May 30th
The first Wednesday night of league this year greeted us with cool, cloudy conditions that turned downright cold and rainy by the end of the night but despite the conditions 23 teams were ready to open the season. On a shallow lake like Solomon I was happy to see the clouds but apparently the cold put the fish in a funk. Despite having a monster bag even the winning team reported catching only 3 keepers for the night. Here are the results.
1st - Donovan & Mike - 3 - 12.75 lbs
2nd - Ron & Joe - 3 - 12.08 lbs
3rd - Ron & Dave - 3 - 10.23 lbs
4th - Grant & Tim - 3 - 8.92 lbs
5th - Paul & Pete - 3 - 8.90 lbs
Big Bass - Ron & Joe - 5.09 lbs
My dad and I ended up with 3 fish for 8.08 lbs to take 7th out of the 23 teams competing. Our night was nearly a disaster though. With only 20 minutes left to fish we only had 1 small bass in the boat. We were able to rally and catch 3 keepers in those last 20 minutes to salvage a terrible night. If it wasn't for that flurry we would have been in way down in the point standings. 2 of our weigh fish came on Senkos fished in the reeds and our big fish, which was nearly 4 lbs, first hit a Strike King S.G. toad before my dad followed up with a Sweet Beaver to get her.
West Central Bass League - Diamond Lake - May 31st
Thursday greeted the 20 teams competing with beautiful conditions and everyone reported catching a lot of fish. The problem was that most of them were pretty small. For this lake I would say the weights were down quite a bit from last year but as always a few people figure out the better ones.
1st - Ron & Joe - 3 - 10.63 lbs
2nd - Dean & JD - 3 - 10.44 lbs
3rd - Tim & Gran - 3 - 8.32 lbs
4th - Brian & Kraig - 3 - 8.08 lbs
5th - Andy & Mike Nitchals - 3 - 8.00 lbs
Big Bass - Butch & Jeff - 4.05 lbs
On this night my dad and I had the opposite problem of the previous night. We had our weight in the first 45 minutes and despite catching a number of small fish we were never able to upgrade the rest of the night. At least we were able to sneak into the final money spot. Our fish came on a green pumpkin Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss fished around docks and trees, although our biggest fish came by swimming the Pit Boss on a sandy bank in between docks.
Big Bass Bonanza - Sauk Lake - June 3rd
I generally like to provide a fair amount of detail in my blog posts but for this event that will not be possible. My bass club is holding a state qualifier tournament on Sauk this coming Sunday and since many of the club members read this blog I can't give them any info that might help them beat me. Not that I have any real secrets to share in the first place! This one was tough. With an 8 fish limit in the BBB we only ended up getting 8 bites all day, but only put 6 of them in the boat. Those 6 were pretty decent quality though and ended up weigh 17.26 lbs to take 13th place out of 26 teams. We were the highest finishing team without a limit so as you can see more than half the field weren't able to get a limit. It was tough out there but of course someone always catches them and the weights at the top, especially the winners, were very impressive. 1st place had over 31 lbs and the big bass at 5.5 lbs.
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