Snatchers Leech Lake

This is the tournament I was looking forward to more than any other on the schedule and I ended up with a great partner draw for the lake. I rode up from Baxter to the Horseshoe Bay resort with my boater Bill Ludenia. Horsebay Resort on the map above is by the Y in Agency. There was some pretty good fog on my way to Brainerd, but it really wasn't too bad until we got up to Leech. Despite a fairly good fog, we blasted off early at around 7:30AM. It turned out that after we got out a couple of miles the fog disappeared.

Our starting spot was a reed bed towards the NE side of Bear Island (Bear Island is the big Island on the SE side of the lake). Another club boat also started in this reed bed. I didn't even have my rods organized and Bill was pulling his first bass into the boat on his 2nd cast. We worked in the area for about 30 minutes and I think Bill got one more fish.

Next, we moved to some of the heavy cover in Headquarters Bay, which is South of Boy Bay. I think it was our third stop in Headquarters that I had a massive explosion on my white Zoom Horny Toad and I landed a thick 17" bass. We were fishing rice and the fish bit close to a nice sized clump of rice that had a pretty good open lane beside it. As we worked for this rice bed, Dennis, my boater from Pelican, pulled in a pretty good distance in front of us and Dwight, my boater from South Long, was also fishing in the general area. I had a couple of fish swat at my Horny Toad and one solid blow up that I should have hooked up with as we worked the area. I think Bill got 1 fish and we say Dennis land a bass and his partner catch a big dogfish. To be honest I think we worked through this rice a bit quicker than we should have because fish were definitely there. After about 45 minutes we moved a little way to some undercut banks with pads and rice, but that was dead. We kept moving North along some good looking rice and I think Bill landed a fish or two before we made a move to some rice on the East side of Bear Island. There were lots of signs of fish in this rice but we didn't catch any. The day was bright and sunny and the fish on this particular spot were spooky.

We moved North to the reed bed where we started the day and I got a bite on my tube jig but missed it. I cast right back to the same area and got hit again and this time I landed a 13.75" largemouth. I don't remember if I got one more fish in these reeds or not. I don't think Bill got a fish this time.

Next, we moved up to Boy Bay to try some docks. On the very first dock, my bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke got bit off. On this same dock, Bill landed a 3lb bass. I think Bill got a 2nd dock bass before I connected with a 12.5" bass. I think Bill got another dock bass before I had a fish that I thought was a bass swim out and take the Fluke but when I set the hook and I was bit off clean, so it was actually either a pike or muskie. Once we got to the end of the docks we pretty much kept working East in a mix of rice and reeds. Bill in the front of the boat was pulling an occasional fish while I was throwing the white Horny Toad, a brown Bobby's Perfect Snagproof Frog, and a tube jig hauling water. One time when Bill was culling and I was in the front of the boat I cast the tube ways into the rice and pulled out a 15". We jumped around and worked some reeds and then more Rice with Bill pulling more fish and me getting blanked. We were working rice and I threw into an open area with a Bobby's Snagproof frog and got a strike which I landed but it was under the 12-inch minimum. You don't catch shorts on Snagproof frogs very often.

We moved to the Southside of Boy bay into some awesome looking water and I landed another short on the Snagproof Frog, what is with that. After a long lull, Bill moved us to an area where he thought I could fill my limit with some small fish. I managed to get a 12.5 on the Snagproof frog on this water.

Time was starting to run short, so we headed back to the area where I got my big fish. Unfortunately, the long day in the sun was wearing on me pretty good at this point and I wasn't at my best. Right away I had a bite on the Horny Toad and missed it. About 5 minutes later I had another great bite on the Toad and I came up empty again. A few minutes after that there was a massive explosion on the Horny Toad but I didn't hook up this time either and that was my last bite of the day.

On the way in we did throw a quick hail mary for me in the reeds where we started. I was worn out and highly disappointed in my execution.

Results:
I ended up one short of my limit with 5 fish for 9lbs 4ozs which got me 17th out of 24. If I would have landed my bites I probably would have been 14th or better. My partner Bill had 13/11 and got 10th. The winner was Dennis with 19/13 and big bass was only 5/0 and went to Art Becker who will be my boater at Gull Lake.

Analysis: I just did not have a very good day on the water. Lousy execution.

Snatchers Pelican Lake

The Weather: Morning light fog with a 5 to 8 MPH breeze, the fog lifted around 10:30AM but it was a heavy overcast until about 1PM when the skies cleared and the wind died.

Pelican is an 8,000-acre lake just a bit North of Brainerd MN and it has clear water. We launched out of a small bay on the SW corner of the lake. I was in the first boat out but we were making a long run North in one of the slowest boats in the tournament, so my boater Dennis was worried about possibly not being 1st to where he wanted to start. We had a total of 12 boats and 23 guys fishing. As it turns out his worries were unfounded. We started by what I think is a big sunken island where a sand flat met a breakline with some weeds. Dennis had found a good school here during prefish and was quite confident in the spot. It didn't take long and I got a bite on my smoke tube but the bass was not a keeper at just over 11 inches. I think Dennis then caught a rock bass and things slowed down, Dennis was kind of miffed the fish were not cooperating but he eventually did bring the first keeper into the boat.

I decided conditions were conducive to a topwater bite so I put on a gold Berkley Frenzy Popper. After about 5 minutes the popper was smashed by a 21-inch pike. After fishing for about 10 minutes with nothing I tried a white Spook, but that hauled water and Dennis decided it was time to move to a new spot. We moved to a depression in a flat that had weeds in it. I started throwing a bullfrog Frenzy Popper thinking I might need a little brighter bait in the heavy overcast. I had a fish miss the popper but it came back for a second try and hooked up; It was a 14.5" bass, so I was on the board. A little while later I had a fish miss the Popper 3 or 4 times before it finally hooked up and I landed the 15.5 incher. I think Dennis caught a couple on a Texas rigged tube, so I went back to throwing the smoke tube and I caught 12.25" squeaker. Dennis had a nice bass follow a blue/black tube to the boat which got me thinking that maybe the fish would be willing to chase something swimming so I put on a black/blue Strike King Pure Poison chatterjig, however, I didn't get anything on it at this spot.

Eventually, Dennis decided to move and we went to a weed bed on the Northside of an island where the wind was blowing in pretty good. I thought it was perfect conditions for the Pure Poison and I was right. I nailed a 15" on my second or third cast. A few casts later and I was reeling in 18.25 that just engulfed the Pure Poison. Dennis was not quite pleased that I pulled a big fish off one of his big fish spots, so he was giving me crap. A few minutes later I was hooked up with my limit fish which was a quality 15.25" largemouth. We worked back over the area a second time and I had a couple of bumps that didn't hook up and I think Dennis missed a bite too.

Next, we were off to another one of Dennis' big fish spots but a pontoon was sitting right on it. The next two spots Dennis wanted to hit were covered up by Bass Snatcher boats and we ended up fishing a little ways from 3 Bass Snatcher Boats. I think Dennis got a fish on the next couple of stops while I caught nothing.

Eventually, we ended up at our starting spot and I started chucking a gold Berkley Frenzy Popper. I believe Dennis filled his limit and started culling which gave me confidence fish were in the area, so I kept throwing the Popper. On one of the retrieves about 20 feet out from the boat I had a strike and was able to land the barely hooked fish that went a little over 15 inches, which got rid of my squeaker. At this point, I was pretty pleased that I would be weighing a pretty good bag of fish. Things kind of got slow for me for a while.

Around 1PM the sun came out and it got calm. We quickly tried the area by the Island again before the pleasure boaters would start to show up, but we didn't get anything. Next, it was back to one of the weedy depressions.

I got a fish that didn't help then I got another hit that didn't hook up so I threw right back to the same area. I got another hit and it was a good fish that just inhaled the smoke tube; this fish went 17.25 inches. A little while later I had another good hit from a bigger fish but it got off before I was able to see what it was, I think it might have been a pike. About 2 minutes later I had another hit on the tube and brought in a chunky 17.00-inch bass. Dennis thought I was probably 1 more quality fish away from winning. I did get a couple more fish that didn't help and it turns out Dennis was right on the needing 1 more good fish.

My 6 fish went 14 even which ended up putting me in 4th, just 3 ozs out of 3rd place. 1st Place was 15lbs 7ozs and 2nd was 15lbs 6ozs and they came from the same boat; They spent a lot of time in one of those depressions on water Dennis wanted to fish. My partner Dennis was not so unhappy about getting "back seated" when he found out his 12/11 put him right behind me in 5th place.

Analysis: I owe my success in this one to my boater Dennis who was on good fish and made good decisions about where we should be fishing and when. Dennis also kept me entertained all day with his curmudgeonish trash talk. It is possible that I had the bites to win with that one good fish getting off but I'll never know because I never did get a look at the one that got away.

I am now tied for 11th Place in the club standings (32 fisherman club) but I am 9th overall in terms of weight of fish caught for the season which I think is maybe a better barometer about how you actually fished for the season.

Again: Miss with Pete and Greg.

Thursday July 31st

As discussed we were able to get out on the Mississippi again with Greg Jones of Mid-
West Outdoors TV & Magazine. Originally we were going to meet him at 6PM but that got kicked back to after 7PM. On this night we would launch by Royalton which is a pretty good distance up river from where we launched on Monday. I ended up recognizing this stretch of the river from fishing it last year.

We started out drifting right from the launch on the East side of the river and I was throwing my white/chart Spinnerbait. It didn't take long and Gregg was hooked up on a Smithwick Devils Horse topwater. Greg got another fish and so I switched up to a purple Berkley Frenzy Popper. The popper didn't produce any fish and Greg got another couple on the Devil's Horse, so when we ended our drift and headed up river I asked Greg if he had a Rapala Skitter Prop and he did in kind of a lime green color and he put a feathered Mustad Triple Grip on the back.

We ran up a little ways close to where we started on last year. It was not long into the next drift when I had a good strike on the Skitter Prop. I was hooked up until the fish jumped and sent the lure flying back right at us and into the boat just missing me and Pete. A little farther down river I had a hit and miss, hit and miss, hit and miss, but the 4th time was the charm and I landed this nice smallie.


On one cast the Skitter Prop was just annihilated by this smallmouth, it was awesome:


As we were rolling down river Pete and Greg got into an argument about where Pete should be making his casts. Greg made a suggestion and Pete was having none of it. While they were sniping at one another Pete landed an 18 inch smallie which was the big one of the night. Pete also caught a 22+ inch pike that he insisted go in the livewell over my and Greg's protests.

The fishing wasn't fast but we were getting bit and the average size was a quality fish around 15.5 inches. As it got dark I put on a bullfrog Frenzy Popper and we got in a hot stretch of water and I pulled my last to fish of the night. It was dark enough that I really couldn't see the bite, I would just hear and feel it.

For the night I had 7 to 9 fish caught total which isn't bad for about an hour and a half of fishing.