Bass Snatcher North Long Lake

Smitty takes the win with 18/07

 

2/09 Z-Man TRD Hogz

2nd Fish In the Boat for Nate wasn't a keeper either

What my scale says my fish weighed.

Conditions: Mid 60's to 70's, MC to Cloudy, 3-8mph NE

The Day: Nate kicked my butt yet again, and I couldn't even get a freakin limit, the end.

We were the last boat out and headed South on the main lake. We were fishing along a weedline. Nate put a dink in the boat first. Then he got the bullhead, which we both got a laugh over. Shortly after that, Nate got his first keeper of the day.  My first keeper bit a few minutes later on a black/blue jig and hit on the fall. I think Nate put another keeper in the boat. I lost something at the boat when I wasn't able to put my reel into free spool in time when a big fish went on a power run, and the hook popped out of the fish's mouth. 80% chance it was a big pike, but I never saw the fish, to be sure. It bit the jig as I was reeling it back to the boat. Nate was getting his bites on a craw tube, so I switched to that. I threw a long cast out and got bit by a good fish. 3/4 of the way back in, it spits the hook.  My hook point was still Texposed and in the plastic. That clued Nate into what the fish were doing, and he started catching them pretty quickly.  I got my second fish on the black/blue jig sometime after Nate started culling.

I think we left the first spot around 9AM. Nate continued to cull with a better quality fish as we bobbed up and down on the waves. I got my big fish on TRD creature. I don't remember if I got my second bass at the second stop or the 3rd. Nate continued to upgrade at our third spot. I was getting bites on a craw tube, but the fish would let go and not come back, and I pooched several hooksets as well, very frustrating. At 10:30, I was in good shape with 4 fish in the boat and a 2lb plus average. I think Nate had his final fish by Noon. My final fish came on a craw tube and was the only double we had all day. I missed a couple of other opportunities to double up. We stopped getting bites on the main lake, so with two hours left, we headed to 371. Nate caught 6 or 7 that didn't help in 371. I missed a couple of bites, and the frustration got to me as I messed around with my tackle rather than keeping the craw tube in the water. Neither of the two tricks I had up my sleeve got me a bite. 

Time was up, and I was a fish short of a limit. So frustrating.

Results: My fish weighed 9/7 which put me third from the bottom in 20th Place. Nate had 16/14, which put him in 5th. Jim Smith took the win with 18/07. Lunker went to Bill Ludenia with a 4lber, and he took second with 18lbs. And Chuck Steinbauer beat out Dennis on the tiebreaker to take 3rd Place.

So what went wrong: 
My tackle prep was what cost me in this one, I'm pretty sure. The 17lb line I was Texas rigging with was probably costing me bites. I did have a rod with 12lb Flouro in the boat, but it wasn't spooled with enough line. It was the rod I was using for the black/blue jig. It's a reel I used last year for dock skipping, and I didn't catch the fact that I needed more line. When I was casting the jig, I kept getting hung up on the knot to the backing. I should have re-spooled the reel or just brought another rod combo; plenty of room in Nate's Ranger.

My lower back was stiff, which affected my hooksets, and for some reason my upper back started bothering me around 10am. I haven't had upper back issues this year and for it to happen when I was fishing bottom contact baits is just unexplainable.

My sense of feel was just off. I pulled the craw tube away from multiple fish.

My Final Thoughts: It just wasn't my day. Odds are pretty good this will be my throw away tournament and worst finish for the year. On to Fishtrap.

DNF

 Did not fish today. Slept in very late and cleaned the bathroom instead. An ultimatum by mom may have played a role as well.

It was a cool windy day, but the wind died down around 8PM. 

Good Fish On A Rainy Morning

3.46lbs/18" Mad Maxx (Big Sexy)

2.95lbs/17.25" Maxx

5:20-8:20AM SPSI, Channel Inn Bay Rice, East of GOMH Pad Pts, Intersection, SPRO 

60-65℉, Cloudy light rain, 0-4mph SSW

Todd wanted to sleep in, so he didn't go out this morning. Started at SPSI. On the second to last cast with the Bubble Walker 128, I got a 14.75" bass, so I threw the 128 for 10 more minutes, not getting a bite. I then started flinging the Pompadour for the first time this year. Got 13.75" on that. I missed a bite and got a 14" on a red shad craw tube. All the bites came out by the buoy. Spend 15 to 20 minutes too long here again.  I then went to the first boat channel in Channel Inn Bay and worked my way South. Got the 17-incher there. I then hopped across to the rice and pads East of GOMH. I lost a good hit on a pad point.  So I tried the next few and got the 18" off of one of them. Then I headed to Rice Point of the Intersection. I got two Platte Lake Specials there and missed a couple bites as well. I also got a Platte Special at the final boat channel. I did quickly try the Intersection SW & NE but only had a swirl. 

 

Caught "Big Momma" Tonight

5.46lbs Mad (Bluegrass) 

7:15-9:45PM Inlet Bay South to Double Cane 

75-88℉, PC, 3-6mph SE

When I pulled out, I noticed a boat coming around West Point. The guy in the back had a bass jump and come off. I wondered to myself if there was a league on the lake tonight.  My plan was to hit a couple of the docks across and then go to South Inlet Bay. I had to clear the prop of rice. In the time it took to do that, a boat came flying into the bay. I headed off to hit the docks, except a boat already at the dock I wanted to hit. Yep, league night. So off to South Inlet I went. There was baitfish activity there, but I couldn't buy a bite. I was using the new Traxxis Trolling Motor, which is a weed magnet, frustrating. I've never had a 55lb thrust Minn Kota have trouble with anything except super thick rice. All different kinds of weeds bogged this thing down. I beat feet across the inlet area heading North. I stopped when I saw some activity in front of the inlet. I was now casting a light Mad Maxx frog into the wind and started running into overrun issues. I ended up having to pick out two backlashes and then had to cut off 25' of the line because my line got in a knot. I was not a happy camper a half hour in and no bites. I then ran into more trolling motor/weed issues as I got up by the North Inlet Pads. I started throwing the heavier Teckel Whacker. I did finally get a bite that didn't hook up on what I think was a 15-inch class bass as I got over by the reeds in the rice. Nothing going on in the reeds. I worked my way quickly out to the rice line and finally put a 16-incher in the boat in front of the starting spot about an hour into the trip. I then missed a couple smallish bass and got a pike. I caught a couple of small bass on Bluegrass Maxx. I made my way over to the solid rice line reed bed transition to the west of the starting spot. I threw a long cast with Mad Maxx to some open water between the reeds and the rice, and the big girl just smoked it. I saw it was a giant right away. I didn't get the greatest hookset, but it didn't matter. She engulfed it and got buried in the rice pretty quickly. I got her boat side, and I was like, look at the mouth on this thing. It's a giant with big shoulders. The good Platte/Sullivan genetics that some of the lakes fish possess. The only problem with her was that she was post-spawn and hadn't eaten in a while. With a full belly, this was 7lb fish. Such a beautiful fish. I weighed her (5.46lbs) and then went to get a measurement, but she had other ideas and started thrashing, which made me drop her. I was not happy about that. Fortunately, she didn't do much flopping around. I grabbed her and thought I better get her back in the water, forgetting to measure the fish. I'm guessing it was a little over 21" maybe 21.5". I worked the area hard and got a couple of small. I ended the night in the reeds, getting a couple of small culls to my best 6. Can't believe I only had one bite over 3lbs from this area. Usually, if I get one big girl in this area, I have a shot at several others.basses The fish also completely shut down by 9:15. There had to be more fish around.  I know it.

9 Bass 

3 Pike

Bass Snatcher Whitefish Chain

 

Tuma's 27lbs 4oz is a new Snatcher Record

3/5 Yum Dinger (Gum/Orange)

14/2 My Best Ever Whitefish Weight

13.55lbs What My Scale Says I Had

Boater: Dwight "Hammer" Hammermeister (3rd Time I've fished a tournament with him)

Conditions: 72-96℉, Mostly Sunny to Mostly Cloudy, 0-4mph SW

The Day: We started off on the Southside of Lower Whitefish, where smallmouth spawn and Dwight had a bunch of beds GPSed. . Dennis was sitting there when we arrived. A good sign. About 10 minutes in, Dwight had his first smallie in the boat. He was sight fishing. I started throwing topwater because there was some activity on the surface, but I didn't get a hit.  Dwight put 3 or 4 smallmouths in the boat pretty quickly, and Dennis had his limit in the first half hour. I got a hit from something small on the 

Crackle Jerk Shad that came off about halfway back to the boat. I put on a Bluegill KVD Jerkbait and got a couple pike and a perch on that. After about an hour, Dennis left. Dwight got his fourth and fifth fish off of some deeper beds, both quality fish. I eventually tried throwing a Ned rig to bedders but didn't have any takers. The wind put a ripple on the water, so we got out of there around 9AM. We went to a nearby point where we could see largemouth swimming around, but I couldn't get any to bite other than one small fish that I threw back that I didn't bother to measure even though it was close to 12-inches.

By 9:30, we headed to Berth to fish docks.  We spent an hour and a half in there with only one fish for Dwight to show for it. We headed to the Pike River Inlet area, and I finally got on the board with a quality frog fish, but that was the only bite we got there. So next, we headed up to Arrowhead to see if maybe the slop was going there. Dwight got a frog fish in the first 10 minutes, then nothing. I switched to a swimbait and got a 13-incher on that, but that was the only bite. I tried a swim jig and missed a bite that felt pikey on that. With two hours left, we headed back to the starting spot in the hopes that Dwight could upgrade with a smallie and contend for the win. However,  Dennis was sitting there again. We went to a nearby secondary area. I ended up picking a solid 2.5lb largie off of a dock just letting the Dinger sit on the bottom. With that clue, we headed to some nearby isolated docks in search of my limit. I lost a really good fish right away but quickly rebounded with a two-pounder and two more keepers.   I ended up culling twice, including one off the last dock we fished in a Hay Lake.

Results: My fish weighed 14/2 which put me in 13th Place. Dwight had 19/1, which was only good enough for 8th😲. Keith Tuma blew the field away and the previous Club Record Bag taking 1st Place with 27/4 and Lunker with a 5/3 smallmouth. Dennis got 2nd with 21/10. I guess the key for Keith recognized that the big smallies were still pre-spawn; thus, he was looking for cruisers, not bedders. His Co-Angler Dave Smith also had a 20lb bag.

My Thoughts: I came in expecting the fishing to be pretty good, and it was, for the most part. I did, after all, catch one of my biggest bags as a Snatcher and my biggest of the 6 tournaments I've fished there. It just took me forever to get on the same page as the fish, which was frustrating. Thankfully the heat really didn't bother me, and I was comfortable all day.

Congrats to Tuma; that was impressive. 

Bonus Picture

Official Results

Dinks on Docks with Dingers And 1 Toad On Mad Maxx Tonight

 

3.46lbs/18.25" Mad Maxx (Bluegrass)

11.39 for Best 6 

6:30-9:30PM Docks Across, East Of GOMH, Intersection, River Mouth, SPSI

70-80℉, PC, 0-2mph SW

Water low, and so is visibility. The weed-killing killed visibility.

I finally got a reel put on my Abu Veritas 6'6" MH. I bought a rod to replace the Fenwick Techna AV that I busted a couple of years ago to use primarily as a dock skipper. This was also my inaugural trip with the Arsenal Neko Tool. I spent the first hour skipping Neko Rigged Yum Dingers. I lost the first one to a pike, then the next 3 to small bass when they jumped, sending the Dinger to the depths. I lost the fourth Neko Dinger to a snag way under "the dock."  With that, I had enough and didn't retire. I did catch 3 bass to the East of "the dock" on a Texas Rigged Dinger. When I got home, I watched Hellabass's video on the Neko Tool, something I should have done. Now I know, weighted Dingers are something I should probably leave to tournament day as they are notorious one-fish baits. At 7:30, I headed for the rice East Of GOMH. It wasn't happening there, and I quickly made the call to head to Sullivan. I made a cast to the rice line on my way out, and the 18-incher jumped all over Max. I managed to get a good hookset because of the angle of the cast even though I was moving on high in the direction of the fish. I didn't get the motor turned off until I was practically to the rice line. I ended up spending another 15 unproductive minutes in Platte probing the rice line. I then went to SW Intersection rice. I got a 15-incher there and missed a couple of other bites. I went into the reeds and missed a good bite because I just couldn't get enough on the hook set because I was moving straight at the fish, my hook setting form was perfect, and I was ready for the bite. I quickly made my way across to the NE Intersection Point and got a 14-incher in some thicker reeds on the far reed line. I then ran to the River Mouth as it was getting dark. I lost one bite in the river. Not sure what it was, but it felt good. It thrashed on the surface and got off. I hit SPSI on my way in and didn't get anything, too dark. Not a bad night, but not great either. I think fishing will be even more of a grind this year unless we get some rain.

12 Bass 

Morning Trip Running Late/Evening Trip Running Lake

When I arrived at the lake.

7" Frenzy Popper (Bullfrog)

I got to Lake Place just after 5am, when I should have been leaving. So it cost me 20-25 minutes of pre-sunrise fishing. It was dead calm all morning. I went to F Flat first fishing with the Frenzy Popper, Stanley Phantom, eBay Chatterjig, and SBKO. On the way, there was a lot of activity on the surface along the reed edge. Instead of stopping and checking it out, I went straight to F Flat. Had a pike first on the Frenzy Popper. Got a keeper bass on the Stanley Phantom before I got to the dock along the rice line. At the juice, I got a dink, had a keeper throw me, and got the bluegill on the Frenzy Popper. I got a small keeper on the Fire Craw eBay Chatter before throwing the Frenzy Popper the second time. I spent way too long at F Flat because things weren't happening. Instead of running South, I went to Reeds across South Bed. Stuff was getting busted all over the place in both beds for about 15-minutes and then it stopped. I got a few pike on the Horny Toad and missed bites on the Maracker. Eventually, when it wasn't happening on top I switched to a Monsoor Swim Jig. I caught a small keeper on that and lost about 4 bass that buried me in the reeds. (I found a spot that had a pod of bass.)  When I came out on the South end I decided to throw topwater along the reed line. Had several pike swing at the Shower Blows Knock Off and caught a 16-incher just as I was about to quit. I then fished another hundred yards and half an hour longer missing one bite. Before I headed home I walked to the end of the dock and there were a few bass and sunfish swimming all over the place.

2.64lbs/16.?? Yum Dinger (BGum/Org)

11.06lbs for Best 6

I went to the Chiro in the afternoon. Dr. reported tough fishing at his place on Round Memorial Day and getting skunked on Platte this morning. I made the mistake of getting a sub for myself at Redds, mom was making pancakes for supper. Mom was not happy with me leaving to go fishing before the pancakes were ready. I wanted to be fishing tonight by 6PM because of the calm conditions. I was already running late, it was after 6PM and I hadn't left yet. I left for the lake at 6:25 and not happy. I briefly fished out front in the rice. I then headed across to "the dock." Didn't get anything there, but got a couple small keepers on the next dock. I was kind of a train wreck tonight with a bad attitude and lousy casting. I got Yum Dinger caught on a pontoon lift when the skip went through a small opening on the lift 6-inches above the waterline. Getting the Dinger back was a clown show. I aggravated my back in the process. I ended up missing multiple fish after that, frustrating. It was after 8 and I wanted to do some frog fishing in the Reeds Across, but then I thought I should hit the docks on the point, but didn't start with the first two. I got the big fish of the night on the dock I started on and one other fish as well, so I went and fished the first two getting nothing of course. I caught one small bass beyond the dock I started on. By the time I was chucking frogs in the reeds it was after 8:30. There was no activity in the South Bed, which I fished quickly heading toward the North Bed where I could see some activity. I pooched a hookset at the South Bed reed line. Should have been ready for that bite. I had a pike get off along the North Bed reed line. I got a dink along the inside edge and a two-pounder in the cane. I missed a couple of other bites in the cane and couple in the reeds to end the night. I took my time and relaxed getting unpacked after that frustrating trip. Mom's pancakes and the $50 I won from North Star Cash improved my mood as well.