Snatcher Tourney At Bay Lake June 4th

2/8 on Jackhammer/GOAT (Purple/Black/Blue)

The small of Nate's two smalls
(Pretty sure he weighed this one as his lunker as well)

Conditions: 

70-84℉, Mostly Sunny to Partly Cloudy, 0-5mph ESE 

Water Temp: Low 70's

The Day:

With only 6 boats and it being a Sunday, everybody was in the water in no time, and we blasted off early. We went to the spot that won the last couple of tournaments, and it was slow. I picked up a few dinks, rock bass, and hammer handles. Nate got a few small keepers on a craw tube and maybe a jig as well. He had me down 5-0 when I got my first small keeper on the KVD 1.5. I got bit off and caught a couple of dinks, pike, and rockies on a craw tube. We fished some docks. Nate got one quality 2lber and a few dinks. I got dinks and rockies on the Dinger. We went west of where we started, probably known as an altogether different bay. I picked up a couple of keepers, including my big (2/8), and some dinks, rockies, and pike. I got two pike in a row, and the skirt on my Jackhammer came off, killing the bite for me. We returned to the starting area, where I got another keeper on the Craw Tube.

We then ran some beautiful docks and a slop bay and only ran into something once we came out to the docks on the other side of the bay. Nate was getting bit on almost every dock, and I picked up a keeper out on the inside weedling on the Bagley Crank. All I got on the docks were rockies and dinks. We ran into Nate's dad, Snatcher Chuck, and he spilled the beans that he had a good bag anchored by smallies. We returned to where we started seeing fish on the docks, and I quickly picked up my limit fish. After about 15 minutes of nothing notable as Nate looked for smallies. He asked me if I knew of any areas smallies might be in. I told him about a large sand flat with reeds, so we headed there. We saw beds but no fish. Next, we went to the rock area, and Nate hit pay dirt, getting two quality smallies on a dead sticked Senko. We ran another rock area and got some rockies and dinks. We tried a couple of other areas, getting the same. We went back to where we got the smallies. I got a rock bass and about a half-pound cull with a largemouth that fell to the Dark Sleeper. We finished on a point off an Island by Rutgers, where Nate made a small cull. I had a pike-like feeling hit that didn't hook up and got a rocky. Day Over!

Results: My fish weighed 9lbs 11ozs which put me in 8th Place out of 12 anglers.

 

It was a massacre for Snatcher Chuck

First Place and Lunker went to Snatcher Chuck with 19/01 and 4/03

Second Place went to my boater Snatcher Nate with 12/13

Third Place went to Snatcher Tuma with 12/06

My Thoughts: If Nate's Plan A had worked, I think I would have been right up there, but the quality and quantity were not there on this day, so we had to scramble. Me losing that Jackhammer skirt to the pike didn't help matters.  Not having my dock-skipping game on point was an error on my part as well. One would have thought on such a nice day, the fish would have been on fire, but it was just a mediocre bite for Bay.

Grade: C, Another pound would have moved me up to 5th Place. It wouldn't surprise me if I lost the fish that would have gotten me another pound on the Jackhammer, Dark Sleeper, and Craw Tube. Any way I slice it, not getting at least 10 lbs on Bay Lake is a disappointment.

 

Pre-Fishing Serpent With Snatcher Chuck

GOMH Then Out In the Trophy the Rest Of the Day

3.04/17.5" Pop Max Knock Off (Pink)

8:30-10:30AM GOMH
12:00-7:00PM West Point, F Flat, Chuck's Point, Across from PA, Double Cane Point
Conditions: 48-57℉, Mostly Cloudy, Light SE to WSW Wind.  Water Level High and Rising
Water Temp: 56℉

Yes the water is high

16" Craw Tube (Green Pumpkin)

I got a swimbait bit off to start the morning on the SW side.  Then I had the Shower Blows knock off I had just won on eBay get bit off.  Didn't even catch a fish with it.  Basically, it was a toothy bullhead fest at the GOMH this morning.  I also had a Jerk Shad get bit off on the NE side.  I caught 10 of them total 7 on a Jerk Shad, 2 on the craw tube, 1 on the Hack Jig.  I did get that one good bass on the SW side.  When I was fishing the NE side Chuck Steinbauer called, but my phone was out of juice before he could tell me anything.

I went home to call Chuck and found out I was needed for the Challenge Cup.

How high's the water mamma?

We are nearing peak leaves

I got back on the water at noon.  I quickly caught two 12" bass on a black Shower Blows knock off and a 10" and 14" on the craw tube off of West Point.  The rest of the day it was a struggle to catch fish.

Pop Max Knock Off

I moved over to F Flat and quickly got my big fish of the day on the above Pop Max knock off.  I thought maybe it was gonna be AWWWWWWWN, but it wasn't.  I caught one dink on the X-Rap Prop and that was it for F Flat.

I then went to Green Cabin Bay.  There was only pike there until I got to the reeds at Chuck's Point.

17.25" Spro Shad Sprinker KO

   I think I missed a couple of strikes there as well.  Next, I headed across from the public access.  I missed a few hits there but did catch two bass (14, 16.25) on a Terminator Frog.

16.25" Terminator Frog (yellow)

Where I caught it.

This was the only area I got any bass across from the public access.  The 14 incher came along the bulrush wall off to the left of the picture.

I made one last move to Double Cane Point.  I got one last 15.3" bass on the Terminator Frog up by the point after I took these pictures.

13.84lbs Best 6 for the Day

1 Jump
10 Toothy
10 Bass
7 Pike

Serpent Lake Pre-Fish

A double to start the morning

Conditions: Calm to a light wind, basically perfect topwater conditions.  Sunny with clouds moving in.

My boater Dave Branum and I were on the water and fishing by 7AM.  I had a fish hit my KVD Sexy Dawg on the 2nd cast, but it got off.  On my next cast, I had a fish hit it and not hook up.  I let the lure sit then started retrieving again and the fish either came back or another one hit it, but this time it stayed buttoned.  Dave brought in a largemouth at the same time.

My fish was a 15.5" smallie.  A couple of casts later I got a 17.5" smallie.  Next I got 15.5" and 16" largemouths and I switched to a Stanley Phantom.  I got a couple of small largies and a 14" on that, then I switched up to a KVD Dawg Jr.  I got  15.25, 10", and 14.25" largies on that.  Dave was catching fish in the same general size range as me as well, but he was fishing subsurface.  I got a 15.5 largie on a MegaBass Popmax.  We then switched locations and I got an 18.33 smallie on the same KVD Dawg as earlier.

 She either hadn't spawned yet or had a full belly.  I got two more 15" largemouth's on the Dawg, then I put it away.   The wind came up a little bit and  I got a couple of largies on a Lucky Craft Kelly J. I got a 17.75 smallie on a Rapala X-Rap Prop, along with a couple of small keeper largies.  I did throw a craw tube eventually and got a couple of pike on that and one bite off, along with a 14.75 largie.  Dave got the biggest bass of the day, a 19" plus largemouth.  I also had at least half a dozen other  fish that missed my topwater baits or got off.

Needless to say we were both feeling good about things.

Good Afternoon Poor Evening at the GOMH

Rainbow from the evening trip

12:30-2:30PM 8:00-9:20PM
Conditions- Windy with light to moderate rain
Conditions- Storm just passed, sun came out wind much lower but still out of the South

I took Jenny to the hospital in the morning and went to the Grumpy Old Man Hole after.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera because I got a 22" bowfin on the b/b Yabbie.  Other than that I pounded the small jumpin' bullheads on the Yabbie and Tonka Tackle gp Craw Tube;  I also got 3 toothy bullheads on those same baits.  I couldn't get the jumpers to come up for topwaters for anything.  I left because the rain was getting heavier.  Due to the wind I only fished on the Platte side.

When I arrived home I discovered that the new rod tip for the 6'8" St. Croix Legend Xtreme I recently won on Ebay had come as well as a box of Yabbies I won on Ebay as well.  I got the rod for a steal because it was listed with a very cheap Buy It Now price because of the rod tip issue and I happened to see the auction before anybody had a chance to bid on it.  Naturally I had to get out and give the new rod a try.  I didn't get out until 8PM because of thunderstorms.  My plan was to try 2 different reels on the rod; one with Gamma Co-Poly and one with Fireline.  I ended up only getting to use the Gamma line, because I chose the wrong side of the bridge.  When I arrived a thunderstorm had just passed and I was surprised to see a guy fishing on the S side.  No problem, I planned to fish on the N side anyway.  I quickly learned the fish weren't there for the most part.  Unfortunately by the time I discovered they weren't there the S side was covered up by other fishermen.  I managed to get 3 small jumpers on a Yabbie, Lucky Craft Kelly J, and the X-Rap Prop.  I missed two really good hits on the X-Rap.   They may have both been toothy's.  One was a fish that showed itself under the bridge and the other was a fish I'm all but certain was a toothy East of "the juice".  I'm not sure how I missed the one under the bridge, I was ready for the hit and the lure was gone when the fish swirled on it.  I set the hook and the lure came flying back at me.  The other one I didn't really set the hook because I'm 95% sure it was a toothy.  Here is my first fish on the new rod.

12.5" on da Yabbie

 When I left, some of the people fishing the South side had gotten a couple of golden bullheads and several small jumper.