Snatchers Pelican Lake Tournament

Smitty's Bigs

Smitty's Fin

DJ's Bigs

DJ, Arnie, Smitty

2/9

Conditions: 62-82℉, Mostly Sunny, 0-2mph Wind

The Day:

We headed NW to a bay up there with a bunch of slop. Smitty had a bass in the boat in about 5 casts out of the pads. I had something follow my frog but not hit it. Smitty got another bass. I think I had something hit my jig back where the fish followed my frog too. We then came across some docks and Smitty would get a bite or two of off each one it would seem like. His 3rd or 4th fish in the boat was a 4lber. I got the skunk out of the boat with my biggest bass of the day (2.53) on a Livetartget Frog next to some cattails. We fished more slop and docks, with Smitty getting fish off of both. We ended up returning to where we started and I missed a bit in the pads and think Smitty culled with a 2lber. He had 3 quality fish off of the docks I think. Next. we headed NE to another slop bay where there was a lot of activity. I got a 24-inch dogfish on a Mag Fluke. Smitty had a big bass miss his frog. I think He caught one as well. I'm not sure if he culled. I got my second bass on Bobby's Perfect Frog. We fished farther East into another slop bay then fished our way back to the area where there was activity. I got my smallest keeper (1.36) that I was never able to cull on the LiveTarget frog. Smitty got a big dogfish. Next, we fished Smitty's favorite docks and they were productive for him. Smitty had mercy on me and offered me the craw tube he was getting them. I think he added two culls while I was getting my rod rigged with the proper weight while I was getting heckled by a guy on shore for not having my act together while my partner caught fish left and right.. Unfortunately, the best dock was occupied. I got a 1.82lb bass on the craw tube out of some reeds. Smitty got a few that didn't help. We ran South to one of Smitty's favorite holes, but there were not really fish around except on the last dock, where Smitty bird dogged me one (1.69) that I got on the craw tube. We then went North again to more reeds and Smitty pulled a 5lber out of the Cane. I missed a bite in the Cane because I set the hook too quick. Smitty wasn't going to fish until I got my limit. I got a short out of some reeds/pads. Finally, I got a keeper in the boat off of a dock (2.11). We went back to the dogfish bay. I had three bites on my frog, but didn't land any of them; Two never got the frog and I rolled the one that did get it on the pads on the hookset.  I ran out of energy shortly after my last bite on the frog. As we headed out Smitty had motor issues, so we went to the bay where we had the weigh-in and fished the final hour there, not getting any bites.

Results: 

My results, meh! But at least I got a limit. Congrats to Smitty for putting himself in the Snatcher record books with that outstanding bag of fish. Also congrats to Arnie and DJ. Dj was top Co-Angler. 

My Thoughts:  With that 2.50lber in the boat on a frog about 20 minutes in I thought it might be my day. But then Smitty put on a clinic above average size fish in the boat with a craw tube on docks. I tried switching to a popper after some activity in open water. Then we got to more docks and Smitty got more above average size fish and my jig wasn't getting bit. We got to an area with pads and I couldn't get bit on a frog or Jig, but Smitty continued to catch fish. It just seemed like all my choices were wrong in the first spot. I got two keepers in the boat at the second spot, but I don't think it held the numbers and size of bass to produce a great frog bite. When we got back to docks. It became clear the crawtube was the deal. So when Smitty offered what he was using I rigged up my dock fishing rod with a light Texas Rig. I was way too anxious fishing that crawtube. I needed to let it sit and give the fish a chance to eat it instead of immediately pulling the trigger. It was unfortunate our run South wasn't really holding a good school of fish or had already been hit by somebody else. Not getting any of those final frog fish in the boat sucked, but that is frog fishing. Catching one of them would have probably moved me up at least a couple of places.

Watching Smitty wreck 'em is the highlight of my year so far.

Grade: C+

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.

 

Bass Snatchers South Long

  

Beau Won (16/14) and Got Lunker (3/15)

Mr. Bass 2022, Snatcher Fields

Conditions: Overcast temps 61-50℉, Wind 3-8mph ESE

The Day: We were the last boat out, and the first boat out went right to where my boater, Snatcher Fields, wanted to start. It seemed like 75% of the field went to the same general area to the NE of the narrows. We joined the scrum on the Eastern edge of the line of boats. Nothing on starting spot, so we headed up the lake to an area where we found a school during pre-fish. Chuck got a keeper in the boat. I think I got a pike, then lost a keeper and one that looked like it wouldn't go 12-inches. I got a walleye down the way a little bit. Ran some docks, but nothing. It was an extremely slow morning for us. We \went back to the starting spot and got an 11-incher. Ran back up the lake to a calm weedline. Finally got a keeper in the boat on the big Bubble Walker. Ran down to Bill Bongs Challenge Cup Starting Spot and got another keeper that took the LiveTarget Wake Gill. Chuck put several fish in the boat in short order, then culled with a couple of good 3lber in the cane. Game Over for Mr. Bass 2022. I got my 3lber out along the weed line out from the cane. We ended up back where I got my first keeper. I got my 4th keeper right before we were going to move on a spinnerbait. We went back to the starting area. I caught a short and a small keeper on the spinner bait. Went back up to Bongs Starting Spot. Got bit off twice with jigs and caught several pike on the spinnerbait. Had the craw tube get a bit off. Chuck caught a couple that didn't help and culled once or twice with minor upgrades, and then the day was over.

Results:  My fish weighed 10/09, which put me in 14th Place (2nd to Last Place). Beau Bacon won it with 16/14 and got Lunker with a 3/15. 2nd went to Snatcher Czech (14/11), who showed his face for the first time this season. And 3rd Place went, and Co-Angler Cash went to Snatcher Sarah.

My Thoughts: At long last, I finally got paired with Chuck Fields, and it was cool to do it when he clinched his second  Baxter Bass Snatcher Mr. Bass title. He accomplished the feat back in 1994. This was the first complete season he has fished with the club since winning it in '94. As for the fishing, I figured there was no way, under those conditions, I wouldn't be able to get a limit of keepers in the boat. Besides a half-hour window when Chuck caught most of his weight, it was really slow for us. Unfortunately, I didn't get any bites fishing on the bottom during that window, and when we returned to the spot, the pike had moved in. Whatcha gonna do? It just wasn't my year.  

Bass Snatcher's Tournament Gull Lake

3-Time Champ Chuck Fields
(18/13) (5/04)

(3/10)

Conditions: Heavy Overcast with some fog until about Noon, then partly cloudy. Wind: Calm to 4mph from all directions.

The Day: 
At blast off, we headed North to a fairly good size sunken island. Chuck made a self-described rookie move and accidentally ran us right over the juice. About a half-hour in, Chuck put the first bass in the boat. A solid keeper that may have been culled out by the end of the day. About 15-minutes later, I got the skunk out of the boat with my big fish of the day (3/10) on a craw tube. Chuck handed me the net with the fish in it. I went to step down off the back casting deck and got punched hard just under my nose by the net's hoop. Hurt like a son of a gun, and I was surprised I wasn't bleeding. The area is still tender more than a week later. A couple minutes later, Chuck had a 4lber jump him off about 10 feet from the boat just after I grabbed the net. I think Chuck caught one more fish on that jig but lost 3 or 4 more, so he cut it off and gave it to me. Chuck got his second keeper in the boat about an hour in. I wasn't getting any bites on the craw tube, so I decided to see if maybe they would hit topwater as there was some surface activity. I think I missed my first 5 or 6 bites; I think they were little bass. After a miss, I finally hooked into a boil, and it was a good fish (2.46). I got one short, and then the topwater bite shut off.

I think we moved, and I got a 2.25lber that clocked my Strike King Buzz Toad Buzzbait with Z-Man ToadZ. We moved again. Chuck filled his limit. I started throwing a jig and caught 3 pretty quickly. Chuck said I would be an idiot if I were to fish any else but a jig the rest of the day. We tried one more crowded spot on the North End, then headed East, but Snatcher Ludenia was on the juice, so we headed south to try a short stretch of docks. Chuck lost a good one that he very well might have caught later in the day one dock over. We ran back north to the starting spot. I got a pike on the buzzbait. I don't remember if Chuck caught anything. We moved a couple of times. I had a fish miss the buzzbait, fired a cast right back, and got my final cull of the day. We would have had a double, but Chuck lost the one he had on, which he didn't think would have helped him. I think I got a fish or two that didn't help on a jig. We returned to that spot on the East side of the lake, and Ludenia was there again. We went south and fished docks for the final couple of hours. Chuck lost a couple more toads. Culled up a couple of times. I got a few that didn't help my cause. Chuck hit the jackpot on one of the final few docks, finally getting a 4lber in the boat. 

Results: My fish weighed 15/02, which was only good enough for 10th Place. Chuck Fields won his third tournament of the year with 18/13  and caught 5/04 Lunker. Snatcher Nate came in 2nd with 18/7. And Snatcher Dennis got 3rd with 18/05. Hammer was the Co-Angler Challenge Winner with a 17/11 bag out of Snatcher Dennis's boat, which broke down at their first stop on the North end of the lake.

My Thoughts: Basically, all the boaters but one really sacked 'em, and so did Hammer. Whaddya gonna do. I don't think I lost anything that hurt me. All of my fish were over 2lbs. Going to need a high finish and for a couple guys to stumble if I am going to make the Top 10 this year. 

 

 

Bass Snatcher Rabbit Lakes Pt. 5

Snatcher Dennis Gets The W

 

Snatcher Notsch Gets the $ (Lunker and Co-angler)

Conditions: I arrived at the access just in time to do my stretching outside. I got back inside the car, and it wasn't more than a couple minutes before the thunderstorm hit. It stopped raining at about 6:30 or so. Conditions during the tournament were cloudy to mostly cloudy, 67-77℉, And mostly very windy out of the SE with a little break in the afternoon when the winds settled down under 5MPH.

The Day: We fished on the pit side all but for about 20-minutes. It was windy right from the get, and our first spot didn't go. We didn't stay long. Next, we hit some reeds on the East side of the lake. I had a swim jig get bit off right away. I would lose 3 jigs and 6 Texas Rigs on the day, dang pike. I put the first bass in the boat, pitching a brown/orange Hack Jig in the reeds. We then worked a weedline. I had a 30-inch pike break me off. It put on quite a show before it did.

I then caught a couple dinks on a spinnerbait, and Baily got a few keepers throwing a Senko on docks. Bill started getting better bites fishing a swimbait on the weedline, filled his limit, and started culling. We ran west, and I picked up a line burner on the Billy Goat Grub in some reeds. We worked our way back to the weedline, and I finally put a craw tube on (watermelon/red). I missed a bunch of bites, caught a few dinks, and had two keepers, including my big. The wind slacked off, so we went over by the East Island, and I got a bass throwing the Billy Goat to the cattail island. The wind came up. Bill got two good culls, and I got my last fish of the day on a black/blue Hack Jig. We moved to one more spot on the pit side, then went to the lake for about 15-minutes. I fished in the access area as well, and that was it.

Results: My limit weighed 10/6 minus 2oz dead penalty, so 10/4, which put me in 12th Place. Snatcher Dennis won with 16/12. Snatcher Fields got 2nd with 15/14, and Snatcher Darren 3rd with 15/02. Lunker was 3/13 and caught by the top Co-Angler, Snatcher Notsch, who had a 12/8 bag. 12 of the 17 anglers had limits.

My Thoughts: I figured with conditions being what they were, the fish would be on fire, but the weights in this one tell a different story. The weights last time had 14lb bags down to 10th Place; this tournament, there were only 3 bags over 14lbs. I gambled on a big worm on my Texas Rig rod to start and lost. When I finally put a craw tube on around 11AM, I got bit immediately. It took me a while to get comfortable with the craw tube; I missed quite a few bites. Not my greatest tournament execution-wise. I will have to step it up in the final two tournaments to have any hope of finishing in the Top 10 for the season.

 

Big Golden, A Jumper, and Bass 'n Pike at S. Inlet

 

7.04lbs/28" KVD Shiner

8:15-8:55PM S, Sully Inlet
Nice night. I elected to mow the lawn instead of fish. It worked out for me

 (The first cast didn't have distance so I was unprepared for the strike I got on the buzzbait which came almost immediately after it landed. Then got a couple of pike and a couple of bass. Missed my last 4 or 5 bites, because I had a bent-up hook point.)

2Bass 

2Pike

9:05-9:40PM GOMH SW NW

(Nobody was around so I quickly unpacked and headed to the SW side. Got the one jumper on a chatter and missed a couple of bites on other stuff. Stuff was getting smoked in the tube. So I headed to the North side just as somebody else arrived. He was able to get to the NE side first. He lost a jumper then broke off on a lily pad. I missed something then hooked into the 7lb Golden. The other guy took a picture and measured it. I called it a night after releasing the fish. Mosquitos were annoying but not terrible.)

1Jump 

1Gold

Fishing with Todd in the Morning And with Both Bro's In the Evening

Quality first bite

Another Quality Buzzbait Fish

1st Double of the morning

 

Todd got a bass right away on the buzzbait. Took us a little while to figure out they were offshore a bit in pads. Caught them pretty good once we figured them out. Doubled up three times. 1st time on bass, then multi, then pike. The storm chased us in 5-minutes early It was a solid morning. Should have left maybe 15-minutes sooner this morning.

Todd: 5Bass 7Pike, 

Me: 6Bass 8Pike

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only added a 3lber and 1 small cull in the evening trip

5:20-9:20PM East of GOMH, Sully GOMH to Intersection, SSPRO to River

65-72℉, Cloudy, 4-12mph ESE

Very High 

Only were able to make it to 10.7mph as we headed out with the wind at our back. Had a little bit of water in the boat from a morning thunderstorm.  We started East of GOMH. Todd got a 3lber right away on Herb's. Steve lost a fish right after that and I thought it would be AWWWWWN, but we struggled to get bit. We mostly drifted to the  SPRO where I was confident there was fish. We would get an occasional bite I should have thrown anchor but didn't think of it. We ended up in the river. We got a couple of bites in there, but not much for landed fish. Got a little over 10mph for top speed on our way back in. We got the wave runner lift and wave runner in the lake before we headed out. 

Todd: 3Bass 7Pike, 

Steve: 6Bass 3Pike 

Me: 4Bass 3Pike 

(Fish counts are sketchy for the evening trip) 

Short Mid-Morning And Long Evening GOMH Trip

10:00-10:30AM GOMH 
53℉, Sunny, 3mph E

1 JUmp (Just a quick trip to see if anything was happening. It wasn't. Hopefully, I'll have the Trophy in Platte tonight.) 

5:30-11:30PM GOMH NE SW

63-71℉, Sunny, 0-6mph ESE

Another guy arrived a little before me and took the SW side. Amazingly no boats when I arrived. The other guy got one jumper about 45 minutes in. Shortly after that, Lantern Man Son and Kyle showed up. I gave them the SE and went to the NE side. Two dudes showed up and fished off the N bridge. I caught a small toothy. I had a bigger one follow me in. I started seeing baitfish activity. Got more toothys and a few jumpers as well. One of the Jumpers buried me in the shore weeds, but thankfully Dock Guy had rubber boots and a net and was able to net the 2.5lber. The bald dude finished the shore East of GOMH and got one silver. I got into three oranges, and then some wind came up. Got a couple more toothy and jumpers. I went to get my sweatshirt and hoodie, which were on the SE side, with Brett. And behold, Drinkin Dave was up on the bridge fishing, sober. So we talked for about 10 minutes. When I finally returned to the NE side, Dock Guy and his dad had left. I didn't get any bites, and the guy who was there when I arrived left, so I went and joined Kyle on the SW side. We both got a couple of silvers, and Brett got 3 or 4. We called it a night after 11 PM. Wild beat the Blues 3-0 and are now up 2-1 in the series.

GOMH Morning, GOMH & Rock Afternoon, Back @ GOMH To Close Night Out

5.04lbs/20.5" Terminator Jig/Craw Tube (White)
Evening @ GOMH

4.50lber THE Jig/minnow
Morning @ the GOMH

Silver for the family from Brainerd

I was at the GOMH prior to sunrise. Nothing going on to start. Got a few jumpers including the 4 and a toothy. 

In the afternoon I stopped at the GOMH first, no silvers only jumpers. Stopped at Bear Trax and got minnows. Got the Trophy hooked up and headed to Rock. There was some activity in the Platte River Outlet Bay, but I didn't catch anything. I saw one pike and missed a couple of bites. There were carp up super shallow making a fuss. Nothing at the Beaver Dam so I beelined for the access. A guy and his bud were test running the guy's small fishing boat. The guy held the Trophy while I got the truck and then cranked it up when I drove it on. I dropped the Trophy off at the Lake Place then headed to the GOMH.

Nobody was there when I arrived. Caught 2 jumpers immediately including the 5lber that was 20.5. Some friends or family of Skibidi showed up and took the SE side. A family with a teen daughter and young son showed up and fished the SW bridge. The daughter is on the Brainerd Fishing Team. Skibidi joined his group. A few jumpers were caught as were a few silvers once it got dark. Had a 3lb jumper take me to the catails but I got her out. LM showed up about 8:15. SE side did better than the SW. I caught 5 quick silvers when I switched to the Cubby. I gave them to the dad. Called it a night at 10 PM. LM was the last one standing as the Skibidi clan left when I did.

 

Melon Patch Bust, But the Rice West Of the Access Had 'Em

7:20-9:30PM Melon Patch to WSW Rice Point 

73-84℉, PC, 0-3mph N

I went immediately to the Melon Patch and wasn't getting bit, so I made the move to work the outside rice edge. Didn't get bit there either. Since I was close I moved to the newly dubbed WSW Rice Point, formerly West of Access Rice. There was a school here and I got a lot of bites landing about 40% of them resulting in 12 landed Bass. About 50% of the misses were on my hookset and about 50% were on the fish not getting the frog. I caught fish on Teckel Whacker, Spro King Daddy, Ish's Phat Frog, Scum Frog Trophy, Snag Proof Pro Tournament, All-Terrain Grassmaster Jig, and a craw tube. I did some mapping before I came in. There were a few people shooting off fireworks still.

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.