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.

 

Snatcher Rabbit Lake Tourny

Typical Rabbit 2lber caught Pre-fishing in the Pads

Conditions: 83-65℉, Partly Cloudy, 3-12mph WNW
WT: High 70's

The Day:
We blasted off 4th right behind Chuck Fields and wouldn't you know it he went right to our starting spot as well which was off of the big point on the North of the pit side of the lake.  Darren set us down to the West of Fields and we started working towards him.  I had a 1.91lb bass jump on my 3/8 black/blue jig pretty much immediately.  I got it in the box and it was a repeat performance with a slightly smaller fish.  The fished seemed to shut down on the jig after that. I threw out a Neko rigged Yum Dinger and got a 1.30lber on that immediately.  I think Darren got his first fish shortly after that and I got a short.  We worked back over where I got the fish to start and didn't get anything, Fields worked to the East so we went to where he started and I got 1.70lb fish that hit my jig on the fall.  After maybe an hour and a half we went to our second spot which was in the NE section of the pit lake.  I made the mistake of checking our fish while we were running and I shut the livewell on one of my rod tips breaking it, doh!  I got a 1.19  and my 2/8 lunker to fill out my limit on the jig.  I then culled up with 1.71lb fish on the jig.  Darrin was getting a little better quality of fish on a blue/black craw tube, so I started throwing that and I got a  1.63lb fish on that;  I thought the fish was a weed at first.  We were just about to leave to go fish the pads when I got a 2.05lb fish on the jig next to a dock.

The pads didn't even yield a blow-up for me, but Darren got a couple of fish there and missed some solid blow-ups.  Next, we went out and worked the roadbed.  I think I got a 2.13lb out there along with a couple that didn't help.  We went back to our second spot and I got my last fish of the day there on the craw tube (2.20).

Results: My fish weighed 13/02 with 2/8 big fish which beat Hammers 2/06 big thus putting me in 12th Place.  Darren's fish weighed 14lbs with 3/04 big which put him in 10th Place.  The tournament was won by Jim "Smitty" Smith 17/03.  Lunker weighed 3/14 and was caught by Mick Ziebell.

My thoughts: I don't think I lost any fish that hurt me.  I just didn't have a shot at a kicker that would have put me in the top half of the field.

  

Rabbit Lake Pre-Fish

12:30-6:30PM Rabbit Lake Pit Side
76-74℉, Partly Cloudy, 4-12mph NW
WT: Mid 70's

It's kind of a bummer when your boaters new fish finder's maps aren't matching up with the lake and don't have any of his old waypoints in it.  We managed OK, but those two things definitely cut down on our efficiency.

We only fished the Eastern/Pit side of the Lakes.  I suggested the starting spot.  The place where I got my lunker the last time the Snatchers fished the lake in 2016.  We actually started beyond the point with the buoy on it a good ways off of the place I got my lunker.  We both had a small bass bite our craw tubes right off the bat.  We didn't get anything off of Dennises Wood or the spot I got my lunker last time.  We worked our way down the roadbed and Darren got us 3 waypoints on good fish on a black/blue craw.  Next, we tried some rushes.  I might have missed one bit.  Then we went shallow and tried some pads.  I got two good ones on the Spro Shad Sprinker Knock Off and we both missed a bite a piece. After I got the second one we got out of there. We worked a weedline on the East shoreline and I got a couple of small bass on a Hack Jig and had a 14/15 keeper jump and get off.  I think Darren had a good one jump him off as well.  We fished the E corner where Dwight won the last and Darren got one or two good ones there and the pike in the picture.  However, we were unable to pin down the juice thanks to the first paragraph.  Then we headed North and worked the point.  Darren got fish on three consecutive casts so we headed to the Island where Darren got another good fish.  From there we tried to find one of Guy's spots, but Darren wasn't sure where to look.  We ended up fishing the two shallow humps between the islands.  Darren caught the last fish of the trip there, a rock bass.  I was hungry and it was after 6 so we called it a day.

Mini Bucks on Rabbit Lakes

Guy with the Lunker that Dwight Caught

9:00AM-3:00PM Rabbit Lakes
Conditions: 53-36 degrees, Alternating between Mostly Sunny to Mostly Cloudy throughout the day,  Wind out of the WNW 8-2MPH less wind towards the end.

I was asked to fish the annual Snatchers Mini Bucks Tournament by Charles Steinbauer because Nate, his usual partner, wasn't able to make it this year.  The lakes were divided into 5 holes, one for each boat. Holes 1,2,4 and 5 were in the lake and the pit was a hole #3.  We would get an hour and 10 minutes in each hole with  I drew for us to start in Hole 4, which meant we got an extra 10 minutes to fish the pit.

In Hole #4 we didn't get anything on our first two spots.  I caught a 14" keeper on our 3rd stop on a bluegill D & M Baits Piranha Swim Jig.

In Hole #5 (The northern most quarter of the lake) Chuck got 14" right away and I got a 12 incher on breen Crazy Legs Chigger Craw.  I think Chuck got another 12 incher and then got a quality 17+ fish off a dock.

Hole #1 (The farthest SW quarter of the lake) Chuck got another quality 17+ bass.  It hit like a pike and I got 13"on a Craw Tube along a reed point to cull out the smallest fish.  This is the hole the Lunker for the tournament came out of in the Slop in the far western bay.

Hole #2 I got a 13" fish culled out our other dink on the Horny Toad in the reeds.

17.15" Craw Tube brown/grn pumpkin

Hole #3 (The Pit).  I think my 17'er was the first fish we got in the Pit providing a good upgrade.  Chuck got a couple of fish that didn't help and I got 1 that didn't on the craw tube.  With about 15 minutes left I got 14" that was a small up grade.

   When we went to take off to go in, we didn't have enough juice to start the motor.  We had been having trouble with the electronics all day.  I was eventually able to get a hold of Guy who came and towed us in.

Waiting to see what Guy and Dwight brought in.

 Dwight and Guy won the tournament and got lunker.  We got 3rd.  Here are the results.

Rabbit Lakes Snatcher Tournament

17.33" Craw Tube Grn pumpkin/brown

7:45AM-3:55PM
Conditons: 65-59 degrees, Cloudy to mostly cloudy, Windy to very windy N, Light to heavy rain

Pre-tournament thoughts:  Rabbit Lake has always given me fish and my boater Dennis' confidence had me pretty confident I would get a limit.  Turned out getting there was more difficult than we thought.

The Day:
The last two boats waited until 7:30 to put in, which annoyed Dennis and me as well.  Conditions were perfect and we easily could have been fishing by 7:30, but as it was we blasted off at about 7:45.  We went straight to one of Guy's spots with Dwight right behind us.  We fished it for about 20 minutes and didn't get anything.  Dwight caught a nice one, but we didn't see it.

Next we went to a spot that was protected from the wind where Dennis got some good fish pre-fishing.  I put on the small Plopper and immediately had a 11.75" bass on.  I think Dennis first fish was a pike. He then got a couple small keepers.  I had a couple fish not get the Plopper, unfortunately all I have is the one color.

Next we  headed to the wood and Dennis got a little better keeper, but that was it.  We got to the spot where I got my best fish in pre-fish and I got an even bigger one (17.66) on a Lake Fork Craw Tube.  Unfortunately that was all we got.  We followed the road out and I got a 15.33" by where I got one in pre-fish.  I also got a pike on the Craw Tube as well and Dennis got a walleye.

I think we then went to the island and didn't get anything there.  We went back to our starting spot and Dennis got a quality fish that came off just as I got the net under it.  Dennis was quite thankful.  We spent quite a while there and Dennis got one more keeper.  I just couldn't buy a bite there except a pike that bit me off.

We left to go to the numbers spot.  Dennis forgot to put the trolling motor up and we got drenched.  We had a good laugh.  I missed a hit right away on the Craw tube and Dennis had a fish on pretty quickly as well.  I think it might have been a pike.  Dennis got a keeper and then he got his big fish.  I got bit off.  I started throwing a white spinnerbait and got a pike. Then I got a 14" and 12.75" pretty quickly as we worked back over the area.  I think Dennis got a couple more keepers and missed some bites as well getting a nice walleye.

We went back to the island and I got a big dogfish.  It put up a great fight.  Unfortunately my attempt at a selfie with it failed.

Dennis got himself a cull.  A rain storm was moving in on us, so we went to our second spot.  I missed a fish on the Craw Tube right away.  Then it started raining.  I had a bass hit the Craw Tube as I was reeling it back to the boat and I landed it (14").  It started pouring.  Dennis missed a few more bites. We got out in the wind and I cast out the Craw Tube and had an over run.  When I picked the bait back up I thought I felt a fish, so I set the hook.  My line cracked as my line broke just above the rod.

We headed back to where Dennis got his big fish.  I got a nice pike on the black blue Piranha and I got a dink on the jerk shad that was only a couple inches longer than the bait.  We got up by the pads and I got 15.5" on the white spinnerbait; the fish really thumped it.  I got my limit with about 2 hours left

We went back to our starting spot and I discovered I didn't have enough line to fish on the craw tube rod.  We didn't get anything.  We went back and tried to expand on our numbers spot, but came up empty.  We finished expanding on our second spot.  Dennis had a fish that would have culled get off just before I could reach it.  My last hit didn't get the spinnerbait and the day was over.

Results:
My limit weighed 11lbs 4ozs and put me in 12th Place out of a field of 16.  Dennis was one more big fish short of contending for the win.  His 15/11 put him in 5th Place.  Dwight "Hammer" Hammermeister took his very first Bass Snatcher victory with a 16/8 limit.  Paul Ruff had a 4lb 3oz smallmouth that took Lunker.

My Thoughts:
I wish I could have gotten rid of the 12 incher.  I would have moved up 1 spot for sure and possibly 2.  I tried a number of lures that came up empty: Super Fluke, Swim Jig, Rattlin' Rap, Baby Minus One, Fat Free Shad, Chigger Craw, Jig and Chigger Craw, KVD Sexy Dog, and RI Vixen.  For whatever reason I just cannot get in sync with the fish, it's frustrating.  I should have been able to catch more than 6 keepers.

Next tournament is at Whitefish Chain on Sept. 24th.

Pre-Fishing Rabbit w/Dennis

6:50AM-4:30PM
Conditions: 82-56 degrees, light to mod NW Wind, Mostly sunny to partly cloudy. About 5' of visibility in the lake and 2' or less in the pit.

I arrived a little late thanks to not finding the car keys in the car the first time I looked and also having to get gas. We drove to the pit side first to the weed line on the SW corner.  Dennis started catching small keepers right away.  We eventually switched to fishing some "cane" and didn't get git.  We started working North up the W shore line.  I had a pike break off my Swim Fluke Jr. Dennis caught a quality bass out of some wood.  I finally got a bass and it was a descent one off of the road bed close to shore on Lake Fork Craw Tube.

We went out a little farther on the road bed and I got a couple more 14" bass on the LF Craw Tube.  I had to put on a different craw tube after the 3rd fish wrecked the bait.

We then went and tried some more "cane" I had pike follow in the Horny Toad and got a small bass while letting the Horny Toad sink in a likely looking spot.  Dennis set the hook into a dogfish but didn't hook up.

We then went out and worked a couple of humps.  I got a small bass on one of them on a craw tube.  We then went to the SE corner.  Dennis got a good fish out a ways from a dock.  We ran across Chuck and Lois.  The apparently had found the fishing today difficult as well.

We then ran to the Lake.  We fished around the island for smallmouth.  Dennis had a keeper get off and I caught a 10" and had a follow by what looked like a small keeper.  We then went to a spot that Dennis says always has fish except it didn't.  I think I eventually did get a 14" on the breen Chigger Craw.  While I was trying to grab it.  My line broke.  My tungsten sinker landed in the boat, but the fish got away with my hook because I wasn't quick enough to grab it.

We went to an unmarked hump and got some small keepers.  Then we worked the weedline picking up a couple more small keepers.  We ran into Swanny.  He said the fish were small and not very many of them.

We then went back to the pit.  We worked the road not getting anything. We then went to the NE of the island.  Dennis snapped his line up by the rod on the hookset.  We worked our way to the N point and
Dennis picked up 3 nice fish along the way.  We worked the cane not getting much.  We then worked the weed flat not getting much but 1 pike for me on the H2O Wake bait and a small bass which jumped me off on a Red Eye Shad.

We then went and worked around the Island.  I got a small keeper on a craw tube and Dennis got a small keeper as well.  At 4:30 we called it quits.

Rabbit Lake Pre-Fish, Whitefish Culvert, & the GOMH

Yesterday I got out to pre-fish Rabbit Lake with my boater Art for about 3 hours.  We got 1 bass between us.  I had a couple of bites I think were bass and caught and I got a perch on my Ninja Spin.

I hit the Whitefish Culvert on the way back and got 14" there on a Horny Toad.  I also got a jumpin bullhead at the GOMH on the Horny Toad.

Snatcher Rabbit Lakes Tournament

Note: Rabbit Lake has a West Basin (lake side) and East Basin (pit side). There was an Iron mine on the pit side.

The first thing I will say is that I really could not have gotten a better boater draw for this lake. My boater Guy Henkensiefken has fished it for years and it's pretty clear from our pre-fish and tournament day, that he's got it dialed in.

We blasted off 10th out of 13 boats at around 6:45AM. Our first stop was going to be either where I caught my big fish in pre-fish or a weed hump we pulled a couple of nice fish off during pre-fish. Guy's son Adam went right to the big fish spot, so we headed to the hump.

I started off throwing a purple Berkley Frenzy Popper and I caught a 5" perch and a little sunfish and had a couple of other little ones be hooked up for a few seconds. Guy started off the day with a good fish from sub-surface. I switched up to a wacky rigged watermelon red fleck Zoom Z-Nail on an Outkast Money Jig and got a 15.75" largie on it. We worked the spot for about 45 minutes and those were the only two bites.

Next, we headed to a weedline close by the shoreline. Guy caught a fish right away. I got a 13.25" on the Z-Nail. Guy then had a keeper bass jump him off halfway to the boat. I connected with a 12.10" squeaker.

Next, we headed back across the lake to a spot that gave up a few fish, including a good one, in pre-fish. The spot is basically a weedline off of a small weed flat. Guy landed 2 or 3 fish in short order. I switched the Frenzy Popper out for a spook type topwater and had a fish slap at it. I think it may have been a pike, but I am not sure. After working that spook for a while I switched to a frog pattern Rapala Skitter Prop because there was a bit of wind. While I was working the Skitter Prop a fish swirled but missed so I killed the lure and let it sit for about 5 seconds before twitching again. Sure enough, the fish nailed it and it was a good one but it was on for only a few seconds and then the lure came flying out of its mouth. Guy got a good look at the fish and said it was probably 17" maybe bigger. Missing this fish would really cost me.

We didn't get any more bites in this spot and Adam was still on his starting spot so we headed to the pit side. Guy picked a spot that didn't have any boats on it where he got a couple of good bites in pre-fish. Guy got a good fish in this spot, I didn't get any bites on the wacky rigged Z-Nail. We moved closer to shore and Guy got a small fish. We fished shallow for about 5 minutes and then went to a new spot.

I believe Guy caught a fish right away in this spot. I made a cast by a deadhead and my line started moving off quickly. I set the hook and my Z-Nail was gone. I cast back to the area quickly but couldn't get hit again. A couple of minutes later I got hung up on something and when I tried to free it, my line broke. Finally, I caught a bass that I got to measure right at 12inches (we have a 12inch minimum size). I flipped the fish over to see if it would measure any longer and it flipped out of my hands up to the front of the boat and into the water. At this point, I was not happy with how my luck had turned.

We moved to a "big fish spot" and sure enough Guy caught a good bass. We both got bit off by pike and I think Guy caught one.

Next, we moved to a weedline near another Bass Snatcher boat and Guy got a couple of fish including 1 good one. I got a bit on the Z-Nail and brought in a 14.5". The other boat left and so we headed in that direction. I got a 12.75 off of a piece of wood and when we got to where the other boat was sitting I got a 15" largie to fill my limit. We then started working our way back to where we started. Club curmudgeon and very good angler Dennis Lothspeich was headed in that direction so we moved quickly to cut him off. We saw Dennis catch a fish about 10 minutes earlier and in a profanity-filled tirade he let us know that was his first fish of the day. Apparently, Dennis doesn't like Rabbit Lake.

Next, we headed back to the lake side and tried fishing by Guy's son on the spot I got my big fish in pre-fish. We didn't get a hit so we went to our start spot. Nothing there. We then went to our 2nd stop and I got to cull the 12.10" with a 14.25" caught on a wacky rigged 7" Strike King Ocho. That was all we got on the spot so we went to the place I missed the good fish in the morning. We didn't get anything, so we headed back to the pit side.

We hit several spots on the pit side without any luck until I caught 12" bass that didn't help me on the 7" Ocho. When I got the fish the Ocho came off and Guy suggested I put an O-ring on (he has an O-ring tool). I decided to try it, but that would be my last bite of the day on the Ocho.

With about an hour left, we tried a spot on the pit side where we had not been yet where Guy got a good fish in pre-fish. Guy got into a little flurry and culled up 2 or 3 times. He talked me into using the lure he was using on the same type of rigging he was using. I got a bite most likely from a pike, then I had a pike bite me off. With about half an hour left it started to rain hard. When the rain was coming Guy said, it looks like some heavy rain is coming. He put on a full rain suit, while I figured I would just put on my rain jacket and not my bibs. The wrong call it poured. The rain ended after about 10 minutes and we decided to head in about 5 minutes early because Guy had such a good bag of fish and he wanted to get a good spot to park where he could keep his livewells working until it was our time to weigh in.

It's now Thursday the 29th and the official results have not yet been posted, which means I will probably not see them until next week. I am pretty sure I weighed 10lbs 4ozs which I think probably put me in 12th or 13th. I believe Guy won the tournament with 15 something. I will update when I get the official results.

Analysis- This one is a slight downer because I could have done much better had I landed that one good fish. As it was I was stuck with a 12.75" swimmer. I really failed to capitalize on a very good boater draw.

Update: Results are in and I came in 11th which is obviously slightly better than expected. I actually was 11th because of a dead fish penalty and winning the tiebreaker. Had I caught the big one I missed, I could have been as high as 5th. Guy was in first with 15lbs 10ozs. He actually won because a guy brought 1 to many fish to the scales.

Next Tournament: Washburn Lake August 28th.

Rabbit Lake Pre-fish

Today was my best day on the water as a Baxter Bass Snatcher. Too bad for me it wasn't tournament day because I would most likely have been a contender for the win. I am pretty sure I had 16lbs+ anchored by the fat 19.25" in the picture (thank goodness my boater had a camera phone as I left my camera in the car).

My boater Guy was fun to fish with and he knows the lake well. I think it was a productive pre-fish, but you never really know until tournament day. We found multiple patterns and locations. Guy was telling me there is an old club saying that "it's fun to catch fish, but it's even funner catching fish in the tournament." Meaning, what you do in pre-fish doesn't mean squat if you burn your fish. Hopefully we didn't do that too bad as we tried to lay off them once located. As for my part I took advantage of conditions, and found something nice size fish were on today; Whether that pattern holds for tournament day will most likely be dictated by weather conditions.