Well, my partner for Day 2 was Paul Perovich and he was able to utilize a Skeeter iClass 20 footer with a 250VMAX, so we had the means to run the lake and that was the plan.  Paul had weighed 2 fish the day before, so he said we could fish my fish.  We had some intense fog on day 2 and did not get to take off until about 10:20am opposed to out 7:15am scheduled take off.

We were in the 3rd flight and boat #45 on day 2.  It took less then 20 minutes to make the same run today, as we averaged about 71.5mph in the Skeeter opposed to the 57mph in my Aries the morning prior.  I started in the same area as day 1 and was able to get a similar start, as I boated a 16″ largemouth on a Black Yum Tube.  I also caught a short smallmouth.  We went to area #2, I caught several short smallmouth on a fork craw and Paul was able to boat a keeper largemouth on a junebug swimjig.

I went to area #3 where I had caught and released the one 15″ smallmouth on day 1.  Things were quite a bit more intense this time.  I caught 3 smallmouth on the Yellow Magic that hovered around the 14″ mark right away, but I threw them all back without putting them on the bump board, as I felt I needed all 2lbs fish today.  It was easier to throw them back without knowing they could have been legal fish.  I finally got a decent 15″ smallie that I boxed reluctantly on the Yellow Magic.  Occasionally we even saw the fish busting shad in this area.  I started switching back & forth with the Barely Legal Vixen topwater and the first fish I caught on that was about a 17″ smallmouth, that fish of course went in the box.  That gave me 3 fish at about noon.  I caught several more fish that would have been keepers, but I really wanted another quality fish to ensure a good limit.  Paul caught two keepers in this area, one on a Rapala Skitter Pop and another on a White/Chart swimjig.

I decided it was time to revisit our second area.  It only took about 5 casts with the Yellow Magic and I hooked up with a dandy smallmouth.  I played her carefully and we finally got her in the net.  She was really long with a big head, but a very skinny body.  She was over 19″, I thought she had to go 4lbs for sure.  I felt at that moment that I had punched my ticket to the top 12, but I wanted again to find one more 15-16″ fish so that I did not have to weigh that small smallmouth.  We returned to my starting area, had a couple bites but could not convert.  We then ran several areas on the way back to Wabasha, never did get that last bite.

The 2 smallies that anchored my day 2 bag of 10.08lbs that elevated my to 3rd place
My total on Day 2 was 4 fish for 10.08 lbs and put me in 2nd when I weighed.  My gangly looking smallie only weighed about 3.5lbs.  After all the fish were weighed, I ended up in 3rd, which I kind of preferred over 2nd, as I have finished 2nd in the TOC twice before and I did not want to become the Aaron Martens of the MN Bass Federation

Talking to Steve Soukup on stage from Skeeter Boats about my day on the water
I am excited to get back to divisionals next year in Lake St. Claire near Detroit, MI.   After getting so close to qualifying for nationals, I wanted to get back sooner then later.  Now its time to focus on the last Bassmaster Weekend Series event on Lake Minnetonka at the end of September!

Here are the standings from the Top 20:
MN Bass Federation Nation
Individual Results
9/04- 9/05/2008 MS River Pools 4&5, Wabasha – FINAL Standings
Participant Club Fish B/F Net Weight
1 Randy Wieczorek RIVER RATS BASSMASTERS # 6 8/8 4.08 21.17
2 Andy Nitchals WEST CENTRAL BASSMASTERS #23 8/8 4.54 20.53
3 Rich Lindgren GOPHER BASSMASTERS # 5 8/8 3.42 19.45
4 Dean Capra 10,000 LAKES BASSMASTERS #20 8/8 3.45 19.2
5 Matt Hanson ZUMBRO VALLEY BASSMASTERS #25 7/7 3.18 19.16
6 John Zvorak WEST CENTRAL BASSMASTERS #23 8/8 2.55 18.85
7 Jim Pinke BASS WACKERS #19 5/5 18.84
8 Doug Pietzrak GRANITE CITY BASSMASTERS #17 8/8 2.89 18.59
9 Brad Ballard RIVER RATS BASSMASTERS # 6 8/8 3.49 18.33
10 Brian Brown RANGE BASSMASTERS #10 7/7 3.23 18.08
11 Scott Fischer RIVER RATS BASSMASTERS # 6 7/7 3.41 17.9
12 John W. Schlee Jr. LOON STATE BASSMASTERS #22 7/7 3.15 17.39
13 Tim Vondersitt UPPER IOWA BASSMASTERS # 1 8/8 2.65 17.21
14 Chad Keller GRANITE CITY BASSMASTERS #17 8/8 2.77 16.84
15 Paul Shimek WEST CENTRAL BASSMASTERS #23 7/7 16.8
16 Trevor Rogge CLASSIC SEVEN BASSMASTERS # 2 8/8 16.49
17 Dan Bonneson SPORTSMEN BASSMASTERS #11 8/8 16.14
18 Jeff Mulholland ZUMBRO VALLEY BASSMASTERS #25 7/7 3.67 15.93
19 Dale Youngquist LOON STATE BASSMASTERS #22 7/7 3.01 15.89
20 Greg Halleland ZUMBRO VALLEY BASSMASTERS #25 5/5 15.69

Rich
RichLindgren.com 
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