All posts by hellabass

2009 Bassmaster Classic Field Set

November 17, 2008 hellabass

Roughly three months away from the, The Super Bowl of Bass Fishing, the 2009 Bassmaster Classic, the full field of 51 anglers was finalized Saturday. The 39th edition of the Classic will be held February 20-22 on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, LA. Here are your angling contenders, in alphabetical order:

1. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC
2. Kim Bain-Moore Alabaster, AL
3. Ken Baumgardner Monongahela, PA
4. Michael Burns Plano, TX
5. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, KS
6. Rick Clunn Ava, MO
7. Mark Davis Mt. Ida, AR
8. Boyd Duckett Demopolis, AL
9. Jay Evans Corvallis, MT
10. Edwin Evers Talala, OK
11. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX
12. Terry Fitzpatrick Waukon, IA
13. Jami Fralick Martin, SD
14. Shaw Grigsby Gainesville, FL
15. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA
16. Matt Herren Trussville, AL
17. Kenyon Hill Norman, OK
18. Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC
19. Randy Howell Springville, AL
20. Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL
21. Bryan Hudgins Orange Park, FL
22. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, NJ
23. Alton Jones Waco, TX
24. Kelly Jordon Mineola, TX
25. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL
26. Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, AL
27. Gary Klein Weatherford, TX
28. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL
29. Bill Lowen North Bend, OH
30. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL
31. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR
32. Ish Monroe Hughson, CA
33. Rick Morris Virginia Beach, VA
34. Scott Parker Londonberry, NH
35. Waine Pittman Villa Rica, GA
36. Greg Pugh Cullman, AL
37. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA
38. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu, AZ
39. Scott Rook Little Rock, AR
40. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, OK
41. Bryan Schmidt Olney, TX
42. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL
43. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL
44. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO
45. Peter Thliveros St. Augustine, FL
46. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI
47. Byron Velvick Del Rio, TX
48. Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount, NC
49. David Williams Maiden, NC
50. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, KY
51. Dave Wolak Wake Forest, NC

Things to watch…..
Kim Bain is first female angler
I look for Greg Hackney to have his best Classic to date and watch for Bill Lowen as he is a true river rat and this should fish to his strengths
Also, I think watch the guys that fish their way in from the Central Opens as they often fish this system, so that could benefit these anglers. More to come on the Classic as we get closer! If you can’t wait, go to the Bassmaster Classic Website!

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Announcements, Sponsors

Name That Rig Contest & A Free Spinnerbait

November 13, 2008 hellabass

NAME THAT RIG — Incredible products deserve unforgettable names. Our new rig was formerly marketed as the “Wiggle Rig,” and it really deserves better. That’s where you come in…. Give it a better name. Unless you are scared!
Better designs... better performance... better value

——————–
CONTEST RULES:
1. Learn about these amazing products on the SWL Website. Watch the videos and think up a perfect name for these rigs. (For example, since this rig was invented and perfected an Alabama, could we call it the “BAM!-a-Rig”?)
2. Enter as many times as you like. All suggestions must be emailed to [email protected] by midnight on Sunday 16 November.
3. On 17 November we will select the winning entry. If more than one person submits that suggestion, one of them will be drawn at random to receive the prize.
The winner may choose either the SpecTastic ProPack or $40 credit to the SWL online store. In addition, every person who enters will receive a 20% discount code that can be applied to any fishing lure or component in the SW Online Armory in November 2008.

Also click here to get your free SWL Quickstrike Spinnerbait!!!

Hope you enjoy!

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

BASS Tour

Bassmaster Elite Series Marshalls Program

November 7, 2008 hellabass

Bassmaster finally unveiled the details of their new program that replaces the co-anglers at the Elite Series level of competition. You can read the details here.
Bassmaster Elite Series Marshals
Here is my summary:
$100 gets you a minimum of two days as an observer with Elite anglers, 3 days if you are one of the first 50 to sign up. So its like a 2-3 day guide trip that you don’t actually fish for $100 or like living a “Day on the lake” episode for 2-3 days
You will also get a gift pack (Jersey, hat, sponsor gifts) that are valued at more then $100
Sounds like observers will be outfitted with special cameras and cell phones to provide real time updates and coverage that will be used for online coverage during the tournament.

So this is kind of similar to the observers they had for the old Elite 50 events, except those were $300 to participate, but I think you had a chance to win a boat. But the cool thing is the added technology which makes the Marshall an integral part of the online coverage at Bassmaster.com. This should keep things more interesting for the observer as well as really step up coverage for Bass Rubes like myself watching on our computers during the day.

Seems like a nice compromise to the co-angler program, I would consider doing it on a lake close to me.

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Conservation, General

Vote or Don’t Complain!!!

November 3, 2008 hellabass

This will be as close to a political message or rant as you will ever see on this blog. I will keep it short……
Get off your duff & VOTE!!!!

Don’t just sit at home and gripe, make the effort and vote. Also, encourage your friends and family to do so as well.
Your vote counts
Message specific to MN outdoors people, please vote on the Clean water, land and legacy amendment. I don’t care which way you vote, but just be informed and make a vote, that is all I ask!!! A non-vote, is a no vote, so make a vote. Find info on this amendment here.

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Fun Fishing

MN Fall River Smallies

October 28, 2008 hellabass

This past Saturday looked to be one of our last truly semi-warm days here in Minnesota. So my bass fishing pal, Josh Douglas, and I decided to chase some cool water bronzebacks. Josh & I got on the river a little before 10am, it will still plenty cool, probably 45 degree air temps and water temps hovered around 48-49 degrees.

Our first quick stop around a bridge did not produce any bites. We bounced down to our second area and I quickly caught a nice 2lb plus chunk of a smallie on 4″ Green Pumpkin Copper Flake Mizmo tube rigged on a 1/4oz Bite Me Rattle head. I then got excited and launched it into the trees I then had another fish on with a baby ring fry that came off. Josh then caught a smallie on his 3″Yum Tube, he ended up catching a couple in a row. Early on we were getting several bites, but not getting hooks into the fish, kind of a finicky bite.

We then decide to try the opposite bank where the sun was hitting it and hopefully warming things up and getting the fish going. Josh quickly broke off over there and then I lean back into a very solid fish on a 3″ Green Pumpkin Power tube on a 1/8oz head.

It took a minute or so to bring her in, she was a beautiful and stout 18″ smallies that tipped Josh’s hand scale at 3lbs 12oz. As Josh retied I caught another 14″ fish and another nice 3lb smallie.

Not a good pic of my fish, it was bigger then Josh’s below

We then work our way down stream to a new area and we started getting several bites, but once again it took a few missed bites to finally connect. We ended up catching a nice bunch of fish in this area. I caught most of these on the baby ring fry and Josh his favorite Yum tube. At this time I think I had 7 smallmouth, Josh about the same, maybe a couple more. We made a quick stop where I caught the biggest fish and Josh got a 3lb 11oz fish on a little Biovex craw.

We then decided to try the previously shady bank from the morning again. Josh caught a couple on the tube and then I on my fry. Josh then tried a Baby Paca Craw on a fairly heavy 1/4oz Tru-Tungsten Sinker to work down the break and immediately started really catching some nice smallies and I could not buy a bite on my tube or ring fry at this point. After seeing that, I picked up my 3/8oz Sunfish Tru-Tungsten jig with a big green pumpkin chunk and ended up catching the next 9 smallmouth in a row. The fish must have really been keyed on a crawfish bite, because they were chowing that jig, that was a ton of fish to catch smallies on my favorite jig like that!!! Josh got one last nice fish on the paca craw and it was time to call it a day.

In the end, I had 17 total smallies, Josh about the same. We caught them several ways and a lot of nice fish. Not sure, but that may be my last trip out on the boat this year, but there is definitely some winter shore fishing smallie action to come as well.

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Announcements, Tournament Info

MN & WI Weekend Series moves back to Sunday!!!

October 26, 2008 hellabass

ABA recently released an updated Minnesota & Wisconsin 2009 Schedule, they made on change on bodies of water, which I am guessing was due to permits. Also, they moved two tournaments from launching on the MN to WI side, also probably because of permit issues and costs.

But the most notable change is that the first 4 events have been moved to Sunday. I know several guys that would have fished more or all the events last year if ABA would not have moved them to Saturday. This allows anglers to prefish on Saturday without taking off of work, plus removes conflicts with other major tournament circuits such as Silverado, BFL’s & Fishers of Men, which will allow more anglers to fish multiple circuits. ABA also has a thing called a BASS Pass that allows you to purchase it and allows you to have a sub at the tourney meeting, so if you can’t make it to a pairings meeting because you are fishing a different tourney on Saturday, that is a big plus.

So here is a link to the new schedule – http://www.abaproam.com/BWS_Division2009.php?DivisionNumberOnly=17

5/31 Evert’s Resort Pool 4

6/28 Alma Marina Lower pool 4 & 5

7/26 Prairie DuChein Pools 9 & 10

8/16 LaCrosse Pools 7 & 8

9/19 9/20 Alma Marina

These changes undoubtedly should increase field size and make the payouts deeper and larger, which is good for the anglers. Other positives are the guaranteed $5000 payout for first is still in place and there are great incentives on top of that for Triton, Mercury & Motorguide owners

Well, see you on the water!!!

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Ish wins on the Delta

October 20, 2008 hellabass

Ish wins on the Delta

Ish Monroe hoisting the $125k!!!

Fish Harder Companies, LLC wants to take this opportunity to congratulate Ish Monroe on his recent win in the Wal-Mart FLW Series tournament on the California Delta. Monroe credited Tru-Tungsten for his win.

“I started off with a frog bite but as the weather deteriorated I switched to flipping matted grass with a Sweet Beaver and a Tru-Tungsten 1 1/2-ounce weight with Power Pro braid line. I pegged my tungsten weight with a Tru-Tungsten Peter T Smart Peg, armed my Sweet Beaver with a 5/0 Youvella flipping hook and tossed everything with a Daiwa Steez 8-foot flipping stick.

“Quality tackle that gets the job done is the first step in putting together a winning pattern. My equipment let me get by bait down to where the fish were, feel the bite, set the hook and get them into the livewell. That’s about as good as it gets!”

Also note, that the 4″ Tru-Life Swimbaits are now available for Pre-Order!!!

Check out the Video of the 4″ Tru-Life Swimbait!!!

The 4 inch TRU-LIFE SWIMBAITS are a collaborative design created by Tru-Tungsten and swimbait kings Ish Monroe and Matt Newman. The 4 inch Swimbait comes in two versions. A wake bait that takes 2 balls to become a slow fall bait and a slow fall bait that will take 2 balls to become a fast fall bait to get to those deeper fish. Tru Tungsten Tru-Life Swimbaits have a 4 segment jointed body that creates an incredible life like swimming motion. This matched with Life-like a finish including scales, eyes make this an irresistible bait for lurking bass..

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Multimedia, Product Reviews

New Cure for Winter Bass Fishing Blues

October 16, 2008 hellabass

I just picked up a new bass fishing game for the Nintendo Wii. Its the new Rapala Fishing Frenzy game. I thought this would help me get through another long winter. Check out the trailer for the game….

Also, I got a few screen shots for you to look at….
Rapala's Fishing Frenzy Boxshot

I have not had time to actually play it, but I did open the box, its nice that it comes with an adapter to fit the existing Wii controller, so you do not have to actually buy a specific controller for this game, a big plus in my book.

As soon as things slow down and cool off outside, I will fire it up and give a full review!!!!

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Tournament Info

Lake Minnetonka – Bassmasters Weekend Series Tournament #5 – Sept 27-28th, 2008

September 30, 2008 hellabass

Well the final two day event of the MN Bassmaster Weekend Series was finally upon us. I was able to get out on the lake one last time the Wednesday before for about 7 hours. Spent most of that time check some deeper rock areas and a few weedlines and flipping milfoil, none of which produced. Found a few new docks holding fish, but they were not close to my other areas, so who knew if I would get to them.

I drew boat #32 out of 36 and Mark was my partner. I did not really care about my draw, because it would not effect where I would start. Mark & I spent the morning working shallow milfoil, pads, sea walls & docks in the Excelsior area of the lake not far from Maynard where we took off from. Things started slow for me. Mark was able to get a quick keeper on a black spinnerbait. I had a few bites early, but they must have been short striking my offerings, as I never hooked up. About an hour & a half in, I was swimming a 1/2oz PB&J Tru-Tungsten Jig with a green pumpkin rage chunk along a pocket in the pads and I hooked up with a very good fish. I had her coming and saw he jump, she had to be close to 4 lbs. As I switched rod direction to bring her back to the left she must have got a little slack and popped free, tough break. I am thinking I should have just kept the steady pressure….. Right after that Mark was able to get a nice 2lb fish on a white frog.

This is the jig that accounted for 9 of my 10 fish weighed,
it’s been a good fall color for me

For the rest of the day, I kept my head down and fished shallow with my 3/8oz Sunfish Tru-Tungsten Jig matched with a green pumpkin YUM chunk. It too a long time just to get a limit and they were all small, but I finally started culling around 11am and putting a few “tournament fish” in the box. My partner got his At about 1pm, I left the excelsior area to run some docks in Crystal, North Arm & Maxwell. Some had boats on them, the others did not produce. As time was winding down, I ran some docks in the main lake, the last 5 docks i fished i dumped a 3 plus and a solid 2lb fish, then had another 2lb fish follow my jig, not good, all would have helped me, as I had a couple 13-14″ fish in the box still. My final weight was 11.80lbs, which had me in 15th place, not terrible, but the fish I lost could have had me in the Top 5 and in the money cut.

Day 2 I fished with Doug Brooks and we were boat #9. I decided to start and run a much of the same water as the day before. I caught a quick 14″ keeper on a Brovarney Swim jig and then got a fish close to 3lbs out from a shallow pontoon right after that on the Sunfish jig. Fish came quicker and bigger on day 2. I left this area around noon and had a pretty good limit with only one small fish, all coming on the jig. This day I ran to some pads in Libbs lake in hope for a kicker, but the only thing that bit was a pike. I made one stop in Gray’s Bay where I flipped a Yum Vibra King Tube rigged with a 3/4oz Tru-Tungsten Flippin’ Weight on a 3/0 BMF hook into some heavy milfoil and I caught a nice 2lb fish to get rid of my small fish and about 10 flips later, caught one over 3lbs to get rid of that 2lb fish. I was feeling pretty good about the day and had some time left, I felt I needed a kicker bite to make it a very good day.

I made a spot on a deep milfoil spot in Wayzata, that produced only a 8″ bass for my partner. I then ran to the docks that I lost the fish late in the day on Saturday. Not even a tap!!! I then stopped on some wood pier docks and caught a 8″ fish, not helping at this point. I then decided to hit some wood pier docks next to Maynard’s with 30 mins left, but they were covered up by boats, so I ducked into St. Albans bay, fished what I saw and was rewarded with one last 3lb bite, that got rid of a 2.5lb fish, not the kicker I was hoping for, but I was happy to get the bite.

My final tally for Day 2 was 14.50lbs and it gave me a two day total of 26.30lbs. I ended up just outside of the money in 10th place, not a great tournament, but pretty decent on Tonka which I have not the most experience. My 10th place finish bumped me to 3rd in the points, not to bad of a year! Because of obligations on the home front, I am not going to be able to go to the 2 day regional on Kentucky Lake, good luck to the rest of the MN anglers that fish it!!!

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Tournament Info

Gopher Bassmasters Fall Classic – Lake Waconia – September 21, 2008

September 23, 2008 hellabass

Saturday I was out on Minnetonka again, trying to get dialed in for the Weekend Series tourney this weekend. I cannot say that I found anything that great, guess I have a couple 3-4 new areas that have some 3lbs plus potential, and I will need plenty of those for this 2 day tournament format. My best fish came on 3/8oz Tru-Tungsten Jigs and soft plastics.

Sunday was our 4th annual Gopher Fall Classic for the club. This is our one tournament that is more fun, as it does not count towards standing and its a team format. I was on the winning team the prior 3 years, so I had high expectations for Frank & I. Another unique thing, is that we do not find out the tournament site until 2 days before the tournament and there is no practice allowed.

Frank has had some prior experience on this lake, and I have been on it a couple times, but never really this time of year. We started in the reeds, Frank caught a small keeper on a Power Slug and lost one on a jig in the second set of reeds. We then hit a few adjacent docks and I was able to boat keepers 2 & 3 on a Sunfish 3/8oz Tru-Tungsten jig. We then hit Cemetery reed, the weeds were starting to die and there was a lot of slime, we tried anyways, not a tap.

We then agreed to give the docks some more time. I did not take long to limit out on the docks with my jig and cull once. We then tried some other docks, because all our fish were not very big. We ended up catching a few more fish, only a couple culled.

We then hit two more deep areas on the way back to the ramp, nothing happened there. We never really got on the fish, we ended up with just under 10lbs for 6 fish. Not very good for this lake. Ryan Brant & John Haynes won with a nice bag of 17lbs. Sounds like most of there fish came out of reeds later in the day after the wind picked up. They were fishing Tru-Tungsten jigs and soft plastics.

I am hoping to get out on Tonka one day this week to get a little more practice in for my last event!

Rich
RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog