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Summer Bass Need Special Care

Summer Bass Need Special Care
By Vern Wagner
Conservation Director
Minnesota Bass Federation Nation

Organizers of summer bass tournaments – big and small – need to do a better job of caring for the fish. Many mortality problems are based on scale: The larger the tournament, the more fish to weigh, and the more difficult it is to keep those fish alive.  Small bass clubs that bring 30 to 60 fish to a weigh-in present fewer problems, because their catch can be weighed and released in a matter of minutes.

So, what needs to happen?  Should the DNR have the authority to modify tournament permits if weather conditions are that of extreme heat? Should tournament organizers be required to supply ice and livewell additives such as salt?  What about the weigh-in equipment and practices?  How long can we keep bass in plastic bags without fresh water or added oxygen?

The science and practices that support decreasing bass tournament mortality is growing.  So, when is it appropriate to hold tournament organizers responsible for applying the science? And what should be the official DNR responsibility in this?  These are the questions that myself and Ken Snow, conservation director of the Wisconsin Bass Federation, are asking.

As water temperature goes up, bass consume oxygen faster, and water holds less oxygen. It takes more aeration to keep bass alive in warm temperatures.  Ten pounds of bass in a bag containing only one to two gallons of water will reduce oxygen to lethal limits in two minutes.  The point? It’s vital (literally) to frequently exchange water while handling fish in summer.

Here’s why: a bass’s temperature tolerance depends on the temperature to which it is acclimated. This means that ice should be added to livewells and holding tanks to maintain water within plus or minus 5 degrees of the prevailing lake or river temperatures, especially in warmer weather.

Anglers also must consider survivability in light of fish diseases known to exist in certain areas. Largemouth bass virus has been identified in many pools of the Mississippi.  This disease first was seen in southern waters in the early ’90s and has resulted in significant post-tournament kills. Fortunately, LMBV has worked its way through southern bass populations without any long-term consequences and is likely to do so up north.  But questions remain.  While LMBV is still a comparatively minor threat in the Mississippi, is it appropriate to do DNR fish studies here?  Recent research studies in Wisconsin that held large concentrations of bass in trap nets resulted in very high mortality.  In light of recent tournament-related fish kills, are these studies detrimental to the overall population? S ince bass aren’t routinely kept for dinner plates, losing some fish may not be catastrophic.  But in the eyes of many, floating fish and large mortality rates create serious public relations problems for tournament anglers.  Bass tournament mortality entails more than fish weighed in dead or floaters found after a tournament.

Survivability is an ongoing process, influenced by age, disease, and injury.  Water quality, current flow in rivers, and dissolved oxygen levels also play a part, as does stress caused by hooking, handling and release.  Bass anglers frequently are asked if catch-and-release tournaments harm the fishery.  In fact, most lakes with a history of frequent tournaments don’t show signs of reduced density or lack of recruitment.  Habitat is key in determining fish populations.

Though all bass tournament anglers should take individual responsibility for keeping summer fish in good condition, the real need is for the large tournament circuits to lead the way. We can’t put all the responsibility on our state DNRs to police tournament ranks.  Leadership should come from tournament organizers rather than state mandates.  Nationally known tours conducted by the FLW and BASS – in league with their respective federations – already have a level of influence and credibility with tournament participants that state agencies may never approach. Organizers should make full use of existing science to make decisions on tournament procedure, because they are in the best position to experiment and quickly modify techniques used for the weigh-in process.

For example, bass tournaments during periods of high heat may require special modifications, such as perpetual weigh-in, and/or a reduced bag limits for that day. Many good publications exist that can help the tournament organizers cope with summer conditions.  Keeping Bass Alive is one example; using the Shimano Water Weigh-in is another.

While tournament organizers have the credibility, state agencies have the clout to mandate action and can move things along in a positive direction.  We see a need for these entities to work together, perhaps by moving bass tournaments to periods when water quality is optimal.
Individual bass anglers can also do their part to keep fish in prime condition. Everyone can: Keep livewells well aerated; run the pumps continuously, not just on a timer cycle; frequently exchange water; monitor water temperatures; and add ice and salt as needed.
What about the future? We see the next best step as creation of a tournament weighmaster certification program. Minnesota already has taken a first step in developing a weighmaster training curriculum for its clubs.

While summer bass tournament weigh-ins can present a challenge to tournament organizers, the science, experience and techniques to keep fish alive and successfully released already exist. We only need to apply what we already know.

Hope you enjoyed this piece!
Rich
RichLindgren.com 
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Lake Minnetonka Weekend Series Early Practice #2

My buddy and I launched out of Gray’s Bay last night at about 4:15pm.  It was a mostly overcast afternoon evening with a light easterly wind.  We spent most of the evening in Excelsior and St. Albans Bays.  We caught right around 20 fish.  Towards the end we found some better quality fish (2.5 – 3.5lbs).  Almost all our fish came on 3/8oz Tru-Tungsten Jigs in Sunfish and Watermelon Brown colors using a Green Pumpkin Speed Craw as the trailer.  I also caught one bass on a Sammy and another on a Watermelon SWL Spinnerbait with Gold Willow Blades.  This is much better than what I found in my last practice day.  I feel that these areas will only get better as we approach tournament time as the milfoil becomes less thick, it will concentrate fish in these areas.
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We hit a couple areas in Wayzata on the way back, but it was getting pretty dark and Ryan got two northerns.  I will be out there for a solid day this Satuday and hopefully next Wednesday evening.

Earlier in the day, there was small celebrity/Sponsorhip/charity type deal.  Sounds like it only took 15lbs for 6 fish, I think the bite was probably off a little, that is not that impressive for Tonka.

Rich
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Leech Lake (West) – Club Tournament #8 – August 20, 2006

Day 2 started with clear skies and a light SW wind.  I ended up fishing out of Dave’s boat, he had a lot more practice, so I figured it would not hurt.  I told him that I had about 1.5 hrs worth of stuff that I wanted to fish first.  A fairly important tournament for everyone, as it was there last chance to cement a spot for next year’s state team.  I also found myself pitted against Ryan in the final day of the Match Championship.

We started on a Reed and Canegrass point of mine and Dave caught a nice keeper immediately on a jig.  I then caught 3 keepers, only one being a quality fish.  They all came on a my 3/8oz Sunfish Colored Tru-Tungsten Jig, tipped with a Crawdad colored Yum Craw Papi.  We then quickly hopped to a small isolated Cattail patch that I got another small keeper on the jig.  That made it 4-1 over Dave.
Click Jig for Details
Tru-Tungsten Jig (Sunfish) 
We then spent about an hour fishing a rice and bog island where I caught a really big fish in practice, but the only action we had was two swirls on Dave’s Black Zoom Horny Toad.  We decided that we should revisit the bog section of this island later.  It was time to check some of Dave’s spots.  We hit a small reed patch without a bite and then hit a large rice island.  I got one more small keeper on a jig, giving me a small limit.  Dave was frustrated, so I suggested with the high sun and light wind, we hit the docks across the bay.  We each got two keepers, giving Dave 3 fish and I got to cull twice, both fish came on a weightless Green Pumpkin Lake Fork Ring Fry.  Again I loosely pegged a couple Tru-Tungsten Force Beads for weight on the Ring Fry.  Right when we got to the point, there was one more dock mixed in between some reeds & rice, I almost decided not fish it, but we did.  I pitched the outside edges of it all over and then made one pitch in over the chain and sure enough a big one grabbed it.  I had it one for about 10 seconds before it fell off.  What a bummer!  It sucks losing fish in the 4lb class.

We then spent about 2 hours working over some of Dave’s reed beds, Dave lost one and I had one follow my jig.  Either the wind was not right or we needed some more cloud cover, but those fish just did not go.  We then went back to my starting reed point and I got  decent keeper to cull for the 3rd time, now I really only had one small fish left.  We then revisited the bog area and I got my big fish (3.2 lbs) on my sunfish jig, but now tipped with a Watermelon Red Flake Zoom Ultravibe Speed CrawBuy this ProductI was feeling like that lost fish was going to kill me and I needed one more good bite to make up for it.  Sure enough, as we went back through the bog I got one more bite.  She must of just nipped the jig as I only had her for a split second before she was gone.

Time was running out, so we hit another windy reed area and then flipped the cover in the Kabekona narrows before time was out, no more bites.  I was last to weigh in and Ryan weighed 13.7 lbs for 5 fish.  I knew it would be close, I ended up with 13.2 which was good for 2nd place.  So Congrats to Ryan on his Match Championship Victory. I needed to convert one of those two good ones that I missed.  In the end, I ended up increasing my lead over 2nd place for the year and coasted to ‘Club Stick’.  Sounds like many of the good fish came off of docks, so it sounds like we should have stayed with that.

In review, I learned a ton about Leech this past weekend and makes me look forward to next years state tournament.  Well tonight I am off to Tonka after work to get some more early practice for the Weekend Series final event.

Rich
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Leech Lake (East) – Club Tournament #7 – August 19, 2006

We launched out of the Sugar Pt landing on Boy Bay, I was fishing alone.  I was last out, so I just got my rods ready and put some scent on my jigs while everyone took off.  I was not in a hurry, because I did not no where I was going.  I knew that I had caught fish in the reeds on the west side and that there is supposed to be some good bog in Boy Bay and then there is plenty of Wild Rice to fish.  My plan was to head towards the back of Boy bay where the river connects and watch for something that caught my eye.

Very quickly I spotted a small rice island on my right, I pulled in and pitched my jig around for about 5 minutes, decided this is not what I wanted and left.  I then headed straight across where it looked like some rice faded into bog and it was calm so I could work a topwater.  On my 3rd cast with a Black Bronzeye I caught a keeper, probably 2lbs.  Then a few cast later I got a 2nd, just tossing into the pockets and edges of the rice.  I then started alternating between the Bronzeye and black Gambler Cane Toad.  I rigged the Cane Toad on a 4/0 Wide Gap and then used a 1/16oz Tru-Tungsten T-rig weight in the nose.  I quickly lost the cane toad to a muskie and went back to the Bronzeye.  I then got one more on the frog, then missed one.  Shortly there after, I converted a missed frog fish with a weightless Green Pumpkin Lake Fork Ring Fry, I used two 8mm Tru-Tungsten Force Beads as weight loosely held in place with a bobber stop.

I tried fishing some 3/4oz and 1oz jigs in the shallow rice, but they were to heavy for this area, so I tied on a 3/8oz Tru-Tungsten Jig in a Sunfish Pattern and tipped it with an Alabama Craw colored NetBait Paca Chunk.  On my 2nd pitch I missed one and a few pitches later bagged my 5th keeper.  I probably had right around 10lbs, so I started moving quicker and hopping around and I wanted to look for bigger fish.  I caught one small keeper off a log with the Ring Fry, tried some reeds, bog & rice, not much luck.

Click Jig for Details

Tru-Tungsten Jig (Sunfish)I then hopped down to a point with a little wind blowing into it and there looked to be some mats in the middle of it.  I started flipping my Sunfish Jig and caught a couple that culled.  I then sat down and retied the Black Cane Toad and started fan casting the sparser areas of rice.  Within 10 casts, I boated 3 nice keepers and 2 of them culled fish.  Too make a long story short, I slowly worked this island the rest of the entire day, which was about 5 hrs and boated 20+ keepers on jigs and cane toads.  I believe that 3 of my keepers were on the jig, including the biggest fish (4.5lbs) and two resulted from the Cane Toads crawled like a buzzbait though the rice.  They were really eating the frogs, I bet I kooked 8-9 out of 10 on topwater frogs, what a great ratio.

Another boat joined me for about 3.5 hours and they each showed up with 2 keepers each and they ended up with 16.6 and 16, including the years big fish at 6lbs.  My total for the day was 19.4 lbs and was the winning bag.  It gave me a very comfortable lead going into the last tournament of the year which was the next day on the west side of Leech Lake.  I also advance to the final day of Match Championship.  Obviously I was very happy with the day, and it was better than I could have hoped for not practicing that side at all and not have been there for 11 years.  I said afterward, I would be happy if it was half that good tomorrow .  All 10 guys brought in 5 bass limits, with the smallest being 10.2lb.  Great Tournament!

Rich
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Leech Lake Club Tournament Preview

Hey all, sitting here watching the clock, heading up to Leech Lake shortly.  I only had about 2.5hrs of practice, that is not much time on a 112,000+ acre lake that we will split in half for two days.  I only fished the half we will fish on day 2.  In practice, I found fish on the reeds and bog on the west side using jigs, I feel that I should be able to duplicate that in Boy Bay on the east side.

Last night I set up my equipment like I was hunting bear.  I got all baitcasters with 17-25 lb mono or 50 lb Braid.  I got 3 jigs tied up, ranging from 3/4oz to 1oz in Brown/Blk, Green Pumpkin and Blk/Bl/Purple.  I got a Black Gambler Cane Toad to use as a buzzbait, spoon and frog combo.  I got a black Bronzeye on 7’10” with braid.  I have TX rig with a heavy Tru-Tungsten Sinker tied up with a snell knot for flipping and then I got a  Secret Weapon Spinnerbait in case the fish are hanging on the edges.  Should be fun!

These are the last two tournaments of the year, and I am hanging onto a slim 1.2 lb lead over my dad, for ‘Club Stick’ who has been up practicing for the whole week.  It is also down to the Final 4 for the Match fishing tournament.  There is also a good chance, big bass of the year for the club could fall this weekend.  It would be great to wrap up all three!  Check back Monday for results!

Rich
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More Bass Fishing Info

If you have not noticed, I started a Bass Fishing Forum to augment this Blog and my webpage – www.RichLindgren.com

If you are looking for more bass info or other ways to post your questions or thought, check it out – http://richlindgren.proboards46.com

There is a classified section and a general section so far.  I know sometimes there are questions that do not necessarily match up with the topics on the blog and the forum is wide open place for all questions and ideas.

Hope you like it!
Rich
RichLindgren.com 
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Potomac Elite Series Patterns

Kelly Jordon’s water was the best, and one key grass patch gave up the three winning bites. There is more to his win than that, though.  Here’s a closer look at how Jordon won the Potomac Elite Series.

Practice
Practice was tough for almost everyone in the 102-angler field. Jordon’s approach was two-fold and he concentrated on topwater in the mornings. He then went and flipped matted grass – mainly milfoil – in the afternoons.  He went into competition with two primary areas – one for buzzing, one for flipping – and a number of secondary spots.

Days 1 & 2
> Day 1: 5, 17-09
> Day 2: 5, 12-03 (10, 29-12)

Jordon started day 1 in his buzzbait spot, which was in a little bay. He caught only small fish and moved to another spot with the buzzer. Soon after, a storm hit. He stopped short of his destination and “jacked around” in a little bay for an hour.

He waited for the storm and wind to subside, because he still wanted to fish his matted-grass area. “It finally slicked off around 12:30, so I buzzed down there and my first cast was a 5-12. Then I caught a 4-plus-pounder.”

His two flip-fish weighed nearly 10 pounds, and along with three smaller ones from the morning, he weighed 17-09, which put him in 3rd place.

Day 2 was a disaster. He didn’t catch any big fish, went three-for-eleven on the Boogerman Racket Buzz, weighed 12-03 and dropped to 6th place. It was a disappointing day.

Days 3 & 4
> Day 3: 4, 12-14
> Day 4: 5, 17-15 (9, 30-13)
> Total = 19, 60-09

Jordon started day 3 – another bluebird, post-frontal day – in his best buzzbait spot and caught a 4-pounder on the first cast. He had four more blowups after that, and hooked two with a Senko that he threw back.

He hooked his third fish, a 1 3/4-pounder, in the tongue, and was sure it would die. BASS rules prohibit the culling of dead fish at the Potomac, so if he kept it, he wouldn’t be able to cull it. Limits hadn’t been a problem, but he agonized over the decision and opted to throw it back.

He caught a fourth fish (a 3-pounder) late, but never caught a fifth keeper. His four-fish total weighed 12-14. Turns out the rest of the field had a tough day too and he moved up to 4th. But if he’d kept the fish, he’d have been the leader.

Instead, he started the final day exactly 1 pound behind leader Rick Morris. And the fish he tossed back was front-and-center in his mind.

He started day 4 with the Boogerman Racket Buzz and missed two bites, but caught them both with a throwback Senko. They were both 1 1/2-pounders. After that, he decided to go flip a limit spot, with the goal of eventually heading downriver.

He went to where there were mats at high tide and fished some areas he’d found in practice, wanting to catch a limit, then do some running.  He did catch a limit, but it was only 7 pounds.

“I was getting ready to leave – to run downriver – and saw something good,” he added. “I pulled in and caught a 4 1/2-pounder.”  That’s when things took off.

“I said, ‘What the heck’s this thing doing here? This one’s lost.’ It was really thick, matted stuff. I was ready to get out of there and said to myself, ‘I should fish this longer.’ “I got another bite, set the hook and it was a 4-pounder. Then about 10 minutes later I caught a 5 1/2. It was all between 11:00 and 12:00.”

And that was it. He weighed those three fish and two rats for 17-15. He edged 2nd-place Reese by just 7 ounces.

Photo: Kicker Fish Bait Co./Lake Fork Tackle

Jordon flipped a Kicker Fish Kicker Kraw (top) in the super-thick grass, and a Lake Fork Tackle Craw Tube (bottom) in sparser stuff.

Winning Gear Notes

> Buzzbait gear: 7′ medium-action Fenwick Techna AV rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene Sensation line, 3/8oz. Boogerman Racket Buzz (chartreuse/white with chrome blade), 2/0 Gamakatsu trailer hook.  

> Senko gear: Same rod, same reel, 17-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon line, 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG Superline hook, no weight, Gary Yamamoto Senko (watermelon/black-flake).

> Flipping gear: 7’9″ heavy-action Fenwick Techna AV rod, same reel, 65-pound Spiderline Stealth braid, 4/0 and 5/0 Owner extra-wide-gap offset hooks, 1-ounce Lake Fork Tackle tungsten Mega-Weight (unpegged), Lake Fork Craw Tube (junebug and blue bruiser), NetBait Paca Craw (black/blue with silver-flake) and Kicker Fish Kicker Kraw (black/blue with blue-flake).

> He noted he fished the Lake Fork Craw Tube around sparser grass. In thicker mats, he switched between the Paca Craw and Kicker Kraw. On the final day, he only threw the Craw Tube and Kicker Kraw.

The Bottom Line
Main factor in his success – “The fact that I love to grass-fish and I was excited about the fishing. I’m not a big tide-fisherman, so I can’t tell you what the fish do. When they leave me I don’t know where they go. But when I see the right kind of conditions and the way the grass is, that’s the key deal. Here, it was clumpy milfoil with holes. Clumpy was the key.”

Performance Edge – “My key piece of equipment this week was my whole flipping combo. Actually, I was doing more pitching than flipping with that big rod. I’m just so comfortable with that setup, and the braid.”

Here is some details on how other top finishers caught their fish.

2nd: Skeet Reese
> Day 1: 5, 16-05
> Day 2: 5, 17-00
> Day 3: 3, 8-15
> Day 4: 5, 17-14
> Total = 18, 60-02

Reese relied on laydowns in 1 to 7 feet of water for his fish. “They were all in a creek,” he noted. “My number-one bait was a 4-inch Berkley  Power Hawg, but I also caught fish on a Terminator buzzbait and Terminator Pro’s Top Secret Jig.”

He started flipping with Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon on day 1, but ran into trouble. “I broke off four or five fish – there were barnacles all over the wood. They just shredded the line. I switched to Berkley Trilene Big Game and didn’t break as many off – only one (on day 3) and one (on day 4).”

> Flipping gear: 8′ fast-action Lamiglas XFT 806 flipping stick, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel, 25-pound Berkley Big Game  line, 3/0 unnamed extra-wide-gap hook, 1/2oz Tru-Tungsten Worm Weight, 4″ Berkley  Power Hawg (green-pumpkin).

> He caught his biggest fish on day 3 using a 1/2-ounce Terminator Super Stainless buzzbait. Three other fish he weighed were caught on a 5/8oz Terminator Pro Top Secret Jig in the Skeet’s secret color, which is a mix of olive-green, black neon and pumpkin.  

> Main factor in his success – “I think I just was able to find an area that had good-quality fish and I played to one of my strengths, which is flipping. They caught them a lot of different ways here, but I stuck with what I knew and fished on wood.”

> Performance edge – “I think this week the most important piece of gear was the Berkley  Power Hawg. I flipped a lot of other different baits, but that bait was consistently getting more bites than any other. I don’t know if it was the curltails or what, but they definitely wanted it.”

3rd: Steve Kennedy
> Day 1: 5, 15-15
> Day 2: 5, 13-05
> Day 3: 5, 13-14
> Day 4: 5, 14-06
> Total = 20, 57-08

Steve Kennedy also flipped, but he focused on matted grass. He’d find a group of fish concentrated in certain mats, then work them over with a variety of baits.  He had two primary spots – one at a creek mouth, the other up the river. He did find another upriver area late on day 3 that produced fish too.

> Flipping gear: 7’11” heavy-action St. Croix rod, Shimano Curado casting reel, 65-pound Power Pro Braided Line, 4/0 round-bend straight-shank hook, 1 1/2-ounce Bass Pro Shops tungsten weight (unpegged), Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver 4.20  (blue) and 4″ generic craw (blue) and Yamamoto twintail grub (blue) and Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craw (sapphire blue).

> After he thoroughly worked a mat, he came around one more time with a green-pumpkin Sweet Beaver.

> Main factor in his success – “Just flipping that grass. I came in there planning on doing it, and I stuck with it. It’s what you have to do to win here.”

> Performance edge – “It was the Minn Kota trolling motor with a Weedless Wedge 2 prop – it got me through that grass. You’d get into the heavy grass, and once the water dropped to low tide, you pretty much had to plow through acres of hydrilla to get to what I call the real mats – the stuff that floats up to the surface.”

5th: Rick Morris
> Day 1: 5, 13-06
> Day 2: 5, 13-10
> Day 3: 5, 16-10
> Day 4: 5, 11-02
> Total = 20, 54-12

Rick Morris also focused on grass, but he threw a Chatterbait.

“I was fishing a Chatterbait on the edge of the grass when the tide dropped down – making short little pitches to the outside edge,” he said. “I was throwing right to the edge, where they were tucked up underneath. They’d come out screaming and slam it.”

His primary area was up a creek. During low tide, he fished in 1 to 2 feet of water. During high tide, the water was over the grass.  He also caught a few fish in the morning throwing a toad to arrowheads during high tide.

> Chatterbait gear: 7’6″ medium-heavy RPM Custom Flipping/Pitching Special rod, Pflueger President casting reel, 20-pound Shakespeare Supreme line, 1/4- and 3/8oz Rad Lures Chatterbait (green-pumpkin).

> He used the 1/4-oz Chatterbait on day 1, but after losing some fish, decided to go to the 3/8oz size, which had a larger hook.

> Toad gear: 7’9″ heavy-action RPM Custom Okeechobee Flipping/Pitching Special rod, same reel, 65-pound unnamed braid, 5/0 Gamakatsu EWG Superline hook, Stanley Ribbit (watermelon) and RPM handpour frog (white).

> Main factor in his success – “I concentrated on one small area which was maybe an 1/8-mile stretch of creek. I was persistent with the Chatterbait for many hours until the tide got right and the fish turned on. It was a late bite every day.”

Sounds like grass was king on the Potomac, but several ways to pry the bass from the heavy cover.

Rich
www.richlindgren.com
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Lake Minnetonka Weekend Series Early Practice

I spent Saturday this past weekend painting in the house.  Sunday I wanted to get out on Tonka to start getting prepared for my last Weekend Series event that is in about 5 weeks away.  The reason to start so early is two-fold, I am not very strong on Tonka as I have not fished it much and that I will be tied up for two weeks straight with the MN Bass Federation Nation TOC on Gull and the BASS Federation Nation Northern Divisional on Le Homme Deu.

I want to do well, as I have a shot at the points title, since I am currently 2nd……  The big catch is that I am behind Dean Capra who practically lives on Minnetonka in the Summer.  I launched out of Gray’s bay around 7am.  I went to an area that I had caught big fish before and did not have a bump on my big 1oz jig.  I then ran to a calmer bay where I could try my topwater.  There was a lot of bluegill activity, but I could not get any bites on my Vixen.  I tried to wake a Bomber Long A, no luck.  I pitched my Bronzeye frog around a dock and a 3lb smallie annihilated it, that was the highlight of the day!  Too bad smallies will be out of season for my tournament
I moved back out the the deep weed edge and threw a 1/8oz Tru-Tungsten Ikey Head Jig with a Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm, I caught a few peanuts doing that.

Then I backed out into 18-20 ft and looked for some hard bottom areas and dragged an AT Football head with a Lake Fork Craw Tube, nothing on that.

I then moved to a milfoil point and started chucking a Bluegill DT10, I caught several keepers, but the biggest being only 2lbs.  This about the time the sky started to light up like the 4th of July with electricity.  I went and sat under the Gray’s Bay bridge for abotut 2 hrs, until the lightning passed.

After that I went back out for about 2-3 hrs and fished a bunch of differnt baits and patterns without a single keeper.  I had a few good bites on a big jig in the milfoil but missed them, I think the storm kind of screwed things up a bit.  Looking at my calender, I only have two days left between now and the tournament to get out.  I may try to get out a few evenings on top of that.

Rich
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Cass Lake Vacation & Leech Practice

I left directly from Pokegama to meet up with my wife and in laws for a family vacation at Sunset Cove resort on the Cass Lake Chain.  I got there on Sunday evening, no fishing.  Saturday we went to town for breakfast and I stopped to get bluegill tackle at Froggys and gas for the boat.  I took Laura, her mother and sister out in search of some bluegills, did not find anything to speak of after and hour and we went back to the cabin.  Laura and I went back out and we caught a few gills and I got a nice bass on a Jig and missed one on a Perfect Frog in the rice and pads.  I went back out myself for about 2 hours and bagged a couple nice bass on jigs and a white Snag Proof Bobby’s Perfect Frog.

Later on in the evening, it was time to put the boat on the trailer, I fished the rice near the landing with a Black Bronzeye and caught one more nice 2lb bass before the day was over.

Tuesday we fished off the dock for bluegills and perch for a bit, left the boat on the trailer all day.  I am very impressed with the Berkley Gulp Extruded Baits (Corn, Grub, Earthworm, Maggots); the maggots worked great.  Got plenty of bites, just as many as pieces of crawler and not as nearly messy.  Plus they do not rot in your boat in the sun and last forever.  Check them out next time you are doing a little panfishing.

Wednesday, on the way home, I stopped to practice on Leech for about 2.5 hours on the way home.  I boated 5 nice keeper bass all on a 1oz Blk/Brn All-Terrain Grassmaster Jig tipped with a Green Pumpkin Super Chunk..  I was using the heavy jig so I could cover water fast, and I had several follows on the jig as well.  Most of the fish came out of the reeds and one about 4lbs off a bog point.  I was pleased with what I found in such a short time and feel confident that I can put a decent limit together in my club tournament. 
Tight Lines!
Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com

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FLW Tour Champioship Top 5 Patterns

Practice for the recent FLW Tour Championship (FLWTC) at Alabama’s Lake Logan Martin left more than a few anglers scratching their heads. The water was dropping – which killed the grass bite – and dreams of a current-driven deep bite never materialized.

Most anglers went into the event with plans to fish a mix of deep and shallow, but as the tournament progressed, docks grew to dominate.  Day 3 was the pivotal day. That’s when Anthony Gagliardi’s deeper bite fizzled, and Jay Yelas and Brent Ehrler rose toward the top.

On the final day, it was all Ehrler. He followed up his 13-04, day-3 bag with 15-01 and edged Ray Scheide by 11 ounces.  Most surprising was that Ehrler’s plan fell apart the first 2 days, but he used two clues from practice to find the winning fish.

Here’s how the 29-year-old Redlands, Calif. angler won the FLWTC.

Practice

Ehrler arrived at Logan Martin on the weekend before competition, which gave him 3 full days to practice.  “I started the first day by throwing a buzzbait in the morning,” he said. “Then, in the afternoon, I was throwing jigs and finesse worms around docks. I was also looking for humps, points and rockpiles. But I wasn’t catching them very good.”

He explored the river for the first few days, then decided to move downlake and launched at Lakeside. That morning, he again went out and threw topwater.  Almost instantly, he caught a 12-pound limit, they quit eating the buzzbait, but Brett was catching them real good on a Lucky Craft G-Splash & Gunfish. This was all between 6:00 and 6:30 in the morning.”

What he didn’t realize yet was that he’d found the winning stretch of docks. As he noted, he wasn’t catching them very well off docks, but in two spots, he caught a 2-pound fish that brought chasers to the boat with it.   So as practice ended, he had the two areas where he saw chasers, some scattered deep stuff, and his topwater bite. His plan was to start on topwater, probe offshore, then work the docks.  As it turned out, his topwater bite would be worthless. He assumed the field would launch at 6:30 a.m., but at the Championship, blast-off’s at 7:00.

Days 1 & 2
> Day 1: 5, 10-12
> Day 2: 5, 9-15 (10, 20-11)

Ehrler faced Cliff Pirch in the first round.   He launched and immediately tried his topwater bite, but it was done long before he came off pad.

He went out and started fishing docks, and he caught a 1 1/2- and a 2-pounder from his first stretch of docks – where he saw the chasers – and caught a 2-pounder from his second chaser-area.  He didn’t think much of those two areas yet.

Then he ran out to try a deep area, caught another keeper, and returned to the docks. He caught a few more 2-pound fish to cull up to 10 1/2 pounds.  He caught his first three fish on a shakey-head rigged with a trick worm, which he fished on braid.

On day 2, he started on topwater but didn’t stick with it long. He quickly switched over to docks, and also tried some deep areas.  His 20-11, 2-day total was enough to advance past Pirch by 5-07.


Days 3 & 4
> Day 3: 5, 13-04
> Day 4: 5, 15-01

Weighs were zeroed for day 3 and Ehrler faced Ramie Colson Jr.  By this time, Ehrler knew his topwater bite was a bust, so he went immediately to one of his two chase-areas.  He caught two 3-pounders close by in that same area, and then caught one 2-pounder offshore – fishing a point.

“Then I ran to my other spot (the second chase-area) and caught two more good ones. I left after that because I didn’t want to beat it up.”  Day 3 was the toughest fishing by far – many anglers struggled to catch even 8 pounds – and Ehrler’s 13-04 was the second-best weight that day.  He easily dispatched Colson by a 5-10 margin.

By the time the day 3 weigh-in ended, Ehrler knew exactly what he’d do on day 4. He said at the time: “It’s up to the fish at this point. I really don’t think I can make any different decisions tomorrow. I know exactly where I want to go. It’s completely up to them.”

He went right to his best stretch of docks – the chase-area where he caught twin 3-pounders the morning before.  “I spent 4 hours there and at 11:00 I came out with three fish,” he said. “I left and came back and caught two more. I caught them all in the same area.”  That was it. That single quarter-mile stretch of docks delivered 15 pounds on the final day, which was 11 ounces better than runner-up Ray Scheide’s limit.

Winning Pattern Notes
Here’s what Ehrler said about the winning area.  “It was a stretch of docks about a quarter-mile long. It had maybe eight or 10 docks. It was in the mid-lake area of the main lake.

“The area was the inside bend of the river channel,” he added. “The only thing I can guess about why it was so good was there was kind of a point on one side. Maybe they run from the channel up that point and start running the docks.  “I really have no clue though. I don’t know why they were pulling up though there.”

Photo: Tru-Tungsten

Ehrler threw a NetBait Finesse worm on two different jigheads – a Tru-Tungsten Ikey Head (shown)

Winning Gear Notes
Ehrler dumped his trick worm on day 2 and started fishing a Roboworm and NetBait Finesse worm on shakey-heads.

On day 4, he caught all his winning fish on the NetBait worm.

He noted that during practice, Geoff Walker of Mark’s Outdoors – an area retailer – gave him a pack of the worms in a special ‘Bama bug color. The color is exclusive to Mark’s and is a killer on Logan Martin fish.

After the worm started working on day 2, Ehrler had Walker rush him over a supply for days 3 and 4.

He pitched the shakey-head/worm combo under and around docks. In-between docks, he cranked a Lucky Craft RC 1.5.

> Shakey-head gear: 7′ heavy-action prototype Lucky Craft rod, Daiwa TD Sol 3000 spinning reel, 8-pound Sunline fluorocarbon line, 1/8oz Tru-Tungsten Ikey Head Ball Buster Jig and Reaction Innovations Screwed-Up Jig Head (both green-pumpkin), 6″ Roboworm FX Sculpin (green/yellow/pumpkin) and NetBait T-MAC Worm (‘Bama bug).

> Ehrler said the ‘Bama bug color is a dual color. One side is junebug, then it fades into green-pumpkin on the other.

> Crankbait gear: 7′ medium-heavy Lucky Craft cranking rod, Shimano Chronarch reel, 10-pound Sunline fluorocarbon, Lucky Craft RC 1.5 (copper/green shad).

Notable
> Main factor in his success – “I just think that on the second day I started to click and got on something a little more. I had a little more confidence in the areas I had. I finally told myself, ‘Why even try deep?’ I spent time where I thought there was fish – where I saw those chasers.”
> Ehrler never weighed a largemouth all week – only spotted bass. 

> Ehrler won the 2004 EverStart (now Stren) Series Championship in his second year in that Series. He won this FLWTC in his second year on the Tour.

The rest of the Top 5 – Ray Scheide, Clark Wendlandt, Shinichi Fukae and Jay Yelas – also focused largely on shallow water. What follows is a breakdown of their main patterns.

2nd: Ray Scheide
> Day 1: 5, 15-01
> Day 2: 5, 8-14 (10, 23-15)
> Day 3: 5, 10-15
> Day 4: 5, 14-06

Scheide nearly won the whole darn thing. He weighed a 5-pound-plus fish the final day, and lost one he couldn’t turn, but ultimately fell 11 ounces short.  He worked two separate patterns. When the current wasn’t running – which was more often than not – he ran to the backs of creeks and fished structure and cover just off the bank.  He noted concrete structures, rockpiles and a few brushpiles held his fish. His primary shallow bait was a Berkley Power Worm, but he also cranked a Lucky Craft RC 1.5.

When the current was moving, he went to the main river and primarily cranked the ledges and drops with a Norman Deep Little N. He also threw a Terminator Football jig and Reaction Innovations Screwed-Up Jig Head out deep. 
> Worm gear: 7′ medium-action G. Loomis rod, Shimano Curado casting reel, 16-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, 4/0 Gamakatsu Superline hook, 1/4-ounce weight (unpegged), 8″ Berkley Power Worm (curlytail, black).

> He cranked the Lucky Craft RC 1.5 on the same reel and line, but used a G. Loomis CBR cranking rod.

> Deep-cranking gear: 7′ G. Loomis CBR Crankbait Rod, same reel, 12-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon, Norman Deep Little N (lavender shad).

> Main factor in his success – “Putting myself in the right places at the right time, according to what the current was doing.”

3rd: Clark Wendlandt
> Day 1: 5, 10-13
> Day 2: 5, 8-10 (10, 19-07)
> Day 3: 5, 10-05
> Day 4: 5, 13-09

Wendlandt focused on docks, but after a few days refined his pattern to favor floating docks. He left his very best area for day 4 – he never even went near it the first 3 days – but when he pulled in the morning of day 4, he discovered it was also Ray Scheide’s best spot. It still produced 13 1/2 pounds though.

“I really liked the floating docks the best,” he said. “I don’t think very many people were keying on those.  “The fish were suspended underneath them and were very difficult to catch. They wouldn’t hit a moving bait, so you had to throw light line on spinning tackle.”

He added: “I was skipping the worm up under the docks and getting my bites either on the initial fall or after they followed it to the bottom.”

> Dock gear: 6’6″ medium-action Falcon LowRider rod, Pflueger Supreme spinning reel, 10-pound Ande line, 1/8oz Giggy Head jighead, 5″ Gambler Icicle worm (green-pumpkin).

> Main factor in his success – “The main factor in me finishing 3rd was saving a spot for the last day – gambling on that and still getting through the brackets.”

4th: Shinichi Fukae
Fukae
likewise fished docks, but his had to have a brushpile to the side or right in front.  His docks were both in creeks and in the main lake, and he targeted depths from 3 to 13 feet.

> Dock gear: 6’6″ medium-action St. Croix Legend Elite rod, Shimano Stella 3000 Spinning Reel, 8-pound Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon, 3/32-ounce Mayukyu Skip in the Shade jighead, 5″ Yamamoto Kut-Tail worm and Yamamoto Shad Shaped worm (both green-pumpkin).

> He noted the Skip in the Shade is a shakey-head designed by Norio Tanabe.

> Main factor in his success – “Timing. I spent 10 minutes in a place at the most. It was run-and-gun.”

5th: Jay Yelas
> Day 1: 5, 13-01
> Day 2: 5, 13-14 (10, 26-15)
> Day 3: 5, 14-03
> Day 4: 5, 13-02

Yelas caught over 13 pounds each day and weighed more in total than any other competitor. He caught 19 his 20 fish on a Berkley Power Shaky worm. The other came on a jig.

“I was fishing (the worm) a couple of different ways,” he said. “I was fishing it with 10-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon, but sometimes 15-pound, depending on how heavy the cover was.

“I had three rods all rigged with the same worm, but on different (jigheads) – 1/8-, 3/16- and 1/4-ounce. The 1/8oz jighead, with a smaller hook, was from Provider tackle. The other two were homemade with a big, 5/0 hook.”

He noted his primary targets were main-lake docks near main-lake points. “One of the keys also was that they were large docks,” he added. “They’d extend out over a shallow flat that was maybe 3 feet deep, then out over the dropoff that broke to 15 to 17 feet on the outside edge.”

The fish were both deep and shallow along the docks – he caught some up to 20 feet deep on the outside poles. But his biggest fish on day 4 came from where the dock met a retaining wall in about a foot of water.

> Heavy dock gear: 6’6″ heavy-action Team Daiwa TV-S rod, Daiwa Viento casting reel (left-handed), 15-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon, 3/16- and 1/4-ounce homemade jigheads, Berkley Power Shaky worm (green-pumpkin).

> Light dock gear: 6’3″ Team Daiwa Light & Tough rod, Daiwa TD Sol spinning reel, 10-pound Vanish, 1/8oz Provider jighead, Berkley Power Shaky worm (green-pumpkin).

> Main factor in his success – “I think it was that worm. I fished a jig hard for 5 days in practice, but they just did not want the jig this week.”

This was a great tournament, and another breakout event for a young angler.  Luke Clausen, Dave Wolak and now Brent Ehrler, all youg guys winning big time tournaments.

Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com

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