Empire Chase Patterns – Lake Oneida

July 13, 2006 hellabass

On a lake thought to be dominated by bronzebacks it was the green fish that garnered the most green backs ($$) in the end.

Tommy Biffle started to practice on smallmouths, but switched the second day when he got shallow bites. Nearly everyone who handicapped the recent Oneida Bassmaster Elite Series predicted the event would be won with 60 pounds of smallmouths. This super-clear New York smallmouth factory did kick out thousands and thousands of smallmouths. And Kevin VanDam weighed 60 pounds of them.

But flipping legend Tommy Biffle took everyone to school. He knew he could catch smallmouths, but instead, he worked the bank and weighed largemouths all 4 days. While others fought the battle of ounces, he won the tournament by nearly 3 pounds – a virtual blowout. It was his first BASS win since 1995, and it moved him past the $1 million mark in career BASS earnings. Here’s how he did it.

Practice
The official practice started on Monday, which left anglers 2 1/2 days to pattern a bite. Like nearly everyone else, Biffle started on smallmouths. “At the start of practice, I took (someone) from the Ranger service crew around, just so he could catch smallmouths,” he said. “I did that for a couple of hours, but never caught any good smallmouths. We just kind of messed around, really.”

Day 2 was when he switched his focus. “I started looking for largemouths, had a few good bites, and knew that was the way I wanted to go. So I started hunting places to catch them.” He mixed up depths and found an inconsistent flipping bite in the grass. Then he started moving shallower. “I caught some real shallow – out from under trees, overhanging bushes and limbs. That’s what got me on it.”

He explored the super-shallow flipping bite with a Sweet Beaver, and learned about another key cover element – undercut banks. “They were really shallow there too – more or less a foot underneath undercut banks. They were in the shade of the undercut – that was the key.”

Day 1: 5, 16-12
Biffle began the tournament on his best undercut bank. In fact, he started there all 4 days.

He started down a bank of wood that was both wood and undercut, and caught three on a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver 4.20. Then he ran to a tree that’s had two good ones and caught both of them. The first five fish gave him a good day 1 stringer, so he went looking after that. He caught his biggest fish that day – a 4-14 – on a Stanley Ribbit Frog, he was throwing it between cover.
> He ended day 1 in 2nd (1-10 behind leader Lee Bailey).

Day 2: 5, 14-07 (10, 31-03)
Day 2 kicked off with clouds and fog – usually bad news for a flipping bite. So he started throwing the frog right away and caught three good ones. He never fished the frog within cover – only between cover or just outside of it. However, day 2 was the last day he caught a frog-fish.

“I threw it pretty religiously between cover spots, but never got a bite on it the rest of the tournament.”
And it was overall his toughest day – he only caught six or seven keepers. He ended day 2 in 4th (1-03 behind leader Yusuke Miyazaki).

Day 3: 5, 16-07 (15, 47-10)
Biffle headed right for his undercut bank on the morning of day 3 and flipped up three keepers on his Sweet Beaver.

About his day-3 water, he said: “I was just fishing – flipping whatever I found. I fished both places I knew, and (new) places I found.” One concern did arise though. He was fishing inches of water, and the water was dropping. “I was really worried,” he said. “They all said (the largemouths) couldn’t last – that they’d run out. And I was waiting for them to run out.”
> He ended day 3 in 1st (7 ounces ahead of Ken Cook).

Day 4 : 5, 16-00 (20, 63-10)
Day 4 started cloudy and overcast, and Biffle struggled. The clouds were one factor – he needed the sun to force his flip-fish tighter to cover. At 9:00, he finally caught his first bass. He struggled the rest of the day with a fish here and there.

Biffle used a Tru-Tungsten weight, pegged with the new Tru-Tungsten Peter “T” Smart Peg.

He’d blown leads in the past, and as the clock wound down, he decided he needed to do something. “I had a good stringer, but in the last 25 minutes, I said, ‘I have to do something. I have to have a 4-pounder.” It’d been a while since he got bit, so he decided to run and try three spots he hadn’t touched since practice.

“I ran to the first, caught one and culled. I ran over to the second and the same thing – I caught one and culled. Then I ran over to the third, and my Sweet Beaver got hung up. I moved to go up and get it, and as I turned my trolling motor to go around under a tree, a 3-pounder swam out.

“It had a big, black spot on his head. I ran over in the direction he went, flipped in a tree and caught him. “Then I knew I was going to win.”

Winning Gear Notes
> Flipping gear: 7 1/2′ extra-heavy Quantum Tommy Biffle signature series flipping stick, Quantum PT Burner casting reel (7:1), 25-pound Stren High-Impact mono, 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight (green-pumpkin, pegged with a new Tru-Tungsten Peter “T” Smart Peg), 4/0 Reaction Innovations hook (new, made specifically for the Beaver), Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver 4.20 (green-pumpkin/watermelon).

> About the new pegging method, he said: “It’s a little deal they’ve come out with. It’s like a little rubber bobber stopper. You put your line through, and it goes down inside the sinker and pegs it. It’s awesome.”
> Frog gear: 7 1/2′ heavy-action Quantum flipping stick (not as heavy as his signature series), same reel, 50-pound Stren Super Braid, belly-weighted frog-style hook (name/size unknown), 3 1/2″ Stanley Ribbit Frog (green-pumpkin/red-flake/pearl belly).

Notable
> Main factor in his success – “It’s hard to flip in crystal-clear water, but I was flipping in 6 inches to a foot. You could see every pebble on the bottom. I stuck with it, knowing sooner or later I’d run across one somewhere.”
> He overlapped Matt Reed in his main area for all 4 days. Reed finished 11th.

2nd: Charlie Youngers found his smallmouth pattern on the first day of practice, and it held up for his first-ever Top 12 at this level. He also shared his area with Peter Thliveros (who finished 16th).

He found the hotspot by chance. Before the event began, he’d studied maps and determined where he wanted to start practice. On his way across the lake, he noticed an isolated spot where the depth went from 22 feet to 12 feet.

“I caught a 4-pounder on my third cast, and when I pulled it up, there was 20 fish following it. I said, ‘I need to leave here. This is a Top 12 place.'” He also caught some practice fish on a old suspending balsa Rogue jerkbait.

A high-pressure front came through, and he threw a small tube during competition. He and Thliveros then both circled the hump throughout the tournament.

> Tube gear: 6’0″ medium-action Fenwick Techna AV rod, Abu Garcia Torno casting reel, 10-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon, 3/16-ounce homemade insider jighead (2/0 hook), assorted 3 1/2″ Bass Pro Shops and Berkley Power Tubes (watermelon/green).
> He noted that when he went to a bigger tube, he got less bites, so he stuck with the smaller versions.
> Main factor in his success – “Just sticking with it and grinding it out. Every day, you’d get a limit by 7:00, then go through 2 or 3 hours and only catch five or six fish. But I kept moving around and bearing down and I’d run across them.”

3rd: Kevin VanDam also focused on smallmouths. He did spend a few hours on largemouths the final day, but couldn’t upgrade. “I was fishing for smallmouths on the main lake,” he said. “I was offshore, where they were feeding on perch fry mostly, and some bigger perch too. I was looking for edges of grass and areas where there was sand and grass, or rocks and grass.

KVD looked for clean spots – anything that made an edge. The fish would tightly group along that edge, and he worked a series of such areas all 4 days – bouncing from GPS coordinate to GPS coordinate. He threw a number of different baits, but caught most of his quality fish on a Strike King Kevin VanDam’s Pro Model Tube. He estimated he caught well over 300 fish in 4 days.

> Tube gear: 7′ medium-action Quantum Tour Edition rod, Quantum Energy PTi spinning reel, 8- and 10-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon, Bite-Me Tackle Big Dude insider jighead (“The new one, with rattles.”), Strike King Kevin VanDam’s Pro Model Tube (Great Lakes goby).
> He used Mustad Ultrabite scent for two reasons. 1. It helped lubricate the inside of the tube to insert the jighead. 2. “I think on smallmouths, when they’re bunched up, it gets you more bites.”
> He also used his Biosonix electronic fish-attraction unit. “The fish are bunched up on those spots. Typically with smallmouth, when you pull them off a spot, you pull a school. Then they scatter and quit biting real quick. The Biosonix is able to keep them biting for 30 to 40 minutes longer on a spot.” Find Biosonix @ BassPro.com

> Main factor in his success – “Just probably my knowledge of northern smallmouths going into the tournament.”

4th: Dave Wolak started the tournament with smallmouths in mind. “I had a couple of smallmouth areas. One, Aaron Martens was on – he was right on my GPS point. I felt like a chump, but I stayed there for 5 minutes, caught one fish and left. “Then I went to my other spot and (Mike) Iaconelli was on it.”

He spent most of the day running humps and had an average limit. Near the end of the day, he pulled the plug on his smallmouth bite and went after largemouths. He caught one and culled to 14 pounds. After that, he focused on largemouths for days 2, 3 and 4, but contacted occasional quality smallmouths in his largemouth areas.

“I was just flipping the grass,” he said of his largemouth pattern. “And the reason I used heavy stuff was there’s zebra mussels all over the grass, and when you flip in there and a good fish saws you through 30 stalks of grass, you can’t have light line. “I’m willing to sacrifice bites to get the fish into the boat when they do bite.”

He also noted that in the mornings, or whenever it was cloudy, he stayed on the edges in the sparser grass. As the day progressed, he flipped “the heart of the grass.” Neither method produced decidedly better fish than the other. In general, he fished water about 8 feet deep and the fish were suspended in the grass.

> Flipping gear: 7’6″ extra-heavy flipping stick, unnamed casting reel, 50-pound Power Pro Braided Line, 1/2-ounce Fin-Tech Title Shot jig, a variety of pale-green trailers (rear section of a Brush Hog with arms cut off, double-tail grub, NetBait Paca Craw).
> He made his own perch-colored jig skirt.

> Main factor in his success – “Knowing the way the New York fish relate to grass, and what grass to look for. There’s lots of grass in this lake, but if you found a good mix of vegetation and hung around
it long enough, and were very persistent, you’d get bit.”

5th: Ken Cook dropshotted smallmouths all 4 days. He began day 4 just 7 ounces behind leader and eventual winner Tommy Biffle, but his quality bites finally sputtered.

Ken was fishing a big bay, he said. “I’m sure the smallmouths spawned somewhere in there. The main thing I was focusing on was the presence of huge schools of yellow perch fingerlings.

Within the bay he concentrated on spots where the deep weed-edge contacted sand. He felt that was a spot where the smallmouths gathered to flush young perch out of the grass. “I was throwing my dropshot into those sandy, open spots. You couldn’t really see them – you had to figure them out where they were. They were in about 10 to 12 feet of water.

> Dropshot gear: 7′ medium-action Fenwick Techna AV rod, Abu Garcia 503 ALB spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Vanish Transition, 1/8oz Tru-Tungsten Convertible Drop Weight , size 1 VMC Fastgrip hook (red), 4″ Berkley Gulp Sinking Minnow (watermelon/red-flake, wacky-hooked).
> About his technique, he said: “I caught most of my fish on bottom, and the better fish came from bottom. I was trying to fish below the school for the bigger, lazy fish. I was shaking it with a slow shake.”
> He noted the Tru-Tungsten weight was important because it helped him feel where the sand areas were.
> He first found the bay through observing bird activity.

> Main factor in his success – “One of the real keys to my success, and why I was able to stay on them so well, was the Biosonix (unit). I discovered it last year at this lake, and I believe smallmouths are really affected by the sound that makes. The fish would come up chasing minnows, and I’m convinced they stayed around my boat because they could hear that activity around my boat.” Find Biosonix @ BassPro.com

It will be interesting to see whether the bronze or green bass bring home the gold this week at Champlain.

Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com

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Product Reviews, Tips and Techniques

Cool Website – Discover Boating

July 12, 2006 hellabass

Here is a really great website that I recently came across. Discover Boating! Among its many features, it allows you to look up boat ramps and accesses for just about any lake in the country as well as directions.

Hopefully you will find this helpful someday when you are scoping out a new lake.

Tight Lines,
Rich
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Bass Basics, Top Lists

10 Things to Keep in your Bass Boat

July 11, 2006 hellabass

10 Things you may not have in your boat, but probably should. These are some of the items that are beyond what is legally required and what is commonly carried by anglers. Some stuff is more obvious than others and some items are quite unordinary.

Jumper Cables – Jumper cables have saved my day many a times as well as some other people I have run into. Its even saved a few tournament days. Sure you can always switch your cables over to the trolling batteries, but when you only have a minute or two to spare to get back for weigh-in, jumper cables save a ton of time.

Buoys – I know many a guys pass ob buoys for GPS, but on windy days there is nothing like a buoy for a reference point, especially in these Boater/Non-Boater tournaments where co-anglers are not allowed to run the boat, so if you are trying to hold on a deep hard bottom spot in the wind, its nice just to be able to motor back to that spot and start fishing, instead of trying to feel your way around for it again and again. Bass Pro Shops carries a great selection of buoys.

Extra Life Preserver – Its nice to have for those impromptu evening fishing trips with a buddy or coworker. You hate not to take someone because you only have one life jacket. Also, you can make someone’s day at the tournament take-off when they forgot theirs and you can lend them one.

Old-Fashioned Ice Fishing Depth Finders – This is for fish health! If you are not familiar with this item, it is basically a .5 – 1oz lead weight molded to a gator clip. I use these to clip on to the pectoral fin of a fish in my livewell that is starting to turn on its side. The basic premise, is that the fish does not have to fight and waste energy to stay upright and it recovers easier and you do not kill the fish and save on dead fish penalties at the scale.

Rope – Handy for tying up to docks, bridges & trees. Also good to have when you need a tow or try to tow another boat back to safety.

Small Anchor – An anchor can make life easy on a windy day and you have a real tight group of fish. Plus, I really like for sight fishing. Once you locate a nice fish, back just far enough away so you can see what you are doing and gently hold the boat with the anchor. Less trolling motor noise, more bites!

Toilet Paper – When nature calls there is not always a restroom available and often boat ramp facilities are often out of this key supply.

Cable Ties – I find these are handy for batteries that come loose out of trays, for re-securing transducers and many other things in the boat.

Multi-Tool – It’s a great single tool that can make those wireing repairs, loose screws and bolts. Rather than a toolbox, this tool can do most everything and take up a lot less room. You really cannot go wrong with a quality tool like the Leatherman Wave or Gerber 600 Fisherman.

Quality Side Cutters – Great way to remove really deep hooks from fish and can often save a fish that otherwise might go belly up in your livewell. Its also handy for cutting hooks that are buried into your hand or skin.

Hopefully you find these tips useful and makes your future fishing trips safer and more productive.

Rich
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Tournament Info

Lake Marion – Pan-O-Prog Days Tournament – July 8th, 2006

July 10, 2006 hellabass

PICTURES ADDED!!!

Ryan & I got up at 4:30am and headed to the ramp, launch and checked in with plenty of time to enjoy the rolls provided by the MN Pole Benders. I left drawing the boat number up to Ryan, he picked a respectable 16th out of 40. As we pulled up to our starting point, there was another boat setting down about 75yds to the right and we ended up each fishing one side of the point, 3-5ft. I quickly got one about 3lbs on a finesse carolina rigged (pegged Tru-Tungsten 1/8oz sinker 24″ from hook) baby watermelon Ring Fry. The other boat caught a couple small keepers on a black chatterbait. After fishing awhile we started working the flat over the next point. I caught one small keeper on a blk/purple Outkast Swim Jig with a Black Gulp Minnow Grub trailer. Then Ryan & I each got on keeper on a the baby Ring Fry off the point and I lost one that we saw jump, probably 1.5lbs. We fished one more mid-depth point in the rain and headed out to a deep spot on the main lake.

We pulled up to my primary deep hard bottom area and there were 4 tournament boats working up shallower. Within 25-30 minutes we boated 5 really nice keepers (including our big fish of the day), 3 on Carolina Rigged Lake Fork Creature (Bull Bream) and 1 on a C-rigged Senko (Cinnamon). The keys to the c-rig seemed to be the Tru-Tungsten weights and crawling it slower than slow. You could really feel the gravel and small rocks in 10-14ft with the tungsten weights. When the Carolina Bait slowed, I switched to a DT10 (Bluegill) and got another 3lb plus fish. I got one more bit that pulled an appendage of my creature and then the action stalled. We worked the area with jig worms, drops shots, 10″ Lake Fork Worm and other baits with no more bites. It was 10:45 and we decided to leave and try some other areas.

We hit a couple other weedlines and rows of docks, caught several keepers, on Swim Jigs & Tungsten Jigs, but nothing big enough to cull out our 2.5# small fish. I figured by working the docks we were playing good defense even if we did not manage any big bites. We eventually returned to our deep spot at around noon, we worked it over again with several baits including creatures and jigs, but no more action. We were having some starting battery issues so we opted to work the bar next to the landing for the last 30 minutes. No more bites, and we headed in about 10 minutes early to get a good spot on the beach and to ensure we were not late as we figured to have 20+ lbs in the well.

We weigh in with about half the field already weighed, had to wait to make sure Laura (my wife) was there before we brought the fish up. Our total for 6 fish was 20.85lbs with a big fish of 4.87lbs. When we weighed it was top weight and big fish so far. We ended up in 3rd, the same two teams from the previous year took 1st & 2nd, but our big fish held.

We were a little more than a pound out, we need one more 4lb bite. Those two 2lb fish held up back. I think we may have been a little late getting out to the deep spot, I think we only caught the tail end of the bite. Overall we fished very well and you can hardly complain about 20+lbs, the only fish we lost would not have helped. Looking back I wish we would have moved deep a little earlier.

See Results

I republished this posting to add pictures that had been missing for a long time
Rich
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Tournament Info

Lake Marion – Practice Day #2 – July 4, 2006 & Pan-O-Prog Preview

July 7, 2006 hellabass

I tried to get an early start knowing it would be a busy independence day on Lake Marion. Launched the boat around 6:30am and I headed out to my favorite deep area to test it out and hardly a nibble from panfish, let alone a bass bite. I then went up on top of the flat and started pitching a Gambler B.B. Cricket with a 1/2oz Tru-Tungsten worm weight checking to see if they were up in the weeds, no much happening there either. I then buzzed across the lake to check a sand shelf, I first probed with the Reaction Innovations Vixen and then a jig and then a Ring Fry.

I then went though the narrows and checked some of the mid-depth areas Ryan and I found fish on just a couple days ago. The very first spot I got two fish on a Carolina Rigged Lake Fork Creature in a Bull Bream color. I then hopped around and found some fish on Swim Jigs, chatterbaits & senko type baits. I was feeling pretty good about getting quality fish, but not finding and 3lb + fish, which are important on this lake. It will likely take over 20lbs to win on Saturday.

I then tried flipping some weed clumps again, but went quite awhile without any bites. Then right around 1pm, I found an area where I got one about 3.5 and 2.5 in just a few minutes on a Tungsten Jig. By that time, it was time to get off the lake and get read for a 4th grill out at the neighbors.

Looking ahead, I would feel much better if m deep fish were going, as they can be really good fish out there. None the less, I believe we have a solid pattern that we should be able to get 12+ pounds fairly early and then we can give some of my deep areas a go and try some other shallow cover to get a couple kickers and we will have shot at a high finish. If any of you are interested, head out to Casperson Park on Lake Marion for a 1pm weigh-in.

Rich
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Tournament Info

Whitefish Chain – Practice Days 1&2 – July 2-3, 2006

July 6, 2006 hellabass

John (club member who is fishing as non-boater) and I tried to get an early start from the cities, but we still did not manage to get on the water until 9:30am. The action was still quite good when we first arrived. We started on a weedline in Lower Whitefish where we caught 13 on a DT6, mojo rigged Baby Ring Frys and Texas Rigged Baby Brush Hogs. We then moved up shallower and I caught 3 nice fish on a jig. We then spent some time graphing a few weedlines. We fished another weedline and caught 5 keepers, drop shot Fluke and Baby Brush Hogs. We then checked some slop, not much action there. Few small fish on a Bronzeye Frog.

We then hit a few shallow pockets on the way back the landing and boated a few more keepers. I caught 3 nice fish on a 5/16oz Bluegill SWL Spinnerbait. 36 keepers later, it was time to get off the lake and get back to the hotel, and Famous Dave’s for dinner.

Day 2 we were on the lake a little after 6am. We headed up to Trout Lake. I started with a DT6 and got a few quick fish and John picked some up on a Baby Brush Hog early. I switched to a Reaction Innovations Vixen topwater in the bluegill pattern and caught a couple short fish. The area produced several bass, but not much for size. We then hopped over to another point, not as many fish, but some better quality. Caught those fish on a drop shot Fluke and texas rigged baby brush hog. We then worked a bunch of docks, it was slow going, I caught several fish on a jig but not the quality I was looking for. Not going to get it done in this tournament. We had to head home early today, so we hit one more area towards Pig Lake on the way back the Hay landing, managed one keeper on a jig. This day eliminated more water where as Sunday I found some areas that I will probably use.

I will get to prefish one more day on Saturday before the tourney, I will be concentrating on deeper weeds to find a more consistent big fish bite. I expect to probe some coontail clumps with Tru-Tungsten Jigs.

Tomorrow will be final day of Marion practice and Pan-O-Prog preview.

Rich
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Tournament Info

Lake Marion – Practice Day #1 – July 1, 2006

July 5, 2006 hellabass

Ryan & I got a bit of a late start on Saturday morning, probably did not make the first cast until almost 7am. We started out by checking my #1 deep spot and I got a small keeper on a Carolina Rigged baby Ring Fry using two small tungsten sinkers to add extra noise. Ryan then picked up a short fish on a 3″ Fluke rigged on a drop shot. That was all the action we got there and I was very disappointed. We tried two more deep spots and all we got were a few nibbles from some panfish.

We then went and checked out the shallow areas where Ryan won our club tournament a few weeks ago. We got a few small keepers and I caught a really nice fish off a piece of shallow isolated cover with a jig, close to 4lbs. Ryan got a decent keeper on a albino Bronzeye Frog out of some weed mat. We then decided to head under the bridges to the west side of the lake where I had caught a some nice fish back in June. Ryan ended up getting two decent keepers on a Albino Bronzeye Frog and I got zero bites.

We then came back out to the main lake and backed off the areas where we fished this morning into some mid-depth zones. I caught a really nice fish and lost another one very quickly on a mojo rigged baby Ring Fry. We then hopped around trying duplicate this area and caught several more nice keepers, I caught them on the mojo rig and Ryan boated a few with a Killer Craw Ring Fry worked Texas on a 1/4oz Tru-Tungsten Sinker. A pattern was finally starting to emerge and it was time to head home. Although, these might not be winning fish, its seems to be a much more stable pattern to getting a quality limit and then we can gamble for a few big fish from there. This was a productive day on the lake and I had one more practice day to figure out some more.

Rich
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Youth Fishing

MN’s Best Jr. Bass Anglers to Take the Water

June 29, 2006 hellabass

BASS Federation Nation – Minnesota
Minnesota’s Bass Federation Nation Youth Tournament of Champions Set For June 30th

(Minneapolis, MN)… Minnesota’s best junior bass anglers are set to compete on Lake Washington near Mankato, MN, the site of the Minnesota Bass Federation Nation’s Youth Tournament of Champions.

The Minnesota’s Bass Federation Nation Youth Tournament of Champions (TOC) is an event where competitors qualify from youth clubs all over the state to vie for top honors and a birth to the B.A.S.S. Junior World Championships (JWC). On June 30th, 2006, two young anglers will punch their ticket to the Junior World Championships to be held in February on Lake Logan Martin in Alabama. Along with the earning a birth in the JWC, each winner receives plaques and product packages from every sponsor.

The tournament headquarters and weigh-in site will be Westwood Marina and Grill on the shores of Lake Washington. Weigh-in and awards ceremony will begin at 2:00pm. This is the 5th year that Minnesota will crown Junior State champions. Forest Lake was the site of Minnesota?s inaugural youth championship in 2002. This is the second time it will be held on Lake Washington.

The 53 contenders in this event are split into two age groups, 11-14 and 15-18. They fish two anglers in a boat captained by an adult federation member. The contestants qualified from their respective junior clubs. Minnesota has seven Junior Bassmasters clubs ranging from as far south as Fairmont and as far north as Bemidji.

Several state champions from previous years are trying to repeat and make a return visit to the Bassmasters Junior World Championship (JWC). Last year’s State Champion, Don Brennhofer, in the 15-18 age group, is from nearby Belle Plaine, MN. He is anxious to return to the JWC. This is no easy task, as several other strong youth anglers have the same goal. Dave Saterbak, Maple Grove, who represented Minnesota at the JWC in 2005 in the 11-14 age group, is now moving to the 15-18 group and has his mind set on winning again.

“The great thing about the Minnesota Junior State Championship is that none of the kids walk away empty handed. Our junior sponsors have really stepped up big for the kids,” says Youth Director Todd Saterbak. “We really appreciate the support we get from Berkley, MG Lures, All-Terrain Tackle and Mojo Rods.” If you are interested in seeing Minnesota’s best young anglers, Lake Washington is the place to be Friday, June 30th. Find more info @ www.MNBF.org

About Minnesota Bass Federation:
The Minnesota BASS Federation is committed to promoting fishing for all ages and skill levels. We offer our assistance to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to improve fishing opportunities, habitat, water quality & preservation of public access to Minnesota?s waterways. We work with state and local government, lake associations and other outdoor organizations to protect our fishing heritage. Through our youth initiatives, we provide education and on the water experiences to foster youth involvement and sustained interest in our sport. www.MNBF.org

Get out there and check out the weigh in this Friday!

Rich
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FLW Tour

Top 5 Patterns for Champlain FLW Finale

June 28, 2006 hellabass

Prior to practice for the Champlain FLW Tour, Tracy Adams didn’t know whether he’d focus on largemouths or smallmouths. Tournaments at the long lake on the New York/Vermont border can be won with either, so it often pays to keep an open mind in regard to species.

He eventually settled on the green fish, and the decision produced the first tour-level win of his career. He went into day 4 with a 2-ounce deficit to leader Dion Hibdon, but caught the biggest bag on the final day and won by 1-06. Here’s how the Top 5 got their fish.

Practice
Adams, a 32-year-old from North Carolina, had practiced in the Ticonderoga area of the lake, about 70 miles south of the launch. This time, the big largemouths that reside down there were in a biting mode. Dion Hibdon, who led the first 3 days, and Curt Lytle, another Top 10 finisher, were also onto them.

The thickest concentration he located was in a milfoil bed that was 7 to 9 feet deep and 150 yards off shore. He found two other similar beds, but those got muddied up by the wind and were of no use when the tournament started. He also found some fish in willow bushes along the bank, and those would be crucial on day 4.

Competition
Adams‘ milfoil bed was extremely productive on the first 2 days. His fish bit throughout the day, and he tried to manage them as best he could so the spot would continue to be fruitful. The hefty largemouth were suckers for a Brush Hog (green-pumpkin).

His day 1 limit was nothing extraordinary, and it landed him in 33rd place. As always at Champlain though, a few ounces here and there lead to big moves in the standings, and he was the epitome of that phenomenon on day 2. His second-day bag was just 1-03 bigger, but it moved him up 26 places. He made the cut in 7th.

The milfoil fish continued to bite on day 3 – but only until about 9:30. The wind had changed directions and began blowing from the north instead of the south, and that apparently triggered the shutdown.

Weights had been zeroed after day 2, and his 16-12 bag put him 2 ounces behind Hibdon, who’d also experienced a downturn with his own fish in a nearby grassbed. The Missourian’s stringer was more than 3 pounds lighter than the ones he’d brought in on the first 2 days.

The milfoil fish bit early again on day 4. But when they turned off again, Adams only had about 11 pounds in his well. He knew he needed a lot more, and it was time to make a move. He went to the bank and began flipping a 3/8oz jig into the willow bushes that had harbored some fish in practice. They were still there, and they were of sufficient quality to win.

He ended up combining four willow fish with one he’d caught in the grass, and together they equaled his best bag of the tournament. He quit fishing at about 1:00 to take some of the stress out of the long ride back to the launch.

Pattern Notes
> The milfoil fish were feasting on bluegill and yellow perch. “Like Dion said, just about every one of them had a tail sticking out of their mouth.
> He worked the Brush Hog a little slower than under normal conditions. “If you just threw it in there and hopped it right back, they wouldn’t bite. You had to shake it a little bit gently on the bottom.
> When he moved to the willows on day 4, he flipped the jig as far back into the shade as he could.

Winning Gear Notes
> Brush Hog gear: 7′ heavy-action G. Loomis 844IMX rod, Shimano Chronarch casting reel, 20# Gamma High Performance Copolymer Line, line (green), 3/8oz Tru-Tungsten Sinker, 5/0 Gamakatsu Worm Hook, Zoom Brush Hog (green-pumpkin).
> Jig gear: Same rod and reel, 25# Gamma High Performance Copolymer Line, 3/8oz Hotshot Lures jig (black/blue), Zoom Super Chunk (blue sapphire).
> Main factor in his success – “Definitely going to the grass bed, staying with it and beating the fish out of there, and then moving to the willows on the fourth day when it gave out on me.”

2nd: Kevin Vida is a threat to win at any venue that features big numbers of smallmouth, and he came up just 1-06 short of his first tour victory here. His preferred pattern was sight-fishing for bedding bronzebacks, but that was difficult on the middle 2 days due to clouds and wind. But even when he couldn’t see the fish, he could still catch them because he had their locations pinpointed.

His bags consisted of 18 smallmouths and two largemouths. He caught both largemouths on day 3 (they were fish on a flat that he’d seen earlier). Vida relied on two baits – a Mizmo Bad Boy Tube & a Berkley Power Jerk Shad .

> Tube gear: 6’6″ medium-heavy Fenwick Techna AV rod, Abu-Garcia Cardinal 503ALB spinning reel, 10-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon line, 1/4-ounce Bite-Me jighead, Mizmo Bad Boy Tube (green-pumpkin surprise).
> Jerkshad gear: 7′ medium-heavy Fenwick Techna AV rod, Abu Garcia Torno 3006 casting reel (6.3:1 gear ratio), 17-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon, 3/0 Gamakatsu Hook , Berkley Power Jerk Shad (pearl).
> Main factor in his success – “My new Solar Bat Sunglasses – I have to give them credit. I got a new pair with high-contrast yellow lenses, and they opened up a whole new world for sight-fishing. Even on cloudy days, I could find fish. It’s an amazing lens.”

3rd: Dion Hibdon’s plan for this tournament has been well-chronicled: He came in 75h in the points and wanted to move into the Top 48, which would give him his first berth in the FLW Tour Championship (FLWTC) since 2003.

Along with his father Guido and Northeastern Stren roommate Ricky Doyle (Champlain local), he determined that his only chance to achieve that goal was to catch some big largemouths from the Ticonderoga area at the southern end of the lake. He fished a jig in milfoil beds and whacked the biggest sacks of the first 2 days. His bite slowed when the north wind arrived on day 3, but he’d already accomplished what he set out to do. The bucketmouths in the milfoil were eating bluegill, and he threw big jigs that mimicked that forage. (Hibdon ended up 43rd in the points).

> Jig gear: 7’6″ heavy-action American Rodsmiths flipping stick, Shimano casting reel (6.3:1 gear ratio), 20-pound Seagaur Carbon Pro Flourocarbon line, 5/8oz Luck E Strike or 1-ounce Terry Odom jig (bluegill), Luck E Strike Guido Bug trailer (green-pumpkin).
> Main factor in his success – “I fished for big fish with a big bait and I never gave up on it.”

4th: Scott Martin has made three straight Top 10s here and won in 2004. He loves to catch Champlain’s smallmouths and tries to avoid largemouths entirely – unless he finds a spawner that might help him.

He sight-fished for bronzebacks the majority of the tournament and caught them on a Berkley Power Tube. His first 2 days went precisely according to plan, and he went into day 3 with considerable confidence that he’d gain his second straight victory here.

He stumbled a bit on day 3 though, and attributed it primarily to “bad note-taking.” He hadn’t accurately kept track of which bedding fish had been caught by himself or someone else, and wasted some time running to a few that were no longer there.

> Sight-fishing gear: 6’10” Kistler Magnesium tube rod, Abu Garcia Cardinal 803 spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon line, 1/4- or 1/8oz Matzuo rattling jighead, 4″ Berkley Power Tube (watermelon seed).

> He switched to a 7’6″ medium-heavy Kistler Helium rod when the wind was at its worst. “It was made special for me 2 years ago, but now it’s a production rod.”

> Like Vida, he said his sunglasses made a big difference. His were made by Panoptx. “They have a lens that’s called copper, and it really enhances your sight-fishing ability. The clarity is that much better.”

> Main factor in his success – “A 55-gallon drum of confidence and a plan – a plan for fishing and a plan with God.”

5th: Shinichi Fukae of Texas made his third Top 10 on the strength of finesse worms. He spent a little bit of his practice time pursuing largemouths, but the bulk of it was devoted to bronzebacks.

He fished for smallmouths exclusively during the tournament and primarily targeted humps. He didn’t sight-fish.

> Worm gear: 6’6″ medium-light St. Croix Legend Elite Spinning Rod, Shimano Stella C3000 spinning reel, 6-pound Duel (Yo-Zuri) fluorocarbon line, 3/32- or 1/8oz unnamed jighead, 5″ Gary Yamamoto Cut Tail or Shad-Shaped Worm (both green-pumpkin).
> Main factor in his success – “It’s a lake I like a lot and I was able to use my finesse skills.”

It will be interesting to see how the weights compare when the Bassmaters Elite Series visits Champlain in a few weeks.

Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com

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Announcements

Catch “Big Cash” – Tagged Bass Challenge

June 23, 2006 hellabass

Early Times has launced a Tagged Bass Challenge! All you have to do, is catch a tagged bass out of these Participating States and Lakes and enter it in the month of July. Sounds like a sweet deel, too bad I will not be anywhere near any of these lakes until October. Maybe I will lobby Leinenkeugels to do something like this in the Upper Midwest!

Find Contest description and The Official Rules at www.earlytimes.com