Tennessee Valley Adventures

Kentucky & Barkley Lakes, KY, TN

On a recent trip to Kentucky Lake, I got the honor of meeting Mr. Randy Nichols and his wife Nora, owners of Tennessee Valley Adventures. My wife Bri, my dog Madison, and myself got the opportunity to stay at their fully furnished lodge, while I was competing in the BASSMASTER Weekend Series Regional championship. Even though Randy was so busy taking people out on guided fishing trips, we still had time to get to know each other. Randy takes southern hospitality to the next level. Every night I would get home from a long day on the water, the gate to the backyard was open, the grill was already burning, and the delicious smell of Nora's freshly baked brownies and cookies, were just the things needed after a long day. There is a lot of hotels and lodges in the area, but none that can even come close to competing with the service provided, and that are as affordable as they are.


**From left to right: The lodge living room, kitchen, a private backyard with more than enough boat hookups.

Tennessee Valley Adventures offers everything from hunting turkey and ducks to world class fishing trips for crappie, largemouth & smallmouth bass, and stripers. Day after day, Randy had his clients on fish and not just numbers but giants as well. I couldn't believe the size stripers they were bringing in. I just recently talked to Randy by phone and he had just got off the water, with his clients catching slab crappie, one after another. Randy could easily be touring the U.S. competing as a top level bass pro, heck he used to, but he enjoys taking people out on guided trips more. That says a lot about a guy, he turns every client into a fisherman with just one outing. Something very important in keeping our sport healthy for years to come.


**From left to right: Your guide Randy and some of his client's awesome catches.

If your planning a hunting or fishing trip to the Kentucky or Tennessee area, I highly recommend you contact Randy and set up not only an awesome guided trip, but an experience of a lifetime. Combine one of the best lakes in the country with one of the best fisherman in the country and your sure to have an action filled trip. I know for a fact that I will be back to Kentucky Lake for many more tournaments in my life and not only do I have a Kentucky Lake connection but I also acquired a new friend for life. Thanks for everything Randy!

Tennessee Valley Adventures
Specializing in Fishing, Hunting & "Adventures"
Randy Nichols (618) 315-5058 or email him at TVAdventure@Yahoo.com

Chasing Fall Time - Small River Smallies

With my tournament season slowing down for the winter, I have had a lot more time do get out and do some fun fishing, chasing Minnesota's smallmouth bass. This time of year the smallmouth action can be at it's best and small rivers can be one of the best places to get out and really whack 'em. With Fall upon us and the water temp falling the smallies have been starting to bunch up and prepare for the upcoming winter. When I say bunch up, I don't mean four or five fish schools. I'm talking twenty or thirty good sized hungry smallies.

The key to catching them is to first find them and then trigger them to bite. A lot of the times if I can get one to bite, that will literally start a feeding frenzy. The bass will actually compete over my lure. It is non stop fish catching action. However the second I let one get off, it's over. The bite will shut down just as fast as it took off. Usually, I count on a finesse presentation to get the job done, as 95% of the time it will do just that. Although just a week ago, I can remember fishing with my buddy Rich Lindgren and doing better by doing just the opposite. I remember I went from 8 lb. fluorocarbon to 16 lb., setting my spinning rod down for a 7ft. heavy casting stick. Rich was throwing a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig (Sunfish) and I was going between a NetBait Paca Craw (Green pumpkin) and a Biovex Real Craw (Real Zarigani), with a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Sinker (Green Pumpkin). We went from a relatively slow day to a great afternoon.


**From left to right: Me with a nice smallie caught on a Biovex Real Craw and Rich with another beauty

To find these schools I usually start with throwing a mid running crankbait until I locate the school, then I'll position my boat so that I can make long casts. My proven cranks are a Rapala DT-6 (Red Craw), Storm Wiggle Wart, and a Biovex Amp and Mid Runner (Fire Tiger, Ayu). Once fish are found there is no better way to catch them then by slowing down and casting small soft plastics on light line. The last couple of days I've done really well by casting a 3" Biovex Real Craw (Green Pumpkin), a Biovex Kolt Grub (Watermelon Seed), and a YUM tube (Green Pumpkin). All of which I was applying with 8 lb. P Line Fluorocarbon and light wire Gamakatsu hooks.


**From left to right: Weapons of choice, Biovex Real Craw in the water (there's nothing more realistic), and the go to setup for hog smallies

When the fish are real active I usually do well catching them off shallow rocky flats that are close to deeper water dropoffs. Once the bite slows down and the shallow bite dies, I'll start working the dropoffs. I also look for wingdams to hold both good numbers and quality sized bass. Topwater can also prove extremely productive in the Fall, given the right conditions.

Well as I'm writing this the snow is already starting to fly here in Minnesota. The extended forecast looks very favorable for some quality smallmouth fishing. I'm also trying to get out to Lake Minnetonka a few more times before it ice's over for the winter. I'll post a report next week. I also may be heading to South Dakota to do some pheasant hunting next weekend. I don't get out hunting to often it usually conflicts with fishing, but one of my good buddies promises an awesome time so wish me luck! Or better yet, I think it's the pheasants that need the luck!

BASSMASTER Weekend Series Regional Championship

Kentucky Lake, Kentucky Dam Village, KY

Kentucky Lake. I have dreamed of fishing this lake since I was a little kid. So it should be more than obvious that I was extremely eager to get to Kentucky and start practicing for the BASSMASTER Weekend Series Regional Championship, a tournament I qualified for by finishing second overall in the 2008 Angler of the Year points race, in the Minnesota pro division.

The first day of practice I decided to fish Lake Barkley. I started by fishing some main lake points and secondary points, figuring that it was going to be an early fall bite and the fish were going to be starting their push from the main lake summer areas to the backs of the creeks. I started by throwing a Lucky Craft Sammy (Citrus Shad) on the main lake point but had no success. I switched to a Jewel 1/2 oz. Football Jig (Peanut Butter and Jelly), again nothing. I worked the bank into the secondary point where I instantly noticed bass blowing up on schooling shad. This time I threw a Zoom Baby Brush Hog (Green Pumpkin) with a pegged 1/4 oz. Tru Tungsten Sinker, and hooked up with my first Lake Barkley bass. Not the best sized bass but it was a start. I moved back up the bank and was quickly hit by a good solid four pounder but it came off at the boat. That one was sitting in a brush pile that was in about 10 feet of water, just off the bank.

I thought that I might have a pattern going but never managed to catch a keeper bass the entire first day. I did catch a lot of 12 - 14 inch bass but none of the minimum size limit of 15 inches.



After not having much success on Lake Barkley I decided I would give Kentucky Lake a try. My research told me that unlike Barkley, there is grass in Kentucky Lake. I thought that would set up better for me in helping find the better schools of bass. I knew that the further south you go on Kentucky the more grass you find. I decided to launch the second day of practice out of Aurora, Kentucky. I figured I would run down to Paris, TN and start fishing my way back up in search for some good water.

Right away I ran to a small creek channel that comes off a big main lake flat. I managed to catch a couple shorts right away on a Biovex Amp Mid Runner Crankbait (Wakasagi Ghost). As I head into the creek channel I noticed some patchy milfoil and a little coontail sitting on the bank in about 3 feet of water. I made a few pitches with the Zoom Baby Brush Hog and boated a nice 17" largemouth. I worked the cove for about an hour periodically getting bites but managing to shake them off and hopefully save them for the tournament.

I tried to duplicate the pattern in similar creeks and coves but just managed to catch fifty or so small schoolers. Again after spending all day on the water I only caught one keeper and countless shorts.

The next day I awoke to a nasty weather front moving in. It had been sunny and 85 degree's the first two days and now it was 45 degree's and down pouring. My morning started very slow but around mid afternoon it started picking up. The weather stayed pretty nasty for the vast majority of the day, but the fishing was red hot. Again for the exception of that they where all small ones. Looking back I spent way to much of the day trying to chase around schoolers that where blowing up little threadfin shad. The problem was that they were everywhere, but for every fifty dinks there would be only one that would keep, and even the keepers where barely bumping the 15" mark. I could see that many of the other competitors where also chasing around those fish which made me think if I could find a school of bigger bass, I may have a great opportunity to win this thing.

The last day of practice I decided that the best fish that I could find where in the the hydrilla that was mostly around Paris, TN and further down lake. I launched in Paris and headed south in search of some real good grass and indeed found it. I found some great main lake areas that had perfect matted hydrilla in about three feet of water that also had the main river channel come right up and bump the weedy flat. There was a lot of baitfish activity in the area and the presence of gizzard shad helped to assure the bigger fish where in the area. I started by throwing a Heddon's Mega Moss Boss (Black) and was instantly awarded with a nice quality keeper bass. I switched to a Gambler Cane Toad (Green Pumpkin) and again another good keeper. I started flippin a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver pegged with a 3/4 to a 1 oz. Tru Tungsten Flippin' Weight and managed to pull on a few more quality bites.

I had to get off the water pretty early in the afternoon to be sure to get to registration in time. I was really starting to build some good confidence and felt I had a good game plan to not only catch a limit, but figured I could catch a solid limit. I was going to make the 65 mile run south of Paris, and start with some early topwater and spinnerbait and try to limit quick on the shad bite, then as the sun got high start flippin' the mats for a few key culls. I filled my boat with gas and headed to the registration meeting.

After the meeting I got back and instantly got to re tying and gearing up for the big weekend. I opened up my front rod locker and was instantly met with the powerful odor of gas. It was the worst I have ever smelled gas before. Worried I opened my battery compartment and the smell intensified. Figuring I had a leak I tried for hours to find the problem and fix it, finally figuring that the tank itself had the leak and was spilling gas into the hull of the boat. Unfortunately for me I had to disqualify myself from the tournament. It's better to be safe than sorry. I wanted to fish this tournament so bad, but logic told me that I would rather be sure I'll be able to fish many more. This was a very disheartened decision to make, but most likely the smarter one.

I ended up having a bad seal on my starboard side gas tank that was spilling gas into the hull of the boat. I major problem to say the least. One spark from all the electrical wiring that runs through the boat and that could have been my very last tournament. Looking back I'm obviously more than bummed about the outcome, but I know I will be back to Kentucky Lake many many more times and now I have a much better understanding for the lake, which will only play as an advantage to me in the future. I had a great time and learned a ton. I just can't wait to get back down there!

BASSMASTER Weekend Series State Championship

Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN

Finally it's here. When I saw this tournament on the 2008 schedule, it ended up being the deciding factor for fishing this entire series. The weather has been starting to change over from summer to fall. The leaves are changing, the weeds are dying, the water temp along with the air temp is starting to descend, and the bass are leaving their summer haunts and starting to put on their feed bags in preparation for the upcoming winter. Being that "Tonka" is close to my house, I was able to get out there a few times and prefish. The first thing I noticed was that the water had quickly dipped into the high 60's and that the emergent vegetation was starting to back track already. I started by fishing some of my deeper summer areas that had been going good for me months and even weeks earlier. I was catching fish but the size changed from 3, 4, and 5 pounders to 1 and 2 pounders. Worst yet, at times, I wasn't even getting any bites off the structure. I decided right away that these fish were not going to do it for me and began searching for new water for bigger bites.

The day before the tournament, I had found some real good water that had both abundance and quality size. I felt even more confident because I had found some deeper water and some shallow water that were both holding the fish needed to do real well in this tournament. I planned to start focusing shallow and if for some reason the bite slowed I could still put together a good fish out on some of the deeper weeds. I figured this would end up being a junk fishing tournament for me, and I prepared by lining up about 15 or 16 rods ready to go for what ever the day could bring.

Day one of the tournament and I was in the last flight to take off. I was hoping for an early take off as I had a few "solo fish" spots that I wanted to get to right away. It is sort of like sight fishing. I had a few very quality fish that I had pulled on in practice and was very careful not to hook. Being that they were hiding up in some shallow cover be it boat docks, a clump of pads/milfoil, tree laydown, stump or reed patch, I figured that there was a good chance that fish would still be there the morning of the tournament and I wanted to be the first one to them.
I started on a small riprap edge and managed to miss one on my first cast. I headed to a stump that was previously holding a good fish and flipped my jig to it. Almost instantaneously my line started running off to the side and I set the hook....missed again. Frustrated, I continued on with no bites.

After about an hour or so I caught my first keeper, a small 14" largemouth that fell for Swim Jig by Davis (Green Pumpkin). I headed for another riprap shoreline and put two more in the boat. I arrived at a good stretch of boat docks and quickly managed to throw together a quick limit of fish on a 3/8 oz. tru Tungsten Jig. I went back to one of my "solo fish" spots to see if this time anyone was home and instantly was awarded with a solid 4 lb. largie.

At about 11:30, I decided to leave my better areas and head out to some of my backup areas. Being that I had a good limit and that I was only one or two good culls away from a real nice limit, I decided to save my fish for day two. I figured that I could definitely make at least one more good cull, in not two or three, and not risk burning any more good size fish from the water I would go all or nothing from tomorrow. Well, things don't always go as planned and I never made another cull. I weighed in at 11.91 pounds and sat in 13th place. I was a little disappointed in my decision making, looking back, it's easy to say now that I should have given it a little longer and try to get my bag up in the 14 or 15 lb. range before heading out. Although because I left so early I knew that I had the potential to sack a HUGE bag the next day and instead I set my sights on doing just that.

Day two, I drew boat number 11, in the first flight. I drew Dalon Schmidt, and he was sitting in third place on the non boater side. So needless to say we were both looking for big days. At take off I headed straight for a very small milfoil clump that had been producing in practice and managed to swing a solid two pounder in the boat. After a few more pitches to the milfoil I headed over to that same stump that I missed on yesterday, and this time I set on a quality three pounder. I pitched back to the stump and again caught another one but it was only about 13 inches. With three down and two to go, I headed over to a nearby boat slip and managed to fill my limit, with one of them being well over four pounds.

On my way through a long no wake zone, I noticed the wind was pounding in on some reeds and decided to start chunking and 3/8 oz. Amp Lures Musashi Spinnerbait (Sweetfish), and was able to cull out one of my dinks for another three pounders.

I headed out another riprap stretch and started flippin' my Tru Tungsten Jig (Fall Craw), along the steep edges of the rocky shoreline. I caught a couple of shorts and then hooked up with another good three pounder just to have it come off at the boat. In my mind you shouldn't loose a fish when you stick them with a jig. If you hook up they should get in the boat. I was only a hour or two into the tournament, and already had a good bag but that one stung a bit. I fished some pads and docks with nothing. At least nothing for me, my non boater Dalon, couldn't say the same. He had two 12 inch dinks in the boat, when we came across this weed infested jet ski lift. I pitched my jig in there first with no prevail, and then Dalon placed a perfect skip under there with a 7" YUM Dinger and out came a giant 5 to 6 pound largemouth. Unbelievable! He wouldn't eat the jig but took down the senko with no hesitation at all. Of course I wish I had hooked up with that one but it goes to show you that sometimes you need to offer the fish a few different presentations to trigger a strike and if it wasn't for Dalon's perfect skip there would have been no bite at all. Dalon is a real good stick and a great guy to have in the boat with you. I truly couldn't have been happier for him. That put us both with a good limit. I managed to make one more good cull and then time ran out.

Back at weigh in, the buzz, was that over all, the bite was a lot tougher for people and that worked out for both Dalon and myself. I managed to weigh in with a good bag of 15.90 pounds, and with a total two day weight of 27.81, I walked away with seventh place and a five hundred dollar check. Dalon won the non boater side with a good day two bag, anchored down with a hefty 5.6 pound lunker, which was also big bass of the whole tournament. Congrats Dalon!

I managed to finish in second place in the Angler of the Year race. Which is awesome being that this was my first year fishing this series. Next up is the BASSMASTER Weekend Series Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake, near the border on TN and KY. I'll give a full preview on that shortly. Until then I'm spending a little time fun fishing for Fall smallies and hanging with my lovely wife Bri.

Gopher Bass Fall Classic

Lake Waconia, Waconia, MN

I have been looking forward to this year's Fall Classic for quite a while now. It's a true "just for fun" tournament, that has absolutely no meaning except pure bragging rights and of course a few dollars for the top dogs. The name of the game is that you get randomly paired with another member of the Gopher Bassmasters and compete as a team, trying to best the field with the biggest 6 fish limit. Also every member of Gopher votes for a lake that he would like to fish. The top nominations are put to a random draw, with this years pick being Lake Waconia. There is also no prefishing allowed. This posed to be a little difficult being that I have never been to this lake before.

I drew Cody Seiben, a member of our junior club, but don't let that fool you, this kid's one heck of a good stick, with already an impressive tournament resume under his belt. Lucky for me he had been to this lake a couple times in the past and new of some pretty good areas for us to start.

At take off we headed straight to a shallow weedy flat that we thought had to hold some nice Fall time bass. I started by throwing a 3/8 oz. Amp Lures Killa Buzz (Ninja Black) and was quickly rewarded with a quality 15" largemouth. After a dozen or so more casts with the buzzbait with no more bites I picked up a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig (Green Pumpkin/Brown), with a 2.75" Yum Chunk (Green Pumpkin) and started fan casting it across the flat. I managed to catch a couple more bass going about 13-14 inches. Cody was pulling a topwater frog across some floating vegetation, when suddenly he was blown up by a big bass that managed to quickly come unbuttoned. I picked up my Scum Frog (Black) and also started throwing it across the veggies and was awarded with another bass about 13 inches. We tried working some boat docks in the area but nothing was going. I came to a nice wind blown section of reeds that sat right off the end of a point and started swimming my jig threw them and managed to catch two more small bass to fill our limit.

We worked some more boat docks and after again no bites, I decided to head for some deeper water in search of some bigger bass to start the culling game. I found a nice point that had a great weedline full of milfoil and coontail and started throwing both a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig and a 1/2 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig on the deep weedline in about 8 - 12 feet. Cody and I both got a couple real quality like bites but were unable to hook up. A little frustrated we left and headed back to our weed flat. This time we pulled back in about 5 feet and started throwing everything but the kitchen sink trying to find some good bites. I was throwing a Biovex Amp Shallow Crank (Bluegill) and an Amp Lures Musashi Spinnerbait (Sweetfish), but only managed to catch a couple short fish. Cody started tossing a jig and quickly set into a good fish but again it managed to come loose. Seeing this I grabbed my Tru Tungsten Jig and quickly set on a nice 14" bass culling out our almost 12 incher. Giving up on the reaction bite I started throwing a 7" Berkley Power Worm (Motor Oil) with a 1/4 oz. Tru Tungsten Slip Sinker (Green Pumpkin), and on the very first catch I hooked up on a real nice bass but my line managed to wrap around the tip of my Carrot Stix and the bass came off. I continued to throw the worm for a good half hour but no more takers.

With only ten minutes to go I started aimlessly throwing my Scum Frog to any sort of vegetation that I could see and all off a sudden a real nice bass jumps out at kermit, missing it all together. I put my trolling motor on 100 and got over to the area and started pitching a Berkley Chigger Craw (Black Neon) with a 1/2 oz. Tru Tungsten Flippin' Weight (Black). On the third flip, with only minutes to get back to weigh in, the bass bit, and I flipped in a quality 3 1/2 pound bass into the boat culling out a small 13" bass.

With only minutes to spare, we raced to the weigh in. There were some nice bags weighed in and some not so great, which was expected given there was no pre fishing. The team of Ryan Brant and John Haynes won the tournament with an impressive 6 fish limit weighing 17.82 lbs. Second place went to the team of Dave Cindrich and Jason Elmes with a weight of 15.60, and Cody and I took third place with 13.66 and a much needed pay day!

Next on the agenda is the anxiously awaited BASSMASTER Weekend Series Championship on Lake Minnetonka. This two day event has a lot riding on it. I'm currently sitting in third place in the Angler of the Year points with this one event to go. Also I would like to bank a nice paycheck to take down with me to the Divisional Championship on Kentucky Lake, KY. Not to mention, I spend a lot of time fishing Minnetonka and a good showing would mean a lot to me personally. I'm going against some of Minnesota's best anglers on one of Minnesota's best fisheries, it's setting up to be a great event. I can't wait!!!!

Kairo Douglas: 9/17/2003 - 9/5/2008

Kairo Douglas
9/17/2003 - 9/5/2008

The Rainbow Bridge

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they miss someone very special to them; who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. YOU have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Author Unknown.

MN B.A.S.S Fedration Championship

Mississippi River Pools 4 & 5, Wabasha, MN

I have been anxiously awaiting the start of the Minnesota B.A.S.S. Federation T.O.C. since I saw that it was picked to take place at the Mississippi River, over a year ago. I don't have a lot of experience on this stretch of river, but unlike Spring, I tend to do pretty well this time of year. I made a point to cover a lot of water in the few days we had of practice and be sure to have good stuff in both pools. I was able to find new water that harbored both smallies and largemouths and also found that a lot of the water I had done well on in the past was also still holding good fish. I was real confident heading into the first day and I really felt I had a better than not shot at making the top twelve and qualifying for the Divisional team. This tournament brought a bit of a twist to the table in the fact that it was a no cull style tournament. The state law in Wisconsin states that you may never cull a smaller fish with a larger one and once you establish a fish as a keeper by placing them in your livewell, it has to be weighed in. Since this stretch of river shares water with both Wisconsin and Minnesota that law has to be enforced. Because of that this event was made to be a five fish limit but only the best four would be weighed. That way you could still be able to insure a limit and play a gamble on the fifth fish. Once all five are in the box, there is to be no more fishing. This made things a little tougher but I thought with the size fish I had going in practice that it may actually play out in my favor.

This was a draw style tournament, where partners were randomly selected. All 150 participants were fishing for the same goal, making the top twelve and moving on to Divisional's, and getting a shot at competing in the BASSMASTER Classic. Each person is allowed four hours on the trolling motor to run their water. This was one reason why I made sure to cover a lot of water in practice, so no matter where I was fishing, I would have an idea of what would work in that area.

Day one I drew Nate, from Range Bassmasters, and we both agreed to take my boat for day one. We drew boat number 39 and was first boat out in the third flight. Right at take off we headed straight for the dam and was greeted with a barge. Knowing this would take a while we ran some water that was close, killed some time and after a good hour headed back to the dam. After locking threw, I noticed my boat wasn't spitting any water and my heat gauge was quickly rising. As I began to take off to head to my honey hole, my boat instantly started beeping that it was way to hot and my gauge was going through the roof. Not the start I was looking for. For the next two hours we sat there trying to get the boat to work and was completely unsuccessful. We got on the phone with the tournament director and he sent a car down to pick up my partner so he could go back and get my truck and trailer, so we could tow it back and get into Nate's boat and try to fish for a miracle. After wasting hours and hours we were finally back on the water with a very limited time to catch some fish. With not enough time to head back to my water we fished some stuff that was close by. We both caught some short fish going a bout 13 or so inches, not big enough to cross the 14" line and also managed to miss a couple. Way to quickly time ran out and we both put up a big zero for day one. I was very disappointed to say the least. Back at weigh in, I was made aware by the boys at Mobile Marine Pros that my engine was fixed. They drove all the way down from the Cities to fix my boat to make sure I was on the water the next day. The reason for the break down was a broken impeller key, that would not allow the impeller to spin and pull water through the engine, resulting in overheating. Tough break but all part of the game.

Going into day two, I knew I had no real shot at making the top twelve, instead I put my focus on helping my team, the Gopher Bassmasters and going for the big fish pot, and I also have to admit that I still held out little hope of a Tiger like comeback. I drew Steve from Zumbro Valley Bassmasters and after not having a great first day he agreed to go with me to my water that I was unable to fish the day before. At launch we were held up more than three hours because of fog. Right before we were about to finally take of, I received a call from my wife Bri, that our four year old rottweiller, Kairo, had just took a major turn for the worse. Kairo was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer about a month prior and wasn't expected to be around much longer. Hearing news like this shattered me. Kairo is much more than just a dog to me, he's my best friend and a son. I knew I had to fish and Bri told me that I just had to go out there, give it my best, and hurry home so I could be with him and the family.

Finally at about 10:15, we took off and I headed straight for the lock, and again was forced to wait for another barge locking through. After about an hour and a half we were through the lock and had arrived in my best area. I didn't take long and I caught a 16" largemouth on a texas rigged Berkley Chigger Craw (black neon) and a 1/2 oz. pegged Tru Tungsten Flippin' Weight (black). After a minute of contemplating, I decided to throw the fish back. I figured I had absolutely nothing to loose. I was working some deep emerged vegetation (pads, arrowhead, elephant ear, and cane). I power fished a Scum Frog (Black) and then would slow it down with the Chigger Craw. I managed to miss a couple good bites and also let a couple bush me in the thick weeds. Then I got one of my best bites yet, and set into a nice fish going all of four pounds, and some how managed to snap my G Loomis GLX in half and eventually lost the fish. Man, let me tell you........ahh never mind, I'll keep this blog clean!

After brushing that one off, Steve and I finally started boating some bass. This time I played more for the team and my sanity and started putting all eligible bass in the livewell. I caught a couple 14.5 inchers and another 16 inch. Then I caught a good 3 pounder. With about five minutes to go before we had to leave for our long ride back to weigh in, I hooked up with another good one about 17 inches but a bit skinny. We luckily made it through the dam without a hitch and had a good ten minutes to make it back to weigh in, when wouldn't you guess, I blew the powerhead in my engine. Are you serious? Some how, Steve and I made it back to the weigh in with only seconds to spare. Steve weighed in at an impressive four fish for 8.06 pounds, and I with 8.63 pounds. Not bad for only getting two or so hours to fish. It was one of the stronger bags brought in that day, but with a zero the first day, I finished with a very disappointing 79th place. I really felt I had a chance to not only qualify for Divisional's but maybe even win the whole thing. I know boat issues are part of the game, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating.

As soon as my boat is back in action, I will be right back at it, looking for some revenge at the BASSMASTER Weekend Series two day event on Lake Minnetonka.

BASSMASTER Weekend Series Tournament

Lake Vermillion , Cook, MN

My wife Bri and I, as well as the two dogs, Kairo and Madison, headed up north for a semi relaxing week. Bri's family has a cabin in the McGregor area and the lake is full of trophy largemouth's. After much relaxing I decided to launch the boat and go fishing for just a half an hour or so, and make sure the boat was running good before leaving the next day for Lake Vermillion.

As usual the boat ran spectacular, largely in part because the guys at Mobile Marine Pros, make well sure that it is in it's optimum running condition. I fished some reeds and only managed to catch one bass in that half hour but she weighed all of 5 pounds. She fell victim to an 1/2 oz. Amp Lures Killa Buzz (Black Ninja).

I woke early Thursday morning to be sure I made it up to Vermillion by the still early a.m. Vermillion is a great lake full of smallmouth and largemouth bass. These bass are fortunate in that they are not sought after nearly as much as the walleye, crappie, pike, and muskie are.

After launching I started on a nice shallow stretch that I have never fished before. It was chuck full of reeds and laydowns. On my third flip of a good ole' trusty 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig (green pumpkin/brown), I stuck a beautiful 4 1/2 pound largemouth. That is what you like to see when your fishing a lake your not used to fishing. I managed to pull on a few fish that seemed of good size and decided to waypoint the area on my Lowrance LCX 37c, and venture out to see what else this 50,000 acre lake had to offer.

I started fishing looking for some good smallmouths and was instantly attracted to the islands. I mean how could I not? There is over 365 of them. I managed to catch mid range smallies all over the shallow areas, but couldn't seem to get a deep bite going. I do know that traditionally on this lake if you can tune into the cisco bite, you will find big packs of three and four pound smallmouth's. Although for me I couldn't seem to get that bite going. It was hard to leave the shallow's. I was catching crawfish left and right. I've never eaten crawfish before but I could have had a good ole southern boil with all the craw's I was catching. They were everywhere!

Needless to say, but I opted to use crawfish imitating baits most of the day. I managed to catch a lot of smallies, they seemed to be all over the place. Reeds, docks, islands, humps, reefs, it really didn't matter, the key was finding the good ones. I got off the water kind of early on Thursday. The wind was blowing hard and I noticed around four o clock in the afternoon that my trolling motor batteries were loosing some serious juice. Being that I have a MinnKota 101 lb. Pro, this should not be an issue. I new I better get off the water and go get my batteries checked and as you can imagine I ended up leaving the marina with three brand new group 29 Interstate Deep cells and even made plans to buy a new Interstate cranking battery once I got back to the cities.

Friday morning I awoke to cool temps, overcast skies, and some good rain. I decided to try the other side of the lake and thought it would be best to pull my boat and launch once I got there. Conserving on the gas. The morning bite was pretty good and I managed to find some deeper smallies, that were of better size. I also pulled on lots of fish and checked a good largemouth area that my wife Bri and I found a couple years ago while on vacation. Soon enough I was rained off the water. Leaving for registration I was pretty confident in my patterns and new that getting bit shouldn't be that difficult and felt that I had some good water to catch a winning bag.

Tournament morning I had a late boat draw and decided to start fishing some of the largemouth areas that were producing for me. I pulled into the area and instantly noticed all the good anglers that were also fishing that particular that area. Not just any anglers either some of the better hooks fishing this event. Looks like there are no secrets here. I fit myself into rotation and was quickly awarded with a nice largemouth just shy of four pounds. I missed another bite and then decided to go hit some of my smallie areas hoping to get a quick limit. No such luck. The smallies were there, but they were just pecking my offering. I decided to make a long run to some of my largemouth areas, figuring that with the overcast skies they would be better targets. The run was a windy and rainy one, that took about 40 minutes. Although I did make one pit stop on an area that I was catching good smallies and instead of a brown fish, I was awarded with a nice 3 pound largemouth. This assured me that I was doing the right thing, so I quickly got back at it. I ended up making one more pit stop and again was awarded with a solid 3 pound largie. This one was sitting in a clump of pads and bit my TT jig.

I got into my better area and on the first cast I boated another three pound largemouth on a Scum Frog (Black), underneath some hangdown trees and around some floating vegetation. I caught a couple one and two pound fish but nothing else so I decided to find some similar areas and power fish them quick, figuring they would all hold a good fish. My next stop I caught a quick couple three pounders, next area same, and the next again the same. Awesome fishing but all were about the same size. Next thing I knew time was running low and I had to get back to weigh in.

I arrived pretty confident I had a good bag. I knew it wasn't winning but I figured I had a good chance of cashing a check. I hit the scales at 15.12 lbs. and walked away with 15th place. No money but a strong finish none the less. With that 15th place finnish I was able to claim sole possession of 3rd in the overall Angler of the Year race in the Pro Division, with only one tournament to go, a two day championship on Lake Minnetonka.

Up next is the Minnesota B.A.S.S. Federation State Championship, held in Wabasha, on the Mississippi River Pools 4 and 5. I've had some past success on the river in the past this time of year, and I'm hoping that will help out for me this time. I'm spending all next week going back and fourth to the river in preparation. I would love to make the top 12 and get a berth into the 2009 B.A.S.S. Federation Divisional Championship. Wish me luck!!

Life Can Deal Some Pretty Tough Blows

It's been a little while since my last entry, due to the lack of fishing. My wife Bri and I, were delivered some horrible news that our four year old rottweiler Kairo has what vets believe to be a type of cancer called lymphoma. It's never easy hearing news like that, especially since there is not many options available for him. Kairo, aka Big Rig, aka Haus, aka Kill, aka Podgers, is truly my best friend and I'm going to cherish every opportunity I can with him. I opted out of a couple of club tournaments that was on Pokegama Lake, instead making plans to take the family up to the cabin for a long week of fun, fishing, and relaxation.

It's not all relaxation though, I will also be heading up to compete in the fourth stop of the BASSMASTER Weekend Series Tournament, held on Lake Vermillion. I have every intention of doing real well there. Currently I'm sitting in 3rd place for the Angler of the Year race in the Pro Division and a strong finish on Vermillion would be huge, because the final stop will be on my home waters, Lake Minnetonka.

This morning I was able to get out to "Tonka" for a few hours early in the morning. The fish were scattered but still very catchable. No big ones, but still caught a dozen or so of solid two's and three's. In the last week, the only on water time I've had was doing guide trips so it was nice to get out there and take my mind of things for just a little while. Nothing like taking out some anger by exercising the bass.

Well that's all for now. I'll give a full report of Lake Vermillion and all the smallmouth action when I get back. I also have some real big tourneys coming up, like the B.A.S.S. Federation Tournament of Champions, the BASSMASTER Weekend Series State Championship, the BASSMASTER Regional Championship, on Kentucky Lake, KY., and hopefully the BASSMASTER National Championship, in NC. Wish me luck and please say a prayer for Kairo.

BASSMASTER Weekend Series Tournament

Pokegama Lake, Grand Rapids, MN

Pokegama is a great lake that is quickly becoming one of my favorite bodies of water to fish. There's a lot of different reasons for this, but mostly I love the diversity that it offers us tournament anglers. With that though, comes choices to make, these choices are either hit or miss. The lake itself has a great abundance of big smallmouth bass, it also has an above average population of largemouth bass. The chain of lakes to the north connect with the upper Mississippi River. There you will find largemouth's that are probably a little bigger in average size but a little harder to locate due to the abundance of rice, cane, reeds and lily pads. Sometimes I hear people say that to find bass up in the river it's like finding a needle in a haystack. I agree and disagree with this philosophy because it seems that if you know what type of environment the big bass are holding in, you can find them pretty easily.

About two weeks before this tournament I had the opportunity to head up to Pokegama with my buddy Rich Lindgren, and do nothing but fish the river. I had a lot of confidence in Pokegama, but was clueless in the river, so this gave me a good opportunity to get dialed in, helping me to decide what pattern I was going to attack once tournament day rolled around. During the practice day we were able to locate good fish simply by employing a strong power fish style. Rich caught the nicest one, a easy four pounder, by flippin' a texas rigged Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver (Black and Blue). Leaving that practice I felt pretty confident in how to catch them in the river and figured that I could get a few key bites during the tournament. My game plan was to fish the lake a couple hours in the morning on tournament day, catch a quick 12 to 13 pound sack of smallies, and then head up into the river and work on those few BIG bites, and make some huge culls. I knew this lake would take close to 20 pounds, if not more to win, and thought that would give me the best shot at doing just that.

The day before the tourney I headed up with my wife Bri, and met up with another good buddy Corey Brant, to practice on the lake. Right away in the morning I caught a nice three pound smallmouth on a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig, tipped with a 2.75" YUM chunk. I continued to check out some of my better smallie areas and Corey quickly caught another nice one in the three to four pound range. After confirming that indeed my smallies were right where they were supposed to be, we decided to check some weedlines and shallow water for largemouths. Just a few casts and I caught a nice 3 pound largemouth, then Core Dog hooked into a nice one, but was able to shake it free. We continued that pattern for an hour or so and pulled on numerous nice largemouths along the way.

With only a few hours to go I wanted to check one more area that I thought would hold good smallmouths. Did it ever. Corey caught a nice one going every bit of 4.5 pounds. Hmmm. Things to think about. Figuring the general rule that where there is one nice smallmouth bass, there is a lot more, and the fact that I had good sized largemouths going, started leaning me in the direction of staying on the lake, and avoid killing time running up the river. I figured I could weigh at least 15 to 16 pounds staying on the lake, with the possibility to weigh in 18 to 19 pounds. I figured I would let tomorrow dictate what I was to do. Fish for the moment right? Either way, I got off the water with some real good confidence of what tomorrow was to bring.

At the launch the next morning I came to find that my trim was not working. Making it real hard to get on plane. This was ok. I could still fish, I just threw any thought of running up the river out of the equation. The lake it is. I was lucky enough to draw boat number five and had an early start to my morning. I decided to actually run to my shallow largemouths first thing and leave my smallies until a little later. I generally would not do so a foolish thing but I had seen anglers go through my smallie areas all of practice and not catch anything. That gave me confidence that I had the right set up for the job. After ten minutes or so with no bite in the shallows, I decided to run to another laremouth spot that was also very close to one of my better smallmouth areas. My first cast and I managed to catch a two pound largemouth on a Amp Lures 6" Mimi Worm. After a few more casts not resulting in anything but a couple small largemouths that wouldn't bump anyway, I decided to go after my smallmouths. There I managed to catch what ended up being my biggest, weighing over 3.5 pounds. I also managed to catch two more in the two pound range before heading out. I saw a boat dock nearby and decided to give it a try, there I was able to fill my limit with a tiny little 12" largemouth. Nothing spectacular. but a limit's a limit! I decided to run to another smallie spot, where I ended up catching another good one that was right around three pounds. The weird thing, is that after catching one good smallie, I wouldn't catch another one. Usually they hang out in packs and catching one can excite all of them into biting. Not so this time, the area would just shut down.

I again headed to another smallie area of mine and like the other times quickly caught a good one but than wasted another 30 minutes trying to rein act it. Through out the day I kept running to my largemouth areas, hoping they were ready to start biting and it was like they disappeared. Frustrated I decided to hit some deeper weedlines and was able to make a couple small culls for and ounce or two. Before I knew it time was out and I had to head back to weigh in. I knew I had a respectable bag, but knew I had no real shot of winning. I weighed in at 13.06 pounds, with my big fish being a 3.84 pound smallmouth. The winner won the tournament with 19.60 pounds and there was a good second place bag with 18.06 pounds. Both sacked up the largemouths in the river. Big fish for the tournament was a giant 5.75 pound smallmouth bass, AWESOME! I finished in 22nd place and am sitting in a tie for third in the Angler of the Year points with two tournaments to go, Lake Vermillion and Lake Minnetonka. Looking back I wish I would have stuck to my guns and headed up river once I had a good sack. I had pretty much all my weight by 9 am, and it's not every tournament a guy gets a chance to truly go hog hunting for five hours knowing he has a good sack already. It takes a lot of the anxiety out of the situation. You live to learn though. Most of the top ten were fishing the river this year and were able to convert those quality bites into better than quality bags.

The next few weeks are going to be very busy for me. A lot of tournaments as well as guide trips, mix in practice and making plans for upcoming big events like the Minnesota Federation tournament of Champions and the BASSMASTER Regional Championship in Kentucky and I'm thinking time will just fly by. Lucky for me the boys at Mobile Marine Pros already have my boat all fixed up, running better than she ever has. They are truly the best at what they do. My next tournament is on Wednesday on Lake Minnetonka (aka Hog Heaven) I'll give a full report when it's done.

Gopher B.A.S.S. Federation Club Tournament

Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN

Today was the sixth tournament in the Gopher Bassmasters season, held again on Lake Minnetonka. I was lucky enough to draw boat number one and headed right for a nice deep hard bottom spot. I figured that if I got there right away in the morning that I could get a quick limit weighing 10 to 12 pounds minimum. I pulled up slowly and there was a boat fishing the weedline that was just a short distance from my area. I pulled in close and made a couple of casts and just tried to wait patiently for the other boat to move on so I could position my boat just right to be able to give myself the best shot at making perfect casts to the area. After the other boat moved on I was able to get to where I could make long casts with a hand tied 1/2 Jewel Football jig. After a few casts I was able to catch a nice largemouth that was an easy 2.5 pounds. My next two casts and I reeled in another weighing 2 and the other going all of 3 pounds for sure. I threw a few more times without a bite and decided to give that area a rest and go hit another similar area only a minute away. My first cast in the new area resulted in another nice 3 pound largemouth. After a 15 minutes I headed back to my first spot and caught another nice largemouth about 2.5 pounds as well.

Within the first hour I had a solid limit weighing around 13 pounds. This was a great position to be in because it usually doesn't happen like that too often. It's not everyday you put a quality limit in your tanks in the first hour of the tourney. This gave me the opportunity to "hog hunt" the rest of the day. I quickly pulled out a 3/8 oz. and a 1/2 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig, and start working the deep weedlines for some good bass. I was able to catch a lot of 2 pounders but maybe only culling for an ounce here and there. Finally I hooked up with a nice 3 pound largemouth on the 1/2 oz. jig. Upping me to a estimated 14 pound bag.

As the afternoon wore on, I caught fish but none that would make a difference. Finally with only an hour left in the tournament I went straight for a nice deep weedline turn, soaked the jig and managed to catch two more 3 pounders, rounding out a nice bag for the weigh in. I finished with 15 pounds, just good enough for a third place finish. I was also fortunate enough to sneak pass Corey Brant in our Annual Gopher Bassmasters Ultimate Match Fishing Contest and now am in the final four competing against Sport Smith, which will take place in Grand Rapids, on Pokegama Lake, at our next club tourneys next month. Also with these two strong finishes I fought my way back up in the Gopher Bassmasters Angler of the Year standings, currently sitting in fourth. Setting me up for a run at club stick!

Next up for me is the third stop for the BASSMASTERS Weekend Series also at Pokegama Lake. I have a lot of ideas in my head, that I'm confident will help me to another great finnish. I'm currently sitting tied for first in the BASSMASTER Weekend Series Angler of the Year race and really want to continue that trend on. It's going to take a lot of hard work but I'm definitely up for the challenge! Wish me luck at Pokegama!!

Gopher B.A.S.S. Federation Club Tournament

Lake Minnetonka, Mound, MN

I was very excited to wake up this morning and head out to one of my favorite lakes, Minnetonka, for a Gopher Bassmasters Club Tournament. I spend a considerable amount of my time out here and definitely consider it my home lake. So I was pretty excited about my chance to catch a good limit. It's important that I do well in this weekend's two tournaments for a few different reasons. I'm pretty disappointed in some of my tournament finishes. I had two pretty solid tournaments and two very bad tournaments. Because of this, I find myself sitting in 8th place overall in the Angler of the Year standings. I also find myself on the bubble to make the 2009 Minnesota B.A.S.S. Federation State Tournament, held at Pokegama Lake, in Grand Rapids, MN. Today is also the start of the first round of our annual match fishing contest and I find myself matched against Frank Whiteside.

I drew boat number five and headed to a location that had some nice deep scattered rock. After about four or five casts I catch a solid 2.5 lb. largie on a hand tied 1/2 oz. Jewel Football Jig. In the next five casts I catch another two bass both weighing roughly two pounds each and managed to let a nice solid three pounder get off. After checking another spot similar to the first without any success, I decided to get out of there. I was slowly putting thru a long no wake area and when I got to the out side of it I turned back and pitched a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig (Green Pumpkin/Brown) to the seawall and caught a little pound and a half smallie. After having a little success pitching to one corner I decided to to flip one to the opposite corner and instantly set into a good largemouth, only to have him throw the jig at the boat. Generally I would start getting pretty worried about loosing two good fish in the first hour but I knew this lake and knew it's potential and I knew the areas I was going to fish held both weight and numbers.

With the sun starting to warm things up I decided to hit a pretty good point that wasn't to much of a distance from me. I worked the whole point all the way around, switching between a 3/8 oz Tru Tungsten Jig, 1/2 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig, and a 1/2 oz. Jewl Football Jig. I was catching numbers but they were all in that solid two pound range. I knew the area had potential to cough up some real toads but decided to head out, but planned to hit it again on the way back to weigh in. Opting instead for a deep hump with a solid weedline, that has been good to me in the past for some solid three pounders. I was able to catch numbers of both largemouths and smallmouths, but at most maybe only doing two or three culls for a couple ounces. My boat partner for the day, John Atkins, hooked up with a nice 3 to 4 pounder and also filled a limit there.

We headed to a deep weedline that I have just lately been starting to figure out, but this time we couldn't get it going. I managed to catch a few more fish running the same type of pattern, targeting deep weedlines and rocks, but none of them culled any more than a couple ounces. Heading to the scales I was pretty happy given the day. I ran good water, worked my areas confidently, but just never got those big bites that I needed to win. I weighed in with 11.6 pounds and finished in 4th place. I managed to get past Frank in Ultimate Match Fishing and will be facing my boy Corey Brant (Core Dog), who is also leading so far this year in the Angler of the Year race. This fourth place finish also made up a little ground in the AOY standings. Tomorrow we will be launching from the other side of the lake for another tournament. Good Night!

BASSMASTER Weekend Series Tournament

Whitefish Chain, Cross Lake, MN

Tournament two of the BASSMASTER Weekend Series, held at the Whitefish Chain, in Cross lake, MN, is finally upon us. There was over a month gap between the first and second tournament and I was dying to get on the water and put it to the test against some of Minnesota's top bass fisherman.

I had went up and practiced for a couple days a few weekends back and have to say that I didn't have a great practice at all. A friend joined me and the fishing was good on Saturday for the morning and than we got stormed off, literally. We woke up Sunday morning to a less than ideal forecast of a cold front, with high skies and a cool north wind. We were able to find them Saturday morning all over the lake, shallow around docks and in the pads, and deeper along the maturing weedline. Sunday did produce some nice fish, but they were rather scattered and didn't really offer any set in stone pattern for game day. Looking back it was probably for the best considering that the lake was going to change pretty dramatically by the time I got back there. It made me keep in open mind.

The day before the tournament, Bri and I launched out of Hay Lake and headed right up into the main lake and began poking around on the weedlines. I did catch fish but none that were really good size. Although still the area had great potential. I then ran some of my shallow stuff where I found that it wasn't going to be that difficult to bag a limit but that size was the worry. I spent most the afternoon being careful to pull on fish and not actually hook them in their mouth, pretty much guaranteeing that the fish won't be willing to bite on tournament day. By the end of the day I was feeling a bit more comfortable. There were a lot of fish to be caught and I felt I was in the right areas to catch them. I even managed to visually see a couple 3+ pounders, and on Whitefish those are real good fish to have at the scales.

After take off I headed straight for a sandy flat that had a few good docks and a nice inside turn on a weedline. I started by swimming a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig (Green Pumpkin/Brown) and on my third cast I boated a 14" inch largemouth and got the skunk out of the boat. That's when everything really started taking a turn for the worst. I set into about five or six real good fish and missed them all. Were talking like setting and half way to the boat they get off! Honestly I was getting pretty discouraged. Finally I came across a good looking boat dock and flipped a solid 2 pound largie into the boat. One cast later and I caught another one that just bumped the 12" minimum line. With a couple hours gone I decided to run to a bay on the South side of the lake where I had one magical boat dock that always seemed to produce for me. I worked the entire dock and on my last hail mary skip under the dock I caught a good solid three pound bass.

With only four fish in my livewell, I decided it was time to get on the weedlines and start catching some fish. Again after loosing a couple I finally boated my fifth keeper that literally bumped 12" on the dot with 1/2 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig (Black and Blue). I also tossed the topwater frog around for twenty minutes and didn't even manage a single blowup. Knowing that I needed some quality culls I decided to head back to the sand flat that I started on and try for some of those better fish that I had seen in practice and hope that I could get one or two of those earlier misses to bite again. It started slow and all of a sudden I hooked into a solid largemouth on a jig. I was out in about seven foot of water and blind casting in front of me not to spook the fish. The bass was landed and weighed approximately 4.5 pounds, a true Whitefish kicker! It's a great feeling to cull a little 12 inch bass for a solid 4 pounder. Next cast after dropping her in the livewell and I instantly get bit under a near by boat dock, resulting in another solid 2 pound bass.

With three hours remaining and an approaching storm starting to give way to rain, I headed to a great weedline that I knew had to hold good fish. The area was great. I was fishing a saddle in about 13 to 18 feet, that was surrounded by two underwater points that were loaded with coontail. The area produced well, I was able to cull a few times, nothing major but a ounce here and a ounce there. Time ran out and back at weigh in I managed to weigh in at 13.32 pounds and took another solid 6th place finish, good enough for another paycheck! I was second for big fish with 4.42 lbs. and lost to a nice 4.6 pounder that was weighed in just before me. Best yet my two strong finishes in the first two tournaments have me in a dead tie for first place in the Angler of the Year race. Pretty awesome but there's still three tournaments left, and it's going to be a tough test to manage to stay at the top. Next up we have Pokegama Lake, in Grand Rapids, MN. Last year in my first ever BASSMASTER Weekend Series event I took 18th at Pokegama. I have a few ideas going that I think can really put me on some good fish! Wish me luck!

Five Alive Tour

Green Lake, Isanti County, MN

Today was our second Five Alive event held at Green Lake, in Isanti County. Neither Ryan and I had time to prefish for this tournament and since neither one of us had ever fished the lake before we decided that we would just show up and fish. Today I also picked up my boat from the shop, which is a huge relief going into the BASSMASTER Weekend Series on the Whitefish Chain. I really was wanting my boat for that tournament.

At take off, Ryan and I headed straight for a row of docks. Never fishing this lake requires us both to power fish to be able to compete in a three hour tournament. After spending twenty minutes with no quality bites we headed for a slop area on a nice looking flat. I picked up a Scum Frog (black), while Ryan continued working boat docks with a 3/8 oz. hand tied Tru Tungsten Jig. One my first cast I missed on a nice blowup. After trying to get the fish to come back with no success, I spotted a great looking opening in the scum and fired my frog right into it. As kermit landed in the opening I noticed three or four different wakes from all around the bait, a tell tail sign of interested bass. I didn't twitch that frog but twice and I landed our first fish, a nice 2 pounder. Next cast rewarded me another one pushing three pounds, and the next cast another 2 pounder. Ryan dying to jump in the action ties up a Spro Frog (Black) and quickly puts another in the box. I make a couple more casts and limit us out with another 2 pounder.
We continued on this pattern and did find some similar areas. One area in particular did offer us a few nice bass that were able to cull out here and there for a couple ounces. With limited time left in the tournament we headed back to the area that coughed us up a quick limit. There we saw another tournament boat about 250 yards up bank. We snuck up into the mouth of the scum and started throwing frogs and I also tied up a Gambler Buzz Toad (black). We did catch a few but none big enough to cull. With only ten minutes left in the tournament we went back towards the launch and continued on throwing the frogs, again catching a few but none big enough to cull.

At weigh in we were approached by the tournament director, apparently that boat that watched us whack a bunch of fish in front of them claimed that Ryan wasn't wearing his safety vest when we pulled away with the big engine. Unfortunately for us, this was not the case. We argued our case as best we could, I never saw Ryan without his jacket and think the guys just made a mistake. A costly one for somebody else if your not positive. After going round and round, Ryan and I tactfully withdrew ourselves from the competition with no hard feelings, just an unfortunate situation. They great staff of the Five Alive Tour did allow us to weigh and we would have taken a solid third place finish. Not to bad for never being on the lake. Ryan and I aren't sure when we will be able to attend another Five Alive event. I know we have our eyes set on the last event of the year at Forest Lake. Hopefully we will find time to fish another before then.

Now it's back to business, I have a couple nice guide trips and then leave town for the second stop of the BASSMASTER Weekend Series, held at the Whitefish Chain, in Cross Lake, MN. I finished with a strong 6th place in the first event and am looking to do even better. Wish me luck!

Pan-O-Prag Bass Tournament

Lake Marion, Lakeville, MN

This was my first year participating in the annual Pan-O-Prag Bass Tournament, held on Lake Marion, in Lakeville, MN. Marion is a small lake located just South of the Twin Cities, right off 35W. Even though this lake gets a tremendous amount of both fishing pressure and recreation traffic, it still coughs up some big bags of fish every year. This was a team tournament and my partner was fellow Gopher Bassmaster, John Haynes.

I was able to get out and practice twice for this event. The first time John joined me and we did pretty good. Not a lot of fish, but the quality was there. I was catching them all on a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig, tipped with a 2.75" YUM chunk. Most of them came shallow but they were all very scattered. Some came off docks, some off rocks, some in the weeds, and some weren't even by anything at all. Leaving after the first practice day we were a bit frustrated but happy at the same time. It was one of those practices that you wish was actually the tournament, because we caught a winning limit of bass, except we didn't really have a pattern for how we did it.

The second day of practice was a complete joke. It was the 4th of July and my Wife Bri was joining me. We arrived to a very long line that took over an hour to launch and then came to find that my engine wouldn't start. Frustrated, I decided to fish for a while with my trolling motor but after a half hour I figured it would be best to load up and drop my boat off at the shop to get fixed. Although I did manage to catch one fish that was just shy of four pounds on a 4" Bass Pro Shops Tube (Clear with Blake Flake), with a 1.8 oz. insert weight and a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook..

At take off for the tournament, we drew an early let out and knew we would have a great shot at getting to some of the better areas that held some quality fish. We decided to hit a row of docks that had some nice vegetation around them and on my second flip, I caught a nice three pound largemouth. Being that this lake is not that big we were quickly surrounded by other boats and I decided to get out of there and go check another area before that was also tapped.
We got to our area and I instantly got bit, but when I set, there was nothing there. John lobbed his Lake Fork Ring Fry (Green Pumpkin) to the same area and instantly set the hook on what turned out to be another nice fish that went all of three pounds. A hundred yards down and I got bit again, and again added another three pounder to the livewell.

Knowing we were on to a great start, we decided to go back to the area where we first started and see if we can still get some bites. We arrived to see that there were still four boats working that area. I knew this would be an issue at this tournament. I usually don't like fishing in crowds, but I knew it was going to be this way so we decided to stay. Talk about calling the right shot. My first cast and I caught another nice three pound fish. I came across a nice looking boat dock and even though I watched two other boats fish it, I decided to give it a try anyway. After working the dock all the way around I decided to skip my jig up underneath the start of the dock, right where it meets the land. My first skip missed the mark by two feet, but I instantly got a peck from a couple bluegills. Looking closer I noticed the traditional honeycombs, meaning that there was a bunch of bluegills spawning. Wherever there are spawning bluegills, there are hungry bass close by. I skipped my jig again, this time perfectly under the dock and out came another three pounder. Good call Douglas!

Sitting with five nice three pounders in the livewell, we just needed one more for a limit. (Pan-O-Prag is a six fish limit) We went about an hour without catching anything and with the sun starting to come out and the wind picking up we decided to go throw a frog and flip some plastics back in the slop. We wasted about an hour and a half back there. I know that past tournaments have been won out of the slop on this lake, but I'm going to have to spend more time back there to figure out the real good areas. Although when we were on our way out, I had the trolling motor on 100 and made a desperation cast with a Scum Frog (Black) and caught our limit fish. Not even a two pounder, but it was a limit.

We went back out to the main lake and was met with some real strong winds. I did manage to catch a couple more but none big enough to cull. We headed back to the weigh in and ended up with 16.26 pounds, good enough for a strong 6th place finish! Pretty sweet! First time fishing this event with limited practice and walked away with another much needed paycheck. It goes to show, when in doubt, go with your strength. Good things will happen more often than not.

I would also like to thank my buddy Ryan Brant for letting me borrow his Ranger Commanche for this tournament while my boat is in the shop. I owe you big time!

Denny's Wednesday Nighter

Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN

Tonight was the second tournament of the Denny's Wednesday Nighters, held on Lake Minnetonka. Ryan and I were real eager to launch and get this tournament under way. I still had a horrible taste in my mouth from that fat largemouth that got off at the boat, costing us a second place finish and $700 dollars at the last Wednesday Nighter two weeks ago.

Our launch number was 17 and we headed for one of our best spots and when we arrived there we both took note that there was no wind. After about 45 minutes of nothing, Ryan finally hooks up with a two pounder on a Lake Fork Creature Bait. With nothing going at all we headed out of there in search of some better bass. We arrived at a little point and I was able to catch a nice three pounder on a 6" Amp Lures Mimi (Green Pumpkin). After that fish though, the bite just wasn't there. We decided to run some pretty well known boat docks that usually hold some keeper bass. Ryan did manage to catch one small one that barely bumped, but still it was a keeper. Stumped, we decided to try a couple main lake milfoil points. I caught a couple but they were to short to keep. After about twenty minutes we shot back to our better areas and decided to go all or nothing with our last two hours.

After about an hour I finally got a nice bite and caught a bass going about 3.5 pounds, on a Texas rigged Lake Fork Ring Worm (Green Pumpkin), pegged with a 1/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Worm Weight (Green Pumpkin). Ryan also caught another one that was about 2 pounds, rounding out our limit.

With only about a half hour left, we decided to run some docks. Ryan caught a solid two pounder and culled away the twelve incher, then time ran out. We weighed in with a very disappointing 10 lbs. 2 oz., for 23rd place. There were some real big bags brought to the scales. I think you needed at least 17 pounds to cash a check.

Ryan and I find ourselves in a tough position. We're in the middle of the pack in the team of the year race and need to do real well in the remainder of the tournaments to get to the top spot. It will take some serious work but I feel we are still in close enough position to do just that.

Five Alive Tour

North & South Center Lakes, Lindstrom, MN

Lately things have been a little chaotic for me. I have a lot of tournaments coming up but luckily for me, most are team tournaments. I recently found out that I am going to be with out a boat for a couple weeks. What started as a small, unknown exhaust leak in the middle of my engine turned out to cause some pretty serious problems. I came to find out that I need a part that won't be able to be shipped out for about a week and a half due to the holiday week. Luckily, I am fishing with my boy Ryan Brant and we can use his Ranger today for the Five Alive Tour and also again tomorrow for the Denny's Wednesday Nighter. He also came through for myself and John Haynes for the Pan O' Prag tournament on Saturday on Lake Marion. Then again I lucked out and my buddy Chris Campbell is going to let me use his Ranger for a guide trip next week and for the real important BASSMASTER Weekend Series Tournament on the Whitefish Chain, in Cross Lake, MN. The nice thing is that Chris has the same boat as me, so it shouldn't be too bad of an adjustment.

After figuring out my boat situation, I was off to meet Ryan for the Five Alive event on North and South Center. I had seen it on their schedule and figured we should give it a try. Late last Fall, Ryan and I had really sacked them in a end of the year tournament, catching five bass for over 22 pounds! Although going into this tourney we were a little nervous. Sure we had done really well there but that was last year, it was very late September and we were just on a really good pattern. We didn't know the lake well, we won it our second time ever fishing on it. This year I have yet to fish it and knew I wasn't going to have time to pre fish for it. It really was looking bad when Ryan called me the night before and said he had got skunked earlier that night.

The tournament is only three hours long from 6 PM to 9 PM, which just means that we have to work very efficient and timely. We started on a set of docks that worked well last year and Ryan put a nice three pound fish in the livewell on a texas rigged Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver. As he was retying, I caught one that went about 13 inches on a 3/8 oz. jig. We continued in the area and I caught a couple more smaller ones leaving us one shy of a limit. We headed to another good area and Ryan caught our fifth keeper, a nice two pound bass.

As we were getting ready to leave the area I made a cast with a swim jig and hooked into a 15" largemouth and we made our first cull. We got to our next destination and Ryan pitches his Beaver to a set of lily pads and hook into another good bass that weighed probably just shy of three pounds. Another pitch later and he hooks another good sack fish that was all of two pounds for sure.

As the night wore on the bite slowed dramatically. We must have went an hour without a fish and we decided to head back towards the loading ramp and fish out our last twenty minutes. Ryan again pitched to a set of pads and hooks into the biggest bass of the day going all of 3.5 pounds. Two minutes pass and I catch an easy three pounder on a Scum Frog. Then with only three minutes to go, Ryan picks up my 1/2 oz. Amp Lures Killa Buzz (Black), and starts tossing it along a weedline and manages to catch another keeper, this one only culling out for maybe and ounce or two.

At the weigh in we won the tournament, with 13.05 pounds. We took home a much needed paycheck and also decided we were going to try our hand again next week when the Five Alive Tour heads to Green Lake in Wyanett, MN. Up next tomorrow is the second tournament of the Denny's Wednesday Nighters, held on Lake Minnetonka. I can't wait!!