A Weekend to Remember

This past weekend, Bri and I along with our good friends Matt and Luanne, went up to Bri's family cabin for a fun and relaxing weekend on the water. As I said in my last post, Bri's cabin is seriously one of my favorite places in the world. The fishing is fantastic but just being off the beaten path and away from the everyday hustle and bustle of the city is a treat all of it's own. Anyone who knows us knows that sure we grew up in the city but our heart is in the country and we're doing everything it takes to make the permanent move. I know I'm fortunate to get to many different lake destinations throughout the year but there's something a bit more satisfying enjoying it with my family and good friends without all pressures of tournament fishing.

We were blessed with beautiful weather that gave way to clear nights with plenty of shooting stars to wish on, while we kicked it around a campfire, enjoying good conversation and roasting delicious pudgy pies. Ahh, pudgy pies, something I have never heard of that will now be a staple for me while sitting around a fire. I'm not sure whether to hate Matt and Lou or love them for it?

Some other highlights from our trip was climbing to the top of the ranger station overlooking the entire area. It's really a breathtaking view all the way up there and never seems to get old. During a good old booze cruise, we also managed to breakdown in the pontoon on the complete other side of the lake, we couldn't of been any further from the cabin! After trying like hell to paddle with zero success, finally a couple came to our rescue and towed us all the way back. Thank God for them two, otherwise we may still of been out there.



The fishing was good though it started slow. Matt and I started by fishing reeds with really nothing to show for it. We then went even shallower and started throwing around some topwater frogs through all the cover. The action was better here but still not what I was accustomed to on the lake. There was a lot of fish in these areas but they just weren't wanting to eat the frog. I think we hooked maybe one for every five blowups. They were just smacking the bait, more pestered by it.

My wheels starting turning and I decided it was time to check another area of the lake. We were finding some action shallow just not with total success yet it was still good enough that I couldn't get myself to completely abandon the shallows and head for deep water. So instead I picked a area of the lake that had a lot of boat docks but also had some mixed floating vegetation between them. I figured worst case that if we still couldn't get bit real good on the pads that maybe we could bust a couple under docks.


It didn't take but the first dock and I knew the answer to the question was found, I caught three good ones under one dock. We continued on that pattern and I don't think I ever picked up my frog rod again, I just kept slinging jigs under docks and just kept catching fish after fish. The jig we were using was the one and only Tru Tungsten Jig, is there really any other kind?

Matt, who loves to fish more than anything but just doesn't have the time to fish as much as most the people that get in the boat with me, hadn't ever skipped a bait under a dock before, let alone a jig on heavy baitcasting gear. Between raising two kids and running his own auto garage, Gustavson Repair, it's hard to get the time to learn such an advanced technique. You think I'd be easy on him and rig up a spinning rod with a senko on it but where's the glory in that? If your going to learn something, learn it the right way from the beginning. Instead I handed him the exact same setup and was more than impressed at his determination to conquer it.

In fact it didn't take to long at all and wouldn't you know it he sets and lands a nice bass from under a dock on a jig. Not only was it his first dock fish but it was his first jig fish! It took me a long time to catch my first jig fish and he does it in less than an hour and under a boat dock! That's sick!


After an awesome trip we capped it off with a night out a Zorba's, yeah that's right, Zorba's with a Z. Though come Sunday morning I think we all mutually agreed that Zorba's was probably the worst idea of the weekend. We were all a bit on the slower side if you know what I mean?

I gotta say that this past weekend was just what I needed, time with my beautiful wife, two dogs and some of our very best friends! I feel relaxed and recharged and chomping at the bit to get back on the water and put my game face on! The Silverado Tour hits Green Lake baby! I can't wait!

My Favorite Place in the World

I went from counting down the weeks, to counting down the days and now we're getting close to counting down the hours. Soon Bri and I, along with two of our good friends Matt and Luanne, will be heading up north to one of my favorite places for both fishing and relaxing, Bri's cabin in McGregor, MN.

The cabin is just awesome and we're all in need of some good fun including bar-b-queuing, sitting around the fire and tipping a couple back. The best part is the fishing is untapped! No one is fishing bass on this lake and the bass grow big, real big! In fact, I caught my Minnesota big bass at a lake just down the road tipping the scale at a whopping 7 lbs. 6 oz!

I'm hoping my new G Loomis Swimbait Rod will be in before I go as I plan to chuck the old shoe (Weedless Huddleston) to bass that I guarantee have never seen one before and also plan to power up the Humminbird Side Imager on a lake that has never been scanned for it's hidden rockpiles. I'm 100% confident that we'll have plenty of pictures and video to show off our weekend's results!

I've been passing the time by spending some time on the water locally. I've been doing some guide trips as well as getting out and doing some camera work. This past weekend we spent out on one of my favorite bodies of water fishing deep structure with my go to favorite bait, the Picasso Fantasy Football Jig. The fish were movie stars as they were more than happy to make their appearances for the video camera. Keep checking in as the video should be up and ready to be viewed very soon.

If anyone is interested in getting in the boat with me for a guided trip contact me sooner than later. The summer largemouth bite is on and the fall smallmouth bite is right around the corner! In fact, last week I did a corporate guide trip for a company out of Wisconsin. Instead of a company golf tournament, it was a company bass tournament. Not only did my boat catch fish, they won the whole tournament! What a outing! These guys really worked me, they had me running from front to back taking off fish and snapping photos. It was just awesome!!


Well, all for now! I got lots to do before I head up for a weekend of partying and setting hooks on donkey largemouth! When I get back it's back to business and preparing for the next Silverado Pro Tour stop at Green Lake, in Spicer, MN. Talk about a smallie haven!! I'm more than excited! I can already hear my drag spinning!

Silverado Pro Tour

Lake Minnewaska, Starbuck, MN

I have been thinking about this event for a year now. Almost exactly a year ago on these exact waters, I had my worst bass fishing tournament of my life, nothing went good, seriously nothing. This lake really made me mad, I couldn't find a pattern at all and I couldn't catch fish no matter what or where I attempted to do it. The result was to be expected, my worst placing ever and I completely knocked myself out of the Angler of the Year standings, blowing my chances at qualifying for the TOC.

Now you can see why this upcoming tournament weighed so heavily on my mind, this lake really intimidated me. Sure I was determined to get some revenge, but when you spend days on the lake with nothing to show, it's sets a bit of anxiety up for my return trip.

To offset some of this, I managed to put together a lot of practice time to help me better understand how this lake works. Wouldn't you know it after my first weekend back I had one of my best outings of the year. I found two spots where in a matter of 10 casts, I caught 5 largemouth weighing over 23 pounds. If that's not a confidence builder than I don't know what is. The problem was the tourney was still a few weeks away. Will they stay there? That was the real question and one I wasn't about to bank on.

**Bri and I camping at Hobo Park on the shores of Lake Minnewaska while practicing for the Silverado.

Lake Minnewaska, known as a good largemouth lake also has an awesome population of good sized smallmouth bass. Last year I had a heck of a time trying to find them and on game day managed to drop three real nice ones. This practice I spent my share of time looking for these elusive ghosts and it didn't take long to get tangled with a good one. Throughout the remainder of practice I managed to find a half dozen or so spots that were holding good sized smallies, but my one concern was that I couldn't catch more than one, I wasn't finding schools but instead single rogues that frequent these areas to feed. So every time I'd check these spots it was hit or miss.

Going into tournament day, I was pretty pumped. I had some areas that were holding really nice largemouth as well as smallies. When I got to registration I found out I drew boat 6 and really got excited. My original plan was to start on my two big largemouth spots, but with that early of a boat draw I knew I could get to one of the few "community" smallie spots and hopefully put a couple big smallies in the box right away. I was confident that no one was on my largies and thought it would be beneficial to roll the dice.

I even checked my starting spot right away in the morning the last day of practice and couldn't keep the smallmouth off, I pulled on fish after fish and it took a lot to finally get them to spit the bait. I was amped and ready to go! I knew going to bed that night that I had given myself a chance to win this one, a far cry from where I was here a year ago.

Right away tournament morning I raced to my first spot. Nothing. You gotta be kidding me? They were just here! After about 45 minutes I raced to another smallie spot and again, nothing. I probably prefer to fish smallies all in all, but I don't know why? There's a reason they call them ghost fish, they're known to just disappear.

After burning up a good two hours with nothing to show for it, I finally raced to my good largemouth. Maybe the smallies are being fussy, but I'll get the largies going. Well I did just that, only I left these two spots with a limit of 12 inch fish. Not what I had in mind, but it's a limit, we're upgrading from here.

With the temp starting to climb up I decided to go get at those smallies again. This time I was met with a bunch of short strikes and saw a real nice four pound fish follow my bait to the boat. I did manage to land one 14" and another 16" smallie.

I knew of a few weedlines that were holding some quality largemouth and decided it was time to head there. It didn't take to long to upgrade our limit to all 14" fish and with only 45 minutes to go I decided to finish out the day on one of my largemouth spots where I had previous success. The bite was on and I made a few small culls and with only 20 minutes to go was caught between staying here or trying for that big smallie that followed all the way to the boat. Just then I bang a nice 3.6 pound largemouth and decided to stay.

Looking back now, I wish I would have left right then because one more quality fish and I'd of been way up in the money. Instead I weighed in with a 6 fish limit weighing 12.72 pounds and with a dead fish penalty ended with 12.47 pounds, good enough for 20th place.


My emotions after this one were a bit conflicted. On a personal level I was happy, I finished way better than I had done last year, saved face and moved up in the points. On the other hand, the competitor in me was more than disappointed. I had worked my butt off in practice, found good fish and wanted the win. I don't fish these tournaments to place mediocre, I fish them cause I want to win them. That's what it's all about.

Tournament Update - Denny's Super 30 TOY Race

2010 Super 30 Minnetonka

Team of the Year Standings

Team of the Year - 2010 1-Jun 21-Jun 12-Jul Total

1 Brad Cline & Jason Berg 49 48 43 140
2 Ted & Dean Capra 47 38 50 135
3 Cody Zdrazil & Dusty Mahn 46 40 45 131
4 Steve Hauge & Corey Guttenfelder 41 33 48 122
5 Matt Pretzel & Craig Walters 38 39 41 118
6 Brad Leuthner & Jeff Meuwissen 42 28 42 112
7 Rod & Rustin Robinson 33 43 32 108
8 Eric & Greg Schultz 15 44 49 108
9 Josh Douglas & Ryan Brant 37 32 38 107
10 Chuck & John Hengel 18 42 47 107
11 Shane Raveling & Joe Bartusek 50 34 22 106
12 Todd Doege & Bob Hennen 29 41 35 105
13 Mike Vinci & Paul Neumann 17 46 40 103
14 Seth Feider & John Figi 16 49 37 102
Jason Holmer & Jason Dudek 39 25 33 97
Andy Young & Larry Wittig 44 37 15 96
Todd Brezinski & Joe Ecklund 23 45 28 96
Joe & Guy Feldmann 10 47 39 96
Chad Kastenbauer & DaveSicheneder 24 26 44 94
Randy LaTourelle & Corey Weber 10 50 30 90
Corey Larson & Mark Persson 31 24 34 89
Andy Hribar & Randy Hayes 48 30 10 88
Jacob Larson & Toby Ferriel 30 10 46 86
Steve Lee & Ron Feyo 43 14 20 77
Chuck McGannon & Jeremy Bester 20 36 21 77
Mike Carter & Pat Wenning 34 10 29 73
Noah Schultz & Che Johnson 28 19 23 70
John Vig Jr & John Walsh 32 27 10 69
Bruce Smith & Paul Sladek 35 21 13 69
Mike Brill & Andy Peterson 14 20 31 65
Lonnie Murphy & John Nelson 25 29 10 64
Torrie Oswald & Bob Biehler 21 31 10 62
Dalon Schmidt & Brad Lutz 40 10 11 61
Will Pappa & Gary Flicek 36 11 12 59
Pat Bartley & Chris Zakashefski 27 15 17 59
Dennis & Austin Felix 12 22 25 59
Denny Nelson & Bob Younghans 10 23 26 59
Steve Loraus & Matt Burch 13 10 36 59
Chris Luedtke & Tadd Johnson 45 10 x 55
Jeff Gilmer & Randy Wilcox 10 10 27 47
Jay Green & Steph Peterson 19 13 14 46
Gordon Covyeow & Darrell Preston 10 16 19 45
Colby & Brady Bolin 11 17 16 44
Steve Rowe & Tom Zrust 10 10 24 44
John Nugent & Al McColl 22 10 10 42
Steve Karsseboom & Steve Higgins 10 18 10 38
Peter Madonna & Pat Ripley 10 12 10 32
Tim Dedeker & Alan Melby 10 10 10 30
Tom Conboy & Jim Oster 10 10 10 30

So as you can see we're sitting in good position for qualifying for the post season "Shoot Out". We're in a much better place than we were at this point last season and we managed to qualify last year and go on to claim 3rd in the Shoot Out. The plan is to stay the course and try to continue to move up the rankings by cashing a couple checks going out! Wish us luck!

Tackle Update: G Loomis Introduces the NRX!

G Loomis, what's there to say? They've built a much deserving title as the best rod makers on the market. They set the bar higher and higher with every new development they create. It's truly legendary, in fact since I was a little kid I used to dream about the day I'd own my own Loomis. I can remember in my very early 20's when I moved to Florida I started to really get back into bass fishing and I'd go to the local tackle stores and just hold them. I definitely wasn't in the position financially to be able to actually obtain one, but there was no denying my desire. That desire still runs through me to this very day, six years later and fishing for a money and still G Loomis is the cream of the crop in my eye. They're who I trust to do work on the water. I don't have a business relation, in fact I've pushed away the opportunity to fish others manufacturers rods for free. Sounds crazy but I guess it's safe to say that admiration I had when I was just a kid still runs through me today.

If you look in my rod locker right now you'd see close to 20 rods mostly made up of their IMX and GLX series, with a few specialty rods thrown in like their Crankbait and Spinnerbait Series. Not to mention my new rod that's on order, the Swimbait Series, which shouldn't come as a surprise given my enthusiasm in my last blog entry.

There's been a lot of changes recently in the fishing rod market. New companies are emerging from the woodwork all offering high end rods with newer technology and non traditional components still marked around that same price point. G Loomis on the other hand has been sitting back, quietly developing and taking their time perfecting. The outcome is a much astonishing 5 category awards at the 2010 ICAST Show, including the coveted "Best of Show" award for their newest introduction to the bass fishing world, the NRX Series. Move over GLX, a new king has come to claim the throne.

The NRX which is 15 percent lighter, 20 percent stronger and more sensitive than the GLX also offers a few new features such as split cork handles and what I find most intriguing is the use of two different kinds of eyelets. The bottom of the rod makes use of Fugi titanium framed SIC guides, while the top of the rod incorporates the Recoil ion coated nickel - titanium guides, now introduced as the 'Hybrid Guide System'.

Another key feature that I love is the new 'skeletonized' reel seat, where your fingers will never leave the actual rod blank.


Though the G Loomis GLX in my opinion was still the best rod built on the market, even with all sorts of rod building companies taking their jabs at it, it's really only fitting that's it's maker is the one to take it's title.

Again understand, I don't have any kind of business relationship with G Loomis or Shimano, these are just the companies I choose to use. I take fishing very very seriously and these are the brands that give me my added confidence. That's something any other rod manufacturer can't give me and that's why G Loomis gets the edge. Like I said in the beginning, they're simply legendary.

Check in with Capra's Outdoors as I hear they'll be one of the first to receive the first shipments.

Big Bait Posse Minnesota Style

I love to fish and I also enjoy to write, it's interesting because fishing is really all I like to write about. I guess I can assume that fishing inspires me to the point where I want to write it down for both people to enjoy and me to relive later. Every now and then I come across something while fishing that inspires me above and beyond, so much that I won't need to relive it someday because truthfully I'll never forget it. In fact, I don't think I can get enough of it.

Over the past few days I've been out of town practicing for an upcoming tournament. Usually I would just pitch a tent and set up camp or simply sleep in my truck while preparing for upcoming events but this time I got the opportunity to stay with some friends at a cabin. The cabin was a bit of a drive but well worth it for the chance to get in the boat with my buddy Dave Cindrich for his much talked about evening swimbait bite, where catching 4's and 5's was supposedly the regular.

I can say that I was skeptical to say the least, but there's no way I was about to let my ignorance miss out on an opportunity like this. I was more than eager to take the nightly trip.

Lakes in California and Texas are known for huge bass that annihilate huge swimbaits, but we're talking about ten to twenty pound Florida strain largemouth not our northern strain bass that at best are chunking out between four and seven pounds.

**Above Pictures: 6" Weedless Huddleston (top) and the Tru Tungsten Tru Life Swimbait (bottom). Both these baits are so big, I know panfish fisherman that would fillet them!

When Cindrich handed me a long rod with a 6 inch Weedless Huddleston tied onto 20 pound Vicious fluorocarbon, I can easily say that my confidence in my first few casts were less than none. I mean I felt like I was chucking a shoe around and barely reeling it back to the boat. Just when you think your reeling too slow, take it down another notch from there, barely turning the reel just making the baits tail quiver as you pull it through the clumps of vegetation. It wasn't until about my fifth or sixth cast when all of a sudden I felt that unmistakable "tick" in my line, my rod loaded up just for a second and gone. What the? "You gotta be kidding", I said to myself, "There's no way that was a bass, had to been a big pike or something". Just as I was starting to believe that, Cindrich hauls off and sets the hook and all hell breaks loose, a minute later and he's landed a real chunky largemouth that absolutely inhaled his swimbait like it was a fricken Dorito.


I was like a little kid again, you know that feeling when you were fishing with your Dad or Grandpa not catching anything and all of a sudden someone in the boat catches one. You can't cast quick enough! That was exactly how I was. I wanted in on that action.

We made another pass and as my bait hit the water on the bank, I made maybe three turns on the reel handle and there it is, this time I follow Dave's advice and wait until I feel the rod load up and slam that fish! I cannot even begin to express how hard of a fight a bass gives you when they attack a big bait like that. It isn't like a jig or spinnerbait, they give it everything they have when they hit a bait that is darn near big enough to be a keeper itself. After landing that pig, I had the shakes like I've never had before. That's an adrenaline rush Josh Douglas style! I couldn't put the rod down the rest of the night and by dark I had totaled three nice largemouth and Dave the same.


That night it was easy to sleep with vision of 5 pounders ripping the rod from my hands. The problem was getting it out of my head the next day while I was practicing for a very important upcoming tournament. All I wanted to do was throw a swimbait. I had heard from many of other fisherman who say that once you get that bite it can change your mentality in a quick hurry, it can turn you into a swimbait addict.

I guess it's a bad sign when as soon as evening approaches I'm loading up my boat and speeding all the way to jump in and get in on the bite for a second night in a row. If that isn't signs of a true fishing junkie I don't know what is.

Night two started slow, real slow, instead of eating the swimbait they would just bump it. It was clear that their presence was there but they weren't in the mood to eat. Finally I started to rationalize with myself and started flipping around a Berkley Chigger Craw and a jig and thought for sure I could catch them with that. I mean come on a six inch swimbait is not going to outproduce a 1/2 ounce jig, not here in Minnesota. If they'll hit a swimbait then they definitely would of eaten a jig or a senko, right? That is exactly what my mentality was, key word, was. In fact there is times that all they may hit is a swimbait. These baits like the Weedless Huddleston or the Tru Tungsten Tru Life Swimbait are so realistic and impart the perfect action that even trophy fish can't tell the difference and they make them big so that they're more appealing to bigger bass. They waste less energy by eating big instead of exerting all their energy chasing around bite sized meals.

The proof in this came after we still couldn't get those fish to bite jigs and plastics we reverted back to the Hud. WHAM! Cindrich boats another beast and shortly I followed suit with another good one. Unbelievably awesome! Rest assured I'll be ordering a swimbait setup in no time.

I hope this will urge other bass fanatics to get out there and give this technique it's fair shake. Trust me it only takes one fish to change not only your attitude but your life as well! There's really nothing like it.

Tackle Update: Introducing Capra's Outdoors Online

I am more than excited to announce that Minnesota's leading tackle provider, Capra's Outdoors, has jumped into the online tackle industry. Not just tackle but all your fishing and boating needs as well as hunting and archery.

Capra's Outdoors, "Your Hunting and Fishing Headquarters" has been providing Minnesota with top of the line outdoor gear for years, a family run business that is not only into the retail side of the outdoors but also has a reputation both on the water and in the field. This is what separates them from the competition. They truly know what it is we're looking for and stay on top of the growing industry, providing us with the best equipment at the best prices.

Now that the online store is up and running, you can already start to order and they are adding new stuff everyday. If you don't see something you need drop them an email or give them a call, if they can get it, you can get it.

Capra's Outdoors, www.CaprasOutdoors.com, toll free 1-800-780-4557, local 763-780-4557.

Back to the Basics

With over a month between tournaments I find myself with some time to really sit back and enjoy some summer fishing as well as take the time to learn some new tricks. I haven't had this much time between tournaments before and have to say it's refreshing. Usually between June and July it's go, go, go, and it's hard to find the time to learn new tactics and get out and do some fun fishing. Usually I have to adapt and learn on the fly but lately I've been taking the time to get out and find new water and learn new ways to up my arsenal.

I've also been working on the Ranger. A few days ago while up at Lake Minnewaska, the stage for the next Silverado Tournament, my bilge pump went out, perfect timing, I have time to get a new one in. I also been rerigging a few things on the boat making it more efficient on the water. One is moving my Lowrance GPS puck from the rear of the boat to the front. I was having all sorts of small issues while fishing that were caused by my puck being in the back. It was much harder to find my tracking when my location is 20 feet behind my actual location. Now I can tell a huge difference and my tracking is much much better. Now I'm going to be moving my Humminbird GPS puck to the rear, since I mainly only use the "Bird" for Side Imaging I want the puck to be as close to the transducer as possible.

I've also been going through and organizing my tackle, something that gets completely disorganized while on the road tournament fishing. This is also nice because not only is everything clean and organized but I can easily tell what is low and make sure I get in an order with Dean at Capra Outdoors. There's nothing worse than good fish biting on a certain bait and I'm all out or only have a couple in the boat.

** Me with a Minnewaska 8 lb. walleye, not what I was looking for, thought it was going to be a big ole bass.

Back to Lake Minnewaska, I've been setting aside a lot of time to getting out there and putting in some hard work. I find myself on the outside looking in after the first Silverado stop back in June and with the next stop in a few weeks at Minnewaska, I have a big obstacle to conquer. Last year I did horrible on Minnewaska and this year I'm going with the practice makes perfect mind set, in other words I want to go from geek to sheik or better yet from zero to hero.

I was able to get out there Thursday and Friday and put in some hard work and on the drive home had a much better idea and overall attitude of the lake. After a slow start on Thursday the winds finally let down for a while late in the afternoon and I was able to find some pretty good fish and possibly even establish a pretty defined pattern. Honestly this far out from the tournament that could mean nothing but no matter what it gave me a very confident attitude and I know when I'm confident I'm a tough fisherman to beat. So much of competitive fishing comes down to attitude, you gotta believe and by putting in my time I'll believe that I did everything I could to prepare. That's really all I can ask for.

This week I'll be heading out to Minnewaska again for a couple days and then getting back to fish Minnetonka for the weekend. We got a Denny's Super 30 tourney out there the following Monday and it's Ryan and Corey turn at bat. Hopefully with all us three out there putting in a tough practice we'll be on good fish and be able to keep our top 12 seating in the team of the year race.

Happy Independence Day! Please have a fun and safe holiday!!!

Denny's Super 30

Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN

After a solid practice it was clear to see that Tonka was on fire. Corey and I in the 5 days leading up to this event managed to really find some good fish. 4 and 5 pounders were definitely eating and the 3 pounders are definitely starting to school up for the summer.


I used a lot of my practice time putting my new Humminbird Side Imaging unit to good use. I tried to stay away from all my good water and instead use my time to find new areas. By using my 2010 Navionics North Chips along with my Side Imaging features I was able to locate new off shore structure that was holding good bass. I'm telling you there's no denying that the combination of my Humminbird 998 along with my two Lowrance Units (LCX 27C and LCX 37C) are making me better at finding schools of fish and in a timely manner, something very important to a tournament angler.

With a good practice Corey and I knew we had a lot of water to fish and was confident every single area had the potential to cough up a good bass. The morning started out a bit slow with our first few spots not producing, finally I was able to get a nice bite off a deeper area that I had put in a lot of time in practice getting to know and the result was a nice 4 pound largie.

After not getting another bite we ran a few more spots and Corey and i each put a few more in the boat, but nothing to really get the heart pumping. In fact a lot of our areas throughout the morning really weren't producing like we thought they would. Most of practice it was hot and sunny and of course this day started cloudy, not sure if that makes a difference in this case or not but something wasn't right.

Finally half way through the day and we got on a spot that was holding a school of fish and started quickly upgrading our limit. Unfortunately though, we were again upgrading ounces instead of pounds. Finally with about an hour or so to go in the tournament I was able to quickly boat two good ones back to back. We knew we were getting within striking distance and needed at least one more big cull and we would be in the thick of it. With three 4 pounders in the boat, we still had a 2.1 lb. baby in the boat and a couple of mid 2 pounders that we knew we had to get rid of in a quick hurry.


We ran around like crazy, looking for that big bite and just came up empty handed in the end. We weighed in 8 fish for 22.9 lbs., a solid finish but only good enough for 19th place. Disappointed because we didn't cash a check but happy to see that another consistent finish and we are currently sitting 12th in the Angler of the Year race, with the top 12 making the end of the year Shoot Out. This is good news because last year we were sitting much lower at this point and were still able to make the year end Shoot Out and ride that to a 3rd place finish. Next up will be the brothers Ryan and Corey, hopefully after we all put in another hard practice we should be ripe for a top 5 finish!


Now it's time to party! My 30th (Golden) Birthday party is this Saturday on the docks of where else, Lake Minnetonka!

See you all on the water!!

Throwing Frogs with my Good Buddy Parker!

What an awesome change of pace, today I took the morning off of tournament practice to hit one of my favorite little lakes with my good buddy Parker! It may sound a bit odd to hear, in fact I never thought I'd say this in the past, I am so lucky to be able to fish as much as I do, though with that said, it's work. It takes a different breed to devote this much time into chasing around little green fish. Getting up at 4 am every morning no matter if it's 80 and sunny or 35 and sleeting, it takes extreme love for the sport. I grew this obsession for bass fishing when I was just a kid and owe some pretty key individuals for introducing me to what I'd grow to covet more than almost anything else life has to offer.

Anyone whom knows me can easily attest that I love to compete but with any competition comes stress, anxiety and both a physical and a mental toll. I've come to really cherish any opportunity I can get to get away from the rigors of tournament fishing and be able to go out and just go fishing with friends and family, there's really nothing better.

This trip I got to get out with my 6th grade buddy Parker who is already a little outdoor veteran. An active waterfowl hunter, fisherman and a great shot with a bow and arrow, carp beware!

I picked him up at his dock at 6 am sharp and first things first we had a much needed baitcasting lesson. I've never seen anyone pick it up so fast! Before I knew it he was throwing a topwater frog across the pads like he'd been doing it for years and could even pick out his own backlashes.


Fishing was slow for us but we still managed to boat a couple and Parker landed the very first bass that pasted his frog. I felt the boat rock when he set the hook not to mention he caught the biggest bass of the day. Who's the pro now?

I'm lucky to have a buddy like Parker to go fishing with, though I might want to be careful, I think he's going to be beating all of us in no time! Keep up the good work Parker!

Silverado Pro Tour

Le Homme Dieu Chain, Alexandria, MN

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to get to Alexandria and kick off the first stop of the Silverado Tour. I felt I had a lot to prove to myself after last year. I've been very fortunate to have had a lot of early success in my fishing career though all winter I've had a horrible taste in my mouth with how I faired last year when it came to the Silverado Tour. I started out strong with a 14th place finish on Green lake, just to do poorly in the last 3 events. I can't point to any one reason, in fact it was multiple reasons that resulted in poor performances, ineffective practices, boat issues, bad boat draws and dropped fish all took their toll on my fishing.

A good finish on Le Homme Dieu to start the season could really set the tone for the remainder of the year. I was excited to see that they set Le Homme Dieu to be the first stop, two years ago I fished here at this exact same time of year in a Bassmaster Weekend Series Tournament and took a solid 6th place finish. I really felt that I had some good water and could expand and hopefully come in with an even better finish.

Bri and I where able to get out to Alexandria early Wednesday morning and with three full days of practice I split up the lake and decided to fish different areas each day. Throughout the three days I had no problem finding fish though size was a definite issue. I was catching them both shallow and deep but for every 2 1/2 to 3 pound fish i was catching 30 rats. I knew this was typical for Le Homme Dieu but still it's an uneasy feeling.

At the end of practice I did feel confident that if I kept with my water that I would be able to sort through the fish and end up with a good limit in the end. As usual with the Silverado I drew a late boat draw and knew my first spot would not be an option, so instead I decided to stay close to the ramp and fish some water that me and my Am Cody had seen some good fish on. We where able to box a limit within the first hour but you'd have to look really hard in the livewell to see them.

We were catching them both shallow and deep but just weren't getting any quality fish. We did manage to cull all day but for ounces at a time and in this event to cash a check you need to be culling pounds not ounces.

In the end I finished with a low weight of 6 fish for only 9.91 lbs. and finished in a very disappointing 32nd place. Looking back I wish I would have played it safe and fished more weedlines where there was more schools of fish, instead I rolled the dice, fished more shallow water than I should have looking for solo "good" fish that historically wins on this lake, which is also the way I finished so well 2 years back in the Bassmaster event. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

Now unfortunately I have to play catch up the rest of the season to get myself in the Tournament of Champions, lucky for me, I'm up to the challenge. Hard work and a one tournament at a time mentality and I'll be there. Wish me luck!!

P.S. Bri my love, I had an awesome time camping with you. Looking forward to Minnewaska, especially since the caterpillars will have turned to butterfly's and it can't possibly rain that much again, right?!

Minnetonka Bass Classic

Lake Minnetonka, Mound, MN

This was my first time fishing the Minnetonka Classic and was really eager to finally be able to get out and test myself against the lake this time of year. After having a pretty good finish a few days prior at the Denny's Super 30 I had a lot to work from during practice.

Overall I found the bite descent although finding big ones was more than a challenge. My team tournament partner Ryan Brant was also finding the same so we instead focused on finding good numbers of average size fish.

We found that the fish where scattered all over the lake from depths of 1 foot all the way out to 20. They where for the most part in a hard post spawn funk and I think most the quality females where still rehabilitating themselves after the spawn.

Tournament day went well overall, we were able to fill a limit rather quickly and was culling before no time, the size wasn't fantastic but we kept focused and slowly where able to box up some 3 pounders.

In the end we ended with 8 fish for 21.80 lbs. good enough for a solid 14th place out of 125 boats and cashed us a nice paycheck just in time for the upcoming first stop of the Silverado Pro Bass Tour on the Le Homme Dieu Chain.

Denny's Super 30

Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN

Man have I been busy! Sorry about the length in my last post but I've been fishing from sun up to sun down almost everyday! I have two big tournaments back to back on Lake Minnetonka, the first event of the Denny's Super 30 and the Minnetonka Classic. Usually I would feel comfortable with only a day or two of solid practice on Minnetonka as I know the lake better than any other, though historically I don't fish out here in the Spring. I'm not really sure why, this is my fourth year of competitive fishing and prior to this year I've only been on the lake once before late June.

I really excel on Tonka in the summer and fall but my three man team of myself, Ryan and Corey Brant decided two switch things up this year. Usually Ryan and Corey fish the first one since a couple years back they sacked them up nice and cashed a paycheck right away in the season, though last year they struggled a bit and we all had to work like crazy throughout the rest of the year to make the Shoot Out.

This year it was Ryan and I that got the nod to start things out and I can easily admit it was a very humbling practice. We manage to catch a couple decent fish but when we'd return the next day they'd all be long gone. The fish were scattered and I was catching them out of anywhere from 1 foot to 16, patterning them was tough and honestly if it wasn't for a spot that Corey found while practicing it may have taken us even longer to start to pattern good fish.

As you know, I'm always real hesitant to get into details on how we caught them on Minnetonka as I have a half dozen other big events there this season and I have two other team partners to always be thinking about. To be vague, we moved a lot of water and unfortunately fished the good with the bad. Ryan and I filled a limit rather quickly but nothing that made us feel confident and we continued to slowly cull fish after fish. Of course it wouldn't be a Tonka tournament without us dropping one or two toads that would have really excelled us up the leader board, but I'm sure it happens to everyone. Minnetonka is known as a power fisherman's lake, one big reason Ryan and I seem to finish strong there, though finesse was our dominate pattern. Corey is definitely rock solid in the finesse department and if not for some of his advice we may never had done what we did.

In the end we weighed in at 20.3 lbs. just good enough for a solid 14th place. We landed just outside the money but in the end we got what we were after, we're high in the points after the first tourney and have a lot of confidence going forward! In fact, I can't wait for Tonka to change over in the next couple weeks! I love it!!

Up next is the Minnetonka Classic, another event that I've never fished before and after that it's off to Le Homme Dieu for the first stop of the Silverado Pro Tour! See you on the water!