2012 Elite Series Techniques

If you live in the northern portion of the country, odds are that you are looking out the window longingly awaiting warmer temperatures and open water.  This time of year, my priorities tend to shift to things non-fishy so I don't visit as many fishing sites, even though now is probably the best time to do so. 

Anyway, being on winter break, I have some time before heading off to work and was looking at Bassmasters website and happened across a video link entitled 2012 Elite Series Techniques.

I enjoyed it, it's about 45 minutes long and covers a range of topics.  Cranks (5:40), Frogs (11:45), Swimbaits (19:15), Football Jigs (29:00), Drop Shotting (35:30), and Sight Fishing (40:20).

With these frigid winter days we need something to tide us over until the ice thickens up enough to drill some holes.  That is, unless, you're lucky enough to have some wintertime open water fishing holes up your sleeve!

Project Boat.

I now have a project that will, undoubtedly, last me for the next couple seasons. 

Here's the run down:

She's a 1986 Hydrasport (model unknown) with a 1991 175hp Merc on the back.  I have had experience with this boat in the past so I am fairly comfortable with it now.

Lots of work is in store for her.  New carpet, new seats (which I have), hatches need replacing (will be adding springs of some sort), gelcoat is in dire need of repair, one of the dry storage compartments are cracked, I plan on adding a tackle storage unit in the open section up front.  I'm thinking about a new trolling motor but haven't decided yet - the old one is pretty mangled.  That's not even getting into the trailer...

I am thinking I want the electrical redone, so if anyone knows a local MN guy that can do it - drop me a line.

Here are some before pictures:

Boy, is this going to be fun!

Singled Out

I know I've been slacking and I'm a little late to the party on this one, but MNAngler has issued another challenge in the Avid Angler Challenge series and I've taken up the call.  This one is taking the five lure challenge and whittling it down to only one.

This was a fairly simple decision for me, and for anyone who's followed this blog for any amount of time, you have probably already guessed that I would choose the swim jig, since size, color, and brand are unrestricted I am assuming that I get carte-blanche across the entire swim jig selection.  My trailer would be a four inch grub, probably single tail.

Why:

Well, as I said in the last challenge, I usually fish water that is clear in the spring and turns to a pea soup consistency as the summer progresses.  Natural bluegill and crappie colors usually work well for me throughout the year.  I can drag it, skip it (with a spinning reel, err..  Kinda.), pitch it, and pull it through veggies.

But the real bottom line on this choice is that it fits my style the most closely - right now.  It may be a whole different ball game next year, so, I'm thinking that we'll have to revisit these two lists in a years time and see what's changed and why.

Docked.

It seems that every season starts with a promise-to-self that I will get more time on the water, then, on the winds of change, just like that - Life happens.  To say the least, it has a been a busy, busy summer.   Next summer promises to be just as busy, if not more so.  Although, Momma and I decided to camp again next summer, up on Pokegama just outside Pine City.  I hear that the panfish are plentiful and I certainly look forward to seeing what kind of bass population the river has to offer, DNR's lakefinder has me nervous about that though.  Never the less, who doesn't like learning new water?

That, however, isn't the reason for this post.

I managed to get one last trip out before pulling the boat out.  Really, it was the last good weekend we've had since then too, very little wind - which was good because I didn't have the chance to make the trip out the night before to put the charger on the deep cycle battery, and warm.  Heeding past advice about going directly to the spot you want to fish, I started out at what has become a mainstay in my bass fishing outings.  The difference this time is my favorite area had been overtaken by split pea soup!  The algae was as thick as I've ever seen it on Bald Eagle, stranded by the fact that there was no wind to push it out of my spot.  I did fish it for a short time with a swim jig and decided to pack it in on that spot early - I just wasn't into it.

On to my back up plan.  Docks.  It's milk run time.

By this time the sun was up and over the trees, warming the shorelines.  I had fielded a couple of phone calls that morning and decided I'd best put my head phones in so I didn't have to stop fishing to take a call.  I also decided that, contrary to my own tradition, to put on some tunes, and I do believe it helped set the mood.  I started working my way down the shoreline, past the community shore fishing hole, and on to my target.  By this time I switched to a spinnerbait, not a beetle spin, a God's honest truth spinnerbait!

Anyway, I wasn't yet up to the first dock when I had my first hit.  A little shortie.  Landed and let go.  Recast and hooked again.  Same deal, just a little guy.  One more on the same approach.  It seemed like the little guys were out roaming away from the docks.

The sun continued it's climb and not being able to find an upgrade, I changed my approach up a little bit.  I remembered a video put out by Wired2Fish (embed is below) that showed how to pivot a bait underneath a dock to get a little more distance.  I figured that this was a pretty good time and place to practice that at least.

Enter 1/2oz swim jig.  This is double the weight I'm used to throwing, but after playing with the Northstar Custom Flip N Swim jig, I'm growing accustomed to the added weight - and I have to say that they pitch a heck of a lot better than their smaller 1/4oz brethren.  However, my pitching technique was rusty and I feel that I pulled some of my punches and that hurt the distance I got underneath the dock.  On the other hand, I was getting bit anyway - and with a slightly better quality.

Given this change, I was able to set up a pattern of sun exposed, wood decking, on the shady side of the dock.  Sounds pretty typical of a fall pattern to me.  And they were choking it, the strikes I was getting weren't that silly slap at it and get it in the corner of the mouth kind of strike.  It was the "get in my belly!" kind of strike!  By the end of the day (which really means when my battery was nearly dead) I had landed over 15 fish (lost count).

Now, I know that it is premature to start talking about winterizing the boat, but I think I'll end this season on a good note.  Besides, I have a hankering for strapping on a set of waders and chasing some Rum River smallies before things freeze up.

Evolve RX - Vibra Grub

I first heard of these lures a few months back when Rich Lindgren had a giveaway for them on his blog and Facebook page.  I had entered and joked that if I won I would review them here, well, needless to say I wasn't able to hold out for the winner to be drawn and ended up buying a couple packs before the contest was over. 

The only experience I have with these are the trip that I took to Canada and another outing with a good buddy to a small lake by Marine on St. Croix.  Not enough to give a full on objective review, but enough to provide a first impression kind of feel.

When I first saw it, my mind immediately went to using it as a swim jig trailer.  However the baits that I picked up are only 3" long (same size as the grubs I use now), so when I tried it the action of the trailer was inhibited by the jig skirt.  I could have "nose hooked" it and probably would have gotten the action I wanted but I was worried about throwing the bait on a cast or having it get bit off on a short strike.  They do make them in 4" so those may provide better action as a jig trailer, in addition to adding a little more bulk.

On the other hand, while in Canada and not having fished swim jigs much on that trip, I put it on a Beetlespin jig and the bait really shined.  The action of the bait is hard to describe except to say that it looks like a couple of fins going crazy as it comes through the water.  Here is a video that demonstrates the action:




The only criticism I have is the packaging.  They come in a tray, which is bulky and is a pain to stow when you are trying to pack light so I ended up storing them in my box of frequently used baits too keep the bulk to a minimum.

Pricing isn't awesome, $5.79 for a pack of 8 baits.  I've paid more for trailers, but not much.  The question is whether or not you get the value for your dollar and while I was in Canada catching toothy critters, the answer to that question was a resounding yes.  The bait handled well after several walleye catches until the flavor of the moment changed and I had to fish another bait.

In conclusion, I have a good feeling about this bait and can't wait to try it out using a couple other techniques if I can get out this coming Labor Day weekend. 

I noticed a few days ago that a better promo video of the Vibragrub has been added:

The Bare Essentials

Ok, here's the deal.  MNAngler has taken the opportunity to post a series of various challenges in order to help us all learn more.  This is pretty much why I started this blog to begin with, not only as a place to analyze my own time on the water and improve my outings, but also in the hope that others may learn something from my misadventures in bassin', birdnests, snags, and successes. 

So, I've decided to participate in MNAngler's first challenge:  Lure Limitation.

Context: I've made it no secret, currently I spend my time on Bald Eagle.  It is super clear in the spring and nearly week old pea soup as of this posting.  I don't think it'll clear up again until fall turnover.  Prior to this, I considered the Sauk River Chain my home water as I spent nearly every weekend there that I could spare.  It is a chain made up of flooded rolling farm land - the result of the dam in Cold Spring.  The "backwater" areas can be crystal clear in the spring (becoming a sloppy mess of pads and curly leaf pond weed in the summer), but in my experience, the main channel has been consistently pretty dirty. 

Challenge:  If I were to only limit myself to five lures for the rest of my life, they would be as follows (in no particular order):

• All Terrain Tackle Swim Jig.  Color:  Bluegill  Size: 1/4oz.  
• Being that bluegill is widely spread, this should go without out explanation.  I've done well with this bait nearly every where I've fished.  It fools fish in clear water and I think it's dark enough to provide a good silhouette in the dirty looking stuff.
• Johnson's Beetlespin.  Color:  White w/red dot.  Size:  1/4oz.
•  This is as versatile a bait as you can find.  This compact spinnerbait will yield everything that swims.  Particularily in the spring and fall, gills, crappie, bass, pike, and even walleye will grab them.  Get yourself into a weedbed, fish it right over the top and you never know what you'll end up with at the other end of the line. 
• Megastrike Shake2 Jig.  Color:  Pumpkinseed.  Size:  1/4oz.
• Sometimes Roland Martin can hit on something a little more useful than the helicopter lure, which induced more twist than Chubby Checker.  I use this jig with a craw imitation and primarily while wading the river for smallies.  However, I haven't used it enough while on a lake to get any opinion one way or the other because when I'm fishing this, there's usually a couple feet of ice in the way.  Although I posted the remedy for this inconvenient problem here.
• Reaction Innovations Smallie Sweet Beaver.  Color:  Pumpkin Seed.  Size:  3.5"
• I use this as a trailer for the Shake2 jig.  I've also used watermelon, but pumpkinseed seems to be the ticket for me.
•  Lake Fork Ring Fry.  Color:  Watermelon/Chart/Pepper.  Size:  4"
• I reviewed this lure a couple years ago, and I still stand by what I said.  It is versatile and produces when faster presentations will not.  It also reeks of garlic and the bass seem to like that as much as I do.  Yes, odd.  I know.  But I like pasta and what goes better with that than garlic bread?

 None of these lures will break the bank, unless you get into a pile of pike, of course.  The only one I've had a hard time finding is the Megastrike jig, it seems the only retailer that stocks them in MN is Cabela's, but the rest you can find in most tackle shops and can be less costly alternatives to bigger brand names.

I've also noticed that these are all fairly small in size, and yes, I do think that affects the size of my catch.  But if I'm stuck with these for life, I want to know that I'll catch something!  After all, it's all about confidence in this list.

Now, as a bonus and because I could not resist, until next time.  Enjoy!

Flying Solo.

I finally made it out for my first solo trip of the year on Friday.  With the cold front that came through I was wondering if it would be worth ignoring things that needed to be done at home in order to make the trip to Hugo.  When I got to the lake, there were slight wisps of fog coming off the water yet.  The only thing surprising about that is that there wasn't more fog, given the morning low of 48°.  What did surprise me was how far the water temp had dropped.  From 82-85° a few weeks ago to 70°. 

Well, needless to say, it was tough.  I worked a swim jig most of the time looking for fish and had a few bites.  Mostly small 8-10" fish with my best measuring out at 16".  I found a small school that I worked with weightless Ring Frys but again, no quality bites.  I also spent some time experimenting with the North Star Custom Baits Flip n Swim jig, which was an interesting experience.  I'll detail that in another post once I've had more time to play with them.

Evidence of a fun morning, or rather, time well spent:

Kabeelo Lodge - Perrigo Lake

As I said last week, my Uncle, Dad, and I spent last weekend in Canada fishing a fly-in lake called Perrigo in search of toothy critters.  We went out through a lodge called Kabeelo - my Uncle has known the owner, Harold, for quite a long time so it was an obvious choice.  It was nearly a twelve hour drive to get there, but that included a quick return trip because one of us forgot his passport (not me!) and a stop for breakfast in International Falls at a place called Shore Lunch Cafe (highly recommended if you're up that way). 

Opting for the extra night, we got there Thursday afternoon and since there wasn't anyone at the cabin already, Erik, Harold's son and pilot, flew us out to the lake when we arrived.  This was a fun experience as it was my first plane ride, ever.  I was able to sit up front and I got a great view of everything and took a video of the take off and landing, which still needs editing before being posted

Once we arrived at our cabin, we found a great site.  It sits on a hillside nestled in thick pine trees with a permanent dock  made of pine.  The cabin was in great shape, of course, being built in 2011 as a replacement for the old cabin.  Everything is solar powered or propane - meaning no charging my phone, which does double duty as my camera.  That meant it was only on when I needed it, and that was in the boat which is why we were there in the first place.

The lake is secluded, and when I say that, I mean that Kabeelo's cabin is the only one on the lake and there is no boat launch, so we had the run of the place.  However, Perrigo Lake is giant, at least it is when you're cruising around in a 14' boat with a 9hp tiller on the back...  Before leaving, Harold had clued us in to some spots on the lake that had been active for walleye and some for northern pike.  Luckily, we didn't have to go far to find the fish as I caught the first fish of the trip off the dock on an Original Floating Rapala in perch color.

Since we had a little time before sundown the first night we went out to the closest spot and drifted through a channel between an island and the mainland.  There was a pretty large weedbed and my two co-anglers were pulling spinner rigs with minnows as we drifted through.  I wanted to throw something different in case the bite wasn't happening for them so I baited up with a gold jawbreaker spoon and started casting ahead of the boat.  It was a good choice because not too long after that it was fish on!  I could tell from the way the fish ran from side to side randomly that it was a pike, and I don't like those things any better in Canada than I do in Minnesota!  We were only out for a couple hours and only managed three more walleye.
 
The morning of day two was a different story.  We hit our original spot and really nailed down a pattern of pike in and throughout the weedbeds and walleye on the weedlines, both inside and outside. This turned out to be a working pattern for the entire weekend, the only difference between spots was color.  I wasn't getting the bite I wanted with the spoon so I switched to a beetle spin with an orange/yellow grub as I felt it was a good perch imitation and it good fishing from then on.  From spot to spot I'd find myself changing colors, one spot they would only bite on white/red beetle spin bodies, on another only on a yellow Mr Twister..  But, as bass anglers, we adapt.

My boat mates did well with the spinner/live bait rigs, but at the end of the weekend, particularly our last day there, by casting ahead of the boat I was able to target the weedlines better and multiple times as opposed to a spinner rig which only gets one real shot at the spot.  I wasn't really expecting to use my knowledge of bass fishing while chasing walleye, but at the end of the trip I used pretty much the same approach as I would have while chasing bass. 

To sum it up, it was a great trip to an awesome lake from a great lodge.  Harold, Ann, and the Kabeelo staff are friendly and the effort they put into the cabins really shows - just bring a towel for the shower!  We are already planning to head back, the only question is when. 

Northbound - The Invasion Begins

Well.  Very early (ludicrously, perhaps) Thursday morning, when most sane people will still be asleep, my Dad, Uncle, and I will be headed north.  Way north.  No, even farther north than that.

We're headed up to a place that is some 35 miles (k/m??) northeast of Ear Falls, Canada.  We'll be flying out of a lodge based on Confederation Lake to another lake called Perrigo Lake.  The goal is to chase toothy critters (yes toothy critters, because they don't grow bass that far north) around a lake with near zero pressure - pretty nice considering the traffic I'm used to on Bald Eagle Lake here in the cities. 

Am I excited?  Yup.  Drawback:  The only way to get to this lake is by seaplane.  After seeing dozens on Bald Eagle, it's still not my first choice for my first flight, but hey, it'll work.

Reports coming next week - sometime. 

Of Bluegills and Basses. 063012 Report.

I took a couple of close friends out fishing this past weekend for a morning of chasing bluegills, well, they were chasing gills and I was chasing bass but often times the two go hand in hand.  They were on live bait rigs which presented a challenge for me because, as my friends noted, I have a mild case of fishing ADHD.  That is, I'm always on the move, trying different things. An outside perspective of my routine was humorously refreshing.

Well, more often than not a hook and worm does not get along with throwing a swim jig with the trolling motor on high so I was forced to slow down.  Way down.  Slow enough that I'm sure I could swim faster while pulling the boat.  Thankfully the wind and water was calm enough too allow for that without the boat being pushed around too much (I do not recommend, for the purposes of bassin', a boat with a windshield).

However, here's the payoff:  Once we got into an area where we were finding the gills, I was catching missing fish.  The thought occurred to me as I wondered, how many good quality fish am I cruising over and never even presenting to because I'm fishing through an area too quickly?  The answer is probably a lot more than I care to admit because I'm usually thinking about getting to my milk run area where I always catch fish.  The lesson for me here is to take some time and get to know some of the other areas, docks are fun, but there's a lot more on a lake than what meets the eye.

As far as missing fish, I did land a few but lost or didn't connect with at least twice as many - some small and some pretty decent fish.  In any case, here is evidence of a morning well spent with friends:

The New Abu Garcia Revo

I had my first experience with one of Abu Garcia's Revo reels shortly after they came out.  My cousin's husband, who works for Pure Fishing, brought a couple of demos out to South Dakota when we were there for their son's wedding.  We spent 20-30 minutes up by the hotel casting chunks of lead, staring at the Missouri River wishing that we were on the water instead of wearing suits and tuxes.  Within a year, I had got my first Revo STX.

In the time since then, it's become my go to reel for just about everything.  It casts as far today as it did the day I took it out of the box and is every bit as smooth.  I can cast little 1/8oz Beetle Spins on up to heavier 1oz cranks.

Now I hear that Abu Garcia is rebooting it's lineup of Revo reels and I'm excited!  Here's a promo vid for those who haven't seen it yet:



I'm looking forward to this fall when I can get my hands on the new STX.  Until then, the old models are on sale for a pretty decent price cut and I'm thinking I'll have to pick one or two up. 

June '11 to Now.

Like I said in my last "I'm still here post", I haven't had many opportunities to wet a line.  There's been a lot of change since the end of June.  I moved from Cambridge back down to the cities at the beginning of July, which is ok.  But it kind of bites because for some reason or another, the building manager at my apartment won't let me store my boat in the parking lot...  (This problem was solved by buying a place in Blaine.  Boat is happy.)  I also started taking classes at Century last fall and that has been an interestingly nostalgic experience. 

Now that I've got a couple of my bad excuses out of the way, and, as if there was any doubt, I could go on all day with excuses, I am a student after all, I did make it out a few times since June.

Instead of typing up five pages of stuff, I've decided that I'm going to do a pictorial highlight type deal. 

Florence.

3.5lbs  Caught under a dock on a All Terrain Tackle swim jig.

The Rum.

Caught in a current seam on a Smallie Sweet Beaver  on a shaky head.

Bald Eagle.

 The Bite Was Not On.

 

After this, I made one trip up north with a friend to chase some smallies like I did last winter but had zero luck. 

I'm hoping to make it out more this year than last, but we'll see how things go.  I've got a future fishergirl on the way and I have a feeling that between baby and school, a lot of my time will be gone.  In any case, I will do my best to post more often.

Bass Opener. A Brief Report.

I made it out on Saturday on Bald Eagle with my Dad and brother-in-law (Tom).  I have to say, the wind made things interesting as my Dad and I decided to fish the docks on the wind blown side for a little while before Tom showed up. 

I had tied on a Northstar Custom Jigs Swimjig (bluegill color - naturally since the bluegills are up spawning right now) on one rod and a 1/4oz Beetle Spin on the other and wound up throwing the Beetle Spin the entire time.  We did ok on the windy side of the lake, I caught a few small bass, a crappie, and two nice pike.  Tom called a half hour or so after Dad and I dropped the trolling motor so we went back to the other end of the lake to pick him up.

We decided to switch gears a little bit and fish a couple of the many reed islands the lake has.  I stuck with my Beetle Spin, Dad with a spinner bait, and Tom was throwing a  T-rigged Ring Fry.  We managed a few small bass and another crappie, but nothing really impressive.  By this time we knew that their was a rain storm coming so we started trolling back to the dock.

Now, you always read and hear about fishing a small cut in a weedline, so I threw into one and felt my bait deflect off of a reed.  BAM.  I knew from the hit that it was better than the other fish we had caught that morning.  The proof, as they say, is in the pudding, so here you go:

3lbs 3oz, not awesome by tourney standards but good enough to bring a smile to my face.  We made one more pass by this patch of reeds and then the light and thunder show started.  We fired up the big motor and high tailed it to the dock. 

Unfortunately, we didn't make it back out that afternoon, but I have the week off and the boat is still in the water so there is time to find more big ones. 

Hopefully you all had a productive bass opener outing as well.

MN Bass Expo

I know that this weekend is the Northwest Sportshow here in Minneapolis, but it seems that there's a new show in town that caters to the basser crowd. 

April 20th-22nd at the National Sports Center in Blaine will be the site of the first annual MN Bass Expo. 

I think it's a pretty cool idea as it will let me focus on my main fishing passion and take my mind off of all that toothy critter tackle! 

It looks like there are quite a few vendors slated to be there, though I notice a few big names that are missing, namely anyone owned by Johnson Outdoors.  It's odd to me that Humminbird wouldn't be there since bass fishing is becoming ever more dependent on electronics for consistent success and it's a good time to display their new technology to a niche crowd.  Oh well, I guess I'll have to stop by their booth tomorrow at the NW Sportshow to see what's new.

The cool thing is that I see a lot of local tackle makers signed up to, so it should be great to meet some of the people behind my favorite baits!

Whole Lotta Workin' Going On...

Good grief it's been a long time since I've done anything with this.  A lot has been going on since the JulyAugust timeframe.  I haven't had a whole lot of time to fish, or do much of anything else for that matter, although I did make it out a time or two.  I have been living (fishing) vicariously through other bloggers and bassers. 

I will make a catch up post soon.