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. 

FWD: An Open Letter To Bass Pro Shops.

Follow the link to a blog called Journal of a Minnesota Angler to an open letter to Bass Pro Shops.

Here in MN, we have Gander Mountain, which for me, is normally a fairly disappointing trip.  We also have Cabela's, which I love going to.  But often times I still can't find what I'm looking for, but the fact that I can get a buffalo burger instead makes up for it.

What we don't have, however, is a Bass Pro Shop.  We need one.  And MNAngler's letter conveys that pretty well.  Find it here.

FWD: Regarding Killswitches and Life vests.

I always wear my killswitch when the big motor is running.  Always.  I can't think of a reason not to.  But, even though I know I'm not alone on this - I'm still some what ashamed to admit, I've always been lackadaisical regarding my life vest, wearing it based on the situation.

After seeing some pictures from a Facebook friends tournament experience this past Sunday, I've found reason to also always wear the life vest.  In the past, I've looked at it as more of a trivial kind of thing, being that I've got myself a little runabout with a 90 horse, but as Rich's latest blog entry can tell you, you never know what is under the water that you may hit.  Water conditions change all the time, not only daily, but sometimes several times during the day.

When I look at the pictures, I can't help but think "that could have been me..."

It's definitely time to make a trip to Cabelas and get one of those fancy-shmancy inflatables and ditch that crappy old ski vest.

It's a compelling read.  So, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out.  Otherwise, be safe.

Local Tackle Manufacturers

I've moved this post into its own page.  Click the tab at the top of this page or you can also find it here:

Local Tackle Manufacturers.