The second and third tournaments of the Renegade Bassers season were back to back out of towners on the Whitefish Chain in northern Minnesota. Most of the guys headed up Friday morning to do a little prefishing. Unfortunately I had work to get done so I could only take a half day off and headed up after noon with my friend Nick. We headed straight to Whitefish and got his boat in around 3pm. We started working some pads right by where we put in and didn't have much success. Just as we were getting ready to move, Nick managed to hook a couple keepers. We pulled out of there and idled over to a deep weedline. Nick was throwing a jig and I was using a texas-rigged beaver and we managed to scrounge up a couple more, but nothing of any size. We jumped around a couple more spots, but never found anything impressive. We decided to make a long run and about halfway across the lake the lower unit went out. Never a good thing, especially when you're running 45mph across the lake. Dead in the water we dropped the trolling motor and started the long ride back. Luckily we were able to get a hold of one of the other guys in the club and he managed to pull us back in. Thanks Chris. Saturday was our first tournament and I was fishing with Jason. As this was my first time on Whitefish, I had to rely on Jason and his spots for most of the day. We started off and the wind was blowing 25mph - not a good time to be on the main lake. Unfortunately, that was our best spot to start that day. We both were throwing jigs on a deep point but didn't have any luck. We probably should have known better since we could hardly control the boat. After fighting the wind for an hour, we decided to find something a bit more protected. We started working a shoreline throwing spinnerbaits and buzzbaits and I managed a couple of small keepers there. Jason also got a couple there. After working that area for quite a bit we moved over to a deep weedline and Jason managed a couple more there. We were really struggling so we decided to move and hit some pads and thick mats. We punched and frogged the rest of the day and Jason managed to put together a limit for 6.25lbs to finish 12th. I was having a hell of a time hooking up with fish in the pads and lost a few. I finished the day with 2 fish for 3.3lbs. Congrats to Chris who won that day with 5 fish totalling 11.69 pounds.
The second day (Sunday) we started at the Cross Lake side of the chain and I was fishing with Ozzy. I was excited because Ozzy put a limit over 11lbs the day before for third place. After a long run to start the day we began by throwing some topwaters. Ozzy was able to put 3 in the well fairly quickly. We made a small run. I was throwing spinnerbaits and chatterbaits catching pike, but couldn't find any bass. Ozzy was able to find another one, but that was about it. We made a long run to a spot Ozzy knew well, and he managaed to fill out his limit. I struggled all day and had caught only one little 6" bass by this point. I started getting pretty frustrated and started to lose the battle mentally. Unfortunately, I left my confidence baits and started throwing everything but the kitchen sink trying to find something that would work for me. We moved a couple more times and I finally managed to hook a keeper, but lost it right at the boat. Unfortunately, that was the only keeper I hooked into all day. Ozzy managed to cull his way up to a limit of 8.72lbs which got him 6th place. I unfortunately ended with a big fat zero for 14th place. Congrats to Chris who won again on day 2 with a total of 12.91lbs. While this day was definitely my most disappointing of the year, it wasn't a complete loss as I did learn something. You've got to stay cool and keep your wits about yourself. If I would have stuck with my confidence baits and maybe asked some questions the results may have been different. I've also learned more techniques this past year. So, I'd definitely like to go back to Whitefish with my new knowledge and try it again.
The second day (Sunday) we started at the Cross Lake side of the chain and I was fishing with Ozzy. I was excited because Ozzy put a limit over 11lbs the day before for third place. After a long run to start the day we began by throwing some topwaters. Ozzy was able to put 3 in the well fairly quickly. We made a small run. I was throwing spinnerbaits and chatterbaits catching pike, but couldn't find any bass. Ozzy was able to find another one, but that was about it. We made a long run to a spot Ozzy knew well, and he managaed to fill out his limit. I struggled all day and had caught only one little 6" bass by this point. I started getting pretty frustrated and started to lose the battle mentally. Unfortunately, I left my confidence baits and started throwing everything but the kitchen sink trying to find something that would work for me. We moved a couple more times and I finally managed to hook a keeper, but lost it right at the boat. Unfortunately, that was the only keeper I hooked into all day. Ozzy managed to cull his way up to a limit of 8.72lbs which got him 6th place. I unfortunately ended with a big fat zero for 14th place. Congrats to Chris who won again on day 2 with a total of 12.91lbs. While this day was definitely my most disappointing of the year, it wasn't a complete loss as I did learn something. You've got to stay cool and keep your wits about yourself. If I would have stuck with my confidence baits and maybe asked some questions the results may have been different. I've also learned more techniques this past year. So, I'd definitely like to go back to Whitefish with my new knowledge and try it again.
