The final Renegade Bassers tournament for 2011 was on Coon Lake in September. I went out and prefished the day before for a couple of hours and only managed to find one nice bass up shallow. As I was heading in I saw Guy and his son heading out to do a little prefishing, too. I was glad to see that since I was fishing with Guy during the tournament. Guy was able to find only one area on that had some fish so we started there in the morning. I started off throwing a texas-rigged tube and about an hour in I hooked into a nice 3lber. We fished the area for awhile longer, but couldn't manage to find anymore. Since I had found a really nice 4+lber the day before in shallow, we decided to try some shallow areas. We spent the next few hours throwing senko's and jigs but couldn't find any keepers. We passed John as we were changing spots and he mentioned that he had some luck throwing a crankbait so we tried that for a while to no avail. We went back to the area where I caught my fish, but couldn't scrounge up any more there either. We starting working shallow again and Guy was able to catch a 3lber on a swim jig just before the end of the tournament. It was a really tough day for us and we each only had 1 keeper all day. We weren't the only ones that struggled though. There were four guys that only turned in one fish. Guy finished with a 3.24lber for 13th place,mine was 3.27lbs for 12th place, and Mark just beat me with a 3.28 for 11th. Chris won the tournament with a 5 fish limit weighing 16.13lbs. Nice work Chris.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
RB Pokegama - August 2011
The Renegade Bassers fourth and fifth tournaments were on Lake Pokegama up by Grand Rapids. They were a back to back Saturday/Sunday tournament. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get up to do any pre-fishing. I fished with Daryl on Saturday and Nick on Sunday and thankfully they both went up Friday morning to see what they could find. Daryl had a pretty good plan for us for Saturday morning that included deep and shallow areas so we could target largemouths and smallmouths. We started out a little deeper and I began throwing a spinnerbait to cover some water quick. That wasn't working so I decided to slow things down and began throwing a texas-rigged tube. We tried a deeper weedline for an hour or so and after no action, we decided to move. We moved in shallow and Daryl started boating some nice keepers. I managed to put one in off of a spinnerbait and we finished that area and moved to a shallow flat. We were both throwing spinnerbaits and tubes, and Daryl managed to catch a smallie and we then moved on to work a point and a couple of islands. Fish were pretty sporadic so we decided to go back and hit the first shallow area again. Daryl managed to fill out his limit and make some good culls. I was throwing a weightless stick worm and managed to catch a few more. We went back through that same area and I took control of the boat while Daryl was retying and I managed to fill out my limit. We decided to go out and try the deep weedline, point, and islands again, and we caught a few more, but they weren't a lot of help. We worked those areas pretty good. We decided that since we had done so well shallow, we should try some untested shallow areas. We managed to hook a few more and make a couple of upgrades. All in all it was a pretty good day. Daryl managed to take first place with a 17.32 lb bag and the big fish for the day at 5.14 lbs. I finished in 14th place with a 6.63 lb bag. Good job Daryl.
On Sunday, Nick and I started off in a bay that he had found some fish in on Saturday. We worked that area for an hour or so and while Nick managed to find one bass in there, all I could find were pike. From there we headed down to another bay and tried some topwaters. We put a few more in while working spooks and pop-r's. We moved on and I managed to pull a nice 2.5 lber out from next to a dock on a stick worm. We worked some pads but didn't manage to find any in there. We moved to a point and Nick was working his jig and I was throwing a spinnerbait or texas-rigged beaver, but we didn't find anything there but a few pike. We moved to another area and started throwing topwaters and spinnerbaits and Nick managed to catch a few more and fill out his limit. We scratched our heads for a few minutes, because we hadn't put together much of a pattern yet. We moved down to a shallow area throwing jigs, flukes, and stick worms and managed to catch a couple more. Then suddenly, Nick managed to find a school of 1-2 lbers. We worked this school for a while and Nick let me finish out my limit. After my fifth fish, we decided to move on and try from some bigger ones. A small rainshower passed through and we donned our rain gear. We decided to run and gun a little bit and managed to find a few more that helped. A couple of hours before weigh-in the sun came back out and we kept trying new areas. Nick finished in 7th place with a bag weighing 12.08 lbs. I finished in 12th with 8.72 lbs. Daryl came in with a 15.98 lb bag for another first place finish. Great job Daryl.
I must say thanks to Daryl and Nick, because without their help, I wouldn't have been able to fill out my limit both days. I really had a great time on Pokegama and can't wait to go back again. This is definitely one of my favorite lakes in MN. If you haven't fished it, definitely give it a shot.
On Sunday, Nick and I started off in a bay that he had found some fish in on Saturday. We worked that area for an hour or so and while Nick managed to find one bass in there, all I could find were pike. From there we headed down to another bay and tried some topwaters. We put a few more in while working spooks and pop-r's. We moved on and I managed to pull a nice 2.5 lber out from next to a dock on a stick worm. We worked some pads but didn't manage to find any in there. We moved to a point and Nick was working his jig and I was throwing a spinnerbait or texas-rigged beaver, but we didn't find anything there but a few pike. We moved to another area and started throwing topwaters and spinnerbaits and Nick managed to catch a few more and fill out his limit. We scratched our heads for a few minutes, because we hadn't put together much of a pattern yet. We moved down to a shallow area throwing jigs, flukes, and stick worms and managed to catch a couple more. Then suddenly, Nick managed to find a school of 1-2 lbers. We worked this school for a while and Nick let me finish out my limit. After my fifth fish, we decided to move on and try from some bigger ones. A small rainshower passed through and we donned our rain gear. We decided to run and gun a little bit and managed to find a few more that helped. A couple of hours before weigh-in the sun came back out and we kept trying new areas. Nick finished in 7th place with a bag weighing 12.08 lbs. I finished in 12th with 8.72 lbs. Daryl came in with a 15.98 lb bag for another first place finish. Great job Daryl.
I must say thanks to Daryl and Nick, because without their help, I wouldn't have been able to fill out my limit both days. I really had a great time on Pokegama and can't wait to go back again. This is definitely one of my favorite lakes in MN. If you haven't fished it, definitely give it a shot.
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