Got Bass?

Tim, Rachel, and myself ventured out for an evening of bass and walleye chasing.  The largemouth action was decent but the walleye action was a bit slow.  As the water continues to warm two things are going to happen.  First the bass are going to move into the shallows and spawn very soon.  Second, the walleyes are going to get more concentrated on there favorite post-spawn summer reefs.  We are catching the walleyes on jig's tipped with either a minnow or a leech. 

 

The theme to this spring has been a late ice out and a cool spring.  This results in numerous things.  One of the most notable is the lack of weeds.  The weed growth is behind just like the water temps and the fish.  If you can find good green weeds you will find bass close by.  Many of there usual haunts have no weeds yet.; therefore hold no fish.  I am at Mille Lacs while I write this report, I will have more to come soon.       

Bass Opener!!

I don't even know where to start with the stories and pictures from this past weekend.  It was a weekend that I will never forget.  It included three different lakes and numerous different fishing partners.  Due to the late ice out the bass are a week or two behind on their spawn.  That means that these fish are pre-spawn and when you find them they are aggressive and hungry.  We may not get this good of an opener again for 10 years.  I could not have asked for better conditions.

Long time friend and fishing partner Tony came up from Chicago for the weekend to take part in the MN bass opener.  Tony is originally from Minnetonka so he was excited to be home.  His son Sam (pictured above)  was able to catch a few nice bass!

Tony and I started Saturday morning on Lake Minnetonka.  We spent the first few hours searching fish out in the shallows and caught some 2 pound males.  We figured out quickly that the females had not moved up to spawn yet.  After we moved out a bit and started throwing crank-baits we were able to pick up a few nice females.  The wind made it very hard to fish and hold on many of the areas we were trying to fish, so we decided to load up and head to Whaletail lake in St. Boni and try our luck there.  Once again we found lots of males up shallow and a few bigger fish out on the edge.  Aside from the 25 plus mph winds it was a great day!

 

Sunday morning Gunner and I started back on Minnetonka.  The conditions had changed drastically over night.  It was over-cast and the wind was blowing 10-15 mph out of the south.  It was shaping up to be a crank-bait fisherman's dream day.  We bounced around in search of some of the deeper weeds but realized that much of the weed growth is also behind due to the late ice out.  When we found good green weeds we found nice females wanting to inhale a mag-wart.  By 2 o'clock we were ready for a change.  We loaded up and headed to Waconia to fish the afternoon and hopefully get closer to home in case the severe storms were headed our way.  This was a god sent decision.  From 3-6 p.m. I boated over 30 bass, many of which pushed 3 plus pounds.  I caught 4 bass over 4 1/2 pounds(pictured) and enough 2-3 pounders to give a guy black and blue ribs from hook sets.  Gunner did not fair as well out of the back of the boat, but he still managed to catch 15 plus fish and numerous fish over 3.  He did not get to catch any giants, but there is always next time.  The bait of choice was an All-Terrain Tackle swim jig tipped with a Net Bait Paca Chunk.  The conditions were ideal for this pattern.  Severe storms skirting the metro, a slight breeze and partially over cast.  It had them going crazy.  They would bite it on the fall, while reeling it, or while pausing it when retrieving.  It did not seem to matter.  They were just eating it!  

After such a crazy bass bite we decided to try our luck with the walleyes before the sun went down.  Jay met us about 8 and we headed for my favorite walleye hole.  About 8:40 we boated our first walleye and about 15 minutes later we boated another and that would turn out to be the end of the action.  The fish did not cooperate as I would have liked but it still made for a great evening on the water.  We have been catching the walleyes out a bit deeper now that the water is starting to warm and having our best luck on a jig and a minnow.  That's all for now, but I will be back with more stories and pictures later this week.    

At Last!

After two failed attempts to get Betsy her first open water walleyes of 08', the third time was the charm.  This past Sunday she was able to boat a nice Waconia walleye!  We caught four fish, all of which came on leeches and minnows in less than 8 feet of water.  

I can not say enough about how the weather has been affecting the fish and fishing.  The everyday fronts we are getting are really messing with the fish.  If the weather ever stabilizes the fish just better take cover!  

Well as you all know my true passion lies in bass fishing.  This weekend marks the start of another bass season.  I look forward to getting it started.  The anticipation is driving me crazy.  The late ice out and cool spring will have fish in all stages of the spawn.  Make sure and get yourself a pair of Costa Del Mar polarized sunglasses and get out there looking and searching the shallows for those giants that lurk.   

For those of you that don't know, I am back to fishing full-time.  I am going to be guiding, tournament fishing, and working on a new business venture to start this winter.   

Crack'n Willy's

Jay and I were able to hit the water last night for a beautful evening of walleye fishing.  As you see we had some great luck.  We caught all of our fish in shallow water, less then 7 feet.   We caught all of them on live bait (leeches, minnows).