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Lake Minnetonka:
8/19
Spent a little more time on Tonka last week... guided two wonderful ladies who sure had
the hot hand on the bass! It was a corporate guide trip for Crystal Farms and Joyce and
Sandy each caught several fish and ended up winning the woman's division for largest
bass and the most bass caught! Largest fish was a nice 18-incher and they ended up
landing 9 fish when all was said and done I believe.
All of our fish came on wacky-rigged Comidas (Senkos, YUM Dingers, or any other of the
sorts will work too). We worked depths from 2-5 feet of water and pitched around
docks. Missed a few good fish too but had a lot of fun! An easy and very effective way to
fish.
Plan on heading back out to Tonka later this week... will report more soon...
Lake Minnetonka:
8/5
Had a fun day on Minnetonka today taking part in a guided fishing tournament for
Principal Financial. We had 60 boats guiding 135 people. Objective was to bring in your 3
biggest bass for a live weigh-in. What a blast!
I had a few spots nailed down-pat from the last week's endeavors... but it proved to be
a more difficult day than I would have liked...
The tournament hours were from about 1-4pm so not a lot of time... and to make
matters worse I drew boat #40 for takeoff... so I had to roll the dice on taking the
chance of another boat already stealing my koolaid on my go-to spots... and sure
enough, there was a boat already camped out on my "honey hole"... so onto another
spot right off the bat...
We staked claim on a nice milfoil edge in about 8 feet of water and began pitching
Flirts... only to muster a few small fish which we threw back and didn't even weigh
(actually they were tiny fish)... so we moved and sought out better water...
Next we pounded a deep shoreline and managed to put two quick fish in the livewell...
one about 2 pounds and the other a little smaller... then that spot only kicked out tiny
fish once again... onto another spot... at this point it was nearing 2:30pm so already
halfway through the tourney hours...
Next we punished another 4-8 foot spot scattered with weeds and some rock... again
only managed a few small fish and nothing big enough to write home about... so onto
our last spot in hopes of some sort of last minute heroics...
We began working a deep weed edge and fished fast... small fish... a couple missed
hits... and that was it... at this point it was about 3:50pm and we were about to call it a
day... but I wanted to make one last attempt at a big fish... so I scooted to a nearby
dock where I know a big fish likes to hangout from time to time... we pulled up to the
dock and the first cast produced a nice 4-pounder! We were back in the game! A couple
quick pictures and off to the weigh-in we went...
We got to the weigh-in and I knew that a lot of teams struggled so I thought we might
have a good chance at getting one of the big fish awards... however we fell short of the
big fish award and finished somwhere around 20th place out of 60 boats with right under
8 pounds for three fish. 12.82 pounds won it! Seth Fielder stuck some brutes and walked
away with it! Big fish was 4.84 pounds (also came from Seth's bag). I believe there was
only 5 bags over 10 pounds weighed in.
This event was for the clients, so only the client's fish counted... to bad because I stuck
a toad that would have definitely put us in the top 5 for weight (over 10 pounds for
three for sure) and might have taken big fish but that's how it goes... didn't weigh it but
it was bigger than the 4 pounder we weighed in...
Tonka has been a strange beast this year... one second hot, the next second cold... I
guess that's fishing... but regardless, what a great day to be on the water and always a
pleasure meeting new people and talking with other friends/guides!
Lake Minnetonka:
7/30
Spent another day guiding on Tonka yesterday in search of the mighty bucketmouth, aka
largemouth greenback bass :) We hit the lake running at 6am and didn't stop until 2pm...
neither did the rain ;)
Started out with a bang landing about 8 fish on our first spot pitching finesse worms up
along the banks... 2-5 feet of water. Nothing too big but it put some confidence in the
boat that we might have already established a pattern. This proved to be true for all of
30 minutes... until the bite went sour on two spots and we had to look elsewhere...
Next we went out deeper and ran from spot to spot in search of a school... 8-14 feet...
we found a few here and there but couldn't track down a school until we hit a neck
down area between two underwater points... and sure enough, they were there thick!
Not only did we land bass after bass, but we put some walleyes in the boat on that spot
too... all came on finesse worms... this spot lasted about an hour and we never had a dull
moment during that time... then just like that the spot died... onto the next spot...
We moved back through the spot where we caught them in the morning up shallow but
could only muster one fish... a little dink... so onto a set of deep docks with excellent
weed structure around them... found a few here but again, nothing great so another
move was in order...
Next we beat up the outside weedline and found the pods of fish again... 2 fish here, 3
fish there... that was how the day played out the last hour or so... they were out on the
weedline in 10-14 feet of water and all fish came on a finesse worm...
By the time the bell rang I think we touched over 30 fish along with those added bonus
walleyes... next time out I'm bringing some walleye gear and might actually target those
fish... I know there was a good school under us but we weren't equipped for that...
Overall, a great day on the water with excellent company! A good numbers day and it
was actually nice to not fish in the hot sun for once... but then today it shined it's lovely
face right back on us... oh well, can't win all the time... good luck out there!
Lake Minnetonka:
7/23
It sure was a hot one out there today! Spent the day on Minnetonka in search of bass
with a good client/friend. We covered a TON of water! Hit West Arm, Harrison, Seton,
the islands, Phelps, Priests, Spring Park, North Arm, Crystal... the list goes on. Found fish
in several different spots ranging from 2-17 feet of water. It was a wierd day.
We started off hitting a steep, rocky shoreline pitching 3/16oz Fin-Tech Shaky heads with
a Reaction Innovations Flirt... landed a couple fish with one that touched 3 pounds. Not a
bad way to start the day at 6:30am. Water temps were 77 degrees.
Next we moved out onto a deeper spot where we worked the tip of an underwater
point in about 12-15 feet of water... landed a couple more fish with another nice one...
After that we started hitting milfoil bouy after milfoil bouy picking up a fish here and
there. It was the pure definition of run-and-gun fishing. We peppered a spot with 15-20
casts then moved on. Must have hit 7-10 bouys and touched about 8-10 fish before
switching to a new pattern.
At this point it was about 9:30am and the water temps were threatening to hit 80
degrees... so we moved up to a shoreline protected by the sun with some deep docks
and worked our way through and around the docks amongst the thick weeds... and that
was when it happened... wham! I hooked up and saw it jump... an easy 5 pound bass
was airborne hooked on the end of my 20 pound Masterbraid. This was that one fish we
really wanted today and it was a battle! Fought it for a couple minutes until it decided to
take a run under the boat... and it came back out still hooked... only to wrap itself
around some weeds and explode my line like it was a piece of dental floss... needless to
say we both cried ;) Story of my season when it comes to big fish... I can get them
close to the boat but I can't land them.
After that fiasco we decided to grab lunch to take a break from the heat... after lunch
we changed gears and tied up some drop-shot rigs and began pounding the deep weed
lines again. Found a few fish out there but couldn't come up with a pattern so the
confidence took a hike on this technique... so back to beating up the shaded shorelines...
We grabbed the dock rods and skipped wacky-rigged Comidas/Senkos under some docks
in hopes of another big fish... but no takers... in fact two stretches of docks only
produced one fish and it was smaller than some of the sunfish I caught the other day....
so we grabbed the slug rods and decided to switch things up once again...
Upon grabbing the slug rod it only took about 3 casts to blow up on another nice fish in
the pads... maybe we went about this day all wrong... at this point it's 1pm and we're
only fishing until 2pm so we had our work cut out for us... we contiuned to beat up the
82 degree water with slugs only to find ourselves hooked a couple more small fish before
calling it a day...
Overall it was a great day on the water. We fished several different techniques and had a
nice average size on fish... can't complain when things on Tonka have been so hit or miss
lately... the day was definitely a success!
Looks like a little more heat coming our way... grab the sunblock and good luck out there!
Metro Area:
7/12-7/18
The past few days was all about numbers... we won't talk about size of fish at all ;) We
fished a local lake on Friday and I took out a client and his father-in-law who was in town
from France. We targeted bass and the lake we picked was FULL of 1-2 pounders... and
we caught our fair share that's for sure! A lot of 12-16 inch bass with the occasional pike
here and there thrown in... largest pike was about 3 pounds.
They took home a couple pike and a bonus crappie for a meal... I mean, your
father-in-law comes all the way from France he better get a nice meal of MN fish :)
All of our fish came out in 7-12 feet of water on finesse worms and carolina rigs. Had to
work the bottom part of the water column to catch our fish. Water temps were 78-81
out there. Fish from 3-9pm on Friday. A great evening on the water!
Otherwise the local bite has continued to move out deeper. Most of our bass are coming
deeper than 7 feet now with some schools being found in 15-18 feet of crankbaits. It's
time to start breaking away from the shorelines and beating up the deeper water!
North Metro Area:
7/9-7/11
I can say this... can't really complain about the weather we've had lately! Spent some
time all over the place the last few days. Hit a couple lakes close to home and another
set up in the Chisago area. The Chisago area lakes are starting to bounce back a little
with the few hard rains we've had... still have a long way to go though.
Most of my outings lately have been in search of panfish with a little bit of bass. A client
and I chased down an exciting rumor to start the day off on Friday (in search of 10-inch
gills) but fell short with just a few small fish... that lake only lasted about 90 minutes and
we were onto the next one. Scooted to a new lake where I knew the big gills were still
on the inside weed line and we found them right where they we supposed to be. Water
temps 76-82 beginning at about 9am and ending around 2pm.
Worked the trolling motor until we found pockets in the weeds and then pitched white
Berkley Power Tubes into the pockets until they dissapeared... then set the hook :) The
fish were post-spawn and very aggressive. The water was still somewhat clear so we
even had the excitement of sight-fishing most of these fish. A lot of fish in the 6-8 inch
range with a few in the 9-inch range and couple that challenged 10-inches. Also a few
small crappies and bass mixed in. Just a great day catching gills and enjoying the weather
with good company.
Saturday night I took my wife and son out to bang up on a few gills. Hooked the boat up
around 6:30pm and took off to a local lake. I marked a spot on the GPS last week where
I know I saw some big gills and we wasted no time and cruised right to that spot (with
Jack, my son, driving the boat of course ;) ). We could to the spot and I handed Tara,
my wife, a rod and had he cast out next to a nice set of bullrushes... and WHAM! She
lands a toad...
At first I thought she had a bass on for how hard this fish was fighting. Then I saw the
big 'ol gill and was actually a little shocked to see that big of a fish in this lake... but it got
better... we proceeded to catch about a dozen bruisers off that spot. Here are a couple
more...
All of our fish came on Mister Twister Micro Shads, Berkley Power Minnow and Gulp! Alive
1-inch Minnows. The fish were VERY aggressive and they were ripping drag. A few dinks
mixed in but the average was very nice.
We moved around and fished until about 8:30pm and managed a few good fish on each
spot. My son Jack had a blast playing with the fish in the livewell and he even got to drive
the boat all by himself! Oh, he even caught a few nice sunfish too ;)
Overall it was a great few days out on the water! Got to spend some time with the
family in the boat which is tough to beat!
Enjoy the weather this week and good luck out there! Show us your pictures!
Metro Area:
7/2-7/8
Whew... very busy week! Spent some time on Tonka and some time on a few north
Metro lakes this past week. Tonka was kicking out some fish early in the mornings and
then it was a run-and-gun style of fishing from about 9am on... caught fish anywhere
from 2-18 feet of water, with 4-8 feet being the best depths. Water temps where in
the upper 70's with some low 80's (surface temps). A few fish on docks but mostly in
the weeds punching through pockets or working deeper shorelines protected by shade.
Finesse worms and jigs were the ticket on Tonka and have continued to be the
producer...
The same bite has held true for other area lakes as well... 4-10 feet of water right
amongst the weeds. Inside stuff has been tough and so has deep outside weed lines...
multiple fish in one location has all been up inside the weeds... but very aggressive once
you find them. We just fished slow and kept pitching the pockets, trying not to leave
any area un-turned.
The sunfish are still on beds in some lakes... very interesting considering I found a pod of
gills on beds in 84 degree water... big fish too. Other beds on that same shoreline were
vacant. Also been finding some beds out in deeper water, like say 6-10 feet. Seems as if
those are the bigger fish ;)
Looks like the rest of the week is going to be awesome for weather! Humidity is
supposed to drop and we're going to see low 80's for highs... go out there and get 'em!
8/19
Spent a little more time on Tonka last week... guided two wonderful ladies who sure had
the hot hand on the bass! It was a corporate guide trip for Crystal Farms and Joyce and
Sandy each caught several fish and ended up winning the woman's division for largest
bass and the most bass caught! Largest fish was a nice 18-incher and they ended up
landing 9 fish when all was said and done I believe.
All of our fish came on wacky-rigged Comidas (Senkos, YUM Dingers, or any other of the
sorts will work too). We worked depths from 2-5 feet of water and pitched around
docks. Missed a few good fish too but had a lot of fun! An easy and very effective way to
fish.
Plan on heading back out to Tonka later this week... will report more soon...
Lake Minnetonka:
8/5
Had a fun day on Minnetonka today taking part in a guided fishing tournament for
Principal Financial. We had 60 boats guiding 135 people. Objective was to bring in your 3
biggest bass for a live weigh-in. What a blast!
I had a few spots nailed down-pat from the last week's endeavors... but it proved to be
a more difficult day than I would have liked...
The tournament hours were from about 1-4pm so not a lot of time... and to make
matters worse I drew boat #40 for takeoff... so I had to roll the dice on taking the
chance of another boat already stealing my koolaid on my go-to spots... and sure
enough, there was a boat already camped out on my "honey hole"... so onto another
spot right off the bat...
We staked claim on a nice milfoil edge in about 8 feet of water and began pitching
Flirts... only to muster a few small fish which we threw back and didn't even weigh
(actually they were tiny fish)... so we moved and sought out better water...
Next we pounded a deep shoreline and managed to put two quick fish in the livewell...
one about 2 pounds and the other a little smaller... then that spot only kicked out tiny
fish once again... onto another spot... at this point it was nearing 2:30pm so already
halfway through the tourney hours...
Next we punished another 4-8 foot spot scattered with weeds and some rock... again
only managed a few small fish and nothing big enough to write home about... so onto
our last spot in hopes of some sort of last minute heroics...
We began working a deep weed edge and fished fast... small fish... a couple missed
hits... and that was it... at this point it was about 3:50pm and we were about to call it a
day... but I wanted to make one last attempt at a big fish... so I scooted to a nearby
dock where I know a big fish likes to hangout from time to time... we pulled up to the
dock and the first cast produced a nice 4-pounder! We were back in the game! A couple
quick pictures and off to the weigh-in we went...
We got to the weigh-in and I knew that a lot of teams struggled so I thought we might
have a good chance at getting one of the big fish awards... however we fell short of the
big fish award and finished somwhere around 20th place out of 60 boats with right under
8 pounds for three fish. 12.82 pounds won it! Seth Fielder stuck some brutes and walked
away with it! Big fish was 4.84 pounds (also came from Seth's bag). I believe there was
only 5 bags over 10 pounds weighed in.
This event was for the clients, so only the client's fish counted... to bad because I stuck
a toad that would have definitely put us in the top 5 for weight (over 10 pounds for
three for sure) and might have taken big fish but that's how it goes... didn't weigh it but
it was bigger than the 4 pounder we weighed in...
Tonka has been a strange beast this year... one second hot, the next second cold... I
guess that's fishing... but regardless, what a great day to be on the water and always a
pleasure meeting new people and talking with other friends/guides!
Lake Minnetonka:
7/30
Spent another day guiding on Tonka yesterday in search of the mighty bucketmouth, aka
largemouth greenback bass :) We hit the lake running at 6am and didn't stop until 2pm...
neither did the rain ;)
Started out with a bang landing about 8 fish on our first spot pitching finesse worms up
along the banks... 2-5 feet of water. Nothing too big but it put some confidence in the
boat that we might have already established a pattern. This proved to be true for all of
30 minutes... until the bite went sour on two spots and we had to look elsewhere...
Next we went out deeper and ran from spot to spot in search of a school... 8-14 feet...
we found a few here and there but couldn't track down a school until we hit a neck
down area between two underwater points... and sure enough, they were there thick!
Not only did we land bass after bass, but we put some walleyes in the boat on that spot
too... all came on finesse worms... this spot lasted about an hour and we never had a dull
moment during that time... then just like that the spot died... onto the next spot...
We moved back through the spot where we caught them in the morning up shallow but
could only muster one fish... a little dink... so onto a set of deep docks with excellent
weed structure around them... found a few here but again, nothing great so another
move was in order...
Next we beat up the outside weedline and found the pods of fish again... 2 fish here, 3
fish there... that was how the day played out the last hour or so... they were out on the
weedline in 10-14 feet of water and all fish came on a finesse worm...
By the time the bell rang I think we touched over 30 fish along with those added bonus
walleyes... next time out I'm bringing some walleye gear and might actually target those
fish... I know there was a good school under us but we weren't equipped for that...
Overall, a great day on the water with excellent company! A good numbers day and it
was actually nice to not fish in the hot sun for once... but then today it shined it's lovely
face right back on us... oh well, can't win all the time... good luck out there!
Lake Minnetonka:
7/23
It sure was a hot one out there today! Spent the day on Minnetonka in search of bass
with a good client/friend. We covered a TON of water! Hit West Arm, Harrison, Seton,
the islands, Phelps, Priests, Spring Park, North Arm, Crystal... the list goes on. Found fish
in several different spots ranging from 2-17 feet of water. It was a wierd day.
We started off hitting a steep, rocky shoreline pitching 3/16oz Fin-Tech Shaky heads with
a Reaction Innovations Flirt... landed a couple fish with one that touched 3 pounds. Not a
bad way to start the day at 6:30am. Water temps were 77 degrees.
Next we moved out onto a deeper spot where we worked the tip of an underwater
point in about 12-15 feet of water... landed a couple more fish with another nice one...
After that we started hitting milfoil bouy after milfoil bouy picking up a fish here and
there. It was the pure definition of run-and-gun fishing. We peppered a spot with 15-20
casts then moved on. Must have hit 7-10 bouys and touched about 8-10 fish before
switching to a new pattern.
At this point it was about 9:30am and the water temps were threatening to hit 80
degrees... so we moved up to a shoreline protected by the sun with some deep docks
and worked our way through and around the docks amongst the thick weeds... and that
was when it happened... wham! I hooked up and saw it jump... an easy 5 pound bass
was airborne hooked on the end of my 20 pound Masterbraid. This was that one fish we
really wanted today and it was a battle! Fought it for a couple minutes until it decided to
take a run under the boat... and it came back out still hooked... only to wrap itself
around some weeds and explode my line like it was a piece of dental floss... needless to
say we both cried ;) Story of my season when it comes to big fish... I can get them
close to the boat but I can't land them.
After that fiasco we decided to grab lunch to take a break from the heat... after lunch
we changed gears and tied up some drop-shot rigs and began pounding the deep weed
lines again. Found a few fish out there but couldn't come up with a pattern so the
confidence took a hike on this technique... so back to beating up the shaded shorelines...
We grabbed the dock rods and skipped wacky-rigged Comidas/Senkos under some docks
in hopes of another big fish... but no takers... in fact two stretches of docks only
produced one fish and it was smaller than some of the sunfish I caught the other day....
so we grabbed the slug rods and decided to switch things up once again...
Upon grabbing the slug rod it only took about 3 casts to blow up on another nice fish in
the pads... maybe we went about this day all wrong... at this point it's 1pm and we're
only fishing until 2pm so we had our work cut out for us... we contiuned to beat up the
82 degree water with slugs only to find ourselves hooked a couple more small fish before
calling it a day...
Overall it was a great day on the water. We fished several different techniques and had a
nice average size on fish... can't complain when things on Tonka have been so hit or miss
lately... the day was definitely a success!
Looks like a little more heat coming our way... grab the sunblock and good luck out there!
Metro Area:
7/12-7/18
The past few days was all about numbers... we won't talk about size of fish at all ;) We
fished a local lake on Friday and I took out a client and his father-in-law who was in town
from France. We targeted bass and the lake we picked was FULL of 1-2 pounders... and
we caught our fair share that's for sure! A lot of 12-16 inch bass with the occasional pike
here and there thrown in... largest pike was about 3 pounds.
They took home a couple pike and a bonus crappie for a meal... I mean, your
father-in-law comes all the way from France he better get a nice meal of MN fish :)
All of our fish came out in 7-12 feet of water on finesse worms and carolina rigs. Had to
work the bottom part of the water column to catch our fish. Water temps were 78-81
out there. Fish from 3-9pm on Friday. A great evening on the water!
Otherwise the local bite has continued to move out deeper. Most of our bass are coming
deeper than 7 feet now with some schools being found in 15-18 feet of crankbaits. It's
time to start breaking away from the shorelines and beating up the deeper water!
North Metro Area:
7/9-7/11
I can say this... can't really complain about the weather we've had lately! Spent some
time all over the place the last few days. Hit a couple lakes close to home and another
set up in the Chisago area. The Chisago area lakes are starting to bounce back a little
with the few hard rains we've had... still have a long way to go though.
Most of my outings lately have been in search of panfish with a little bit of bass. A client
and I chased down an exciting rumor to start the day off on Friday (in search of 10-inch
gills) but fell short with just a few small fish... that lake only lasted about 90 minutes and
we were onto the next one. Scooted to a new lake where I knew the big gills were still
on the inside weed line and we found them right where they we supposed to be. Water
temps 76-82 beginning at about 9am and ending around 2pm.
Worked the trolling motor until we found pockets in the weeds and then pitched white
Berkley Power Tubes into the pockets until they dissapeared... then set the hook :) The
fish were post-spawn and very aggressive. The water was still somewhat clear so we
even had the excitement of sight-fishing most of these fish. A lot of fish in the 6-8 inch
range with a few in the 9-inch range and couple that challenged 10-inches. Also a few
small crappies and bass mixed in. Just a great day catching gills and enjoying the weather
with good company.
Saturday night I took my wife and son out to bang up on a few gills. Hooked the boat up
around 6:30pm and took off to a local lake. I marked a spot on the GPS last week where
I know I saw some big gills and we wasted no time and cruised right to that spot (with
Jack, my son, driving the boat of course ;) ). We could to the spot and I handed Tara,
my wife, a rod and had he cast out next to a nice set of bullrushes... and WHAM! She
lands a toad...
At first I thought she had a bass on for how hard this fish was fighting. Then I saw the
big 'ol gill and was actually a little shocked to see that big of a fish in this lake... but it got
better... we proceeded to catch about a dozen bruisers off that spot. Here are a couple
more...
All of our fish came on Mister Twister Micro Shads, Berkley Power Minnow and Gulp! Alive
1-inch Minnows. The fish were VERY aggressive and they were ripping drag. A few dinks
mixed in but the average was very nice.
We moved around and fished until about 8:30pm and managed a few good fish on each
spot. My son Jack had a blast playing with the fish in the livewell and he even got to drive
the boat all by himself! Oh, he even caught a few nice sunfish too ;)
Overall it was a great few days out on the water! Got to spend some time with the
family in the boat which is tough to beat!
Enjoy the weather this week and good luck out there! Show us your pictures!
Metro Area:
7/2-7/8
Whew... very busy week! Spent some time on Tonka and some time on a few north
Metro lakes this past week. Tonka was kicking out some fish early in the mornings and
then it was a run-and-gun style of fishing from about 9am on... caught fish anywhere
from 2-18 feet of water, with 4-8 feet being the best depths. Water temps where in
the upper 70's with some low 80's (surface temps). A few fish on docks but mostly in
the weeds punching through pockets or working deeper shorelines protected by shade.
Finesse worms and jigs were the ticket on Tonka and have continued to be the
producer...
The same bite has held true for other area lakes as well... 4-10 feet of water right
amongst the weeds. Inside stuff has been tough and so has deep outside weed lines...
multiple fish in one location has all been up inside the weeds... but very aggressive once
you find them. We just fished slow and kept pitching the pockets, trying not to leave
any area un-turned.
The sunfish are still on beds in some lakes... very interesting considering I found a pod of
gills on beds in 84 degree water... big fish too. Other beds on that same shoreline were
vacant. Also been finding some beds out in deeper water, like say 6-10 feet. Seems as if
those are the bigger fish ;)
Looks like the rest of the week is going to be awesome for weather! Humidity is
supposed to drop and we're going to see low 80's for highs... go out there and get 'em!
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