Fishing for Beginners: What You Need

Pro-staff Contributor: Michaela Anderson

Fishing seems like a simple sport at first glance, but when you walk into a tackle shop or start researching tackle and equipment online it can be very overwhelming. There are a few basic things you should keep in mind–like a life jacket, sunscreen and boat snacks–then check out my tips below to help decide what rods, reels and tackle you should focus on for your first fishing trip!

Rod and Reel

Michaela (fishing here at the BASS National Championship) attributes her love of fishing to starting at a young age.

To begin with, you are going to need a rod and reel–the options in this category are endless! For beginners, I would recommend starting with spinning gear because learning to fish on baitcasting reels can be frustrating. When it comes to rods and reels, the saying “you get what you pay for” holds very true. In comparison to their cheaper counterparts, the more expensive reels will offer an easier cast, smoother handle, and added sensitivity. However, if you are afraid of making a big investment right away, or are taking a kid fishing for the first time, you don’t need the latest and greatest. Shimano has a great lineup of reels under $75, like the Sedona, Solstace and Sienna, that are great for starter reels or as gifts for kids.

When you are picking out your rod, you should consider what action you are looking for.  If you are targeting panfish specifically, I would use a light or ultra-light rod like the Shimano Clarus. If you are fishing for whatever is biting, a medium to medium-heavy action rod has good all-species action. A medium-heavy rod will be your best option if you are using heavier baits or catching a lot of pike. Along with action options, you can also choose your rod length.  You will be able to cast farther with a longer rod, but a rod over 7′ long can be tough for kids to handle–so if you’re fishing with kids, focus on a 6′ 6″ or 6′ rod which will be a lot easier to use.

Tackle and Line

Tackle is a huge category and as you start to advance and fish more it becomes easier to pick which baits you think will work best for the specific lake and species you are fishing. For panfish, the basic equipment is light line (like 4lb Sufix mono), bobbers, small hooks or jig heads (like an 1/8oz VMC Dominator hammer head jig), and bait (such as night crawlers). If you’re not fishing for a specific species, use a slightly heavier line like 10 lb Sufix mono or fluorocarbon and a VMC Neon Moon Eye jig with a minnow. Playing with the minnows can also be great entertainment for kids if the fishing gets slow.

Michaela at a kids fishing event.

If you want to target walleyes, crankbaits (like a Rapala Shad Rap) or spinners (like a VMC Revolution Classic spinner) with a night crawler or minnow are great options. Bass fishing adds a ton of options when it comes to using artificial baits. The basic types of baits to consider are a fast-moving bait–that imitates a baitfish and entices a reaction bite–and a bait that has a slower presentation for less aggressive fish. The Rapala DT series provides options for fishing in all depths and around all types of cover. Also, I believe that one of the most under appreciated baits in bass fishing is the stick-style worm. My favorite is the Trigger X Flutter worm. I always have this bait on hand and it is my go-to bait when I take kids fishing.  There are so many ways to rig this bait and they all catch fish. The two most productive ways I have found to rig a flutter worm is weightless (which means using the just the hook) or on a VMC Stand Up Shaky Head jig. I will fish it weightless either Texas rigged on a VMC Wide Gap hook or wacky rigged on a VMC Wacky Hook.

I hope that these tips help you feel comfortable prepping for your first fishing trip. Once you get your toes wet, there are a lot of options to try out and you can test out your success in different types of water and foliage. In Minnesota there will be a lot of fish in the weeds and weed lines, which are easy to find without any electronics. If you need more help getting ready–feel free to post your questions on this blog and I’ll be happy to answer them!

Michaela Anderson is a college angler fishing the FLW, B.A.S.S. College Circuits and select FLW Walmart Tour events representing krugerfarms.com, Trigger X and the University of St. Thomas. You can follow her on Twitter (@MichaelaFishing) and like her on Facebook (facebook.com/MichaelaAndersonFishing).

Lake Chickamauga FLW Tour Report

Pro-staff Contributor: Jeff Gustafson

Gussy prefishing on Lake Chickamauga

The final event of the 2013 FLW Tour season took place this past weekend at Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee.  For many anglers on the tour, this was an important event, because after it was finished the 35 anglers with the most points after the six-event season qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup—the annual Tour Championship where anglers fish for a first place prize of $500,000.  My chances of qualifying for the Cup were eliminated earlier in the season after a couple of bad tournaments.  So I went into the event with the goal to cash a check and end the season on a good note.

I had spent a few days at Chickamauga in late May before the lake went off limits, which helped me because I had a good idea of what I wanted to do when I got back for the official practice.  I planned to check out some places where I had caught fish earlier—both shallow and deep—hoping that would give me a start on things I should focus on during the week of the tournament.

Over the course of the three day practice for this tournament, I found a few different areas that held fish, and had a reliable dock pattern that would put a few extra fish in the boat after I was finished working over my “spots.”  The best place I found was a small ledge that had a shell bed on it.  In practice I caught a couple of big fish off of it on a ¾oz football jig.

Gussy with friend and fellow pro-angler, Blake Nick at the rules meeting.

When the event started, this ledge was my first stop and it paid off when I caught a five-pound largemouth on my third cast of the day.  I caught this fish on a Jackall Muscle Deep 15 crankbait in the chartreuse shad color.  I was throwing this bait on a 7’11” G. Loomis GLX crankbait rod (GLX955CBR),  Shimano Chronarch reel (CH200E6) and 12 lb Sunline Sniper FC line.  I could get this bait to touch the bottom in 14-16 feet, where the fish were and put a few of my biggest fish in the boat during the tournament with this set up. Over the course of the event, I also caught a few of my weigh fish on a football jig, a drop-shot rig and by pitching a jig around some docks—all using G. Loomis rods and Shimano reels.

After a good catch on the first day (18-05), I sat in 21^st place.  My goal on day two was to improve my position and try to make the top 20, which would have allowed me to fish another day.  I ended up having a little bit of a tougher second day and brought in 13-14, to finish in 26^th place—earning a check for $10,000.

Overall, my experience fishing the FLW Tour this season was awesome!  I learned a lot and look forward to giving it another shot next year.  I feel like the experiences I had this year, both good and bad, will help me down the road.  Huge thanks go out to all of my sponsors for making it possible for me to fish the FLW Tour this year, as well as all the people that supported me through the ups and downs of the season.  It’s been fun!

Jeff Gustafson is a professional angler living in Kenora, Ontario on the shores of Lake of the Woods. Outdoor writer, fishing promoter and host of “Fishing with Gussy.” You’ll see him fishing the Walmart FLW Tour representing krugerfarms.com and Lund boats among others. You can follow him on Twitter (@GussyOutdoors) and like him on Facebook (facebook.com/gussyoutdoors).

Here was the biggest fish Gussy caught at Chickamauga–it was over six pounds.

Recap of the Masters Walleye Circuit – Lake Winnebago Event

We sat down with Korey Sprengel after another strong finish–this time, in the Masters Walleye Circuit event on Lake Winnebago.

How’d you guys finish?

Derek Navis and I finished in 6th place out of 118 boats, with 29lbs 3oz, and won $2,750.

Korey and his partner after Cabela’s MWC. Photo from walleye.outdoorfirst.com.

Can you tell us a little bit about the MWC tour and Lake Winnebago?

The Masters Walleye Circuit is a team format tournament and is one of the oldest circuits–it’s been going for 29 years. Lake Winnebago would be considered my home lake, at around 30 minutes from my house, it is the largest lake in Wisconsin. It’s considered a system–made up of four lakes and many rivers–so there are endless areas to cover.  It makes for a very diverse tournament!

How was your experience prefishing? What tactics did you use to get prepared for the tournament?

Prefishing was a little tough for me. I caught a ton of walleyes each day (40-50) but many were in the 12-14 inch range. There is an area that I know well, and expected to spend a lot of my tournament time fishing, but I only spent one hour during prefishing in this area so that I could concentrate on locating areas for big fish. I mainly trolled crawler harnesses in golds and purples on mud flats and shoreline breaks. I also casted Berkley Flicker Shads on main lake points and pitched Berkley Ribworms on 1/4 oz jigs in the river.

Did you change your plans for day two or stick with what you did in day one because you had success?

Photo from walleye.outdoorfirst.com.

We stuck to our same day-one game plan which was trolling. This was a no cull tournament: we were allowed to keep six fish but we only weigh five, leaving us one fish for insurance. So, we stuck to our same plan and only kept fish over 22in if we caught them before noon. Right away in the morning, we threw back three fish from 18-21 inches and kept one at 24 inches. With strong northeast winds at 15-20 mph, our area got too stirred up and muddy.  With 1 1/2 hours left, we gave up on it and just went to get a limit in the box. We started casting main lake points with Flicker Shads in purple tiger and firetiger and caught a 19 inches fish with 15 minutes to go. I told my partner that we needed to get the trolling rods back out and troll for the last 10 minutes, so we put as many baits in the water as we could to try to get a limit. Before we got our last Off-shore Planer Board out, we had a 21-incher on the floor, then another short fish, and then we lost 4-5 more fish! It was just chaos during those last ten minutes! Because we ran it til the last second, the Mercury-powered Ranger was full throttle all the way to check in, and set down with 15 seconds to spare.  We used every minute we had that day for 3 fish!

When is your next tournament?

My next stop will be National Walleye Tour at Sturgeon Bay,WI. It’s one of my favorite places–I can’t wait.

Any parting thoughts or words of wisdom?

Always give it your all and use every second you can because it might just pay off.  The last two fish in the last 10 min of fishing were worth over a $1000.

Photo from walleye.outdoorfirst.com.

Top 10 Twitter Accounts to Follow for Bass Fishing

Pro-staff Contributor: Rich Lindgren

Twitter got popular by people following the likes of Paris Hilton and Ashton Kutcher, but I think you’ll find it’s a great source for rapid, relevant information and news on the topics you are most interested in.  For me, I am most interested in sports and in particular, bass fishing!

So whether you are a long time tweep or just interested in getting started, here are my Top 10 suggested follows for all things bass fishing.  My criterion is a mix of things, but all of these accounts must tweet regularly, have some longevity and bring interesting tweets to the mix.

@BassFanNews

BassFan covers all things bass fishing, from tournaments, to industry news, record catches and more.

 

@Wired2Fish

Wired2Fish is similar to BassFan but with more how-tos, tips & tricks, and product reviews.

 

@JonesProFishing

Alton Jones is a Bassmaster Elites Series pro that connects with his fans through Twitter and Facebook better than most.  He also responds to a great number of tweets and sends out tips via tweets.  As a bonus he keeps you plugged into the Baylor Lady Bears and other Baylor sports.

 

@BassUtopia

Bass Utopia is the first of its kind, community-driven, bass fishing site that reaches out to its members via all forms of social media–their Twitter account is no different.  They offer truly entertaining videos, monthly big fish photo contests, news, information sharing and much more.

 

@BassParade

BassParade tweets out their daily Bass Blaster which is jam packed with news and original insight on what is happening in bass fishing.  I especially appreciate Jay Kumar’s fresh perspective.

 

@_BassEast_

Bass EAST works tightly with many BASS & FLW pros to bring you articles, videos, tips and news.

 

@TeamTackleTour

Tackle Tour has taken fishing tackle and gear reviews to new levels. Their Twitter feed will help you stay up-to-date with the hottest products in bass fishing.

 

@FLWFishing

FLW Outdoors does an amazing job tweeting during FLW Tour events as they follow pros all around the lakes—giving updates and a true feel for what is happening on the water.  Plus, they keep you posted on tournament results and other FLW related tournament fishing news.  If that is not enough, they tweet reminders for free contests and fantasy fishing.

 

@BASS_Nation

Bassmaster not only tweets on-the-water tournament updates, but they do a great job of connecting with their followers by answering questions and posting member’s bass photos.  Ultimately, BASS is the icon of bass fishing, so how can you not follow them?

 

@WheelerFishing

Jacob Wheeler is one of many FLW pros that do a great job of keeping their fans up to speed on their practice and their travels from venue to venue, but he does it in a fun way!  Plus, he is the reigning Forrest Wood Cup Champ!

 

If you are not on Twitter, maybe now is a time to test the waters, if you already area, then make sure you add these to your follow list.  If you are hungry for more, you can also follow me @HellaBass and @krugerfarms–not to mention the rest of the krugerfarms.com pro team (@Gussy Outdoors, @DustyMinke, @MichaelaFishing, and @BillShimota).  They have tons of info to share on fishing and hunting news and events.

Rich Lindgren is a tournament bass angler living in Lakeville, MN chasing bass all over Minnesota and its adjoining states. Bass blogger, podcaster and fishing promoter. You’ll see him fishing the Minnesota bass tournament scene representing krugerfarms.com and Dobyns Rods among others. You can like him on Facebook (facebook.com/bassinblog).

Recap of National Walleye Tour-Lake Erie Event

The krugerfarms.com anglers had another strong NWT tournament on Lake Erie in Port Clinton, OH. Even though the tournament was unexpectedly cut down to one day, every one of them landed in the money! We sat down with Dusty Minke, Korey Sprengel and Bill Shimota again to get their thoughts.

So, first things first, how did you guys finish?

Dusty – I took home $11,000 for finishing in 9^th place with 44.15 pounds.

Dusty on Lake Erie.

Korey – I took 16th place with 42.87 pounds and won $6,555.

Bill – I ended in 24th place with 41.11 pounds for $4,770 in winnings.

Nice job guys!  What were your thoughts before going into the tournament?

Dusty – Honestly, I felt pretty good even though practice was short for me—I was only able to prefish Monday through Wednesday.  The bite was good during practice and our krugerfarms.com walleye team had a game plan going into the event! We had a great crew; everyone pitched in and worked hard.

Bill – I was pretty confident going into the event, and I told myself that I would be disappointed if I came in with less than forty pounds.  At the same time, I knew most of my competitors would have the same kind of prefishing experience so it would come down to getting the 9-10 pounders instead of 7-8 pound fish.

Korey – I thought that we all had a shot at having a good finish.  Prefishing went great, as it did for everyone else, but we stumbled upon an area in prefishing that had quality fish that weighed more than average fish of the same length.

How much experience have you had fishing this specific location? How did the weather affect your prefishing?

Bill – I have competed in about eight tournaments on Lake Erie.  The weather during practice was great; we were able to go where we needed to fish almost every day, which is pretty rare for Lake Erie.

Korey – This was my first tournament on Lake Erie but I felt confident because I had learned a lot about what to expect and where to look for the right fish. The weather was fairly good when we were prefishing, we only lost one day due to wind—the day before the tournament.

Dusty – This was the second event for me on Lake Erie.  Like Bill said, the weather was nice for the short time I was prefishing but we had our work cut out for us and a lot of miles to cover because Canada was in play—I really put Sparkie, the Ranger Evinrude, to work!  Peely Island and the Canadian side offer endless fishable water, making it hard to dissect in a short amount of time.

The tournament was postponed on Day One and didn’t start until June 15^th. Why did that happen?

Dusty – There was a wind and small craft advisory—basically the waves were too big to let us out of the gate.  We were running around 25 miles so that could have taken a long time in that wind…

Korey – The winds were gusting over 30 mph.

Dusty – …Some other teams were running 50 miles one way to the East, so I couldn’t imagine that would have been ideal in those conditions.

What were your thoughts when Day One was postponed?

Bill – I think it was a good call but I was disappointed because I was so excited to get out to those big walleyes again!

Korey – I was kind of relieved knowing that I was making a 25-mile run on the lake no matter the weather conditions, but it may have played to our advantage if we would have started the tournament on the 14^th as planned.

Korey on Lake Erie.

Dusty – Honestly I was ready to go! But when I looked at the main water I could see it was brutal and that the tournament director made the right call! We prepare ourselves to compete and fish but when it comes down to it, the tournament has to consider the safety of the anglers. No matter what we have to respect the director’s call!

What tactics and lures did you use to fish?

Korey – We trolled Chartreuse Crawler harnesses with gold or antifreeze blades in Colorado, pulling them behind 3oz weights. The key was to keep moving around to find active fish—after about 2-3 passes on a school they would scatter or quit biting.

Bill – I pulled Jolly Roger Spinners and in-line weights.

Dusty – I was fishing with spinners and crawlers—using a mixture of VMC, Northland and Jolly Rogers spinners in Gold and Chartreuse with the gold-orange–green and chartreuse beads. I also used 1-1/2 and 2 ounce inline weights, fishing from 20 to 30 feet behind off-shore planer boards in 40 Feet of water.  Typically, I’d be moving around .9-1.3mph. This was the first time I had only six rods in the boat for the tournament!

Did you have to adapt your methods because of the wind and weather?

Bill – The only thing we had to adapt to was the current; you really had to watch it every day and that would tell you how fast or slow you needed to troll.

Dusty – The day of the tournament was flat and calm, just like it was during prefishing, so no changes were needed. I did, however, learn to give myself more time to get in! The wind kicked up on the ride back which created big waves off of the waves created by pleasure boaters in the area. I was a little nervous I wouldn’t make it back in time.

You all did really well this tournament, but did you try any tactics that didn’t work?

Korey – During prefishing, I tried cranks but didn’t have much luck. I probably should have tried them more because this is how the tournament was won!

Bill – I didn’t really experiment with tactics.  I’ve been on Lake Erie enough times to know what needs to be done and I didn’t waste any time trying new things.

Day two was cancelled due to weather. Do you think things would have turned out differently if you’d had a second tournament day?

Bill – Again it was a great call with safety in mind, but I was bummed because I felt I could move up in the standings with a second day to fish.  That being said, when the smoke cleared, we were all pretty happy to end up in the money!

Bill on Lake Erie.

Korey – If we would have had a second day it might of played to our advantage a little—because we knew that we were going about half as far as some of the leaders…but it would be hard to say if that would have played out as we hoped.

Dusty – I definitely think it would have played out differently! That is why the NWT hosts two-day events. It allows the tournament to be won by someone who consistently brings in big bags. I feel that if we could have returned to our spot for a second day that we could have got them—but there are some things we will never know! Weather, wind, and currents change and the angler that adapts and finds them can have the advantage. However, I respect the decision to cancel day two because the wind got worse, which would have been really hard on the equipment and anglers.

When is your next tournament?

Dusty and Bill – NWT in Sturgeon Bay, WI. It will take place on July 26^th and 27^th.

Korey – My next tournament will be the MWC on Winnebago, June 28^th and 29^th.

Do you have any parting thoughts or words of wisdom?

Bill – If you ever have a chance to experience fishing on Lake Erie I would highly suggest it.  Like they say, “There’s Lake Erie, and then there’s everywhere else!”  Where else would you need an 8-pound average just to get a check?

Trout and Salmon Fishing on Lake Ontario (Part 1: Early Season)

Pro-staff Contributor: Chris Davanzo

Chris with a few of the fish he caught on Lake Ontario.

After hunting seasons wind down for us in New York, we switch gears and start fishing Lake Ontario’s southern basin for trophy class salmonids such as rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout, king salmon, and coho salmon. Trout and salmon are known for their voracious fight and aerial acrobatics when hooked up. The best time to catch these fish is April through September, and as the season progresses we tend to chase different species.  During early-April through mid-May we focus on brown trout and coho salmon close to shore. When the temperatures start to climb we head off-shore to chase kings, lakers and steelhead. We finally finish up our season by returning to the mouths of the rivers for pre spawning kings and cohos. Each part of this blog series will focus on techniques used during each segment of the season.

Water Temperature and Depth

The preferred method for catching fish in the early season is to troll lures and exact depths using down riggers, divers, lead core line, and planer boards, with stick baits on them for any fish feeding in the top 12 feet of the water column.  As air and water temps increase, the fish will move deeper and we’ll focus on using down riggers and lead core lines with spoons and flashers. Throughout the season, we focus on finding the “magic” water temperature and depth that triggers the fish to bite, once we do, we can usually stay there all day and pick up fish.

Fishing with Rapala Scatter Raps

This early season, I had the opportunity to run the new Rapala Scatter Rap series of stick baits for brown trout and coho salmon. They made a splash with us this year aboard “Hooked Up Charters.” Captain Bruce Stenglin and I ran them with great success!  The Scatter Rap’s new lip gives it a sweeping motion along with that trademark tight wobble that Rapalas are known for–it was the ticket! Our first day we boated over twenty salmon on Scatter Raps and Flat Raps, and we haven’t looked back.

Early Season Techniques

Two of the main things we look at during early season fishing are what the fish are foraging as well as water clarity. From April through May, our in-shore water is slightly stained due to run off from the snow melting as well as basic turbidity caused from wind and currents.  We look for breaks—where clear water meets the more turbid water—because this is where fish act as ambush predators and come out of the dirty water to hit our baits.

The main forage of fish in Lake O are round gobies and alewife, also known as saw bellies, which are members of the herring family. Matching the look and presentation of the bait fish plays such a crucial role in successful fishing in Lake Ontario. When running these baits we look to run colors and patterns with green, yellow and most of all orange. This season our hot colors were anything with an orange belly such as gold florescent red and fire tiger. We trolled these lures off of two planer boards with three rods on each board to increase the amount of lure coverage in the water. We focused on lures with an average running depth of 3-9 feet due to the fact that we were only fishing in water from 5-12 feet deep.

As our season progresses we will have to adapt our techniques as well as bait choices to fit the need of what the fish want to eat. Check back again for to my next article in this three segment blog on fishing salmonids on the great lakes.

Chris Davanzo is from the finger lakes region of western NY. Chris is the owner and operator of Fish and Feathers Outfitters which is the Northeast’s premier outfitter for waterfowl. When Chris isn’t in the swamps chasing ducks you can find him on a trout stream or in a treestand with bow in hand. You can contact Chris via his site fandfoutfitters.com and find him on Facebook (facebook.com/chris.davanzo).

A look at Chris’s setup while fishing on Lake Ontario.

Q&A with Korey Sprengel on Masters Walleye Circuit in Wisconsin

It is National Fishing Week, so we thought you’d all enjoy an interview with Korey Sprengel after another successful tournament!

So, Korey, tell us a little about last weekend’s walleye tournament?

I participated in the Masters Walleye Circuit on Green Bay in Oconto, WI and took home fourth place (out of 103 boats) with a total of 49lbs 5oz.  I received $3350 for my win—which is awesome. I’m pretty happy with how everything went, and how I finished…well, besides the fact that I lost one big fish.

What were your thoughts before going into the tournament?

Prefishing was great—we caught up to forty fish in a day and many of them were in the 26-29” range. We went into the tournament knowing the winds were going to change, so we had to keep in mind that we needed to remain flexible.  We took what we learned from practice and focused on fishing areas where the wind was right.

What gear did you use during the tournament?

We used off-shore planer boards, pulling crawler harnesses with 1/2oz inlines, #5 Colorado blades, or #4 1/2 willow blades in gold or perch patterns.  We also used Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon for leader material at 1.1-1.3 mph and switched to Berkley #9 Flicker Shads to pick up a few fish.

What was your biggest challenge?

Definitely trying to keep up with the ever changing winds.  It would switch from calm to windy and vice versa.  Each area we fished had its own ideal conditions—the shallow areas needed wind and the deep areas didn’t, but they were 12 miles apart which complicated things.

Any closing thoughts?

I have to say that my Ranger boat was a key to my success during this tournament—we travelled up to 70 miles a day through 4-5 foot waves and didn’t beat ourselves up or our fish.

I’m getting excited about the NWT tournament next week at Lake Erie. Bill Shimota and Dusty Minke will also be participating. We’re getting ready to head there to prefish and are hoping for another strong finish!

Korey on the water during the Masters Walleye Circuit Event.

Q&A with Dusty Minke on 3rd Place Finish at Leech Lake Walleye Tournament

We got a chance to catch up with Dusty Minke after his 3rd place finish in the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament last weekend:

First, the basics, what was the tournament and where did it take place?

Last weekend I participated in the Leech Lake Walleye Tournament (LLWT) in Walker, MN. Walker is my favorite town in the world—seriously, someday I will live or have a cabin there. It’s truly heaven…especially in the summer!

What were your thoughts before going into the tournament?

Dusty prefishing for the LLWT.

I was very excited about the tournament—fishing on the lake was good and prefishing went well. We weren’t sure of where we were going to start; we knew the winds were changing 180 degrees—moving from the South all week to a strong Northern wind—so we made the decision in the morning that we were going to fish main lake points with a Northern wind blowing into them. My partner, Coach, and I had to return to work after the Memorial weekend and couldn’t get back to the lake until Thursday, but that was fine because I honestly think prefishing too much on Leech can hurt you. We knew where the fish were and just needed to concentrate on getting fish in the boat plus our one “over” fish. This lake has a slot limit and tournament rules of six fish with only one measuring over 26” per day. Our other fish had to be 14” to 18” so any fish between 18” and 26” had to be released because they were in the “protected slot”. For this reason, concentrating on spots that had “over” and “under” fish was key.

How does this tournament differ from others you’ve participated in?

This is a big tournament, with 155 boats, so there is a lot of great competition—especially because most of the participants are locals and northern MN fishermen, the best of the best! It differs from some tournaments because it is a team format which allows you to pick your partner.

This is also a very special tournament and place to me because this is where my tournament craze started back in 2001. That was when my dad and I decided to fish the PWT as co-anglers to get a taste of what tournament fishing offers. We had a blast and it was a huge learning experience for us! At the end of the tournament, I walked away nearly in last place and told my dad that I would be running the boat and calling the shots during the next pro/am event—I was 18 years old at the time!

After my first experience at Leech Lake, I started fishing this event with my friends Jamie Fehrenbacher, then Jeff Andersen, and eventually returned with my dad in 2005 to finish in 8th place. I guess participating in tournaments at Leech Lake has directed my life in a lot of ways because that same year my good friend Jeff Andersen introduced me to Jeff Gustafson and Toby Kvalevog. These three individuals are probably the best fisherman I could have surrounded myself with and are now my long time good friends…I guess that’s just a little history for ya!

What gear did you use during the tournament?

I used 6’ 8” Dobyns Savvy and Shimano Crucial rods (medium-fast action) paired with Shimano Stradic reels(Stradic reels now on sale!). These were teamed up with 8-pound Sufix Fluoro line. Of course, I relied on “Sparkie” the Ranger, with the help of Evinrude, Humminbird, Minn Kota, and Optima Batteries for a flawless ride.

What was your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge of this event was finding the fish over 26”. On the first day, Coach slammed a 26.5” fish at 9:30 in the morning and made the rest of our day pretty easy. We ended up going through about thirty fish to ensure all of our “under” fish ranged from 16″ to 18″. On day two, the wind died down and because this is a wind-driven lake it made us a little nervous! However, we kept our heads high and our confidence up to make the right decisions. We decided to drop a “creek chub” (minnow) down at 11:00am and we brought eight fish in the boat within twenty minutes—all of them were 22” to 26” so we were able to keep an “over” fish. Then we ran to several spots jigging spot-tailed shiners with Blue White VMC Dominator Hammer Head jigs to fill out our limit for the day. We knew we had a good bag but would have liked a little more time to put some “under” fish in the boat!

Dusty and Coach with their wall bling.

How did you finish and what did you win?

We took third place—winning $4,000 along with some nice wall bling!

What are the lessons that you’ll apply to next time?

We learned something very important about when the wind dies and the skies are high… but I can’t give out all of the secrets! However, I will say that that we should have given more time to our main spot when the wind picked up towards the afternoon!

Any closing thoughts?

Dusty and the Crown Royal Blended Whisky girls in Nisswa.

I want to thank everyone involved this week that made it very special and fun. I wish the time did not go by so quickly! The LLWT is a great event—thanks to all of the volunteers and the city of Walker. You can find “southern hospitality” in this small, Northern-Minnesota town—that’s for sure!

I also want to thank Coach (aka. Troy Jutting), my partner for keeping me in line and helping make critical decisions during the event! Finally, I want to thank those that got me to this point: Dad, my brother Kyle Minke, Toby and Dean Kvalevog, Jeff Andersen, John Hoyer and the rest of the LOA crew.

If any of you guys will be near Aberdeen on June 27th, come join me at a Crown Royal Blended Whisky event. We had a great event in Nisswa earlier this month with Nerissa and Kylle!

All in all, it was a great week and I’m already looking forward to next year!

Dusty Minke is a professional angler and avid outdoorsman from Forest Lake, Minnesota. You will see him fishing the NWT circuits as well as other fishing tournaments in the Midwest. You can like his page on Facebook (facebook.com/Dusty.Minke) and follow him on Twitter (@DustyMinke).

Breaking Down a Texas Rig

Pro-staff Contributor: Rich Lindgren

Texas rigging worms and soft plastic baits is one of the oldest and time-tested methods for catching bass in just about any situation–including in and around thick cover.  The Texas rig is a pretty simple rig, in that it usually consists of sliding a traditional bullet weight onto your line before you tying on a standard or offset worm hook. The bait is set by rigging the hook into the head of the bait about a ¼”, poking it back out the side of the body, then turning it 180 degrees, and bringing the point of the hook back into the bait to make it weedless.

Beyond the very basic principle of Texas rigging, there are a lot of subtle differences and tweaks to make a tried-and-true fish catcher into something even better.  When you start to think about it, there are actually a lot of variables when you consider, rod, reel, line, weight and hooks for your setup.

I start almost every Texas rig with a rubber sinker stop threaded on my line before I select a sinker.  These little guys keep my weight next to my bait, make sure I keep contact with my bait at all times, and pull my bait through cover.  You can peg your sinker with a toothpick, but these stops are easier on your line and can be loosened to give your bait a little more freedom.  After the sinker peg, I select a tungsten sinker to match the size of plastic bait and rate of fall I desire for the conditions and application I am facing.  I may go as light as 1/16 oz or heavier than 1 oz, but for basic rigging I usually use 1/8-3/8 oz tungsten slip sinkers.  I always use tungsten weights for the enhanced feel of the bottom and bites; plus I feel the hook-up percentage is better and that they come through cover better than traditional lead sinkers.

Next, I tie on the hook. I typically attach hooks to my 12-17lb fluorocarbon line with a San Diego Jam Knot or Palomar knot.  I find that 2/0 to 4/0 hooks will cover the great majority of my needs for standard soft plastic baits.  I use two styles: Extra Wide Gap (EWG) and Straight Shank Flipping Hooks.  I use an EWG hook when I am casting and dragging tubes, brush hogs, and worms.  I pair a straight shank hook with a heavier sinker for creature baits, like the TriggerX Goo Bug and other bulkier offerings, when I am pitching into thicker cover and fishing the baits in a more vertical manner–I feel it has a more positive hook up in these conditions.

As far as rod selection, I like 7’ to 7’4” rods that are medium to medium-heavy with moderately fast actions.  I will fish Texas rigs on multiple rods that I own: ranging from my Dobyns Savvy 703C, to my Champion 734C, up to my absolute favorite rod for Texas rigging, the Dobyns Champion Extreme DX744C.  There are a ton of great rods and different price points to choose from, but be sure to get a fairly long rod with good balance, moderate back bone, and good sensitivity.

Keep a few of these suggestions in mind when setting up your Texas rigs and it should help you get a few more fish in the boat!

Rich Lindgren is a tournament bass angler living in Lakeville, MN chasing bass all over Minnesota and its adjoining states. Bass blogger, podcaster and fishing promoter. You’ll see him fishing the Minnesota bass tournament scene representing krugerfarms.com and Dobyns Rods among others. You can follow him on Twitter (@HellaBass) and like him on Facebook (facebook.com/bassinblog).

Lake Eufaula FLW Tour Recap

Pro-staff Contributor: Jeff Gustafson

Stop four on the 2013 FLW Tour took place this past weekend at Alabama’s Lake Eufaula.  For me, this event was a humbling experience to say the least.

Gussy’s dad, Jim Gustafson, with a nice largemouth from practice.

My Dad was down with me for this event and fished his first tournament as a co-angler.  I did little research for this tournament prior to launching the boat on the first morning of practice.  My approach to fishing these new lakes is to get the boat in the water and try to break it down as quickly as possible to get some sort of pattern established.  Instead of doing a bunch of research like I usually do, I decided that for this one I would just try to fish the moment and figure it out as things were happening.  We basically launched the boat and started fishing: starting shallow, then trying some deeper water, then moving to shallow water again. We fished the main channel of the lake as well as several creek arms.

We caught a good number of fish on the first day of practice, including several in the two- to three- pound range by casting crankbaits on main lake points in three to six feet of water.  My best bait was a Jackall MC/60 MR crankbait in the Ghost Bluegill color.  My Dad was throwing this bait and was laying a beating on me so we quickly figured out that this was a lure that the fish wanted.  We probably caught twenty keepers that first day—which was a great start.

The second day of practice was tougher, we stayed with the same pattern and tried to cover a little more water in hopes of finding as many fishing spots as possible.  We didn’t catch nearly as many fish so I wasn’t sure if my pattern was dying or if I had just found a good area that first day.  I generally don’t like to fish the same places in practice because it’s so important to keep looking for new water all the time in order to find as many areas as possible.

On the last day of practice we went farther south on the lake and tried a large creek arm that I had not been into over the first couple days.  Almost immediately we started catching fish, including a couple of large four- and five- pounders.  Now I was getting excited!  I had a large area that had what seemed like good numbers of big fish in it so I was ready to get the tournament started.  We caught these fish on a wacky rigged Jackall Flick Shake 5.8″ worm.  They wanted a slow presentation and this worm was out-fishing everything else that we tried.

The first day of the tournament I caught a few fish on the Flick Shake worm in the morning and managed to catch a couple of big ones at the end of the day on a Jackall Iobee Frog.  I caught these fish during my last twenty minutes of fishing and they helped me out significantly.  My co-angler also caught a five pounder, which helped him land a tournament leading catch of 15-03 in his division.  My limit of 13-06 landed me in 38^th place, which I was very happy with.  More importantly I felt like I had learned a lot heading into day two.  I was optimistic there were more big fish in the shallow grass area where we caught the big ones at the end of the day.

Day two turned out to be a nightmare.  The weather was not significantly different from day one—it was hot with a light breeze.  For whatever reason, the fish just didn’t bite. I caught a bunch of “short” fish (under 14”) and had two big blow ups on the frog which I didn’t connect with.  After a while I started running around to some of the places where I thought I could catch numbers and just couldn’t make it happen.  When you don’t have fish in your livewell the day goes by quickly, so before I knew it, it was time for weigh-in.  I fished my butt off all day long and just didn’t get the bites.

So, I’ve decided to absorb what I’ve learned here, move on to the next one and forget about this event.  Next stop on the schedule is Grand Lake, Oklahoma, June 6 – 9.

Jeff Gustafson is a professional angler living in Kenora, Ontario on the shores of Lake of the Woods. Outdoor writer, fishing promoter and host of “Fishing with Gussy.” You’ll see him fishing the Walmart FLW Tour representing krugerfarms.com and Lund boats among others. You can follow him on Twitter (@GussyOutdoors) and like him on Facebook (facebook.com/gussyoutdoors).

A line up of the Jackall Baits that Gussy caught fish on during the week at Eufaula.