Golden Hook Bassers

September, 20^th 2008

                Well this is our last tournament that counts for the season and the standings are very tight with the top eight expect Guy Knudson who is in first place by approximately 5 pounds or so.  I am sitting in 3^rd place about 6 pounds back and after today each angler throws his worst tournament total out, and add up your 5 best for total weight.

                I got out the Saturday before to check the status of Rush and didn't’t find out to much.  A cold front moved in and it rained the whole time I was on the lake and the bass weren’t cooperating very well.  The Pike and Musky were, caught some nice Pike and a Musky about 13 to 14 pounds.  Had a real big one jump over my buzz bait then one waked behind it and nipped it but no hook up.  Then towards the end of the day I flipped a  All-Terrain Jig up under a dock and got slammed, I set the hook hard and could barely budge the fish then it rolled and busted my 65 pound SpiderWire Stealth and a giant Musky lept next to the dock with my jig in his mouth.  I was wet and cold so I called it a day and figured I had a week to come up with a game plan, I already knew I was going to fish shallow all day and just needed to decide which baits I would use.

                Saturday morning arrived and I was pumped for this day, I had James Hallmark in my boat and we were first boat out and off we went to my first spot by the channel which leads from West to East Rush Lake.  I started out throwing a Rebel Pop R hoping to get some quick fish in the morning so I could relax and hog hunt the rest of the day and there are some pigs in this lake.  We worked the reeds while we made our way north towards some reed islands and James catches a keeper and is on the board as we come upon a dock.  I moved up to fish it but the water is really low and I cant get close enough to work it so we turn around and head back towards the first reed Island and approach it throwing a Chatter bait and a fish blasts it and the fight is on.  This fish moves straight right and stays down, acting just like a Pike and about half way back to the boat it turns and comes off when it turned.  I could tell it was a big bass; about 10 casts’ later I hook up with another fish and this one comes up and jumps, another big bass but not nearly as big as the one that came off.  James got the net under the fish and she had to be about 4-1/2 pounds not bad for a first fish.  We continued to fish around to the outside edge of the reeds and they turn into a much thicker and leafy emergent grass like a Maiden Cane or something.  Anyways all we do is catch snot rocket after snot rocket (Pike).  I remember saying to James that I’m seeing a pattern here and I don’t like it.  I turned up the Minn Kota and KVD’ed it past the cane and arrived to some more reeds mixed in with some pads so I slowed down and worked the reeds more thoroughly.  The fishing was actually pretty slow for bass! we had covered most of the Reed Island and shoreline reeds at this area and we’re coming to a point that jutted out from shore and the reeds followed out into a point also.  I threw my Booyah Boogie Bait just inside the reeds and as I cleared the edge a fish loaded up and I wasn’t sure at first it was a bass, especially after all the Pike I was catching and then I saw her, wow.  A giant Bass and the next thing I remember is James holding the net with her in it, we guessed 6 pounds and I have 2 fish for 10-1/2 pounds with more than half the day left.  We made a move to the south end of West Rush and fished a row of docks that had some fish on them last Saturday, but could not get a bite so we moved to a different shoreline and I caught a small 12-1/2 fish in front of a dock and three docks later I caught a 13 incher on my 1/2oz jig.  These last two fish look funny in the live well next to the two giants. We continued on fishing the docks and pads on this shoreline and after a while I caught another dink maybe 12-1/2 inches.  I have my limit about 14 pounds and an hour and half left so we went back to our starting spot and I catch a 2 pounder on  my first cast on my Boogie Bait right where I lost a big fish earlier in the morning.  I culled up about a pound and I think I have 15 pounds or so, I said I need one more good fish to have a shot at this but I never got it.  James caught another small fish so now he has 2 and it is time to head in, I had all the stuff for weigh in because our tournament director was out of town fishing a regional for a different circuit.  Actually I was heading in about 10 minutes early so I could load my boat and set up the tub and hoses and get the scale ready for everyone about to come in.  Well it’s a good thing we left early because my boat wouldn't’t start so I had to jump start it from my trolling motor batteries and in the process I was blown onto a shallow rocky ridge between two Islands and was beached.  The only way to get my boat off the shallow rocks was to jump in and push and push and push until it finally floated off and we flew into the landing just in time. 

                Well we got set up and everyone started weighing in and I was documenting the weights and realized I had a shot at this, then my buddy Guy weighed in 10 pounds something and I know it is going to be real interesting being 5-1/2 – 6 pounds back of him in Angler of the year standings and throwing your worst tournament out.  Next to weigh in is my other buddy Chris Asbeck who beat me at last years end of year event on Coon Lake by 2 oz.  He had 19 pounds and I had 18.79 anyways, his fish hit the scale and the weight was 15.26 pounds nice bag, a couple more guy's to weigh in so I bagged up my fish and brought them up to the scale and weighed a big fish for the day, I had to beat a couple of 5 pounders all ready weighed in, my fish weighs 5.97 pounds for the big fish of the day and year, and my 5 fish weigh 14.96 about 4oz. or so from winning and Chris got me again.  Oh yeah I came in second place for AOY (Angler of the Year) by about ¾ of a pound, congrats to Guy Knudson.