Tlauz

Fished Saturday and Sunday on a small shallow lake connected to larger deeper one north of Bemidji. Saturday was windy. Tried the big lake first and struggled to find fish. Finally found a patch of emerging reeds and caught 6 small largemouths on a jig. Tried to run the same pattern elsewhere with no luck. The larger lake has smallmouth. Didn't catch any. Went back to the small lake and threw spinnerbaits in shallow reeds and in emergent weeds. Caught between 10-15 largemouth. Went to the bigger lake to start today and it was sunny and calm. The smallmouth were on beds. Had a great couple of hours. Caught 10 smallmouths in 2 hours, biggest was 20 inches. Tried jig, weighted and weightless wacky worm, tube, and swimbait. Caught every fish on weightless worm. The wind picked up and bite stopped. Water temps were 63 degrees.

Whether people like it or not, the market will determine the success of MLF. TV and live stream numbers are what is important. Like it or don't like it, people are talking about it. The old saying is there is no such thing as bad publicity. If you are an advertiser would you rather advertise to 1,000 people at a weigh-in or 100,000 watching on TV? MLF is the number one show on the Outdoor channel. I canceled my cable, but I pay 10.00 a month for the Outdoor channel because I want to watch MLF shows. I am also a BASS member and enjoy streaming their events. I enjoy watching fishing. Are some tournaments more enjoyable than others? Yes. People seem to be forgetting that it is still a competition. You have to catch more than everyone else. Whether it is the weight of your best 5 or total weight of all scorable fish, you are competing against others. People that keep saying it is easy to catch a bunch of dinks are just wrong. I am guessing a lot of the big names that are at the bottom of the leaderboard would also disagree.

Fished today 12:00 - 4:30. Water temps were 53-58. Had a frost advisory this morning. Caught 5 bass, 1 pike. First pike of the year. I REALLY struggled. Hit everywhere I could think of. Used jerk bait, crankbait, spinnerbait, swim jig, swimbait, wacky worm. Caught #5.2 on wacky worm, and a #3.7 smallmouth on swimbait. At the end of the day saw a few smallmouth where I usually see them when they spawn, but they are not there yet in numbers.

The Chickamauga tournament and the North Carolina tournament were fantastic. Lots of fish and big fish. The last two they are almost catching too many fish if that is possible. I don't mind small fish when everyone is struggling and it is a big deal just to catch a fish. I actually enjoyed some of the select events when it seemed like nobody could catch anything. Then a one pound fish meant a lot. I would be fine if they said everything from 1-2 pounds is worth a point. 2-4 pounds X points, 5-6 X pts .......... The Scoretracker and format are what makes it fun. This would make anglers really choose a strategy. I think the last 2 events are a product of the lakes they are fishing also. Sidenote, I would really like them to go to lakes that aren't the same old lakes. I realize that those are probably the best lakes, but I do enjoy seeing pros have to figure out something totally new. I loved the BASS Lake Oahe event last year. I don't think any of the anglers had ever been on that body of water. How often can you say that in a major tournament?

I got out for 3 hours on Sunday of the opening weekend after opening up the camper. Cold and windy. Water temps were 49-51. Caught 3 smaller largemouths shallow in reeds on a swim jig. Then went out to where I find smallmouth in the summer and fished the dropoff next to it. Caught 4 smallmouths. Largest went 4 lbs. I saw 2 other boats and both were walleye fishing. It is nice fishing in the Bemidji area for bass. Most places do not receive much pressure. My only complaint is that there are very few lakes (2 really) that have fishable smallmouth populations within 45 miles. I enjoy fishing smaller lakes and have always enjoyed the lack of company. I probably should fish more lakes in the area, but it is hard to do when I can tie up to a dock at night and get up and go in the morning .

Opener up here is not until May, 11th. I probably won't get out until the 18th. I will report as soon as I get out!

KVD is the most successful MLF Cup angler of all time with 3 wins. He knows the format. Right now he is not making the right choices. I think history shows many anglers are streaky. When they are hot it seems like everything they do works. When they are cold its the opposite. A few years ago the talk was what is wrong with KVD and will he ever win again. I think he won 3 tournaments the following year. When I look at the MLF standings the one thing I notice is the field is STACKED. It seems like there are a ton of big names, so no matter what there will be big names at the top, big names in the middle, and big names at the bottom.

I love watching on cut days. The movement around that cut line is great. I find it funny when people say "anybody can catch a bunch of small fish". Obviously, if you have watched enough of MLF you would realize that there are lots of times the best fisherman in the world cant!!!

I will say what you fish for and how you are fishing will dictate some behavior. Where I live, 85% or more of the people on a lake are walleye fishing. They tend to troll or vertical jig. They are not casting 50 yards in all directions. It is common for people walleye fishing to drift a good area with a lot of other boats then motor back up and get in line and repeat. Many walleye spots are community holes. Maybe the reason I haven't really had issues is that I am not fishing for the same thing as the majority of the people on my lakes.

I am going to argue for both sides. I mainly fish lakes less than 800 acres. When the lake is really busy I often will pass a boat or have a boat pass me within 40 yards. Mostly I or they are trolling by. I have never had a problem with this. If they stayed really close to me and fished I might. On the other side of the argument, when it gets hot and sunny I realize the lake is going to get busy with pontoons, jet skis, and boats pulling tubers and skiers. I will probably be one of them. Up north summer is short and people want to be on the water when it is nice. There are still places you can go fish, but if you sit in the middle of a smaller lake on a nice weekend and then complain about the boat traffic, I have no sympathy for you. I fish early and late and realize that 12 -5 is family fun time.

I just put it on three spinning reels, so hopefully, I like it.

I have used the Joe Bucher Slopmaster spinnerbaits. Some of them aren't too big and are made of heavy wire. You can find them online for around 10 bucks a piece. Besides the heavier wire, their shape makes them much more durable. I have also used Northland's. The Bucher's are much more durable.

I think there are still a lot of hurt feelings because of all the anglers leaving. All three tours are trying to capitalize on their strengths. I read some comments where people were upset that MLF didn't want their anglers at other trails expos. That seems obvious to me. I wouldn't expect BASS or FLW to send their stars to MLF events to help them. I really hope all 3 tours do well. I love watching all 3 so I feel like I am the winner. MLF really is a different format and business plan. TV and live streaming are where the big money is made. I have a hard time believing that the 80 anglers who went to MLF are trying to ruin bass fishing for the average angler. For all these conspiracy theories to be believable you would have to convince me that guys like KVD, Mark Davis, Shaw Grigsby, and others are trying to kill club level fishing. I don't buy it.

The elimination line has made the last 15 minutes of BPT tour fantastic. There were 6-7 guys who could have gotten in with one fish. Probably 10+ guys with a big fish. Unreal.

A big thank you to FryDog. I will wear it proudly.

I never keep bass. If I want fish I will usually keep a few Northern Pike and take the bones out of them. I usually catch plenty of them while I am bass fishing.

The score tracker and the elimination line has made watching fishing must see TV. The amount of movement in the last 10 minutes is amazing. Lots of giants today also.

Maybe a better way to say it is How big do you think fish get in the bodies of water you fish. I seem to have mastered catching 5-inch bass on a 5-inch worm. I am always curious if there really is a 7 pounder swimming there.

I mainly fish lakes smaller than 1,000 acres. Once on a small lake, I caught a 42-inch pike, on another small lake I caught an upper 40-inch Musky. I always wondered if I had caught the biggest fish swimming in the lake. I have never thought this about bass because I have always assumed there is bigger bass somewhere in the lake. I don't think I would ever think this on a big body of water because no matter the size of a fish, I would always think there is a bigger one swimming. Anybody ever catch something and think I may have caught the biggest bass/fish in the lake?

My season is short. The opener is in May and I don't get out much till June. I put the boat away at the end of October. During the long 6 months of waiting, I will look back at pictures I took just so I have something to look forward to. It is nice to see dates and times on pics also. I almost always fish alone. I have it figured out now so I put the phone on the console and use timer. Pics are really for my benefit and enjoyment.

The one I will always remember wasn't a bass, but it happened when I was bass fishing with my son. He was reeling in a wacky rigged worm fast to recast. It was skipping across the water and when it was about 3 feet from the boat I heard a giant splash. His rod doubled over and his reel started screaming. His eyes were huge. I said I think you may have a musky. Just as I said it the fish jumped completely out of the water 20 feet from the boat. It tail walked and crashed back into the water. It was a mid-40-inch fish. It made another run and broke the line. Late that day he caught his PB smallmouth, but all we could talk about was the big one that got away.

I enjoy both BASS and MLF format. I really like the MLF events where they don't know where they are going. I enjoy watching them try to break down a lake quickly. I also enjoy when it is tough. It reminds me more of what a lot of regular anglers go through. Most lakes are good at certain times, but can you catch fish when it is tough. I am sure many of the anglers will miss BASS and the classic, but I also feel BASS will definitely miss the anglers. Next years classic will not have the same feel. I think the new guys are great sticks, but I enjoy watching people I have come to know over the years. Who knows what the future holds. I would love to see one big tournament with the top 15 from MLF, BASS and FLW go at it once a year. It would be great for the fans.

There is a boattest.com review of the Alumacraft Pro 175 on youtube. Seems like a nice little bass rig.

I am curious to see how they will work. They look cool!

This will be the last Classic with all the top anglers for awhile. It should be interesting. Next years classic will seem strange without all the big names.