Trench_Panda

The wife was busy and let me have a day to myself. After sleeping in I headed out to the Mississippi River just to try it. The water is raging right now about 4 ft higher than normal and going about 7 mph. All the cold nights lately have dropped water temps to 52 degrees. I tried a jig first thinking they'd want something slow and subtle. Didn't work. Then decided to throw the new Strike King Magnum 4.0 Squarebill. Its big for the bass we have up here, but ever since I started using it I've had more bites than the 1.5 or the 2.5. Its weird that they wanted such a big bait. Even in Fall when temps keep dropping. I only got 2 landed but lost 2. Nothing over 2.5 pounds. But at least I caught something. With the temps warming around here might need to get out again before the water gets into the 40's.

The Boundary line was in Dayton where the Crow River enters the Mississippi. Take off was in Champlin at the Landing.

Well. I got a chance to try the Skeeter Boat Center Open Bass tournament in Champlin. My brother and I got 4th with 14 lbs! Not bad for our first tournament. We only missed 2nd place by a half pound. Winner had just over 17 lbs with Big Bass honors @ 4.74 lbs.

For about 15 years I've been very loyal to Quantum baitcaster reels and haven't had any issues. I just take care of them, don't throw them around, and maintain them with reel oil on the bearings almost once a month. I've been using Berkley 6'6" MH rods even longer and have chosen them up until the last 2 years. I tried Abu Garcia Veritas Rod, and Veritas 2.0 6'9" MH and they were okay, maybe a little stiffer than I liked. Then went back to a Berkley E-Motion 6'9" Medium and loved the flexibility of the "Medium" rod. I had tax money to burn this year and decided to try Quantum Rods. I bought 3 Tour KVD rods; (2) 7" Mediums, and (1) 7'10" Medium Heavy. They have been the best rods I've ever used, since I only fish for Bass and get the occasional Northern they work amazing. The 7'10" is perfect for those deep diving crankbaits, and somehow last weekend I was trying the Strike King 8.0 for Smallmouth on the Mississippi River here and I got a bite, set the hook, and SNAP! It broke about a foot above the reel seat. I thought the fish must have been HUGE to hit THAT bait and break THAT pole. I reeled it in by hand and it weighed 1.98 lbs... Sending in for warranty now. Getting a new one in a week. Just a bad batch or defect. Still won't stop me from buying their products.

Well since you're just below the Anoka Rum River Dam...judging by the pic and you aren't extending it out to fake its size. I'd say between 3.5-4 lbs. Between the Main St Bridge and the pedestrian bridge I caught a 5 lb 1 oz Smallie in 2014. Biggest smallmouth to date, then 1 month later caught another 5 lb 1 oz smallmouth up in Dayton where the Crow comes into the Mississippi River. Best fishing year I've had yet. Both caught on a Storm Arashi Wake bait, seen in the bottom middle pic.

Yeah they had one last year in Champlin and of course that conflicts with Game Fair so I can't go again this year.

Hey Guys. I've looked high and low in my area and online for any type of smallmouth tournaments in Minnesota and I can't seem to find any. So my question: Does anyone know of any Mississippi River Tournaments or "Tours" in MN or River tournaments that are Smallmouth specific? Thanks guys