Had the opportunity to get out for about 4 days on a second trip but this time was able to see more family coming in. So of course, i spent my free time fishing. Had a blast out there but did not seem to catch as many big ones as my first trip. These trips are kinda special for me because Minnesota is such a fun fishery. The water temperatures this time around were mid 70's on most lakes we fished and some of the fish were completely spawned out on lakes where just 10 days prior were fat and full. Interestingly, one of the ten or so big bass lakes we fish, the big ones just started spawning in 75 degrees. I have yet to see something like this. The weather has krept up this spring and that is my only guess for fish coming in so late. Unfortunately i do not have pictures from family members who have some of the other big fish which includes several 6's as well but i will include some of the good ones i have. The lakes were beautiful and the big bass lures that seemed to work this trip were square bill crankbaits with some of the littler 5's and 4's coming on the worm, lizard, swimbaits, berkeley havocs, and jigs. We found a new big bass lake which was in Otter Tail County that we had never fished before and was blown away that this particular lake had many big bass. It is something, to fish an area for 30 years and discover a new lake less then 20 miles away. Gotta love this place. Our first two outings totaled over 200 fish in less than 8 hours. Just unreal. How did we go this long without knowing about a lake like this?! 

 

 

Kept wearing my dirty shirt to stick em,

 

 

A fun jump

 

 

 

 

And a little treat of a walleye coming in at 6 pounds 13 ounces. Picture doesn't do it justice. This thing was a giant for me. I am not a good walleye fisherman and do not catch big walleyes so this was a fun treat.

 

 

another 5 lb crankbait bass

 

 

more pics coming

Here with my brother in law and dad. Both are incredible fisherman.

 

 

 

My peeping Tom picture

 

 

As the week went on, we continued to catch a few 5 pounders and surprisingly not that many 4's. It was turning into a weird trip with the 4 pounders once again. My brother in law had already stuck two 6 pounders earlier in the week (he still has the pictures). I had yet to catch my 6 pounder and was getting a little worried. As luck would once again turn my way, i finally stuck the big fish of the week on our new lake coming in right at 6 pounds 8 ounces. She gave me one heck of a battle. I hooked her in about 8 feet of water about 40 yards away and she just kept digging. Best battle of the year for me. She was a beauty. Unfortunately i was by myself since my other family members were busy that morning so of course i had to verify it by weighing her on camera. I love the competitive nature of our fishing trips. I know other's don't need to weigh their fish but it just adds another fun element to fishing for me. She never jumped during the fight so i was still unsure if she was a northern or not. She was never making any 100 mph bursts so i was holding out hope for bass. She just looked so big in the net. The thing with MN bass, is they are usually short (under 22 inches) and built differently than other bass of similar weight. From the neck down with the 5+ fish, they are all solid.

 

 

 

 

The no look

 

 

 

The release, 

 

 

The swim away,

 

I am the same way if I catch se nice ones I gotta wear the same gear no matter how dirty it is hah I'm superstitious

Wow....... looks like you had a blast. Great pics, too. Congrats.

Great trip again. Congrats!

Jeff

Awesome trip and awesome fish!

You had a great trip, Congrats!

And the shimmy chronicle continues. Love the pictures, keep it coming. 

Plenty of stout bass right there.

 

Nice job shimmy.

 

A-Jay