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 Losing ice, gaining fishing opportunities.... It was a long, drawn-out Winter in 2021-2022, as ice lingered around for much longer than average. Water temperatures stayed in the 30s near the end of April, giving anglers a delayed start tome prime riverbank fishing activity, a delayed crappie bite, and a deep off-shore cold-water bass bite close to our annual gamefish season opener. We took a few trips with some middle school kids in the region to the Chippewa River, in hopes of catching suckers, carp, smallmouth buffalo, freshwater drum, yellow perch, walleye, or an accidental lake sturgeon. Although we did catch a few fish, it was slow, the water was low, and the fish were very young.  LOCAL ANGLER WYATT B HOLDS UP A JUVENILE LAKE STURGEON ICE-OUT BASSIN, TURTLE FLAMBEAU ADVENTURES, RED CEDAR LAKE ESCAPADES Always a fan of learning new experiences, I challenged myself to some very cold-water as the ice was melting off. My first trip included a small water excursion in which our Helix 12 HD side imaging exposed schools and schools of fish laying on the main lake deep-water basin, still in a winter-hole phase in 37 degree water temps combined with 25 degree air temps. The fishing was slow, the wind was dead, the water was flat, and we had the chance to fish slow and methodically, trying to temp some deep-water bass. Unfortunately my fishing buddy for the day may have had a largemouth of a lifetime near the surface, but lost it on a head-shake on his treble hooks, which so often happens. We came back for round 2 the following morning, and to our surprise, this beautiful 18" brown trout made up for the previous day's loss:  DAVID XIONG WITH A 18" BROWN TROUT  ALEX PIONTEK'S CRAWFISH BANDIT IS OUT OF HIBERNATION  JESSE JAMES WITH AN 18" LARGEMOUTH BASS IN 14' WATER DEPTH  I came across an affordable TourneyX event for the month in Wisconsin, so I joined with 28 other anglers. It was open to kayaks, boats, canoes, banks, you name it. This would fit me well for the month, as I was planning a few trips, but didn't have it in me to meet people at set dates or times, or had the health to battle through 8 hour fishing tournaments. My first stop would be on a small bass and panfish 90 acre natural lake in Rusk County, a place known for numbers of bass, but not necessarily size. With a water temperature sitting at 47 degrees, I wanted to rule out anything tight to shore or aggressive. Of course, I did try shoreline areas with long casts and reaction baits, with zero success or sightings of any fish. I decided to do some slow speed scanning with my Helix 12, and was finding clear markings of massive fish in around 14' of water, tight to the bottom. This lake does not have northern pike in it, it does have some musky. I don't believe it has a walleye population, so I assumed these were largemouth bass I was seeing, working their way in from their winter locations. There were also cribs all over in these contours. I pulled out a brand new Molix deep-diving jerk bait, and was running this slow and as deep as possible. I was able to make a lot of bottom contact to generate a reaction-strike. As always in tough conditions, I loaded the back treble very heavily with scented JB's Jelly, by JBs Fish Sauce. With every pass down the contour, I found success, as I landed 4 solid largemouth pass in 4 passes. These fish were very sluggish with the cold-water, and were very easy to net. What a fun time as I saw myself rise in the TourneyX standings to 3rd place early in the month, without having a 5th fish to fill my limit. BIG CHETAC PERCH FESTOUR CRAPPIES WERE HIDING BUT THE PERCH WERE JUMPING INTO THE CAST IRON TURTLE FLAMBEAU - SCENIC, RELAXING, REWARDING  My annual Turtle Flambeau Flowage trip went about as well as expected - the scenery was amazing, the fishing was tough, the giant smallmouths were present and girthy, wildlife was abundant, and the boat trailer sustained more injuries. Just another weekend at the Turtle. I started the trip by towing the boat to the Lake of the Falls County Park, for my second year in a row. This is an affordable way to be able to charge boat batteries, and have shower access. Remember - this flowage is full of islands with free camping on a first-come first-served basis with no registration involved. If your batteries are charged ahead of time, you can just stay out on the islands for free and find all the peace and quiet you are looking for (besides the loons all night.) I was limited on fishing time due to health reasons, and the bite was definitely a challenge. As usual you have to stick with your plan and keep an open mind, and over time you will have opportunities. I tried scouting a new area to me, which is something I do every trip. This time was Blair Lake. The water was muddy and cold, and it felt dead in there. After a few hours, we split and tried some of my previous spots near fisherman's landing, and found a few hooksets on quality fish. Unfortunately both fish missed the net, the first one may have broken my all-time longest bass for the Turtle. I was able to catch #5 for my online TourneyX event, so I gained some ground after slipping back several places from not fishing for a few weeks.  VIEWS NEAR FISHERMAN'S LANDING AT DUSK AS WE IDLE IN TO THE LAUNCH  THE BEST PLACE TO ESCAPE IS THE SANCTUARY OF A TENT AND TIKI GLOW  MY FAVORITE WAY TO END A DAY OF FIGHTING WAVES WITH A TROLLING MOTOR RED CEDAR CHAIN OF EVENTS UNCLE JESSE PUTS A JAMES GANG BOOTYKICKER TO WORK ON HEMLOCK LAKE  Mid-May was leading us on, as it appeared that Mother Nature was going to give us a record early spawn. We had 66 degree water temperatures on May 17, as the bass and northern pike were feeding heavily, and the bass were busy cruising or making beds in spawning areas. Brad Peplinski and I light up 30 bass and 10 northern pike, with most fish caught on a James Gang Fishing BASS JERKER suspending jerk bait in "Bloody Cisco," while a few were caught on James Gang NEST INVADER needles swinging jigs in 1/4 oz size. Zoom Fluke Jrs as well as large spinnerbaits caught the rest of the fish. A return trip two weeks later surprised us as we found water temps back down in the 50s, and a very negative feeding attitude. A few fish were caught on the James Gang BOOTYKICKER, a small walleye on a ned rig, a few smallmouth on a James Gang NEST INVADER, and a few bites on a plastic craw. Both trips I was able to cull out my lowest fish and move up in the standings. I finished in the Top 10 for the month out of 29 anglers, and besides my 18" bass, the rest was a nice 16-17" average to fill by bag limit. It was a lot of fun, and I was very proud of my production on these limited windows of opportunities that I found in the month of May. IN SUMMARY....... It's been a wonderful start to the 2022 Spring fishing season. Summer will be here soon, and after the bass are done with post-spawn, we can enjoy or times froggin and chasing prime time bluegills on the lakes, catfish on the rivers. Always remember to invite a child when you can on your next fishing trip, and focus on relaxing and enjoying the outdoors whenever you get the time!!  
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 A DELICIOUS MEAL OF TAINTER LAKE PANFISH CAUGHT WITH JB'S FISH SAUCE & BEAVERTAIL BAITS ICE FISHING SEASON IS MELTING AWAY  As spring arrives in Wisconsin, the game fish seasons close, the ice can no longer handle pick-up trucks driving on them, and eventually the safe ice melts off into the open water. This year was a very successful year for many Wisconsin anglers on the ice. First ice in December was its usual dependable self, as the majority of anglers found the fish to be very aggressive as their first jig sightings of the year showed up. As the ice thickened and fishing pressure increased, anglers often had to downsize their approach and use less aggressive colors to activate some feeding to put a few on the ice. Enhancing your presentation with JB'S FISH SAUCE is always a wise choice, as the oil-based scent trail can help convince some "tasters" into "biters" when they are in sampling mode. A great alternative to live bait is using Gullickson's BEAVERTAIL BAITS as a finesse trailer on small tungsten jigs. I find myself almost always cutting them in half (length-wise) with a knife when ice fishing to mimic a spike or silver wiggler vs a large waxie. More often than not, this small detail can really increase your odds of hooking up. I did struggle at times this year because on most trips they really wanted a smaller presentation. I was generating bites but on very small tungsten jigs, which ended up in several lost fish during the retrieve to the hole. There isn't much that you can do in these situations, other than maybe trying to increase drag tension slightly, but not to the point that leads to broken off fish. I guess in the end, I would rather lose a few quality fish than not get bit at all using a bigger presentation. Our good buddies Kevin & Trevor found success this winter with me, and we even got to play with LiveScope for the first time on one of our trips. Live Scope has absolutely exploded in popularity this winter in Wisconsin, and because of that the anglers are able to chase down moving schools of fish instead of waiting for them to cycle through at very slow paces. Fish catching is getting much easier with theis new technology, please responsibly harvest and avoid slaughtering our local fisheries on your best days of the year.  ENJOYING THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES JAMES GANG FISHING CEO ALEX JAMES HOLDS AN ALLIGATOR IN THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES Alex James decided to take a week vacation from his schooling and head down to the Florida Everglades for 4 days, hitting the beach, chasing alligators, swimming with dolphins, and catching peacock bass. Alex found his first flight ever to be a pleasant experience, as he made it from Minnesota to Miami, Florida in just 3.5 hours. As he stepped outside of Miami International Airport, he saw his first palm tree and a 60 degree jump in temperature compared to back home in the midwest. Alex had a choice of which Turo rental car to ride in, a 2017 Porsche convertible, or a 2018 Dodge Challenger. Alex chose the Dodge, as the Challenger was one of his favorite cars from Zum Off Rentals. The Lamborghini and the McLaren were slightly above our budget.  TURO RENTAL CAR OF CHOICE FOR THIS TRIP WAS THE 2018 Dodge Challenger V6 WITH 293 HP  Alex had never seen such a large city before, as we drove past skyscrapers and changed lanes quickly in 16 lanes of traffic headed to Hwy 41 West. After 9 miles of craziness, the highway slimmed down to 2 lane traffic straight through the Florida Everglades. The sides of the roads all had guard rails separating them from canals of water and backwaters of the Everglades. Thick trees, vegetation, small Cyprus trees, palms, and tall, wet grasslands were to be seen from all directions. Wildlife is very thick here, as birds were hunting for food. Occasionally you would see parked cars on the side of the freeway as all of this water was public domain, you can fish anywhere! These waters contained saltwater fish as well as alligators. The drive was beautiful for 51 miles as you work from eastern Florida, through Everglades City, to Marco Island on the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way there are plenty of Florida panther signs, and even Gopher Tortoise crossing signs. We didn't see any alligators in the road, or any other wildlife besides turkey vultures. I think the guard rails probably do a pretty good job of keeping them off the road. On day one we arrived at our beautiful and affordable hotel, Port of the Islands Resort in the Everglades located on a gorgeous marina. The property was full of palm trees, and even had alligators and crocodiles hanging around the waterfront. We were fortunate enough to see a manatee in the wild eating next to shore, as well as dolphins attacking a school of mullet fish, and those gators & rare crocs.       PORT OF THE ISLAND RESORT IN THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES IS A GREAT PLACE FOR LODGING!!  WALLY GATOR IS NOT VERY SHY AS HE MAKES LAPS AROUND THE MARINA WATERS AT PORT OF THE ISLANDS  After our exhausting day of flying and driving, we crashed for the night at the Port of the Islands hotel. Since we arrived after dark, we were not aware of how beautiful this property was. Sunrise was unbelievable, the the property was surround by palm trees, yachts, dolphins, and more. The marina was full of houseboats that were in use as the owners enjoyed their time relaxing in the harbor. Alex and I headed to Everglades City to check out what its like to rip through the famous mangroves in Florida in an airboat. We did our research and found that Captain Jacks's was a popular place. After the ride, we were invited to visit their zoo, attend an alligator show, and have Alex hold an alligator for a photo opportunity. The driver was an awesome guy, and he entertained us with some pretty funny comedy over our headsets as we traveled through the crazy mangroves of the Everglades.  EVERYONE ON BOARD WAS SMILING DURING THIS AWESOME AIRBOAT RIDE IN THE EVERGLADES!! During our trip, we were able to see schools of hungry catfish (that love to eat orange peels) and a solo alligator hiding in the shade in the mangroves. Our driver spun us around for some fun donuts on the water, and ripped through the mangrove tunnels at high speeds. The 30 minute trip was so much fun! At the Wooten's Zoo, we saw lots of wildlife, including wild gators and lots of fish outside their fenced in property. They had a nice gift shop with lots of clothing, dried alligator heads and feet and much more for your display areas of your dining room.  FATHER & SON TEAM OF JAMES GANG FISHING ARE LOVING THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES AFTER AN AIRBOAT RIDE  After our fun looking at alligators and riding on boats, we decided it was time to head to Tigertail Beach on Marco Island, which is located on the Gulf of Mexico. This city is full of picture-perfect mansions on the waterfront. Palm trees everywhere. A slow, relaxing place without heavy traffic. A perfect way to spend the afternoon in the sunlight. Alex enjoyed his first tall waves that the Atlantic Ocean threw at him, but he did not care for the taste of salt-water that he accidentally swallowed more than once. The beachfronts were white & sandy, the water temperature was tolerable, and there was some pelicans hanging around chasing some baitfish for supper. Local real estate was on fire as there were homes listed from $4,000,000-9,000,000! This is a high-dollar beautiful place for retirees that have a solid amount of money invested in their retirement.  TIGERTAIL BEACH AT MARCO ISLAND, FL ON THE Gulf of Mexico  The next day in Florida led us to a drive in the Challenger across the Everglades to Miami, Florida. We drove through all the traffic and skyscrapers to cross the ocean on a bridge to Key Biscayne Island. The final destination was the Miami Seaquarium, a zoo filled with wildlife with marine animals including dolphins, orcas, sea lions, flamingos, manatees, manta rays, sharks, fish, and more! Alex treated himself to an adventure in which he was able to swim with the dolphins in the park for 30 minutes with the dolphin trainers. In this time, Alex was taught hand signals to instruct the fish to do flips and shake "hands" (or fins.) He experienced feeding them fish treats, felt the dolphin's belly, and for the grand finale, Alex grabbed on to a dorsal fin and went for a ride across the entire pool. As an animal-lover that loves being in water, this was the ultimate experience for him. He thought the dolphins were hilarious as they were very fun and playful with everyone.  SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS - HANG ON TIGHT!  After spending the morning with his bottlenose buddies, Alex had me fire up the Dodge Challenger and head back across the Everglades back to the hotel to swim in the 85 degree pool and eat some fresh-caught sea trout, baked to perfection at the Angler's Cove restaurant. Alex said the pool was much better than swimming in the ocean, even though he missed the waves, he did not miss the taste of salt water. The palm trees surrounding the hotel pool were neat to look at, and the large pool had a lot of deep water for him to swim under. We ran out of time to fire up one of the many barbecue grills on the property, but we did find time to search for gators and crocs at the marina and located across the street at the Port of the Isles Recreation Area.  PORTS OF THE ISLANDS POOL IS SCENIC AND HEATED TO 85 DEGREES FOR PERFECT COMFORT  PORT OF THE ISLES RECREATION AREA IS FULL OF REPTILES AND HAS MANATEES PRESENT NEAR THE HWY 41 BRIDGE PEACOCK BASS FISHING WITH MONSTER MIKE IN MIAMI'S CANALS  A few years ago we were watching another episode of "GOING IKE" with Mike Iaconelli, and there was this hyper, crazy guide named Monster Mike leading Iaconelli down the banks for Miami looking for peacock bass and exotic fish in the clear canal waters. Later on, Mike brought National Geographic Wild's film crew down these same canals to re-connect with Monster Mike on his Miami episode of "FISH MY CITY WITH MIKE IACONELLI." The passion from Monster Mike was as wild as Iaconelli himself, and I thought that this was a guy WE NEED to fish with someday. Since our flight and car rental were based in/out of Miami, we checked with Monster Mike's guiding partner Bryan "The CEO" to see if there was an opening on our final day. We lucked out and were able to book a half-day trip with the 2 guides before heading back home at night with our 8:30pm take-off. We took our final trip across the scenic Everglades Hwy 41 back to Miami to meet the two at their local bait shop. Monster Mike bought out the remaining shiners in inventory as we waited for Bryan "The CEO" to make an appearance. As Bryan pulled up in his HEMI Ram, we fired up the Challenger and followed them through neighborhoods of beautiful homes in southern Miami. We stopped several times as we hole-hopped different canal locations through the day of fishing. On my first cast that hit the water (my first cast was in the trees - or as Monster Mike and Alex called it - I caught a TREE POUNDER) I hooked up into a super aggressive peacock bass! This fish would end up being the smallest one of the day, but even at under 2 lbs it really put up a huge fight!  MY BIGGEST OF MANY PEACOCK BASS THAT I CAUGHT WITH MONSTER MIKE FISHING - THIS ONE APPROACHING 3 LBS  The previous day brought on a cold rain to Miami, and it sure seemed to affect the fishing on this day. We had a very slow start after the first cast peacock that I had landed. Monster Mike and Bryan "THE CEO" made decisions to try other locations. The sun came out and the temperature began climbing, and eventually it turned into the warmest day of our vacation. As the temperature increased, the peacock bass became more aggressive. I was feeling bad as Alex wasn't having any luck, but I was catching them at each location it seemed. We ended up sight-fishing for all of our fish, and I saw a "flared" peacock bass under my feet at stop #2. As I dropped my shiner in front of the colorful fish, a bigger one shot out from the rock undercut on shore and smashed my shiner. I saw it happen so I gave it my best power hookset, and nailed that peacock with all that braided line could handle. It gave me an awesome fight and was easily the biggest one I would catch all day. With a super orange belly, this was one of those that I was hoping to snap a photo of by the end of the day.  As the bite picked up, Alex noticed a pair of peacock bass in front of him at stop #3. He dropped a shiner in front of its face and the smaller one instantly erupted on it. Alex gave it a tournament-style power hookset (jacked him) and he landed his first peacock bass, a colored 2 pounder. While he was holding the fish with Monster Mike for a photo, Bryan "THE CEO" hooked the larger of the pair, so Mike had to hold Alex's fish as he ran to reel in his 2nd peacock bass in less than a minute. This one was much larger, weighing approximately 3.5 pounds! We noticed that this larger fish had a huge lump on his head. Monster Mike & Bryan "THE CEO" said that the trophy peacock bass typically get that lump and grow a much taller back to their shape vs the younger class peacock bass. As we sight-fished the area, Monster Mike continued scouting the shores looking for trophy fish lurking around. After fishing this stop out, he had 2 more on his mind that he really wanted to try out. The next stop would be where Mike Iaconelli was filmed on National Geographic Wild reeling in a large cichlid for the show.  MONSTER MIKE & BRYAN "THE CEO" PUT ALEX ON THE LARGEST FISH TO DATE IN 2022 - A 23" PEACOCK @ 6.75-7 LBS!!! We hopped back into the Challenger and followed Bryan to the location where Iaconelli was filmed with these two guides. Instantly, Mike notices several peacock bass present as he scouts the banks of the canal. Bryan "THE CEO" sees a trophy busting on the surface numerous times, but finds its way into hiding from us under a thin cloud of debris on top. After a short time, the wind shifted directions and the could of film leaves the area, exposing all of the peacock bass. We caught a few smaller ones, but then I noticed the larger one under my feet. I kept casting at it, getting several missed swipes from the fish. Monster Mike got up close and estimated it to be well over 4 lbs, and was super excited to get one of us on this fish. Monster Mike had us step back towards the truck to prevent spooking the fish. As we stood motionless, he made multiple casts past the fish trying to get it right in the strike zone. After he experienced some missed strikes, the peacock hooked up. Alex quickly took over as we assumed we were dealing with a 4+ pounder. During the fight, the drag was screaming on 20 lb braid, and the fish kept rising towards the top. Once it reached the surface, we realized we were fighting with a GIANT peacock bass! Bryan coached Alex all the way down the shore, reminding him to let the fish take drag, and let the rod do the work before reeling. Monster Mike positioned himself on the bank near the "landing station" that they often use when helping their clients land peacock bass. As he grabbed the fish by the mouth at shore, we all let out an Iaconelli celebration scream - the beast was landed! With incredible colorations and a massive build, this was truly a fish-of-a-lifetime! Monster Mike estimated the weight to be around 6.75-7 lbs with a length of 23." We safely released the fish unharmed after photos and high fives, and will be ordering a fiberglass replica of this trophy peacock bass. These fish have the most stunning colors of all fish in North America, and I highly recommend booking a trip with these two fantastic guides! Monster Mike Fishing can also be found on YouTube, so go ahead and LIKE/SUBSCRIBE to his fishing channel as he puts peacock videos as well as comedy videos on YouTube on a regular basis. Also find him on Instagram to see his entertaining content that he creates with Bryan "THE CEO."  LOVERTAIL 2 Weedless INLINE SPINNER SALE! LOVERTAIL 2 inline spinners are ON SALE now with FREE shipping! These are great for catching largemouth bass, northern pike, and other large gamefish. Our top 2 fish-catching and selling colors are offered in our current sale - BULL BLUEGILL & WHITE CRAPPIE! For more information, click below to our online store link: Lovertail 2 Weedless inline spinner BASS
$12.75
$8.00 - $12.75
WHAT IS A LOVERTAIL 2? It is a premium-quality weedless IN-LINE SPINNERBAIT! These lures are fantastic around weeds and wood cover, and great for catching that giant kicker bass that you need in the tournaments. Northern Pike LOVE these lures as well, a fun time to be had in Canada!! Throw this lure where you would NEVER dare to throw an in-line spinner!!!! The lure is hand-crafted on a 300# stainless steel wire, using tarnish-resistant nickel-plated blades and beads. Following the beads is a beautiful UMBRELLA-FLARE silicone skirt. A stainless steel split ring attaches a swinging VMC HD weighed hook designed by Bassmaster & MLF WORLD Champion and AOY MIKE IACONELLI. Check them out in YouTube https://youtu.be/AxCu5ejXchs. The LOVERTAIL 2 is the top-selling lure crafted by James Gang Fishing Company and will help you catch more 4-5 lb or bigger bass, like it has for Tyler Theide, Kayak Guide, Kevin Rogalski, Pro Staffer, and multiple satisfied customers from Missouri to Louisiana.   JAMES GANG FISHING Lovertail 2 Weedless Inline Spinner in "BULL BLUEGILL"THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS AND FEEL FREE TO JOIN OUR JUNE 12 MLF EVENT ON RED CEDAR LAKE. 2 PERSON TEAMS $35/ANGLER. SEARCH "James gang" ON FISH DONKEY APP TO REGISTER!! 2021 JAMES GANG BASS INVITATIONAL 18 ANGLERS PARTICIPATED IN THE OLD ABE MLF EVENT IN 2021 The Event Begins...... The long-awaited 2021 James Gang Bass Invitational was an exciting event for us, since we were forced to cancel all of our 2020 events due to COVID scheduling conflicts. The 18 anglers that showed up on May 22 at Old Abe Lake in NW WI made up for it, with positive attitudes and smiling faces in incredibly comfortable fishing weather. I chose CEO Alex James as my fishing partner, hoping that the soon-to-be 13 year old could finally land himself a Kid's Big Bass Award in his final event before he would no longer be eligible. I began the early spring by scouting new areas to us in the Cobban Bridge area, using our side-imaging to mark ledges and visually look for eddies from the current that is pretty consistent on this body of water. We have fished this flowage many times during the 2000's, but felt the last 5 years that the fishery was losing its ability to produce quality fish. Several outings from 2015-2019 were terrible outings, failing to hook into or even see a single legal bass in all of our trips. Word around the area the last few years was that Old Abe was alive and well, full of the girth smallmouths that attracted us anglers. We thought we would give it a go and prove or disprove what the fisheries status really is. 6 AM equals "LINES IN" All of the anglers showed up early, giving us the ability to start the event 30 min early at 6AM. We were hoping to see a hot morning top-water bite, as the water temperatures were hinting that we were around the annual spawning season for the local smallmouth bass. Our strategy was to run up river to the previously scouted Cobban Bridge area, as we assumed the bulk of the field would hammer the dam and islands areas close to the boat ramp. To our surprise, not a boat was in sight when we launched our boat! We decided to improvise and simply start fishing at the boat ramp. I began throwing a James Gang Spitter Pop, a heavy duty, hand-carved wooden popper for top-water success. Six minutes into the day, our FISHDONKEY app began blaring a donkey noise, as Doc Gilles registered the first 12+" smallmouth bass of the tournament, weighing in at .75 lbs. This fish put Doc & his partner Todd Lundquist in the lead. His lead would be passed up moments later, when David Xiong boated a 15 oz fish at 6:25 am to take the lead over Doc.  DOC GILLES & TODD LUNDQUIST START THE DAY WITH THE LEAD ON OLD ABE LAKE ALEX FINDS A POTENTIAL WINNING PATTERN EARLY JAMES GANG FISHING CEO ALEX & I had prepped our rods with multiple James Gang Fishing lures, as well as a Strike King Rodent 3" and a Strike King Rage Craw in Ned size. Alex had discovered a unique way to rig the Rodent a few years ago while catching nice largemouth on Rock Lake by Bloomer, WI. He found that a VMC HD weighted swimbait hook, with the hitch hiker screwed into the bottom of the front point, gives the rodent a keel shape, resulting in an aggressive walk-the-dog presentation. Even though he knew he had that trick to rely on, he started off by dead-sticking the Rodent (soaked in JB'S FISH SAUCE Pinch O' Garlic mist) in 2' deep spawning areas. It created a reaction quickly, as he began catching quality smallmouth bass on beds right at the boat launch area. at 6:26AM, Alex had landed his first legal bass, a 1.38 lb smallmouth that put him in the lead. 3 minutes later, the FINDONKEY app woke up the lake as Brent Forsman and his 14-year-old son Matthew began finding a strong pattern for themselves, taking over the early lead and the temporary BIG BASS lead with a 2.13 lb smallmouth. TEAM FORSMAN GOES WILD! 14-YEAR-OLD MATTHEW FORSMAN AND HIS DAD TAKE A COMMANDING LEAD Brent Forsman and his son Matthew went on an absolute fish-landing frenzy the following half hour. With every check of the FISHDONKEY app, their lead grew, fish after fish, with some quality bass in the 2+lb class. By 6:53 AM, Team Forsman was feeling comfortable with just over 12 lbs verified with the lead. Most of the field was at 1 lb or less. Then 12-year-old Alex began producing a quality fish, as he took his time working the prime areas producing a strong fish here and there. At 6:32AM, he boated fish number 2, a 2.25 lb bass once again on a Baby Rodent.13 minutes later, a Rage Craw Ned in black and blue was fired up near a log, and as his line tightened up he gave the bass a perfect hook-set, and a fight was on. I reminded him to keep pressure on the fish and make sure he doesn't point the rod at it. As I scooped up his girthy giant of a 16+" bass, the weight pushed him to the top of the BIG BASS lead, at 2.81 lbs! Alex single-handedly put us halfway to the Forsman's weight, and high above the other 14 anglers in the field when the first hour of fishing was complete.  BRENT FORSMAN IS PUTTING HIS TEAM ON A GREAT PATTERN THE REMAINING FIELD COMES IN TO PLAY CODY SCHEIDLER PUTS THE PRESSURE ON ALEX WITH A 2.44# SMALLMOUTH BASS  As the Alex vs. Forsman show fizzled out for a few hours, the remaining field began registering some fish, including several in the 2 lb class that made it appear that Alex would not retain the lead for 8 hours. We really believed a 3lb bass would be needed to win the Daily Lunker Award for the biggest bass of the day. Just before 8AM, Jon Small and his son Wesley made us very nervous as they put themselves on the board and nearly took the BIG BASS lead with a very thick 2.56 lb bass. 17 minutes later, Cody Sheidler and his partner Shawn Malison put a bass in the boat near 2.5 lbs as well. A little over an hour later, James Buresh and his son Cody put a very nice 2.63 lb smallmouth up towards the top for Big Bass. Team Buresh jumped up the scales at 6.45 lbs and were in contention with as as we tried to gain ground on the Forsmans. Sneaking in the background was a team from Cumberland, slowly edging their way up the entire time, as Jonathon Howell and his partner Dustin was nearly tied with the Buresh team trying to run down the top team with us and Team Buresh.  DUSTIN & HIS PARTNER JONATHON HOWELL OF CUMBERLAND WORKED THEIR WAY UP THE LEADERBOARD THE ENTIRE EVENT BRENT & MATTHEW BACK IN THE GAME, BUT SO IS ALEX! |
AuthorJesse James is an avid fisherman that loves smallmouth bass fishing, loves spending time with his family, with other family-orientated people, and loves seeing children fish. A huge fan of BASSMASTER Elite Mike Iaconelli, like Mike, he is known to be a little strange, and obnoxious, but only to have fun and make people laugh. 
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