Whitefish Chain/ Year End Re-Cap

I actually started this the day after, but never got it done, so I'll pick up where I left off.

Yep, it happened...the season came to an end, which really sucks. I enjoy fishing with you guys, and having the season come to an end means the summer is over and I won't be fishing with you again until the water turns soft sometime next April or May. That sounds like a long ways off, but the winter will come and go, spring will come again, turning all things green and the water blue; but enough of this bleeping waxing poetic BS.

So, Brian and Dustyn pulled if off again and got first place in the league for the second year in a row! I didn't remember they won last year, and as Brian pointed out, it was a memorable win for them the year before. I think that was a shot at how my brain no longer functions like it used too. You know, it's not cool to make fun of senior citizens Brian, so bleep off. As a matter of fact, both you and Dustyn can kiss my bleep...winning two years in a row...who in the hell do you think you are? I'm giving you guys a different schedule than the rest of us next year; while we're fishing Whitefish, you'll be on some lake by Bemidji wondering where the hell the rest of us are. So, the rest of you guys...don't tell them they have a different schedule than the rest of us. Anyway, congratulations. Winning two years in a row is quite rare. I've never done anything two years in a row. 

Speaking of rare, Sam the bass man, actually had a tri-fecta! I think he said that was his first one since 1972. I was only a junior in high school at that time, so that's a long bleeping time ago. That tri-fecta catapulted him to first place for the night - and he was fishing by himself! He left before I tallied up the points and passed out the money, so I bought a big bag of chocolate covered peanuts, sat down in the middle of them, and just started chewing. You know Sam, you could have said goodbye to me, but you didn't. I got all misty eyed on the way home because I probably won't see you again until next year, and you didn't even say goodbye. It made me sad, bleep.

The big fish pot went to Paul and Simon, so way to go rookies! You got on the board...don't spend it all in one place.

Seriously, it was a blast again this year. It's nice to fish with guys that are just having fun and giving each other a bunch of BS. No one takes it real seriously, but it's competitive enough to keep the testosterone flowing, which helps keep the dick hard, so that's always a good thing.

We'll have a meeting in April again like we have the past two years, so if you change your phone number, let me know. I'll be sending out a notice by text, so if you want to get in on deciding which lakes we're fishing, you need to be there. Also, start saving for your entry fee now, because I want it paid at that meeting. It's such a pain in the ass when some of you pay later. I foresee it still being $75 per person again next year, so here's an idea. Have two less beers per week at the bar for the next ten weeks; take that money you saved; put it someplace where you won't forget, and you'll have enough money to pay your entry fee and buy a beer at the meeting...that is unless you drink that syrupy BS my partner calls beer. It's not only expensive, it must be enjoyed only by sipping it instead of drinking it like a man. That has to be the case, because it takes him longer to drink one beer than it does for me to drink a 12 pack. Holy shit, that's bad tasting stuff.

Again, I had a great time, and I know you guys did too. We have room for up to three more teams, so if you know someone who would be interested, have them come to the meeting in April. Be sure to share with them my money saving plan.

For the event detail, click HERE.
For the final standings, click HERE.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! 

Rabbit Lake Re-Cap

Gents, it's hard to believe this is my second to the last event re-cap, but sadly it is. It also seems I could just copy and paste each week, because Brian & Dustyn did it again. Walked away with the event win and big fish pot. All I have to say is, after next Thursday, I think they're buying. They've won the last four events, so someone has to step up this week and beat them on Whitefish. They've already got the league title wrapped up, but at least one of us other eight losers could win one fricken night! C'mon!

Our last event is Thursday from 4-8 on the WF chain, so I'll see you at Lower Hay.

For the event detail, click HERE.
For the standings, click HERE.

Rice Lake Re-Cap

Well, except for the crying, it may be over folks. Brian & Dustyn are to be commended for the points they've managed to tally over the past two weeks, and because of that, they've opened up a 33 point lead over the second place team of Mark & Chad. B & D scored 29 points on N Long, and they managed to top that on Rice, with a score of 38. If you do the math, they can be caught, but they are going to have to take a dive much like the guys that were in first place just two events ago. Those guys now find themselves tied for 4th, so the rest of us can only hope.

To say it was a cluster fuck at the landing would be an understatement. There was a bass league that had their championship night last Thursday as well, and even though we backed up our end time by 15 minutes, it didn't make a difference. In talking with them, they didn't do real well that night, so those of us that sucked can feel a little better. It's a good thing that Sam isn't in their league though, because he would have kicked all of their asses with the bass he brought in. Those guys would have drooled all over themselves if they saw 4 Smallies that were all over 18 inches. Nice going Sam, and congrats to Brian & Dustyn with their second win in a row, that also included having the biggest fish...pricks.

I'll see you on Rabbit, Thursday, starting at 4:00. Remember to bring a good measuring stick with you, because any Pike you catch between 24 & 36 inches will only count if we can see a good picture showing an accurate measurement.

For the standings, click HERE.
For the event detail, click HERE.

North Long Lake Re-Cap

After a postponement of our event on Rabbit, North Long proved to be a big point night for some, and it sucked for others. It sucked the worst for our points leaders going into the evening, as they could only muster up 3 points. (I'm sure Brandon has had a word or two with Steve by now) That ain't good enough to cut the cheese this year boys. Brian & Dustyn surged by them by 10 points scoring a 29 on North Long. Not only were they the top team point wise, they had the big fish covered by a whopping 3/8 of an inch, as they edged out Craig and I for the big fish pot. Will 10 points hold up with three events left? Looking at the lakes we have to fish yet, I'd say they're going to have to work to stay out front, because the top half of the field is within striking distance. Should be a fun ending to a great season.

I mentioned the postponement on Rabbit. I'm pretty sure everyone understands the make up dates and times by now, but just in case, here they are: (all times are 4:00 to 8:00 PM)

Rice Lake on 9/3.
Rabbit Lake on 9/10.
Whitefish Chain on 9/17.

Just a word about Rabbit. All Pike between 24 and 36 inches must be immediately released. Since the point totals are so close, and one of these slot fish could win the season for someone, or lose it for another, you must be prepared to take a picture that leaves no doubt how big the fish is. Get a big ruler, or tape measure or something, and make sure the measurement is crystal clear when zooming in on it. You must show the whole fish, with it's head up against your boat, your trough, or something, and it's tail pinched in order to count. There will be no exception given for this. If there is a dispute, the team that caught the fish will not be part of the decision making process, but all other teams will look at the picture, and if the majority says it's OK, it's OK. If the vote goes the other way, the fish will not count. Again, we must be able to see the whole fish in the picture, and zoom in on the measurement. You have two weeks to figure it out.

For updated standings after N Long, click HERE.
For the event detail, click HERE.

See you on 9/3 at Lum Park.

Cedar Lake Re-Cap

Turns out the biggest fish of the night, is NOT the biggest fish of the night. Turns out, a 43 inch Musky is as big and bad as a 12 inch rock bass! Shit, that sucks... So, Cedar is a hell of a lake that has a lot of structure in it, and takes longer than 3.5 hours to figure out. No one made a huge move, and as a matter of fact, we had our first tie of the year. The still season leaders, Steve & Brandon, tied with Brian & Dustyn with a whopping 19 points apiece. We had two teams with 17 points as well, so from an overall league point perspective, we had a good night. Cedar isn't all that far away, so it might be a good lake to try late in the fall for a legal Musky, cause Brent proved they are in there.

Up next is Rabbit this Thursday the 6th from 6-9:00. There is a slot on Pike, and fish between 24" & 36" must be immediately returned to the water. So, if you want one of those to count, bring a tape measure and take a picture.

For the latest standings, click HERE.
For Cedar Lake detail, click HERE.

Whitefish Chain Recap

New leaders gents! Steve and Brandon are now in first place by a whopping one point after a strong showing on the Whitefish Chain. It was a nice night, but holy shit there were a lot of boats at the landing. There were rigs parked down the access road, and Jim and I had to wait while some guy was trying to load a houseboat. Anyway, most of us didn't do real well, because unlike Steve, we didn't think to fish a spinner bait in 40 feet of water for Walleye...how stupid are we...doesn't everyone know that's how you catch 'em this time of year? The league that came in just ahead of us didn't think to do that either, because out of all of those boats, not one of them caught a Walleye either...go figure. You can also dis-regard what I said last week about having to lower the yearly winner's prize, because Joe and Dustin finally showed up, in what can only be described as reverse psychology on the rest of us who have fished with them in years past. You see, they would always come to the first several events, do real well, and then not show up the rest of the year. This year, they're trying a new strategy of doing just the opposite, so we had better beware of what they're trying to pull.  

So, we're on a brand new lake for most of us on Thursday the 23rd, as we venture out on Cedar Lake near Aitkin. It will be a haul, but it's a Muskie lake, so if you're up to trying to catch a 54 inch monster for those all important 7 points and probably the big fish pot, have at it. Come to think of it, maybe we should have added a quadfecta this year. We start at 6:00 and fish until 9:30, so I'll see you there.

Oh, and least I forget, Troy and Ryan not only had the big fish of the night, they had the biggest Bass & Pike...now if they had only been using a spinnerbait in 40 feet of water!

Brad

For updated standings, click HERE.
For the event detail, click HERE.

Roosevelt Lake Recap

Sorry this is late guys...just got my internet back yesterday because of the move. Here is some advice from an OLD friend. If you've lived in a house for 29 years, and you get a wild hair up your ass thinking it would be a good idea to move, forget all of the reasons WHY it might be a good idea; forget about the sentimental value; forget about it being a larger house which you need; just forget about it...stay put! Either that, or hire someone to do absolutely everything for you while you sit on your new deck drinking a beer and smoking a cigar. Anyway, we're moved (for the most part). Glad it's over, because my next move will be to the funeral home.

So, no one really set Roosevelt's water on fire last week. We all agree it's a wonderful lake to fish, but I have a feeling we could have all ten events on that lake, and no one would figure it out on a consistent basis. Maybe if you lived there and fished it all of the time, but it's tough. The Tullibees (do you know what spell check for Tullibees is? Liberates! WTF? Liberates don't swim!) were jumping so much, it got down right annoying. Even the Gulls were like; "oh, ok...I'll swim over there and eat you, but God I'm full of Liberates right now."

Like I said, most of us had a hard time of it, but it sounded like the farther north you went, the better you did. Brandon and his sub won the event, and had the biggest fish, but no one made a huge move point wise. We're four events in, and Jim and I's score the week before shows how you can keep it close if you get lucky and have a good night. We have a lake coming up that I think is going to be the wild card in the whole thing.

For the event detail, click HERE.
For the standings, click HERE.

It's become obvious that Joe and his partner aren't going to show. Joe paid half of the entry fee at the meeting, and since I figured the money based on their entry fee, we're keeping it. But, instead of the yearly points champion getting $150, they're only going to get $75. At this point, I think that is the only fair way to do it since we have already paid out for nightly winners and big fish points. I can't re-adjust that now because it wouldn't be fair. Since anyone can be the points champion at this point in the season, I think that is our only alternative.

So, I'll see you July 9th at the Landing on Lower Hay for our first of two events on the Whitefish Chain. We fish from 6-9:30, so I'll see you on the water.

Brad

Lake Edward Recap 6.11.15

Even a blind frickin squirrel finds a nut now and then, so that is how Jim and I feel after a dominating :-) performance last Thursday night. It was a beautiful night to be on the water, eating smoked salmon, tasting the skunk piss Jim says is beer coming out of some weird looking cans, (seriously, it was darker than Coke) and catching Walleye that are so big that we had to stop fishing for them...which is a good problem to have, especially when all we can catch in the Bass department are ones that barely make the grade. 

All teams were present and accounted for, except for Joe and Dustin again, so if they don't show on Roosevelt next week, we may have to adjust the nightly payouts because I'm half of an entry fee short for them.

So, Jim and I won the event, and we had a tie for the big fish pot again, with a Pike that went 24.75 inches, and a Walleye that went 24.75 inches. But wait, we had both of those fish - BOOYAH! If you think I'm gloating, I am, because that's the first event we've won in three years, so the blind squirrel will probably go back to not finding his nuts real soon.

For the event detail, click HERE.
For the standings, click HERE.

Our next event is at Roosevelt from 6:00-9:30 on Tuesday, June 23rd. See you on the water!

Brad

Gull Lake Recap 5.28.15

Gull was a windy bitch on Thursday, and most of us went under the bridge at Zorbaz and kept heading north. One of the nice things about keeping a lot of useless information, is that from time to time, it becomes useful information; or at the very least interesting information. We've had two events so far, fishing Pelican two weeks ago, and Gull this past Thursday. We had the same amount of boats fishing this year as we had last year. If you look back at older posts, you will see that we are kicking last years ass when it comes to points. One of the differences, of course, is that we counted Bass on Pelican this year, but at this time last year as a league, we had scored 139 total points. We had almost that many points just on Gull this year. This years total points is 242; that's quite a difference. More points mean more fun. Speaking of fun, here's who got themselves on the leader board on Thursday:

• Nightly Winner...Sam & Tim, (all Bass) with 26 points.
• Big Fish Pot...We had a tie between Mark & Chad and Brad & Jim with a 23.25 inch Pike.

It's important that you look at the nightly detail and let me know if you see anything I missed. I'm having a good time, smokin a cigar, talking with guys and pounding a beer when I should be paying close attention to what Dustyn is saying. And because of my age, add to that I can't hear, and between the time Dustyn yells out a length and I write it down, I've forgotten what he said, so I'm just guessing and hoping I get it right. If you see a mistake send me a text or an email before the next event. Telling me the night off just gives me another excuse to forget.

For the event detail, click HERE.

For the standings, click HERE.

Our next event is on Edward on 6/11 from 6-9:30.

I figured out the entry fee situation. We're down to two guys that still need to pay; Chad and Dustin Jobe, who, along with Joe, hasn't shown up at an event yet. If anyone runs into Joe or Dustin, tell them to get their ass at the landing on Edward in two weeks.

I'll see you on the water!

Brad

Money Breakdown

Hey Gents...as of right now, I have 14 guys marked that have paid, and four that haven't. I also have the exact amount of money for 14 entry fees, so the money is right; I'm just not sure the names are. With everyone throwing money at me at different times, it would be pretty easy for me to mark someone as paid who hasn't, and vice versa. So, if the following guys I have marked as not paid are correct, then good...the sooner you pay me the better. If one of you has paid, then someone else hasn't, so I'm trusting whoever you are that hasn't, to make it right. Here is who I have as NOT paid so far:

• Dustin Jobe
• Chad Thorson (made arrangements to pay tonight)
• Dan Seidl
• Ryan Rupp

Like I said, if your name is on this list and shouldn't be, that means someone else should be, so speak up.

With 9 teams here is how the payouts will go this year:

League Champion...$150

Nightly Winner...$65

Big Fish Pot...$50

I'll see you on Gull tonight. Zorbaz landing.

Brad

Pelican Lake Recap - 5.14.15

For a cold, rainy shitty night, it was pretty nice...mainly because there was no wind. We also didn't have to put up with that monster of a boat at Breezy Point that sends ripples across the water with their extremely annoying bottom end all you hear is bass woofing music - that SUCKS by the way. There also weren't any jet skiers out either, which was a little disappointing, because I had nothing to target practice with. If it had been blowing 50 MPH winds like it has every other time we've fished Pelican, I would have said, "see ya at 9:00 boys; I'm just going to sit here at the landing at drink a few beers."

This year was different, because we could fish for bass (not to be confused with bass in the above paragraph...ain't the English language wonderful) that we could take pictures of and count those towards our nightly total. Good thing too, because I can count on one hand the number of other fish that were caught. No walleye, and only 5 pike. Several of us would have been skunked our first night out without bass, so it's all about that bass.

So, Mark & Chad came away big winners. They not only won the night, but they had big fish as well which is worth $50 this year. But, since they didn't stick around to collect the big fish pot, we all went to JJ's and spent the 50 bucks on pizza; only because we knew that's what you would have wanted us to do.

I have a couple of questions regarding who has paid and who hasn't, but I'll save that for a later post. I have to wait until the money dries out to count it.

For the current standings, click HERE.

For the event detail, click HERE.

Our next event is Thursday the 27 on Gull from 6:00 until 9:30. I'll see y'all then!

Up First...Pelican Lake on Thursday 5.14.15

If the weather man is right, it's going to be a cold, rainy, windy night on Thursday. Let's hope he's wrong as usual, but a 100% chance of rain is a pretty bold statement. It looks like they've taken thunderstorms out of the forecast, so unless there is lighting, we will fish.

Bass has not opened yet, but, this year is different because we can fish for them. That means the bass we catch and release will count under the following conditions:

• A clear "no doubt of length" picture is taken. The head must be against a hard surface, with the tail pinched and the fish laying flat on the measuring device...you cannot put a tape measure beside or on top of the fish. Buy a metal yard stick, or your own bump board, and use that to measure. No other type of measuring will count. We're doing it just like we do at the landing, so no exceptions.
• The picture must have the date and time on it. If it doesn't, the fish doesn't count.
• A short video of the measuring would actually be better.

Any bass caught will not count towards the big fish contest, because the length cannot be verified, and a lot of times we have two fish that are close to the same length.

We have 9 teams this year, which is great. For those of you that have not paid, please bring cash in the EXACT amount, or write a check to me. Since the big fish pot is mandatory this year, the entry fee is $150 per boat, $75 per person. We have room for three more teams, so there is still time for someone to enter. The event starts at 6:00. I'll be at the Stewart's Bay landing by 5:00 for any newcomers that might want to join.

That's it...I'll see you Thursday!

Brad

Getting Started 2015

Last Thursday at Billy's in Breezy Point, we had our annual beginning of the year meeting. At this meeting we decided which lakes we're fishing and when. Here is this year's schedule:

5/14 - Pelican - Stewart's Bay Landing - 6:00-9:00
5/28 - Gull - Hwy 371 Landing - 6:00-9:30 (we'll use the landing at Zorbaz if it's windy)
6/11 - Edward - 6:00-9:30
6/23 - Roosevelt - 6:00-9:30 (This is the only Tuesday event)
7/09 - Whitefish - Lower Hay Lake Landing - 6:00-9:30
7/23 - Cedar - 6:00-9:30 (Muskie are present in Cedar)
8/06 - Rabbit - 6:00-9:00
8/20 - North Long - 5:30-8:30
9/03 - Rice - 4:00-8:00
9/10 - Whitefish - Lower Hay Lake Landing - 4:00-8:00

It was also decided this year to up the entry fee to $75 per person or $150 per boat. Because of this, the big fish pot will be mandatory and be worth $50 each night. For a full list of rules, including payouts and points breakdown, click HERE.

If you know of someone new that would like to fish the league this year, have them call or text Brad at 218-821-1954. Here are the 8 teams we have so far. (let Brad know if we're missing someone):

Brian & Dustyn
Steve & Brandon
Mark & Chad
Sam & Tim
Brad & Jim
Joe & Dustin
Brent & Dan
Troy & Ryan
Paul & Simon

More to follow soon.

Brad