Kyle with a couple good smallmouth from the Kansas TBF Youth Championship on Melvern.
This year things got back to normal; a little special in fishing. Fishing was a lot tougher due to all of the tournaments. There seems to be a tournament every week on all the Kansas lakes. Good or bad? You had to be flexible when you fished and try different things all while also having to force the issue.
Twins Day 1 fish weigh-in at TBF Championship on Mississippi River.
I would say our tournament season was probably one of our best this year. We were very consistent with several Top Ten finishes.
KANSAS BASS NATION HIGH SCHOOL QUALIFIER #3 TABLE ROCK – 10TH
KANSAS BASS NATION HIGH SCHOOL QUALIFIER #4 WILSON – 11TH
TBF KANSAS YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP MELVERN – 1ST
KANSAS MR. BASS GLEN ELDER – 6TH
KANSAS 4MAN/TEAM SERIES PERRY – 1ST OVERALL TEAM, DAY 1 – 4TH & DAY 2 – 3RD
KANSAS BASS NATION HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP MILFORD – 7TH
TBF YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP MISSISSIPPI RIVER – 8TH
KANSAS 4MAN/TEAM SERIES WILSON – DAY 1 – 4TH & DAY 2 – 6TH
KANSAS BASS NATION HIGH SCHOOL QUALIFIER #1 MELVERN – 9TH
KANSAS BASS NATION HIGH SCHOOL QUALIFIER #2 PERRY – 2ND
We caught a lot of fish this year, just not many big fish. We were not able to fish as much as we would like with the boys going to High School and doing a lot of High School activities. I will tell you that the boys tried a lot of different techniques this year. Fishing is supposed to be fun, so this last year, I really focused on fishing stuff I enjoy to fish. We are looking forward to next year.
KANSAS BASS NATION HIGH SCHOOL Qualifier #2 Perry weigh-in.
It was a slow day. When Nick hookup with a 6 lb 2 oz. Smallmouth. Getting closer to that Kansas record. Caught it using Powertackle PG143-70. Powertackle Rods are the best rod on the market. Without them we wouldn’t be landing these big fish.
Just got back from Sam Rayburn. Needed to prefish Melvern for Mr. Bass. Twins were too wore out and it was a really cold day. So, I tackled Melvern by myself. Was able to find some really nice smallmouth. Was throwing a crankbait on Powertackle PG143 rod. They don’t make the model anymore, but closest action is LPC470. Check them out at https://powertackle.com.
Kansas BASS Nation Youth Team Series was on Melvern Lake September 8th. There were 22 teams that showed up for the first event of the year. Twins and I were on a really good pattern, and we were hoping that it would continue. We had checked out a spot the day before and had to shake off a couple of really good fish.
The morning of the event, there was a strong storm passing through the area. The Tournament Director decided to delay takeoff until 8. The takeoff was going to be a little different. Once you got your boat in the water, you could drive to your starting point. But, you couldn’t start fishing until 8:30. So, we decided to start on the main lake point. That was the spot we had to shake off the fish the day before. Once we started, the boys were able to catch a limit by 8:50am and also creel once by 9am.
Then after fishing the point for a little longer and hitting another point without any luck before break, Boys decided they wanted to fish the prime spot. I had held off fishing it so far due to the wind. No time waiting to fish the spot. It was time to give it a try even with the wind. As we pulled around the corner, there was another boat on the spot. So, we just pulled behind them. It was an adult team fishing another tournament. As we watched them fish up the bank, we were hoping they wouldn’t catch a fish off the prime spot. There was a little cut between some trees and bushes that the fish use to cut through the point without going all the way around. The whole area holds a lot of fish, but that little spot held some really good smallmouth. As we got near the spot, both boys casted into the spot. Nick hooked up first, but the fish came unbutton. Just then, Kyle hooked up with a really good fish. We would fish the stretch until weigh-in. Creeling three times and losing one big smallmouth in the 4 pound range. It was finally time to go to weigh-in. We had a great day on the water, and every decision we made worked. I knew we had a chance. Only thing that didn’t go right, we lost a couple of good fish. Just as the boys got to the scale, we started to hear that fishing was tough for the field. Nick and Kyle would have the only limit of the day. As the scale stopped, we ended up with 15.97lbs. Nick and Kyle would win the 1st Qualifier of the year. I was so proud of how the boys fished. Even after losing fish, they wouldn’t stop fishing the pattern. I would like to thank the two adult anglers that shared the spot with us. Thanks for showing so much sportsmanship to my boys. Also, I really feel like the equipment helped the boys catch the fish that day. All the fish came on Powertackle PG144-70 rod. The strength and backbone helped the boys hook the fish. Next event will be on La Cygne. There could be the chance for some really big fish to show up at the scale.
Day 1 of the Kansas Bass Youth Team Series on Wilson Lake, we had already 2 fish in the livewell at our first stop. As we moved to the second stop, the wind and boat traffic made it very hard to fish. So I decided to drive all the way into the back of the pocket. We pulled up to a grass point and on the first cast, Nick caught our third keeper. It was just at 15 inches, so we need to creel him to have a chance. Fished a little more in the back as another boat joined us in the little pocket. Moving out along the bluff wall, there was a little cut that Kyle missed a fish. I figured it was a bedding fish. So we backed out, and Nick threw up there and dragged it into the spot. He stop moving it, and just then his line took off. I’m not sure he had a good hookset. If you watch the video, you will see. If you have the right rod and reel, all you have to do is lean into the fish. You don’t really want to set the hook too hard because you can pull or pop the hook out of its mouth. It was a good 3.12lb largemouth. I figured we had finally caught one we wouldn’t have to creel. With 4 fish in the livewell at 10am, it was a great start.
We moved just a little more down the back, watching another boat catch a good one in front of us. As they went around us, Kyle hooked up with number 5. The next hour, we caught fish after fish. We creeled 3 of the smaller fish in the next hour. All the fish in the livewell were between 3.04 to 3.12lbs. Just then Nick set the hook. I was like “Really? Again?” It jumped and shad guts flew everywhere. It was a big smallmouth. As Nick played it, Kyle was praying that we landed the fish. Nick got the fish in the net, and it was the biggest fish at a weight of 3.14lbs. We had around 17 pounds. After talking a little to another boat with a couple of guys that I know very well, they told us to stop fishing and save some fish for the next day. Boys didn’t want to stop fishing, but they did from 11:30 am to 1:45 pm. We protected the spot from other boats. Twins would cast out deeper and take breaks. Around 1pm, Kyle said “I’m casting to the spot.” I was like ok. Just as I said “Ok,” he set the hook. Not good, because it was another 3 pound smallmouth. The first half of the field weighed in, and only had 2fish or no fish. But one team had 14.90 lbs. As the scale stopped at 17.54 lbs, we had an almost 2 1/2 pound lead. All we have to do is bring in a limit on day 2 and the championship would be ours.
The Kansas BASS Youth Team Series held their State Championship on Wilson Lake in Western Kansas. Wilson Lake bass fishing of both Smallmouth and Largemouth are on fire right know. It is some of the best fishing in Kansas. So, I knew it was going to take around 15lbs a day. It was a two day event. There are a lot of 3 pound bass in the lake. We went the day before so that we could go out and prefish.
On our first spot, I noticed a lot of big largemouth swimming around shallow. I had one follow my frog to the boat. I told one of the boys to throw a stickbait on him. Kyle threw a Senko right next to him, and it exploded on it. I told him not to set the hook. It swam a little bit with his bait before Kyle pulled on him and he then let it go. After seeing a couple of more fish and catching a couple of small bass, we decided to move to a prime spot we had fished a couple of weeks before. Nick right away caught a 4 pound largemouth. I started to see more fish on beds both largemouth and smallmouth. I decided to leave them alone so we could start there first thing in the morning. We fished a couple of more hours, catching just small fish. I was a little nervous about our starting spot due to the Sunflower Team Series was fishing a tournament the first day. Those guys don’t miss much, so I figured they had spotted the fish bedding to. They also had 65 boats fishing.
The first day of the tournament, the boys and I were ready to go. While we were running to the spot, I was just hoping no one was on the spot. As we came around the corner, there was no one on the spot. I was so excited. I knew the twins could catch some fish here. After about 5 casts, we moved right into the spot were I saw a good smallmouth the day before on a bed. The best thing was we knew were it was bedding, so we could stay back away from it and cast around the spot. Nick’s second cast in the area, he hooked up. I knew right away it was a good fish. After fighting it for couple of seconds, which felt like 5 minutes, we landed the first keeper. It was around 3.5 pounds. A great start. Then a couple more casts in another area I had seen a couple of fish shallow, Kyle was able to catch another keeper smallmouth. It was just 15 inches, and didn’t weigh much. We have to creel this fish. But, we had two keepers in the first 30 minutes. After another hour, I decided to go to where we saw the bigger largemouth the day before. As we left the cove, I saw the wind direction. It would be very hard to fish the spot. I decided to move us to another spot that had been good to us the last couple of years. It would be a great decision, and one of the best days on the water that the boys and I will never forget. Next blog and video the boys catch their biggest limit in a tournament.
