River Rumble

[KickNBass]

Went down to LaCrosse today with my boys to see the weigh in...whew, that was a hot one.

Note to self for next time, need to get down there on the first couple days, it was a ghost town as far as how many pros were still around, which makes sense with the cut...just didn't think of it.

Luckily the boys got to meet Chris Lane and get a couple autographs plus they were able to get a great view of the weigh-in. Nice guy.

Rick Clunn was pretty cool at the weigh-in, talking about back in his younger days and how was arrogant and thought he knew everything and today, well...he had no idea what was going on. Got a big laugh from the crowd. And then he said he wanted to thank two people, one were the fishermen for C&R and protecting the fishery...said it was probably five times better if not more than it was back in '83 when he won it and the other was the people protecting the water quality. It was interesting to see what I assumed was his rig. A short little pickup truck/camper. I can just see him driving it...pretty neat.

Oh, they also kept saying that it was the biggest/best crowd of they year over and over. That would surprise me, I would expect that crowd anywhere but who knows, LaCrosse is a fishing town and it was a great crowd. Maybe that will keep them coming, I'd love to see more events around the area. Too bad Minnetonka doesn't want the tournament around...that would be a blast.

[lookincalifornia]

i was there on friday and they all kept saying there has never been a crowd that big for a day two weigh-in. it was nice to hear, although i passed it off as buttering up to the locals.

[Superduty]

I was a little surprised at how low the weights were. Never fished pools 7-9but fish pool 4 quite a bit and it almost always takes a 4lb average on pool 4.

[RK]

I've had a chance to meet Clunn a couple times, and it's always been a pleasure. Always kind of felt like I was talking to Moses or something. Don't know if he still does it but his tournament shirts used to have all the years he'd qualified for the classic embroidered on his arm, and it went from his shoulder to his elbow. Pretty impressive. Just a neat guy, and there aren't many in the business I respect more.

RK

[HellaBass]

I was a little surprised at how low the weights were. Never fished pools 7-9but fish pool 4 quite a bit and it almost always takes a 4lb average on pool 4.

Post Spawn, rising water, made the weights a little lower

[Craigums]

Here is a picture of me riding with Morizo Shimizu.

Here is a picture I took of Brent Chapman working a small section of the river that held all 5 of his keepers for the day.

Every pro I rode and talked with was amazingly polite and easy to talk to. Big tip of the hat to these guys

[itchmesir]

i was there on friday and they all kept saying there has never been a crowd that big for a day two weigh-in. it was nice to hear, although i passed it off as buttering up to the locals.

Well when the only river excitement in the area is when a body washes up on shore.. i wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't one of their bigger crowds

The weather was perfect for a fly guy to take the tourny.. need to start seeing more bass masters with 8' and under fly rods... a hex pattern would have taken the board i bet

[Craigums]

The weather was perfect for a fly guy to take the tourny.. need to start seeing more bass masters with 8' and under fly rods... a hex pattern would have taken the board i bet

The idea is to catch the biggest fish not the most fish. There was a mayfly hatch and the smaller fish were feeding on the mayflys (so your fly idea was a good one, but....). The bigger fish were feeding on the fish feeding on the mayflys

[luv2senko]

How was the language barrier with Morizo? He's possibly my favorite angler on the tour. Bet it was an awesome experience

[Craigums]

How was the language barrier with Morizo? He's possibly my favorite angler on the tour. Bet it was an awesome experience

There was definately a barrier but we made due. Traded a few stories and a few laughs throughout the day. He's definately a cool dude. Chapman was possibly the nicest guy I've ever met and My day 1 angler Britt Myers was super willing to explain what he was doing and share pointers. Like I said before everyone I met was super nice.

Britt Myers culling:

[bassfshin24]

Sounds like an awesome experience Craigums. I thought I saw you on the bassmaster photos of the tournament.

[KickNBass]

I didn't watch any of the coverage, how spread out were the anglers?

[itchmesir]

The idea is to catch the biggest fish not the most fish. There was a mayfly hatch and the smaller fish were feeding on the mayflys (so your fly idea was a good one, but....). The bigger fish were feeding on the fish feeding on the mayflys

I'll just laugh at your ignorance and continue upon my day

[KickNBass]

Whether you want to believe it or not, I'll leave it up to you, Aaron Martens said he was watching 2-3lbers slurping mayflies on the final day blaming them for his misfortunes.

[lookincalifornia]

i was fishing on saturday catching fish under trees that were thick with mayflies. got three 3 pounders on a popper. lots of twos as well.

[Craigums]

I'll just laugh at your ignorance and continue upon my day

Your right dude, Brent Chapman probably doesn't have a clue on how to target larger fish. You should pony up the $5,000 entry fee and prove to everyone how smart you are.

[itchmesir]

I don't need $5000 to catch fish.. last I checked.. my $28 I paid back at the beginning of the year was plenty enough to fish

[TonkaBass]

Easy fellas...

[GooBack]

Post Spawn, rising water, made the weights a little lower

Not post spawn...

Summer patterns, rising water, equals good fishing.

Massive mayfly hatch will make things tough.

[mww24]

oh oh. This is turning into a bass boat central thread real fast. cool pictures craigums. Dot the guys really fish as fast as it seems on TV? I always think to myself, man are they ever just burning through the water. seems like I fish 10 times slower than they do.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Craigums, pick up any pointers you'd like to share? Notice anything the pros did that you'll carry over to your own fishing?

[Craigums]

oh oh. This is turning into a bass boat central thread real fast. cool pictures craigums. Dot the guys really fish as fast as it seems on TV? I always think to myself, man are they ever just burning through the water. seems like I fish 10 times slower than they do.

[TonkaBass]

Thats pretty cool Craigums. Awesome that you got to spend a few days with these guys!

[Craigums]

Thats pretty cool Craigums. Awesome that you got to spend a few days with these guys!

I'd definitely recommend it if you haven't done it before. If i had the funds and vacation time I would have gone to Green Bay too.

[RumRiverRat]

Post Spawn, rising water, made the weights a little lower

Post Spawn?

The Largemouth and Smallmouth were on Beds on Pool 4 and 5 the end of April.

I would imagine the same thing was happening on 7,8 and 9.

The fish have been done spawning for at least 6 weeks.