2021 - Cross Lake - #4
Last tourney of the year!
What a weekend. It was filled with everything and was as close to perfect as you could get to a final send off. There was a large group that rented cabins Friday and Saturday night. By the sounds of it - Friday night was Back to College night.
The big cabin had a game room complete with billiards, fooseball, buck hunter, slot machines, and a ton of other arcades. There was a ton of fun had and memories made.
Saturday was the big pre-fish day. But at 2pm, everyone set their rods down and came over for a big BBQ on the ice. We laughed a lot, got to know people better and continued to build on the strong roots this league has set down.
Sunday between 0730-1400, well for sure between 0730-1200, it's game time and there's not much time for conversations - so these types of moments are much needed for a group that works so hard finding fish and catching fish.
After lunch, a huge group went out and laid the hammer down on some smallmouth bass. Missed hook sets followed by laughs and a few jabs, nice brownies brought topside, and more "friend" time. A few took Jonny's sled out for a rip and got to enjoy some snowmobiling as well.
Almost forgot to mention, the weather was incredible. Hats and gloves were traded for sunglasses and suntan lotion.
Fast forward to Sunday, waking up on the lake and looking out to golf ball size snowflakes quickly put a damper on the day. Outside of the fact we had Adam Bartusek there to take pictures and it would create a bit of an issue - what would this snow storm do to the bite.
On a lake where the fish move fast and seem to spook even in deep water when holes are drilled - the front that pushed in had some of the fish in wait and see mode. The general consensus the next morning was - we are sore. Very sore.
Driving down the 6 mile long lake on a snowmobile, you couldn't help but notice how many holes had been drilled through this body of water. It's long and skinny so it's very apparent - save for a few spots on the lake - the rest of the lake looked like a summer time mole farm.
Around noon on tourney day, the snow was done and the sun was coming out and it would have felt like a Spring day if the wind would have died down a little bit. All four tournament weigh-ins this year - we had the sun shining down on us (one of them was still extremely cold though).
Shortly before that, we made our rounds to check in. And there was basically two answers.
1. "We got our bag but need some upgrades -we have a couple little ones that we don't want to weigh.
2. "We have our crappies - gills are super tough"
And then there was two teams, fishing fairly close to each other, with enough crappies but one gill short. The race was on!
There wasn't any donkeys caught, but there was plenty of nice, solid fish brought to the scale. A solid number of .75-.80 crappie and gills between .50-.60.
MN Made rookies, but a team not new to tournament fishing, Wyatt Williams and Bobby Beattie started off us early with a 8.79 lbs bag that would end up putting them in 4th place overall. It would take 12 teams weighing in before that weight was beat.
Their counterparts, or as Jonny likes to call them, the "Pannies" - Jim Roberge and Travis Jacob - came in with 8.43 lbs to take 5th place. That all but sealed the deal on Team of the Year as they were the closest to Leif/Nick, but still 7 points back.
Paul Ghizoni and Evan Pheneger came in with some healthy fish and probably a lot of dead drill batteries with a weight of 8.84 lbs.
The top 5 teams were all within .25 of the leaders. And sitting only .10 away from another MN Made plaque was our 2020 Team of the Year - Leif Nereson and Nick Mueller. The came in with a 2nd place finish with a weight of 8.94. That would secure them Team of the Year (more on that at a later date).
Dan Rollings and Ed Wilkens found the best average on a semi-tough lake and came out with their first win as partners. Heck of a way to close out their first season together!!!
They were the only team to break the 9 pound mark and came in with a weight of 9.04. Not only did they walk away with a nice check and the coveted plaque, but their win jumped them up into the Top 5 for Team of the Year which is a huge feat in a league this deep.
Congrats guys on an awesome win and an awesome season!
Plenty more to come including Sportsman of the Year, Team of the Year, some Rookie Reflections, and a 2021 Lookback.
15 Full Bags
0.93 Big Crappie - Bob and Dave Vincent
0.64 Big Gill - Chris Ball and Tim Kehren
Top 5:
1.) Dan Rollings & Ed Wilkens - 9.04
2.) Leif Nereson & Nick Mueller - 8.94
3.) Paul Ghizoni & Evan Pheneger - 8.84
4.) Wyatt Williams & Bobby Beattie - 8.79
5.) Jim Roberge & Travis Jacob - 8.43