Bassmaster Opens - Leech Lake & LaCrosse

[gim]

I don't generally follow the Opens much.  But being that there is one on Leech Lake August 22-24 and another one in LaCrosse Sept 12-14, I am going to be checking them out.  At least in terms of the results.  Both of these locations are in my neck of the woods within a few hours drive.  LaCrosse is a stunning country and there is a lot of water to fish.  I'm less familiar with Leech Lake.

 

Also, I didn't really know where else to put this, but there is a PMTT (Pro Muskie Tournament Trail) event on Lake Minnetonka August 23-24.  Lake Minnetonka is about 15 mins from my house.  Their tournament HQ is at the Ramada Inn where they have pre-tourney meetings, lodging, and their awards.  The Ramada Inn is about 5 minutes south of my house.

[Tlauz]

Some big bags for a Walleye and Muskie lake. 😉

[gim]

42 minutes ago, Tlauz said:

Some big bags for a Walleye and Muskie lake. 😉

I’m not that familiar with Leech Lake but 200 anglers is a lot.

[MN Fisher]

10 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I’m not that familiar with Leech Lake but 200 anglers is a lot.

Given the size of Leech - there's more than enough room for that many.

 

My college g-friend kept her 24' Ketch at Walker Bay and we'd take it out on weekends...so I'm fairly familiar with the lake.

[Tlauz]

I've been on it a few times.  BIG lake and lots of different sections.  You can do just about any type of fishing you like.  It seems like the smallmouth win most of the tournaments there. There is a lot of slop and weeds if you like frogging and heavy-cover largemouth fishing.  I believe smallmouth are mainly in the South section so my guess is there were a lot of boats in the same area. 

Edited August 24, 2024 by Tlauz
spelling error

[Susky River Rat]

@gimruis in PA  Muskies inc used to buy leech lake strain musky to stock here.

[Dwight Hottle]

@gimruis Excuse my intrusion to your thread but when I read Leech Lake headlines my memory always reverts back to the famous Leech Lake Massacre of 1955. The musky bite went crazy.

[Tlauz]

 

I would like to experience a bite like that just once.  I'd even let them all go.  I've read about it and it seems like a wild time.  

[Dwight Hottle]

This is the photo that sticks in my memory

[gim]

Big fish yesterday at the PMTT event on Lake Minnetonka was a 51.5 inch behemoth.

 

There is a photo but I can’t get it to paste here.

 

 

[gim]

Local angler Easton Fothergill won at Leech Lake. He won relatively easily, beating second place Elite angler Jay Przekurat by over 6 pounds. The event was only 2 days instead of 3, as day 1 was cancelled.

 

LaCrosse is in less than 3 weeks.

[TnRiver46]

Carl Jacumsen has now made the bassmaster classic because fothergill double qualified. Congrats Carl! #fearmyheart

[gim]

Haha ya I saw that.  Fothergill had already qualified by winning a previous Open so the spot from winning this one went to Carl.  Lucky guy.

[Choporoz]

As great as this year's elite rookies are, Fothergill may just dominate all of them.  Impressive kid - very easy to root for

[gim]

The 3 day Bassmaster Open at LaCrosse starts tomorrow.

 

Both largemouth and smallmouth are expected to be in play.  The river is higher than it has been in recent years for this time of year.

 

They are permitted to fish pools 7, 8, and 9.  The starting/finish spot is on pool 8 and each angler will need to go through a lock operated by the Army Corp of Engineers to traverse between pools.  This transfer in between pools adds a layer of time should an angler decide to do it.  Do you waste valuable time going to pool 7 or 9 and then back or do you stay in pool 8?

 

I will be following the daily weights.

[gim]

Georgia pro Cody Stahl won with just over 53 pounds. Local angler Easton Fothergill (who won on Leech Lake 3 weeks ago) finished in 12th.

[Pumpkin Lizard]

Awesome fishing to watch. The last day was fun. Shallow water and lots of different styles of fishing.

 

I guess some guys didn't like getting into the locks with the big triple barges.