I fished South of Lions last evening for a few hours, and there wasn’t a whole lot going on. I managed a few fish on a variety of stuff, but it was pretty slow. Hair jigs, cranks, and plastics produced one or two fish each.
I have managed to get out on P2 a few times this summer. Which is significantly more than the past few years combined. 
Hoping to hit it hard this fall. 
See you guys out there!
Tough was us guys that fished in the monsoon last year. Or maybe we just didn’t know any better.
True! I can’t believe you guys fished it. I bailed (pun intended) along with my dad and 8 month pregnant wife. At least they had excuses! Hoping for a beautiful sunny day in the 50’s.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gonefishin wrote:</div>
Hi, we’ll be back.Drew
Laura
PhilTo stir the pot a little, anyone have the history of top 5 since this started? Drew’s boat may be top performer over the years.
I am pretty sure you are correct.. If we were to make things interesting it would be banning all #7 jointed crank baits that day. haha..
60% of the time – they work every time.
My boat is king of the low 20″ fish. 
Pretty sure whatever boat Kendall ends up has a pretty solid track record. My boat has a couple of pretty big misses! 
And more…
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Photos for Laura, Phil and Drew.
Thank you Jon for running with it this year. Like everyone else said, it was good to see familiar faces.
Jon – if you want any help next year, let me know.
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Wow! Back in the day I worked at the Plymouth store and from there I learned about Bass Lake and the tremendous LM bass it holds.
Oh man! I used to catch so many big bass out of there. We used to get big Northerns, and really big sunfish too. When it rained really heavy, the bullheads would try to make their way up a culvert in the back bay we used to fish. We could go out there get hundreds of bullheads in a day.
Good times!
-Drew
the Cub Foods on Rockford Road and 169 used to be a Holiday Foods on the right side (still has the same entrance) and a Holiday Sports on the left.
I grew up in Plymouth, and this Holiday Plus (as they were called) was within biking distance from my house. As was Bass Lake. I purchased my first baitcaster from that store. An Abu Garcia Black Max. I had $50, and the reel was $100. The guy behind the counter said he would give it to me for 50% off. I was really young, and remember being so proud of that reel. I actually still have it in a box somewhere. I would bike there and buy plastics every week after getting my allowance. Oh sweet nostalgia!
-Drew
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And the Hero shots…
Phil: 27
Laura: 25, 18.75
Drew: 23.25, 26
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Second Place – Team Engelmeyer (Phil, Laura, and Drew)
Thanks again for organizing this Mike. Also, a big thank you goes out to all the sponsors.
It was a gorgeous fall day on the river. There really wasn’t a ton of debris floating around, and the clarity was much better than expected. With the high water came the big fish! Each person in our boat contributed a fish 25 inches or bigger.
We got our fish drop shotting plastics and throwing\trolling cranks. As it turns out – spring high water spots also hold fish in the fall. Hopefully, the water comes down and we can have some kind of night fall bite.
-Drew
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I was just thinking about this the other day. As always – really looking forward to it!
-Drew
If you are interested in a very detailed explanation of the science behind rain wear, and what all the numbers really mean:
Otherwise some common things to think about:
Pondering Rainware
-Drew
And a bonus (well sort of)…
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Thanks again Mike and sponsors. It was a great day to be on the water. Here are the top 5 from team Drew, Laura, and Phil Engelmeyer.
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I was out Saturday morning from 7 until 1:30. The bite was pretty tough. The average size was about 22″, but I wouldn’t have filled out the scorecard. I caught fish on 4 different presentations: plastics, cranks, blades, and crawlers. I also caught a couple of really nice channel cats. Those dang cats always get me really excited until about 30 seconds into the fight, and I realize there is no way that it is a walleye.
The cool down that they are predicting this week is awesome. This will be the third year in a row that the weather will have cooled drastically the week before the tourney, and it has always helped the bite. I actually think that things are shaping up nicely.
-Drew
It is going to be a family affair this year!
Drew, Laura, and Phil Engelmeyer
Gonfishn, so you’ve seen a total of 4 dead walleyes this summer, so the lake should be shut down.
I suppose that you blame “tournaments” for the majority of fished killed on the lake every yr too?
When I got to the lake today, I had a 23 inch walleye washed up on the beach, that’s the 2nd fish I’ve had on a 130′ of eastern shoreline since spring of 2014. The other was an 18″ smallie. You must have a dead fish magnet on in your boat, and on your beach.
I don’t know where on the Eastern shore your beach is located, but it must fairly protected. I was up there last weekend, and there are plenty of dead fish floating around. The 10-14 inch walleyes that people are hauling up from 25’+ are the future of the lake. A good percentage of those fish are not making it.
You must be high (or a launch operator) if you are going to deny that a lot of walleyes don’t get killed by the launches. 1-2 people on a launch cannot handle 15-20 people fishing. Those fish flop around on the deck for too long before they are eventually released. Sure, we are on the East side and only get to see what the launches on that side of the lake do. However, the handling of fish is generally poor each time we happen to be around one.
I am not sure why you picked an ax to grind with the post from Gonfishn. From a conservation standpoint, shutting down the lake is probably the right thing to do. Do you disagree? I think everyone is so pissed off because the DNR and State Government have allowed things to get to this point.
-Drew
It’s been so frustrating watching this mess unravel over the years. Entire year classes wiped out because the DNR set slot limits solely to manage a poundage numbers they determined not by science but by a toss of the politically correct dart. Most of us knew exactly what was going to happen. And now it has.
-J.
Excellent Jon! Also, ask and you shall receive.
Dayton Prepared To Call Special Session For Mille Lacs Walleye Decline
-Drew
My dad and I will be up.
-Drew
Now that I think of it, I don’t know the mile marker right in front of my camper.
I don’t remember by heart either. I just know that the mile markers are labeled on the lakemaster master chips.
-Drew
As an aside, IMO one of the most important things a boater can know in an emergency is how to give GPS coordinates.
Whenever I am on the river, I try to pay attention to mile markers on my GPS mapping software. Mile markers are a great way to communicate your position if the need arises.
-Drew
Nice job putting in the time and figuring them out! Your results differ significantly from reports that I have had gotten from others who are annual partakers in the fall night trolling up there. Job well done!
-Drew
I have not doubt that some people do some crazy things around the tugs. But honestly, some of the things that they do are downright dangerous. Just this last weekend Kendall (KWP) and I were out. The tug boat was passing by us, and lit us up hard core. I was motoring down stream (at idle speed) waiting for the barge to pass so that I could get up on plane. He lit me up, and I literally could not see anything. He did this while I was parallel to him! Stupidly unsafe!!! We were literally blinded.
After he passed, I rolled in behind him and got the name off of the tug. It was tough to read, but I think that it was “White Rock”. I am going to contact the coast guard, and see what they have to say about it.
-Drew
I know that I am probably in the minority here, but I am over the “It was a nice day on the water” or the “It was a nice day in the woods” mentality. I fish to catch fish, and hunt to take animals. If don’t catch fish, or I don’t take an animal – it was not a successful trip.
Does that mean not catching fishing, or not taking an animal makes it a waste of time? Heck no! I would still rather be on an unsuccessful fishing or hunting trip, than at my cubicle! But at the same time, I wouldn’t call just sitting in a boat or the woods a successful day.
It probably has more to do with my general outlook on goals. If I have a goal, and I don’t accomplish it – it was not successful. Success, for me, does not simply come from the pursuit of a goal. It comes from successfully meeting a goal.
-Drew
I have been trying to get a spare spool for my new 2500FE for months.
Do you think they will help me? Do you have the number or any information handy that could get me started? Feel free to PM.
I just contacted their regular customer support number 1-877-577-0600, and followed the prompts for Shimano customer service.
I am not sure how often they do something like this, but they were certainly helpful. I would give them a call and see what they can do for you. Just tell them your story, and that you want a spare spool.
If they don’t have any salvaged spools left, maybe they could at least find a new spool for you to purchase. It seemed like he thought it was a long shot to find even a single salvaged spool. I think that I got extremely lucky that he found two. It is always work a shot!
-Drew
The smell of a boats front deck after you have laid down 100+ walleyes on her in just a few days.
-Drew
What time and where abouts in what pool were you fishing?
With regards to the specific incident where I was traveling up stream, it was around 9:30 Tuesday night, just South of the 494 bridge on Pool 2.
With regards to all the other times that it has occurred, it was anytime after dark and between sunrise on any stretch of P2 or P3.
-Drew
I wasn’t there, but my guess would be that he wanted to keep an eye on you in the case you were one of “those” fishing boats that decided to take off in front of him as he approached.
You/we are a safety concern to them in the night.
Along the lines of what BK stated. They identify that your there…and they need to identify if you are moving
I completely understand that they want to know that I’m there, and they want to let me know that they are there. Like Steve said though, it should not take that long. I was a ways down river; 500 yards is not right in front of him. Not only that, but when I am off the main channel on a wing dam where there are boats parked just about every night of the week, they know full well that the boats are holding position.
Sometimes you are just in their light path. They were probably lighting up a daymarker way down or up from you.
Maybe every once in a while, but I am not buying it. It doesn’t matter where I am, if a barge is coming I know that I am going to get lit up. And for longer than I should…
I do have a radio on board. I actually tried to pick up there radio traffic, but couldn’t get it. Do you know what channel they usually operate on? Next time, I will ‘politely’ ask him to leave me alone.
-Drew
Bummer – We almost always stop there for something. I wonder if someone else will give it a go.
-Drew
Jeez Mike – If I didn’t know that you do not even smile for big walleye’s, I would guess that you were not very happy in that photo!
Bring back the stache! You looked bad*ss!
Congrats!
-Drew
