August Indee Bass Club Tournament Recap

1st Place: DaltonH/Captain Randy Toale/JacksonT

 

The Indee Bass Club held their latest event on August 5th on the Wapsi River in Independence.  Eighteen students participated on nine different boats.  The Wapsi River was at a very low level; 4.90ft, the lowest the kids have ever seen during these club events.  The current was almost nonexistent on the river, but in August the fish must eat.  The anglers and their boat captains took off at 4:30pm and had four hours to try and find five keeper bass which must measure over 12-inches.  At the conclusion of the event at 8:30pm the anglers bring their bass to the weigh-in scale from the boats livewell to get their total weight.  After the weight has been recorded the bass are released back into the river to swim again.  

This months tournament had a repeat at the top two spots from July.  JacksonT and DaltonH brought in five largemouth bass that weighed 11.57# for the back to back win, they were captained by Randy Toale.  They reported catching their fish on Texas-Rigged tubes, buzzbaits and swimjigs.  In second place was RangerR and CarterC, they brought in a mixed bag of five keeper bass for 8.77# including the big bass caught by Carter that weighed 2.93#, Todd Reed was their captain.  This team caught all their keepers on spinnerbaits and wacky-rigged stick baits.  In third place was senior ParkerS and partner RemyR.  They had four largemouth bass that weighed 6.92# and were captained by Dan Sweeney.  This duo caught all their fish using a Tokyo Rig and a plastic craw bait.  In fourth place was another senior, Landry Jones and his partner Kegan Postel.  They brought in two big smallm

2nd Place and Big Bass: RangerR and CarterC

outh bass that weighed 4.95#.  Landry has been the club president for the past two years, a student voted position.  This partnership caught those beauties on a black and blue swimjig and twister tail jigheads.  Fifth place finishers were EJ M and SamH.  They caught three smallmouth bass that weighed 3.78#.  Their captain was Brian Miller.  This pair caught their bass on crankbaits and spinnerbaits.  Sixth place was GradyC and KyleB, captained by Rick Wendling.  They brought in two keepers that weighed 3.09#.  In seventh place was Justin Schmadeke and Hunter Patton.  Captain Paul Schmadeke and this team brought in two keeper largemouth bass that weighed 2.65#.  In eighth place was JacksonW and ZachJ which were captained by Dave Wilson.  They caught one nice largemouth that weighed 2.40#.

As you can see from the results, many bass on the Wapsi were hitting a variety of baits on this night.  It ended up being a record setting night for the Indee Bass Club.  The club as a whole broke two records; the first was the most keepers brought in at a single event at 24.  The second record that was broken was the total weight of bass weighed in, it was 44.13#.  The kids, with the help of the volunteer captains just keep getting better. 

This Independence area club is open to any 7th-12th grader at Independence or St. John's school.  Information can be found on Facebook or their webpage; just search Indee Bass Club to find them.  The club is sponsored by Bank Iowa, Klever Concrete, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, Scheels of Cedar Falls, Hank's Bait and Tackle in Waterloo, Quantum Rods and Reels, The Rod Glove, and Hot Rod Baits Bass Series.  With the help of these sponsors the club was able to hand out five trophies and every participant received some fishing gear which totaled over $700.  The next event for the club is the Bass Nation State Tournament on Pool 10 of the Mississippi River.  Four teams are participating in this event.  The next club tournament is on September 13th at Lake Delhi.

Kegan and Club President Landry Jones

The "Wacky-Rig" lives on

A small jighead can be used while Wacky-Rigging
to quicken the fall rate.

Bass fishing is ever-changing especially when it comes to finesse fishing.  In the past decade many new rigs have been introduced to anglers and all will produce bass.  However, one of the first of these new trends was the wacky-rigged stick bait.  I was never a huge fan of anything finesse while bass fishing, especially during tournaments.  However, there were many tournaments I found myself lacking a limit, so I had to use finesse baits to try and fill the limit to stay competitive and gather as many Angler of the Year points as possible.  A decade or two ago these baits were commonly seen tied on during tough fishing conditions; split-shot rig, wacky-rig, shakey head, and finesse bass jigs.  They all played parts of successful days on the water and few earned me some Angler of the Year awards as well.  Today those still exist and are commonly used but rigs such as the Ned Rig, and drop-shot rigs get most of the attention these days.  

One of these rigs, obviously from the title, is one that has lasted the test of time, the wacky-rigged stick bait.  This bait is great from the shore, on a boat, in a lake, in a river or a pond.  It simply works and is a very easy technique to teach the next generation of anglers.  First, the gear you need is as cheap as it gets, a medium action spinning rod, a hook and a stickbait (one of the cheapest plastic baits you can buy).  Throw it out around cover and move it slowly back to you, it is really that simple, add a weighed hook for quicker retrieves.  Of course some days the bass want it moving a little slower than other days but that is easily adjusted with your patience.  This rig does not do well if you are in a boat that is moving along the shore, it takes time to work a wacky-rig correctly, but the results can be second to none on some days.  I'm not saying it is the best finesse approach out there, but if you haven't used one lately this summer, you are most likely missing out on some bass.  Give one a try, and if you have a young one learning the game of bass fishing, tie one on for them as well.  The slower they go, the more bites they will typically get.