Indee Bass Club July Tournament on the Wapsi

The Indee Bass Club held their third event of the year for students in the Independence Community.  It was a beautiful night on the Wapsipinicon River in Independence on July 12^th for the event.  The temperatures were in the low eighties and the 14 anglers were ready to hit the water.  At this annual event, students are partnered up with other club members randomly as well as a random captain (adult in the boat) to enjoy a night of fishing.  This format allows anglers to make new friends within the club, as well as learn new tips and tricks from adults in the community.  This is the only event all year that Captains are allowed to fish and count their bass towards the team weigh-in, giving students a first-hand look at how others fish, more experienced anglers fish.  Students and captains had four hours to try and bring in three keeper bass from the Wapsi.  With the water slightly rising with the recent storms, the bass were biting!

All boats reported catch fish, which is the best news after any youth tournament.  Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleyes, and northern pike were all reported being caught on the Wapsi on that evening by the 14 student anglers.  Popular baits to fool the bass on this night included; crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, Texas-Rigged plastics, wacky rigs and ned rigs. Coming in at fifth place was the team of Cal Sweeney and TeJay Ratchford, them and their captain Dan Sweeney were able to bring in one keeper bass that weighed 1.30 pounds.  In Fourth place as the team of Jackson Beatty and Ben Anderson, these kids and their captain Jackson Toale brought in a limit of three smallmouth bass that weighed 3.62 pounds.  In third place was the pair of Carter Eddy and Hunter Weepie, along with their captain Shane Beatty.  They brought in three keepers that weighed 4.03 pounds.  In the Runner-Up spot was the captain Dave Wilson and the pair of Ranger Reed and Gable Eddy.  They brought in two big keepers weighing 4.88 pounds.  The Wapsi Scramble Champions weighed in 6.35 pounds.  The championship duo of Carter Cameron and Will Clark, along with their captain Todd Reed brought in three smallmouth bass for the victory.  Colton Cameron also brought in the big bass of the event, that smallmouth weighed 2.36 pounds.   

The top three teams walked away with trophies and Scheels gift cards for their accomplishments.  Colton won a gift pack from Hank’s Bait and Tackle in Waterloo for bringing in the big bass.  All anglers came away winners as they enjoyed a beautiful night on the Wapsi learning more about the great sport of bass fishing.  The club enjoyed some pizza after the weigh-in, and each angler also received fishing gear randomly given away because of our generous sponsors.  The 2023 Indee Bass Club  sponsors include; Colony Heating/Plumbing and AC, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, BankIowa, Cy & Charley’s, Tim Reed State Farm Agency, Klever Concrete, Rick Wendling Memorial, Shay’s Minn Kota, SCHEELS, Hank’s Bait and Tackle, Quantum Rods/Reels, The Rod Glove, X-Zone Lures, and Hot Rod Baits.  The Indee Bass Club is a free club for all students in grades 7-12 in the Independence Schools, including St. John’s.  The club is run by volunteer coach Todd Reed, along with many helpers to make things run smoothly, Keith Donnelly, Garry Anderson, Randy Toale and Dan Sweeney are all key parts to this organization.  You can find more information by searching out the Indee Bass Club on Google, Facebook and Instagram.

 

 

What's in My Tacklebox

This BIG smallmouth couldn't resist
a Hot Rod Baits Tube in the
Dirty Craw color.

Summertime fishing is in full swing, and you change up your baits you will be catching a lot of bass during these hot months.  

The Iowa Sportsman Article: Summer 2023



What’s in My Tackle Box? Bass Fishing Edition

Bass fishing in the state of Iowa can take you to many diverse locations without traveling very far. This may complicate things when thinking about all the different types of lures you must have to catch largemouth and smallmouth bass. I have been chasing these creatures around the state for three decades and have learned a lot of lessons along the way. When loading up a tacklebox for a trip, it is vital to have a little bit of everything. Here is what you need for a successful day of bass fishing:

Fast Baits: Spinnerbaits and Bladed jigs are a must for all bass anglers. These cover water quickly and can be used around wood and sparse weeds that will be starting to grow this time of year. Crankbaits are a great tool as well. Have a variety of depths when you pack things up. Shallow running crankbaits all the way to 15 feet will cover most applications in any river or lake. Colors of these baits should include white, crawfish and chartreuse colors. Last, but not least is a swim jig. This can be fished around all types of cover and can be worked through and on top of grass mats.

Slow baits: Jigs are a go to bait this time of year, my personal favorite is a Wig’s Jig in the black and blue flash color. Texas-rigged plastic baits are a must for any bass angler. There are literally hundreds of plastic style baits imitating all sorts of different creatures. Keep it simple and have some crawfish imitators and some 4-inch Hot Rod Baits tubes. These two styles of baits will catch you plenty of bass. Colors to have are the typical crawfish colors, black/blue combos and bluegill patterns.

Trailers: Each tackle box needs to have a few plastic trailers for the baits mentioned above. Jig chunks, twister tails, paddle tails and minnow style plastics will dress up the jigs, spinnerbaits, swimjigs and bladed jigs. White and natural colors to match your color preferences will be needed.

Topwater Baits: I must admit that this one is the hardest for me to narrow down, I love topwater baits, and there are so many good ones out there to use. Each and every time I hit the water this time of year it is a must to have a good array of topwater baits. No matter if you are on a lake or river system, these can provide you with the most fun of any day on the water. The easiest topwater bait to use for bass is a buzzbait. Black, white and chartreuse are all good colors to use. In clear water situations a bluegill pattern can be great as well. Poppers are the next topwater bait that everyone should have in their tacklebox. These come in every color under the rainbow, the action of the popper is more important than the paint job most days. I stick to the white colors and bluegill patterns for these. Walking baits like the IMA Big Stick are by far the most challenging lure to use for the angler. Once you master the “walking” action with your rod sweeps, you will fall in love with this lure. Lastly, the hollow bodied frog. If you are fishing around a lot of weeds and or docks, this bait is by far the most exciting bait to put on your line. This floating lure will float on top of weeds and can be skipped under docks to entice those fish hiding along the poles. My favorite is the Optimum Baits Furbit frog, there are a lot of color choices, and they are built with a 6/O hook, helping to keep those fish on the line as you reel them in through the weeds.

The above-mentioned baits may seem like a lot to some anglers and not very many to other anglers. This is a quick rundown of the baits that are overall successful this time of year, and will work for a pond, river or any lake in the state of Iowa. There are many, many other types of baits out there to catch bass, but I never go fishing without these mainstays, they will help you catch more bass this time of year. As always, experiment with colors, sizes and retrieval speeds as you fish. Sooner or later, the bass will tell you what they want on a particular day, and when you find out what they like, get the camera ready for some awesome Catch/Photo/Release pictures!