Saturday, August 2, 2003
One of the top bass teams in the province placed second at the Fort Frances Bass Challenge.
John Guzej and Ted Stewner led after Day 2 of the three-day tourney. The Linder Boys managed to pass them and secure first place. They are well known on the circuit and are one of the most feared teams on the tournament trail.
Perhaps the two best bass anglers Manitoba has to offer, the key to their success is to cover area. They never stay in one spot too long.
Their system of moving around from spot to spot paid off handsomely as they won $15,000 for their effort.
These two guys are low key and approachable. They have always been kind and offered encouragement to myself and other anglers.
MAKES THE DAY
This past weekend I had the opportunity to guide judge John Menzies and his son Cameron from Brandon. John outbid everyone for a trip I donated to the Brandon Wheat Kings for a silent auction. We spent two eventful days touring Lake of the Woods. The walleye bite was not fast and furious, however we did manage to scare up our limits. The largest walleye was a 32-inch beast caught on a lindy rig and Manny's Fat Boy Worm. Cameron battled this hawg with the skill of a seasoned vet. Any time you catch a 12-pound walleye it makes the day. We managed to catch several different species and some in great quantity.
John hooked his first muskie on light tackle but lost the 15 pounder at the boat. We were cranking for bass and this fish of 10,000 casts nailed a small rapala. Later as we threw big tackle four different big fish showed themselves. The largest, about 35-pounds, took a real hard look at a white glow Bull Dawg. This fish opened his mouth flexing his gills as if to taste the water around the lure. She did this three times at the side of the boat. Well whatever she tasted was not to her liking and the beast swam away.
The real story of the weekend was how many small mouth bass Cameron and my nephew Ken caught on Sunday using a combination of cranks and live bait. We easily caught and released more than 100 bass. They took leeches, worms and even spinners.
On Monday the bass bite was on again. In a period of 30 minutes, Cameron and Ken landed 33 smallies. The largest was a 3.9 ounce bass that jumped about 10 times before John successfully netted him. It was great to see the two kids smile as they landed another fish.
Until next week, keep your lines tight! ____