The Bandits held there annual Ice Bowl at Nelson Lake on March 28th to celebrate the start of the new year!. 11 Teams competed to catch the greatest total length of 6 bass. It was a beautiful day and the bass were cooperatig! Lots of nice fish were caught throughout the day. Coming in first place and taking home the Ice Bowl trophy was the team of Matt Sullivan and Dylan Martell with 114.25 inches! They measured in two of the biggest fish today at 21 inches. Congrats on some great catches!
Our next event is on April 25th for our first offical tournament at Nelson Lake!
Ron & Cody claim the 2019 Classic Championship!
Lake Sakakawea was rockin’ and rollin’ Saturday but the strange thing was there was no wind to start the 2019 BBB Classic Championship but yet there were 4 foot rollers out on the main lake to start the day. Of course Lake Sakakwea had much bigger waves in store for the Bandits later in the day! Some of the field stuck close to Dakota Waters where we launched, others ventured far north. Those who went far north had some good boating stories once they returned, some reported 7 foot waves! How was the fishing you ask? Well despite the rough waters all of the teams that were participating were able to bring in a limit. Two teams were able to break the 8 lb mark while the rest of the field hit the mid 7 and 6 lb mark. If you look at our club’s history on that lake you will notice that our weights are getting heavier each year. Below are Day 1 leaders:
1. Tanner Mallams & John Lancaster 8.55 lbs
2. Justin Enney & Kyle Okke 8.18 lbs
3. Cody and Ron Arth 7.58 lbs
4. Paul and Tony Reinbold 7.54 lbs
5. Eric Vossler & Thomas Lientz 6.98 lbs
6. Bob & Jeanette Reinbold 6.86 lbs
7. Carl Hayden & Brian 6.47 lbs
8. Logan & Scott Bollinger 2.30 lbs
After the Day 1 weigh was finalized everyone pulled out their phones to get a weather report update for Sunday. WIND WIND WIND, RAIN RAIN RAIN with high 40 temps was the report. This made the decision very simple, off to New Johns lake we go! Day 2 at New Johns lake started out wet and cold and it never changed after that in case you were wondering. As always Lake New Johns provided wind protection for our anglers so that they could at least feel somewhat of a tug on the end of the line. The bite was tough but the determination of the club members was tougher, everyone knew that the 2019 Classic Championship was ripe for the taking and that at any moment they could catch the bass to seal the deal! Half way through the day it was reported that only 1 boat had 1 fish, the rest of the field that was asked had 0. But at the end of the day every boat brought in fish, two boats were able to bring in a limit. Those boats finished the tournament at the top. Bringing in a Day 2 weight of 10.80 lbs was team Cody and Ron Arth, Justin Enney and Kyle Okke brought in 10.20 lbs which made a 2 day final total weight of 18.38 lbs for both teams! That’s right, our Classic ended in a tie but not for long as our rules states tie breakers will be broken by the team who has the biggest bass. Team Arth had a 4.20 lb smallmouth and Team Enney and Okke had a 4.16 lb smallmouth therefore, your 2019 Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Champions were Cody and Ron Arth! Biggest Bass of the tournament went to Eric Vossler and Thomas Lientz with a 4.35 lb smallmouth! It was a crazy event with the waves on Lake Sakakawea and the brutal weather on New Johns Lake but in the end the Bandits came and conquered and a Classic Champion was crowned!
2019 End of the Year Awards
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Angler of the Year: Tanner Mallams
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Rookie of the Year: John Lancaster
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Horizon Award (Most Improved): Brandon & Logan Bollinger
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Bag Buster Award: Daren Schneider & Devin Hofmann – 12.87 lbs, New Johns Lake
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Biggest Largemouth: Tanner Mallams – 4.76 lbs, Lake Nelson
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Biggest Smallmouth: Daren Schneider & Devin Hofmann, 5.40 lbs, New Johns Lake
This concludes our 2019 season, hope to see you all at our Fall Meeting at Lucky’s 13! Dates will be posted soon!
Lancaster & Mallams get another win at Sakakawea
John Lancaster and Tanner Mallams with the top fish from Lake Sakakawea
We had 8 boats show up for this event! It was a really tough grind for just about everyone. Higher than normal water levels seem to push the smallmouth into the flooded trees and bushes. Most fish for the event were caught on spinnerbaits jerk baits topwater and tubes. Finding a solid limit was the team of Tanner Mallams and John Lancaster weighing in at 9.50lb. Coming in second with big fish of the tournament was the team of Tony McKay and Kayden weighing 8.84lb with a 3.72lb kicker. Third place was Paul Reinbold and Deryk weighing 5.95lb. Other result are as follows:
4th Carl and Jeffery 4.60lb
5th Kyle Okke and Lewis Kuppler 2.11lb
6th Denver and Corey DNW
6th Justin Enney DNW
6th Nick Bond DNW
Next event on August 24 HAS BEEN CHANGED to lake Audubon due to rough road conditions at lake WIlliams, we will be launching outta the Cabin ramp where we launched last yr for classic, if any questions just ask!
Our TBF division Will be sending Tanner Mallams as a angler and Colton Blomberg as a co angler down to South Dakota for the semi finals on Big Stone lake September 14&15th Good Luck!!
Lake Oahe
Jamie Shanks, Colton Blomberg and Tanner Mallams found the key fish to take the Oahe Title!
On July 13th the Bandits loaded the trucks at set sale to South Dakota to fish massive Lake Oahe. Our turnout was 12 boats for this event. It was a outstanding day on the water, finally a event this year that it didn’t rain! Trying to find fish in a lake that is over 300 miles of shoreline does seem tough but we all new the job at hand! Seems like the consistent pattern was everyone was finding schooling fish and casting just about anything towards them and getting them to bite. Weighing in the biggest bag of the event was Tanner Mallams, Colton Blomberg and Jamie shanks weighing in at 9.14lb and Big fish at 2.95lb. Second place was the team of Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz weighing 7.39lb. Third place was Cody Arth weighing in at 7.16lb. Other result is as follows:
4th Bob,Jenette Reinbold&Matt Bondon=7.07lb
5th Joe,Lori&Alex Reinbold=6.19lb
6th Hayden Gandy&Jesse Siebol=5.80lb
7th WIllie Kist=5.46lb
8th Justin Enney&Connor=5.13lb
9th Paul,Edison&Quinn Reinbold= 4.91lb
10th Jason&Amanda=3.36lb
11th Tony Reinbold,haylee&Hayden=3.34
12th Kyle Okke&Brett Messall=2.53lb
Also for our junior division it was Michael Bader winning with a weight of 1.89lb. Coming in second was Carter with a weight of 1.49lb
Good Job to all who came out for the event! Next event will be outta New Town on lake Sakakawea on July 27th hope to see everyone there!
Spiritwood Lake Thunder!
John Lancaster and Tanner Mallams
On June 29 the Bandits took to Spiritwood lake. We had a good showing at 14 boats participating in the event! What started out as a nice morning turned quickly into dark clouds and over 25mph wind guests. It then started to rain turning to hail and lightning which sent most people running to there trucks (props to the boats who roughed it out and continued to fish). Luckily the weather decided to pass and everyone was able to return to fishing. Coming in 1st place catching solid bag was the team of Tanner Mallams and John Lancaster weighing 10.22lb. In 2nd place was the team of Bob,Jennette,Sam Reinbold weighing 9.48lb. 3rd place went to the team of Paul and Tony Reinbold weighing 9.25lb with a impressive big fish of the tournament weighing in at 4.25lb. Other results as follows
4th – Colton Blomberg & Jamie Shanks 9.22 lbs
5th – Kyle Okke & Brett Messall 8.78 lbs
6th – Jason Prius & Brandon Feses 8.72 lbs
7th – Scott, Logan & Brandon Bullinger 7.98 lbs
8th – Joe, Lori & Alex Reinbold 7.06 lbs
9th – Curt Manley 6.15 lbs
10th – Justin Enney & Wyatt 5.28 lbs
11th – Bill & Jason Cox 1.97 lbs
12th – Devin Hofmann & Matt Schneider – no weight –
12th – Travis Forte – no weight –
12th – Joe Schultz – no weight –
Battle at New Johns
Daren and Devin win New Johns!
On June 8th the Bandits crew met up on legendary New Johns Lake, one of North Dakota’s premier fisheries. It was a great turnout as 20 teams participated in this recent event. Of course mother nature participated as well dropping temps into the high 50’s and hurling 25 mph winds mixed with a bit a rain. On a positive note Mother Nature did provide the Bandits with a spawn bite which helped many anglers catch there fish. Even though it was the tail end of the spawn cycle and most bass were guarding fry, there were some really nice fish caught. But the team who would win the event would go on to catch a big female smallmouth that weighed 5.40 lbs. This behemoth of a smallmouth was caught by Daren Schneider and Devin Hofmann which not only helped them win the event but comfortable separate themselves from the rest of the field. Daren and Devin’s first place final total weight tipped the scales at 12.87 lbs! Let’s not forget to mention that their 5.40 lb smallmouth was the biggest bass of the event but also biggest smallmouth ever caught and weighed during a Bandits club event.
Fishing in their first event of 2019 was team Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan, these two juggernaughts put together a nice bag a fish to bring home the 2nd place trophy. Their final total weight that helped them cash a check was 11.41 lbs with their biggest fished of the day weighing in at 4.14 lbs.
Team Tanner and Ron Mallams had another strong showing by taking home the 3rd place trophy. Tanner and Ron have had a great start to the 2019 season and Tanner is currently our points leader. Keep it up Team Mallams you have a target on your back now!
Our next club event will be our clubs annual camping weekend, this year it will be held on Spiritwood Lake. Lots and lots of food to eat during our annual President’s picnic as well as our ladder ball tournament. This all takes place June 29th!
Lake Tschida Season Opener
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Colton and Tanner Take Lake Tschida!
11 Boats rippin’, roarin’ and ready to go chase some brown fish in brown water. The fact it was raining and barely above 32 degrees didn’t stop anyone, right away at least. This is the best way to open out a season in the Badlands Bass Bandits “it can only get better from here”. From the 46 degree water on the dam side of the lake to the reported 60 degree water on the west side from one inch to 50 feet the bandits were looking for one thing, a bite from a little brown smallmouth bass which were not acting very nice. Denver and Corey found a limit in really shallow throwing a small swimbait and that followed to par with Colton and tanners limit that they caught throwing chatterbaits slow and hitting them on the rocks. Overall it was a very tough tournament and the fish weren’t just everywhere and willing to feed, which in turns “A tough day of fishing is better than a good day at work” right?
2019
Classic Recap 2018
Tanner & Michella Mallams win the 2 day Classic!
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the weekend of weather and those who aren’t part of our club thought we were foolish. Of course were talking about the weather for the 2018 Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship and it can be summed up in one word – COLD! For the 2nd time in the club’s 13 year history the Classic was fished in winter like temperatures and conditions. This was a 2 day event and both mornings started with temps in the low to mid 30’s and that’s not including the wind factor. Many anglers were wondering how the fishing was going to be, some thought really good and others thought slow. But they all agreed that fish were going to be caught by North Dakota’s elite bass anglers, especially when you put them on fisheries like the Audobon lakes.
Day’s prior to the event it was a 2 horse race for the Angler of the Year title as well as a 1 horse race for the Rookie of the Year. Paul Reinbold and Justin Enney of Dickinson were facing off to claim the AOY while Mason McRoberts of Minot standing along on top of the ROY points. Biggest smallmouth of the year coming into the event was currently being held by Colton Blomberg at 4.21 lbs and the Biggest Largemouth was Tony Reinbold with a 6.50 slob! With the biggest largemouth of the year award pretty much sewed up the biggest smallmouth was definitely in Jeopardy, especially on the North Audobon Lake.
Day 1 was led by the dynamic duo of Mantz and Sullivan who were looking for a back2back classic championship run with 10.93 lbs. Matt Sullivan also boated the biggest smallmouth of the tournament which weighed 3.98 lbs! Sitting in second place was Team Mallams of Tanner and his wife Michella with a 10.05 lb bag and 3rd place was pinned down by Paul and Tony Reinbold and Hayden “the Hammer” Bader with 9.55 lbs. There were 4 other teams at the 9 lb mark and a couple in the high 8 lb mark so going into Day 2 was a very tight race.
Day 2 started out very cold, windy and cloudy, Mother Nature was throwing everything at the Bandits to keep them from catching bass. But we all bundled up and braved the weather! Coming in with consistency was team Mallams with a 10.26 lb bag, this gave them the overall winning weight of 20.21 lbs! A man who was on the move from 7th place on day one to a 2nd place jump was Cody Arth with a Day 2 weight of 10.54 that gave him a 2 day total weight of 19.63 lbs! Holding on to a tight 3rd place race was Paul and Tony Reinbold and Hayden “the Hammer” Bader with a Day 2 weight of 9.94 lbs which gave them a 2 day total weight of 19.49 lbs.
Although we wish we could fish tournaments all year every season has to come to a close, but with that are the Bandits End of the Year Awards. Congratulations to all who received/earned them!
- 2018 Awards -
2018 Angler of the Year – Paul Reinbold
2018 Rookie of the Year – Mason McRoberts
2018 Horizon Award Winner (most improved): Justin Enney
2018 Horizon Award Winner (most improved):: Curt Manley
Bag Buster Award – Justin Enney and Jason Perius (Lake Nelson 14.16 lbs)
Biggest Smallmouth of the Year – Colton Blomberg 4.21 lbs (New Johns)
Biggest Largemouth of the Year – Tony Reinbold 6.50 lbs (Lake Nelson)
Classic Championship Results:
1. Tanner & Michella Mallams 20.21 lbs
2. Cody Arth 19.63 lbs
3. Paul & Tony Reinbold & Hayden Bader 19.49 lbs
4. Marty Mantz & Matt Sullivan 19.19 lbs
5. Thomas Lietz and Eric Vossler 19.02 lbs
6. Colton Blomberg and Drew Morgan 18.42 lbs
7. Justin Enney and Bob Reinbold 17.75 lbs
8. Scott, Logan and Brandon Bollinger 16.80 lbs
9. Carl Hayden 11.08 lbs
10. Trent Fugrer and Curt Manley 8.69 lbs
11. Mason McRoberts 3.30 lbs
12. Denver Tergesen 0
13. Josh Trottier & Amber Pierce 0
Battle at Lake Sakakawea
The final stop prior to the Classic Championship was Lake Sakakwea. It was a cold brisk morning with a stiff breeze out of the north east. The wind blew right into the boat ramp which made unloading a bit tricky. As the day went on and the clouds moved out the lake calmed a little bit for the most part, but the morning start was certainly rough and it prevented a lot of anglers traveling to their best spots. Carl Hayden and his partner Susie were able to find the best 3 smallmouth on Lake Sakakawea that day by weighing in 6.89 total lbs. Team Bollinger came in with a strong 2nd place finish at 6.61 lbs, way to go boys!. Coming in with yet another consistent 3rd place finish was Justin Enney and his partner Drew Morgan. The next and final stop for our 2018 tour is the covenanted Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship on Lake Audobon and North Audobon. This 2 day tournament will have an exciting finish, not to mention crowning the angler and rookie of the year as well as other awards. Hang to your hats folks its gonna be a great finish!
1st place Carl Hayden and Susie 6.89
2nd place Bollinger Team 6.61
3rd Justin Enney and Drew Morgan 6.46
4th Bob and Jeanette Reinbold 6.46
5th Denver Tergesen and Jordan 6.44
6th Justin and Trent Fugure 6.38
7th Colton Blomberg and Jamie Shanks 5.97
8th Cody and Ron Arth 5.68
9th Mason McRoberts 5.48
10th Aaron Stenvold and LeAnn Hofer 0
10th Paul, Edison and Quinn Reinbold 0
Bass Fest on Lake Isabel
Paul and Tony Reinbold with their winning fish & biggest bass of 4.71lbs!
The Bass Bandits found themselves at Lake Isabel for the 7th stop on the 2018 tour. It was a beautiful 85 degree day with light winds from the south at 10 mph and a few cooling gusts at 15. The lake was very lively with all of the bluegill and crappie activity going on and the bass were right behind them chomping and filling their bellies. The Bandits launched their boats at sun rise and with a trolling motor only shot gun start for the 1st half hour it was a race to the hot spots. Bass were biting early as well through the mid-morning, for every boat passing by you heard conversations of big ones getting away. It was a safe bet that every boat that day lost at least one 5lber at some point throughout the event. First timer at Lake Isabel Justin Enney weighed in a healthy 9.60 lb bag that helped keep him in 2nd place position for Angler of the Year standings, he finished 4th for the day. Bringing in 10.40 lbs were the Bader crew of Jason, Hayden, Haley and Amanda, their biggest bass of the day weighed 4.18 lbs. Another first timer on the lake was Colton Blomberg and his partner Drew who weighed in 11.04 lbs, their biggest bass that they boated for the day was 3.95 lbs. Long time teammates Paul and Tony Reinbold were no strangers to Lake Isabel and it showed with a 12.36 lb bag, they also bagged the largest bass of the tournament that weighed 4.71 lbs. Lots of fish were caught a long with a lot of heart breaks and woulda coulda shouldas but that happens when you fish a lake with a big fish potential. Their big for a reason! See Final results below.
1. Paul and Tony Reinbold 12.36 lbs * Big Bass 4.71 lbs
2. Colton Blomberg and Drew 11.04lbs
3. Jason,Hayden, Haley and Amanda Bader 10.40 lbs
4. Justin Enney 9.60 lbs
5. Cody Raider and Jay Boldt 8.46 lbs
6. Bob and Jeanette Reinbold 8.06 lbs
7. Curt Manley 5.43 lbs
The next stop for the Bandits will be back up on Lake Sakakawea, we will be docking out of walleye bay. Get ready to catch some smallmouth!
Battle at New Johns
Caleb Messick and Dwayne Wager win big with 11.72lbs!
New Johns Lake along with its connecting bodies of water and waterways was the recent stop for the 2018 Bandits tour. An unusually long summer cold front rolled in days prior to the event and parked on top all the way through the weekend. This caused surface water temps to fluctuate a bit and vegetation in some spots were reported dying off, perhaps an early winter is upon us. One thing was for certain, the typical HOT summer bite at New Johns lake wasn’t really happening. Of course some anglers got into some flurries of bass but finding schools of 4 plus pounders seemed impossible. Perhaps that’s why anglers who never fished this lake before did so well! Coming in with a first place finish was Caleb Messick and his partner Dwayne Wager with 11.71 lbs. Not only did Messick and Wager bring in the heaviest bag to the scales but they also captured the Big Bass award that weighed 4.42lbs. Marty Mantz who is no stranger to this body of water finished second with a 10.12lb bag of smallmouth and team Eric Vossler and Amber Flick were able to bag three nice smallmouth for a 3rd place finish, their final total weight was 9.82lbs.
The next stop on tour will be in South Dakota at Lake Isabel, this small fishery will be jam packed of largemouth fishing action…and perhaps a few smallmouth will be found as well. This lake is located only 2 hours south of Bismarck, 125 miles to be exact. As you all know we have members from the northern, western, central and eastern part of North Dakota and don’t forget we have members from South Dakota. This year’s schedule has definitely provided a chance for all anglers to fish a body of water near them. So please join us for another great tournament on August 18th at Lake Isabel in South Dakota. There are motel and other lodging options in and near the town of Isabel, the lake itself has primitive camping right next to the boat ramp/parking lot. Bunkhouse Inn is located on main street 605-850-8378 and Firesteel Creek Lodge 605-466-2452. The lodge is located 3.7 miles north from the lake and the town of Isabel is located 3.3 miles south of the lake. On a fun note congrats to Aaron Stenvold and Leann Hofer of your engagement!
Final Standings for New Johns:
1. Caleb Messick and Dwayne Wager 11.71 Big Bass 4.42lbs
2. Marty Mantz 10.12
3. Eric Vossler and Amber Flick 9.82
4. Paul Reinbold and Tony Reinbold 9.24
5. Carl and Michael Hayden 8.74
6. Colton Blomberg and Tanner Mall 8.67
7. Scott, Brandon Bullinger and Logan 8.44
8. Trent Fugere and Curt Manley 7.87
9. Willie Kist and DJ Power 7.24
10. Mason McRoberts 6.84
11. Aaron Stenvold and Leann Hofer 4.92
12. Travis Fortier 3.20
13. Justin Enney and Jason Perius 1.81
14. Robert Reinbold 1.19
Lake Darling Brings The Bandits
Tony and Kayden take 1st with 9.55lbs at the first ever Lake Darling tournament!
Lake Darling kicked off the 3rd event of the year for the Bandits and the 1st ever on Lake Darling. First I'd like to thank all the newcomers for attended. It's always great to see new faces and we hope you all and more continue to attend and grow "OUR" Club! It was a great day despite the lack of wind. Late morning had a fog roll in for a few hours and OOOO BOY it was ON! Everything from top to bottom seemed to be able to entice a good number of smalljaws. With 11 teams burning the bearings out of there reels, Cayden & Richel were able to hunker down on a spot and bring in a nice 3.78lb Big Bass of the tournament. They barely edged out Tony & Kayden, who were the only other team to weigh a fish over 3.5lbs. Despite not getting the tourney Big Bass they did sack up a 9.55lb bag for the tournament WIN!! Again, thank you to everyone who came and hope everyone enjoyed! Next event will be July 14 & 15 for our Club Camping Weekend. Saturday the 14th we will be having a Big Bass tourney on Sheeps Creek Dam. Sunday the 15th we will be fishing Lake Tschida. See you all then!!
Lake Ashtabula and Spiritwood Lake
Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan on top!
The second event of the year has come and gone! I feel I can speak for most by saying it can be described with one word "TOUGH". The Bandits started out Sat morning on Ashtabula with 12 boats revved and ready to go! Deep, shallow, north, south and everything in between, the Bandits threw everything but the kitchen sink at em and only 2 teams were able to prevail. The teams of Marty & Matt along with Joe & Billy were able to bring in 2 fish a piece with Marty & Matt barely edging them out with 5.68lbs. Joe & Billy weighed in 5.57lbs. Hair jigs were the ticket for both of these teams. After a nice night of rest and trying to mentally prepare for Spiritwood, the Bandits fielded 11 for the lake that just iced out 4 days prior. With even colder water than what was seen on Ashtabula, the Bandits were once again able to put it together and bring in some decent limits! The team of Colton & Jamie were able to coax a hefty 4.21lb beauty to bite for the Big Bass of the tournament! Even though Spiritwood didn't allow the Beasts to come out and play, OK numbers were reported by some and again Marty & Matt were able to hunker down and bring in 9.12lbs for the day and a total of 14.90lbs and the tournament WIN!! With most staying shallow, lures varying from jerkbaits, shad raps, curly tails and hair jigs all played a factor into enticing them to bite. Even though we were a few weeks early, it was still a great turn out! Thank you all for joining and hope to see everyone at Lake Darling June 9th!!
1. Marty/Matt A5.68 S9.12 T14.90 BB 3.19
2. Joe/Bill A5.57 S7.12 T12.69 BB 3.26
3. Paul/Travis S9.32 T9.32 BB 3.08
4. Colton/Jamie S8.86 T8.86 BB 4.21***
5. Cody S8.79 T8.79 BB 3.08
6. Justin/Jason S7.67 T7.67 BB 3.88
Nelson Opener Recap
We finally got to get the lines wet!! It's been a BRUTUAL winter that seemed to not want to let up but Mother Nature decided enough was enough (Thank God). So, off we went on Nelson! With a record turn out of 23 teams, we went out in 2 flights. Though the snow wasn't falling, the winds were blowing. In turn, made the water extremely muddy and a tougher day for competitors. Yet, Nelson decided to cough up a few beauties for some to enjoy! With some nice 5 & 6 pounders caught, most found the cookie cutters along with less number of fish being caught. The duo of Justin & Jason snatched the victory by a 3 1/2 lb margin weighing in 14.16lbs! Followed by Matt & Steph bringing in 11.68 finishing just ahead of Paul and Tony with 11.14 anchored by Tony's Big Bass of the tournament 6.53. Due to water still being hard, we as a club voted on the Spiritwood/Ashtabula tourney and if by chance the waters open we will continue as scheduled but if not we will have a 2 day tourney on Nelson May 5th & 6th. Thank you for a great turn out despite conditions! Hope to see you all at the next tournament!
1st. Justin & Jason 14.16
2nd. Matt & Steph 11.68
3rd. Paul & Tony 11.14
4thth. Joe 11.07
5th. Curt 10.21
6th. Corey & Chris 9.84
7th. Logan & Brandon 8.59
8th. Denver & Tyler 8.55
9th. Amber & Josh 8.45
10th. Dylan & Austin 8.18
11th. Colten & Mike 8.12
12th. Trent & Corey 7.38
13th. Carl & Michael 6.90
14th. Bob 6.75
15th. Hayden & Amanda 3.45
16th. Aaron & LeAnn 1.82
The remainder of contestants did not weigh fish.
2018
2017 Audubon Classic Recap
Marty Mantz And Matt Sullivan win the 2 Day Classic Championship at Lake Audubon!
The 2017 Classic Championship on Lake Audubon in North Dakota brought together some of the finest bass anglers in the region for a two-day showdown on September 23rd and 24th. The competition was fierce, the bags were heavy, and the camaraderie was strong as teams battled it out for the coveted championship title.
Day One – Big Starts and Big Bass
The first day of the tournament set the tone, with Marty & Matt putting up an impressive 11.02 pounds, including the tournament’s biggest bass at 4.08 pounds. Their strong start gave them a slight edge heading into day two. Thomas & Eric stayed close behind with 9.81 pounds, while several other teams, including Josh (7.92 lbs) and Aaron, Josh & Amber (8.34 lbs), kept themselves well within striking distance.
Day Two – The Push for the Title
On the second day, consistency proved to be the deciding factor. Marty & Matt backed up their day-one lead with another solid bag of 9.42 pounds, bringing their two-day total to 20.44 pounds. That weight secured them the top spot and the Classic Championship crown with 100 points.
Thomas & Eric made a strong push with a 9.68-pound limit on day two, finishing just shy of the leaders with a two-day total of 19.49 pounds, good for second place. The race for third was tight, but in the end both Josh and the team of Aaron, Josh & Amber tied with identical two-day totals of 16.92 pounds. Their consistency showed, landing them in third and fourth place respectively by points.
Strong Showings All Around
Carl & Suzie held their ground with 15.64 pounds, finishing fifth, while Justin & Paul delivered one of the best day-two bags of 8.67 pounds to claim sixth. Trent & Colton brought in one of the biggest day-one weights of the tournament at 7.54 pounds but couldn’t quite keep the pace, finishing seventh with 12.97 pounds. Bob & Jeanette rounded out the leaderboard with an 8.96-pound total.
Final Standings
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Marty & Matt – 20.44 lbs (Big Bass: 4.08)
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Thomas & Eric – 19.49 lbs
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Josh – 16.92 lbs
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Aaron, Josh & Amber – 16.92 lbs
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Carl & Suzie – 15.64 lbs
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Justin & Paul – 14.33 lbs
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Trent & Colton – 12.97 lbs
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Bob & Jeanette – 8.96 lbs
Champions Crowned
Congratulations to Marty & Matt, the 2017 Classic Champions, for their outstanding performance on Lake Audubon. Their combination of consistency and the tournament’s biggest bass set them apart in a field of skilled anglers.
The Classic Championship once again showcased the passion, skill, and sportsmanship that define the bass fishing community. With another year in the books, anglers now set their sights on next season, eager for more competition and bigger catches on North Dakota’s waters.
Spiritwood Lake
The Bandits have had an incredible season and are so grateful to not only be able to fish some of the best waters in our state but also some of the best in the country. Whether it is the smaller Spiritwood Lake that can produce a 6lb fish at anytime to the giant shorelines of Lake Sakakawea and Lake Oahe, there are always plenty of opportunities for a competitive tournament and a great time on the water among friends and family.
Our 6th stop of the year was Spiritwood Lake, a club favorite, and with not only Bandits but also a few teams from the EDAK club competing everyone was anxious to bring in a big bag of smallies. Marty and Brandi Mantz did not disappoint when they brought in a 3 fish limit for 11lbs even to take top spot followed by EDAK members Chris Shields and David Geske with 10.53lbs, rounding out the top 3 was Paul Reinbold and Amber Pierce weighing in 9.47 lbs after they had to throw a 5lb plus pig back late in the day since they already had a limit of fish and are unable to cull under ND laws. Great job everyone.
Event 7 was the giant Lake Sakakawea. Unnatural calm winds and amazing weather turned the day into a terrific time as Shawn Keena fishing with Brandon took home the victory at 8.09lbs. 2nd place was Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz with 7.75lbs and a great top 3 for Colton Blomberg and Jamie Shanks with 7.35lbs. We all still are looking for those elusive 3lb Sakakawea smallmouth but someday someone will find a school of them. Hopefully.
The last regular season event took the Club to South Dakota and Lake Oahe. The recent announcement of the Bassmaster Elite series scheduling Oahe for next year brought the level of excitement to an all time high. Bob Reinbold teamed up with Cody Arth to bring in 11.63 lbs and 1st place just edging out Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan who had 11.38lbs. Shawn Keena and Trent Fugere were able to weigh 8.72lbs to round out 3rd.
Great job everyone and also a huge congratulations to Marty Mantz for being the Angler of the Year on the Bandits TBF Club. Marty had 3 wins to be perfect on the season and take home the crown. Our final tournament is the two day Classic to be held on Lake Audubon September 23-24th launching at 6:30 from Totten Trail Ramp. Good luck to everyone and enjoy your time spent on the water doing what we all love so much.
Club Camping Weekend
Amazing weather and fun times for everyone was the storyline for the Bandits as we all enjoyed the weekend at Lake Tschida for Club Camping.
Having to deal with a huge amount of recreational traffic the weights were down a bit compared to the past events but Bob and Jeanette Reinbold were able to bring in 6 smallmouth bass for a total of 14.91lbs to take home the win. 2nd place went to Denver and Tyler Tergesen with 14.41lbs, including Big Bass Award for 3.42lbs, and Matt Sullivan partnered up with Amber Pierce for 3rd place with 14.38lbs. Most anglers were fishing the bank just to stay away from the large amount of recreational boats on the water and caught fish on everything from swimbaits to senkos and even a few jerkbait fish.
The real competition was on Saturday night as the annual ladderball tournament brought out the best in everyone. With 8 teams competing for year long bragging rights in the double elimination tournament it was Trent Fugere and Paul Reinbold battling back to face Prairie and Amber. After a substitution for both teams Eric and Amber faced off against newcomer Ryan and Trent in an epic down to the wire match that ended after Eric hit a 2 pointer to break the 19-19 tie. Then to cap off the night Eric beat Thomas Leintz in the flipping competition, in the dark with the aid of headlights from Thomas truck, to give him his first flipping victory and Thomas with back to back runner-up finishes.
Thank you everyone for a great weekend and also a thanks to Shawn Keena and Cody Arth for donatingPeriod 1: 1st Tony Reinbold 4.69 lbs
Period 2: 1st Tony Reinbold 3.19 lbs
Ladder Ball Results:
1st Denver Tergesen and Cory Erickson
2nd Paul Reinbold and Tyler Tergesen
3rd Shawn Keena and Eric Shcutt
Lake Tschida Results:
1st Paul Reinbold, Eric Schutt and Tyler Schutt 7.87 lbs *Big Bass 3.80lbs
2nd Mason McRoberts and Tyler Tergesen 6.94lbs
3rd Shawn Keena and Denver Tergesen 6.53lbs
4th Trent Fugere and Cory Erickson 6.09lbs
5th Curt Manley 5.82lbs
6th Justin Enney and Jason Perius 5.56lbs
7th Travis Fortier 5.33lbs
8th Hayden and Tyler Gandy 5.16 lbs
9th Amanda, Jason and Hayden Bader 4.14 lbs
10th Tony Reinbold, Lisa and Sara Schutt 4.09 lbs
11t Patrick and Sarah Dockter 3.71 lbs
12th Peder 0
12th Lance and Rhonda Lang 0
mystery tackle packages for all the anglers to enjoy at the Ladderball Tournament.
North Audubon & Lake Audubon Recap
Hunter, Thomas & Eric Take North Audubon!
Marty & Brandy Mantz win Lake Audubon!
What an incredible time on the water for the Bandits during the 3rd and 4th events of the season. The weekend began with slightly windy conditions on North Audubon and dirtier than normal water but the fishing was phenomenal throughout the day with numerous 2-3lb smallmouth easily being caught. The team of Eric Vossler, Hunter Wood and Thomas Leintz took home the crown with 7.96 lbs including the 3.47 lb big bass focusing on the many submerged islands of the lake. 2nd place went to Marty Mantz and Brandi Mantz at 7.61 lbs and 3rd was rounded out by Nevin Tergesen, Tyler Tergesen and Denver Tergesen with 7.36 lbs. Hayden Bader brought in three fish for 6.85 lbs to not only win the Junior division but those fish would've placed him in the top 5 of the overall division as well. Great job Hayden!
Sunday was a complete opposite on Lake Audubon with hardly a ripple on the water from launch until weigh in. Numerous anglers reported record number of fish being caught and mostly from still bedding fish. The big bite was once again hard to find but Marty and Brandi Mantz figured it out the best with 10.49 lbs that also included the 3.93lb big bass of the day. Newcomers Van Bardell and Brandon Schafer had a great day with 9.72 lbs to cash a second place check and once again Eric Vossler and Hunter Wood teaming up with Adam Carow notched a top three bag with 9.64 lbs. Lastly in dominating fashion Hayden Bader took home the Junior crown with 5.11 lbs. A huge relief for his Father Jason Bader to finally beat Hayden on the year, barely squeaking by with 5.13 lbs.
Great job everyone and thank all the new anglers that joined us for a great weekend on the water.
The next event will be the club Camping Weekend on Lake Tschida on July 1st and 2nd. All information will be posted soon on this event.
New Johns Lake Recap
Team Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan take New Johns
A beautiful day on one of the most diverse fisheries in our state equaled an amazing tournament for the second stop of the the Bandits season. Reports of super tough conditions didn't stop the 11 teams today as everyone was excited for a chance at a giant bag of Largemouth or Smallmouth Bass. With very little wind and light clouds throughout the day Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz were able to search out some beds and bring home the crown with 12.01 lbs of Smallies. 2nd place went to Amanda Bader and Tony Reinbold with 10.81 lbs of fish caught on a classic Melos Spinner and 3rd place was the trifecta of Trent Fugere, Paul Reinbold, and Adrian Estrada with 10.71 lbs anchored by Trent's Big Bass of the day at 4.38lbs. Our Junior Champion was Hayden Bader with a terrific 2.12 lb smallmouth just barely edging out Roo Estrada.
Great job to everyone on the water today and thanks for all the help from all members at launch and weigh in.
The Bandits next tournament will be June 3rd on North Audubon Arm and June 4th at Audubon launching from the Totten Trail Ramp. These will be two seperate tournaments and we hope to see as many teams as possible join us for the fun.
1st – Marty Mantz & Matt Sullivan
12.01 lbs – 100 pts
2nd – Tony Reinbold & Amanda Bader
10.81 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Paul Reinbold, Adrian Estrada & Trent Fugure
10.71 lbs – Big Bass Award – 99 pts
4th – Eric Vossler & Hunter Wood
10.46 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Denver Tergesen & Tyler Tergesen
9.63 lbs – Big Bass Tiebreaker – 96 pts
6th – Mike Zacher & Ryan Zacher
9.63 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Colton Blomberg & Josh Birtchet
9.46 lbs – 94 pts
8th – Thomas Leintz & Robert Reinbold
7.73 lbs – 93 pts
9th – Justin Enney, Amber Pierce & Dustin Jacobsen
6.99 lbs – 92 pts
10th – Jason Perius
6.66 lbs – 91 pts
11th – Carl & Susie Hayden
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
TBF Results
1st- Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan-12.01
2nd-Tony Reinbold-10.81
3rd-Paul Reinbold-10.71
4th-Eric Vossler-10.46
5th-Denver Tergesen and Tyler Tergesen-9.63
6th-Colton Blomberg and Josh Birtchet-9.46
8th-Robert Reinbold-7.73
9th-Justin Enney, Amber Pierce and Dustin Jacobsen-6.99
2017
New Season, New Faces
Colton Blomberg and Colton Self with their winning fish at the season opener at Nelson Lake
The Badlands Bass Bandits began their 2017 tournament season with a bang. With the crowd favorite Nelson Lake starting the year off and reports of big fish being caught all winter the anticipation was high for some great fishing. Despite the power plant shutting down their big unit a few days earlier and dropping water temperatures it did not disappoint. An early morning fog delay changed the typical boat launch to a shotgun start and all 22 teams blasted off with a 5mph speed limit until 8am. Fishing was very consistent for most teams throughout the day but for the team of Colton Blomberg and Colton Self a great stretch of rocky bank and a black and blue jig yielded three great Largemouth Bass totaling 15.29 lbs, a new club record for the lake, with a 5.88lb big bass winning kicker fish. 2nd place team of Eric Vossler and Hunter Wood broke in his new Skeeter Boat in the right direction with 12.79lbs of Nelson Lake Largemouth and the trifecta of Bob and Jeanette Reinbold teaming up with Thomas Leintz rounded out the top three with 10.65lbs. It was a great day on the water and an incredible performance by the top teams. Thanks everyone and see you May 20th at New Johns.
Final Standings
1st – Colton Blomberg & Colton Self
15.29 lbs – Big Bass (5.88 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Eric Vossler & Hunter Wood
12.79 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Jeanette Reinbold, Bob Reinbold & Thomas Leintz
10.65 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Sam Wenner & Wayne Wenner
9.82 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Matt Sullivan & Marty Mantz
8.92 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Jason Bader & Amanda Bader
8.49 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Lance Zent & Amber Pierce
7.83 lbs – 94 pts
8th – Michael Kielar
7.25 lbs – 93 pts
9th – Jason Pierus
6.93 lbs – 92 pts
10th – Paul Reinbold & Tony Reinbold
6.22 lbs – 91 pts
11th – Denver Tergesen & Tyler Tergesen
5.24 lbs – 90 pts
12th – Josh Trottier & Aaron Stenvold
3.66 lbs – 89 pts
13th – Travis Bush & Stephen Kolobakken
2.60 lbs – 88 pts
14th – Justin Enney, Adrian Estrada & Dustin Jacobson
2.43 lbs – 87 pts
15th – Mike Zacher & Ryan Zacher
1.87 lbs – 86 pts
16th – Corey Erickson
1.50 lbs – 85 pts
17th– Curt Manley (0.00 – 50 pts),
Markus Brown (DQ – 0 pts),
Ethan Eagle Chasing (DQ – 0 pts),
Perry Atkinson (DQ – 0 pts),
Barry Wolfe (DQ – 0 pts)
TBF Results
1st-Colton Blomberg-15.29lbs
2nd-Eric Vossler-12.79lbs
3rd-Bob Reinbold-10.65lbs
4th-Matt Sullivan/Marty Mantz-8.92lbs
5th-Amber Pierce-7.83lbs
6th-Paul Reinbold/Tony Reinbold-6.22lbs
7th-Denver Tergesen/Tyler Tergesen-5.24lbs
8th-Justin Enney/Adrian Estrada/Dustin Jacobson-2.43 lbs
9th-Markus Brown-0.00 lbs
2017
Audubon 2016 Classic Recap
Paul Reinbold and Josh Birtchet take home the Classic Hardware!
This past weekend marked the Bandit’s final tournament of the year. The classic championship! Going into the tourney many people were unsure how it would turn out. Mainly because of the recent weather shift and memories of years past. However, Audobaun Lake turned out to be one of the best tournaments of the year. Day one ended with Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz in first place at 10.99, with Wes Baptiste and Amber Pierce a close second with 10.97. Behind them were two more bags at over 10lbs for three fish. Most caught fish early on day one and everyone seemed to have numbers of 3 plus pounders throughout. Day 2 on the other hand, was a different story for some. While others slid off the top spot, few found them later in the day to come from behind. Paul Reinbold and Josh Birtchet came in from 5th the day prior to 1st with over a 12 lb bag and taking big bag and big bass of the year with 4.89! They had some early struggles on day two but a late afternoon flurry carried them to the win. Even though Amber and Wes put up a hard charge to gain back points for AOY, they just couldn't gain the momentum to catch Eric Vossler and Hunter Wood from the top spot! Amazing season for Eric and Hunter as well as Amber Pierce who was crowned Rookie of the Year. An incredible ending to an amazing year with amazing people!
With the club saying goodbye to Stephen Basinger, Jared Sparks, and Wes Baptiste we want to thank them for everything they did and do to help further grow the sport of Tournament Bass Fishing in North Dakota and the Badlands Bass Bandits. They will all be truly missed. I also encourage everyone to get out on the water with someone new and introduce them to this sport we all love and cherish. The future of our club and bass fishing in North Dakota depends on the increased participation of all our members to find new members for our club and to further educate on the importance of conservation in our state. Thanks again everyone for a great year and see you all at the ICE BOWL!!!
2017 Classic Championship – Final Standings
1st – Paul Reinbold & Josh Birtchet
21.38 lbs – Big Bass (4.89 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Marty Mantz & Matt Sullivan
21.27 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Eric Vossler & Hunter Wood
20.50 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Stephen Basinger & Thomas Leintz
20.05 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Lance Zent & Jared Sparks
18.92 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Bob & Jeanette Reinbold
18.01 lbs – Big Bass Tie Breaker (4.35 lbs) – 95 pts
7th – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce
18.01 lbs – 94 pts
Do you want me to merge this updated list with the full 21-place results you shared earlier, so you have one complete master standings sheet?
Mantz and Sullivan on top at Lake Oahe
Last stop on the Bandits trail was possibly one of the toughest for many in many years. Starting off with a full moon and a cold front the day prior, coupled with a 4ft drop in water levels, had many anglers scrambling to find decent size fish. Everyone was hyped up about the legendary Lake Oahe in South Dakota. The past years and recent months have shown big bags of smallies come out of here. People fished anywhere from rocky shoreline to bridge pilings, sandy banks and main lake points, to sunken railroads and structure. A few people made 40plus mile runs to mid lake areas. Two teams, Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz, along with Wes Baptiste and Amber Pierce, ran down to the 212 bridge. With neither having much luck on the bridge, they moved out to sandy bays and main lake points. Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz took the win by focusing on a bay just west of the bridge with 6.82 lbs including a 3.13 Big Bass winner. Bob and Jeanette Reinbold came in close second by
fishing a sunken railroads bed with 6.81 lbs. Lance Zent and Jared Sparks made it 3rd with 5.69 lbs and just barely missing the cut Paul and Tony Reinbold came in 4th with 4.59 lbs. Eric Vossler and Hunter Wood made a 5th place showing of 4.07 lbs, while Wes Baptiste and Amber Pierce settled for 6th with one fish for 1.23 lbs. Thomas Leintz, Elliot Kjer and Betty Auston were a few anglers unfortunate enough to not catch a fish to bring to weigh in.
The next tournament will be the 2-Day Classic on Lake Audubon launching out of Three Mile Ramp on September 17th and 18th. The Angler of the Year race is still very tight and can be won by either Eric Vossler and Hunter Wood or Wesley Baptiste and Amber Pierce. Good luck everyone and hope to see you at Audubon
Lake Oahe Results
1st – Marty Mantz & Matt Sullivan
6.82 lbs – Big Bass Award (3.13 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Bob & Jeannette Reinbold
6.81 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Lance Zent & Jared Sparks
5.69 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Paul & Tony Reinbold
4.59 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Hunter Wood & Eric Vossler
4.07 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce
1.23 lbs – 95 pts
T-7th – Elliot Kjer & Betty Austin
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
T-7th – Thomas Leintz
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
The Big Muddy Missouri River
Is actually pretty small when it comes to us bass fisherman. And very unforgiving. With the “dock talk” being all the big fish are down south, but unpredictable conditions and a plethora of recreational boaters and sandbars on every route, the safe bet was to settle for what you could in the local marinas. And even though smaller fish were easy to find it was the determination of Hunter Wood and Eric Vossler that big ones still lived in Marina Bay that triggered their win. Between a decent topwater bite and a classic jig and chunk trailer they were able to land some very quality fish and almost doubled the next best finisher in the field with a winning weight of 10.09 lbs anchored by a 4.54l lb largemouth that also took the big fish honors. 2nd place went to Jared Sparks and Lance Zent after they found a few on topwater as well with 5.98 lbs just inching out 3rd place of Wes Baptiste and Amber Pierce with 5.97 lbs. Hayden Bader brought in a great 3 bass limit to take home the trophy in the Junior Division with 4.29 lbs. Great Job Hayden!! The consolation for other teams was that the weather couldn’t have been any better for a day of fishing and it will definitely go down as a learning experience for all members of the Bandits.
Next Tournament will be held on Lake Oahe launching out of Indian Creek in Mobridge, SD. Don’t forget to purchase a SD fishing license if you haven’t already. This is definitely a quality fishery that should produce some great limits. Camping sites have been reserved by Paul Reinbold and any questions about the tournament or camping can be answered by him or on the Bandits Facebook page. We hope to see everyone on Lake Oahe next weekend.
It has been a great season so far and as it winds down please make sure to stay safe on the water and courteous to all other boaters.
Missouri River Results
1st – Eric Vossler & Hunter Wood
10.09 lbs – Big Bass Award (4.54 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Jared Sparks & Lance Zent
5.98 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce
5.97 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Logan Boese & Laken Boese
4.23 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Paul Reinbold, Thomas Leintz & Josh Birtchet
4.04 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Jason Bader & Tony Reinbold
3.89 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Bob & Jeannette Reinbold
1.81 lbs – 94 pts
8th – Stephen Basinger & Dion Ferrier
0.87 lbs – 93 pts
9th – Adam Pierce, Denver Tergesen & Matt Gessner
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
Spiritwood Lake
Wes and Amber with first place. Amber holding the new all time club record smallmouth bass!
For the first time ever the Bandits ventured as far east as Lake Ashtabuela. A field of 14 teams took to the lake and with past tournaments bringing in big bags on this unique lake the anticipation was high for everyone. Although many pre fished the lake with great success, the weights for the day didn't show the giants that live in the lake, but many anglers caught good ones and decent numbers as well. Half way through the day we had a temporary rain/storm delay that basically cut the field in half. As soon as the lightning was done and the lake deemed safe, those still in the hunt got back to work. And even though the early morning bite was better than afternoon for most, a few key fish were caught that made the difference. Although no one truly found the mother load that day, a few in the top 3 had a good bridge pattern with Eric Vossler and Hunter Wood snagging their club leading third win in a row with a three fish limit of 8.96 lbs including Big Bass of the day for 3.35 lbs. 2nd place went to Stephen Basinger and Thomas Leintz with 8.42lbs and third was rounded out by Marty and Brandi Mantz with 6.87lbs.
Day two sent us to the more familiar waters of Spiritwood Lake. Known for its giant smallies, everyone was eager to get on the water and test their luck at landing a giant. With water clarity being much better and the grass being not as thick everyone was definitely more confident in their abilities compared to the previous day. From a wacky rig to the Ned rig, a green pumpkin tube or a swing head jig with dbomb, to drop shotting and jerkbait fishing. It appeared everyone had a great day with big numbers caught. The winning team of Amber Pierce and Wes Baptiste who had trolling motor issues day prior ending them in fifth, found a pattern of Ned rig and dbomb on swing head for 12.34 to take it with a lead over 2 lbs ahead of second. Along with their win, Amber boated a beast of 4.84, for Big Bass of the day as well as the biggest Smallmouth ever caught during a tournament in Bandits History, also her biggest smallie ever. 2nd place went to Bob, Jeanette and Samantha Reinbold with 10.32 lbs and third was Stephen Basinger and Thomas Leintz with 9.82 lbs. Thanks for a great few days of Tournaments for everyone. We would also like to thank the Members of the EDAK Bass Club that came out and supported us as well. It was great to be able to hang out with and fish against other great local anglers and we all hope to see each other on the water again soon.
Next up is the Missouri River in Bismarck. Hope everyone has a chance to get out and run around and pre fish it because you can end up in a bad situation before you know it. We look forward to everyone showing up and seeing what this river has to offer.
Lake Ashtabula Results
1st – Eric Vossler & Hunter Wood
8.96 lbs – Big Bass Award (3.35 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Stephen Basinger & Thomas Leintz
8.42 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Marty & Brandi Mantz
6.87 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Chris Shields & Ryan Haarsager
6.74 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce
3.32 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Joe Schultz
1.85 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Jared Sparks & Lance Zent
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
7th – Curt Manley
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
7th – Bob, Jeanette & Samantha Reinbold
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
7th – Corey Erickson
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
7th – Josh Birtchet
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
7th – Alex Seibel & Logan Boese
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
7th – Trent Fugere
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
7th – Denver Tergesen & Matt Gessner
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
Spiritwood Lake Results
1st – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce
12.34 lbs – Big Bass Award (4.83 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Bob, Jeanette & Samantha Reinbold
10.32 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Stephen Basinger & Thomas Leintz
9.82 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Eric Vossler & Hunter Wood
9.80 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Jared Sparks & Lance Zent
8.94 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Chris Shields & Ryan Haarsager
8.86 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Joe Schultz
7.89 lbs – 94 pts
8th – Josh Birtchet
7.50 lbs – 93 pts
9th – Corey Erickson & Trent Fugere
6.57 lbs – 92 pts
10th – Marty & Brandi Mantz
0.00 lbs – 50 pts
Three tournaments to go with two wild cards of Missouri River and Lake Oahe, ending with the Classic Two-Day Championship on Lake Audubon. Its gonna come down to the wire and should be a great ending.
Lake Ashtabula
Hunter Wood and Eric Vossler with the winning bass!
For the first time ever the Bandits ventured as far east as Lake Ashtabuela. A field of 14 teams took to the lake and with past tournaments bringing in big bags on this unique lake the anticipation was high for everyone. Although many pre fished the lake with great success, the weights for the day didn't show the giants that live in the lake, but many anglers caught good ones and decent numbers as well. Half way through the day we had a temporary rain/storm delay that basically cut the field in half. As soon as the lightning was done and the lake deemed safe, those still in the hunt got back to work. And even though the early morning bite was better than afternoon for most, a few key fish were caught that made the difference. Although no one truly found the mother load that day, a few in the top 3 had a good bridge pattern with Eric Vossler and Hunter Wood snagging their club leading third win in a row with a three fish limit of 8.96 lbs including Big Bass of the day for 3.35 lbs. 2nd place went to Stephen Basinger and Thomas Leintz with 8.42lbs and third was rounded out by Marty and Brandi Mantz with 6.87lbs.
Day two sent us to the more familiar waters of Spiritwood Lake. Known for its giant smallies, everyone was eager to get on the water and test their luck at landing a giant. With water clarity being much better and the grass being not as thick everyone was definitely more confident in their abilities compared to the previous day. From a wacky rig to the Ned rig, a green pumpkin tube or a swing head jig with dbomb, to drop shotting and jerkbait fishing. It appeared everyone had a great day with big numbers caught. The winning team of Amber Pierce and Wes Baptiste who had trolling motor issues day prior ending them in fifth, found a pattern of Ned rig and dbomb on swing head for 12.34 to take it with a lead over 2 lbs ahead of second. Along with their win, Amber boated a beast of 4.84, for Big Bass of the day as well as the biggest Smallmouth ever caught during a tournament in Bandits History, also her biggest smallie ever. 2nd place went to Bob, Jeanette and Samantha Reinbold with 10.32 lbs and third was Stephen Basinger and Thomas Leintz with 9.82 lbs. Thanks for a great few days of Tournaments for everyone. We would also like to thank the Members of the EDAK Bass Club that came out and supported us as well. It was great to be able to hang out with and fish against other great local anglers and we all hope to see each other on the water again soon.
Next up is the Missouri River in Bismarck. Hope everyone has a chance to get out and run around and pre fish it because you can end up in a bad situation before you know it. We look forward to everyone showing up and seeing what this river has to offer.
Lake Ashtabula Results
1st – Eric Vossler & Hunter Wood
8.96 lbs – Big Bass Award (3.35 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Stephen Basinger & Thomas Leintz
8.42 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Marty & Brandi Mantz
6.87 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Chris Shields & Ryan Haarsager
6.74 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce
3.32 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Joe Schultz
1.85 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Jared Sparks & Lance Zent
– no fish – 50 pts
7th – Curt Manley
– no fish – 50 pts
7th – Bob, Jeanette & Samantha Reinbold
– no fish – 50 pts
7th – Corey Erickson
– no fish – 50 pts
7th – Josh Birtchet
– no fish – 50 pts
7th – Alex Seibel & Logan Boese
– no fish – 50 pts
7th – Trent Fugere
– no fish – 50 pts
7th – Denver Tergesen & Matt Gessner
– no fish – 50 pts
Spiritwood Lake Results
1st – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce
12.34 lbs – Big Bass Award (4.83 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Bob, Jeanette & Samantha Reinbold
10.32 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Stephen Basinger & Thomas Leintz
9.82 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Eric Vossler & Hunter Wood
9.80 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Jared Sparks & Lance Zent
8.94 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Chris Shields & Ryan Haarsager
8.86 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Joe Schultz
7.89 lbs – 94 pts
8th – Josh Birtchet
7.50 lbs – 93 pts
9th – Corey Erickson & Trent Fugere
6.57 lbs – 92 pts
10th – Marty & Brandi Mantz
– no fish – 50 pts
Angler of Year Top 3-with one dropped tourney
Eric Vossler and Hunter Wood-496 points
Wes Baptiste and Amber Pierce-494 points
Thomas Leintz-483
Three tournaments to go with two wild cards of Missouri River and Lake Oahe, ending with the Classic Two-Day Championship on Lake Audubon. Its gonna come down to the wire and should be a great ending.
Back to Back!
Hunter Wood and Eric Vossler with back to back wins!
This past Saturday was the New Johns stop for the ND bass bandits. Although everyone was eager to get on the water and find some giants, ND had a different plan. With high wind warning and changing conditions, the bite proved tough for many anglers. The topwater bite was near obsolete, besides a few found by the winners Eric Vossler and Hunter Woods. Most fish came off of fast moving reaction strike baits to include spinnerbait, cranks, and fast retrieve tubes. While others managed with a slower presentation of wacky rig stick baits and slow moving dropshots. All in all, despite the rough conditions, we had a great turnout with a few good fish brought to the scales. Next stop will be a 2 tournament weekend with Ashtabula on the 23rd and Spiritwood the 24th. This will be the first time the bandits have ventured this far east, but not to fret, these water hold some of the biggest smallmouth in the state. Camping will be arranged and a block of sites will be set up. If anyone has any questions direct them to Tournament directors Wes Baptiste, Trent Fugere or one of the other officers. Good luck and we will see you there.
1st – Eric Vossler & Hunter Woods
10.73 lbs – Big Bass Award (3.84 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce
9.62 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Matt Sullivan & Marty Mantz
9.33 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Paul Reinbold & Thomas Leintz
8.69 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Jared Sparks & Lance Zent
8.61 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Pedro & Derek
7.12 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Josh Johnson & Matt Frenz
6.16 lbs – 94 pts
8th – Josh Birtchet & Pete
1.68 lbs – 93 pts
9th – Curt Manley
– no fish – 50 pts
Club Camping Weekend
Hunter Wood and Eric Vossler 1st Place
Friends, Family, and Fishing. Just not usually in that order. It’s the reason we all work so hard and the reason why we stay up late or wake up early. This weekend was the perfect blend of the three and besides the standard 20+mph winds it couldn’t have been better.
Starting with Saturday morning big bass tournament we had 16 anglers head out onto Sheep’s Creek Dam at 6:15am for the first period of fishing to end at 9:00am. Things started slow for some anglers with lots of trout and crappies being caught but almost everyone found a decent Largemouth to weigh in for first period. With just a few minutes left on the clock Lance Zent felt a slight tick of his jig and set the hook on what would end up being the Big Bass of the period and the day at 5.53Lbs. After catching roughly a dozen fish on a frog during the first period Thomas Leintz finally found a decent keeper and weighed in a 3.62lb Largemouth to take home second during the period. After a quick break the field returned to fishing for the 2nd period and to say the conditons changed would be an understatement. Luckily the young angler Shania Mantz still had the magic touch when her senko found the lips of a 4.02lb Largemouth to take home 1st place in the period and after multiple boats returned without a fish Curt Manley weighed in a 2.58lb Largemouth for 2nd in the period. This format was a nice change for everyone and we hope to do another similar tournament in the future. Thank you everyone for keeping an open mind with this event and congratulations to the winners.
After returning to Lake Tschida to rest and retie the entire club grilled enough food to feed an army and after everyone was full to the point of being miserable we realized that the traditional ladderball tournament had to be scrapped due to broken equipment. That wouldn’t stop a group of fisherman and women though. After some quick improvising with a few funnels, a 5 gallon bucket, duct tape and water bottles everyone grabbed their flippin sticks and took to the deck of Denver Tergesens boat for a intense flippin contest. After some crazy competition it came down to the final two anglers, Paul Reinbold and Wes Baptiste. With the concentration of a grizzled veteran Paul took down Wes and was crowned the first ever Bandits Flippin King!
Sunday morning was another great day for fishing and it had a definite theme throughout the day, WHITE! White swimbaits, white tubes and the obvious whitecaps. Lots of fish were caught the entire day but the big bite was very hard to come by. Comin in with 3 fish for 7.44lbs for 1st place by .02 lbs and the big bass of the day with a 2.75lb Smallmouth was Hunter Wood and Eric Vossler. Just missing first with 7.42lbs was Jared Sparks and Lance Zent and rounding out the top 3 was the Husband/Wife combo of Paul and Prairie Reinbold with 7.30lbs. A super tight group of weights and an exciting weigh in for everyone.
Thanks again to everyone that was able to make it out this weekend and we can’t wait for the next tournament of the year on one of the best lakes in the state, New Johns Lake and Canal System on June 25th.
1st – Hunter Wood & Eric Vossler
7.44 lbs – Big Bass Award (2.75 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Lance Zent & Jared Sparks
7.42 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Paul & Prairie Reinbold
7.30 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Logan Boese & Alex Seibel
7.26 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Chuck Gaston & Charles Despain
6.44 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Bob & Jeanette Reinbold
6.06 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Denver Tergesen & Thomas Leintz
5.55 lbs – 94 pts
8th – Wes Baptiste, Corey Erickson & Amber Pierce
5.50 lbs – 93 pts
9th – Marty & Shania Mantz
4.20 lbs – 92 pts
10th – Curt Manley
1.89 lbs – 91 pts
11th – Trent Fugere
1.79 lbs – 90 pts
12th – Josh Birtchet
1.24 lbs – 89 pts
Reinbolds' take Lake Sakakawea
Bob and Jeanette Reinbold
Well our second tournament of the year has come and gone. Lake sakakawea presented many of the teams with some tough conditions, while others had the best day on this lake in years. Temps were all over the place, with many areas in the 48-51 degree range, while others were finding pre spawn fish in the low 60s. This is the biggest lake the bandits will fish all year, and the vastness of the lake humbled a few of us, and surprised many by the giant bag Bob and Janet Reinbold brought to the scales. He found the 4+ pounders in the 10fow range on sharp drops. While most others found fish shallow and on wind blown points. Thank you everyone who came out and fished a great tournament.
Next up on the trail is our club camping weekend at lake Tschida. Saturday will be a big bass event held on sheep's Creek, while the points team tourney will be held on Tschida Sunday. If anyone needs any information or a teammate, please post on the page your questions.
1st – Bob & Jeanette Reinbold 10.91 lbs – Big Bass Award (4.19 lbs) – 101 pts
2nd – Matt Sullivan & Marty Mantz 9.33 lbs – 99 pts
3rd – Jared Sparks & Lance Zent 7.81 lbs – 98 pts
4th – Wes Baptiste & Amber Pierce 7.71 lbs – 97 pts
5th – Logan Boese & Alex Seibel 7.57 lbs – 96 pts
6th – Thomas Leintz 5.77 lbs – 95 pts
7th – Hunter Woods & Eric Vossler 5.24 lbs – 94 pts
8th – Trent Fugere & Josh Birtchet 3.15 lbs – 93 pts
9th – Josh Johnson & Matt Franz – no fish – 50 pts
Baptiste & Peirce Take Top Spot!
Wesley Baptiste and Amber Pierce
Wind, overnight freezing temperatures, and unpredictable smallmouth. You couldn't ask for a better way to start the tournament season. Despite the not so favorable conditions, 11 teams came to Lake Audubon-North Arm ready for an exciting blastoff with idle only speeds. After everyone finally arrived at there spots it didn't take long to start catching them. Focusing on shallow islands newcomer Amber Pierce, along with teammate Wesley Baptiste, made her first ever cast as a Bandit and it was a great one. With a 3.75lb Big Bass for the tournament on that cast, her and Wes were well on the way towards their tournament winning bag of 9.87 lbs. Local walleye juggernauts Kellen Latendresse and Kacey Krueger were on the lake to prove they could do more than just troll bottom bouncers. Thanks to a quick YouTube video on how to dropshot and with a friendly wager against member Stephen Basinger they came through in the clutch and finished second with 8.89 lbs. Coming in third and just short of winning that wager was Stephen Basinger and Dion Ferrier with 8.35 lbs.
A great tournament for everyone involved and it was very exciting to see all the new members able to make it despite the forecast.
Tournament #2 for the year is on "The Big Lake", Lake Sakakawea launching out of Buelah Bay, May 28th with Registration and rules meeting at 6:30 am. Don't forgot that if you are still in need of a partner to post on the website or Facebook and let people know.
2016 Ice Bowl Results
Denver Tergesen & Eric Vossler Ice Bowl Champions!
"Neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor dark of night...." We've all heard this term when it comes to the post office, but it should be the official fisherman's (and woman's) motto. The 2016 Ice Bowl was no exception. After a two week period that saw record highs in temperatures to 3" of snowfall the day before the event all participants were a little weary of conditions for Saturday. Of course that all changed when it was time to go fishing.
Despite the cold and wind we had 18 anglers competing for early season bragging rights and trophy. After a quick rules meeting and partner draw, six boats launched onto a foggy Lake Nelson while the rest of the field opted to stay on shore and fish the outlet. The bite started out a little tricky with only one pump running at the plant and colder water temperatures, anglers had to find ways to coax finicky bass into the boat. Senkos, drop shots, jerkbaits and the Ned rig were the dominate tactics during the day with others finding success on small swimbaits and also the occasional jig and pig. Before noon most of the field had loaded up the boats and continued to fish the outlet with a few brave souls sticking it out as the wind picked up. While quite a few fish were caught, including 12 bullheads by Jared Sparks alone, the big pre-spawn girls we all hoped for didn't show up this day.
The lengths were tight throughout the top teams and thanks to a 19 1/2" big bass to anchor the total length of 97 1/2" the team of Eric Vossler and Denver Tergesen were able to take home the crown. Tied for second were Wes Baptiste and Bert Keith along with The team of Jared Sparks and Lance Zent with totals of 85" a piece. Thanks to a monster 15" largemouth Wes and Bert claimed second while the duo of Jared and Lance came in third.
Thanks to everyone that attended and it was great to meet some new members as well.
Don't forget the first tournament of the year will be on North Audubon May 14th. Please any non-boaters do your best to find a partner as soon as possible before the tournament.
Spring Meeting Minutes
The Annual Badlands Bass Bandits spring meeting was held this past Saturday in Bismarck and we are all looking forward to another great season. Before we breakdown the meetings topics of discussion and rule changes, we would all like to thank Jonathan Campbell for granting us access to the former Governors Mansion to hold the meeting.
After collecting dues and having a short meet and greet with new members the Club voted on new officers to fill the vacant Secretary and Vice President positions. Denver Tergesen was voted in as Club Secretary and Bob Reinbold as Vice President. Jeff Wetzel will remain treasurer and Paul Reinbold will continue as Club President. Wesley Baptiste and Trent Fugere will act as Tournament Directorsvthroughout the season. Thank you to all these individuals for stepping up and helping to lead the club into the future.
The next topic was proposed rule changes that were passed with a majority vote.
- While no change was made to the limit of fish a team will weigh, there was a clarification of the number of team members. Teams will consist of Two members with a third team member allowed into boat by invite only. This third member will either be on a team by themselves or be added to the original two members team based on the decision of the boater. If added as a team member that team still will only be allowed to keep 6 legal bass and weigh 3 as a team.
- The season will consist of 9 team tournaments with the 9th tournament being the 2 day Classic.
- The Sunday of Club Camping weekend we will hold a MLF style [every legal fish counts], cash pot-non points tournament. This is optional for members and will be a draw style tournament with boaters and non boaters. We would like to encourage everyone to participate in this very exciting style of tournament.
- One tournament during the season will be dropped for AOY total points.
- Points system will remain the same with an addition of a 1 point bonus for the team that has the Big Bass award for that tournament.
- The last point discussed was to get the Clubs scale certified to weigh possible state records.
All these changes are to hopefully increase participation and continue the competitive family style camaraderie we all love and enjoy about this Club.
Lastly, the topic that everyone was waiting for was the voting on Tournament sites and dates. To the surprise of many Nelson Lake, arguably the best bass fishing lake in North Dakota, was voted out to not return this season. New water and diversity was definitely the theme of the schedule and it should be a great year for everyone.
Tournament Schedule: 7a.m. to 3 p.m. all times central standard time zone.
March 19th – Ice Bowl Lake Nelson
May 14th – North Audobon
May 28th – Lake Sakakawea (Beulah bay)
June 4th – Lake Tschida (club camping weekend)
June 5th – Lake Tschida (club camping weekend – MLF cash pot)
June 25th – New Johns Lake
July 23rd – Lake Ashtabula
July 24th – Spirirtwood Lake
August 6th – Missouri River - Bismarck (ramp location TBA)
August 20th – Lake Oahe (Indian Creek bay)
September 17th – Lake Audobon (Classic Championship)
September 18th – Lake Audobon (Classic Championship)
If any boaters or non-boaters are looking for partners for either an individual tournament or the entire season, please feel free to contact me and hopefully we can pair everyone up this season.
On behalf of the Club Officers and all members of the Bandits I would like to thank everyone that attended and we hope to see everyone at the tournaments throughout the year, starting in 3 short weeks with the Annual Ice Bowl on Nelson Lake.
Denver
2016
Classic Finish to the Season! 2015
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This year marked the club’s 10th year since starting in 2006. In 2015 we saw the club make a major change in its tournament format back in March. Many anticipated the new year knowing that making the change from a single format to a team format was going to bring back ‘fun’ into the club. Without a doubt the Bandits made the right choice, and the numbers of anglers showing up for a tournament proved it. The Team of the Year race came down to the last tournament and the finish was amazing. The Bandits rolled into Three Mile Corner ramp at Lake Audobon that Saturday morning for day 1 of the 2015 Classic Championship. Team Lance Zent and Jared Sparks were in need of a good finish in order to stay in contention in hopes of snubbing out Team Mantz and Sullivan for the Team of the Year award. Zent and Sparks were 3 points down from Mantz and Sullivan and knew that they needed some big fish and a little help from Mantz and Sullivan to capture the title. While those two teams were looking to take home the Team of the Year award team Arth and Keena had their sights set on winning the 2015 classic championship. Mother nature gave the Bandits a great weekend for weather and now it was up the anglers to test their skill at catching some Lake Audobon trophies. At the end of day one Team Eric Vossler and Todd Vossler weighed in the day’s biggest catch at 9.53 lbs. Following behind them in a close 2nd place was Team Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz for a three fish limit of 9.33 lbs. Lurking in the background and sitting in a close third place was Team Cody Arth and Shawn Keena that turned in a 9.11 lb bag of fish. It was certain that Day 2 at New Johns lake was going to be crucial to capturing the victory. Honorable mention for Day 1 was Team Chris Harvey and Thomas Leintz for catching the biggest bass of the day at 3.34 lbs. Good job guys. When the sun rose up on Sunday morning the Bandits unloaded their boats into East Park Lake. One by one the boats took off in hopes to find the winning fish. Once again Mother Nature gave the Bandits ample fishing weather. The bite started off hot which gave the anglers many fish to choose from to keep. Some made wise decisions while others threw back their catch in hopes to find bigger ones. Unfortunately for them the bite ended not to long after the bite started. This cause many anglers to scramble throughout the day to try and catch a nice 3 fish limit. Cashing in on some great smallmouth were Team Lance Zent and Jared Sparks by bringing in Day 2 biggest bag of 9.82 lbs. These guys fished hard all weekend and it paid off. Coming in with the 2nd largest bag of the day was Team Chris Harvey and Thomas Leintz with 8.43 lbs. Way to go guys! The 3rd largest bag of fish for Day 2 was Team Arth and Keena with 8.01 lbs. Keena and Arth also caught the biggest bass of the day which tipped the scales at 4.37 lbs.
Once all of the weights were turned in the two day results were totaled together to determine this year Classic Champions. Taking home a solid 3rd place finish were Team Chris Harvey and Thomas Leintz with a total weight of 16.07 lbs! Getting a great finish was Team Jared Sparks and Lance Zent, they’re final total weight was 17.08 lbs which gave them a 2nd place Classic finish! Taking home their first ever Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship trophies were Team Cody Arth and Shawn Keena! Team Arth and Keena’s final total weight was 17.12 lbs which was just good enough to take home 1st place!
As mentioned earlier the team of the year came down to the last day of the Classic Championship. With Marty and Matt placing 5th Team Zent and Sparks came up just shy of tying them. Although Mantz and Sullivan didn’t take home a 1st place finish in a tournament they were consistant all year by placing well. Congratulations to Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan for being our 2015 Badlands Bass Bandits Team of the Year. You guys are officially the first ever Bandits Team of the year!
I’d like to thank everyone for such a great season. Your support to our club is much bigger than fishing. It’s creating new friendships and memories for a lifetime. I hope you all enjoyed this year and we look forward to make the 2016 even better! Have a safe and happy offseason!
It Takes Two..
The Bass Bandits headed south this past weekend and tried some largemouth bass fishing in the great state of South Dakota. Lake Isabel and Pudwell Dam were the two lakes of choice for the fun filled weekend. The Bandits certainly faced extreme weather conditions. On Saturday the high temps reached 102 degrees and on Sunday the tournament started out at a chilling 55 degrees. If I do my math correctly that would be a 47 degree swing from one day to the next. That just goes to prove that anglers from the Dakota’s face major weather changes from day to day and should be well trained on how to adapt.
The team that took top honors for Lake Isabel was local anglers Tony and Paul Reinbold. They brought in a three fish limit that weighed 9.78 lbs as well as big bass honors that weighed 3.61 lbs. Hailing from the north country was Steve Basinger and Corey Erickson who fished hard all day to take a close 2nd place finish that weighed 9.19 lbs. Taking home a 3rd place finish were Team and Angler of the year points leaders Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan from the Bismarck area. Marty and Matt’s three fish limit weighed 9.14 lbs. Despite the hot weather lake Isabel still fished very well but it seemed that the big largemouth in that lake eluded the anglers in deep cover that was not reachable.
After the Isabel tournament was over the gang got together and had a picnic at the Reinbold Farm. Burgers and Hot Dogs were to be had and once everyone was done eating we had ourselves a friendly archery shoot. Like many anglers Bandits also like to hunt so a handful brought their archery equipment down and had a lot of fun shooting. Once it got dark many club members stayed up visiting til wee hours of the night while others chose to go to bed early…this old guy was one of them!
When the alarm clocks went off the Bandits sprung into action to hit the road early. Driving straight into a thunderstorm they could see that there was going to be a delayed start to the tournament due to lightning hazards! Once the storm passed the club unloaded their boats and started to go fishing. Taking home 1st place honors once again were locals Paul and Tony Reinbold. Their 3 fish limit weighed an impressive 12.55 lbs! It was rumored that Tony caught all the keeper fish on Saturday and Paul caught all the keeper fish on Sunday. That is why it takes two to make a team! Having another great weekend of fishing was points leaders Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan who took a 2nd place finish with three fish weighing at 11.28 lbs. Bringing home a 3rd place finish were young guns Jared Sparks and Lance Zent. Jared and Lance needed a good finish to stay in contention for the Team of the year and they did so by weighing in 11.26 lbs. Great Job Guys!
What a Weekend!
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of our beloved club, and this past weekend an attendance record was set for the number of campers for our annual club camping weekend! Last weekend at Lake Tschida camp grounds the Bandits had over 40 people camping together and that’s not counting the number of dogsJ. Camping weather was perfect with a slight breeze and cool air temps. Fishing weather on the other hand was a different story.
On Saturday the club’s first tournament of the weekend was at Sheep’s Creek Dam located south of Elgin. This was a small fishery that is protected by high bluffs. The way the weather turned out it was a good thing we picked to fish this lake first. With a high pressure system rolling through steady winds were at 30 mph with gusts up to 40. This made boat control a bit difficult and it changed the way some anglers wanted to fish. As usual no matter what the weather conditions are somebody is going to catch the winning fish. New comers Jared Sparks and Lance Zent of Bismarck worked a deep shoreline for most of the day to capture a 1st place finish. Their winning weight was aided by catching the tournaments biggest bass that was just over 4lbs. Team Sparks and Zent’s final total winning weight was 8.14 lbs. Coming up just short of the victory was Wes Baptiste and Steve Basinger. The Six2Midnight team duo flipped heavy vegetation all day and was able to boat 7.90 lbs which took 2nd place honors. Bringing home a 3rd place finish was Team Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz. A few missed opportunities costed the dynamic duo a 1st place finish, but that’s why they call it fishing and not catching. Sullivan and Mantz finished the day with a total weight of 6.94 lbs.
After the tournament concluded everyone made it back to camp. Once settled in we began to cook food for our annual club picnic. The food was great and there was plenty for all! The club then setup the ladder ball equipment to do battle for the ladder ball championship. This has been a club tradition for many years and if you’re going to do it you better hope you draw Nate Keena for a partner. For the 3rd time Nate Keena made it to the championship round and won. This year Nate and his teammate Matt Sullivan took the ladder ball championship. Congrats guys! For the remainder of the night you could find many parked around a campfire visiting and telling fishing stories. Others were prepping their tackle for the next day tournament while others decided to go crawfishing at midnight! What a treat to do especially for the kids! Thanks Shawn for doing that they really enjoyed it.
Sunday rolled around and it was time to launch the boats on Lake Tschida to do a smalliesmackdown! Mother Nature gave us great weather in the first 3 hours of the tournament. Clear skies and calm winds made for ample smallmouth fishing conditions. Once the clock struck 7 a.m. the Bandits set the water on fire with their blazing fast bass boats! Many anglers opted for a top water bite given the morning conditions. Others chose swimbaits and of course it wouldn’t be smallmouth fishing if someone didn’t choose to use a tube jig. Bringing home a 3rd place finish was Six2Midnight team Steve Basinger and Wes Baptiste with 7.32lbs. Adding to their already successful weekend was Team Sparks and Zent. Winning Saturday’s event wasn’t enough as they weighed in 7.81 lbs which gave them a 2nd place finish. Bringing home the bacon for the first time this season was Team Eric Vossler and his dad Todd. Team Vossler had a game plan coming into this event and stuck with it despite the windy conditions. They weighed in 8.30 lbs which propelled them to a 1st place victory. Great job guys.
Also, on Sunday we had two junior members in attendance that fished the lake Tschida tournament. Hayden Bader of Bismarck caught his 3 fish limit that weighed 5.45 lbs which gave him a 1st place finish. Along with his 1st place finish Hayden was given a plaque along with a couple packs of Whiskey River baits. Kailee Schirado of Linton also weighed in a 3 fish limit that took home 2nd place by weighing 2.91 lbs. Kailee also received a couple packs of Whiskey River baits. Great job kids and can’t wait to have you at our next event! A big thanks to Whiskey River bait company for sponsoring those baits.
Congrats to all our winners but most importantly congratulations to everyone for making this year’s camping weekend the best ever. We certainly brought back that good old club atmosphere with all the good food, games, fish story telling, and crawfishing! I look forward to next year’s event. We will have the full tournament results posted as well as the updated points standings as soon as we recover the clip board :) (long story).
-Paul Reinbold
Matt and Marty On Top!
Team Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz
The fog had just begun to lift from East Park Lake when the Badlands Bass Bandits launched their boats for the second tournament of the season. While the fog would eventually give way to a mild, sunny, 80 degree day, only twelve hours earlier a severe thunderstorm had ripped through the area. Winds that gusted to over 80 miles per hour had damaged trees and homes throughout the region.
Despite the conditions that had the fish in a funk, Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz were able to claim first place by more than three pounds! After struggling early, Matt and Marty figured out a crankbait bite along grasslines to put 11.23 pounds in the boat. Their catch also included the big fish of the event at 4.38 pounds. The win, along with a second place in the season opener at Nelson Lake, gives Matt and Marty the early lead for Angler of the Year.
Jared Sparks and Lance Zent caught their big fish on a popper in the morning near a bridge, and filled out a limit later in the day to finish second. Hunter Wood’s small boat allowed him and Denver Tergeson to maneuver under several bridges and find fish in stretches of canals nobody else could reach. Topwaters and small jigs accounted for most of Hunter and Denver’s catch.
The Bandits season continues during Club Camping Weekend on July 18 and 19. The tournament on July 18 is at Sheep Creek Dam, after which we meet up at Lake Tschida Campground for dinner and games. The following day’s tournament will be on Lake Tschida. More details to follow soon. Club Camping Weekend is always a great time and we look forward to seeing everyone there!
Off with a BANG!
On May 2nd the Badlands Bass Bandits club started its 10th year Anniversary with a bang! The attendance of 33 club members to make up the 16 teams marked it largest tournament ever on Lake Nelson. No doubt a Lake Nelson tournament always draws the most people due to the good fishing that it offers. If you’re not familiar with the most recent change in club history the Bandits changed its format from an individual format to a team format for 2015 in hopes to grow the club and add more fun to its already unique club atmosphere. With the way things went down that weekend I’d say it’s safe to say everyone had a lot of fun fishing together as a team!
With the new format brings new options of setting the bar high for team tournament records. The Keena brothers Shawn and Nick teamed up to weigh in 14.29 lbs and big bass honors with a 5.47 lb largemouth bass. They didn’t get many bites throughout the day but being patient was key to get the right bites and bring home 1st place prize. Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan brought in a hefty bag that weighed 13.12 lbs which safely gave them a 2nd place finish. Team Fernandez is had a great start after Chase Fernandez winning the 2014 AOY last year. Eric and Chase weighed in a nice 3 fish limit of 11.71 lbs and their biggest bass tipped the scales at 5.16 lbs. Rounding out the top five teams were Team Vossler of Eric and his dad Todd with 10.31 lbs for 4th place and Paul and Prairie Reinbold brought in 9.71 lbs which was good enough for 5th place. Bringing home 1st place prize for the Junior division was Hayden Bader of Bismarck. Hayden brought in a three fish limit that he worked hard for all day that weighed 4.35 lbs! Way to go Hayden! For the rest of the results please visit our tournament results page.
Overall the fishing was a bit tough due to an early spawn which made it tough for many teams to find three big fish. No doubt plenty of fish were caught throughout the day and the weather was near perfect for a pleasant day on the water. The club will be fishing at New Johns Lake on June 20th for some hefty smallmouth fishing and as usual it will be a slug fest there! If you are interested in fishing our club please print out a membership form and mail it in or you can sign up at the ramp. Don’t forget to like us on
Facebook!
Ice Bowl Round Up!
On March 21st the Bandits held the annual Ice Bowl on Nelson Lake. Nelson Lake is next to a power plant that keeps the water temperature consistently warm throughout the winter. Spring weather in North Dakota, however, is anything but consistent! While two weekends before saw temperatures in the mid-70s, the morning of the Ice Bowl was 28 degrees with a stiff wind from the southeast. The weather would warm slightly to 41 degrees but that 20 mph wind never relented.
The Ice Bowl is a no-entry-fee team event. While team members fish separately, they measure each fish and keep track of their catch. At the end of the day each team adds up the length of its six longest fish to determine a champion.
After drawing for teams we launched the boats and headed out through the fog to our fishing spots. Most boats stayed close to the warm water discharge but a few made a run down the lake. This was the first Ice Bowl in memory that we had enough boats for everyone, so nobody fished from shore.
Consensus among the Bandits was that the bigger fish were still near the deep water drop-offs where they spend the winter. The water temperature varied from 56-60 degrees depending on how far you went from the discharge. Jigs and crankbaits on those drop-offs were the most successful baits.
In the end the team of Marty Mantz and Steve Basinger won the event and took home the traveling trophy. Congrats Marty and Steve! We also did a drawing and gave away three Abu Garcia fishing rods to lucky participants. Thanks for Shawn Keena for running the event. Be sure to check out the pictures, which include a snapshot of the standings.
Join us at Nelson Lake again on May 2 for the first official event of the 2015 Badlands Bass Bandits season!
Meeting Minutes!
The start of the 2015 season has begun! The Badlands Bass Bandits held their annual spring meeting on February 7th at the Old Governor’s Mansion located in Bismarck. We had a fair turn out of Bass Bandits that were eager to get the schedule set for the 2015 season. There were a lot of topics of discussion during this meeting and some major changes were made. The article below will capture the meeting minutes as well as a description of the changes made.
The first major change was the tournament format. The 2015 season will mark the Bandits 10th year and for the past 9 seasons our tournaments were based off of individual performance. The club discussed the idea of changing it to a Team Format to help bring interest for new members, increase tournament participants, increase the learning curve of bass fishing when fishing with a partner, and most importantly increase fun! After the discussion of how the format would work this idea was put to a vote, all members were in favor of this change. With this change the 2015 season will be a 2 person Team Format. Teams are allowed to put 6 bass in their live-well but can only weigh their best 3. This will still allow members to fish a tournament alone (as an individual) if they do not have a partner due to various reasons. However, those fishing alone will be at a disadvantage because they are only allowed to put 3 bass in a live-well and of course there is no culling. So it would be in their best interest to bring a partner but as explained above we realize that things come up and people can’t make tournament dates for various reasons this would still allow that individual to fish alone. The rules for this format have not been written yet but the club officers will have this completed and released in plenty of time prior to the season.
With the change of the Team Format we will still have Angler and Rookie of the year awards. This is based off of the same points system that we created last year except this year if a team gets 1st place in a tournament both anglers will get 1st place points and if a team gets 2nd place in a tournament both anglers get 2nd place points and so on and so on. Club members are not forced to fish with the same teammate at each event. They can fish with a different angler at each tournament if they choose to, that will not affect their points for Angler or Rookie of the year.
The Bandits will be fishing 7 tournaments this year (this includes the Classic) and they will be allowed to drop their worst tournament for the Angler or Rookie of the year points. In other words their best 6 out of 7 tournaments will go towards their 2015 points standings.
The Bandits also voted to lower the entry fee cost per person from $30 back down to $20 ($40 per team) to make it more affordable and the big bass cash pot is still a separate fee at $5 per person.
Our awards for 2015 will also be completely different. In years past we handed out trophies and plaques to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and cash payout depended upon the number of participants. For 2015 club members will be responsible for paying an additional $10 along with their $25 annual membership fee. This extra $10 will buy them a plaque shaped to the state of North Dakota that will have the Bass Bandits logo on it. This plaque will be used to attach engraving plates that will list in detail the Lake, Date, and placing of a tournament. These engraving plates will be handed out to the winners at each tournament. In doing this the club will save money on trophy expenses, the extra money that we save will go towards the Classic Championship cash pot! Big Bass paddles will still be handed out at each event to the winner and we still will have normal end of the year awards such as the AOY, ROY, and Classic award.
As mentioned above we will be hosting 7 tournaments. For of these tournaments will be held on 2 weekends, the club camping weeked will be held at Lake Tschida and Sheeps Creek Dam. The other full weekend will be at Lake Isabel and Lake Pudwell that are both located in South Dakota on August 15th and 16th. The evening after the Lake Isabel tournament (the 15th) the Bandits are invited to the Reinbold’s Farm for a picnic. So mark your calendars for a fun filled weekend!
The Bandits will be hosting their annual Ice Bowl event, more information will be released when we get closer to that date. (see schedule).
Lot’s of changes were made this year but they were changes for the good of the club and it’s members, we look forward to meeting all new members for an exciting 2015 season! Please visit our membership page if you are interested in joining our club, we’d love to have ya!
2015 Tournament Schedule!
2015
In Classic Fashion 2014
Top 5 from New Johns Classic!
Well another exciting Bass Bandit season has come to an end and along with that 2 new champions were born. The Bandits held their coveted Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship on October 4-5 on New Johns Lake. There was much at stake since Chase Fernandez and Paul Reinbold were tied for the Angler of the Year points race as well as a Classic Championship to be won. Mother Nature certainly played a role in this one by providing a major cold front for the tournament.
When the boats launched prior to the sun up you could see each of the anglers breathe due to the cold and frigid air. Frost built up on motors and stern drives gave some anglers issues prior to take off but before the gun sounded everyone was able to get situated to get the tournament under way. It was cold with a slight breeze and the sun peeked out for a brief moment before being swallowed up by the clouds for the remainder of the day. The bite was on for some and for others it certainly wasn’t a typical New Johns day. Day one leader was Wes Baptiste with 9.83 lbs and sitting in second was Cody Arth with 8.99 lbs and his non-boater Klae Ryan rounded out the top three of Day one with 8.09 lbs.
The morning of Day 2 was a bit warmer and the wind wasn’t blowing….yet. After an hour or two of fishing the clouds rolled in and so did the cold air. The bite was slow again as most anglers struggled to get a few bites. But as usual someone always figures something out to take top honors. Taking home third place was Chase Fernandez with 15.57 which also gave him the Angler of the Year title for 2014. This is Chase’s first AOY and I am sure there will be more to come in the future, congrats Chase! Finishing off in 2nd place was Shawn Keena with 18.39 lbs. His non-boater Wes Baptiste whacked em’both days to bring a total tournament weight of 19.70 lbs. This is Wes’s first Classic Championship. Congratulations to Wes for his 2014 BBB Classic Championship!
At the end of the tournament the Bandits held their Annual Awards program. Here are thisyears winners:
Angler of the Year: Chase Fernandez
Rookie of the Year: Hunter Wood
Classic Champion: Wes Baptiste
Bag Buster Award: Matt Sullivan 13.11 lbs
Biggest Largemouth of the Year: Matt Sullivan 7.11 lbs
Biggest Smallmouth of the Year: Shawn Keena 4.73 lbs
Most Improved: Eric Fernandez and Nate Keena
Thanks for all of the Bandit members for making this a great year. We all look forward to seeing you again next year. Tell or bring a friend to join next year, the more the merry! See you all in 2015!
Chase for the Angler of the Year / Missour River Bismarck
Chase Fernandez with some nice Missouri River largemouth!
The Angler of the Year race has been deadlocked between two anglers. Chase Fernandez had the tournament he needed to close the 3 point gap that Paul Reinbold had going into the 7th Bandits tournament of the 2014 season. This was the first time in many years that the Bandits had fished the Missouri river and it turned out better than most expected. The upper portion of the Missouri River is located in Bismarck and it offers a completely different style of fishing as well as conditions. On Saturday the Bandits faced heavy water current along with miles of sandbars, paired up with a full moon and post front conditions. On paper it certainly would spell disaster but the Bandits pulled together and put on a great tournament. Getting the finish that he needed heading into the last tournament of the year Chase Fernandez took home 1st place prize. With only 10 minutes into the start of the tournament Chase boated a 4.03 lb largemouth, this bass also won Big Bass honors. Chase’s final 3 fish limit weighed in at 6.40 lbs. Making a late surge in the tournament, Tony Reinbold was able to put two fish in the boat that weighed 5.22 lbs which gave him a 2nd place finish. Tony’s big bass of the day was a largemouth that weighed in at 3.43 lbs. Bringing in a nice 3 fish limit was Johnathan Campbell of Bismarck who caught his fish in the early part of the day. Johnathan’s limit was good enough for a strong 3rd place finish that weighed 4.41 lbs.
It certainly wasn’t the largest number of Bandits that showed up for this tournament but perhaps next year more will show up since the trailblazers of this year proved that the Missouri River has good bass fishing to offer. The Bandits next tournament is on New Johns Lake and we will be docking out of East Park’s main ramp. This will be the 2014 Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship. This is the main event that all Bandits look forward to each year in hopes of hoisting that iconic Bandits Classic Championship Trophy! This will certainly be an interesting one because we have two anglers locked in a tie for the AOY, so the question is will they fish for the win of the Classic or fish conservative for a high fininsh in hopes to be crowned 2014 AOY, or perhaps they will both bust and someone else will slip in for both titles! Who knows, it has been a great year and we all look forward to our last tournament of this season. Stay tuned to this site to catch all the exciting action!
Reinbold Tops Field At Sakakawea
The sixth tournament of the 2014 Bass Bandit tournament schedule is in the books, and the club was blessed with a beautiful day. Dakota Waters bay on Lake Sakakawea was the chosen spot for the August 2nd tournament. The club had a great turn out for this event as many members were eager to fight and catch some Sakakawea smallmouth. It was a nice calm slick morning on the water which made for a fun bass boat ride across the lake. These conditions provided an opportunity for the Bandits to fish many places throughout the day, which can be a rarity when fishing this large body of
Although Bandits have seen or caught big smallmouth on Lake Sakakawea, recent tournaments here have proven that it is challenging to find them. Finding and catching smallmouth on this lake isn’t hard, but finding ones that are tournament worthy is a whole different challenge. On this day many anglers struggled to put together a limit and unfortunately some weren’t able to boat a keeper fish all day. No matter the difficulty or size someone is going to catch a limit big enough to win or do well in a tournament, and that is exactly what a few anglers did. Fishing in his first ever Bass tournament let alone Bass Bandit was lake local Chad Abrahamson. Chad heard through the grapevine about the Bandits doing a tournament a Dakota waters bay and decided to give it a try. Chad weighed in a 3 fish limit at 3.90 lbs which landed him a 5th place finish. Good job Chad, hope to see you at more events! Catching a 4th place finish was Jeanette Reinbold from Timber Lake South Dakota. Jeanette weighed in a 3 fish limit that weighed 4.02 lbs. Narrowly defeated his wife was Jeanette by a few mere ounces was Robert Reinbold. Robert was able to take home a 3rd place finish by weighing in 4.09 lbs. Nick Keena has been slowly working his way up in the standings all season long and he put together a great finish at this tournament. Nick boated a 3 fish limit that weighed 4.27 lbs which gave him a 2nd place finish. This is Nicks best Bandit finish since joining the club a couple years ago, this is a testament to our club that when you join you will learn how to catch fish! Way to go Nick! Coming in with a 1st place finish as well as grabbing the leader board for the Angler of the Year standings was Paul Reinbold. He boated a 3 fish limit that weighed 4.75 lbs, Paul caught his biggest fish of the tournament with just a few minutes to spare! That just goes to prove that should never give up and fish strong til the end!
The next tournament that the Bandits will be hosting will be on the Missouri River near the Bismarck / Mandan area. Our tournament launch location will be announced on this site (view our schedule) as well as the club forum as soon as we get a confirmation. This will be the Bandits first tournament on the river in 3 years when we launched from Beaver Bay south of Bismarck. Although the Missouri has good bass fishing to offer this time it’s going to be a completely different type of tournament due to the water conditions. Stay tuned in to this site for future club results and we look forward to your future membership!
One for the Ages!
Marty Mantz got the win on Sheep Creek Dam
This year’s club camping weekend was certainly one that many Bass Bandits will remember for the rest of their lives. The weather that we have had for the summer of 2014 has been a rollercoaster ride across the state of North Dakota. It was only a matter of time that it would land on weekend the Bandits had a tournament, unfortunately it was a weekend that we held 2 tournaments.
On Saturday the Bandits were set to fish one of North Dakota’s little gem’s called Sheep’s Creek Dam. The name of that little pond ain’t no joke because on our way to the lake just a few miles north were some sheep grazing out in the green fields! It was a wet soggy cool morning and the Bandits lined up at the ramp to prepare for some great largemouth bass fishing. As soon as the tournament started so did the rain, and it never quite. Throughout the whole day it rain heavily on the anglers out in the water. Luckily there was no lightning that day which made it safe to finish out the tournament. As soon as the tournament was over and the boats loaded up the sky broke, the sun shined through and the winds had calmed. Only in North Dakota you will have to wait 5 minutes for the weather to change. The tournament catches weren’t heavy weights but the gossip amongst the anglers was that the bass bit well throughout the day. Fishing in his first Bass Bandit tournament was Jessie Wood of Hazen, ND. Jessie took home top honors for the day by weighing 7.33 lbs. His son Hunter Wood took home the cash pot prize as well as the Big Bass Award by weighing in a 4.37 lb largemouth bass. Even though this would be Hunter’s only catch of the day it helped him finish 5th. Chris Harvey was also new to this lake and was able to muster a nice 2nd place finish by weighing in 6.24 lbs. Having another good day to help him retain his lead at the top of the Angler of the Year race was Chase Fernandez. Chase finished 3rd by weighing in 6.18 lbs.
Once the tournament was over everyone packed up their soggy wet clothes and equipment and headed for the Lake Tschida camp grounds. If you have never been to Lake Tschida or stayed at their wonderful camping sites you are missing out. This is by far the Bandits top choice when it comes to camping areas in the state of North Dakota. They have the best friendly staff members there that offer their great hospitality. A big thanks goes out to Michelle and the gang out at Lake Tschida recreation for making our stay a great one, we appreciated everything that you did for us and look forward to next year’s stay!
The club got together Saturday evening to cook up some great food, thanks to everyone who brought food and made it possible to have another successful club camping weekend. Once the food was all gone the Ladder Ball Championship began. This years Ladder Ball Champions are Cody Arth and Nate Keena. Congratulations you guys on taking home those awesome trophies that Jason Bader provides our club with each and every year.
Sunday morning rolled around and the Bandits headed to the North Shore boat ramp. The winds were up and it was forecasted to get worse as the day went on. If there is one thing that meteorologists can usually get right it’s the wind, and they were spot on this day. Good thing Lake Tschida provides some bays that can protect you from the wind so anglers are able to fish and enjoy some great smallmouth bass action. Coming in with his first ever Badlands Bass Bandits victory was Eric Fernandez. Eric weighed in a new club lake Tschida record of 8.89 lbs! The old record was set back in May by his son Chase. You know what they say “Like father, Like Son”! Congrats on the victory Eric as well as the new Lake Record! Coming in with a good solid day on the water was Paul Reinbold. Paul weighed in 7.06 lbs which gave him a 2nd place finish. Paul also captured the big bass award with a 2.79 lb smallmouth. Chase Fernandez added to his points lead by finishing once again in 3rd place with a weight of 5.89 lbs. Shawn Keena weighed in 5.82 lbs which propelled him to a 4th place finish and Robert Reinbold is always in the top five at Lake Tschida. Roberts weight this week was 5.81 lbs.
We were blessed to have a Junior Bass Bandit with us at Lake Tschida, Haylee Keena. Haylee landed a 1.07 lb smallmouth that helped her capture the Jr. Champion trophy. Congratulations to Haylee!
Despite the weather the Bandits had a great time and look forward to next year’s Club Camping Weekend. On a side note we would like to take the time to recognize a few of our anglers. First off a big Congratulations goes out to Chase Fernandez and Hunter Wood. These two Bandit anglers teamed up this year to fish the South Dakota Bass Federation High School Championship and won it! They are now eligible to move onto the Nationals which is held in Ohio near Lake St. Claire. We hope to get all the details a little bit later on this summer and provide the public as to how this team is doing at that event. Another angler that we would like to take the time to recognize is Nate Dirks. For the past few years Nate has been a part of our club and he has been a great member. He is always willing to learn and share with others on his success to help teach us how to catch bass. Unfortunately for us Nate’s last tournament with the Bandits was during the Bandits club camping weekend. Nate and his wife Nicole will be moving to Texas for military purposes. The club will definitely not be the same without Nate, thanks Nate for being such a great member and all of us here at the club house wish you and your wife the best.
As you might have noticed the Angler of the Year race is still a tight one. The Bandits next event will be on Lake Sakakawea and we will be docking from Dakota Waters. This will be new territory for a lot of club members so I am sure there will be a lot of searching going on for some big smallmouth bass. Stay tuned to this site for tournament results, points updates and of course fish stories!
Mantz on top with a hot bite at Lake Audubon
Marty Mantz with 3 nice bass
The day before the tourney a Major cold front rolled through the area it was only 50 Degrees and windy and the tournament prospects were not looking good. The weather changed drastically however for tourney day and the sun came out and welcomed all the anglers and said it's going to be a nice day, get out there and enjoy yourselves. There was a lot of activity and boats and people at the dock, 21 People entered the tournament. Take off was epic boats scurried every direction with the vast majority headed east.
The fishing was excellent with many fish cooperating however the big girls that live here seemed hard to find on this day but there was a lot of 2 to 3 pounders that were more than willing to cooperate, there was a lot of smiling faces on this day. Thanks to the sunny day and the approaching full moon the fish were coming into the shallows in droves you could fish just about anywhere as long as it was less than 4 feet of water and expect to catch a lot of fish.
Team Keena was in full attendance and mounted a fully fledged attack on the lake with 3 different boats, and showed well at the weigh-in for their efforts. There were a lot of fish weighed and a lot of happy anglers both juniors and older people too. It was a good tournament with great weather and good fishing can’t ask for much more than that.
Shawn Keena almost pulled off the victory but was overtaken by Marty Mantz by less than a pound. Big fish honors go to Cody Arth Your top 3 were
1st place: Marty Mantz 8.75 pounds
2nd Place: Shawn Keena 8.10 Pounds
3rd Place: Cody Arth 7.98 Pounds (also big fish) 3.28 Pounds.
Lake Tschida Revival
Top 5 Anglers from Tschida!
The Bandits were scheduled to fish Indian Creek Dam last weekend but due to possible heavy rains they decided to head to Lake Tschida to avoid getting stuck on gravel roads. It was tough making that choice because there were a lot of anglers looking forward to returning to Indian Creek. The Bandits made their appearance for the first time back in 2009. That day the lake didn’t fish up to its potential but perhaps we will try to go there again another year.
Regardless of where the Bandits fish it will always be a good time and Lake Tschida provided the club with great fishing had by all. For the second time in a row records were broken. The previous tournament lake record for Lake Tschida was 7.62 lbs that was held by Jeanette Reinbold set back in 2013 but Chase Fernandez had the lucky had today. Chase took home the first place prize and a 100 points towards the Angler of the Year standings by weighing in 8.47. Not only did this bring him first place but it’s a new tournament record for Lake Tschida. Good job Chase! Another club member who had a great day was Steve Basinger who weighed in 8.43 which also broke the old record. Steve took home a 2nd place finish but he also took home a nice paycheck thanks to weighing in the biggest bass of the tournament a 3.44 lber! Nice work Steve! Also breaking the old club record was Shawn Keena who boated 3 nice keeper smallmouth that allowed him to take home a 3rd place finish by weighing in 7.94 lbs. Honorable mentions of the tournament go out to our last two anglers who rounded out the top 5 which were Bob Reinbold with 7.86 and Tony Reinbold 7.47 lbs. Congratulations to all of our anglers.
As mentioned above Lake Tschida provided ample fishing for our club members because the average weight per fish was 2.53 lbs! This average bested the old lake record set way back in 2007 which was 2.17 lbs! So once again the Bandits were blessed with another great tournament twice in a row. It is shaping up to be a great year. Speaking of shaping up the Angler of the Year award has shifted and Chase Fernandez is your current points leader. The current club member that is leading the Rookie of the year standings is Hunter Wood with 188 points and in second place is Allison Gaw with 138 points.
The next stop on the Bandits 2014 schedule is Lake Audobon. This lake was listed in the Bassmaster Magazine Top 100 lakes in the country in 2013. So get ready for some good weights on August 7th. We will be docking out of Totten Trail Ramp. We are all looking forward docking out of this nice ramp. We’ll see ya there!
Record Setting Day!
Matt Sullivan with an absolute giant largemouth bass!
Well the conditions were right for a big fish day at Lake Nelson on Saturday the 3rd of May. There were twenty one anglers that competed in the Badlands Bass Bandits first stop on the 2014 season schedule. There was a mixed bag of new members and old members, each of which had good memories to take home.
The winds were calm with a cool 45 degree morning start to blast off. Once the blast off was over the water settled and the Bandits started hunting for the bass that would bring home the trophy. It was certain that some were going to get into them and get into them good. There were boats in all parts of the lake searching. As the day went on the clouds rolled in and the winds picked up which made boat control tricky.
One boat that struck it rich right off the bat was the boat belonging to Paul Reinbold. On Paul’s 3rd cast he landed his biggest bass of the day weighing 5.45 lbs! Fishing along with Paul was his father Tony and friend/new member Hunter Wood of Hazen ND. Not long after Paul caught his big one Hunter Wood landed his biggest of the day 4.60 lbs. A few minutes later Tony Reinbold jumped in on the action and landed a 5.52 lb bass! Each of the anglers couldn’t believe all of the big bass that were holding in such a small area. Within an hour and a half of the tournament gone by they had 6 bass in the boat and each of them weighed 4-5 lbs. Across the lake another angler was hooking into big lake Nelson bass. The 2013 Angler of the Year Matt Sullivan landed the clubs biggest bass ever, a 7.17 lb giant! It was sure shaping out to be “One of Those Days” for a handful of anglers.
Taking home the 1st place prize was Matt Sullivan with a combined total weight of 13.11 lbs which was a new total weight club record. Matt beat the old record by 0.15 lbs which was set by Marty Mantz back in 2011. Matt also took home the Big Bass Award for the tournament thanks to his 7.17 lb giant. Congratulations Matt on your victory as well as your new club records! Also coming in on a memorable day was Paul Reinbold. Paul finished 2nd with a final total weight of 12.07 lbs. Chase Fernandez is continuing his strong serge as one of the top anglers in the club by finishing 3rd with a final total weight of 11.30 lbs. The Bandits acquired another young gun this year that goes by the name of Hunter Wood. This was Hunters first bass fishing tournament ever and he finished 4th by weighing in 10.91 lbs. Tony Reinbold also had a personal best on Lake Nelson by weighing only 2 fish (one shy of a limit) but he still was able to weigh 9.66 lbs for a 5th place finish. One more bite and he probably would have been taking home the trophy!
There were a lot of big bass that were weighed in on Saturday. Here are some honorable mentions: Jason Bader 3.38 lbs, Chase Fernandez 4.52 lbs, Chris Harvey 4.59 lbs, and Eric Vossler 3.29 pounds. Perhaps there should be a new award added to the Bandits called Guide of the Year, because there were 3 people in Paul’s boat and 8 fished were weighed out of that boat and the average size was 4.08 lbs each...certainly a day to remember.
The next stop for the 2014 tournament season is on Indian Creek Dam. The Bandits have been to this lake once back in 2009. Long time club member James Francis won with 5.74 lbs. There was only 5 fish caught that day but the average weight was 3.37 lbs. The bass population has bounced back so there should be more fished weighed in this time. Nonetheless there will be someone who will take home 1st place. If you have never been to this lake, it is idle speed only. If you are not sure where it is located just google search the city of Regent and the turn off to the lake is 2.5 miles west of Regent and then 7 miles south. Just follow the signs and the road will take you right to the ramp. We will be using the cement ramp near the dam. Good luck to everyone!
A Frigid Ice Bowl
Kayci & Eric Ice bowl Champions!
Hayden & Tony
The 2014 Badlands Bass Bandits Ice bowl is in the books! It was the coldest Ice Bowl in club history but that didn’t stop the club members from having a good time. The Bandits started out with a cloudy day driven by fog from Lake Nelson but once the sun got up a little bit higher the outside conditions became a bit more tolerable. After a few casts without strikes it was Robert Reinbold who struck first by landing the first Lake Nelson bass. From there on the Bandits started catching fish and it would continue throughout the day. The action wasn’t fast and furious but it seemed that someone was reeling in a fish about every 5 to 10 minutes. The average size of fish being caught was 14 inches with the occasional 15 to 16 inch bass. It certainly wasn’t a day for big ones biting but you never heard anyone complain since we were all finally able to get out of the house and break some cabin fever.
In order to win the Ice Bowl a 2 person team must catch the 6 largest bass during the contest, this is determined by length of a bass rather than by weight. This year’s 4th place team went to Tony Reinbold and Luke Kenneberg with a total length of 74 inches. Jason Bader and Mason Dietrich best six was good enough for a 3rd place finish totaling 76 inches. Paul and Robert Reinbold brought home 2nd place honors with a 87.25 inch effort. Taking home the 1st place prize was Eric Vossler and Kayce Ehli of Bismarck. Word has it that they struggled throughout the day without any bites until the last hour of the day. Perhaps the key fish was the 18 incher that was caught by Eric Vossler to help propel them past Team Reinbold. Congrats Eric and Kayce!
Well that about sums it up for the 2014 Ice Bowl I’m sure next year will be another great time had by all but I can guarantee we here at the club house are looking forward to warm weather and the start of the 2014 BBB tournament season! If you would like to become a club member please view our membership page as well as contact one of our club officers for any questions that you may have. Don’t forget our 2014 season is upon us and will start the first weekend in May at Lake Nelson!
2014
Reinbold Trumps Tough Classic 2013
Paul Reinbold Classic Champion!
In 2008 Paul Reinbold won his first Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship on Lake Nelson on September 14th. On that day Reinbold also set a record low weight for winning a classic with only 6.75 lbs. This year the Bass Bandits held their annual Bass Bandit Classic Championship on Lake Sakakawea for the second straight year in a row. This was a tough event to fish and Paul Reinbold weighed in the 3rd lowest weight to win a Classic but also it was the lowest recorded weight to win the Classic since this tournament turned into a two day event. No doubt Mother nature was the culprit to blame because she has been relentless on throwing cold fronts in North Dakota during the weekend. The weather was windy, cloudy and cold from Thursday afternoon all the way through Sunday. This not only made it a tough event to fish but boating around the lake was difficult and many anglers didn’t have much choice as to where they were going to fish.
On day one of the Classic the Bandits launched out of Beulah bay. A few anglers went North and some went east but most of them stayed in Beulah bay due to the rough waters. Going across the lake heading north the waves weren’t too bad in the morning but coming back for the weigh in it was a different story. After everyone made it back to the ramp safely the weigh-in was started. Leading after day one was hot hand Nate Dirks of Minot. Nate had a great season fishing for smallmouth and it was no surprise that he brought in the heaviest bag for day one. Nates total weight for day one was 5.03 lbs, he also weighed in the heaviest smallmouth for the two day tournament at 3.11 lbs. Sitting in second place was Paul Reinbold with 4.17 lbs and third place was Janine Wetzel with 3.59 lbs.
On Day two of the tournament the Bandits launched out of the State Park near Pick City. This is a large bay that provided lots of fishing as well as protection for the high winds. When the flag was dropped the bandits raced out of the bay in search of smallmouth bass. It was a bit warmer on Day two and the wind had switched directions allowing anglers to travel a lot farther than Day one. However, the anglers knew that the winds were going to pick up later in the morning so they raced to their spots in hopes to catch a quick limit. When 2 o’clock came the Bandits loaded up their boats to weigh in their fish. Coming in with the day’s heaviest weight was Paul Reinbold with 4.15 lbs. Paul won the event with a combined two day total weight of 8.32 lbs. Certainly not the weight one would expect when coming to Lake Sakakawea but when the conditions are bad one must catch the right fish to win no matter how big or small. Chase Fernandez brought in 4.06 lbs for day two to add to his total weight of 6.07 lbs. Chase also finished 2nd in the Angler of the Year title only to miss out by 3 points! Great season Chase! Weighing with a total weight of 5.62 was day one leader Nate Dirks who finished 3rd in this event.
After the 2013 Classic Champion was crowned the Bandits had their annual end of the year awards to hand out. Perhaps the most important award amongst all of them was the Angler of the Year title. This years winner was Matt Sullivan of Bismark. Matt fished tough all season long and to win this event you must be consistent. Especially when you have young gun Chase Fernandez chasing you all season long! Great job on a season well done Matt and as for Chase placing second I am sure he will be back for another go at it next year! The Biggest Largemouth of the year award went to Matt Sullivan that weighed 5.23 lbs he also won the Biggest Smallmouth of the year award with a 4.42 lb dandy. The 2013 Rookie of the Year was Beth Basinger of Minot, ND. Beth fished hard all season long and pretty much kept a safe cushion between her and the other rookies this season. Congratulations Beth and remember you plaque is way nicer than Steve’s! The Mixed Bag award (angler with a combination of smallmouth and largemouth) was Cody Arth that weighed 8.49 lbs. The 2013 Horizon Awards winners were Matt Sullivan and Chase Fernandez (go figure!). The Horizon award is awarded to the angler who improved the most from the previous year. This award is determined by the average weight per tournament compared to last year’s average and the angler with the largest improvement wins the award. Winning the 2013 Big Bass Challenge was Paul Reinbold with a combined length of a 21 inch largemouth and a 15 inch smallmouth for a total of 36 inches. Paul won a rod and reel combo for this contest. Paul also a donated rod from Denali rods which was given to the winner of the classic. The rest of the top 10 anglers of the classic received a 40% off coupon from Denali!
It certainly was a great year, and we are all looking forward to continuing this club’s legacy next year. We will be holding our annual club meeting on October 19th at the old governor’s mansion. If you are interested in joining please come to this event so we can meet you. We would like to thank our sponsors for making it such a great year; Whiskey River Baits, Denali Rods, Dakota Tackle, Crazy D’Construction, Capital City rain gutters, and Geo’s Corner of Lemmon, SD. Without you none of this would be possible!
Angler of the Year Race Tightens!!
Jeff Wetel with some nice bass
As the 2013 season starts to come to a close the bandits Angler of the Year race has turned into a three horse race! This is probably the closest race that the club has had since its birth in 2006. Chase Fernandez and Marty Mantz both got a shot in the arm to help them catch up to season points leader Matt Sullivan. Fernandez was able to capture 9 points by placing second in Saturday’s lake Audobon event while Mantz captured his first win of the season on North Audobon Lake. It has come down to the final two tournaments of the season, Lake Nelson and Lake Sakakawea. All three of these anglers fish well at Lake Nelson so it’s a tossup when trying to figure out which of these three will come out on top. I believe the deciding factor will happen when we head up to Lake Sakakawea for our annual Classic Championship! The angler of the year could come down to the final day of the Classic, what more could a fan ask for?
The Bass Bandits held there 9th and 10th tournament of the 2013 tour on Lake Audobon and North Audobon Lake on August 10th and 11th. This year the Bandits have had a great showing of members at all of the tournaments by averaging almost 25 members at each event. But due to so many other events going on only 11 members were able to come to this weekends event. Not because the Audobon Lake systems don’t have good fishing to offer, but it is harvest time and when mother nature provides you an opportunity to harvest….you better take it. Despite the small crowd the Bandits gathered at Lake Audobon on Saturday in search of the great smallmouth fishing this lake has to offer. Coming in with a 1st place finish was Nate Dirks of Minot, who also captured the Big Bass Award for this event at 3.06 lbs, his total weight was 7.80 lbs. 1Nate is no stranger to winning at Lake Audobon, he won a previous event in a bass fishing tournament a few months ago. Congratulations Nate on your Bass Bandit victory! Coming in with another solid 2nd place finish was Chase Fernandez who weighed in 7.56 lbs of bass. As we mentioned before this high of a finish was exactly what Chase needed going into the final two tournaments of the year. Eric Vossler of Bismarck was able to put together a nice 3rd place finish that weighed 6.90 lbs.
On Sunday the Bandits ventured onto North Audobon Lake. This was the first time the Bandits had ever been to this body of water. Without any map data the Bandits who had never fished this lake prior to the tournament were pretty much fishing blind hoping to get lucky! Others who were able to put in the time to learn a bit about this lake were able to come in with some nice bass. Weighing in at 8.48 lbs was Marty Mantz for a first place finish. Topping off the day with a strong 2nd place finish at 7.30 lbs was Jeff Wetzel of Bismarck. Wetzel is no stranger to the Audobon water system and it showed. Following right behind her husband with a 3rd place finish was Janine Wetzel that weighed in 2 bass at 4.39 lbs.
Well folks that wraps it up here at the club house, another great club weekend in the books. Tents were pitched, camp fires were set, marshmallows were roasted and fishing stories were told. If your interested in joining this great club please contact us. Don’t forget to check with us in a couple of weeks as to who takes the lead in the Angler of the Year race at Lake Nelson!
Sullivan Knocks em’ Down
Matt Sullivan with a few hawgs!
By the title of this article I am sure it wouldn’t take you long to figure out who won the points tournament on July 20th’s event. Matt Sullivan of Bismarck has been putting the tight squeeze on the Angler of the Year race all season long. But it is far from over folks, Chase Fernandez and Marty Mantz are still very well in the hunt. Let’s not forget how some other Bandits are still in the hunt but they will need some help from the top contenders to even have a chance at this year’s AOY title. The Rookie of the Year title hasn’t changed much at all. Beth Basinger is still comfortably in the lead even though new rookie member John Hill joined a few weeks ago. If Basinger can show up and weigh some fish in for the final 5 events of the 2013 season she will have no worries in regards to who will win the rookie of the year . But, if she misses a couple of those events and Hill turns in some fish during her absence then there will be a battle on the final event! This is the pivoting point of the year, we are just over being half ways done for the 2013 season and this is when you want to fish your best. Even if you are not in contention for any awards you still want to finish strong showing that you have improved since the first cast of the season.
For Saturday’s event it was a cloudy morning with cool temps. Certainly not a typical day for the month of July, but when you live in North Dakota anything is possible with the weather. The boats were launched and they headed every which way that they possibly could. Some spots took 30 seconds to get to others fishing holes took 20 minutes to get to. There was one fishing hole that held some big fish and that fishing hole belonged to Matt Sullivan. Sullivan boated three smallmouth that weighed 10.94 lbs, he also took big bass honors with a smallmouth that weighed 4.42 lbs. Good job Matt! Weighing in at a close second place was Marty Mantz. Mantz’s biggest three bass for the tournament weighed in at 10.15 lbs, he also weighed in a 4lb smallmouth that helped capture 2nd place. Another consistent angler this year (right along with Sullivan) is Chase Fernandez. Fernandez weighed in at 9.79 lbs which helped him capture another 3rd place finish for the year. Keep it up Chase and you might be holding that Angler of the Year trophy at the end of the season!
Sunday rolled around and the Bandits held another tournament on New Johns lake. This was just a cash pot tourney so no points were accounted for the Angler of the Year race. It was a beautiful day all throughout the tournament. Lots of fish were caught, some spots that paid off the day before still provided while other fishing holes went dry. One angler who has been dealing with the nickname of “ Number two” (because he has placed 2nd many times in many different categories) was finally able to put it all together for one day. Shawn Keena of Bismarck was your tournament winner for Sunday’s event. Keena weighed in a three fish limit that tipped the scales at 10.47 lbs Keena’s biggest fish was 4.04 lbs. Yes sir folks apparently the Moon and Stars all aligned perfectly for Mr. Keena to capture his first ever Bass Bandit tournament. From all of us at the club house Congratulations Shawn Keena! Coming in for his second straight 2nd place finish at New Johns was Marty Mantz with 9.55 lbs. This weight edged out Paul Reinbold who finished 3rd with a final weight of 9.45 lbs. Reinbold also weighed in the biggest bass of the tournament which smashed the scales at 4.18 lbs. There were a lot of good weights brought to the scales that weekend, but that was expected because of the fishing this lake has to offer.
The next tournament will be held on August 10th and 11th. On the 10th the bandits will be fishing Lake Audobon. This lake was featured in the Bassmaster’s magazine last year for the nations top 100 bass lakes to fish. We will be docking out of the Three Mile Corner ramp. This ramp has a very small parking area so be sure to park in tight quarters so we can fit everyone. If you’d like you can dock over at Totten Trail and boat your way over to Three mile for tournament entry and weigh in to help provide space in the three mile corner ramp. On the 11th the Bandits will be heading to North Audobon. This will be an interesting tournament because this will be the first time the Bandits will have ever fished this lake. Good luck to all and stay tuned to see who takes the AOY and ROY lead!
Club Camping Weekend was a Success!
Some Nice South Dakota Bass
The Badlands Bass Bandits held their annual Club Camping Weekend at the Sakakawea State Park on June 29th and June 30th. This annual event has been one of the club’s premier features for the past few years, and this year we had 26 members in attendance which was a new record. This year’s club events included two tournaments, potluck dinner, and the ladder ball championships. Probably one of the best things that was provided for the bandits last weekend was that the good Lord provided great fishing and camping weather throughout the whole weekend!
On Saturday morning the Bandits unloaded their boats at the state park boat ramp and marina. There was much anticipation amongst the club members because this weekend marked the half way point of our 2013 season. With the Angler of the Year race tightening up, this was going to be a pivoting point to see who will be finishing the season strong. It was a partly cloudy day with northerly winds of 15 mph, and on this massive lake it doesn’t take much to make some big waves. When the horn sounded the bandits took off. Some when north, west, south and east, there was no doubt that Lake Sakakawea had plenty of areas to provide fishing for the Bandits. As far as the fishing went it would have made a great walleye and northern pike tournament! Lots of club members found themselves fighting Sakakawea’s giant Pike and walleye. There were plenty of smallmouth bass to catch but catching ones that were worth any size was the biggest challenge.
Beth Basinger had a great weekend of fishing, she placed a personal best 3rd place on Saturday’s event by weighing 3 smallmouth at 5.42 lbs. Congratulations to you Beth and way to show your husband how to catch bass! Weighing in with 6.34 lbs was Jeff Gibson of Minot, this was his first Bass Bandit tournament and certainly had a great day on the water as well. His 6.34 lbs of smallmouth gave him a 2nd place finish. Coming in with another strong day was Matt Sullivan of Bismarck. Matt had a strong showing of fish the last two tournaments and did so again this past weekend. Matt took home 1st place honors for Saturday’s event with 6.42 lbs. He also weighed in the largest smallmouth of the tournament which weighed 2.64 lbs. With the 6th tournament of the year in the books, the Angler of the Year Race was very close! Sunday’s event would help separate the top three anglers a little bit.
But before we get into Sunday’s event were going to talk about the rest of the club’s camping weekend festivities. When the evening rolled around the all the club members gathered around a camp site, sparked the grill up and cooked some brats and hamburgers. Along with the brats and hamburgers there were a lot of salads, chips and deserts to go eat as well. Thanks to all who provided for this year’s potluck dinner. It was very very good! After we all stuffed ourselves with food and drink it was time to compete in one of the most prestigious events of all. The LADDER BALL CHAMPIONSHIP!!! If your not familiar with this event, it is a very big deal. It’s probably more competitive than any of our bass fishing tournaments! There is certainly one member who looks forward to this event every year probably more than any other club member. Shawn Keena from Bismarck has been competing in this event for the past three years. Each year that he has competed in it he has lost in the championship round and placed 2nd each of those years. Will this year be any different? No, he lost again! This year his partner was Paul Reinbold (me), he and Shawn went undefeated through the double elimination tournament bracket and they weren’t looking back. Many games were played by all nine teams participating. As usual there were lots of good and bad plays that gave the crowd a good showing. Ryan Vetter of Bismarck and Nicole Dirks of Minot made it to the championship round to face the undefeated team of Keena and Reinbold. The two teams met head to head, back and forth toss for toss it was a close match. Vetter and Dirks won the first match by 2 points. Then came the final match to decide the 2013 Ladder Ball Champions. Once again it was back and forth, toss for toss a close match that ended up with both teams going over 21 points. With both teams having to go back a few points it came down to the wire. Dirks and Keena both threw and weren’t able to get any points. With both teams deadlocked at 18 Reinbold threw his and each one missed the 3 point mark by a hair. Vetter stepped up and threw his first and missed but his second toss didn’t which gave them the Championship trophies! Congratulations to the 2013 Ladder Ball Champs Ryan Vetter and Nicole Dirks! Well Shawn, we’ve said it once, we’ve said it twice, we’ve said it three times and now we will all say it again for the fourth time “Better Luck Next Year!”
Ok let’s get back to fishing. Sunday morning rolled around and the club launched the boats. It was going to be a bright sunny day with light winds. This made traveling a bit easier than the previous day and when you can get calmer waters the Bandits love to show off their speedy boats! Fishing was a bit tougher, the smallmouth bite wasn’t as aggressive as it was on Saturday. Nonetheless when you have 22 members fishing on the water, somebody somewhere is going to catch the fish. Having a great day on the water was Todd Keena of Bismarck. Todd found the largest bass of the day that weighed 2.39 lbs and his final total weight was 5.50 lbs that gave him a 3rd place finish. Way to go Todd! Having yet again another strong tournament was Matt Sullivan. Sullivan’s three fish weighed 6.19 lbs but due to a dead fish penalty it dropped him down to 5.69 lbs which gave him another 2nd place finish. This finish also gave him the points lead and with 5 tournaments to go the momentum is in his favor. Last but not least was Marty Mantz. Marty also had a good day on the water. His three fish weighed 5.73 lbs that gave him his first victory of the 2013 season. Judging by Mantz’s past record when July roll’s around this won’t be his last victory. This win helped propel Marty to a third place spot on the Angler of the Year race.
It certainly has been a back and forth points race this year. Beth Basinger and Nicole Dirks are at the top of the Rookie of the Year standings and it doesn’t look like anyone else is going to be contending for that. So it will be a battle for those two til the end! The Angler of the Year race has tightened up and the points leader has shifted from Chase Fernandez to Matt Sullivan. Chase was able to put together a fourth place finish on Sunday which helped keep it close amongst the top three. With five tournaments to go it should be an exciting finish. Stay tuned to this web site for further updates. We’ll see ya on the water.
-Paul Reinbold
Sullivan and Dirks Stomp South
Some Nice South Dakota Bass
The Bass Bandits held their 4th and 5th tournaments of the year on Lake Oahe and Pudwell dam in South Dakota. It has been a roller coaster of a ride for the Angler of the Year race and these two fishing holes were expected to add to it. Badits setup camp along beautiful Lake Oahe near Mobrdige, SD on Friday night. Most anglers were able to get out and do a little pre-fishing prior to Saturday's event. The weather was beautiful on Friday which allowed anglers to practice North, South, and Central fishing locations and it seemed that all spots produced fish. The water clarity was clear in most parts and some parts of the resevoir were stained and water temps varied from high 50's to mid 60's, which provided different types of fishing conditions depending upon where you were.
Thunderstorms rolled in on the Bandits late Friday night and the clouds never cleared out til late saturday evening. Many wondered if the bite had changed due to the storm, but like always somebody is going to get into the fish! Saturday morning rolled around and it was cloudy and windy with some scattered rain showers on the horizon. When the clock struck 6. a.m. the gang took off to go find the three biggest bass! Depeding upon which direction you went some Bandits pounded big waves and others had a smoother ride, nonetheless they were determined to catch the big one.
When the clock struck 2 p.m. the weigh-in began and it was a tight race. Coming in with 6.96 lbs was Jason Bader and Steve Basinger which tied both of them for a 3rd place finish. However, the tie breaker was determined by which angler had the largest bass and Basinger won that battle with a 2.55 compared to Bader's 2.36 lb smallmouth. This marked the clubs 2nd tie of the year! Bringing three smallmouth that weighed 8.12 lbs was Marty Mantz which gave him a 2nd place finish to Matt Sullivan. Sullivan captured his first win of the season by weighing in 8.50 lbs, he also took big bass honors with a 3.33 lb smallmouth! Congratulations Matt.
After the weigh-in was over the Club settled into camp. Food was cooked and stories were told! But, most importantly the Bandits had to change out their ammunition because they will be fishing heavy cover for heavy largemouth on Sunday’s event. The club met up at the boat ramp of Pudwell dam at sunrise to get boats in the water. It was a calm clear day that was going to provide a lot of sunshine. The water temps were in the mid to high 60’s and the water was stained. It was a quite morning for some and for others the bass were jumping in the boat. Some anglers were catching on top while others were fishing on the bottom. It was a mixed bag of bite all day long and some of the Bandits found some real nice bass. Jay Boldt weighed in a 3 fish limit at 9.83 lbs, his biggest of the day was 3.32. Amanda Bader fished with Boldt and she also weighed in over 9 lbs with 9.01 lbs. Amanda just missed the 5th place mark to add a few extra points to her Angler of the Year points but it certainly was a good day of fishing for one boat to produce over a 18 lb limit. If it were a team tournament I’m sure they woulda won it! Having an excellent weekend was Minot resident Steve Basinger. Basinger placed 3rd at Mobridge and took 2nd at Pudwell by weighing 10.53 lbs. Steve’s biggest bass weighed 3.82 lbs. Hailing from way up in the north Country of Minot, ND was Nate Dirks who had a terrific day on the water and cashed in on the great fishing Pudwell has to offer. Nate weighed in 11.21 lbs of fish and also took big bass honors with a 4.41 lbs largemouth. The Bandits also had a Jr member fishing this tournament. A first place finish was captured by Abigale Assman of Isabel, SD who won first place in the Jr division by weighing a big 2.49 lb largemouth. Way to go!
It certainly was a great weekend of fishing for the Bandits. There were lots of fish caught throughout the whole weekend. The next stop for the Bandits tournament season is Lake Sakakwea on June 29th and 30th. This is the club’s official camping weekend. Make sure you reserve a camp site(s) for yourself in the Sanish bay area of the State Park. That is where we will be cooking and playing the ladder ball championship. Stay tuned to this website for more details on the Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year race!
Fernandez, Reinbold Take Top Honors at Tschida
Some Nice Bass from Tschida!
Well it certainly was a wild weekend for the Bandits on May 25th and 26th. For those who pre-fished prior to the tournament faced strong easterly winds, and if you have ever fished Lake Tschida it can get rough! When tournament time rolled around Saturday morning it was sunny with light winds. The lake water temps were in mid 50's and the Lake Tschida smallmouth bass were in a prespawn/spawn mood. The action was hot in the morning for most members and it slowed down a bit during the late morning and picked up again in the last hour of the tournament.
Finishing where he left off from the previous tournament was Chase Fernandez of Beulah, ND. Chase brought in the heavy bag of the tournament that weighed 7.44 lbs along with the biggest bass of 3.83 lbs which propelled him to another 1st place finish. His big bass also broke the tie between himself and Robert Reinbold. The Badlands Bass Bandits have seen a few hot streaks before by veteran members but Chase is certainly the youngest to do so far, good job Chase! Also having a good day and weighing in 7.44lbs was Robert Reinbold. Reinbold had tied for a first place finish but since his biggest bass did not weigh as much as Fernandez's he had to settle for 2nd place which many anglers would've love to have. Rounding out the top three was Minot resident Nate Dirks. Dirks also weighed in a dandy of a smallmouth that weighed 3.13 lbs and gave him a final total weight of 7.29 lbs. This was a good tournament showing for Lake Tschida. Typically coming in with 6 lbs would usually give you a great shot at a top five finish...not so much this year. Out of the 21 members who fished this event, 10 of them weighed in 6 lbs or more and 19 anglers brought in a limit. So it was certainly one of the best Lake Tschida tournaments for the club.
After the awards were handed out the club packed up the wagons and headed down below the dam to setup camp for the night. If there was a world record time for setting up camp and tying things down I think we beat it. Heavy winds and rains rolled in and set in for the night, some parts of the area had tornado warnings as well as hail. It rained and blew all through the night which kept the Bandits hunkered down in their tents and campers. When day break came it was still cloudy and rainy but the winds had resided a little. By the time the members unloaded their boats the sun came out and the winds calmed down and gave the Bass Bandits a nice warm sun shiney day.
Coming in and laying the smack down on the Bandits was long time club member Jeanette Reinbold. Jeanette hauled in the big bass of the day with 1 hour remaining that weighed 3.55lbs. This took the big bass honors for the Sunday event and gave her a total weight of 7.62 lbs which gave her a 1st place finish. Chase Fernandez continued his hot streak by weighing a limit of smallmouth at 6.82 lbs. This weekend really gave Chase a chance to seperate himself from the rest of the pack in the Angler of the Year race. Weighing in at third place was Mr. Three Time Marty Mantz with a 6.73 lb finish. For the second day in a row Lake Tschida provided the Bandits with another great day on the water.
Well get ready everybody because the next Badlands Bass Bandit tournament is just around the corner. The club will be heading down into the northern part of South Dakota to fish Lake Oahe and Pudwell dam. Marty Mantz will be looking to defend his crown on Lake Oahe and Jay Boldt will also be looking to defend his crown at Pudwell Dam. Certainly should be a fun filled weekend with fishing and camping. If you are interested in joining our great club please check out our memberships page and give us a call! Stay tuned for the next tournament results. The Badlands Bass Bandits would like to personally thank the Lake Tschida Recreation Area for providing such great hospitality during our stay!
Young Gun Wins Powerplant Shootout!
Chase Fernandez wins the Powerplant Shootout at Nelson!
The 2013 Badlands Bass Bandits tournament season started off with a bang! It was the largest membership turnout in club history. Lot's of club members showed up for the historic Power Plant Shootout at Lake Nelson on April 27th. For the past 7 years this lake has hosted the Bandits first tournament of each tournament season. There were 29 club members in attendance that day all hoping to win a Power Plant Shootout trophy, for many it would have been their first. With that many members in attendance the lake was full of boats and anglers which indeed made it a shootout.
When shots fired at 6 a.m. most boats headed North some headed West and some headed South. The big bite was on early in the morning with many members catching big Largemouth bass anywhere from 3.5lbs all the way up to 5 lbs. Nelson lake was indeed giving the Bandits exactly what they were hoping for. Of course what would a Bandit tournament be without mentioning good ol' Mother Nature. The early parts of the morning were calm, sunny and warm. Providing all the right ingredients for bass to start spawing, but....then the wind switched to the North and it was relentless providing white caps for the rest of the day. The funny thing was you didn't hear one Bandit complain because they were just thankful that it was finally warm enough to get the boats out!
Many lures were tied on and many lines were cast with hopes and dreams of catching that one bass that would win them the Power Plant Shootout. No matter how many competitors you have, you'll always have only one winner. This year's 2013 Power Plant Shootout was a young gun from Beulah, ND who goes by the name of Chase Fernandez. Chase isn't new to the scene of fishing Bandit tournaments but he is however a new member of the winner's circle. This was Chase's first career win as a Bandit and he sure picked a tough tournament to win. He came in with a 3 fish limit that squashed the scales at 11.47 pounds! Certainly a day to remember for Chase and I am sure he will be adding more throughout his bass fishing tournament career. Good Job Chase on your 1st place finish! Nipping on his heels (literally) with a 3 fish limit that weighed 11.42 lbs was Matt Sullivan of Bismarck. Matt also took big bass honors with a 5.18 lb largemouth. Certainly a tough one to beat for the 2013 big bass of the year award. Great start Matt! Also coming up just a bit shy but certainly a great day on the water was the familiar face of Janine Wetzel. Jainine weighed in 3 bass that also eclipsed the 11 pound mark with 11.37 lbs which was good enough for a 3rd place finish. This certainly was the closest top three finish that we have had in very long time. Another young gun who was in attendance for the tournament was little Hayden Bader. Hayden fished the Junior Division with his grandfather Tony Reinbold along with his mother Amanda Bader. Hayden caught one largemouth bass that tipped the scales at 1.67lbs which was good enough for a 1st place trophy, way to go Hayden!
Well folks we here at the club house had a great time at one of North Dakota's prestige fisheries. This lake is important to a lot of people not only from this state but as well as other states. Make sure you do your part of ANS prevention as well as to remember the importanace of catch and release. A photograph is worth a thousand words!
The next stop is Lake Tschida on May 25th and 26th. This is the earlierst of the year that we have fished Lake Tschida in a long time. The last time we were there in May there were a lot of nice fish caught. So stay tuned here to this web site to find out who our next champion will be! - Paul Reinbold
2013 Tournament Schedule!
Get your boats and gear ready! Nelson Lake is on the horizon!
April 27th Lake Nelson
May 25th & 26th Lake Tschida (Each day is a seperate tournament)
June 8th Lake Oahe
June 9th Lake Pudwell
June 29th Lake Sakakawea
June 30th Lake Sakakawea
July 20-21 New Johns Lake (2 day tournament format)
August 10th Lake Audobon
August 11th North Audobon (a.k.a Nobon)
September 7-8th Lake Nelson (The 7th will be a night tournament 2p.m. thru 10p.m. and the 8th will be 6a.m.-2p.m. 2 day tournament format)
September 28th Classic Championship Day 1 Lake Sakakwea (Dock out of Buleah Bay)
September 29th Classic Championship Day 2Lake Sakakwea (Dock out of State Park)
That's right folks the Bandits will be hosting North Dakota's first ever night time Bass fishing tournament right on North America's premium Lake Nelson! This is going to be such a big and fun event for all members. This tournament has it all big bass, night time, and day time all packed into 1 complete tournament. I'm sure this will be a staple in the Bandits future. For the past two years the Bandits have been docking out of the state park for Lake Sakakawea. New for the 2013 Classic Championship the Bandits will once again host their Classic Championship at Lake Sakakawea, but with a new twist. Day 1 of competition will be docking out of Buleah bay and on Day 2 the club will dock out of the State Park. This will be like fishing two lakes because these two ramps are seperated by 18 miles of water. So if ya wanna win the Classic ya better have some spots in both areas of this big lake!
Reinbold Qualifies for 2013 B.A.S.S. State Team!!
The Badlands Bass Bandits very own club member Robert Reinbold of Timber Lake, SD accomplished another goal in his fishing career. Certainly 2012 was a good year for Robert, especially the last few months of the fishing season. Not only did he win the biggest smallmouth of the year award and the prestigious Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship on Lake Sakakawea he also qualified for the 2013 South Dakota B.A.S.S.(Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society) State Team! The South Dakota B.A.S.S. federation held their annual state team qualifying event on September 29th and 30th at Lake Sharpe. Robert headed down a day earlier before the event to check out the lakes water clarity and temperature to help him develop a game plan. On day 1 of the event Robert got on the fish early was able to stay on them all day. Armed with Whiskey River tube jigs the smallmouth of Lake Sharpe didn’t stand a chance. He brought in a nice limit of smallmouth bass that weighed 12.31 lbs which put him at 9th place after day 1. Even though he lost a key fish due to the hook breaking Robert was pleased with his finish that day because only a pound separated 1st place and 10th place so he knew he was in striking distance. Day 2 rolled around and the smallmouth bite was on again for him, boating bass after bass Robert had a busy day of culling. At the end of the final day he weighed in at 12.71 lbs which was key because he knew he needed to have a consistent weight on that lake. Reinbold’s final total weight for the tournament was 25.02 lbs which gave him a 4th place finish which was more than enough to qualify for the 2013 South Dakota State Team. He and his teammates will be competing against other state teams this fall in hopes to advance on to the B.A.S.S. divisional! Good Luck Robert and way to go the Bass Bandits are all proud of you!
2013 Annual Meeting Minutes!
The Badlands Bass Bandits held their annual meeting to kick off their 2013 tournament season. As usual there was much to discuss for the up and coming season. The first order of discussion was the review of the club's rules as well as discussion of possible rule additions and changes. Since the dawn of this club the bandits have started all of their tournaments at 7 a.m. mtn time and ended at 2 p.m. The club has now changed their start times to 6 a.m. and will fish til 2 p.m. All who attended this meeting were in favor of this change due to the fact that it will give it's members a better shot at an early morning bite! Another rule change was made in regards to a prefishing rule. For the 2013 season any lake that is less than 600 acres, anglers will not be allowed to prefish Sunday nite through Friday night of the week of the tournament. The new season will also have a new rule for a 2 day tournament. In the event that day 1 of competition is complete and day 2 is unsafe due to bad weather the tournament will be concluded and the results from day 1 will determine the tournament winners. In the event that day 1 is usafe due to bad weather the tournament directors along with the club members will decide if day 2 of competition will go ahead as planned. There was a rule change to Rule #34 which previously stated the following: No one over the age of 16 will be allowed to ride along during a tournament without paying the entry fee, whether they fish or not. An angler under the age of 16 may ride along whether they fish or not, free of charge, but will not be considered for awards or prize money. The change to this rule will be that "anyone who wants to ride along will be allowed no matter what their age is without paying a tournament entry fee. If a person riding along wants to fish, that person must pay the tournament entry fee. An angler under the age of 16 may ride along whether they fish or not, free of charge, but will not be considered for awards or prize money in either the Junior or Adult divisions." The final discussion of rule change was in regards to Junior membership fees as well as tournament entry fees. From now on tournament entry fees for Junior anglers will be $5, and they will not be required to pay a $25 membership fee. However, they must fill out a membership form in order to compete in Junior tournaments.
The next order of business is always everyone's favorite part of the meeting....selecting dates and tournament locations! This is done by club members nonimating lakes that they would like to have a tournament on. Once all lakes have been listed the club will vote on lakes through a process of elimination. Listed below is the 2013 Badlands Bass Bandit tournament season:
March 16th Ice Bowl Tournament at Lake Nelson (Time - TBA)
April 27th Lake Nelson
May 25th & 26th Lake Tschida (Each day is a seperate tournament)
June 8th Lake Oahe
June 9th Lake Pudwell
June 29th Lake Sakakawea
June 30th Lake Sakakawea
July 20-21 New Johns Lake (2 day tournament format)
August 10th Lake Audobon
August 11th North Audobon (a.k.a Nobon)
September 7-8th Lake Nelson (The 7th will be a night tournament 2p.m. thru 10p.m. and the 8th will be 6a.m.-2p.m. 2 day tournament format)
September 28th Classic Championship Day 1 Lake Sakakwea (Dock out of Buleah Bay)
September 29th Classic Championship Day 2Lake Sakakwea (Dock out of State Park)
That's right folks the Bandits will be hosting North Dakota's first ever night time Bass fishing tournament right on North America's premium Lake Nelson! This is going to be such a big and fun event for all members. This tournament has it all big bass, night time, and day time all packed into 1 complete tournament. I'm sure this will be a staple in the Bandits future. For the past two years the Bandits have been docking out of the state park for Lake Sakakawea. New for the 2013 Classic Championship the Bandits will once again host their Classic Championship at Lake Sakakawea, but with a new twist. Day 1 of competition will be docking out of Buleah bay and on Day 2 the club will dock out of the State Park. This will be like fishing two lakes because these two ramps are seperated by 18 miles of water. So if ya wanna win the Classic ya better have some spots in both areas of this big lake!
Last year the Bandits held multiple tournaments on a single weekend to help cut the cost of traveling. It was a big success and the Bandits are doing that again this year.
The next order of business was the election of new officers. Here are your officers for 2013:
President - Steve Basinger
Vice President - Johnathan Campbell
Secretary - Paul Reinbold
Treasurer - Jeff Wetzel
Tournament Directors: Marty Mantz, Cody Arth, Eric Vossler, Cole Murdock
Yes sir, we here at the club house are sure excited for our 2013 season, especially for the new members along with rules and tournament formats. It's going to be an exciting year so if you are interested in learning about bass fishing and meet new people who share the same interest as you then we invite you to contact us to join this wonderful club. Have a safe rest of the winter and hopefully we will see you all soon on the water!
- Paul Reinbold
2013
2012 Season Recap
In life all things good or bad come to an end. Unfortunately for the Badits the 2012 tournament season has come to just that. With the water hardening up and the reindeer starting to fly it is clear that it is time to put the boats away. Many Bandits will cure the cabin fever by going pheasant or deer hunting while others will venture out onto the ice and take advantage of North Dakota's ice fishing season. Perhaps one thing all of the members will have on their mind is the anticipation of the 2013 tournament season. Accompanying that anticipation will be club members sharpening their hooks, prepping their tacl;e, and spooling their reels for the up and coming tournament season. But before we look to far into the future let's take a moment and reflect on the 2012 season.
In May the Bandits held their first tournament of the year at Lake Nelson. On that day Duane Lankford of Minot made a bold entrance into the club as a new member with a bolstering 11.23 lbs. He also took big bass honors with a beautiful 5.10 lb largemouth! In the later part of May the club headed to the Mclusky canals to battle some of North Dakota's big smallmouth's. As usual Marty Mantz reminded everyone that he is no stranger when it comes to fishing that body of water. Mantz won that event with a total weight of 10.21lbs. Not to be out done on the center spotlight that day was Duane Lankford by taking big bass honors again with a smallmouth that weighed 4.52lbs. Junior member Dylan Sandberg also had a great day by catching 4.56 lbs of smallmouth to help capture his first Junior champion win!
When June rolled around the Bandits wrote a new chapter by adding a new lake in their schedule. The gang headed east to fish Spiritwood Lake near Jamestown. That day mother nature reminded the Bandits that she is in control by providing them with gale force winds and rain. Nonetheless the club launched their boats and held a tournament that day. Smallmouth King Mantz took the top honors that day by weighing 9.96 lbs, he also won the big bass award with a 3.86 lb smallmouth. Shawn Keena also had a great day with his best finish as a member since joining a couple of years ago. Kenna took 2nd place honors with a three fish limit that weighed 7.27 lbs. In the last weekend of June the Bandits held a tournament at Lake Audobon on saturday and Lake Sakakajawea on Sunday. Jeff Wetzel fished his way to a 1st place finish by weighing in 9.19 lbs. Jeff also won big bass honors that day with a nice 3.38 lb smallmouth. His wife Janine took 2nd place honors with 8.30 lbs and Junior member Dylan Sandberg took 1st place honors by catching a personal best 5.03 lbs. On Sunday the club moved acrossed the highway to fish Lake Sakakajawea. It was a warm beautiful day with many members in attendance. The Wetzels had the hot hand coming into that days event and they never looked back. Coming in that day with a 1st place finish was Janine Wetzel at 7.58 lbs. She was also able to capture the big bass award that day with a 2.96lbs smallmouth!
The bandits headed down to South Dakota for some bass catching action on Lake Oahe and Pudwell Dam. Unfortunately Lake Oahe didn't cooperate as well as promised. The highlight of the day was that club members were able to cull fish throughout the day. Coming through on a slow day on the water was Marty Mantz with a 7.56 lb limit of smallmouth. We also had some Junior members in attendance that day. Sarah Schutt won 1st place by catching a 1.71 lbs smallmouth! On Sunday of that weekend the club headed a few miles west to Pudwell Dam where hometown hero Jay Boldt took the top honors that day with 9.59 lbs. Sneaking away with the big bass award that day was Paul Reinbold with a 4.03 lb largemouth. Tyler Schutt won the Junior division that day with 5.23 lbs, he also weighed in a 3.56 lb bass.
In August the Bandits held their annual club camping weekend. The first stop of the weekend was Sheeps creek dam. Marty Mantz was able to bag three nice largemouth that day for a total weight of 10.33lbs. Chase Fernandez won the big bass award that day with a 4.29 lb largemouth! After the weigh in was complete the club setup camp by Lake Tschida. After eating some great food the members prepared themselves for battle. Names were drawn and teams were formed to compete in the annual Badlands Bass Bandits Ladder Ball Championship! As usual there were many great plays and memories made during the fierce competition. Coming out with a narrow win Mr. and Mrs. Team Keena! After the ladder ball tournament was over the bandits settled around the campfire for some good ol' fish stories. The next day the bandits headed out onto Lake Tschida. Coming out on top with a nice bag of smallmouths was Eric Vossler at 7.02 lbs. This was a sweet victory for Vossler because it was his first and I am sure this rising start will have many more to come. Weighing 3 more nice smallmouths was Curtis Wentz of Lemmon, SD. Wentz is no stranger to Lake Tschida and he showed it by weighing in 6.67 lbs, he also weighed in the biggest bass that day with a 4.01 lb smallmouth. Also having a good day was Dylan Sandberg who captured his 3rd Junior member victory by weighin in 1.53 lbs.
Last but certainly not least was the Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship. This year the bandits broke tradition by hosting this prestigious event on Lake Sakakajawea. It was a 2 day battle of bass catching action! At the end of the first day it appeared to be a three horse race. Robert Reinbold led the way with 8.11 lbs followed by Mantz wtih 7.82 lbs and Jeff Wetzel with 6.96 lbs. The second day rolled around (literally) and the bandits headed out to see who would bring home the Classic Championship trophy. Bringing home the bacon with a 1st place finish was Robert Reinbold with a consistant day two of 8.56 lbs. Mantz was consistant as well to take home a 2nd place finish at 7.51 lbs. Taking home the 3rd place prize was Eric Vossler with a 6.88 lb second day.
Collecting his 3rd consecutive Angler of the Year award was Marty Mantz. Marty had a great consistant year by placing in the top three at each event. Here are the rest of the 2012 seasonal awards:
Rookie of the Year - Steve Basinger
Horizon Award- Shawn Keena
Horizon Award - Cody Arth
Bag Buster Award - Duane Lankford 11.23 lbs
Biggest Smallmouth of the year - Robert Reinbold 4.68 lbs
Biggest Largemouth of the year - Duane Lankford 5.10 lbs
It sure was an exciting year for the Bandits and I am sure that the 2013 will be even better. Stay tuned to this website for club updates and other information that will be happneing during the winter season. Merry Christmas to all and as always we'll see you on the water.
Reinbold Takes 2012 Classic!
Marty Mantz, Bob Reinbold & Eric Vossler. The Top 3 Anglers from the Classic.
(Left to Right)
Have you ever heard of the old saying “third time’s the charm?” Well it took the Bass Bandits three days to complete their 2012 Classic Championship and on the third day a champion was born. For the first time in club history the Classic Championship was held on a different lake other than Nelson lake. Lake Sakakawea was the chosen spot to hold this coveted event. This lake not only offers all sorts of different types of cover and structure but it also provides space and lots of it. This lake is the 3rd largest man made reservoir in the United States. It’s widest point is 14 miles wide and is 307,000 acres big with about 1,320 miles of shoreline. Which is more miles compared to California’s coastline (not including inlets and bays)? So when I say lots of space I’m not joking, mix that in with a little breeze from the plains of North Dakota and you get an experience like you see on the Discovery channels -Deadliest Catch television show!
On day one there was lots of anticipation as boats were unloading into the water. Some members had their day planned and others were going to let their instincts guide them to where the winning catch will be! The sky was clear and the sun was bright and one by one the bandits stormed out of the bay. Coming in as your day one leader was Robert Reinbold of Timber Lake, SD. Reinbold isn’t a stranger when fishing smallmouth as he made quick work in finding them on Sakakawea. His biggest bass of the day weighed 3.31 lbs which helped him secure a early day one lead with a weight of 8.11lbs. Not far behind him was defending classic champ Marty Mantz who bagged the largest bass of the day of 3.66 lbs. Mantz’s total weight for day 1 was 7.82 lbs. Finishing up the top three angles for day 1 was Jeff Wetzel of Mandan who weighed in a total weight of 6.96lbs. With the top three anglers so closed to each other this was shaping up to be a tight race to the finish for the 2012 Classic Championship.
Day two anticipation wasn’t much different amongst the members compared to day 1. The weather was a lot different on the second day. It was cloudy, cold, and a bit wet at times which is about average day for North Dakotans. The switch in the weather gave hope to those who didn’t perform well on day one. A lot of them hoped that the fishing would turn off for the leaders and turn on for them. Some had a lot better day compared to their results on the first day but that didn’t keep the top leaders from faltering. In fact one angler came in with a lot bigger weight than the first day. Robert Reinbold weighed in one of his best tournament weights in his Bass Bandit career, tipping the scales at 11.15lbs! Coming in with a steady weight to keep himself in contention to win 3rd Classic in a row was Marty Mantz with 8.78lbs. Holding on to 3rd place was Jeff Wetzel with a 2nd day weight of 5.85lbs. Having a big day was Eric Vossler who weighed in 7.05 lbs to put himself in position to possibly take a third place finish in the classic.
Day three came along (finally) and it was pretty much up to Reinbold and Mantz as far as to whom had a win the 2012 Classic unless they would both falter really bad. As far as a 3rd place finish it was between Wetzel and Vossler. Day three consisted of a mixed bag of weather for the bandits. First it was cold and cloudy, then it was cold and windy, then it was sunny, cold, and windy, then it was calm - go figure. Never the less the bandits headed out onto the lake in search of the big one. Finding the big one was Robert who weighed in the biggest bass of day 3 with a 3.14 smallmouth. This bass gave Robert the finish that he was looking for…1st place! Roberts day 3 weight was 8.56lbs. Reinbold’s final total weight for the classic was 27.82 lbs, this was Roberts’s first classic victory and he didn’t flinch during the three day tournament event. He knew he had to fish consistently and precise during all three days and he did. Congratulations Robert on a job well done and your first Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship!!! Coming in with a strong day 2 weight was Marty Mantz with 7.51 lbs. This sealed a good second place finish for Mantz in the 2012 Classic. Eric Vossler of Bismarck was able to bag a nice limit of smallmouth to help him capture a 3rd place finish. Vossler’s weight for day 3 was 6.88 lbs.
Congrats to our top place finishers for a job well done. Stay tuned to this website for a 2012 Season In Review article that will feature our tournament winners throughout the season as well as our members who won the 2012 Angler of the Year and other yearly awards.
Classic Bound!
Get ready to rumble ladies and gentlemen, the Bass Bandits are heading to Lake Sakakawea for the 2012 Classic Championship. This is the first time in Bandit history that a lake other than Nelson Lake will be the site to host this coveted event. Typically this event holds much anticipation to the Rookie of the Year as well as the Angler of the year titles. But, a late run of tournament success for rookie Steve Basinger passed up the rookie season point leaders Nate Dirks and Duane Lankford who had great success during the early parts of the season. Basinger is currently 12 points ahead of the rookie group which puts him out of reach since the most points an angler can receive during a tournament event is 11 points. Marty Mantz wrapped up the Angler of the Year season prior to the Classic once again for the 3rd straight year. Mantz finished 1st in 3rd in the last two Bandit events which put him out of reach from the surging Wetzel’s who have been consistently placing in the top 5 all season long. One thing that is certain is Team Wetzel will be ready for the Classic so make sure you bring your best when facing them on Lake Sakakawea. Another perk that the Bandits will be looking forward to is the Classic Team Trophies. Numbers are drawn prior to the start of the tournament. The members who are paired up with the same number will fish for the Classic Team Championship. Even though they will not be fishing together their individual weight will be added up for a final total weight. This extra perk helps get the members to work together and share more knowledge on bass fishing! As we all know Lake Sakakawea is a very large lake and can get rough in a hurry so be prepared… it might not be a bad idea to let someone know where you are going for safety reasons. Good luck to all and we will see you at the finish line to crown another Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Champion!
Vossler On Top at Tschida
Eric Vossler with some nice smallmouth
Its official, the 2012 club camping weekend is in the books. It was by far the largest turnout for this annual event in the club’s 7 year history. Lake Tschida was the location where the Bandits’ setup camp Friday night to prepare for the Sheep’s Creek Showdown on Saturday the 18th. Lake Tschida provided the Bandits with breathe taking view, wind protection, and perhaps most importantly electricity! Saturday morning rolled around and there were 22 club members were in attendance for the tournament. Stories and lies were told, boats were unloaded, chips were drawn and…..were off! Sheep’s Creek dam is a idle speed only lake due to its small size but make no mistake the size of the largemouth in there make up for it. The weather was calm and sunny which made it a great day for sun tanning but unfortunately it usually makes it a tough bite. The fishing was slow and over half the field didn’t even get to weigh a fish in. Despite the slow fishing some anglers were fortunate enough to bring in some nice largemouth. Rounding out the top 5 along with the big bass award was Chase Fernandez with a total weight of 5.54lbs. Chase’s big bass weighed 4.29lbs! Finishing in 4th place was Matt Sullivan with a total weight of 6.52lbs. Taking home the 3rd place trophy was Steve Basinger with a total weight of 7.08lbs. Second place went to Tony Reinbold with 7.38lbs and Marty Mantz took home the first place trophy by weighing in 10.33 lbs.
After the weigh in the Bandits headed back north to the camp site by Lake Tschida for some great food and the Ladder Ball Championship! There was enough food provided by the Bandits to feed an army but after a long day of fishing in the sun there were enough hungry anglers that gobbled it all up. Thanks a bunch to all of those who provided the food and cooking utensils. Once our bellies were full we setup the lawn chairs to watch one of the most anticipated events of the year - Ladder Ball Championship! (You’d think since we were a fishing club we would have a casting contest of something J) Once the teams were drawn and the location of the event was chosen the trash talking started. (Mostly by Shawn - all in good fun of course)Right out of the gates Shawn Keena and Tony Reinbold were hot and clearing the table with any team that faced them. Quietly, calmly and under the radar Janine Wetzel and Cody Arth took their time and defeated any opponent that faced them. Another team that was determined to get to the championship was Allison Gaw and Nate Keena. Gaw and Keena battled through many close games but remained undefeated throughout most of the competition. As the competition went on the sun started to get lower and lower in the sunset and the Keena/Reinbold team started to show weakness…was it the low light affecting them??? Nah couldn’t have been it was only 7 o’clock with plenty of sunshine! All three teams mentioned above made it to the winners’ bracket and faced each other for some crazy but fun rounds. After the dust settled there were two teams left; Gaw and Keena vs. Wetzel and Arth. They went toss for toss round for round with the final game going into overtime these two teams wanted those coveted trophies so badly they just wouldn’t give in to each other. But in the end a champion was crowned and Allison Gaw and Nate Keena were those champions. Way to go you two! Just remember to come back next year to defend your title!
Sunday morning rolled around and we launched our boats into Lake Tschida. Once again the Bandits had perfect weather for tanning, with clear skies and calm winds. This killed the hot bite on the lake that was happening for a 3 week stretch prior to the tournament. Many anglers took advantage of the early morning bite knowing that they needed to keep anything that qualified. Others opted to hold out for big fish hoping that somehow someway there would be a period in the day where the bass would turn on. Either way Lake Tschida didn’t cooperate with most of the anglers making it a very tough day. But, whenever you have a lot of anglers on the water there will be fish caught somewhere. Taking home a nice top 5 finish was Cody Arth with a final weight of 3.79lbs. Fourth place went to Robert Reinbold with a final weight of 4.13lbs. Third place went to Marty Mantz with 6.52 lbs. Curtis Wentz of Lemmon, SD took home a great 2nd place finish plus big bass honors with a final total weight of 6.67lbs. Wentz’s big bass weighed 4.08 lbs which set a new lake record for the Bandits record books. Congratulations Curtis! Eric Vossler of Bismarck was able to overcome a few boating issues and bring home the winning weight of 7.02lbs! This was Vossler’s first championship ever since becoming a new member in 2011. Way to go Eric, no better feeling than getting the first taste of success. It just goes to prove that hard work and practice pays off!
On September 15th the Bandits will return to Lake Sacajawea for the much anticipated Classic Championship. This will be a two day tournament that will crown a Bass Bandit with the largest two day total weight. Stay tuned for details and tournament results!
Mantz Wins On Sheep Creek
Marty Mantz got the win on Sheep Creek Dam
Its official, the 2012 club camping weekend is in the books. It was by far the largest turnout for this annual event in the club’s 7 year history. Lake Tschida was the location where the Bandits’ setup camp Friday night to prepare for the Sheep’s Creek Showdown on Saturday the 18th. Lake Tschida provided the Bandits with breathe taking view, wind protection, and perhaps most importantly electricity! Saturday morning rolled around and there were 22 club members were in attendance for the tournament. Stories and lies were told, boats were unloaded, chips were drawn and…..were off! Sheep’s Creek dam is a idle speed only lake due to its small size but make no mistake the size of the largemouth in there make up for it. The weather was calm and sunny which made it a great day for sun tanning but unfortunately it usually makes it a tough bite. The fishing was slow and over half the field didn’t even get to weigh a fish in. Despite the slow fishing some anglers were fortunate enough to bring in some nice largemouth. Rounding out the top 5 along with the big bass award was Chase Fernandez with a total weight of 5.54lbs. Chase’s big bass weighed 4.29lbs! Finishing in 4th place was Matt Sullivan with a total weight of 6.52lbs. Taking home the 3rd place trophy was Steve Basinger with a total weight of 7.08lbs. Second place went to Tony Reinbold with 7.38lbs and Marty Mantz took home the first place trophy by weighing in 10.33 lbs.
After the weigh in the Bandits headed back north to the camp site by Lake Tschida for some great food and the Ladder Ball Championship! There was enough food provided by the Bandits to feed an army but after a long day of fishing in the sun there were enough hungry anglers that gobbled it all up. Thanks a bunch to all of those who provided the food and cooking utensils. Once our bellies were full we setup the lawn chairs to watch one of the most anticipated events of the year - Ladder Ball Championship! (You’d think since we were a fishing club we would have a casting contest of something J) Once the teams were drawn and the location of the event was chosen the trash talking started. (Mostly by Shawn - all in good fun of course)Right out of the gates Shawn Keena and Tony Reinbold were hot and clearing the table with any team that faced them. Quietly, calmly and under the radar Janine Wetzel and Cody Arth took their time and defeated any opponent that faced them. Another team that was determined to get to the championship was Allison Gaw and Nate Keena. Gaw and Keena battled through many close games but remained undefeated throughout most of the competition. As the competition went on the sun started to get lower and lower in the sunset and the Keena/Reinbold team started to show weakness…was it the low light affecting them??? Nah couldn’t have been it was only 7 o’clock with plenty of sunshine! All three teams mentioned above made it to the winners’ bracket and faced each other for some crazy but fun rounds. After the dust settled there were two teams left; Gaw and Keena vs. Wetzel and Arth. They went toss for toss round for round with the final game going into overtime these two teams wanted those coveted trophies so badly they just wouldn’t give in to each other. But in the end a champion was crowned and Allison Gaw and Nate Keena were those champions. Way to go you two! Just remember to come back next year to defend your title!
Sunday morning rolled around and we launched our boats into Lake Tschida. Once again the Bandits had perfect weather for tanning, with clear skies and calm winds. This killed the hot bite on the lake that was happening for a 3 week stretch prior to the tournament. Many anglers took advantage of the early morning bite knowing that they needed to keep anything that qualified. Others opted to hold out for big fish hoping that somehow someway there would be a period in the day where the bass would turn on. Either way Lake Tschida didn’t cooperate with most of the anglers making it a very tough day. But, whenever you have a lot of anglers on the water there will be fish caught somewhere. Taking home a nice top 5 finish was Cody Arth with a final weight of 3.79lbs. Fourth place went to Robert Reinbold with a final weight of 4.13lbs. Third place went to Marty Mantz with 6.52 lbs. Curtis Wentz of Lemmon, SD took home a great 2nd place finish plus big bass honors with a final total weight of 6.67lbs. Wentz’s big bass weighed 4.08 lbs which set a new lake record for the Bandits record books. Congratulations Curtis! Eric Vossler of Bismarck was able to overcome a few boating issues and bring home the winning weight of 7.02lbs! This was Vossler’s first championship ever since becoming a new member in 2011. Way to go Eric, no better feeling than getting the first taste of success. It just goes to prove that hard work and practice pays off!
On September 15th the Bandits will return to Lake Sacajawea for the much anticipated Classic Championship. This will be a two day tournament that will crown a Bass Bandit with the largest two day total weight. Stay tuned for details and tournament results!
Boldt wins Pudwell
Well it was predicted to be a scorcher during the Bandits trip down to South Dakota for a weekend of fishing at Lake Oahe and Pudwell Dam, and for once the weather man was right. With temps in the high 90's as well as dipping into the century mark the hot weather proved to be a challenge for the anglers as well as the fish themselves. The past six weeks have been very hot across the Dakota's with very little rain fall. This long heat wave has put the fish in a negative mood, a mood that makes tournament fishing difficult. None-the-less the Bandits put on the SPF 100 sunscreen, packed more water than food in their coolers, dressed for the hot weather and met up with each other at the boat ramp on Lake Oahe for Saturday's event. It was a cool breezy morning to start the day, the bandits drew for the boat launch order and off they went. Many went north but most of them stuck around the bridge area near Mobridge in search of the BIG smallies that lake Oahe has to offer. Unfortunately due to the relentless hot weather the "Big" smallies never really showed up.
Two years ago a long run from Beaver Creek, ND all the way to Mobridge, SD (approx. 60 mi one way) payed off for Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan. Once again Lake Oahe was kind to those two anglers again which prevented the hometown boys from cleaning house. Coming in with a total weight of 7.56lbs and big bass honors of 3.01lbs was Marty Mantz. This gave Mantz another 1st place finish on Lake Oahe. Matt Sullivan followed up with another Lake Oahe 2nd place finish with a total weight of 5.86lbs. The Wetzel's....a.k.a "The Consistants" are on a roll still by finishing strong once again. Janine Wetzel took a 3rd place finish with a total weight of 5.60 lbs and her hubby Jeff followed up nicely with a 4th place finish with a total weigh of 5.41lbs. Wow talk about a close battle in a single boat! Tony Reinbold (one of the hometown boys) was able to catch 2 nice smallmouths for a total weight of 2.47lbs which was good enough to give him a nice top 5 finish. We had a great Junior Championship turnout this weekend. The Schutts from Iowa visited the Bass Bandits this weekend. Sara Schutt was the top Junior angler for the Mobridge tournament by weighing in a smallmouth that tipped the scales at 1.71lbs! Way to go Sara.
All in all it was a long day for a lot of Bandits but thats how it goes sometimes if fishing would be easy it would be called Catching! After the tournament was over the Bandits held a short meeting in regards to Pudwell dam (Sunday's event location). Once the meeting was over the Bandits headed to the camp grounds and restaurants to get in some relaxation after a long day of S L O W fishing.
Sunday morning rolled around and it was FOGGY. The Bandits had to take extra precaution traveling to Pudwell Dam for Sunday's event. The boats were unloaded the chips were drawed and they were off...sort of. Due to the heavy morning fog the bandits did a "idle speed" only until the fog lifted. It was a calm, muggy, hot, foggy morning and the lake water was green due to the big algae growth from the hot temps. Many feared a slow fishing day but even with all of those negative factors Pudwell Dam actually produced a good number of bass. Last years champion Paul Reinbold was trying to reclaim the trophy again on his favorite lake knowing that it would be tough with the conditions as well as the good anglers that he was competing against. Jay Boldt of Isabel, SD came in with the three largest bass of the day to take a 1st place finish with a final weight of 9.59lbs. It was only fitting that Boldt won this event due to the long history of Reinbold and Boldt battling it out on Pudwell dam. (a friendly battle of course :) Not to be out done totally on his old stomping grounds was Paul Reinbold who finished 2nd with a final weight of 8.14lbs. Reinbold also took big bass honors with a 4.03lbs. Coming in with strong 3rd place finish was Tony Reinbold with a total weight of 7.45lbs, Tony just missed the big bass mark by 2 one hundreths of an ounce with a 4.01lb largemouth! (sorry pops maybe next time). And of course we wouldn't be writing a true Bandit article without mention one of "the consitants" and that would be Mr. Jeff Wetzel of Mandan, ND. Wetzel took 4th place with a final total weight of 7.35lbs! Fishing in his first year as a Bandit as well as a first time fishing in SD was Steve Basinger (no relation to Kim) of Minot, ND. Basinger weighed in a final weight of 6.43lbs which propelled him to a strong 5th place finish. Way to go Steve! Our top Junior angler for this event was Tyler Schutt of Iowa. His final weight was 5.23lbs which just edged his big brother Eric Schutt who weighed in at 4.22lbs. A 3rd place finish went to Sara Schutt with a final weight of .155lbs. Great Job Junior anglers!
The next stop for the Bandits on the 2012 tour will be on August 18th at Sheeps Creek dam and August 19th at Lake Tschida. This will be the Bandits official Annual Club Camping Weekend. So bring food for our potluck supper on August 18th and get ready to battle it out for the Ladder Ball Championships! If ya wanna win that Championship ya better get lucky and draw a Wetzel teammate because every year one of them takes home the championship trophy! See you all there!
Mantz takes Lake Oahe
Well it was predicted to be a scorcher during the Bandits trip down to South Dakota for a weekend of fishing at Lake Oahe and Pudwell Dam, and for once the weather man was right. With temps in the high 90's as well as dipping into the century mark the hot weather proved to be a challenge for the anglers as well as the fish themselves. The past six weeks have been very hot across the Dakota's with very little rain fall. This long heat wave has put the fish in a negative mood, a mood that makes tournament fishing difficult. None-the-less the Bandits put on the SPF 100 sunscreen, packed more water than food in their coolers, dressed for the hot weather and met up with each other at the boat ramp on Lake Oahe for Saturday's event. It was a cool breezy morning to start the day, the bandits drew for the boat launch order and off they went. Many went north but most of them stuck around the bridge area near Mobridge in search of the BIG smallies that lake Oahe has to offer. Unfortunately due to the relentless hot weather the "Big" smallies never really showed up.
Two years ago a long run from Beaver Creek, ND all the way to Mobridge, SD (approx. 60 mi one way) payed off for Marty Mantz and Matt Sullivan. Once again Lake Oahe was kind to those two anglers again which prevented the hometown boys from cleaning house. Coming in with a total weight of 7.56lbs and big bass honors of 3.01lbs was Marty Mantz. This gave Mantz another 1st place finish on Lake Oahe. Matt Sullivan followed up with another Lake Oahe 2nd place finish with a total weight of 5.86lbs. The Wetzel's....a.k.a "The Consistants" are on a roll still by finishing strong once again. Janine Wetzel took a 3rd place finish with a total weight of 5.60 lbs and her hubby Jeff followed up nicely with a 4th place finish with a total weigh of 5.41lbs. Wow talk about a close battle in a single boat! Tony Reinbold (one of the hometown boys) was able to catch 2 nice smallmouths for a total weight of 2.47lbs which was good enough to give him a nice top 5 finish. We had a great Junior Championship turnout this weekend. The Schutts from Iowa visited the Bass Bandits this weekend. Sara Schutt was the top Junior angler for the Mobridge tournament by weighing in a smallmouth that tipped the scales at 1.71lbs! Way to go Sara.
All in all it was a long day for a lot of Bandits but thats how it goes sometimes if fishing would be easy it would be called Catching! After the tournament was over the Bandits held a short meeting in regards to Pudwell dam (Sunday's event location). Once the meeting was over the Bandits headed to the camp grounds and restaurants to get in some relaxation after a long day of S L O W fishing.
Sunday morning rolled around and it was FOGGY. The Bandits had to take extra precaution traveling to Pudwell Dam for Sunday's event. The boats were unloaded the chips were drawed and they were off...sort of. Due to the heavy morning fog the bandits did a "idle speed" only until the fog lifted. It was a calm, muggy, hot, foggy morning and the lake water was green due to the big algae growth from the hot temps. Many feared a slow fishing day but even with all of those negative factors Pudwell Dam actually produced a good number of bass. Last years champion Paul Reinbold was trying to reclaim the trophy again on his favorite lake knowing that it would be tough with the conditions as well as the good anglers that he was competing against. Jay Boldt of Isabel, SD came in with the three largest bass of the day to take a 1st place finish with a final weight of 9.59lbs. It was only fitting that Boldt won this event due to the long history of Reinbold and Boldt battling it out on Pudwell dam. (a friendly battle of course :) Not to be out done totally on his old stomping grounds was Paul Reinbold who finished 2nd with a final weight of 8.14lbs. Reinbold also took big bass honors with a 4.03lbs. Coming in with strong 3rd place finish was Tony Reinbold with a total weight of 7.45lbs, Tony just missed the big bass mark by 2 one hundreths of an ounce with a 4.01lb largemouth! (sorry pops maybe next time). And of course we wouldn't be writing a true Bandit article without mention one of "the consitants" and that would be Mr. Jeff Wetzel of Mandan, ND. Wetzel took 4th place with a final total weight of 7.35lbs! Fishing in his first year as a Bandit as well as a first time fishing in SD was Steve Basinger (no relation to Kim) of Minot, ND. Basinger weighed in a final weight of 6.43lbs which propelled him to a strong 5th place finish. Way to go Steve! Our top Junior angler for this event was Tyler Schutt of Iowa. His final weight was 5.23lbs which just edged his big brother Eric Schutt who weighed in at 4.22lbs. A 3rd place finish went to Sara Schutt with a final weight of .155lbs. Great Job Junior anglers!
The next stop for the Bandits on the 2012 tour will be on August 18th at Sheeps Creek dam and August 19th at Lake Tschida. This will be the Bandits official Annual Club Camping Weekend. So bring food for our potluck supper on August 18th and get ready to battle it out for the Ladder Ball Championships! If ya wanna win that Championship ya better get lucky and draw a Wetzel teammate because every year one of them takes home the championship trophy! See you all there!
Mobridge Information
The Bandits will be heading to South Dakota this weekend for their first Lake Oahe tournament. This lake is full of giant smallmouth so bring plenty of tackle to battle these bruisers! Above you will see a map with a red X to mark the spot of the boat launch site. This is the bay that we will be using for the tournament it's called "The Bay." If you hear somebody call it "Jed's Landing" that was its old name…so it's the same. This will be a great place to launch because it's right next to the camp site. The boat ramp is right next to a bait shop that has a lot of docks so we plan on setting up the scale right next to the dock and our boats can pull up and weigh up to avoid the hassle of running fish up and down the parking lot and back to the into water. One thing that you will need is a $5 permit to use the boat ramp here which can be purchased at the bait shop. However, if you purchase gas there you will get it for free. So make sure you get one before you use the ramp.
It would also be a good idea to get one on Friday to use for Saturday that way you won't have to do that Saturday morning. This camp site is a nice camp site it has running water and bathrooms. Here is the phone number to use to call ahead and reserve a camping spot: 1-605-845-2769. I believe the cost for a spot is $18. If you don't want to camp there are plenty of hotels in Mobridge which is just 5 minutes away from the launch site. As for navigating the lake it is a very safe lake, it's a big body of water much like Sakakajawea. If you are unsure of an area just stay in the middle of the lake to travel and you will be just fine. From what I have heard there will be lots of club members camping the night before including myself. See map below for a closer up view of "the bay."
On Sunday the bandits will head west of Mobridge on Highway U.S. 12 to Lake Pudwell which is located 4 miles east of McIntosh, SD (approx 50 miles west of Mobridge). This impoundment is located just on the North side of the highway and it is stocked full of big largemouth and should provide great fishing for everybody. This isn't the Bandits first tournament here, last year Pudwell proved to be a great fishery for the Bandits to enjoy and the expectation is just as high as last year. Make sure you pack plenty water to drink before, during and after the tournaments because I'm sure the warm weather pattern will continue throughout the weekend. If you have any questions about directions please feel free to call one of the club officers.
Janine Wetzel Wins on Sakakawea
Our first club camping weekend of the year and it couldn’t have turned out better, Mother nature decided to cooperate the day before the tourneys pre-fishing was outstanding with calm seas and good weather. It was a good thing because we were on big water! The night before storms rolled thru and storms were threatening us the morning of the first tournament which was held on Audubon Lake.
It was not too bad the wind came up for a while in the morning the water was rough the skies were cloudy and rain appeared immanent but it held off and the water calmed down and fishing was good, The Wetzel’s Jeff and Janine were on a mission Audubon is there favorite lake and they fish there many times throughout the year and they did well!
Top 3 For Audubon-
1st place : Jeff Wetzel 9.19 pds Big fish ( 3.38 pds)
2nd place : Janine Wetzel 8.30 pds
3rd place : Marty Mantz 8.24 pds
Everyone went back to the camps and some of us went to the bar in Cole harbor to have the gigantic prime rib steak! If you never had it, you are definitely missing out. Off to bed we all went after some fish stories and got up the next day to head over to Lake Sakakawea, the skies were blue and the wind was calm with heavy winds forecasted but not till later in the day. Mother nature was nice to us and held off the winds till the tourney was over, A good thing because Sakakawea is the biggest lake in ND and the second biggest man made reservoir in the USA so it can get very rough there fast.
Where does one go on a lake so big? The answer is simple wherever the weather allows you to go! Some boats took off headed to far off places and some stayed right in the bay we launched out of, there were boats scattered from 1/2 mile from the dock to more than 25 miles away. The Wetzel’s were at it again they fish this lake a lot also, Janine was on a mission to resolve the defeat by her husband Jeff the day before and she did just that taking home the trophy and again narrowly defeating Marty for the second time in 2 days by the slightest of margins.
Top 3 For Lake Sakakwea-
1st place : Janine Wetzel : 7.58 pds big fish ( 2.96 pds)
2nd place : Marty Mantz : 7.52 pds
3rd place : Nate Dirks : 6.63 pds.
It was a good weekend it was a Wetzel weekend! Jeff and Janine put the smack down on the fish all weekend long and moved up considerably in the standings it’ll be a very competitive year for those two. I guess we shall see in the end which one comes out on top. Marty hung in there, took the assault, and got a couple good finishes and narrow defeats by Janine to maintain the points lead. Congrats, Nate on your 3rd place finish. A good time was had by all and we shall se ya next stop in SD for the Mobridge and Pudwell tourneys, those should prove interesting for sure. Watch out for the Reinbolds on that set of tourneys it's tough to beat someone on there home waters.
Jeff Wetzel Takes Audubon
Jeff Wetel with some nice bass
Our first club camping weekend of the year and it couldn’t have turned out better, Mother nature decided to cooperate the day before the tourneys pre-fishing was outstanding with calm seas and good weather. It was a good thing because we were on big water! The night before storms rolled thru and storms were threatening us the morning of the first tournament which was held on Audubon Lake.
It was not too bad the wind came up for a while in the morning the water was rough the skies were cloudy and rain appeared immanent but it held off and the water calmed down and fishing was good, The Wetzel’s Jeff and Janine were on a mission Audubon is there favorite lake and they fish there many times throughout the year and they did well!
1st place : Jeff Wetzel 9.19 pds Big fish ( 3.38 pds)
2nd place : Janine Wetzel 8.30 pds
3rd place : Marty Mantz 8.24 pds
Everyone went back to the camps and some of us went to the bar in Cole harbor to have the gigantic prime rib steak! If you never had it, you are definitely missing out. Off to bed we all went after some fish stories and got up the next day to head over to Lake Sakakawea, the skies were blue and the wind was calm with heavy winds forecasted but not till later in the day. Mother nature was nice to us and held off the winds till the tourney was over, A good thing because Sakakawea is the biggest lake in ND and the second biggest man made reservoir in the USA so it can get very rough there fast.
Where does one go on a lake so big? The answer is simple wherever the weather allows you to go! Some boats took off headed to far off places and some stayed right in the bay we launched out of, there were boats scattered from 1/2 mile from the dock to more than 25 miles away. The Wetzel’s were at it again they fish this lake a lot also, Janine was on a mission to resolve the defeat by her husband Jeff the day before and she did just that taking home the trophy and again narrowly defeating Marty for the second time in 2 days by the slightest of margins.
1st place : Janine Wetzel : 7.58 pds big fish ( 2.96 pds)
2nd place : Marty Mantz : 7.52 pds
3rd place : Nate Dirks : 6.63 pds.
It was a good weekend it was a Wetzel weekend! Jeff and Janine put the smack down on the fish all weekend long and moved up considerably in the standings it’ll be a very competitive year for those two. I guess we shall see in the end which one comes out on top. Marty hung in there, took the assault, and got a couple good finishes and narrow defeats by Janine to maintain the points lead. Congrats, Nate on your 3rd place finish. A good time was had by all and we shall se ya next stop in SD for the Mobridge and Pudwell tourneys, those should prove interesting for sure. Watch out for the Reinbolds on that set of tourneys it's tough to beat someone on there home waters.
Bandits Double Header!
Lots of smallmouth to be caught this weekend!!
Better to serve you (the members) the Badlands Bass Bandits were looking for a solution to cut the cost down on traveling to tournaments. So back in February the club members decided to hold a few double headers this year. The first double header of the year will be held this weekend at Lake Audobon on Saturday June 30th and Lake Sakakajawea on July 1st.
The Bandit gang will be launching out of Three Mile Corner Ramp for the Lake Audobon tournament. If you are not familiar on how to get there turn east on the first highway just north of the Dam. Go about 4 miles and when the paved road curves to the north take a hard sharp right hand turn onto the gravel road and stay on it unitl you reach the boat ramp. Ya can't miss us we'll be the only group out there with bass boats! Lake Audobon is full of sunken islands so if you have a GPS use it to navitgate safely, if ya don't be sure to navigate your way through the lake at a safe speed....better yet just ask members and they can point ya in the right direction.
Once the weigh in for the Audobon tournament is done and the dust has settled we will head west just a bit to Fort Stevenson (by Garrison) on Lake Sakakajawea. That will be the launch location for Sunday's tournament on Sakakajawea. This is a large lake that can get rough reallly quick so if you have a small boat be weather conscious and stay inside the many safe bays this lake has to offer. There are smallmouths to be had every where! Oh and don't forget your tent and sleeping bag because many will be staying overnight! Good luck and stay tuned for the results of this mighty double header!
- Paul Reinbold
Mantz wins on windy Spiritwood Lake
Spiritwood wow what a pretty lake. Several members showed up the day before to fish and what a beautiful day it was temps in the 80's calm wind and the fish were cooperating everywhere we went. A lot of people camped out the night before and we had a good time. There is a little restaurant with a bar on the lake and a great camping site. Forecast for tourney day was not good though as vicious storms started to roll thru the area around midnight. Tourney morning dawned and the weather was completely different the wind was blowing 20 mph out of the NW and only increasing throughout the day, the sky was cloudy, and the remnants of rain were still there.
Numbers were drawn boats took off into the building waves and fishing began, while not a big lake the good thing about this lake was the fact that almost 100% of it was fishable and held fish. Fishing was tough on tourney day the wind was horrible 25 plus all day making boat control difficult, lots of small fish being caught throughout the morning and some anglers were driving around looking for bedded fish and having some success doing that. Jeff and Janine were having a good day boating plenty of fish although they had to take a break because of livewell troubles. Shaun was finding his groove catching some nice fish on crankbaits; he just couldn’t find the 3rd keeper. The boys from Minot had a tough tourney and the fish beat em this time around but I am sure they will come right back.
Marty was having a tough morning catching nothing but dinks but he kept returning to a good-looking point time and time again until the fish finally cooperated boating some nice smallies proving that persistence is he key to fishing and pulling out the win with 9.98 lbs of smallies. Marty also caught big bass with a smally weighing 3.89 lbs. Shaun Keena got his best finish so far at 2nd place catching two nice smallies for over 7 lbs on crankbaits, and Jeff Wetzel got 3rd place with some nice fish.
A lot of anglers had a tough time in the wind and a few found success. Overall, I would say this lake has a lot of potential and there are some very large smallies in there and we had a great time being our first time there, it is too bad Mother Nature had to hammer us with hurricane winds all day but that is fishing in ND. Driving home into this wind I tell ya was an experience! I could literally see the gas gauge dropping as I drove! Thanks to everyone that showed up, we had 17 anglers see ya guys at Audubon and Sakakawea.
Back in the Saddle
Marty Mantz with his catch
Well the Bass Bandits held their annual Ice Bowl tournament three months ago and it was a big success with such warm weather. Unfortunately on May 26th when the Bandits held their "Battle of the Canals" tournament on the McClusky water system Mother Nature reminded them who is in charge! It was a bitter cold and windy morning with temps in the mid 30's and light winds to start the launch off. Twenty three club members showed up for this year's event in hopes to catching those trophy smallmouths that lurk in McClusky chain of lakes. There were high chances of rain in the forecast for the tournament and thankfully that's where Mother Nature gave the Bandits a break and held the rain off until later that evening. Surprisingly the smallmouth bass were very cooperative and gave the Bandits a good showing!
Completing the top five with a 5th place finish was Nate Dirks of Minot with 8.47lbs. Dick Roland had an early morning bite go his way to help him bag a three fish limit that weighed 9.55lbs which was good enough for a 4th place finish. Of course when you come to a Bandit tournament at New Johns ya' know your going to have to beat one of the Wetzels. For some reason they just fish good at these waters and coming in with a strong 3rd place finish was Janine Wetzel of Mandan with a total weight of 9.85lbs her biggest bass was 4.04 lbs! Bring in a 9.88lb limit of smallmouth's was the Power Plant shootout champion Duane Lankford of Minot. Duane once again brought in the big bass of the tournament and set a new tournament record for biggest smallmouth that tipped the scales at 4.52 lbs. He is certainly making it hard for anyone to win the big bass of the year award right out of the gates this year! Another bandit angler that fishes very tough on these waters is Marty Mantz. For the 3rd time in a row Marty brought home the winning weight of 10.21lbs. It's probably a good thing that the Bandits are only fishing New Johns once this year because between Mantz and Wetzel it is a tough tournament to win.
The Bandits also crowned a Junior Champion that day, Dylan Sandberg took top honors in our Junior division with a three fish limit of 4.65lbs. Dylan's biggest bass weighed 1.65lbs and he is currently in the lead for Junior Angler of the Year. Way to go Dylan hope you and others can attend our next tournament!
Fun was had by all despite the cold weather. Out of the 23 members that showed up for the event 22 of them weighed in fish. That probably is a record and we will provide those details a bit later. The next stop for the 2012 season is a new lake called Spiritwood which is located by Jamestown , ND. This is a deep lake that offers big smallmouths and should be a good time on June 16th. Stay tuned to see what happens as well as keep track of the Rookie and Angler of the year race!
-Paul Reinbold
Power Plant Shootout 2012!
Duane Lankford get his first Bandit win!
It has begun! The 2012 Badlands Bass Bandits tournament season was kicked off with a bang at Lake Nelson. Twenty four club members enjoyed a great day on the water with plenty of Bass action to be had at this premier bass lake.
Before the tournament started members gathered around to go over the rules and participate in the “all sacred” chip draw. Once the chips were drawn from a hat the boats lined up in order and launched out of the sight. The boat launching portion of the Bandits’ tournaments is a different sight than previous years due to all of the new bass boats that have joined the family. It is truly a sight to see them skip across the water at interstate speeds! Once the launch site settled everyone was casting away in their favorite spots looking for the big ones. As the day went on the wind speeds increased which challenged the Bass Bandits boat control skills. No matter what Mother Nature threw at the Bandits they fished on and fish were caught, and a new champion was crowned….literally new.
Fishing in his first ever Badlands Bass Bandits tournament (excluding the Ice Bowl) Duane Lankford of Minot, ND caught and weighed a limit of three bass with a final total weight of 11.23 lbs. Lankford also caught the largest bass of the tournament that tipped the scale at 5.10 lbs. This will certainly give him a great start in the point standings in both the Rookie of the Year and Angler of the Year race! That big bass also put him in great position to win the Biggest Bass of the Year Award. Coming in with yet another great tournament finish was Cody “Hot Rod” Arth. Cody’s limit of bass weighed 9.05 lbs which gave him a strong 2nd place finish. Look out for this guy Bandits, he is on a roll and coming on strong! Rounding out the top three with a great 3rd place finish was defending champ and 2011 Angler of the Year Marty Mantz. Marty was able to piece together a late tournament run of big fish to help him weigh in at 8.49 lbs which secured him the 3rd place finish.
No doubt it was a great start to the 2012 season, there is a lot of tournaments left and it is certainly way to early to see who is going to be at the top when it is all over. But…let’s not get to far ahead of ourselves by talking about the end because we all know how fast summer goes by. The next stop on the Bandit tour is New John’s Lake and the rest of the McClusky Canal systemon May 26th. This impoundment is full of giant smallmouth and if you can find em’ the largemouth are just as big. So bring your whoppin’ stick because your going to need it hauling in these bruiser bronzebacks! We are currently scheduled to launch out of the East Park Lake ramp site however, there is construction underway there so please stay tuned until further notice. Hope to see you all there!
Paul Reinbold
Ice or Sunshine Bowl
The last weekend of March held the first chapter for the 2012 season for the Badlands Bass Bandits. To kick it off the Bandits hosted their annual Ice Bowl event. Typically the Bandits have to dress up like Eskimos and stand on shore trying to catch green fish, but this year with the unusual warmer weather pattern the gang wasn’t sure if we should call it a Sunshine bowl instead! Never the less the Bandits held a quick rules meeting that included team partner drawings before the launch. Once the teams were picked the anglers climbed into their boats and waited for the signal to start fishing. Boats headed every which way with hopes of finding the right fish to help their team partner to take home the traveling trophy as well as 1st place plaques. It was a beautiful morning with warm temps in the mid 70’s and light winds from the north. It was a calm and peaceful first hour and half of the contest with no boats moving to different locations. Everybody had a game plan and stuck with it. But as always someone makes a move and then everybody starts scrambling to the next spot hoping to catch a big one.
Fourteen members showed up for this year’s event which made splitting into 7 teams of two rather easy. This year’s teams were ( in no particular order) Matt Sullivan and Prairie Grate, Chase Fernandez and Robert Reinbold, Johnathan Campbell and Eric Vossler, Nick Keena and Eric Fernandez, Jeff Wetzel and Duane Lankford, Paul Reinbold and Marty Mantz, and Shawn Keena and Nate Dirks.
Each fish that was caught and measured had to be verified by another angler from a different team. Each member of the two person team had to record the lengths of their best 3 bass of the day. No member of a team was allowed to turn in more than their best 3. At the end of the day there were a total of 101 bass caught, which comes out to an average of 7 bass per angler. This number of Bass caught for this event crushes the old record by 30 Bass which was set last year on March 26th with a total of 71 Bass caught. Another record was broken this year that was also set during last year’s event, Matt Sullivan caught a 23 inch long Bass that beat the old record of 20.5 inches held by Marty Mantz back in 2011.
Coming in with a 7th place finish and a combined length of 51.5 inches was Team Jeff Wetzel and Duane Lankford. Team Shawn Keena and Nate Dirks finished with combined length of 89.5 inches, they’re largest bass was caught by Keena with a measurement of 19 inches! Edging out Keena and Dirks for a 5th place finish was Team Eric Fernandez and Nick Keena with a combined length of 90.5 inches. Team Eric Vossler and Johnathan Campbell stretched the tape measure with a combined length of 100.5 inches, Vossler caught the teams largest bass of 18 inches which helped them capture a 4th place finish. Team Robert Reinbold and young gun Chase Fernandez came in with an combined overall length of 102 inches for a strong 3rd place finish, Chase landed the teams largest Bass of 20.25 inches! Joining forces and turning in a combined length of 105.5 inches which secured a 2nd Place finish was Team Matt Sullivan and Prairie Grate. As mention above Sullivan land a Ice Bowl record 23 inch bass! By luck of the draw Marty Mantz and Paul Reinbold made up the seventh team that turned in a combined length of 108 inches which was good enough for a 1st place finish! Mantz brought home the bacon for the team by catching a 21 inch Bass which secured a top place finish for the team! At the end of the day the members enjoyed sharing stories and fishing information along with some free tackle provided by a premier bait company called Whiskey River Bait Company. All in all it was a great day with great weather and great people to share it with. If your interested in joining our club please visit our membership link and contact our club officers!
The next time the gang will get together will be on May 12th at Lake Nelson for the Power Plant Shootout! We will be launching from the southeast ramp at 7 a.m. mountain time. Please join us! - Paul Reinbold
2012
A Classic Finish - 2011
The Bass Bandits held their annual Classic Championship on Lake Nelson on September 24th and the 25th. This was the first time the Bandits did a two day tournament in the history of the club. There was much anticipation, especially since it was held on their favorite largemouth bass fishing lakes. There were high expectations of catching lots of big fish. But, even though the weather was kind to the Bandits for both days, the cooling temperatures at night caused the lake to do its fall turn over cycle. This caused the fishing to be slower and with a lot less big bites that were previously expected the Bandits found themselves scrambling all over the lake searching for the right fish. On day one it was Geo Wentz of Lemmon, SD weighing in as the leader with 3 nice bass with a combined weight of 9.27 lbs, which was just about a 1 pound lead over defending classic champ Marty Mantz who weighed in 3 bass for a day one total of 8.54lbs. Right behind Mantz was bassmaster Robert Reinbold of Timber Lake, SD with 3 bass with a combined weight of 8.22 lbs. Rounding out the top five finishers for day one were Janine Wetzel 6.21lbs and Cody Arth 6.06 lbs.
Even though there was a bit of a gap between the top 3 anglers and the top 5 anglers, everyone knew that you must perform even better on day two because that is usually the toughest day. When the sun finally broke the horizon the Bandits were getting their boats in the water. There were lots of gossiping going around on where everyone was going to start and what they were going to use. Every angler felt that it was going to be a better day on the water and for the most part they were right. In the morning the bass were biting fast and furious, taking top water lures, spinner baits, crank baits you name it they were eating it. But, that only lasted for a small time period and when the dust finally settled the fishing slowed down and the wind picked up a classic champion was crowned once again. For the third year in a row Mary Mantz came out on top with 2 day total weight of 18.38lbs. Coming in with a 2nd place finish was Robert Reinbold with 14.40 lbs, and third place went to Cody Arth with 13.98 lbs. It was a strong finishing performance by all three of these anglers that made it a close shootout!
Congratulations to all of our top performers and the rest of the club members for a great Classic Championship. The next and final stop for the bass bandits is the “Tournament of Champions” held on Fish Creek on October 1st. This is a first time event as well for the club. Members will be teaming up with each other and sharing fishing knowledge and competing amongst other teams. It should be a good time because Fish Creek is a great place to be in the Fall! Tune in for our next article when we review the 2011 season and list the end of the year awards. See ya on the water, “Bandits, Let’s Ride!”
- Paul Reinbold
Wetzel Hits His Stride...
Jeff Wetzel
It was a cool crisp morning at the ramp on Saturday,and the Bandits were ready to cash in on Lake Sakakawea's smallmouth fishing. All season long curiosity was lingering throughout the club on how the first ever tournament on Sakakawea would turn out. Calm and hot. The weather was perfect for the Bandits to get around the lake without worrying about rough water conditions. There were a lot of smallmouth caught that day which was anticipated by the Bandits prior to the tournament, however the majority of the fish that were caught were relatively small. But that didn't keep the bandits from enjoying there day on a new lake. The Bandits were well aware of the good salmon fishing that can be had on this lake, and all of them were hoping to hook onto one of them.
Many anglers did including Janine Wetzel, Dick Roland, Marty Mantz, and Geo Wentz just to name a few. When everyone got back to the boat ramp for the weigh in there were lots of stories being told about catching salmon as of course how the big smallmouth's got away!
At the end of the day it was Jeff Wetzel winning his first ever Bass Bandit tournament since joining the club when in started in 2006. Make no mistake about Jeff, he has plenty of top 5 finishes under his belt and he is one of the clubs most experienced bass anglers, but it is tough to win tournaments on a consistent basis when your married to his wife Janine, who is a past Angler of the Year and Classic Champion. So a BIG congratulations goes out to Jeff on his first ever win, now you can look up at that wall Jeff and say "that trophy there is mine!" Coming in with a strong 2nd place finish was Cody Arth. Cody has been working on his bass fishing skills all summer long and it has definetly shown in the tournament results book this year. Not only did he take 2nd place this past weekend but he won the New Johns tournament earlier this season. He also has been in the top 5 category for the Angler of the Year race all season. Keep up the good work Cody. Marty Mantz was the angler who brought home the biggest smallmouth of the tournament, it weighed 4.20lbs! Mantz has been strong and consisitently bringing in the big smallies at all of our smallmouth tournament sites....hmm...maybe next year we should vote for all largemouth lakes! Marty's big bass also helped him secure 3rd place by narrowly defeating Paul Reinbold who weighed in 3 bass with a total weight of 4.12lbs. Coming in with 3.64 lbs and a top 5 finish was Ed Crawford. Ed also brought in a dandy of a smallmouth that weighed 2.64lbs which was the 2nd largest smallmouth weighed in.
All in all the first tournament on Lake Sakakawea was a success with great weather, lots of fish caught, and the bonus salmon fishing! Hopefully next year when the club comes back the bigger smallmouth's that were spotted during the tournament will cooperate a little better. A special thanks goes out to Johnathan Campbell who did an excellent seminar on how to fish and rig a drop shot rig. It was definetly a treat Johnathan and we look forward to other seminars from you!
The next tournament on the Bass Bandits schedule is September 24th, this is the first day of the clubs' first ever two day classic. The angler who comes in with consistant weight for both days will win this convinent event. This is a tournament that is anticipated to qualify for as soon as the ice comes off in early spring. So tune in the following week of the tournament to here all about the the Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship weekend!
Sakakawea Up Next!
Well with only two tournaments left in 2011 season the Bass Bandits will find themselves fishing one of North Dakota's premier fisheries - Lake Sakakajawea. This is an all time first for the clubs 6 year history. This is by far the largest lake the Bandits have ever fished, so I am sure there will be plenty of fishing room.But with luxry there is usually a price to pay. Finding and locating smallmouth bass on such a large body of water may sometimes feel like your trying to find a needle in a haystack. But, there are a lot of good anglers in the club that are eager to help each other out to ensure that everyone will have a good day on the water....that is if mother nature has anything to say about. Not only is Lake Sakakajawea a great fishery but its large body can produce some massive waves. So be sure to check the weather report before you head out and fish it. This will help you decide where you can and can't fish, not to mention it will keep you safe! With the points race pretty much all sewed up the Bandits are pretty much shooting for bragging rights as well as ending the year with a good finish before heading into the Classic Championship at the end of the month.
Another great feature about this weekends tournament is the fishing seminar that will take place after the weigh in. If you ever wanted to know anything about drop shotting, our very own Johnathan Campbell will be doing a seminar on his favorite bass fishing technique - drop shot rig. Johnathan has become a very knowledgable angler in this area and has improved his tournament success in the past few years with this specific fishing technique. If your unable to attend the seminar email or call Johnathan and I'm sure he'll give ya all the tips and secrets ya need!
The tournament starts at 7 a.m. and weigh in is at 2 p.m. MOUNTAIN time at the State Park boat ramp next to the marina. If you are coming from the west drive through Pick City and when you pass the Bar n Grill keep heading east for a bit until you see sign for the state park. Turn left there and head north, go passed the toll booth that is located in the middle of the road (make sure you purchase a day pass unless you have a annual sticker pass). Just past the booth there will be a ranger station, keep heading straight until you get to a stop sign. Keep going straight until you get to the 2 marinas, on the left that marina is a private one and the one next is the state marina which is the ramp that we will be using.
Tune in next week for tournament results pictures and fishing tips!! Let's ride Bass Bandits!!
Mantz Takes Tschida
Lake Tschida certainly is one of the prettiest lakes that we fish all year long, the smallie population doesn’t seem to be up to par with the potential for this lake, hopefully the Game and Fish will do some stocking and this certainly could be a top notch fishery. The day before prefishing was HOT! And I mean temperature wise 95 and the winds were down and I was boiling out there! Fishing was ok about what you would expect for this lake a whole lot of little fish and not much else! The frog bite was on big time and it was pretty fun getting blow up after blow up. Tourney day rolled around we had good attendance and mother nature who has been kind to us all year long on tourney days decided that she wanted a little revenge.
Winds were out of the southeast and kept changing directions as two different fronts passed thru the area with winds of 25 plus and some real nice waves out in the main lake. I drew last so I was the starter and off the boats roared pretty much all of them headed west except for a couple. My game plan for the day was to be frog fishing and having fun but the wind was just too much for that in the areas I was going to fish. I headed to a bay to get out of the wind saw Paul and Prarie there and Tony and Amanda and Jason fishing was slow there not too much happening so I blew out of there and headed out into the lake and the wind searching for fish, I was going to try a point that the wind was hammering into but Cody beat me to it, I tried another bay no luck, off to the lake again I went to another windblown point, dropped the Terrova and threw on a crank and the third cast I caught two fish in one cast! I knew than I was in the right spot as I caught fish after fish for a good hour putting one keeper in the well. From there headed farther down the point the wind was horrible waves were in the three foot plus range rolling in there but there was a nice mud line developing and I started tossing tubes in there and catching fish, a nice 2.75 Pounder grabbed it and I dang near beached the boat in those waves trying to land that crazy fish! It turned out to be a good spot and I got a lot of fish there.
A lot of boats were roaring around the lake as usual I only seen one other person besides me fishing in the teeth of the wind and that was Matt everyone else was hiding in a bay someplace in calmer waters chasing there fish, if I have learned anything from many years of fishing it is that fish will always be attracted to windblown points and shorelines! Overall it turned out to be a good tourney, I especially enjoyed the good turnout for camping the night before. Here is your top 5.
1st: Marty mantz 6.65 Pds (3 SMB) also Big Bass 2.76 Pds
2nd: Tony Reinbold 4.26 Pds (3 SMB)
3rd: Bob Reinbold 4.19 Pds (3 SMB)
4th: Matt Sullivan 3.37 Pds (3 SMB)
5th Dick Roland 3.07 Pds (3 SMB)
Good job everyone it was a tough tournament with tough conditions to fish in and everyone did well! We had 20 anglers weigh in 30 fish totaling 42.86 Pds for an average of 1.43 Pds pre fish, see yak at Sakakawea! A massive lake with some massive fish!
Audubon Heats Up
Deryk Voller Audubon Champion!
Audubon was a good tourney this year! During prefishing it sure did not seem that it would be that way, for two solid days prior to the tournament the skies were full of storm clouds as front after front passed thru the area. Matt and I and anyone else that was prefishing spent more time racing for the dock and sitting in the truck to avoid those nasty storms than we actually did fishing!
Tourney day rolled around though and the forecast was for sunny skies and light winds Mr. weatherman got er right for once it was a beautiful day, the sun was bright and the clouds were gone and the fish hadn’t eaten much in two days and were hungry!. I proceeded to go to my chosen fishing place an island surrounded by a nice weed bed and shallow water my second cast whammo a solid hookup I thought nice a big one right off the bat, yeah ok it turned into a 12 pd pike! haha as I gently nursed him into the net so I didn’t loose my fav lure the smallies were liking, 3 casts later same thing another big pike, I kept persistent and circled my island nonstop all day and it eventually paid off and the smallies began biting and I got a nice limit.
I saw boat after boat race by me some going east some going west some passing me prob 10 or more times during the day going both ways in search of the fish! I thought I had done well little did I know that off in the distance Jeff and Janine were hammering the smallies on an island by the dam, Paul and Derik and prarie were hammering them along the dam also in a different spot, Jonathan and Eric were also banging away at the dam, Eric was out in the lake hammering away and matt was zipping around at light speed bouncing from island to island searching for the big ones.
This tourney was undoubtedly the best Audubon tourney since the inception of the club as far as fish being caught and weights produced. A total of 18 anglers participated weighing in 43 fish totaling 96.86 pds for an average of 2.25 pds per fish. That’s some good fishing. Here are your top 5 anglers.
1. Deryk voller: 9.17 pds (3 smb)
2. Eric Ehn: 8.97 pds (3 smb) also biggest bass 4.25 pds.
3. Marty Mantz: 8.91 pds (3 smb)
4. Jeff Wetzel: 8.54 pds (3 smb)
5. Matt Sullivan: 7.69 pds (3 smb)
Congrats Deryk on your first win this year, my darkhorse pick Eric almost got er done, maybe next time Eric, you put up a valiant effort. next on the agenda is lake Tschida on the 27th of August from 7am to 2 pm mst it has all the makings of another battle royal! see ya’ll on the water.
Return To New Johns
Marty Mantz with 3 giant smallmouth!
Return to new Johns: It looked to be a hot sunny day according to Mr. Weatherman, and of course he was right. The night before as several of us camped out was anything but dull! Large ominous looking clouds appeared on the horizon and threatened to wipe our tents right off the ground, things got hairy around 1 am when the storms came thru but it all turned out ok.
Tourney morning rolled around and the skies were clear the storm just a cloud on the horizon and the winds were light boats were pulling up and people were gathering and launching their boats, everything ran smoothly the meeting was held and off we went into the distant sunrise.
Some boats managed to get under the bridge, several people even did minor surgery to their boats to be able to make it under the bridge so it was about even with boats going east and boats going west. It looked to be a classic east vs. west battle of the canals again. My boat wasn’t going under the bridge no way no how! So off to the west I headed.
The weather straightened out the wind died down and the sun was hot I headed down the first canal throwing my bigfoot he didn’t get touched all the way down, I began to think uh oh was sup fish aren’t going to bite today! Headed for another destination second cast Mr. Frog got hammered by a big ol pig smallie, after a nice acrobatic show she was in the net things began to look up! On and on I fished side by side with Jeff and later with Cody it was a tough day very hard to get the fish to bite where I was fishing but eventually I had my 3 and they were some whoppers.
As the day passed saw the usual boats zipping around all over the lake in search of fish, weigh- in time arrived and boats were pulling in to the dock amid buzzing jet skis and boats pulling water tubes and skiers, it can be very testing on your patience when a jet ski buzzes ya while your fishing! Time to see how the boys fishing the east side did!
Some nice fish were weighed and then Marty stepped to the scale holding a bag full of giant smallies and a big smile, it was all but over at that point! Weighing in 3 smallies over 4 lbs for a total of 12.96 lbs! A new club record for smallies and the heaviest stringer so far this year beating his total from Nelson this spring. It was his second win in a row and 3rd overall for the season. Here is your top 5
Biggest Bass: Marty Mantz 4.45 lbs.
1st: Marty Mantz : 12.96lbs (3 smb) (new club record)
2nd Paul Reinbold : 7.01 Lbs (3 SMB)
3rd Chase Fernandez: 6.72 Lbs (3 SMB)
4th: Matt Sullivan : 6.42 Lbs (3 SMB)
5th Curt Manley : 6.09 Lbs (3 SMB)
26 fish were weighed totaling 57.86 lbs for a 2.23 lb average.
Next on the agenda is Audubon on the 13th of August! This is a very challenging lake to fish with some real big smallies in it! See ya'll there and watch out for things that go boom on ya prop!
Mantz Pounds Out Win on Raleigh Reservoir
Marty Mantz with 2 nice bass
Club camping weekend was held recently and it was a success with a lot of people showing up and good times had by all! first tourney of the weekend was a stop in Pudwell dam in South Dakota, prefishing was great with a lot of nice fish being caught tourney day rolled around and of course yet another front rolled thru the area and made fishing tough for some! Paul Reinbold used his local knowledge to his advantage and produced his first win of the season. Top 3 anglers were
1st place: Paul Reinbold 10.11 lbs (3 LMB)
2nd place: Jay Boldt 9.37 Lbs (3 LMB)
3rd Place: Dick Rolland 8.23 Lbs (3 LMB)
Big Bass: Levi Goldad 3.5 Lbs
A total of 22 anglers caught 43 fish weighing 95.98 Lbs for an average of 2.23 lbs per fish.
After Pudwell we picked up camp and headed north to Raleigh reservoir in North Dakota the endless fronts were still coming thru the area with nonstop thunderstorms on the horizon! Everyone set up camp and then we sat down and had a good meal together. Thanks geo and Mike for providing all the equipment as usual for the feast! When the food was done everyone gathered together for the annual Lawn Golf competition! For the second year in a row Shawn Kenna went into the final round undefeated only to go down in flames! Good times were had by all. Results for lawn golf:
1st Geo Wentz and Eric Ehn
2nd Shawn Kenna and Janine Wetzel
3rd Marty Mantz and Dick Roland
On to the tournament the morning of the skies looked gloomy and cloudy and it was windy a typical day it seems for us this year! Fishing was tough and a lot of anglers struggled all day to find fish, in the end it was Marty Mantz who conquered the competition for his second win of the year so far. Here's your top 3.
1st place: Marty mantz 9.09 Lbs (3 bass)
2nd place: Paul Reinbold 6.01 Lbs (2 bass)
3rd place Janine Wetzel 5.88 Lbs (2 Bass)
Big Bass Curt Manley 3.90 Pd (LMB)
A total of 18 anglers caught 14 fish weighing 39.12 Lbs for an average of 2.79 lbs per fish. In the tournament within a tournament chips were drawn for partners and we had a partner tourney for the weekend combined weight for Raleigh and Pudwell, results for that are as follows.
1st place: Paul Reinbold and Janine Wetzel
2nd place: Marty Mantz and Cody Roland
3rd place: Cody Arth and Mike Wentz
It was a good weekend and the angler of the year race has taken a interesting turn Paul with his win and his second place finish has put himself right back in it and it is virtually a tie right now with the end of the the first half of the season between Paul, Marty, and Matt! It's going to be a rock em sock second half of the year to see who wins it and well have a lot of fun along the way! Next stop on the tourney trail is our second visit to New Johns Lake on July 30th, see ya there! And thanks again to Geo and Mike for all the outstanding food and support you give us guys.
Reinbold Scores Big on Pudwell Dam
Paul Reinbold with 2 nice bass
Club camping weekend was held recently and it was a success with a lot of people showing up and good times had by all! first tourney of the weekend was a stop in Pudwell dam in South Dakota, prefishing was great with a lot of nice fish being caught tourney day rolled around and of course yet another front rolled thru the area and made fishing tough for some! Paul Reinbold used his local knowledge to his advantage and produced his first win of the season. Top 3 anglers were
1st place: Paul Reinbold 10.11 lbs (3 LMB)
2nd place: Jay Boldt 9.37 Lbs (3 LMB)
3rd Place: Dick Rolland 8.23 Lbs (3 LMB)
Big Bass: Levi Goldad 3.5 Lbs
A total of 22 anglers caught 43 fish weighing 95.98 Lbs for an average of 2.23 lbs per fish.
After Pudwell we picked up camp and headed north to Raleigh reservoir in North Dakota the endless fronts were still coming thru the area with nonstop thunderstorms on the horizon! Everyone set up camp and then we sat down and had a good meal together. Thanks geo and Mike for providing all the equipment as usual for the feast! When the food was done everyone gathered together for the annual Lawn Golf competition! For the second year in a row Shawn Kenna went into the final round undefeated only to go down in flames! Good times were had by all. Results for lawn golf:
1st Geo Wentz and Eric Ehn
2nd Shawn Kenna and Janine Wetzel
3rd Marty Mantz and Dick Roland
On to the tournament the morning of the skies looked gloomy and cloudy and it was windy a typical day it seems for us this year! Fishing was tough and a lot of anglers struggled all day to find fish, in the end it was Marty Mantz who conquered the competition for his second win of the year so far. Here's your top 3.
1st place: Marty mantz 9.09 Lbs (3 bass)
2nd place: Paul Reinbold 6.01 Lbs (2 bass)
3rd place Janine Wetzel 5.88 Lbs (2 Bass)
Big Bass Curt Manley 3.90 Pd (LMB)
A total of 18 anglers caught 14 fish weighing 39.12 Lbs for an average of 2.79 lbs per fish. In the tournament within a tournament chips were drawn for partners and we had a partner tourney for the weekend combined weight for Raleigh and Pudwell, results for that are as follows.
1st place: Paul Reinbold and Janine Wetzel
2nd place: Marty Mantz and Cody Roland
3rd place: Cody Arth and Mike Wentz
It was a good weekend and the angler of the year race has taken a interesting turn Paul with his win and his second place finish has put himself right back in it and it is virtually a tie right now with the end of the the first half of the season between Paul, Marty, and Matt! It's going to be a rock em sock second half of the year to see who wins it and well have a lot of fun along the way! Next stop on the tourney trail is our second visit to New Johns Lake on July 30th, see ya there! And thanks again to Geo and Mike for all the outstanding food and support you give us guys.
Club Camping Weekend 2011
Well ladies and gentleman it’s time to talk about the clubs most favorite time of year, and that is the club camping weekend! To start things off the club will be heading to Lake Pudwell in South Dakota which is just below the ND borderline, and then once that battle is settled, they will head back up north to Raleigh reservoir Saturday afternoon for some club camping fun. Perhaps the most anticipated event of the year isn’t actually a fishing tournament; instead it could be one of the clubs most favorite club camping weekend traditions. What is it you ask? I’m talking about the ladder ball championships that will be held Saturday evening after the big camping supper! Last year the team of Mike (uncle) and Curtis Wentz (nephew) of Lemmon, SD were crowned champions and I’m sure they will be ready to defend their title against some fierce competition. There is no money to win, just some sweat plaques ladder ball plaques and of course a year of bragging rights. Once all the dust has settled the club will huddle around a camp fire and tell all sorts of tall fishing stories and hilarious jokes.
Then on Sunday morning at 7 a.m. (Mountain Time) the bass bandits will get their boats in the water for the Raleigh Reservoir bass tournament. Weigh in will be at 2 p.m. to conclude the tournament and the club camping weekend festivities. So far this year Mother Nature has been kind to the bandits 2 out of the 3 tournaments, hopefully she will be kind to us for a whole weekend. Last year at Raleigh there were a lot of nice bass caught and weighed in and at the end of the day Mike Wentz of Lemmon, SD was crowned champion. I’m sure he will be antsy to get to work on those nice bass that Raleigh has to offer, but I am sure he and the rest of the members will have to battle through the thick population on northern pike to get to the bass.
In case you’re unfamiliar on how to get to Lake Pudwell SD, or Raleigh Reservoir here are some directions:
Drive to Raleigh, ND which is south of Flasher, ND. Once you get to Raleigh continue SOUTH on HWY 31 to McIntosh, SD. (approx 32 miles). Once you get to the junction of HWY 12 and 31, turn LEFT and head EAST on HWY 12 for 4.5 miles. Lake Pudwell is located on the north side of the highway and is clearly visible. Turn left onto the lakes approach, and head through the cattle guard and there you will be right at the boat ramp. For directions on how to get to Raleigh, well it’s simple turn around and head straight back where you came from! HA! But seriously, its south of Flasher, ND on ND highway 31. Once you get to the town of Raleigh turn and head west and drive until you get to the main street and then turn right and head north a two blocks then turn left onto a gravel road. Head 4 miles and there will be a Park and Lake Sign there that says Raleigh Reservoir.
Hope to see you all there, if you have any questions please contact the officers.
Battle At Fish Creek Dam!
Matt with the 3 bass that got him his first victory!
Tournament number three hits the books and for the third time this year we have a new champion! Competition has been fierce so far this year. Tourney day rolled around and as I approached the boat dock I saw vehicles and boats everywhere! It was certainly going to be a full tournament; the club had a very good showing for the tournament.
There were a couple new anglers in the crowd Eric brought a friend along and I brought my daughter Shania who is only 11 she did well and managed to weigh in two fish one smallmouth and one largemouth bass, and caught a lot of trout in-between!
Fishing as a whole was pretty good conditions were cloudy and a little breeze in the morning start and as the day wound down the sun came out and the wind died down and it was another beautiful day on the water.
The bass were bedding big time with the approaching full moon and the sunny day it was prime time for bed fishing and the Sullivan’s, Matt and Stephanie took full advantage of that, Paul was after the bedding fish also finishing early in the day, I fished the dam area along with Bob and Tony and several other boats, it's a small lake and everywhere you wanted to fish there was either someone on the bank fishing or another boat but everyone did a great job and shared the water with fellow anglers. The theme for the day seemed to be either fish the dam or look for bedding LMB in the bays plenty of anglers could be seen doing exactly that anyplace you looked, some did it better than others being from the south Matt has extensive knowledge of fishing for bedding bass and he proved it by defeating the rest of the field by more than 3 lbs! Results are as follows.
1st: Matt Sullivan: 10.99 lbs (3 LMB) and big bass at 4.08 PDS
2nd: Marty Mantz: 7.23 lbs (1 LMB 2 SMB)
3rd: Eric Ehn: 6.82 lbs (2 LMB)
4th Stephanie Sullivan: 6.32 Lbs (3 LMB)
5th Paul Reinbold: 6.27 Lbs (3 LMB)
Honorable Mention 11 Y/O Shania Mantz 1 SMB 1 LMB 3.5 Lbs. A total of 28 anglers participated in the tournament catching 29 Bass weighing 68.50 PDS for an average of 2.36 Lbs per fish.
Next tourney is the club camping weekend to be held at Pudwell dam in South Dakota and Raleigh Dam in ND, on the weekend of 18 and 19 June. Full details will be in the next report, till than stay safe and see ya on the water.
Marty.
Battle at Fish Creek Dam
Fish Creek Dam is next on the schedule for June 4th!
Ding ding ring the bell it is tourney time again! This time around the featured lake will be Fish Creek dam located in Morton county, ND. Fish creek Dam is a small lake at 52 acres but big on potential, it is absolutly loaded with tons of smallmouth bass and a pretty healthy population of Largemouth Bass also. It is a deep lake with an average depth of 18 feet and a maximun depth of 50 feet and has 2.3 miles of shoreline.
Fish Creek Dam is typically very clear water but with all the recent rains it is probably murky at best, It has a variety of different types of structure the northern end is where the creek enters and the shallower water can be found and the middle portion and most of the western side are very deep, huge schools of smallies can usualy be found suspended on any type of structure close to deep water, there are sunken trees in this lake also, dont be surprized if ya yank out a 7lb LMB cause they are in there!
Fish Creek Dam also boast a very healthy population of trout both Rainbow and Brown and there are some big ones in there 5 lb trout are common in this lake and trout over 10 swim these waters too. it is a great lake to take a kid fishing. There is a no live bait restriction on this lake and also it is idle speed only because of the size. Please be considerate during the tourney of your fellow fisherman it is a small lake and people will be fishing next to other people, hopefully the fish cooperate and everyone has a good time!
Tourney runs from 7 AM to 2 Pm MST Saturday June 4th make sure you are at the ramp and have your boat loaded a minimum of 30 minutes prior to take off time so we can get the drawings done and take care of business.
Directions: From Interstate 94 Take exit 134 (sweetbriar exit) you will see a sign says fish creek dam, from here it is mostly all gravel road, go 8 miles south than 2 miles east than 1 mile south and you will be at the boat dock on the north end of lake. good luck everyone and well see ya on the water
New Johns
Cody Arth with 2 giant smallmouth!
The streak is over! Prior to this tournament Marty had 5 consecutive victories going back to last season, and it was one of our youngest anglers in the club that decided that was enough of that!. Congratulations Cody Arth! On your first victory in the club so far and let’s hope there is more to come. It’s been nice being the reigning king of the circuit but all good things must come to an end and it couldn’t have happened to a nice young man than Cody.
It all started Friday while prefishing in nasty weather, Mother Nature was not so nice to us this time around for she dealt us a Colorado low pressure system that was huge and producing a lot of rainfall and wind! I can deal with the rain but I don’t know a single person that likes the wind! It was tough day prefishing.
Tourney day rolled around more of the same Winds that were supposed to be 5 to 10 of course tuned out to be 20 for most of the day and of course the rain had to join in also making it a difficult day. The drawing was held and off we went it wasn’t really a battle of east vs. west canals this year because the high water kept us from getting under the bridge to go east! So well call it battle of the west! The wind was kicking the rain was coming and off we went anyways not to be deterred.
Fishing was great for some surprisingly in this weather, and poor for others, I myself had a hard time zeroing in on the correct pattern, I thought I had it all figured out but all I had most of the day was follows, while in another part of the lake Paul and his group were just hammering the fish all day! Matt and Deryk were fishing the same waters as I was with similar results, Jeff and Janine also one here one there. A lot of anglers that stuck to the first canal were striking out too.
Finally about 1 hour before weigh in the sun came out a bit and the winds let down and the fish instantly responded and Cody was in the right spot at the right time and stuck it to them! Matt and derrick made a last minute charge and did well also. I picked up my last fish and lost a giant oh well that’s how she goes, Paul lost several large fish that day. A lot of very nice fish were weighed even in the miserable weather! New Johns Lake system and associated canals are loaded with giant smallies and fishing can be exciting given the correct circumstances.
Here are the top 3.
1. Cody Arth 9.79 lbs (3 fish) also biggest fish (4.41) lbs
2. Paul Reinbold 8.82 lbs (3 fish)
3. Matt Sullivan 8.75 lbs (3 fish)
Full results and pictures can be found on the website. Thanks to all that came and participated even in the weather! And geo and Mike keep making them burgers! And bring that magic hot chocolate machine! We’ll see everyone at Fish creek on June 4th!
Battle of the Canals!
New Johns is next on the schedule for May 21st!
Well mark it down ladies and gentleman the first tournament of the year is in the books! The Bass Bandits had a great turn out of club members on the 7th of May held at Lake Nelson, which is one of the best bass fishing lakes in North Dakota. The next stop on the tour for the Bass Bandits will be held at New Johns lake on May 21st, the Bandits will be docking out of the east park boat ramp.
New Johns lake is one of North Dakota's most premier smallmouth fisheries as well as one of the Bass Bandits favorite place to come and fish. New Johns is a large lake with lots of fishing to be had, along with the canals that connect Heckers and East Park lake together this smallmouth fishery gives anglers the opportunity to catch a bass of a lifetime! Just ask veteran Bandit angler Jeff Wetzel of Bismarck who weighed in a smallmouth that tipped the scales at a whopping 4.47lbs which was big enough to edge out Marty Mantz's largest bass of the day by .24lbs. That big smallmouth gave Wetzel the big bass award for the day along with the largest smallmouth award for the 2010 tournament season.
I'm sure all of the anglers fishing in this weekends tournament will have Wetzels big bass in the back of they're mind while they pick and choose which three bass to weigh in for the tournament. Regardless of whether the fish bite or not, I know that I speak for all the members of the club and when I say "hopefully we have good weather for the tournament." Even though these lakes offer canals for the anglers to hide in and fish out of heavy winds but when it comes time to weigh in traveling across the big bodies of water can be a little risky. Regardless of the fish and the weather, one thing is and will be for sure...the Bass Bandits will be ready for a Battle on the Canals!
Season Kicks off at Nelson Lake!
The first tourney of the year was held last weekend and for once Mother nature decided to cooperate, there were a lot of club members that showed up to pre-fish the days prior to the tournament, Shawn and Dick and several others decided to camp out. Would this be the day that someone could end my streak of wins? And do it at my home lake? Only time would tell.
The day of the tournament rolled around and it was a beautiful Saturday morning with temps around 40 and highs for the day in the upper 60's and the wind decided to play nice for once and it was calm seas almost all day long! Almost too calm! I was actually wishing for a little breeze to get the fish active and chomping!
The meeting was held and a couple new members showed up people hit their boats and were launched in the order they drew out of a hat. Lucky me I got 2nd to last drawing as usual! The boats headed out with a roar and off they went all peeling to different directions and destinations, when it was finally my turn I pulled out into the lake to survey what the competition was up to. I headed towards mid lake and saw a swarm of boats circling the rock piles like sharks! Must have been 6 boats or more within 50 yds! Not the spot for me I don’t like crowds! I knew where Matt would be so I did not go there right away, I scanned the situation and headed for my ledge and started cranking within minutes I had 2 four pd plus bass and a big smile, didn’t take long competition to notice as several of them decided it would b fun to just pull right in and sit right on my spot and ruin my fishing so I left to go see what everyone else was doing.
People were everywhere the banks were being assaulted from many different angles! I went to a place where nobody was and resumed fishing. It was a great day to be fishing for once probably the best weather opener that we have ever had! The fish were cooperative and the fishermen and women were having fun catching them too! Boats were zipping around all over the lake, it was a great opener! Results are as follows.
1st place Marty Mantz 12.47 lbs (3 LMB)
2nd place Matt Sullivan 10.63 lbs (3 LMB)
3rd place Dick Roland 10.02 lbs ( 3 LMB)
Largest Bass: Matt Sullivan 5.67 lbs
A total of 26 anglers participated weighing in 51 bass totaling 119.24 lbs ( a new record) for an average of 2.4 lbs per fish! This is also the 5th tourney win in a row for Marty! Going back to last year another new club record! Thanks Geo and Mike again for the mini burgers! I think I ate 4 of them! Full results and pictures can be found on the website!
Next tourney will be held at New Johns lake Launching out of East Park Lake ramp on 21 May 2011 from 7 am to 2 Pm MST, looking forward to seeing everyone out there and the camping! This could have the potential to be a record breaker tourney again if the water temps are right! So gear up on your smallie fishing arsenal and prepare for battle!
Nelson Tournament!
Well it certainly has been a long tough winter! and by the looks of things outside it is not over with quite yet! A couple days ago I was fishing out at Nelson Lake and it was 70 degrees and sunny and perfect! it was a good day, and than of course Mother Nature decided that she would hit us once again with 50 mph plus winds and some more of that yukky white stuff!
It's time people! regardless of mother nature has in store for us the tournament season starts this Saturday May the 7th at Nelson Lake located 5 miles east of Center,ND. Tournament starts at 7am MST and ends at 2 PM MST. Be at the dock early enuff that you can have your boat inspected and be launched and ready for action 30 minutes prior to the start time!
With the way the weather has been this year it looks as though we are not going to have spring? but we will fish on no matter what! Nelson is back to full pool again after being lowered for the melting snow and now filled again by the creek, water temps are really up and down changing daily with the weather, the plant is back to running full speed and pumpin out a lot of water!
Couple things to note be cautious of the bank around any high bluff areas! the soil is eroding bad this year and there have been several large landslides! twice one has occured not far from where I was fishing, do not walk on the bank anywhere on the east side that has bluffs, you could be risking your life! watch out for debris on the lake I almost hit a floating log the other day! the creek really let loose this year putting a few hazards in the lake so dont b roaring around unless your paying attention! there are softballs floating all over the place in the lake! they will make a nice little dent at full speed! for any new anglers when launching from the east boat dock go straight out into the main lake a long ways before turning, there are large rocks on your left and shallow shallow on your right.
It will be good to see everyone again! and of course any new members will be greeted warmly, Defending champ from last spring is Paul reinbold from Dickinson, I am sure he will try hard to keep his crown, but there are lots of people out there that will try to take it away! should b a great tournament with a lot of fish being caught! Janine will probably catch a big one like she always does, time for one of the youngsters to step up and show us how its done! who is it going to be?
This week weather looks to be rainy a lot of the week including a 60% chance of rain on Saturday with temps around 60 and W/NW winds around 15 mph, things could change between now and than but rain is likely so bring a good set of rain gear and some warm clothes! get out and dust the snow off your boats! spool up some fresh line, pick your favorite lures! and well see ya on the water Saturday! good luck to all
2011 Ice Bowl Nelson Lake
Mr. weather man said it was not going to be a nice day! This years ice bowl certainly lived up to its reputation the forecast called for temperatures in the 20's with winds to match in the 20 mph range from the southeast! Upon arrival at the dock at 7 AM I took one look at the lake and knew it was going to be a cold cold day on the water! the Ice Bowl is a different format where the fish are measured and released right away instead of weighed for a total of 6 fish between two anglers for most total length.
Matt met me there early and we launched the boat it was so cold it took 5 minutes for water to come out of the motor! I did a quick spin around the lake to check water temps and they were about what I figured they were in the high 50 degree range midlake.
The wind was howling and the waves were growing by the minute people started to pull up to the dishcharge area and congregate around, I pulled the boat in and tied er up no small task in the howling wind and low water situation! everyone milled around for a bit and than it was time to draw some numbers and make some teams, after that was over several people decided to stay and fish the dishcharge area and I gave boat rides to the rest over to the east side usual places.
Fishing was tough to begin with for some and good for others Matt and I hit a school right away and than did not catch another fish for 2 hours! Geo and the boys over at the canal were rackin em up pretty good from the bank, with Geo landing a nice 5 pd fish! Jeff and Janine were having a tough time catching fish over on the east side while Paul and Jason were busy whackin em left and right just a hundred yards down the bank! (location location)!
With about 90 minutes left and no considerable fish to brag about Matt and I made the corporate descision to stop fighting the wind and slow down some since the fish were not overly aggresive and we anchored by a ledge and started pitching soft plastics to the fish! it turned out to be a wise descision as we hammered em pretty good and caught some nice ones.
Tourney results are as follows:
1st place Marty Mantz and Jonathan Campbell 6 fish 110 inches
2nd place Matt Sullivan and Janine wetzel 6 fish 104.5 inches
3rd place Jason Bader and Chris Markham 6 fish 95.5 inches
Biggest bass was marty mantz with a 20.5 inch Bass a very close runner up was Geo Wentz with a 20.25 inch Bass! A total of 12 anglers fished and caught a lot of bass right around 70 fish! Full results and pictures can be found on the website!
Next tourney is the Nelson lake opener on May the 7th! unit 2 is currently down but is supposed to be back into operation on April 8th! so the lake will warm up considerably when it comes online, on the downside the creek is a runnin pretty good and will flood the lake with a lot of cold water sometime in the next week so plan accordingly! It was nice too see familiar faces out there and do a little fishin with the club! the weather has been horrible so far this year so hopefully it will change and well get some sunshine?????? haha. See ya on the water get out there and practice up! cause ya know I will be!
Badlands Bass Bandits
Mid-Winter Meeting Minutes
February 19, 2011
The meeting was called to order by our president, Geo E. Wentz with 17 members present.
The treasurers report was given by Paul Reinbold and approved.
Old Business:
1. Adult memberships will remain at $25.00 with tournament fees at $20.00. Junior memberships (those under the age of 16) will remain at $10.00 but tournament fees will increase to $20.00
2. The Bag Buster Award will be changed from one category of a three fish limit of both largemouth and smallmouth to three categories of Largemouth Bag Buster, Smallmouth Bag Buster and Largemouth and Smallmouth Bag Buster.
3. The Horizon Award will be given to the anglers who have improved their tournament success over last season.
4. In case of a tie during one of our tournaments we will now have a three tier tie-breaker rule in plade. 1st- largest bass, 2nd - greatest number of fish caught, 3rd –flip of a coin. During weigh-ins each angler will weigh his largest bass of the tournament separately.
New Business:
1. No shore fishing will be allowed during a Bass Bandit Tournament
2. No one over the age of 16 will be allowed to ride along during a tournament without paying the entry fee, whether they fish or not. An angler under the age of 16 may ride along whether they fish or not fish, free of charge but will not be considered for awards and prize money.
3. Definition of a Rookie was discussed and was decided that New Members will be allowed to decline participating in “Rookie Of The Year” based on their past fishing experience. Members that had only fished (1) one tournament their first year will be allowed to fish their second year as a rookie.
4. If no fish are caught during a club tournament, trophies are not handed out and prize money is awarded by individual chip draw for places awarded.
5. To qualify to fish the Classic Championship members must have fished a minimum of (3) three tournaments during the season or have been a member in good standing for at least 2 consecutive years.
6. Discussion was held on Dates and Lakes to be fished during the 2011 season. 10 tournaments will be held during the 2011 season. If a tournament is cancelled due to weather, no make-up tournament will be assigned. Each angler will have (2) two drop tournaments no matter how many tournaments that have to be cancelled. Dates and Lakes can be seen in the tournament schedule found on the site. The Classic Championship will be a two day tournament. Prizes will be based on the total weight of both days.
7. On October 1st there will be a Tournament of Champions to be held at Fish Creek. Pairings for the tournament will be based on the Angler of the Year Standings. Top angler will fish with the last place angler, 2nd place angler will fish with 2nd to last place angler and so on. If a member can not be there the next member will take his place.
8. It was approved that (2) two signatures will be put on the club checking account.
9. Whether pre-fishing would be allowed the day prior to a tournament was discussed and after a majority vote, the motion passed and pre-fishing will be allowed.
Election of Officers
President: Matt Sullivan
Vice President: Paul Reinbold
Secretary: Geo E. Wentz
Treasurer: Jeff Wetzel
Conservation/Safety Director: Johnathan Campbell
Tournament Directors: Janine Wetzel
Marty Mantz
Website Manager: Curt Manley
The meeting was adjourned.
Excuse me if I don’t have who made the motion and who seconded them but all motions were discussed thoroughly and approved by the majority of members present. I would like to thank Johnathan for giving us permission to have the meeting at the Former Governor’s House, setting up the tables and chairs and providing coffee, cookies and treats. We had a very good year as a club and i know with the leadership we have in place at this time we should have some really great years ahead. i thank you all.
2011
Nelson Classic 2010
2010 was quite the year with numerous club record being set, Nelson Lake was the scene for the 2010 Classic Championship as usual mother nature made the day a tough one with winds out of the southeast pushing 20 MPH and big waves rolling across the water, as we all stood there the scene appeared eerily familiar to the previous year with cold weather and fog clouding the whole lake finally a descision was made that we would start 15 minutes late again only idle speed as anglers dissapeared into the fog and out into the lake in search of fish.
Fishing was overall not too bad given the circumstances upon arrival to my spot I turned the bow into the wind and dropped the terrova to the full 60 inches and cursed at the wind and started fishing it wasnt but a few minutes until I located my fish and proceeded to catch them at a steady pace as the bow of the boat dipped up and down with the wind driven waves, Matt was not far away as were several other anglers all battling the wind and cold. It was difficult to see other boats with the fog it was kinda like I was in my own little world. as the day went on the wind got worse and it was a constant battle to try and stay in position to fish but on we went after all this is the classic! I saw boats zooming around in the fog and waves all day long in search of the big one, I stuck to my game plan and fished only one area the whole entire day back and forth like a little robot.
Finally quitting time rolled around and everyone headed back to the docks lots of fish were being weighed in and many a curious angler wondered if they had enough weight to win, but in the end it was Marty Mantz of Center defending his title and taking the classic championship for the second year in a row on his home waters. A total of 22 anglers weighed in 48 fish weighing 86.25 pounds and a 1.8 pound average. Full results and pictures can be found on the website, here are the top 3.
1st place Marty Mantz 8.99 pounds
2nd place Janine Wetzel 6.75 pounds
3rd place Mike Wentz 6.57 pounds
Big Bass Janine Wetzel 4.55 pounds
After the tourney was over we all had some really good food and handed out several year ending awards to wrap up the season.
Angler of the Year: Marty Mantz
Rookie of the Year: Matt Sullivan
Horizon award (most improved) Jonathan Campbell/ Mike Wentz
Fish Hater: Chris Markham
Bob Reinbold: Biggest Largemouth bass 5.90 pounds at Sheep Creek Dam.
The following are all new club records!
Jeff Wetzel: Smallmouth bass 4.47 pounds at New Johns Lake!
Marty Mantz: bag buster award 3 smallmouth bass weighing 10.8
pounds at New Johns Lake.
Marty Mantz: 4 tournament victories in a row!
Marty Mantz; Most point ever in the AOY race 67
It was great year with lots of fish being weighed in and the fish copperated at almost every tournamnet we fished this year! SweetBriar was a tough one with everyone grinding all day long long to catch fish, New Johns as usual produced heavy bags of Smallies and two new records!, Nelson came through as usual with lots of fish, raleigh produced many quality fish this year,Sheeps Creek produced 5 stringers of 8 pounds or more and gave up a big one to Bob, Audubon was another tough one but Janine figured it out and took the trophy.
All year long Geo showed up with a smile and his trailer and made good food for anyone who was present, A lot of us owe Geo a lot of thanks for all the services he provided to us this year! I will never forget coming off of Tschida Matt and I and Shaun and several others fished all day in the snow and sleet and were frozen when we came in only to find Geo standing there with a Hot Chocolate Machine waiting for us! we all stood around the fire and filled ourselves to the limit until we were warmed up again as we looked around and there was an inch of snow in our boats!
Things like that and people like that you never forget! it was a good year with a lot of good memories! see ya all in Bismarck at the meeting in February, times and details to be relased later.
Mantz Takes Top Spot At Tschida
Marty Mantz
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a small mouth bass! haha who would have ever thought it was going to snow? It all started the day before several members showed up to prefish to find some of them big smallies Paul keeps talking about. Upon arrival at the lake at 8 AM I met Matt at the boat dock the wind was howling and the skies were Grey and it was cold! we fished here and there and the fish were actually biting to my surprise but as the day went on the weather got worse and worse and rain and sleet balls forced us back to the boat dock several times to dry out and warm up, Shaun was there too we were all thinking what are we doing out here! that was pretty much the story of the day all day getting pelted with frozen sleet balls and or rained on so we called it quits, I had enough i was cold!
Heading to the campgrounds a lot of members were there but the one I was the most happy to see was Geo and his magic hot chocolate machine! what a site to see for some cold and hungry anglers! 3 or 4 cups of that and I was feeling better and sitting by the campfire roasting my gloves on a stick to dry them out as it started to snow like crazy! I looked over at the boat and it had an inch of snow in it and I thought this is crazy! it's going to be a long night!.
Tournament day rolled around and it was a chilly 36 degrees at the kickoff and everyone was bundled up and ready to roll. after about an hour it was apparent that the fish were feeling the effects of this weather and Tschida was going to deny us the opportunity to catch some of them big fish that are in there, the theme of the day was fish hard and keep anything over 12 inches and that is what everyone did, there was a lot of fish caught but nobody managed to find the big ones.
1st place was Marty Mantz with 3 fish 5.2 pounds.
2ND place was Bob Reinbold with 3 fish and 4.5 pounds.
3rd place was Paul Reinbold with 3 fish and 3.83 pounds after a dead fish penalty
Big Bass of the day was caught by Jonathan Campbell at the boat dock we launched off of with 10 minutes left in the tourney weighing in at 2.32 pounds. Congrats Jonathan!
There were 19 anglers participating and they weighed in 29 fish weighing 41 pounds for a 1.41 pound average. Full results and pictures can be found on the site! thanks Geo and Mike for the food and Especially the hot chocolate machine! that was a life saver Friday night!. thanks to everyone who showed up for the tournament the Reinbold's were there in full force! hang in there Shaun I know your going to win one soon! keep fishing hard. practice practice practice and you will get there! there is one more tournament left and it's the big one at Nelson Lake on OCT 2ND well see what mother nature has in store for us there!
Another Win For Mantz on Missouri River
Matt Sullivan and Marty Mantz
Beaver bay was a tough tournament it was the first time for the club having a tournament at this location it is a large body of water with a lot of structure to figure out! Prior to the tournament I had went down there one day with Jeff and Janine and we fished most of a day pretty hard and did not manage to catch anything but some northerns, A few days later I took another trip down there with Matt and we made immediate plans to head south to try fins fish down there we fished pretty hard also and managed to catch a couple smallies but nothing special.
Tournament day rolled around and mother nature once again decided to make our day special! winds were out of the Northeast at around 15 mph in the morning when we arrrived at the location lots of people that had camped the night before were up and roaming around and getting ready for the day of fishing, having fished there twice and not catching anything in the launch area I knew where Matt and I were headed regardless of the wind.
Launch time rolled around and off we went plowing throught the waves at a good pace we were headed south way south to the Pollock area where we knew there was at least a few fish, I looked over and Matt had two hands on the steering wheel and a look of concentration on his face as he navigated the rough water on our way down there there wasn't much I could do except hold on and prepare for the next slam of a wave! I gotta say I have new found appreciation for a Bass boat to handle rough water Matt's Triton performed magnificently!
Arriving at the Pollock area we fished hard time flew by I caught 2 smallies there but sadly neither one was a keeper I looked at my watch it was 1130 time was running out and I looked over too see Matt plugging away at the GPS he looks at me and says Mobridge is only 17 miles away! i didn't say anything I was busy checking the skies to see what the wind was doing cause it had been blowing pretty hard all morning. Before ya know it off we went and soon enough we arrived in the area we had one hour to fish there before we had to head back to the dock area! we fished a point by a bridge and down the rocks and that produced several follows and several fish but again little dinks.
clock was ticking and the pressure was on he asked me what did I want to do? answer was simple I thought we needed to hit the deep water on the point again and just out from that was bridge pilings that's when I had a Mike ichonelli moment ever fishing show I watch of his he goes bonkers when he gets around bridge pilings so I followed suit and i tossed a tube out in the deep blue yonder and it was met with a solid thud about 5 seconds later, well that's all it took and we instantly switched gears and put it to em in the short amount of time we had, I had my three fish within minutes and Matt was having a hard time catching any? I made a few cast caught and released a couple more than asked him what size his jig was? it was lighter than mine so the fall rate was different and they didn't want it, a quick switch to the size I was using and he boated his 3 in short order.
Sometimes it's the little things that make a difference in a day pay attention to how your lure is reacting in the water and if your boat partner is catching a lot more fish than you than maybe you should take 2 minutes to figure out why! It was a tough tough day on the water with big waves and lots of wind making fishing very difficult.
Top angler of the day was Marty Mantz of Center with 3 smallies and 8.93 pounds also the biggest bass at 3.36 pounds. Second place was Matt Sullivan of Bismarck with 3 fish and 5.98 pounds. The rest of the field did not manage to boat any keeper bass but there was some pretty nice walleyes caught! pics can be seen on the website! Thanks Geo and Mike for the great food afterwards those MMB sure taste good after a rough day on the water.
next tourney will be at Lake Tschida! I am sure that Paul will be licking his lips for this one as it is one of his favorite lakes, that being said i am sure there will be lots of other anglers that will try and take him down! I think Bob is gonna put up a mighty battle and be hard to beat! I got skunked there last year so my goal is to catch 3 fish this year! see ya on the water.
Marty
Missouri River
Well here we go again this time around it is on the biggest water we have faced so far this season. The tournament this week will be held on the mighty missouri river at the Beaver bay boat ramp located aprroximatly 60 miles south of Bismarck, ND along highway 1804, from Bismarck follow 1804 south till you hit the Linton Turnoff and head west approximatly 5 miles the ramp is right by the bridge in the bay. Tournament times are from 7 AM to 2 PM MST saturday August 28th.
This is a missouri river tournament the first of its kind for our club although the river in that area is so high and flooded right now its looks more like a lake than a river! where to fish? the possibilities are endless! you can go south or north for many miles and not run out of water, keep in mind the weather conditions at the time as it is big water we are fishing this time around! dont put yourself in a bad situation if weather should come up!
There are many species of fish in the river too many too list! one thing to keep in mind as your flying down the water in search of fish is that due to the drought for many years there has been substantial tree growth in the low water areas and now that the water is once again to high levels there are submerged trees everywhere you will go! when navigating the main channell stay in the old river chanell and youll be fine, when leaving that to approach a shoreline take caution and slow down and keep your eyes peeled for underwater hazards of which there are many! hopefully everyone returns with there props intact!
It is a lot of water to cover so I guess well see who finds the fish! they are there and they have many many places to hide! good luck to all and well see ya saturday! going to be an interesting tournament! some will run far and some will stay right at the marina
New Johns Round 2!!
Tony Reinbold & Jason Bader
Round two at New Johns lake! this time around it was a teams tournament in the battle of East vs West this time around the trophy goes back to the west side! You can blame that on mother nature as she played a dirty trick on us this time around!
Looking at the weather forecast a few days before the tournament I knew it was going to be ugly. The morning of the tournament dawned and the skies looked Grey and the promise of rain was in the air, the wind was blowing a steady 10-15 at the start and it got nothing but worse throughout the day. The logical choice was to go west and hide in the canals out of the wind, but logic didn't enter my mind as Matt and I and several others headed to the East into the wind and waves in search of big fish, several times throughout the day I pondered our decision to go that way as we battled 30 mph winds and waves it was almost impossible to cast and to feel the fish when they did bite! oh well lesson learned congrats to the west side anglers! you wont be so lucky next time! I say bring it on! well see who's holding the trophy next time! I am throwing the challenge out there and saying the trophy comes back east next time!
Champion anglers of the day were Tony Reinbold and Jason Bader with 12.45 pounds
second place were Eric Ehn and Bill Novac with 12.09 pounds and third place was marty mantz and Matt Sullivan with 10.69 pounds. Full results can be seen on the website.
Big Bass was again caught by Jeff Wetzel a dandy 3.89 pound fish beating me by 1/10th of an ounce yet again! He used a tube I gave him before the tournament to catch it! now is that angler participation or what! thanks Jeff!!!!! I guess the bigguns like that one!
Mother nature showed us that she is in full control of our day and good job to those that took advantage of those diverse conditions and excelled to catch fish! thanks to Geo and Mike as usual for the awesome burgers and food afterwards, it's getting to be tradition to stand around afterwards and eat some food and tell some stories! Next tournament is at the Missouri River out of beaver Bay! see you there! this should be an interesting one!
New Johns Tournament
There will be a team tournament on 14 Aug 2010 from 7 AM to 2 PM MST on the New Johns Lake GDU canals complex, Launching point will be the usual East Park Lake access boat dock.
Ding Ding let the bell sound for round two at this fabulous lake and canal system! this time around it is a tournament featuring fishing with partners! rules and regulations and all thta stuff will be explained by Geo prior to launch at the start of the tournament Saturday morning.
Let the battle of East VS West begin! last tourney was won by a fisherman fishing the east side! but 2nd, 3rd, and 4th all came from the west side! who will win this time? which deirection will the boats head? I guess we will see the strategy play out when we launch and the boats head out for battle.
One thing is for certain the fish population in this system is alive and healthy and there are some very large fish swimming around of all species and if the last tournament was any indicator than this looks to be another record breaking tournament with some big weights coming in and a lot of smiling faces.
This tournament is not for points towards and or status for angler of the year of rookie of the year it is for the pure fun and enjoyment of the anglers so make sure you find yourself a partner and see you on the boat dock saturday morning and lets have some fun. Weather looks to be a bit cooler than recent with temps in the mid 70's and wind out of the Northwest, bring some rain gear! you never know when a storm may pop up these days!
P.S. Jeff I will be gunning for your smallie big fish record! gonna be hard to beat that fish! but I will be trying!
Marty.
Wetzel Wins Tough One At Audubon
Janine Wetzel takes first
Club camping weekend was a success mother nature blessed us with a weekend of nice weather and low winds, that in itself was a minor miracle as hot sunny days and low winds do not usually lend them self to success full fishing days.
Audubon was a tough tournament with sunny skies and low winds and big water to cover to try and find some fish, Audubon is covered with hundreds of islands and rock piles and weedbeds galore unfortunatly some anglers found those rockpiles with the propellers! while searching for the elusive Smallmouth Bass and were not happy with the results! thats fishing, always be aware of how fast you are going on Audubon it will take you out in a heartbeat. Fishing was tough with the sunny skies and hardly any wind the samllies were hard to locate but a few managed to find some.
Janine Wetzel was the champion angler and also the Big Bass award winner for the day with one fish at 2.82 pounds. Deryk Voller came in a close second and Eric Ehn was third, full results and weights can be found on the results page. It was a tough grind em out all day kinda tournament with only 5 fish weighed in at the close of the day!
Everyone relocated to New Johns Lake that night in hopes of some better fishing, people settled in and set up tents and campsites and started cooking food and relaxing and enjoying the rest of the night. After a wonderfull meal provided by the Wentz's it was time to get on with the annual
lawn golf competetion it was a fun time with the sun setting in the background as we played right beside the lake. Curtis and Mike Wentz once again stole the crown second year in a row champions of the universe! maybe next year someone will step up and beat them, soon enough it was dark and when the fish stories ran dry everyone turned in for the night.
Sunday morning was a day of anticipation you could see it in the eyes of the anglers as they apced around fixing poles and getting ready for battle. Which way are you going? east or west? was the popular question of the morning, seems every year people that go west always win the tournament but not this time! I drew the last number so I was the starter as I launched all the boats I watched and most went west and a few went east and i sat there for 5 minutes still undecided where to start just watching everyone else speed away, i finally decided to go against the grain and go east, it was a wise descision, I passed Deryk exactly where I knew he would be I arrived at my spot and saw Tony and Eric there and thought oh crap I made the wrong descision but my second cast wham a 4.22 pound smallie confirmed I was in the correct spot. As I advanced down the bank i was greeted with one big fish after another till I had 3 keepers in the livewell, I looked around and not another boat in sight so I went exploring ran into Jeff and janine and Deryk again farther down the water fishing hard, Jeff had a big smile and also a big fish! The anglers down to west were having quite a day also I ran into Jonathan and partner fishing away in the canal and catching fish meanwhile way far west the batlle was heating up with the Wentz brothers all trying to out do each other, and Matt and Curt trying to out duel them lots of fish were caught and it was a great day with some big fish coming in and some new club records set.
Champion angler of the day was Marty Mantz with a record breaking 10.81 pounds for 3 smallies the most ever weighed in club history! and a smallie that went 4.22 pounds for my biggest fish! Jeff Wetzel however nailed a 4.47 pound smallie to take big fish honors for the day! congrats! also a club record for biggest smallie ever caught in a tourney! Second place went to Mike Wentz with 8.31 pounds and third to curtis Wentz with 6.86 pounds!
Full results can be found on the tournament results page on the site, the Wentz's are becoming dangerous at New Johns! Congrats to you guys and your improved fishing you must have learned well last year as you are bringing it this year! It was quite the successfull weekend and a lot of fun was had and a lot of good food was consumed too! thanks Geo and Mike as usual for all the good food. Soon we will be returning to new Johns for the team tournament better buckle up for this one as it will probably be a exciting tournament with a lot of 3 pound plus smallies hitting the scale! who knows maybe some more records will be broken again! thanks to everyone that came and fished I had a good time and enjoy the company to me the best time is the night before as we sit around the camp and tell fish stories! Marty
Club Camping Weekend Details!
Club camping weekend is almost here! it will be this weekend the 24Th and 25Th of July to be kicked off with the first tournament at lake Audubon on Saturday the 24Th from 7 AM to 2 PM. to be followed by the tournament at East Park Lake on Sunday the 25Th from 7 AM to 2 PM.
You could not find two different lakes! Lake Audubon is a large reservoir that is actually part of lake Sacajawea just separated by a highway. Audubon is home to a lot of Walleyes and perch, some crappies, lots of carp and shiners some very large Northern Pike (25 pound range) and plenty of smaller ones, it also has a very good population of Small mouth Bass and some over 5 pounds! Typical structure on the lake is a lot of rocks and reefs so be very careful if it is your first time on the lake dont be zooming around or you may find yourself on a reef and in trouble! stay away from the gates on the highway on the dam that is where they release water from the big lake into Audubon! if you hear a siren leave the area immediately! there is a lot of deep water in excess of 50 feet and a lot of shallow water too. weed beds galore around the islands and all over the lake in the middle of nowhere! also be careful to observe the buoys on this lake as the southern portion of the lake is closed to fishing and vessels of all types! it is a wildlife refuge so dont be harassing the wildlife! do not cross any of the buoys on the middle portion of the lake going south or you may fins yourself on the receiving end of a visit from a game warden.
The dock we will be using is the 3 mile corner dock go north of the lake to the Garrison exit and take a right hand turn go down the gravel road until you see a fork in the road go down towards the lake and the ramp is there.
East park Lake is part of the New Johns Lake and Mc Clusky canal system from washburn turn at the John Deer dealership on the highway 83 go northeast till the highway ends and comes to a tee (about 11 miles) and take a left in about 3 miles you will see the sign for new johns lake bypass that keep going 2 more miles, when you come to a bridge you will see a sign says east park lake and west park lake go over bridge ramp turn left ramp is 100 yards down the road. people will be camping at East Park lake immediate following the tournament Saturday at Audubon.
East park lake and west park lake and new Johns and all the associated canals have a very good population of Small mouth bass from 1 to over 4 pounds, also present are white bass, perch, walleye, carp, northerners, and some very very large Muskies! State record comes outta there at almost 50 pounds! if it is your first time there you will find lakes attached to canals and more lakes! dont get lost! there are also some big LMB in the system too.
Good luck to all and keep an eye on the weather as of right now it looks to be hot and windy and a chance of thunderstorms. keep an eye on the site in the next few days to be aware of any weather alerts and tournament announcements. Camping should be fun I am sure they will have some good games for us to play again this year and a lot of good food to be eaten also. see ya t the tourney!
Manley Gets First Win At Sweetbriar!
Curt Manley with 2 nice bass
Sometimes, when you're battling nasty, windy, and cold conditions on the water, it's easy to wish for just one perfect day during a tournament. Well, wishes can come true in unexpected ways! Saturday delivered a sunny 90-degree gem with calm winds in mid-July, creating a unique challenge that tested everyone's skills.
Just a couple of days before, under cooler, cloudy skies, the fish were active and impressive in size. Then, as the heat ramped up and the air turned still the day prior, things slowed down noticeably. My take? The bright sun likely nudged them toward spawning, settling them on beds—especially since the ones I hooked earlier were egg-heavy and feeding aggressively.
No matter the cause, it made for an exciting puzzle to solve. Bites were selective, rewarding patience and strategy over sheer volume. Seasoned anglers pulled out all the stops, experimenting with techniques and enjoying the camaraderie under the summer sun. Sweetbrier Lake, with its abundance of quality fish, reminded us why we love the sport—even on quieter days, the high temps and still air added to the adventure. A handful of sharp anglers rose to the occasion, coaxing some solid catches from the depths.
Earning his first Bandit's tournament victory was Curt Manley from Bismarck, who impressively landed the day's only limit. His bag scaled at 6.07 pounds after a minor half-pound adjustment for a dead fish, securing a well-deserved top spot!
Overall, 18 anglers brought in 14 fish totaling 25.14 pounds, with an average of 1.8 pounds each—proof that persistence pays off.
Here are the top three standouts:
Curt Manley: 3 fish, 6.07 pounds
Marty Mantz: 2 fish, 5.76 pounds
Jonathan Campbell: 2 fish, 2.5 pounds
Big Bass bragging rights went to Marty Mantz with a hefty 3.23-pounder.
Looking ahead, join us for the club camping weekend at Audubon and East Park Lake on July 24th and 25th. Swing by the site next week for all the details, weather forecasts, and any updates to keep things smooth.Marty
Sweetbriar Dam
Next stop on the tournament trail is Sweetbriar Dam located in Morton County approximately 18 miles west of Mandan, ND right alongside Interstate 94 exit 134, if your coming from the other direction than it is about 3 miles east of New Salem, ND. This Lake covers 253 square acres, average mean depth is 10.6 feet, max depth is 31 feet with 9.5 miles of shoreline to cover.
Sweetbriar contains Walleye, LMB, perch, bluegill, northerns and some pretty large Tiger muskies! Smallies were stocked in there in the last 10 years but no one knows if they still exist? So catch one and lets find out! Be prepared to loose some lures to the pike as usual! ff you get luck enough to hook a Musky than hold on tight and take a picture and release them please!
This lake has everything you ever wanted for structure it has deep water along the reeds, it has lots and lots of weeds to play in, there is rocks and rip rap to fish along the dam, there are trees submerged and above water, a very long and nice creek flowing into it. Almost any scenario you can imagine for fishing for bass! So good luck and catch a big one! see ya on the water. tournament time is from 7 AM to 2 PM MST Saturday July 10th.
Great Tournament at Raleigh
Mike Wentz with some nice bass
The day started at 5AM with a loud booming crackle from lightning and thunder soon to be followed by heavy rain and some hail and high winds! Several of us were camping out the night before and it was not a pleasant way to wake up! I about jumped out of my sleeping bag with that first lightning strike! looked outside to observe the weather situation and it did not look good! but alas about 7 AM the skies started to clear and the rain ended and the wind died down and it was looking like it was going to be an OK day for fishing.
Boats were inspected and launched and parked as soon as people arrived at the lake and numbers were drawn and the meeting was held and off we went. the wind died down considerably and the clouds went away and the sun came out it was a nice warm day and some fish even decided to cooperate, most of the tournament leaders caught there fish on soft plastics or worms of different sorts and a lot of fish were caught on spinner baits and top water also. Even some small mouth were caught and some nice looking LMB and of course there were quite a few trout decided to join in on the fun too. there were several tales of big fish getting away.
Mike wentz was the number 1 fisherman of the day pulling in a catch of 3 LMB for a total of 8.72 pounds and first place, Deryk Voller had the lead with 8.77 pounds but a dead fish penalty cost him the lead so he finished in second place, he did however manage to narrowly edge out Curtis Wentz for the largest fish at 3.36 pounds. Marty Mantz finished in third place with a weight of 7.88 pounds. Full results can be found on the web page.
All total 18 members competed weighing in 30 fish totaling 77.09 pounds for an average of 2.56 pounds per fish. A good tournament indeed! After wards the Wentz's cooked up the usual feast and it was much appreciated by all the hungry anglers. A good time was had by all and we got done just in time as the clouds started to build yet again and the sky opened up and the rain and wind came back and pummeled everyone as we all made a mad dash for our vehicles to head home! Llooking forward to seeing you all at the next tournament which will be held at Sweetbriar Dam on July the 10th Marty
Raleigh Reservoir
Alan Hildebrandt with two nice bass (left) Curt Manley with a 10lb Pike (right) caught last year at Raleigh Reservoir
It's that time again! The next tournament will be held at Raleigh Reservoir which is located in Grant County 3.5 miles west and 1/4 mile south of the town of Raleigh, ND. the lake is approximately 59.2 square acres with 4 miles of shoreline. Mean depth is 14 feet and max depth is 34 feet, it contains Large Mouth Bass, Small mouth Bass, Trout, lots of northerners! and some bluegills.
This lake is very similar to Sheep's Creek Dam which we just fished only smaller, it has a rip rap lined canal just off the boat dock and rocks mid lake along the dam, the lake is deep and has a lot of weeds! Small mouth are not very well established but if you catch one it will be a big one most likely over 3 pounds. lots and lots of small northerners and a few big ones also! so be prepared for some lures to go bye bye at the teeth of a hungry pike!
A decent population of LMB also, last year fishing was tough with not many fish caught due to the bluebird skies and 90 degree day we had.
Tournament time is from 7AM to 2 PM MST be on time
(early) and get your boat checked and launched 30 min prior to start time so we can get off on schedule! Defending champion is Alan Hildebrandt from SD. Only 2 people weighed in 3 fish last year! As usual check the
forum for the weather report. It will be posted as a go or no go by Thursday night at the latest. Weather looks to be hot with isolated thunderstorms popping up throughout the weekend! see ya on the water be on time and good luck to all.
Marty.
Reinbold Reels In The Big Ones!
It was a cloudy morning with the winds fore casted to come out of the north at 20 MPH not an idea condition to have a tournament but on we went anyways! The lake looked ready for battle weeds were everywhere and waves rolled across the water.
Surprisingly even with the difficult conditions I saw people catching fish everywhere I went across the lake, there were a lot of young anglers in the boats this week and they were having a blast as the trout were cooperating and many of them were caught and put smiles on those young faces all over the lake. A few walleyes even decided to enhance peoples fishing during the day also.
Robert Reinbold was the master angler of the day catching his limit within the first 40 minutes of the tournament and it always helps when your first fish is almost a 6 pounder! Robert set a new club record for biggest fish caught in a tournament with a 5.9 pound beauty of a bass! his winning weight totaled 9.65 pounds also a new high for the year so far! that will be hard to beat. Second place belonged to Dan Assman and third was Eric Ehn it was a good day with 5 limits coming in over 8 pounds! making it an extremely competitive tournament. all total 30 Bass were weighed in at the end of the day and quite a few trout were also caught too!
Congratulations to our winners and see ya on the water at the next tournament which is at Raleigh Dam thanks as usual to Mike and Geo for the delicious Mini burgers and food after wards. Full results and pictures can be found on the website also updated angler of the year and rookie of the year stats.
Reinbold Works His Magic at Nelson Lake!
It was a beautiful day for the opening fishing tournament of the 2010 season held at Nelson lake, ND. Boats gathered at the dock and many new faces were seen throughout the crowd that was gathering. A lot of new boats were in the lineup this year.
The day started out with calm winds and good temperatures up into the 70's Mother nature decided to give us a break for once from the harsh weather of past tournaments that we have experienced, as I was fishing I was actually wishing the wind would pick up a little bit because fishing seemed slow and different than days prior when it was windy and cold. Well didn't have to wait long as by 11 AM the wind picked up and by the time the tournament was over it was howling out of the south at a pretty good clip making controlling the boat difficult.
A total of 25 Anglers competed for the top spot weighing in 56 Bass. Big fish of the tournament award goes to an new member Jade Red Bear with a fish weighing 3.82 pounds. several members had to withdraw due to equipment malfunctions on the boats while fishing.
Paul Reinbold of Dickinson narrowly edged out Marty Mantz of center by 3 ounces but due to a penalty of 8 ounces for a dead fish Marty dropped down to third place overall. Second place was awarded to Mike Reid from Canada. Full results can be seen along with pictures on the website.
Thanks again to all of our new members who attended and we welcome you and hope to see you guys at the next tournament, thanks to Geo and Mike for the awesome MMB (mini mike burgers) for some reason they seem to taste so good after the end of a hard day of fishing! congrats to everyone who participated and hope that you enjoyed the day.
Overall I think it was a very success full tournament lots of fish being caught and good food and lots of fish stories to go around after wards, Hang in there James your gonna win at Nelson one of these times and Paul you better bring it in October I plan on keeping my crown! looking forward to seeing everyone at the next tournament on June 12th at Sheep Creek dam.
Nelson Lake May 15th!!
Welcome to the 2010 fishing season! It is time to get out to the garage and inspect the boat, break out the rods and reels, put on some fresh line, dust them off and oil them up! Big bass await you in this years first challenge.
Nelson Lake will be the site of the first contest this year, Fishing time will be from 7am to 2 pm MT on Saturday15 May. for those who are new it is located 3 miles east and 2 miles south of Center. take highway 25 east of center to the Minnkota road sign on the paved road and go south cant miss it. Boat dock is just before you get to the overlook area across from the plant gravel road going north to the lake.
Weather has not been nice lately, Mother Nature does not want to cooperate but Nelson Lake is a warm water lake so fishing should still be good, current conditions are the lake is very high the weed lines are greening up nicely, the water is murky and will no doubt get worse as we had 4 inches of snow today and it will melt and runoff into the lake next week.
Fishing should be fair to good lots of fish will be caught and most likely some big ones pushing 5 pounds. Defending champions from last spring Janine and Jeff from Mandan. First and second place last year and also biggest fish (Janine). will be out to repeat there performance although I have a feeling there might be a couple other people who will try to disrupt that!
Nelson Lake is home to the state record and holds many big bass it is common to catch 5 pound plus fish out there so make your battle plans now and be ready to catch some fish! Probably should pack some nice warm clothes along for the journey also if mother nature has taught us anything it is be prepared for foul weather at any time in ND!
See ya on the water and be prepared because you know I will be! looking forward to everyone weighing lots of nice fish in and getting some of them mini burgers after wards!
p.s. Paul a big bird told me that bass dont like spinner baits at nelson so just go ahead and leave them all at home!
MARTY.
2010 Ice Bowl
Another year is upon us and 2010 promises to bring lots of fun and enjoyment and hopes of good fishing. The first event of the year was held on Nelson Lake on Saturday the 27Th of March. The appropriately named ICE BOWL came through with flying colors with temps in the 30's and the wind howling out of the northwest at 20-30 MPH.
A total of 11 anglers showed up for the first event of the year, everyone was dressed in multiple layers of clothing and ready to do battle despite the conditions. teams were drawn and gear was put together and everyone filed down to the dock and were shuffled around the lake to there spot of choice to begin a day of fishing.
This is a unique event because all fishing is done from the shore and with a partner and your weight does not count this tournament is based on total inches of up to 6 measured fish between two partners. New member Matt from Florida must have been thinking to himself what have I got myself into!.
10 AM rolled around and fishing got underway it didnt take long before people started to haul in the fish, it was almost like a scene from a movie to look down the bank through the fog and the haze and see glimpses of your fellow competitors lining the bank waves pounding at your feet, one could say it was almost surreal.
Big fish of the day honors went to Bob Reinbold at 20 inches. A last minute flash of fury by Paul Reinbold produced a 19.5 inch with only 2 minutes left in the fishing time and of course he caught it on a spinner bait followed by cries of get the net! but none of that was good enough to overtake Jason Bader and his magic lure. Here are the results.
BASS BANDITS 2010 ICE BOWL total length largest fish
1st Jason Bader / Mike Wentz 100" 18"
2nd Paul Reinbold / Janine Wetzel 97" 19.5"
3rd Marty Mantz / Tony Reinbold 96" 16.5"
4th Bob Reinbold / Jeff Wetzel 91.75" 20"
5th Jonathan Campbell / Matt Sulivan 91" 16"
Thanks to Marty for the use of his boat and many thanks to Geo Wentz for the delicous food that he cooked up for us while we were fishing in the terrible weather. The first gathering went well looking forward to seeing everyone out there at Nelson Lake again in May for the first actual boat fishing tournament of the year, lets hope for better weather this time!
Welcome aboard to all of our new members and we shall see you soon on the field of battle! now if we could just get Paul to forget his spinner baits at home! any volunteers?
2010
Joining a bass club is a life changing experience!
I have had the honor of being a part of a couple of different bass clubs for many years now. When I was 15 years old I joined a club called the ‘Dakota Sportsmen Society‘. It was a small club located in rural South Dakota with about 10-15 members. My dad and my uncle’s were a part of this club and I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to join and see what being part of a fishing club was all about! It was everything that I had wanted it to be, talking about fishing, learning about fishing, getting involved in the community, getting to know new people, and of course actually going out and going fishing! Those are the best parts of being a member in a club. When I started college and I learned that the internet was a really valuable tool for fishing. Using this valuable tool I was able to locate a bass club called the “Hub City Bass Busters,” located in Aberdeen , SD. I contacted the president and became a member. I was anxious for the first club event to learn new ways and tricks to catch bass. By joining that club not only did I become a more improved smallmouth bass angler, I met some new friends that I have shared many great fishing and hunting trips together ever since. A few years down the road it was getting harder and harder to make it to club meetings and other club events in South Dakota. To make matters worse, the state that I was living in did not have a bass club in the whole state of North Dakota, Uggg! What is a crazy bass fishing addict to do in a situation such as this? Simple, create one. In 2006 the Badlands Bass Bandits bass fishing club was created, it’s first tournament had ten members and was held at Raleigh Reservoir. Since then the bass club has been growing steadily ever since. But why? Why would joining a bass fishing club be so great? What is the point? The simplest answer would be “join our club and find out.” But for those of you who have never been part of a club here is some reasons why joining the club can be life changing.
The first reason that comes to mind would be meeting new people who love to fish like you do. When you meet club members for the first time it isn’t difficult at all to start up a conversation. Just start talking about fishing and that will start up a conversation that won’t quite until the sun goes down. Club members conversing with each other starts to build the main foundation of a club. It creates such a positive and friendly based atmosphere that will carry on the water during club tournaments and other club events. Do all clubs have this? No, not all, but the Badlands Bass Bandits do. It is a fact that our club helps other members load and unload boats during fishing events, it is a fact that our club tells other tournament anglers what the fish are biting on during club tournaments, and that is just the beginning. Since this club has started all of the members like to visit and share ideas with each other that people stay well over an hour or two after each event is done. The bass bandits also have a program called “spill the beans” after each tournament event. Spill the beans is a moment after the tournament awards are presented, the top three anglers of the tournament event have to share what they used and did to catch the winning fish. This is a huge learning curve for everyone, even for the winners of that tournament.
Another great side of joining a fishing club, is the friendship that you create with other people on and off the water. Our club camping weekend that is held annually is a huge hit. Club members bring food for the pot luck after day one of our tournament for that weekend and we all feast and visit. One of the top events for that evening is the “ladder ball” championship, where club members team up with each other and try to be the top dog of the game! It’s gotten so popular we had to start making trophies for this event. Another example of friendship would be my Christmas experience for this year.
I was traveling to South Dakota for Christmas and got stuck in Lemmon due to a bad snow storm. Immediately after I checked into my hotel room there was a knock at the door. When I opened the door there stood Mike Wentz with a box full of his wife’s Christmas cookies…yummy! Later on that night the gave me a call and invited my and my dog Trapper over for Christmas dinner. We had a ball that night eating good food and talking about fishing and the highlights of our bass fishing club. I could go on and on about how great the Badlands Bass Bandits club is or any other club for that matter. But, I just wanted to give people an inside story on what they might be missing out on. If you are interested in joining our club or any other club contact the club’s president and get started today!
-Paul Reinbold
The Skinny...on the Truth!
The Badlands Bass Bandits bass fishing club consists of all different types of anglers. Some are topwater fishermen, some are tube fishermen, and some are power fishermen, the list goes on and on. At the end of each season there are a few that shine in the end to earn an award. Perhaps the most prestigious is the Angler of the Year title, or the seasons Classic Champion. But there is one award that maybe the most overlooked award that proves to be the most important one of all. Have you guess it yet? Well, if you said the “Horizon Award,” then your right! Over the course of the club’s three year history the anglers who receive the Horizon Award prove to be one of the clubs tournament contenders the following tournament season. Want proof? Okay here is a little club history lesson. But, first let’s discuss what the Horizon Award exactly is. In 2006 when the club was first born, club President and founder Paul Reinbold wanted to create an award that would reward the anglers who have improved their fishing skills the most during the course of a tournament season. Variables that are taken in consideration of earning this award was attendance to tournaments, point accumulation, # of fish caught and weighed- in versus previous years, as well as final point standings from previous years.
In, 2006 the first two club members to receive this award was Jeff Wetzel and John Meyer. These to anglers kept on improving their fishing skills at each tournament since the very first one of that year, and it showed during the weigh-ins at each tournament. The following two years Jeff Wetzel became a factor at each tournament by posting several top 5 finishes as well as a couple top 3 finishes. He continues to show progress every season and is getting closer and closer to an Angler of the Year title. Then in 2007 our Horizon Award winners were Matt (Gunsmoke Dillion) Jahner and Lyle Weber aka Lyle “the damn” Weber. Matt and Lyle had greatly improved their bass fishing skills since the 2006 season and were contenders at a few tournaments in 2007. Lyle posted a 2nd place finish at the “Battle of the Canals” tournament at New Johns Lake as well as a strong 3rd place finish at the Classic Championship. Not, only did Lyle place in a few tournaments but the 2007 season was also his first season where he weighed – in his first limit of bass at a tournament. Matt Jahner also had a great 2007 season placing a couple of top 5 finishes and coming close a couple of times to winning the big bass award. Oh, what might have been Matt if you had been only using Stren fishing line two years ago! Ha Ha Ha! But don’t worry everyone Matt has learned to buy quality fishing line which is probably why he won the Lake Audubon tournament in 2008. Not to mention Matt did land the big fish honors there as well. His 2008 season final standings were just outside of the top five which was a huge improvement compared to previous standings.
So there you have it two years of proof why winning the Horizon Award is just as important as any other award. The numbers and the results don’t lie! So what will our 2008 class of Horizon Award winners Jason Bader and Geo Wentz bring us? A Classic Title? Angler of the Year Title? It’s going to be an exciting year, and you can bet that these two anglers will be contenders at tournaments. But, one thing is for certain we will all be there fishing and having a good time and you can too!!!
-Paul Reinbold
2009 A Year To Remember!
The 2009 Bass Bandit season was a year to remember. There were new lakes added to the tournament scene, new members, closest ever Angler and Rookie of the Year races, and nice weather! Add all of those elements together and all the Bass Bandits would agree that it was a great year. The club membership is once again up from the years past, and once again the main attraction to our club is the friendly based atmosphere are club has to offer. The new members, or as well ol' vets like to call them 'rookies' just admired the way our club members help each other out during club events. That is something that will never change with this club.
The 2009 season had the most closest Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year race ever in club history. Paul Reinbold of Dickinson took home the Angler of the Year award, this was Reinbold's second time capturing this award. The first time he had won this award was back in 2006 when the club was first established. Reinbold edged out former AOY winner Janine Wetzel and Robert Reinbold by a few points. Bringing home the bacon for the Rookies' was Marty Mantz of Center, who claimed the Rookie of the year title. Mantz edged out fellow club member Lance Hildebrandt of Faith, SD by a couple of points. Marty also took home an award no other Rookie has ever done in club history. Mantz also won the 2009 Classic Championship award back in September. He won it by catchin 8.88lbs of a three fish limit, convincingly beating out the rest of the pack by a 7.50 lbs 2nd place finish by Paul Reinbold. Other awards that were earned during the 2009 season was the Biggest Largemouth and Biggest Smallmouth awards. Which were both won by Janine Wetzel of Mandan. Wetzel caught the 5.50 lbs largemouth during the Lake Nelson tournament back in the spring of May, and she also caught this years biggest smallmouth at Indian Creek Dam back in June that weighed 3.90lbs. Wetzel also captured this year Bag Buster Award which awards the angler who caught the heaviest one day tournament for the year. Janine's one day total weight was 9.86lbs. Coming home with this years 2009 Horizon Award winners were Curtis Wentz of Lemmon, SD and Deryk Voller of Dickinson ND. The horizon award honors the club members who are the most improved over the course of their membership. Last but definetly not least is our 2009 Fish Hater Award winner. This year award went to Mike Wentz of Lemmon, SD. Mike earned this award by not weighing in a single fish all season long, but managed to weigh in a couple during the last event of the season but still edged out the competition to win this award. BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR MIKE! Of course this award is all in fun and is greatly appreciated by our members:)
Another event that was new this year was the Presidents Club Records. Club members used special club rulers to report their longest 3 largemouth and smallmouth for the year. There were two categories; smallmouth and largemouth each category winner received a $150 rod n reel combo from bass pro shops. This years winners were Dick Roland of Crosby, ND for the largemouth division and Geo Wentz of Lemmon, SD won the smallmouth division. Out of 3 bass Roland's total measurment was 58.5 inches and Geo total measurement was 53 inches. Congradulations to both of our winners!
After all of this years champions were crowned and the champaign bottles were empty there were some changes made for the 2010 season. Next year the Bass Bandits will be heading to the Missouri River in Bismarck to hold one of their tournament events! This will be exciting event because none of them have ever fished it for bass! I can't wait to see the results. There were also some changes in the club officer positions, our new Tournament Directors for 2010 will be Robert Reinbold and Janine Wetzel. Our new Secretary and website article author will be Marty Mantz, our youth directors will be John Campbell and Paul Reinbold and our new Vice President will be Jeff Wetzel and our new Club President will be Geo Wentz. This is a beginning of a new era for the club, never before has there been a change in Presidency, but I am very excited because the club picked a great club member to lead this club in the right direction. Geo has been a long time club member and has always show his love for the club day in and day out. We are all excited for the new things to come for the club in 2010 and can't wait for the first event! Thanks for stopping by and checking us out, if you are interested in our club please feel free to contact one of our club officers. Until then....GET THE NET!
Geo's Corner
Geo Wentz with 2 nice Smallmouth Bass
It was a beautiful early morning day, the crisp air cooled the warm waters of New Johns Lake causing a slight fog above the water’s surface. The bass bandits prepared their boats, rigged their rods and reels with lures that gave them hope and a chance to win. Except this time the hope was larger and the chance was just as big since it was the last tournament before the annual Classic Championship weekend. Many club members were preparing for this tournament for days, prepping and planning to make sure every detail was done to perfection. The tournament had a great showing of members on Saturday eager to get out and catch some monster smallmouth and largemouth that New Johns lake had to offer.
There was one particular angler that had the smallmouth bass lake address dialed in on his boat. Geo Wentz of Lemmon, South Dakota is no stranger to this lake. He has finished in the top three places before back in the 2008 season. This time it just seemed fitting for a good angler such as Geo to bring in a whopper of a catch. That is exactly what he did, Geo set a New Johns lake club record by weighing in a 3 fish limit that broke the scales at 8.76 lbs, beating the old record by more than a half of a pound! Wentz also took home big bass honors of the tournament with a smallmouth bass that weighed 3.63lbs. Bringing home another 3 fish limit was bass angler Jason Bader of Bismarck, ND. Jason had a good day on the water as well, especially getting to fish with the “Frog Man” in his Ranger bass boat. There were a couple of good ones that got away from Jason that may have changed the outcome of the tournament, but none the less his 3 fish limit was good for a 2nd place finish with a total weight of 6.60lbs. This was Jason’s best finish as a club member, who captured the Horizon Award for the 2008 season last year.
Of course, you can’t count out the “Frog Man” aka Terry Piper, Terry has showed the bandits time and time again that the top water lures are always effective. He brought in two smallmouth bass that weighed 4.73 lbs, which was good enough for a third place finish. Congratulations to all of our club members for a job well done at this event, especially to our top three finishers. Our next and final stop for the 2009 season will be held at Nelson Lake on September 12th for our annual Classic Championship! This tournament will not only decide the 2009 Classic Champion but it will also conclude our Angler of the Year race, Rookie of the Year race and other awards. Don’t miss it!
Just in Time!
Alan Hildebrant with 2 nice bass
It was another beautiful day for the Bass Bandits when they raided the southern part of North Dakota at Raleigh Reservoir. Bright sunny skies along with warm temperatures of 85 degrees complimented with a touch of north west winds. The Bandits had a great showing of members at this hidden gem tucked away in the rolling hills of south central North Dakota. Once again the bass were not very active throughout the day and left a lot of anglers scratching their heads. This has been the case in just about all of the tournaments that the club has held for the 2009 season. On the other hand it has definitely made anglers think outside the box and learn new techniques to catch fish during these tough summer days. The results over the course of the season will prove it, more and more bass are being caught during tough tournament days. Which doesn’t surprise me at all, we certainly have a special group of anglers that are posed to make each other better.
One angler that is making a late season push for the Angler of the Year title is Alan Hildebrandt of Faith South Dakota. Alan was able to boat his 3rd bass for the tournament at Raleigh with only 1 hour remaining. This bass was caught “just in time” to match fellow club angler Paul Reinbold for the only two limits turned in for the tournament. This 3rd fish also put Hildebrandt with the heaviest weight for the day, weighing in at 8.66lbs. Alan also grabbed some extra cash along with 1 extra point towards Angler of the Year race with the biggest bass of the tournament that weighed 3.42lbs. Paul Reinbold has made a climb to the top of the Angler of the Year race by getting another 2nd place finish. This was Reinbold’s third 2nd place finish for the year. Paul weighed in a three fish limit that weighed 7.70lbs. Coming in with a 3rd place finish during his rookie season with the bass bandits was Lance Hildebrandt from Faith, SD. Lance boated his 2.86lb bass by using the “kneel and reel” technique with a swim bait. This technique was introduced into the bass fishing world by bass fishing hall of famer’ Paul Elias. This third place finish has helped Lance get back up into the Rookie of the Year standings, who is now only 6 points behind points leader Marty Mantz of Center, ND.
The Bass Bandits will be going to Lake Audubon on August 8th for some of North Dakota’s best smallmouth fishing that the state has to offer. Hopefully for the bandit’s the weather will cooperate, but more importantly that the bass will bite! This tournament just may make or break the season for some angles since we are nearing the end of the season. The Angler of the Year race has definitely tightened up as well as the Rookie of the Year standings. It’s going to be interesting to see the outcomes of the last two tournaments. Who will be at the top at the end of the year? Who will be crowned Classic Champion? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure…the bandits are going to have a great time finding out!
Singing in the Rain
It was one of the worst days for fishing conditions in the Bass Bandits history. With a cold front dumping rain into New Johns lake the night before the tournament, to thunderstorms passing through the morning of the tournament. The rain didn’t discourage the Bandits from fishing, however the lightening and gusty winds sent a few Bandits to take shelter in their vehicles. Once the rain and lightening passed the Bandits took to the lake to try and coax a few bass into biting. Coax and few are the two keywords in the last sentence, not to many bass were caught and weighed once again. As always there is someone who manages to catch a stinger of bass no matter what the fishing conditions are. That is exactly what Robert Reinbold and wife Jeanette did that day despite all of the odds against them. Not since winning the very first tournament in club’s history back on June 10th 2006 at Raleigh reservoir has Robert won a Bass Bandit event. Robert was able to catch and weigh in a 3 fish limit that tipped the scales at 7.03 lbs, his biggest bass weighed 3lbs even. If any of you know Robert you know exactly what he caught his bass on…..the tube jig.
Also turning in a 3 fish limit was Center resident Marty Mantz. Marty bagged three nice smallmouth bass that captured a 2nd place finish with a 5.15lb total weight. This was a big payoff for Marty because he put in a lot of hard work and preparation for this tournament. Last but definitely not least is Jeanette Reinbold who had only fished in one other Bass Bandit tournament prior to this one. That didn’t stop Jeanette from catching a nice 3 fish limit that weighed in at 5.08lbs. Since she was fishing with her husband Robert I am pretty confident that she was using a tube jig as well!
All in all it was another successful tournament put on by the Badlands Bass Bandits, no matter what the conditions are there is one thing that cannot be beat. Fun. That is exactly what the club is about and always will be about. All of the club members would agree that the friendship and fun atmostphere that this club has to offer is better than fishing itself! At the end of the day the Bandits were able to catch a total of 17 smallmouth bass. The average weight of each bass was 2.04 lbs. The biggest bass caught during the tournament weighed 3.78lbs caught by Janine Wetzel which helped her gain and extra two points ahead of her closest competitors for the Angler of the Year race.
The next raid for the Bass Bandits will be located at Sheeps Creek Dam and Lake Tschida as they head for their annual Club Camping Weekend. On July 11th they will try to capture the big largemouth bass that Sheep Creek Dam has to offer, and then take a short trip north to Lake Tschida for some more smallmouth bass action! Stay tuned to find out who will be in our front page storylines. Until then tight lines!
Sweetbriar Dam
The Bass Bandits held their first ever Team Tournament on Saturday June 13th, 2009. Since the arrival of the Bass Bandits in North Dakota (2006) they have never done an event like this. Was it successful? Of course it was successful the Bass Bandits always make it a great event come rain nor shine! This great event took place at Sweet Briar Lake one of North Dakota's favorite Bass fishing lakes in the mid-west. It was another beautiful day for the Bass Bandits with temperatures touching into the lower 80's and a cool south west breeze at 10 MPH. It was the perfect setup for the club to tear into some of the big ol' largemouth bass that this lake has to offer. BUT....there was one thing that made the made the bass have "lock jaw".....spawning.
Spawning season can be if not the most difficult time to catch largemouth bass, and that was exactly what the green fish were doing....spawning.
Many club members reported seeing lots of big bass swimming around guarding nests and not interested in any lure. However, this did not stop some of the Bandits from hooking a few nice ones. The "Lemmon Boys" a team that consisted of Geo, Mike, and Curtis Wentz from Lemmon, SD captured 3rd place by weighing in one solid bass that weighed 1.92lbs. Robert Reinbold and Deryk Voller were the team that took a 2nd place finish by weighing two bass that had the combined weight of 4.92 lbs. Tony Reinbold and Paul Reinbold were our Team Champions who came out on top with their "guns a blazing" by catching 5 bass that weighed a stagering 16.11 lbs!! They also captured the Big Bass Award with a whopper that weighed 4.33lbs. Their average weight of each bass to reach this total weight was 3.22lbs! That might sit in the Team record books for a while but with the Bass Bandits you never know whats gonna happen!
The Elite tournament series will continue once again on June 27th at New Johns, where points leader Janine Wetzel will try and hold off the rest of the field from taking the top spot on the Angler of the Year race. Until then....stop working and go FISHING!!!
Indian Creek Dam
James Francis with two nice Indian Creek Dam smallmouth
Long time club member James Francis can finally take a sigh of relief as he captured his first Bass Bandit win at the "Southwest Rendezvous" at Indian Creek Dam on Saturday. The conditions were very tough with clear skies, clear calm waters and lots of fishing pressure. Lets not forget to add in the cold water temps that were still on the rise from the warm week before. Add all of those elements together and you get one tough fishing day, but that didn't bother the Bass Bandits as they held their 2nd tournament of the 2009 tournament trail season.
The bass were not cooperating very well that day and only 5 total bass were caught and weighed in at the end of the day. Tournament winner James Francis weighed in 2 fish for a winning combined weight of 5.74lbs, Paul Reinbold came in with a giant largemouth bass that tipped the scales at 4.13lbs which was good enough for a 2nd place finish. Reinbold's bass also took top honors for big bass of the tournament that gave him an extra 1 point boost in the Angler of the Year award. Also catching a giant bass was Janine Wetzel of Mandan who caught a monster of a smallmouth that weighed 3.87lbs which was good enough for a 3rd place finish. This smallmouth is the biggest smallmouth of the 2009 current season so far, it just may win the biggest smallmouth award at the end of the tour season! And coming in at the his second consecutive 4th place finish for the year was Deryk Voller with a nice largemouth bass that weighed 2.92lbs. If Voller keeps up his strong finishes he just may sneek out a AOY title! (angler of the year).
Despite the slow fishing action from the bass, the Bandits enjoyed the occasional bite from the nice walleyes that Indian Creek has to offer. The next stop for the 2009 season is at Sweet Briar for the "Interstate Round-up" on June 13th. This will be a interesting event because it will be the club's first ever team tournament! The club anglers are already dreaming about holding up that Championship trophy! Until then keep your lines tight!
2009 Power Plant Shoot Out
Hi there all you Bass Casters!
First of all, let me say that all our prayers and best wishes go out to our young member, Matt (Dillon) Jahner, who has been battling cancer. We can't wait for you to get back in a boat Matt.
Well, the Badlands Bass Bandits held it's first tournament of the year on Nelson Lake, on May 9th. It was a breezy, cool day. It was only in the 40's most of the day. There were 17 brave soles that couldn't wait to get out for the first tournament, cold and windy or not. Our very own 'Bass Princess' (Janine Wetzel) took 1st Place and Big Fish, with a 3 fish overall weight of 9.86 lbs. and a big bass that weighed in at 5.55 lbs. Janine is a spectacular fisherman (fisherwoman or whatever I'm supposed to say) and has earned the respect of all the club members. Great job Janine. Jeff Wetzel came in 2nd Place with a weight of 8.90 lbs. and I (Terry Piper) came in 3rd Place with a weight of 8.31 lbs. A total of 22 fish were weighed and safely released to catch another day. We'd like to thank all of those dedicated members that came from South Dakota and Crosby, ND and all over ND. Your support and participation is what keeps the club and the sport of Bass Fishing going. Keep on fishing.
Terry Piper
The Skinny...on the Truth!
The Badlands Bass Bandits bass fishing club consists of all different types of anglers. Some are topwater fishermen, some are tube fishermen, and some are power fishermen, the list goes on and on. At the end of each season there are a few that shine in the end to earn an award. Perhaps the most prestigious is the Angler of the Year title, or the seasons Classic Champion. But there is one award that maybe the most overlooked award that proves to be the most important one of all. Have you guess it yet? Well, if you said the “Horizon Award,” then your right! Over the course of the club’s three year history the anglers who receive the Horizon Award prove to be one of the clubs tournament contenders the following tournament season. Want proof? Okay here is a little club history lesson. But, first let’s discuss what the Horizon Award exactly is. In 2006 when the club was first born, club President and founder Paul Reinbold wanted to create an award that would reward the anglers who have improved their fishing skills the most during the course of a tournament season. Variables that are taken in consideration of earning this award was attendance to tournaments, point accumulation, # of fish caught and weighed- in versus previous years, as well as final point standings from previous years.
In, 2006 the first two club members to receive this award was Jeff Wetzel and John Meyer. These to anglers kept on improving their fishing skills at each tournament since the very first one of that year, and it showed during the weigh-ins at each tournament. The following two years Jeff Wetzel became a factor at each tournament by posting several top 5 finishes as well as a couple top 3 finishes. He continues to show progress every season and is getting closer and closer to an Angler of the Year title. Then in 2007 our Horizon Award winners were Matt (Gunsmoke Dillion) Jahner and Lyle Weber aka Lyle “the damn” Weber. Matt and Lyle had greatly improved their bass fishing skills since the 2006 season and were contenders at a few tournaments in 2007. Lyle posted a 2nd place finish at the “Battle of the Canals” tournament at New Johns Lake as well as a strong 3rd place finish at the Classic Championship. Not, only did Lyle place in a few tournaments but the 2007 season was also his first season where he weighed – in his first limit of bass at a tournament. Matt Jahner also had a great 2007 season placing a couple of top 5 finishes and coming close a couple of times to winning the big bass award. Oh, what might have been Matt if you had been only using Stren fishing line two years ago! Ha Ha Ha! But don’t worry everyone Matt has learned to buy quality fishing line which is probably why he won the Lake Audobon tournament in 2008. Not to mention Matt did land the big fish honors there as well. His 2008 season final standings were just outside of the top five which was a huge improvement compared to previous standings.
So there you have it two years of proof why winning the Horizon Award is just as important as any other award. The numbers and the results don’t lie! So what will our 2008 class of Horizon Award winners Jason Bader and Geo Wentz bring us? A Classic Title? Angler of the Year Title? It’s going to be an exciting year, and you can bet that these two anglers will be contenders at tournaments. But, one thing is for certain we will all be there fishing and having a good time and you can too!!!
-Paul Reinbold
2008 Year End Recap
Hi all you Bass fans!
Well, another year has come and gone for the Badlands Bass Bandits. We had another exciting year in 2008 and we would like to thank all our members and everyone that supported us this year in any way.
Our first two spring tournaments started off poorly, with the first one on April 26th being called off shortly after it started do to very poor weather conditions. The decision was made that it was too windy, cold and snowing to make it safe to continue. The second one, on May 10th was held, but a few members did not make it do to 8” of snow that morning. It did melt off by mid-morning and turned out to be a fair day. Sheep’s Creek on June 28th turned out to be quite windy, but some nice fish were caught. The next day on Lake Tschida, the wind died down some and the day was pleasant. The smallmouth bite was best the first thing in the morning, and those that held on to three keepers early, came out on top. The club camped out on Saturday night at Lake Tschida below the dam and a great time was had by all. Some lessons were given on a kind of ‘rope & ball’ horseshoe game, that ‘Terrible Tony’ brought along. (Not too sure he didn’t make up some the rules as we went?) We moved on to New Johns Lake on July 19th, once again the smallmouth bite was dominant here, but there are some very nice largemouths in it as well. This lake, the canals, and the adjoining lakes that make up the chain, could prove to be one of the best bass fishing destinations in the upper North Dakota region some day. All types of cover and structure are available in these waters. We moved on to Lake Audubon on August 16th and again the smallmouth bass were dominant. We got lucky with no bad winds and it was a nice day. We had our April make up tournament the same weekend as Audubon, so on August 17th; we fished New Johns Lake again. Smallmouth once again dominated this lake. Our final tournament of the year was our Classic Championship, held on Nelson Lake, September 14th. We had a cookout and Awards for the 2008 season winners were handed out. We had some exciting times this season,
Two spring tournaments with snow!
‘Tony the Terrible’ Reinbold taking a commanding lead after the first two tournaments, that he never gave up the rest of the year, to achieve his ‘Angler of the Year’ title! (Even though he misplaced one of his crawfish in my boat (left behind by one of his smallmouth). Tony also won the ‘Bag Buster Award’ with 3 fish weighing 8.23 lbs. for the biggest bag of the year.
A great camping outing at our two day ‘Sheep’s Creek’ & ‘Lake Tschida’ tournaments.
The ‘Canadian Adventure’ on Boundary Waters Dam. Our club sponsored this at the last minute and our three teams that entered came in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. (We may try to have a regular club tournament there next year). James Francis bagging the largest Smallmouth of the year on New Johns at 3.99 lbs. Young ‘Matt Dillon’ Jahner taking it all home (1st Place & Big Fish) in the Lake Audubon shootout. Me and ‘Kermit the Frog’, capturing 1st Place on the New Johns makeup tournament, in the last 2 hours of the day. Paul (‘The Pres’) Reinbold taking 1st Place and Big Bass of the day (and the year) in the ‘Classic Championship’ with a largemouth of 4.87 lbs. 1st Place for the year going to ‘Tony Reinbold’. 2nd Place going to ‘Paul Reinbold’. 3rd Place going to ‘Janine Wetzel’. Congratulations to all of you on a good year of fishing.
Just to enlighten everyone that there are some things that prevent some of our dedicated members from being able to attend, here are a few of the things that came up during the year:The early snow storms in the spring stopped a few members from making it to our 2nd tournament of the year.
Alan Hildebrandt’s family had some health issues that he had to help with that prevented him from attending a number of events towards the end of the year. We w sh his family the very best.
Bob Reinbold had several battles with ‘Mother Nature’ that destroyed his crops and prevented him from being able to fish as much as he’d have liked to. James Francis is in the United States Air Force and had to miss some tournaments because of his duties. As for me, I got in a fight with my riding lawn mower while sharpening the blades, and severed the tendons in my right hand and could not fish the Classic Championship.
In all, we had a very good year and had a lot of fun. We are looking forward to next year and already making plans for when a where we will be fishing. Come and join us! We’d love to have you!
Terry Piper
2008 Nelson Classic Results
Finally! After working hard at trying to capture his first Classic Championship with the Bass Bandits Paul Reinbold won his first Classic in three years. The 3rd annual Badlands Bass Bandits Classic Championship was once again held at Nelson Lake on September 14th. The Bandits had a great showing of club members for this special event on a cool breezy day at one of their favorite lakes to fish. Everyone knows when you fish Lake Nelson the anglers have a great chance at landing a big bass, and that is just what Paul did to help him get the victory. Reinbold's big bass weighed 4.85lbs and was big enough to capture the Big Bass award for the classic tournament as well as for the season. Paul's final total weight for the tournament was 6.75lbs with two fish, despite the fact he was shy one fish for his limit it was just enough to edge out the rest of the pack. Coming in at a very close 2nd place was Bryan Hinton of Minot, who also weighed two fish. Hinton also caught a big lake Nelson largemouth that weighed 4.37lbs. Which helped give Hinton's final classic weight at 6.40lbs, not bad for his first classic appearance!! Coming in at a strong 3rd place finish was the 2008 Angler of the Year Tony Reinbold with a three fish limit that weighed 6.12lbs. Reinbold's third place finish brought his total points for the season at 74, just shy of the 75 pt record set last year by Janine Wetzel. Amanda Reinbold and Matt Jahner rounded out the top five for the classic each weighing a three fish limit at 5.63lbs and 5.36lbs.
Winning the Classic Team Trophies were Teammates Tony Reinbold and Bryan Hinton. These two anglers drew each others names to set the teams at the beginning of the tournament. With their two weights combined they weighed at 12.52lbs (5 fish). Just edging out Paul and Amanda Reinbold who's team weight total was 12.38lbs (5 fish).
After the classic was over and tournament champion was crowned the bass bandits held their annual classic bbq and discussed tournaments dates and lakes for the 2009 season. Even though the season has come to an end once again I can guarantee you that the bass bandits will be gearing up for the up coming season during the winter months. As well as preparing for the 2nd annual Ice Bowl tournament. Until then...FISH HARD!
Lake Nelson Tournament
Well the 2008 season for the Badlands Bass Bandits kicked off.....well, sort of. On April 26th the Bass Bandits met up at Lake Nelson to compete in the third annual "Power Plant Shootout." A record high of club members attended the event with a total count of 23. The tournament started at 9a.m. MTN after the spring meeting. Anglers were dressed up as if they were going ice fishing due to the cold 34 degree temps mixed with 35MPH+ winds and snow. Unfortunetaly the Bass Bandits were only able to compete for about an hour. Once the high winds from the north rolled in safety became the number one concern and the tournament was postponed until a later date. However, there were 12 members who still wanted to fish in the safer parts of the lake, so the club voted to hold a little cash derby. Coming in at 1st place was Todd Folkerts from Saskatchewan, Canada with two fish weighing in at 6.84lbs. Folkerts also bagged the biggest bass of the tournament with a monster bass weighing 4.78lbs. Michael Erickson of Bismarck was the only member of the day to come in with a three fish limit that weighed 4.53 lbs. That final weight for Erickson was good to take home 2nd place honors. Bryan Hinton of Minot brought in one fish that weighed 2.14lbs that finished out the top three places. Other anglers bringing fish into to weigh was Jason Bader of Bismarck 1.73lbs, Levi Long of Dickinson 1.46lbs and Matt Jahner also from Dickinson 1.43lbs. Despite the bad weather the Bass Bandits had a good time just getting out in the boat and fishing.
On May 10th the Bass Bandits went back to Lake Nelson to compete in the "Nelson Lake Reload" tournament since the first visit there was an unpleasant one. On this day mother nature was still trying to play a cruel trick on the Bass Bandits by throwing Ice,slush, and snow at them while traveling to the event. The road conditions were absolutely terrible as shown in the picture that was taking by new club member Leo Porcello. Porcello hails from the Minot area and stopped along the road to snap this historic Bass Bandit picture. Once the bass bandits reached Lake Nelson all was well. The winds had resided, the temps rose up a little and the bass were on the bite! Weighing in with a three fish limit that was good enough for 1st place was Paul Reinbold of Dickinson with a combined weight of 8lbs 12oz. Jason Bader of Bismarck was nippin' at Reinbold heels with a 2nd place finish that weighed 8lbs 4ozs with a three fish limit. Jason also took the Big Bass Award for the day with a 'Dandy' of a largemouth that weighed 4lbs 1oz. Coming in on a strong 3rd place finish was Tony Reinbold of Timber Lake, SD with a three fish limit that weighed 7lbs 8oz.
The first two Bass Bandit meetings have been a brutal battle with mother nature, but so far the Bass Bandits show great heart and passion for the club and sport of bass fishing. As the old saying goes "You can't keep a good dog down!" The next time the bass bandits will be meeting is on June 28th and 29th for there 2nd annual club camping weekend tournaments at Lake Tschida and Sheeps Creek Dam. Until then visit us on the web for any news and club updates and as always thanks for visiting!
2007 - THE YEAR OF JANINE...
It wasn't enough for 'Hurricane Janine' to dominate the Bass Bandit tour scene and win her first Angler of the Year title. Janine Wetzel of Mandan took a clean sweep at the two top honors of the Bass Bandit Club awards. On September 15th at Lake Nelson Janine not only received her trophy for Angler of the Year title but she also received the Championship Title as well. Janine's three fish limit that weighed 8lbs 1oz was good enough to beat her husband by 4oz who also captured the 2nd place Classic trophy. Janine also caught the Biggest Bass of the tournament as well as of the year, the big bass tipped the scales as 5lbs 1oz. Lyle Weber of Dickinson also brought in a big bass that weighed 4lbs 7oz. Weber also captured the third place spot with a three fish limit that weighed 7lbs 7oz. Lyle was pretty happy with a strong finish at the end of the year but was a little disappointed about the two other big fish that got off that would have easily put him in the first place drivers seat. "It was just one of those deals that I wish I could get back, if I would have checked my dull hook earlier I think I would have boated those two other big bass but, thats why they call it fishing and not catching." Weber not only brought home a third place classic trophy but he also received one of the two Horizon Awards. This award recognizes the club members that have greatly improved their bass fishing skills from the previous year. Matt Jahner also of Dickinson received the other Horizon Award. Jahner greatly improved his bass fishing skills from last year. A year ago Matt hardly weighed a fish in at a lot of tournaments, which wasn't the case this year. Jahner was a contender at each tournament this year and looks like he will be for a very long time.
Curt Manley of Bismarck won the first ever Badlands Bass Bandits Rookie of the Year Title. Curt's second place finish at Lake Tschida back in May catapulted him to the top of the points list to help edge out Dick Roland of Crosby by a mere 6 points. Curt also won the Biggest Smallmouth Bass Award with a 3.50lb smallmouth that he caught at Lake Tschida. The Bag Buster Award went to Minot's Terry Piper. Terry held the heaviest one day tournament weight since the 16th of June at Sheeps Creek Dam. Terry's winning weight was 8.93lbs. The Classic Team Award went to Robert Reinbold of Timber Lake South Dakota and Jeff Wetzel of Mandan North Dakota. The two anglers combined weight weighed 15lbs 2oz that helped them win the Team Award. The Fish Hater Award went to Amanda Reinbold of Bismarck. This is a special award that a club member recieves when something out of the ordinary happens to them during a tournament or through the tour season. Amanda captured this award on June 16th at Sheeps Creek Dam when she set the hook on a big bass and she dislocated her wrist when the big bass hit her spinnerbait so hard. Reinbold dropped the rod to pop her wrist back in place and the picked it up to see if the big bass was still on, but the giant got the best of her that day as it swam away. Sorry Sparks! Congradulations to all of the club members on a job well done and a special congradulations to the anglers that received awards or placed in the top three spots in any of our tournaments!
