Art Simms Bass Fishing

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I started bass fishing after watching all of the fishing shows on tv. A few years later I thought I was pretty good, until I entered a few tournaments. I quickly realized that I wasn't as good as I thought and was only donating my money. In 1997 I joined the Viking Bassmasters of the Minnesota Bass Federation to hone my skills with some guys more experienced than me. Since that time I have learned a lot and had some major success. I have been Viking Bassmasters Club Champion three times and won sixteen club tournaments. I was the Fishers of Men Minnesota East division champion in 2006, along with a few money tournament wins and numerous top tens.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

ABA, Coon Lake

I felt confidant going into Coon lake based on pre-fishing and past experience. I pre-fished all the deep spots I know with no success so I planned on fishing shallow all day.
I was going to start on the West lake but after drawing boat #33 out of 36 and seeing most of the boats go that way, I decided to start in the reeds by the beach since only one other boat went there. I fished for about fifteen minutes with no bites, all the while thinking I should have stuck with my plan. I headed for the west lake to some docks with a small pad field at the end that were good pre-fishing. I was using my favorite Mister Twister Comida and skipping under and between the docks, there were lots of sunfish on beds so I new the bass would be nearby. Between the second and third dock I caught my first fish - a 3 1/2, good way to start the day. On the next dock I got bit, set the hook and pulled the fish from under the dock - another 3lber, unfortunately it just pulled off. I checked my hook and told myself OK, that happens once in a while and I resumed fishing. I had no more strikes until I got to the pads where I caught a 12 incher. I continued fishing the pads without another bite so I decided to go back through the same set of docks hoping the 3lber would bite again - not! Next I ran to a similar area and saw a 2lber behind a boat lift, I got it to bite once but missed it, I finally gave up and figured I would come back to it if I had to. I was going to run to another set of reeds when I had one of those gut feelings about a row of docks, so I decided to fish them instead. Always listen to your instincts! I had my limit including another 3lber and was culling in no time - even with a couple break-offs. At this point, the docks were on fire and I knew I was only going to fish docks for the rest of the day. On the next set I continued catching fish and upgrading. Then it happened again -another 3 lber popped after pulling it from under a dock, this time it rattled me, I knew it could hurt me. I took a minute to settle down then continued to fish docks the rest of the day. The action slowed a bit with only smaller fish that would not help me. I weighed in with 12.15 lbs good for 12th place. Not bad, but the two 3lbers I lost would have added a couple pounds and probably put me in the money.

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