September is a busy month for bass anglers with multiple tournaments taking place across the region during what I think is the best time of year to fish for bass. Starting this weekend with the 28th annual Bassin’ for Bucks tournament in Sioux Narrows, there is a tournament every weekend through the rest of the month.
The reason I think it’s the best month for bass fishing in Sunset Country is because we have a lot of options. You can fish shallow, deep and everywhere in between. In some of the events where largemouth bass are in play, they usually bite pretty good as the water temperatures start to cool down a little bit. It’s just a good time to be out on the water – the fish are biting.
Back in 1996, a small group of individuals from Sioux Narrows figured they could host a good tournament and it has been a popular event ever since. I have actually fished the tournament every year since its inception, a streak that has included missing a few weddings and parties, but I have had so much fun over the years. I hope I never have to miss it! The incredible group of organizers continues to impress year after year. This tournament certainly has the record for most consecutive full-field sellouts. I can’t remember when it didn’t have a full field of 125 teams.
Mike Reid and I were 13 years old the first year that we fished. He had to miss it one year because of work commitments. We were friends in school growing up and we decided we would partner up early on. Back then, there weren’t as many rules around boating and fishing at a young age. Mike’s Dad let us use his 16 ft Lund with a 30 hp motor and we went out there and just learned whatever we could every day. We had a cooler for a live well that we filled up with a bucket. Early on, we caught the bug for largemouth bass, something that has served us well over the years but it has burned us plenty of times as well. We always try to weigh-in at least a few largemouths throughout the weekend.
The rest of the month I’m staying busy, fishing the Crow Lake Classic in Nestor Falls the weekend of the 14th, followed by the Last Chance Bass Classic at Shoal Lake the weekend of the 20th. The last weekend of the month, there is a tournament in Whitefish Bay that is always a good one. I’m going to miss it this year to participate in the Pan-American Black Bass Championship out in New Brunswick. I’m going to be part of Team Canada, competing against several other countries. Finally, the first weekend in October, my brother and I are teaming up for the Kickin’ B’ass Tournament up in Whitedog on Goshawk Lake and the English River. This is a remote body of water that is so fun to fish. It’s going to be a fun month for me. I live for competing in these events! There are also tournaments taking place on Rainy Lake and in Atikokan as well later in the month.
We are lucky to have all of the great community run fishing events that we do across the Northwest region. As far as participation, payouts and great fishing go, we have it as good as anywhere, we really do. A big thank you goes out to all of the organizers and volunteers that assist with all of these tournaments. The anglers have a lot of fun participating in them!
