Minnewashta Beat Down!
Sue Her dominates field in MN Kayak Fishing Association event!
Minnesota is well known for it’s bountiful fisheries and as we all know has been coined as the “The Land of 10,000 Lakes.” It is also a popular destination for canoeing the Boundary Waters in the wilderness that borders Canada.
In the winter of 1976 my Guardians took me to Minneapolis, Minnesota to visit relatives. I was a senior in high school at the time. All I can remember is how cold it was and that the ice was around three feet thick (as I was told) so it would be safe to ice skate on the surface. I had never seen an iced over pond or lake before so it was quite intriguing. And yes, I fell down so many times I’m glad the ice was thick!
My second visit there was back in 2018 for a Midwest Kayak Fishing Series tournament that was supposed to be held on Mille Lacs Lake. Unfortunately, there were high winds that weekend and the directors moved the derby across the road to a nearby lake that would be much safer. We went after largemouth instead of smallies with many anglers hailing from Nebraska and Iowa and a couple from Minnesota. It was a fun tournament and I finished “first man out” of the checks that day with Alex Stefan of Iowa taking top honors.
With the Kayak Adventure Series hosting an event on the Upper Mississippi recently I wanted to return and experience this first hand and the hype all around those huge “bronze beauties” that inhabit that area. I can honestly say that if you are a kayak angler and not experienced this don’t hesitate to put it on your bucket list right away! I spent a great week exploring and fishing the area catching these fierce fighthing footballs. The KAS event didn’t go as well as I liked on tournament day but there was another opportunity the following week at nearby Minnewashta Lake in the Minneapolis area with the Minnesota Kayak Fishing Association Group. My good friend (and hammer) James Francis had invited me to join up with this event about a month earlier. He had registered as well but due to an injury could not make the trip. I moved camp and spent a night at the Shroeder camping area and fished Clearwater Lake the next day. I caught quite a few laregmouth and a couple of pike. Then I moved to Baylor Regional Park which was a very nice camping area that was located about 25 minutes to the west of Minnewashta. The people there were very friendly and the hosts were very helpful. They offer tons of activities with their local parks and recreation department each week. In fact, they had a rock climbing wall set up that Saturday.
During the week, I practiced a couple of times on Minnewashta and thought I had a grasp of the pattern there. These Minnesota grass lakes fish a little differently than what I am used to, especially with the crystal clear water. It seemed like fishing countours was the ticket for the most part. The weed lines were very distinctive and the fish seemed to feed in those areas most of the time.
On Friday, the day before the derby I went on a river trip on the Mississippi near Minneapolis with Elvis Lee, his son Oliver, and friend Tim. We ventured upstream looking for big smallies. And we found them! Oh my gosh! Elvis put on a clinic catching 95 inches on his best five in less than four hours. Another example of Minnesota fishing greatness!
On game day I headed to the kayak launch and designated dog swimming area (as coined by locals) that had a nice big parking area. I was one of the first to arrive but soon after a caravan of kayak anglers pulled in and it was quite a sight to see so many rigs and kayaks in the same area all at once just like old times! I greeted as many of the anglers as I could and struck up a conversation with Bouy Moumy a kayak angler from South Dakota. He even gave me a identifier card as I was unable to print one due to camping.
After setting up we still had about twenty minutes before launch. In this tournament series there were a few unique differences from most tournaments I’ve participated in and if you are like me and fish with so many different organizations you will always need to adjust to these differences. For instance, an angler may be 200 yards from the launch ramp before the tournament begins. That sounded like a great idea to me as my first spot was about that far from the ramp. I pedaled out and met Sue Her who is fairly new in the kayak fishing tournament game. He was in an Old Town kayak. This would be only his second derby as he fishes from a boat quite a bit. We visited awhile and then I asked him if he was going to fish this area or move out across the lake. He was headed out to the deeper water to a spot that I had thought about going to once I got a limit here. He gladly invited me to join up with him later if I wanted to go out there.
Once the tournament was underway at 6:30 A.M. about an hour after sunrise the surface of the lake erupted with what looked like minature wind gusts! Baitfish were sweeping across the surface being chased by largemouth and pike. I already had a top water popper on and went to work. For some reason, the fish did not hit it. There were quite a few anglers all around me but most were fishing deeper. I finally hooked up with a 14.25 inch bass and thought it was game on. But that was the last topwater bite I would get. I could hear buzzbaits in the distance and they had the same results. I got it on the board and had to be attentitive to my hand placement on the fish as the gill plate or tail could not be covered. The mouth can be open in this series which was something I was not accustomed to but felt the fish were more at ease on the board as none of the fish I caught were anxious to get back in the water.
My goal was to not only get that one fish but also pick up a limit in this area. I caught three more on the Neko Rig as I moved along the vegetation. Another angler was working toward me and I noticed he was catching some nice bass with a small profile bait as well. I worked up to the main point and there was another angler there catching bass within minutes of each other with what looked like a bladed jig. It was a spot I had marked and he was absolutely hammering them there. I caught my fifth fish which gave me a limit but a small one at that.
There was an area on the Southwest part of the lake that had been promising in practice so I made the ten minute trip there to see what it would bring. The deep spot on the lake had a boat on it at the time and I didn’t see Her there at the time. I figured it had not been a good area in the morning. After arriving to the new area I noticed several other anglers there but none of us would hook up. I did get a bite on a dock but that was it. I headed back to the main lake and just around the corner encountered Her again and congratulated him on a great day as he had already posted over 97 inches well more than any other angler in the field. We visited a bit and he told me he was getting the bigger fish on a larger jig.
He had much success on main points earlier in the day and was headed back to another to try again. I fished this area with no success and headed back to where I started. Her would eventually work his way back to the deep water spot and upgrade again nearly busting the coveted 100 inch mark. Back at the first area I fished I caught a couple more pike and got bit off by a couple more. I have the feeling that those pike in Minnesota work for the tackle shops there stealing our lures so we have to buy more sooner! From what I experienced it could get very expensive fishing in Minnesota with those pike snipping our lures off!
As the final minutes approached I thought back of how I could have fished differently. I could have gone out to the deep water spot but didn’t want to jeopardize the success of Sue Her and stayed away. He did ask me later why I didn’t come on out there. I told him the same out of respect for his success. There were some good limits but only 24 anglers out of 65 achieved that feat. Sue Her solved the puzzle more effectively than anyone else and literally put on a beat down during this contest. He won a brand new 2023 Hobie PA 14 for his efforts.
I want to thank the MN Kayak Fishing Association Group for a fantastic and well organized event. Ron Strauss put on a well organized event and we were well informed with messages concerning any questions we might have.
I hope to travel back to Minnesota again real soon to experience the fantastic fishing experiences it has to offer! If you are a Minnesota angler you are very blessed with so many opportunities to catch both smallmouth and largemouth and big ones at that!
Full results here: 2025 MNKFA Pro Angler Kayak Tournament