Grand River Bass Derby 2011 Recap
The weather could not have been more perfect for this year’s Grand River Bass Derby – lots of sun, warm temperatures and crystal clear water.
Getting out of the truck on Saturday I could feel my skin begin to sizzle under the glare of the sun. We quickly loaded up the canoe, slathered on another layer of sunscreen, and set off on the river.
We put the canoe in here to start our journey up the river. It was also a good spot to take a few casts.
We decided to try our luck in the Conestoga area and fished a section of the Grand River that runs through the Conestoga Golf & Country Club. Our choice looked pretty good when my first cast of the day landed a small bass. It wasn’t big enough to take to the measuring station but it meant I was already ahead of last year’s skunk! It felt like a good omen and I was pleased that my choice of a Rapala Flat-Rap looked to be working out.
Our canoe is a little on the short-side which meant there was not enough room for both seats, our tackle, and the cooler (which we were hoping to fill with the winning fish). To solve the problem Darrell left his regular seat behind and turned the cooler into his seat. It threw off the balance in the canoe and made for a rather comical scene every time Darrell got into the canoe and just about got tossed out.
Darrell decided to take a few casts, and cool off in the water, while I had a lunch break.
As we moved from pool to pool it became obvious that crankbaits were a hot ticket. We caught quite a few bass with both purple and pink lures. While none of them were big enough to take in, they all put up a fantastic fight and left us smiling.
The highlight of our Saturday came when we stopped to fish a little pool by an island and hooked into some decent walleye. We each caught one and had a great time bringing them in.
Darrell's walleye - caught on a crankbait a friend had brought back from Australia!
My walleye
Despite the lack of a big fish we had a wonderful first day on the water. We came across many fellow anglers who were enjoying the sunshine. Even though they had not caught the big one, they were just happy to be out there. We also had some nice conversations with golfers, who were interested to know how the fishing was, and quick to make sure we had not been hit with their golf ball when it took an errant path.
An afternoon break
Waking up Sunday morning was a little difficult as my skin was nice and crispy and a heat stroke headache was lingering. While we considered heading to a different stretch of the Grand in search of bigger fish, we ended up heading back to Conestoga . I made sure to cover up a little more since even constant application of sunscreen the day before did not prevent me from getting burnt.
The fishing was slower on Sunday but we did manage to land a few small bass, again on the crankbaits. We did spot some larger bass but were unable to entice them into biting. While I would dearly have loved to take a fish to the measuring station, I was thrilled with having had such a great weekend on the water.
A beautiful smallie from the Grand.
After packing up our gear we headed over to Bingemans for the presentations. As usual, our inability to land a big fish was not reflected in the final results. The winner, taking home $2000, was Chris Prince with a smallmouth measuring 19-7/8 inches. Apparently Chris was so excited to catch his fish that he left his rod and reel on the bank when he went to the measuring station! The winner of the youth division was Zack Upton with a bass measuring 17-5/8 inches. For pictures check out the derby’s Facebook page.
The draw prize I won at the derby. The folks who organize the Grand River Bass Derby do an amazing job of gathering draw prizes and many people in attendance were able to go home with something new. In our group of 4 people (including Darrell's brother and father) we all took home a prize.
It was another wonderful year for the Grand River Bass Derby – great fishing, great times, great memories. This event is one of the first to be added to my calendar each year and it is well worth the wait! Huge thanks to everyone at the Stanley Park Optimist Club and Natural Sports for putting on such a wonderful event. Hope to see you there next year!
argosgirl
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’tis a very nice smallie! Great markings and color!! Did he have red eyes?
No, he actually had very nice eyes. I loved the markings and color, especially since the one I had pulled in before that was pretty light and washed-out looking.