The summer humidity and temperatures were being cut by a comfortable, yet chilly NW wind as the anglers and boat officials sat at Ernie’s on Gull, looking at the beautiful Gull Lake awaiting the morning blast off for the second stop of the 2024 Champions Tour presented by Skeeter Boats and hosted Humminbird.
The buzz the night before at the pre-tournament hosted by Waypoint Angler Supply is that Gull Lake was fishing extremely well, and that there would be plenty of fish catches getting entered into the Reel LiveWell App during the tournament day.
With one hour into fishing on Gull Lake, the 64 Champions Tour anglers were holding up to their word that the bite was on! A total of 442 bass had been caught for a total of 660 lb’s, and a two-horse race was taking shape. With Champions Tour veteran and Minnesota fishing legend Dean Capra, and Champions Tour sponsor Dane Vocelka of Vocelka Fishing Customs, duking it out. Capra with 17 bass for 31 lb 13 oz, and Vocelka with 15 bass for 31 lb 9 oz. An early catch by Ayden Portele and Evan Blakley had them tied for the YETI Big Bass award, with a 4 lb 9 oz largemouth.
Already a two-time Champions Tour winner in 2024, Elliot Rods Pro, Hunter Wendt, whose home body of water is Gull Lake came into the mid-day break with the lead, having 30 bass for a total weight of 66 lb 15 oz. Trailing Wendt was Vocelka in second (61 lb 10 oz) and Capra in third (56 lb 6 oz).
Following the thirty-minute midday break at Ernie’s, the anglers returned to the lake, where Capra and Vocelka both blitzed back out to battle for the lead to begin the second half of fishing. Both anglers quickly bumped up their weights to over the 70 lb mark shortly after noon.
Tommy Parker got the hot hand about an hour into the second half, and flew up the leader board, including a 4 lb 13 oz largemouth, which held the big bass honors, until Wisconsin angler, Kevin Fassbind caught a 4 lb 14 oz bass to take home the YETI Big Bass Award for the event. Fassbind finished the event in 8th place with 54 bass, for a total weight of 93 lb 10 oz of bass.
Dean Capra captured his first regular season event win on the Champions Tour, by catching 57 bass for a total weight of 121 lb 4 oz. Capra, who took home a Skeeter Boat by winning a Champions Tour Championship on the Le Homme Dieu Chain is no stranger to the Minnesota bass tournament scene. Dean targeted bass holding in and on the edge of the vast amount of vegetation that Gull Lake has to offer. By flipping into the heavier vegetation with a bigger Texas-rig, and then using a lighter Texas-rig on the edge was Capra’s successful two prong approach.
A total of six Champions Tour anglers caught more than 100 lb’s of Gull Lake bass. Full results of the Gull Lake event are available. Finishing in second place was John Figi (114 lb 4 oz), in third place, Kyle Schutta (106 lb 15 oz), in fourth place, Dane Vocelka (103 lb 3 oz), in fifth place, Hunter Wendt (102 lb 15 oz), and in sixth place was Tommy Parker (101 lb 15 oz.).
The winner of the Wenzel’s Farm Major Mover award was John Figi who increased his weight by 29 lb’s from the first half to second half.
Going into the final Champions Tour event of the year, Hunter Wendt is leading the Humminbird Angler of the Year race with 126 points, with friend, Tommy Parker on his heals with 122 points.
The Champions Tour presented by Skeeter Boats will hold their final event of the 2024 season, on Tuesday, August 6th, on the St. Croix River, going out of Hudson, Wisconsin. This will be the first time that the Champions Tour, and many of its anglers have been on this body of water, so it will for sure be an exciting event. Following this event, the top 32 anglers in the Humminbird Angler of the Year standings, will be given the opportunity to fish for a brand-new Skeeter Boat/Yamaha Outboard at the 2024 Champions Tour Championship.
Be sure to stay tuned to ClassicBass.com and on social media for event coverage, and to follow the results reel time, download the Reel LiveWell App.
