In the blink of an eye we are already gearing up for the second stop of the Champions Tour, Presented by Skeeter Boats. After a record breaking day up at Lake Vermilion, our field is set for another event that could set up to be a smashfest, but maybe not quite to the level of Vermilion.
Next, our Champions Tour field ventures down to La Crosse, WI to fish Pool 8 of the Mississippi River. This is a new venue for the Champions Tour, and we couldn’t be more excited to get down to the La Crosse Area. The Champions Tour field has visited the Mississippi River in Wabasha before, last being won by Tommy Parker with 51lb-4oz in 2022. Last year the Champions Tour also visited the St Croix River in Hudson, WI and Walker Krampitz won this event with 73lb-13oz. But with no history on these particular pools, we are excited to write a new story when we venture down to this historic fishery.
The La Crosse pools of the Mississippi River have been host to numerous BASS and MLF events over the past decade. With a community that eats and breathes bass fishing, it’s a stop that was inevitable with the Champions Tour at some point in time. However, in these previous events, fields have been able to fish Pools 7, 8, & 9. Our Champions Tour field will be limited to Pool 8 for this event; which is no small pool as it stretches 23 miles long. This pool is stuffed full of premiere back sloughs, endless miles of rip rap, and the epitome of a bass fishing paradise.
To preview this event we chatted with La Crosse Native, and Mississippi River Hammer, Cade Laufenberg to give us an insight into this new Pool of the river.
The Mississippi River is often referred to as one of the most fertile bodies of water in the whole United States, and this is especially true for Pool 8. Countless numbers of touring Pro’s have come to this destination and been blown away by the sheer number of fish in the system. This Pool of the Mississippi River, Laufenberg broke down into four (4) main sections, and believes that this tournament can be won in any of them, and because of the inevitable lake (river) split they will all come into play.
1) Black River – Located on the North End where the launch is. There’s a lot of fish that live here year round, and all of the tournaments are held out of this landing.
2) North Main Channel – This is on the upper end of Pool 8, and is a really good section for the sheer number of smallmouth that live in it. From the dam down to just south of the city of La Crosse.
3) Goose Island – A notorious area located in the middle of Pool 8. It most certainly will play, as it does in every tournament. It’s a maze of a ton of little backwater bays, wintering areas, cut banks, and all the good river stuff.
4) The South End – Obviously, the bottom of the pool, the areas of Stoddard and the Raft Channel, are notable from the numerous events that occur on these pools.
Now, we’ve broken down the rough outline of the areas we think will play a big factor in this event, but how has the river been shaping up this year? It’s been a weird one, to be frank, the spawn started as usual but because of multiple rounds of cold fronts, unstable weather, and no large “spring flood”, it became really drawn out.
Laufenberg added, “Right now it feels like they’re just starting to group back up on the backside of the post spawn (funk).” As the bite is starting to transition to a more summertime deal, but more largely dictated closer to spawning areas as of now.
The real factor for this tournament, as it always seems to be on the Mississippi River, is going to be the water level. Minnesota, and Wisconsin, have been inundated with severe weather over the past week, and this surplus of water has begun its migration to the Gulf. Thus, the Mississippi River is going to rise, and as of the projections right now, it looks like it could rise quite a bit. As of now the river is projected to rise to 10ft, for viewers that’s notable as the 10ft line is the “action stage” in preparation for flooding. At this level you will start to see developed shorelines start to become submerged. However, a true “flood” won’t occur until the water rises to above 12 ft, which at this time, is not projected.
But with all of that said, the most important item to note, is the river is going to rise. What does that mean for our competitors? As Laufenberg noted, a large majority of the fish on the river have begun to “pull out” to summertime areas, however with a flood, these fish will now be forced to “pull in”. Look for reeds, cattails, arrowheads, or hard bank in general to play a big factor in this event; as duck weed will be moving with the flood. And a sneaky pattern that Laufenberg said to keep an eye out for is a spook (or walking topwater) over submerged eel grass, as this pattern has started to unfold but with the changing water conditions it could ignite.
However, Laufenberg did note, this is the “dream scenario” for an absolutely epic frog bite. “If someone finds a sweet spot of duck weed largemouth, 30-40 3lb largemouth can be caught,” Laufenberg said, “and that is not out of the question. This time of year, that rising water will group these fish up. They like to pull up to a hardline, or that’s what I like to call it anyways.”
That, and a sunny forecast heading into the tournament, should position the largemouth bite to be mighty strong at the start of the tournament.
Laufenberg also noted that the smallmouth bite has been really strong as of late. Admittedly, he’s been spending more of his time largemouth fishing in preparation for 5 fish events coming up. But he made sure to note that he believes smallmouth will play a big factor in this event, as it’s a way to stack up a lot of weight; but not necessarily the best way to catch a big one; right now. Before this impending rise of the river, they had been cruising very shallow sand, and very willing to bite. However, with water conditions changing, and smallmouth loving to move in general, we’d expect to see this pattern shift.
“If the water level had stayed the same heading into this tournament,” Laufenberg added, “I would have expected smallmouth to be a major player, and probably win to be honest. But now, it’s kind of a toss up.”
Laufenberg alluded to the decision a lot of our Champions Tour Anglers are going to have to make. Are you going to risk it, chasing the dream of an epic shallow water largemouth school? Or will you settle for a smaller size, but potentially more plentiful smallmouth population?
“If it’s the last day of practice and you still haven’t found a frog school, are you hard headed enough to go look for it?” Laufenberg questioned. “Or are you going to go throw a ned rig and catch 50 14-inch smallmouth?”
The way to win, may be up in the air right now, but Laufenberg is confident we will see at least one person primarily frogging finish in the Top-5, and maybe more. The biggest predicament is going to be, did these anglers find a bunch of smaller packs of frogging fish, or did they find the “dream school”? As Laufenberg referenced multiple times, and noted that this is the perfect time of year, and situation to do so.
“Ya, you might be able to catch 10 3lbers and get out to an early lead but you better have more spots like that,” Laufenberg added. As he feels this event will end up being high weights, and anglers will have to keep pace; and have their eyes fixed on the 100lb mark. Yes, you can frog fish all day, and you can do it for miles, and miles, and miles; but which Champions Tour Angler is going to find the right combination of spots to do this? And will it be a mixed bag?
These questions will all be answered shortly, but we think we speak for everyone who follows the Champions Tour when we say, *fingers crossed* for an EPIC topwater showdown.
We can’t wait to see how this event in La Crosse is going to unfold. Be sure to come down to the Awards Ceremony at Veterans Freedom Park at 4:00 PM and see us crown our Champion!
Pundit Picks
BART
The good ‘ol Mississippi River! This is such an awesome stop for our Champions Tour field and will showcase the versatility of the anglers in this field. With water rising quickly, dirty water being inevitable, and a post spawn transitioning into summer patterns; this event has got me drooling. I think we could see some pretty special stuff go down in La Crosse, not necessarily the weights we saw at Vermilion (obviously) but I think it’s going to be a pretty epic topwater bite, because of the conditions, and I can’t wait to see it unfold. This event is going to be pretty tricky to pick anglers we think will do well, but I think I’ve got a couple in mind.
Pick 1: Right out of the gate, I think this event has Rich Lindgren written all over it. Rich is one of the few anglers in the field that actually has a good amount of experience on these pools of the Mississippi River. There can be a thing about “knowing too much” about somewhere for 5 fish tournaments, but I don’t think that plays as much with the Champions Tour, especially on the Mississippi River. The biggest factor here is making sure you’re around a good population of fish, which can be really tricky on the river, and I believe that Rich will be around fish all day long. I also believe that Rich will have the ability to strategically utilize smallmouth and largemouth in his gameplan for a mixed bag. Plus, he’s an incredibly talented shallow water angler, especially with a frog in his hands.
Pick 2: You can’t not pick the local favorite, so I will pick Kevin Ruh to have a great event. In the history of the Champions Tour, we’ve seen quite a few Pro’s who have entered the field to fish “their lake/river” and ultimately end up having a poor event. I don’t see that happening to Ruh, for multiple reasons. First of all, Ruh has fished top level events before on the La Crosse Pools, he has felt the pressure of being the “local favorite”, so I think that experience is going to help him a lot. He also is notorious for doing really well here in June and July, so I’d expect that to continue. And lastly, Ruh knows how to navigate this river WAY better than anyone else in the field. Pairing that with rising water conditions all throughout practice, and I think he’s got a pretty good runway to have a good event.
Pick 3: Now, I think this is an event where we see a surge from longtime Champions Tour Pro, John Figi. Figi has finished well when we’ve visited the Mississippi River before, and one of the biggest traits he has is that he’s so steady. He always seems to be around fish, and he doesn’t let this format mess with his head. With the changing conditions that are going to hit this field in practice, and Figi’s natural ability to find fish, I can see him having a great event in La Crosse. Figi is the exact type of elite shallow water junk fisherman that should excel at the time of year on the Mississippi River, and I expect him to do so.
Pick 4: It’s been too long since we’ve heard from Noah Schultz. Self admittedly, he’s not a river guy. And to be honest, there’s not really a great tactical reason to pick him for this event; other than the fact that it’s been too long. Schultz is a perennial Champions Tour winner, he’s won on about every style of fishery Minnesota has while fishing the Champions Tour, besides the river. His wins always seem to come when you least expect them, and then he goes on a tear. And to be honest I just think he’s due for a really good event. However, Schultz has dominated in Southern Minnesota throughout his life fishing shallow, dirty water, and I think the stage these largemouth are going to be in will suit his shallow water style well.
JACK
There’s no place in the Midwest more variable than the Mississippi River. Constantly moving fish, insane amounts of constantly moving bait, fluctuating water levels and water color, and the option to fish Largemouth or Smallmouth. This typically lends itself well to “River Rats” or anglers that have a ton of experience on a wide variety of lakes/rivers. You have to be extremely versatile and able to adjust on a dime to make it happen on the river. And this might be more true than ever for the upcoming Champions Tour event in La Crosse due to recent rains and rising water.
Pick 1
Kevin Ruh is the local favorite and for good reason. His experience on the La Crosse area pools was going to be a huge advantage in stable conditions but I think that experience is absolute GOLD now with the rising water. He’ll know where fish are going before they are there and this will likely be the key. Not only should the Champions Tour rookie do well in this tournament, he’s my pick to win.
Pick 2
There’s no getting away from the anglers with the most river experience in this event. My second pick is Jason Howland. Jason has had great success on the river and specifically has proven himself as a largemouth killer on the Mississippi. Again, with the rising water and warming temps, we should see the frog play a big part in putting LMB’s in the boat. You can bet Jason will find the green ones in a flooded backwater.
Pick 3
Rich Lindgren is my 3rd pick. Rich has a good amount of experience on these lower pools and is coming off a solid event on Vermilion. His overall versatility combined with river know-how should have him right in the mix. Another simple but important thing to think about with Rich and the other top picks for this event is their knowledge and ability to navigate the river. We have plenty of anglers in the field who have never floated a boat on Pool 8. Just knowing how to get in and out of areas efficiently gives you a huge head start on the field.
Pick 4
My last pick is Chad Smith. Chad has spent a great deal of time on the river, mainly in the Winona area I believe, but he knows how to stay ahead of river bass. Staying mobile will be the name of the game and I’m betting Chad will put together a great finish down in LAX.
