Boat Control Paramount in Shallow Water Contests
The second stop of the Champions Tour on Leech Lake was an exciting one, and a nice reprieve from the “norm” on Tour, where events have been won off of single schools of fish offshore or fishing boat docks.
This event saw anglers fishing in a style we don’t typically see in this format as they picked up big weights and heavy rods to pitch the vast and seemingly endless emergent vegetation that Leech is so famous for.
Another thing this body of water is known for is just how violent it can get when the southern summer winds kick up, as they did during this event particularly during the afternoon session. In these conditions perhaps no piece of equipment is more valuable to an angler than their Minn Kota Talon shallow water anchors.
It seemed that the key to big bites was repetitive pitches and flips to isolated patches of mixed vegetation, anglers who were able find the stretches of reed or rice edges that mixed with cabbage or coontail found themselves near the top of the leaderboard.
However, these areas are scarce on Leech as event winner Noah Schultz said less than 20% of the reed patches he found in practice had the correct mix of vegetation to be productive and once you were in those areas, fishing them thoroughly was the only way to get bit.
Anglers also had to be stealthy in their approach, many areas of the lake are clear and shallow so staying silent is a must and that means staying off the trolling motor as much as possible. All of this culminates to one thing, Talon down.
Even as the wind and waves rocked the shallow structure on Leech Lake anglers were able to stay focused on the fish knowing that their boat was locked down and not moving an inch as they made cast after cast to same small areas looking for the giant largemouth Leech has become famous for.
The multi-stage deployment and built-in wave absorption mechanism allow the lowered arm of the talon to remain firm and steady even in rough conditions where violent wind and waves threaten to drift your boat swiftly along the water surface. It’s no secret that the less distracted you are by your surroundings the easier it is to fish effectively and it was clear that the anglers with Talons equipped had an advantage over those without.
Competitors who lacked the shallow water anchor system fought the forces of nature and struggled to fish while trying to keep their boat from drifting in and over the spots they wanted to fish or working through areas too fast due to lack of boat control.
In fact, one Champions Tour angler came off the water saying if he had Talons, it would have been a completely different day for him, and he may have even cashed a check. It’s safe to say that the Talon is the shallow water angler’s best friend and scenarios like the event on Leech Lake play themselves out over and over across the country.
With a multitude of size and color options, any angler can easily find the perfect match for the conditions they fish and look good while doing it. It’s truly an asset no one should go fishing without.
