Jim Krocak 
That’s a Wrap!
The Minnesota Bass Tour has now concluded our 7th season! The usual seasonal comments still apply: “I can’t believe we are already done with the season.”
After all, it seems like we were just gathering for tourney #1 on Lake Koronis on June 4th!
So… What All Happened This Season?
This year we saw teams be successful that had limited winner’s circle exposure in past seasons. Their improvement was obvious. As a group, we shared and heard winning tactics that were more unknown in past years (Neko Rig or articulating football head jigs anyone?) in order to make each other better fishermen.
We welcomed two new teams that embraced the spirit of the MN Bass Tour with their fishing prowess and willingness to share their knowledge. We hope they are with us for years to come.
For the 3rd season, we continued our proud partnership with Clam Outdoors the Minnesota Bass Tour’s Platinum sponsor and together, we created an awareness campaign of their awesome products. As a results, we got to award some sweet stuff back to Tour members and enjoy product discounts too!
This year’s addition of Jason Mitchell Elite Series Fishing Rods for the Big Bass team winners created a new buzz to go along with the cash prize. Also new sponsors like Big Bass Baits came through with tackle packs for the 5th and 14th place winners as the “Better Luck Next Time” prizes. Sunline provided product for 4th place finishers and members enjoyed steep discounts on Gill Technical Fishing gear.
New logo’d apparel was created with partners at 10K Custom Lettering to reflect the MN Bass Tour re-branding effort. You can go back to our blog post from June to learn more on that front.
And last but not least, we continued to expand our engaging web and social media presence. We strive to be best in class with this outreach so that Members, sponsors and fans of the tour receive timely, fun, and an innovative experience that echoes how we approach all other aspects of the MN Bass Tour.
Planning for the 2018 Season
While there is still plenty of soft water left for perhaps the best bass fishing of the year, we already will be reaching out to Members with the annual survey and soliciting feedback for 2018 lakes. Members should expect these to be coming in the following weeks.
At our Vermilion TOC, members expressed a high level of interest in expanding our presence to the youth ranks specifically by offering our boats up for their tournaments or events. I’ll be organizing a small group to explore this more deeply and how the MN Bass Tour can give back to the future of our sport.
We will get back together as a group in late January for our annual kickoff meeting too!
…and now the Obligatory Countdown to 2018
In my whiniest voice, I can already hear myself mumbling: “I can hardly wait for the Bass Opener!”
Like others reading this, you probably hear the same thing too the moment the boat gets winterized and moved into the corner of the garage. (Sigh) Such a sad day.
Well, Spring will be here before we know it and we will be beginning our 8th season.
I have to express my gratitude to my co-Directors Jeremie Larson, Jesse Larson and Lucas Matzke for all their work this season. Without them this doesn’t exist.
And a special thank you to you our reader, for taking the time to follow the MN Bass Tour here, on Facebook and Instagram and by checking out our sponsors. I hope you enjoyed our season as we did and stay tune for more as we look ahead to 2018!
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