“Tiller Boats Dominate” on Coon Lake!

Revisiting where the Tour First Started!

The third tourney on Coon Lake was presented by Jason Mitchell Elite Series rods with winners to be awarded these fine rods along with the usual cash prizes.

As stated in the pre-tourney notice, the Minnesota Bass Tour hasn’t visited this body of water since our first-ever event 8 years ago and the results back then weren’t anything overly impressive. As the day approached, anglers weren’t expecting much different from that event given the pressure the lake has received, difficulty finding patterns during pre-fishing, and the beautiful summer weather that would bring out all forms of lake recreation and distraction.

And boy did the recreational boats come out in force with the sunshine and calm winds!

But the weights also saw a bump from the previous stop here. This time around, there was almost 13 pound  average bags and over 8 bass weighed in exceeded the “kicker” 4 pound target.

Team TBD – Not Just a Lazy Name!

New this year to the Minnesota Bass Tour, Phil Krohn and Eric Tanberg hustled to get their paperwork into the directors, payments made, and documents signed during the Spring pre-season. However, they appeared to have left off any mention of a team name for themselves on their sign up form.

What seemed like a request for more time, an email from Phil to the tournament directors simply stated “Just call us Team TBD.”

Without any updates since, the website and results still kept to that name. I regularly field requests from fans and even family members of Krohn and Tanberg wondering, “Hey, when will they get with the program and figure out a clever name with a bent on fishing… you know like the Bassassins or something like that?”

But these guys knew to wait for a very public moment to put TBD on the bass circuit map.

With their 16.40 lb bag anchored by the All-Terrain Tackle 2nd biggest bass – a 4.95 lb green slobasaurus, it was clear that “Team TBD” was going to be the victor. And this proved to be just the right moment for Tanberg who proceeded to shout out across the weigh-in stage “Tiller Boats Dominate!” and pumping his fist.

This excited the Coon Lake County Park crowd, estimated to be about 11 people, also began to chant in slow unison – “Tiller…Boats…Dominate” – repeating it multiple times while teammate Krohn led the fans in pumping their fists to each magical syllable.

“Tiller…Boats…Dominate”

You see I did leave out one detail: these guys aren’t fishing out of the usual “bass boats.” Team TBD drive a wonderful Lund TILLER boat and are among 3 other teams that buck the usual “bass boat style” rafts in the Tour. Congrats to these guys running and winning with the understated Tiller, without a doubt, we will see them in the winner’s circle again and hearing their big name chant. What a grand impression for this first year team!

“Tiller…Boats…Dominate!”

The Rest of the Field

In 2nd place, Team Roboworm of Dan Cochran and Bill Linaugh  brought in 16.30 lbs. and narrowly just missed out on 1st by only 0.10 lbs! They covered water and found fish in various parts of the lake catching them on a mix of senkos and jig worms. These guys (also driving a Lund boat by the way), have reclaimed their Team of the Year lead by 2 points in front of the next closest team.

In 3rd place, Team Strikeforce of Aaron Grefsrud and Derek Jacobson continue their rise in the rankings freshly coming off their Clearwater tournament win. At 15.35 lbs, Strikeforce found their fish around patches of weeds mixed with milfoil and coon tail, throwing All-Terrain Grassmaster Jigs. They find themselves just 3 points out of the Team of the Year race.

Getting the 4th place Big Bite Baits Better Luck Next Time tackle pack is Flippin’ Ain’t Easy who weighed in 14.60 lbs. Team member Rob Bolke and Nate Whited (subbing for Schmoldt) not only nabbed that, but also caught the Blackfish Big Bass of the day which was a 5.05 lb bruiser.

Blackfish Gear Big Bass Award

Flippin’ Aint Easy claims the Blackfish Gear Big Bass of the day, with the 5.05 hawg. Along with the $100 side pot cash and Big Bass Wrestling Belt, Rob and Nate received their choice of Blackfish technical gear shirts courtesy of Blackfish! Check out all their innovative apparel at the Blackfish website and Facebook page!

See the Coon Lake Detailed Results by clicking here!

Pictures and video will be posted soon here and on the Minnesota Bass Tour Facebook page.

Thank you to our event sponsor Jason Mitchell Elite Series Rods and our Platinum Sponsors of Quantum Fishing, Clam Outdoors, and Blackfish Gear for their support of the Minnesota Bass Tour!

“Tiller…Boats…Dominate”
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Next Up: Mississippi River out of Wabasha on July 29th

Stay tuned for another Facebook Live drawing for boat order!