That’s what we have been wondering. We have finally tracked down Team All-Terrain Tackle members Steve Hauge and Gunnar Miesen and asked them 10 questions about their record catch. We did already know that most of their fish were caught on All-Terrain Rock Jigs, but have been waiting for more details.

This giant bag was caught in July of 2002 during the 13th annual lakefront days tournament on Prior Lake in the state of MN. This tourney typically draws all of the Prior lake aces. As many Minnesota bass anglers know but others may not, Prior lake is known for producing big stringers of bass. But at only 1,800 acres, it is also one of the most pressured bodies of water in the state. It has tournaments held on it nearly every week of the season. Every “spot” is known by a multitude of anglers, yet a 30 lb. bag for eight fish seldom wins first prize. We put together some of our own questions, along with several that were sent in over the winter. We tried to make the questions educational to help you become a better angler and maybe pick up a tip or two about our products that you can use, even if you are not from Minnesota.

1) What was your main pattern for the tournament?
SH/GM: We were fishing hard bottom (rock/gravel/sand) areas that were generally away from the weed line, the areas we had located ranged from 10-17 feet deep. We fished these areas with _ and 1 oz Jim Moynagh Rock jigs fished with spider grubs. We also caught several with Rapala Down Deep Rattlin Fat Raps.

With this said, we have both been throwing the new Rapala DT 10’s and DT16’s designed for Normark by David Fritts. These things are awsome and really get down to the strike zone, we both wish we could have had these baits back then. We would rather not say specific colors, although all of the head colors on the Rock Jigs work well at times.

2) Why do you think this pattern was so productive?
SH/GM: This is a fairly common pattern for this part of the country and is typically strongest when the water is near its warmest and the weather has been stable for a period of time.

3) How many fish did you catch during the tournament?
SH/GM: We had about 12 fish. We had caught our big limit by about 10:30 am and because of the high water temps (Mid 80’s) we left our main area while the fish were still biting to go to the marina on the lake and get ice to help keep the fish healthy. (note: This was allowed in this tourney due to the high water temps) After that, we fished several other areas, but were more concerned with keeping the ones we had in the livewell in good shape. Even though we had four in each livewell, they were having some problems in the high temps.

4) How many different areas did your fish come from? Were they all similar (in terms of structure)?
SH/GM: Those fish came from two areas, three from one area and five from another. Yes, most of the areas we fished that day were similar as far as having the hard bottom. There were more areas like this that were holding the same type of fish, we chose to stay away from other good areas.

5) Did you do anything special with your presentation? or What were the keys to your presentation?
SH/GM: I would not say we did anything real different with our presentations it was more locations. The interesting part was that due to the cloud cover, the fish had spread out in the areas they were holding. They were not on the rocks like they had been in practice. It took us the first couple hours to figure this out. After that, we just applied what we had figured out to other areas. We both have a lot of experience and confidence dragging Rock Jigs on the hard bottom areas.

6) What equipment did you use? and why?
SH: I use a 6’ 9” rod in 10 feet of water or less and a longer 7’3” rod for deeper water when fishing Rock Jigs, both are Falcon Cara series. They are both fast action with pretty good power, this is not a finesse technique. The longer rod picks up more line on the hookset when you’re fishing deep. I have been using 20lb Yo-Zuri hybrid line on high-speed reels. This line has lower stretch than mono and takes abuse without breaking. I use a 7’ slow action rod for cranking with 10lb Yo-Zuri hybrid.
GM: I use a 7 _ foot Falcon flipping stick with 17 lb. test line fro my Rock Jig fishing, you need one with a little tip to it to feel the jig better. Steve got me to try the Hybrid line and I really liked it. For cranking I use a 7’ falcon fiberglass cranking rod with 10lb test.

7) What was your game plan for the tournament? Did you follow it?
SH/GM: We had pretty much planned on fishing deep water/hard bottom areas away from the weeds and did not even have any flipping jigs tied on. This had been the pattern for several weeks leading up to the tournament. After a little lull first thing in the morning while we figured out the fish, there was no reason to change plans. Things have to go right to get that many good fish.

8) Did you encounter any obstacles during the tournament (i.e. traffic, spot contention, etc.)? If so, how did you over come it/them?
SH/GM: Well, we were last boat out and had to flip the numbers for all of the other boats in the tourney, if you call that an obstacle. It did not really effect us though, we were just going where there were no boats. Our pattern was strong enough that it did not really matter where you were as long as the bottom was right. This may sound crazy, but we never did go to where we thought the best fish concentration was. We already had a big bag was no reason to hook more fish. Obviously, you have to be very fortunate to catch a bag like this and you surely have to have the type of a day where you do not have any obstacles.

9) How did your pre-fishing go? and did you expect to do as well as you did?
GM: Ask Steve, he was the one who pre-fished. (laugh)
SH: Pre-fishing for this tournament was actually the highlight of my bass fishing career. I don’t think I could say we expected to catch that big bag; that would be a little silly. However, in the two weeks before the tournament I had caught a lot of big fish. I know this will sound like “dock talk,” but I had honestly caught more fish over 4 lbs than under 4 lbs during this time. I did not tell anyone what I had been catching except my wife because they would not have believed me any more than I would believe someone telling me this. As far as tournaments go I have always been a believer in just going out and trying to figure out the fish for that day, pre-tournament or post tournament talk is not my thing. I do know that I had two practice days with eight fish that would have been in this same weight range. You have to remember that two weeks earlier a nearly 37 lb bag had been weighed in a tournament with two fish over 6 lbs in their bag. The big fish were just going! I thought we could do very well.

10) What were your main factors for success?
SH: Practice and knowledge of a particular technique. I spend a fair amount of time on Prior Lake. (though not as much as people think) To do well in any tournament you have to put your time in and have confidence in what you are doing. Both of us have spent a great deal of time in the boat with Team All-Terrain member Jim Moynagh and have learned how to fish Rock Jigs from the originator of this technique. When this pattern is on, it is very hard to top.
GM: Showing up on time! (laugh) I have had the good fortune to fish with many top anglers in the state of MN and you always learn when you are in the boat with someone new. Having fished with guys such as Jim, Chris Luedtke and Ted Capra, I get to see first hand, the things they do to be productive. I just add these things to my arsenal and am glad to add this experience to my career highlights.

Thanks guys, from All-Terrain Tackle we are glad to have you as team members and keep up the good work!