ALEXANDRIA, Minn. B.A.S.S. Federation Nation anglers will have seven bodies of water to fish during the Northern Divisional Sept. 10 to 15, but each fishery features one key piece of cover.
The Northern Divisional will be held on the Le Homme Dieu chain of lakes that includes seven lakes: Le Homme Dieu, Darling, Carlos, Geneva, Victoria, Jessie and Alvin. "Each lake is unique," said Wayne Ek, a former Minnesota Federation Nation conservation director who has been guiding on the lake chain since 1999.
Divisional qualifiers will have a combined 6,373 acres of water to fish in six of the seven lakes during the three competition days. Carlos is the largest (2,520 acres) and deepest (maximum depth of 166 feet) of the chain. Le Homme Dieu covers 1,744 acres and has a maximum depth of 87 feet; Darling contains 954 acres with a maximum depth of 63 feet; Geneva, 631 acres, 64 feet; Victoria, 419 acres, 60 feet; and Jessie, 105 acres, 27 feet. Statistics of Alvin Lake were unavailable.
The shorelines of Le Homme Dieu, Darling, Geneva and Carlos are heavily developed with residential housing. Victoria has a steeply sloped shoreline and steep bottom with sharp dropoffs close to the bank. Jessie contains dense aquatic vegetation and is connected to Lake Victoria by a navigational channel. Alvin is a shallow, weedy lake with a navigation channel connected to Lake Darling.
Ek projects the lake levels should be stable during September since the area has received sufficient rainfall this summer. The water temperature will be in the upper 60s and the water clarity will vary in each lake. "Darling will have 6 to 8 feet of visibility, while Carlos will be really clear," predicted Ek. "Le Homme Dieu will be clear with 10 feet of visibility, but Victoria and Geneva will both be cloudy and Jesse will be a mudhole."
Carlos contains a limited smallmouth bass population, but largemouth bass are the dominant species in the rest of the lakes. The lakes are full of 2-pound largemouth with some kicker fish in the 4 1/2- to 5-pound class.
"The Le Homme Dieu chain gets a lot of pressure because of local, state and regional tournaments held here," said Ek. "Usually the winning bags are between 19 and 22 pounds for eight fish. I'm guessing that the [Northern Divisional] winner will have to catch fish averaging a weight of 2 1/4 pounds each of the three days with a good kicker fish on at least two of the tournament days."
Bass will still be deep in the Le Homme Dieu chain unless an early cold snap hits the area. "We usually get our fall bite here in late September so the fish then will still be in late summer patterns of keying on tight inside turns of deep cabbage breaks," said Ek. "If we get an early fall and the water cools down rapidly, then the fish may get into an early fall bite, which means fishing docks and big weed flats with crankbaits and spinnerbaits."
Lures capable of probing the deep weedlines should produce best during the divisional. Ek suggests the competitors drag Carolina rigged French fries or Zoom Brush Hogs with a 1/2-ounce weight along the weedlines that run from 18 to 28 feet deep, depending on the lake they are fishing. Working a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce jig with a Zoom Chunk along the inside or outside edge of the weeds also produces late summer bass for Ek.
Another productive combo on the Le Homme Dieu chain is a 1/8-ounce Gopher Tackle mushroom jighead with a 5-inch black Stickworm or 6- to 7-inch finesse worm. Because sunfish and perch are the main forage for bass on the chain of lakes, the most productive colors for all the aforementioned lures are pumpkinseed and green pumpkin.
Although the Northern Divisional competitors will have plenty of bodies of water to target, Ek believes three lakes will produce the best action during the tournament.
"That early in the fall I can easily predict that the winning bag will come from Darling, Le Homme Dieu or Geneva," he said. "All three of those lakes have deep cabbage weedlines that are very distinct and easy to see. Guys who excel in fishing deep and understand how to read a map to pick out those subtle nooks on tight inside turns will find the fish."