The first Nevada Summer Session is in the books! The weather was great, with glassy, slick-as-ice water until around 10 AM—then the typical Lake Mohave wind showed up. Overall, the fishing was slightly better than it had been recently, although we didn’t see any of the 5-pound smallmouths we’re used to at tournament weigh-ins.

Wayne St. John and Rob Schoessler took first place with a total weight of 13.98 lbs, edging out the second-place team by just 0.08 lbs. Congrats to Wayne and Rob on the win! They reported catching 15–20 fish, with only one missed hit on topwater. While they didn’t say it directly, I’d bet they fished south all day. This duo is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with on Lake Mohave and the team to beat at any event.

Second Place – Markus Avalos & Myself

Markus Avalos and I finished in second place, just behind Wayne and Rob. We had a great day on the water, though it started with a bit of uncertainty. Our first two stops didn’t look quite right, so I made a quick decision to move. On our third stop, Markus landed a 3 lb smallmouth on a Pop-R—working the topwater bait extremely slow. Moments later, he hooked a 2 lb largemouth using the same technique.

Meanwhile, I was throwing a Whopper Plopper with no success. I told Markus, “I bet they’ll eat a walking bait instead.” I cut off the plopper, tied on a loud-knocking walking bait, and on my third cast, a 2 lb largemouth crushed it. By 7 AM, we had a limit and were eager to start culling.

Over the next couple of hours, we moved around, trying to replicate our earlier success. Markus stuck with the Pop-R, while I switched between a spinnerbait, chatterbait, and crankbait. We caught a few more fish, but none that helped us cull.

As the sun got higher and the water turned to glass, the bite slowed. I switched to finesse tactics and managed to cull one fish with a decent smallmouth. I then rotated between a jerkbait and spinnerbait, drawing a few followers. I suggested Markus tie on a different-colored jerkbait, while I picked up my favorite crankbait. It paid off—Markus quickly landed another solid fish. Meanwhile, I spotted some nice smallmouths, tossed my drop shot at them, and had one grab the tail of my worm but miss the hook.

Then came our biggest fish of the day. As I worked my crankbait down the bank, a quality largemouth absolutely destroyed it just two cranks in. I was feeling great, thinking we could cull our way to a winning bag. But then the wind arrived—and just like that, the bite shut off.

For the next hour and a half, nothing. The wind picked up to 2–3 ft waves. With time running out, I told Markus we needed to fish our way back to Cottonwood to set up the weigh-in. We stopped at a few places, but no luck.

Finally, I decided to return to our very first spot—the one I’d left earlier when it “didn’t feel right.” This time, it paid off. I threw a chatterbait while Markus worked my spinnerbait. Halfway through the section, I ran my bait past a big stick-up, and a quality largemouth crushed it. We tossed our smallest fish overboard and kept moving.

A few casts later, another big hit—but as I set the hook, my sunhat’s drawstrings got tangled in my reel, locking me up! My hat cinched down, my reel jammed against my face, and I was flailing, trying to untangle myself. I thought for sure the fish was gone. Finally, I got free, lifted my rod… and the fish was still there! I yelled for Markus to grab the net, and we landed it. That was it—we buttoned up and headed back for weigh-in.

In total, we caught about 15 fish and finished second place, with big fish honors for the event. This was the first event Markus and I have directed together, and while we learned a few things to improve for next time, I think it went well. Our holding tank for weigh-in was ice cold, treated with G-Juice, and had plenty of oxygen—we only had one dead fish for the event.

Other Notable Finishes

Final Thoughts

Thank you to all the anglers who braved the July heat to come out! I’d love to see this division grow back to the days when we had 30+ boats at each event. Let’s keep building it up!