Graden Hansen Fishing

I’ve had a couple of days now to decompress and reflect on the BFL regional that wrapped up Saturday here on Grand Lake. I’m not going to lie, a lot of time and energy went into preparing for this event, so there is some disappointment in finishing 7th and being the first guy out of the All-American by 2 ounces.

On the positive side, I went out on the final day with control of my own destiny and still think I made solid decisions even though they didn’t turn out as planned. I didn’t lose any fish all week, had great co-anglers and all my equipment performed perfectly.

Congratulations to all the guys that made it to the AA. It was a grinder’s tournament and you earned it!

In closing….. mostly I blame this on the loss of my lucky hat on the way in Day 1, hence the no hat pic.

Ranger Boats St. Croix Rods Lew's All-Terrain Tackle

Disclaimer ** No lead weights or other foreign objects were utilized to alter the actual weight **

Fished the Skeeter Extreme Fishing League Championship Saturday and Sunday on Grand Lake. Bites were very tough to come by, but we were able to wrangle up 5 both days, including a 5.99 (I’m going to call it 6) pounder to get big bass for day 2 and top 10 finish overall.

We made it!!! Had to finish in the top 45 of the 5 Ozark division qualifiers to make the regional here on the home pond, Grand Lake. Looking forward to a chance to make the All-American in a few weeks!!!! Thanks for all the well wishes and support this season.

Had a better day today. Had fun and didn’t break anything! Upgraded our weight from day 1, but didn’t make the check line. Meatloaf said it best…… 2 outta 3 ain’t bad.

Day 2 starts in just a few. Day 1 was a grinder and failure to execute on all of our opportunities has us sitting just about dead-middle of the pack. Today we’ll go out with the goals of having fun, moving into check range and to not break anything.

Going to go spend some time with the Grand Ol’ Lady today for the Nichols Marine Championship. Practice has a been tough, but we’ll keep heads down and grind it out.

https://www.facebook.com/122817207798109/posts/5560588710687571/?d=n

The all-new Avid Series Panfish is available now.

Made in the USA, Technique Driven Models, 15 Year Warranty.

https://stcroixrods.com/collections/rods/products/avid-series-panfish

📸: Matt Addington Creative

Been a long time since I’ve fished a derby on the the ol Mississippi, but here we go! Iowa Bass Federation 10k!

The man who got all this madness started. RIP Ray.

Fished a BFL doubleheader at Table Rock Saturday and Sunday. Full fields of 230 boats both days, so I guess the answer, for now at least, is no fuel prices are not going to impact tournament participation.

Saturday was so-so at best with a finish in the 80s, but on Sunday the fish got a little more dialed into my program and 18-7 got me a top 5.

Great weekend hanging out with some great guys! Lots of good food and laughs!

I’ll be at the Redcrest Expo in Tulsa Saturday afternoon and Sunday representing St. Croix. If you’re in the neighborhood stop by and check out the full lineup!

“St. Croix is proud to announce an all-new series of Legend Tournament Bass rods that are lighter & stronger. Poised to elevate the fishing experience with improved balance, performance, and capability in any technique or presentation.”

Feeling like a jerk today, must go fishing!

These fish were looking for someplace warm and trendy to spend New Year’s Eve. I’m taking them to Club Crisco!

Well we gave it a heck of a run, but came up a bit short. We finished 22nd, but there is not a single thing I would have done differently. The event was absolutely first class and we were treated like royalty throughout the week. I truly want to thank everyone for the text messages, phone calls and Facepage responses, it meant a lot to us.

We made the final cut!!!! Long story short (long story to follow), we are going fishing tomorrow with a million dollars plus on the line. Weights reset back to zero. One day to lay it all out there!

We survived the first cut and get the opportunity to chase them around again today. We’ll need to improve our pace to make the cut and cast for the dough Sunday, but we have plan. Time to go execute!!!

Note- I have no idea how they got this truck and boat trailer to float on the water. I too am very curious. 😀

Current conditions…. frosty with a smidge of fog.

Here we are on the eve of the US Open. Those of you that know me well are aware not much rattles me, but this evening the nerves are starting to set in.

That said….. I’m ready to get out there tomorrow morning with Hunter and get after their slimy butts. Going to have to fish clean and efficient as there aren’t a lot of bites to spare.

Much appreciation for all the texts and messages of support.

Can you feel the anticipation rising? This time next week, 350 teams will be competing for their shot at $1 Million at Table Rock Lake. We can't wait to crown a winner!

Day 2 turned out a little tougher than we thought it would be and not really sure why. We managed to catch 5, but they were little guys. Time to start thinking about the US Open.

Day 2 starts now. Day 1 was ok with 14.65, putting us around 30th. Hoping for a bit better day and looking to move up!

Thanks for the positive vibes!

Been a minute, but we getting after it this morning at the Nichols Championship on Grand Lake.

When I last left you we had just invaded South Dakota in search of the not so elusive smallmouth. Well… we found them and lots of them. Weather was pretty terrible as we had to deal with 40+ mph winds and mud, ohhh the mud. All said and done it was a good trip with some great guys.

The Mercury Pro XS invasion is on!

We made it! We’ve qualified to fish for a million dollars in November at Table Rock. Finished 4th with 21.25 today. Absolutely great day on the water. Congrats to my other team partner Chris DiGino for finishing one spot in front of us.

This was a first class event. The appreciation Bass Pro showed the participants was truly impressive!

Here we go!

Postponed until Sunday because of wind. Tomorrow we ride! Top 40 from this event go fish for a million on Table Rock this fall. Hunter and I have put in a lot of time prepping for this. Anxious to get it going in the morning.

It was one of those days when every decision made goes right. Chris DiGino and I fished the second JC Outdoors event in the Texoma division Sunday. Practice was ok, but random and scattered so we had options. Luckily, we rotated through these options in the correct order and worked our weight up to just over 21.5 pounds to get the win.

It was a damp one on Grand Lake this past weekend. I present every lid open and both auto inflatables inflated as evidence.

Got to meet up with Hunter for the first Nichols Team Series of the year. We ground it out until the very last minute and caught our 5th keeper on the very last cast. Very tough day overall for the field and we were able to get a little payday with just over 10 pounds.