Tim Domaille, a Rochester, Minnesota resident had two primary tournament plans for 2009. Fish the Stren Central Division and fish the TBF Northern Divisional. It worked out very well for Tim that just two weeks before he would fish the TBF event on pool 19 of the Mississippi River in Fort Madison, Iowa, he would be there for a Stren event.

Despite having a less than satisfying experience in Ft. Madison for the Stren event, Tim knew he would have a second chance on pool 19 and capitalize on this opportunity he did. Tim will be representing the Minnesota Bass Federation at the TBF Championship next April 21 to the 25 on a lake that will be announced shortly located near Knoxville, Tennessee.

To prepare for the Northern Divisional, Tim used his experiences and observations from the Stren Series to get “insight of the pools and areas to check when I went back there. I also spent a lot of time on Google Earth dissecting the pools and looking for key areas to investigate” noted Tim.

Like many competitors Tim knew that the event was going to be tough, but with the mind frame of “only getting 5 bites a day, I knew I would have to capitalize on them. There are a lot of small fish and dog fish down there so trying to find the areas that held bigger fish was the key.”

Following a tough Stren tournament for you, what changes, both mentally and physically, did you make after the Stren Series event?

Throughout the event, Tim relied on a Texas-rigged Reaction Innovations Beaver and Chomper Tube. To get a reaction bite out of the bass he through a shallow running square billed crankbait, single Colorado spinnerbait and a Brovarney Swim Jig.

Each day Tim had a specific game plan, which helped him be successful. On day one, his plan was to work several spots, almost run and gun you could say. “I wanted to see if I could catch my five fish off of all the spots. I did lose some key fish that would have been my limit.”

Tim ended up with two fish the first day that weight in at 5-11 lb.

For day two, “I started in a spot my non-boater wanted to go. We caught a couple small fish, but no keepers. Then hit a spot and I had a 3 lb. fish come off on a crankbait. Then hit another spot that I caught my first keeper on rip rap. I went and reworked the areas that I worked on day 1 and caught two more keepers and broke off on at least 3 quality fish. “

This had Tim with 3 bass for 6-08 lb. for day two.

Tim was very confident after learning a lot on days one and two. “I talked with my non-boater and told him I think I could win our state. I was only one lb. out of first and he said whatever I wanted to do was fine with him. Rodney was a great guy to fish with during that day and wanted to see me win my state as much as anyone else! My game plan was to start in an area that I was very confident in and work it thoroughly. Then fish four other areas and working them over very hard. I ended up with a limit on day 3 and won our state by just over one lb.”

Tim’s day three weight was 9-03 lb. and put him in 7^th place with 21-06 lb.’s for the three days.

Is there anything you would’ve done differently Tim?

Now that we have snow on the ground in Minnesota, Tim has already started to gear up for the TBF Championship. To prepare for this, Tim will use the internet for research, Google Earth, along with looking at maps. Before the cut off Tim is also going to spend a week on the lake looking around. Besides this event, Tim will fish the KFAN/St. Jude tournament, BFL’s and TBF club events in 2010.

Has the thought of turning pro crossed your mind? Yes, that has been my dream ever since I was 10 and told my mom and dad that someday my tackle boxes are going to be my brief cases! Most people watch the Pros on TV and say they want to do that. They do not have a clue to the time, money and effort that goes into it. My hat is off to all the true Pros out there.”

Tim our hat is off to you and we wish you the best of luck at the TBF Championship and hope that someday you get to hold that brief case you have always dreamed of! Congratulations again and we thank you for all your hard work at Future Bass!