Kristine Fisher Was Up At Mille Lacs This Past Week

Snatcher's At Mission Lake, My Plan and Rods

It is going to be hot and I am prepared for it to be a grind.  July tournaments tend to be that way.  The Pre-fish was good. Hopefully, the fish Al found are still there and cooperative.  It looks like it is going to be moderately windy from start to finish, so I think topwater is probably out.

Rods I'm Bringing:
7'4"H Tatula (Frog) Probably won't get used.
7'4" H Zillion (Jig)
7' H Avid (Craw Tube)
7' MH Tatula Elite (Topwater, Traps) Probably won't get used
7' M Avid (Neko Rig)
7' MH Mojo (Chatterjigs)
6'8" M Avid (Topwater, Jerkbait)
6'6" MH 783GLX (Jigs)

6'6" M 782 GLX (Ned Rig)

June 27th Snatchers at Serpent

2/8ozs Z-Man TRD

Boater: Chuck Steinbauer
Conditions: 65-84℉, Mostly Sunny, 0-3mph Various directions

The Day: We blasted off for this one at around 6:40AM which is nice.  It became quickly apparent to me with Chuck getting bites almost immediately on a stick worm and nothing going on topwater that finesse fishing would have to be a bigger part of the program than I wanted it to be.  I switched to a Z-Man TRD on an Outkast Perfect Ned Head and caught me a 9" dink and a rock bass.  I didn't get a hit on anything on the next two spots we tried.  I finally got my first keeper in the boat on the Ned Rig at Darrin's Point. The fish was 14.5" long and in my haste to get back fishing I didn't weigh it till later.  It ended up being the smallest fish in my bag at 1/7. I then caught a line burner followed by my big fish of the day at 2/8.  We then went to the spot Chuck got a nice smallie and a couple of good lmb's on in pre-fish.  I caught a 2lber and Chuck got bupkiss.  We then went to the public access where I got a couple of small topwater fish that would take forever and a day for me to cull out.  I did manage to get rid of the line burner and the one I replaced him with on our next stop before we hit a long dry spell.  We came back to that weedline spot later in the day and I got an upgrade that stuck along with some dinks and a multitude of rockies.  In the final hour, we hit one of Chuck's old spots, and both upgraded a couple more fish.  We spent the final 20-minutes down by the landing where there was a chop on the water. I had two fish hit at the Whopper Plopper and not hook up.

Results: My fish weighed 11lbs 15ozs which put me in 6th Place. Chuck's weighed 14/10 and put him in 2nd Place. Hammer took 1st with 16/5 and lunker with a 4/02 smallie. Tyler Czech was the first Co-Angler Challenge Winner of 2020 with 13/05.

The 6th Place finish is my 3rd best finish in the 1st tournament of the year.  It looks like we are going to have small fields this year and there is a possibility we won't make up the first tournament which was postponed.  Every point counts and this finish gives me a leg up in finishing in the Club Super 6 at the end of the year.

My Thoughts:  Pre-fishing is a big deal for my confidence level. Last year the late June tournament was held on Alexander under similar circumstances, but I was unable to pre-fish that one.  The report coming in last year was that the bite was on fire.  When it wasn't on tournament day I got caught flat-footed and never got comfortable with what I was throwing.  I only brought in 3 fish that day.  This year I was prepared for what I was going to throw if the fish didn't cooperate and the plan worked out pretty well.

I should probably pick up some more of those Outkast Perfect Ned Heads.  I only have 3 of them.


Final Standings:

Snatcher's Serpent Lake Tourney, My Plan and Rods

My 13th Year fishing with the Snatchers is off to a late start do to the Rona. But better late than never.  This will be the 6th time I have been partnered with Chuck Steinbauer in a Snatcher's Tournament.  I've never failed to get a limit fishing with Chuck, knock on wood.  Serpent has a pretty good bass population. If the are firing on topwater this could be the tournament I have long waited for.

The Rods I'm Bringing:
7' H Avid (Craw Tube)
7' M Avid (Neko, Fluke)
7' MHM Mojo (Traps, Chatter Jigs)
7' MHM Tatula Elite (Topwater, Traps)
6'10" MH Crucial (Spinnerbait, buzzbait)
6'8" M Avid (Topwater, Jerkbait)
6'6" MH MBR783 GLX (Jig)
6'6" M SJR 782 GLX (Ned Rig)

Victory Achieved Devin's 2020 Birthday Bulhead

1st Bullhead of the Day onMay 20th is Dedicated to my niece Devin.  Happy Birthday, Young Woman!

2020 Opener Recap

25.5" X-Rap Shad Shallow (Pink)

I don't think I have ever done a postmortem on a Fishing Opener.  I don't think I've ever used the word postmortem in a sentence before either.  Well, by golly I'm killing two birds with one stone today.

 My 2020 Fishing Opener was discombobulated right from the start.  I was getting my lines set up at 5-minutes to midnight on Eddy's Jetty when I got a surprise visit from Casino Security informing me that Eddy's was closed.  I kind of figured that out when there wasn't a car in the parking lot.  Thankfully, he didn't kick me out right away.  I got to fish unit 2:00AM when he came by again and told the 5 of us that were fishing there that we had to leave.  I managed to get 4 eyes landed while losing two lures.  The first was an Ultimate Jerk Shad that broke off at the spool when I backlashed precipitated by my line guides freezing up.  The second was an X-Rap Shad Shallow because I didn't check my line for frays after the backlash.  So I lost my first bite of the night.

I made the best of getting booted from Eddy's and tried a spot I was aware of but never fished, the rock point at Mac's Twin Bay.  It wasn't what I expected, but there was a spot for me to cast from and I caught the pig there, so two thumbs up.  I also had a big walleye break me off and saw a mid-30-inch toothy critter swim by.

The GOMH gave up a couple toothy critters to me and a couple of jumpers to Delroy's Crew.  I caught a small bass at Bulldog.

I got a surprise phone call in the morning letting me know the Trophy was ready for me to pick up.   I waited until 4PM to pick it up, which was a mistake because it was sleeting out pretty good at that point. I wasn't gung ho about getting soaked so we didn't put her in the water.

I didn't get back to fishing until 1:30AM Sunday Morning.  I went to Eddy's and they didn't have any no trespassing signs up so I fished at the Jetty.  The wind really kicked in shortly after I arrived.  I fished for an hour and a half getting two bites catching one.  I was going to hit the GOMH but went home ate some pizza and went to bed instead.

The rest of my time spent fishing resulted in no fish being landed and me not being able to fish at the Jetty because they had closed it off with police tape.  I did have a small walleye follow at Mac's and lost a toothy at the GOMH at sunrise.

Not the greatest Opener in the world, but I have had worse.  I should have gone to pick up the Trophy right away because Saturday, was the day to get it done.  The fish were on the chew.  The snow and cold and wind killed the bite for me on Sunday.

2020 Opener Outlook

Weather:  The only thing for certain is that it is going to be cool/cold.  They took the rain off of the Saturday forecast today.

Current Plan: Still Eddy's Jetty at midnight.  I may or may not take the Slop Slip out.

Friday I plan to spend several hours on tackle prep.  I need to get my crap together.

Slop Slip First Trip (A Bit of a Trainwreck)

4:00-6:00PM Rock Lake RPRO
58-℉, PC, 0-6mph NE
Water level low.

I got the lettering put on the Slop Slip and because the winds were light I thought I would give her a trial run.  It could have gone better.  I elected to go with the 55lb of thrust Min Kota.  I think that is overkill and it doesn't tighten itself to the boat easily.  I found that out when I was pushing the boat into the water and it fell in the lake. Good thing I had the batter terminals attached.  I fished it right out and it worked fine.  On the way to the RPRO, I didn't have the troller adjusted right with it being to low in the water.  I ran into the log on the bottom at full speed.  I was lucky nothing broke.    I then didn't follow my plan of making my way to the beaver dam but drifted/fished my way there.  The first thing that happened was a fish swirled on my orange Rocket Bobber; That happened at least a half dozen times.    Shortly after that, I caught the 13 inches.  The water level is low.  I didn't see much baitfish activity and kept having to pick off weeds.  I landed one bass on THE JIg, One on a craw tube, and one on the Poison.  I also got a pike on the Poison.  Missed a bunch of bites.  I never found any concentration of panties and lost the one for sure sunfish I did have on.  The water was pretty clear.  It would be really nice if the water level came up 6-inches.  Because I was struggling to find the pannies I turned in at 6PM.

Angie Thompson Is Starting A Fishing Business Podcast

Angie Thompson was the late Jerry McKinnis, right-hand woman.

Check it out:
https://www.fishingbusinessschool.com/fishing-business-podcast?fbclid=IwAR3SMfSbjyYRRLWmuIN_-Ym6KfjoBGALKYDq4IUEYJw40TiPNvFnqNVtnsM

Dock In At the Lake Place

I got up to the Lake Place a little after  4PM and we were done by 5PM.  Steve did most of the work.  We put the Slop Slip n the Expedition.  I had a stowaway crawl onto my hand as I was driving home. There was a mouse in the boat when we put it in the truck.  I pulled the boat out and left the Expedition doors open when I got home, so hopefully it found a new abode.

April Was A Brutal Month For Catching Fish for the BP

On April 17th I wrote a blog post entitled April Has Been Brutal So Far.  When I wrote it I was thoroughly convinced I would have things turned around in a big way by the end of the month. Due to my motor issues which developed on the 23rd that rally never materialized. The panfish never moved in en masse to where I could get them and I was no longer able to go to the fish.  That was a tough month.  I'm glad it's over. 

I have no idea when I will be able to use the Trophy. I think I'm probably going to have to write off the month of May as far as that goes.  I will be putting the Slop Slip to use and will continue hitting the GOMH at prime times.  I don't know if getting a hundred fish day is a realistic expectation now or not.  I am sure going to give hitting that goal this month my best shot. 

Forecast For 2020 MN Fishing Opener a Week And A Half Out

The Weather:
It looks like it may be wet and cool, which is better than wet and cold. OK, 37 degrees is cold when combined with rain or wind, but right now it says showers which may mean not much precipitation.  And judging by the winds if it holds around the 10mph range, that probably means winds diminishing in the evening and picking up during the day.

My Plans Right Now:
As for my 2020 Opener, the plan is my usual Eddy's Jetty at Midnight And every night thereafter until the night ban starts.  Ice will basically be off the lake for two weeks at that point and it doesn't look like we are going to jump into June temperatures so the fish should still be shallow where I can get them.  Last year they were shallow throughout June.

The Big Question I Can't Answer: Will the motor on the Trophy be working by Opener?
My optimism on this question has diminished significantly.  None of my original ideas were as easy as they first appeared and now I'm in a time crunch. I most likely will have a boat on the water for Opener. It may be the Slop Slip in Platte/Sullivan, Rock, Erskine, Long, or Bulldog.  Or maybe I will outfit the Trophy with two trollers and launch that somewhere and do put and takes like it's the Slop Slip.

Update on the Big Question:  Hopefully, I didn't jump the gun on this.  I still had one iron in the fire still on my original ideas.  I didn't hear back from him last night, so today I took it upon myself to drop The Trophy and Motors off at a local Marine/Small Engine place. He had no idea when he would be getting back to me.  Obviously, this is the busy season for marine and small engine repair.  So now I wait and plan on using the Slop Slip on Opener unless a miracle happens.

Godspeed Smoke

Our gregarious very dog-like cat was put to sleep today.  Run free Smoke.

April Has Been Brutal So Far

Fish Swami won't let me submit a fishing trip entry without a fish being entered, so I added skunk to the list of fishes in 2015.  This year has been a banner year for the skunk.  I've got 20 of them so far. But things are about to change.  I plan on whacking the snot out of the panfish this year once I get them figured out.  Multiple hundred fish days shouldn't be out of the question if the wind doesn't blow to bad. Whack and throwback, baby! Whack and throw 'em back!

I Was Proven Wrong And Skunked

Rock Dock In

Fished Channel Inn Bay tonight

Also fished the GOMH by boat and from shore

Well, my theory about the docks not going in until after Opener was officially disproven as they put Rock Dock in today.  I threw a few casts off of it and came up empty.  Same at Bulldog.  I then went and got in the Trophy because the lake had calmed down some and headed to Channel Inn Bay.  Couldn't locate any fish in the hay.  Gave the GOMH area a try.  Lantern Man showed up just as I reached the bridge.  I talked to him for a little bit, then headed in.  I stopped at the GOMH on the way home.  L.M. didn't get any bites and neither did I.  I stayed for about 15 minutes and used one minnow.  It was a refreshing night on the water.

Rock Dock Not In Yet

Well, Rock Dock isn't in today.  I will be amazed if they put them in the area lakes by Opener.  Normally they would be Johnny in the lake by now.

When Will Rock Dock Go In?

By my reckoning based on past experience, the Rock Dock should have been in by today, tomorrow at the latest.  I don't know if the DNR has stopped putting docks in lakes or not.  It wouldn't surprise me if they have either called this a non-essential task or have re-assigned the workers to other issues.  If the docks aren't in by the end of the day tomorrow, I think it is going to be a while.  I can understand them not putting the docks in as a way to ensure some social distancing;  Docks are a chokepoint for people to come into contact in close quarters.

The Rock Dock is a nice option to fish from, but it isn't what it once was due to the coontail and cabbage all but disappearing in the area.