Monday, December 18, 2006

Christmas is coming

A year ago I was in Florida for Christmas, boy do I miss that. Actually the weather in MN has been very mild so far this winter. Will it be a white Christmas?

The BP has not been out ice fishing yet, but the ice seems to be safe on area lakes. I was given a very nice permanent ice fishing shack that will go on the ice sometime after the first of the year. Hopefully I'll put up pictures.

The Vikes are almost officially not play-off bound. I do like the looks of Tarvaris though.

Anyway Happy Holiday's to all!

Sunday, November 19, 2006

The wheels are falling off

Last week a loss to the Pack, this week a loss to the Dolphins. The only good thing about the loss is that Chokepepper wasn't QBing. If you missed it, the Vikes awfulfense gave up two touchdowns in the 4th quarter and Miami won 24-10.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloweener!

Vikes got Rolled
The Pats came to town on Monday night and put sort of a whooping on the Vikes. However, on a key play in the red zone Mewelde Moore was blatantly held, uncalled, resulting in a Patriot interception. The game may have turned out quite a bit differently had a penalty been assessed with the Vikes 1st and goal at the 2. The score was only 10 zip at half.

Mewelde who is my favorite Vike ran back a punt for 6 otherwise it would have been shut out city. The Vikings red zone offence was terrible. I was not happy that Bolinger came in instead of Taveris.

Also I am now NO fan of the New England Patriots. When the game was obviously over, they stayed in the pass first offence and tried to run up the score. Fortunately the Vikes D stepped it up a little and put a few knocks on the golden boy as they well should have.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Vikes Win! Vikes Win!
31-13
I had no faith. I thought the Vikes may play the Seahawks close in Seattle but didn't think they had any shot at the win. Who knew?

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Mille Lacs Fall Trolling

Still alive, still not much in a blogging mood. I have been out for one Fall Walleye trip on Mille Lacs. I did OK Fishing from 8PM to 1AM or so landing 7 walleye from 1 cigar up to two 27"'s. Got them on either a Perch Frenzy Minnow, White Green Frenzy Minnow, or Mystic Susp Minnow wht/blu. Unfortunatly I was unable to get down to the Salmon Run again this year, the reports say it's been a good year.

I probably should have gone trolling tonight as that it was reasonably warm, oh well.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

What is up with the BP

Ever since I hit that deer, I have had very little interest in fishing. I've only been on the water twice since; Both trips I was fishing with someone else or I wouldn't have bothered. Since I've had no interest in fishing, there has been no interest in blogging about fishing or anything else. I guess the BP is just drowning in the dog days of summer.

Hellabass has been writing consistantly, so if you want a bass blogger check him or Bass Hole first.

Anyone know of any new bassin bloggers?

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Tigerhawk goes fishing
I've been a periodically avid fisherman since I caught my first smallmouth bass at age five. In addition to the savage smallmouth, the Adirondack lake where I learned to fish has walleyes and northern pike, and at various times I have pursued these as well. I've just returned from two lovely weeks up North, and had a very nice time reliving fishing memories through my tackle box. Any tackle box collects, over the years, a wide assortment of lures, each with its own story, or the grating absence of a story. Mine is no exception. In addition to lake fishing, I have at various times also pursued largemouth bass in weedy farm ponds, fished for carp and channel catfish in the muddy Iowa River, and sought trout and landlocked salmon in fast, clear running streams. Of course I share a fisherman's attraction to pretty, shiny lures of new shapes and sizes, and am far easier to tempt than the fish I pursue, and as a result my tackle box is crammed with all sorts of lures.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Thursday, August 10, 2006

I'm still alive, but haven't been doing any fishing. The FLW Championship was held an was won by Brent Erhler, who? Not exactly a house hold name. Jay Yelas actually had the best 4 day weight by quite a bit, but only the last day matters in the FLW Championship.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

BP Update- Hit A Deer

The big news is that I hit a deer this morning on my way to the Team Bass Horseshoe Lake Tournament. I was about a half hour into the trip and it did a pretty good number on the front of the truck. I was able to get turned around and limp it back to the new house. I am not even sure if the deer was killed or not because it was nowhere to be seen. Dad thinks it's fixable but that is gonna take some time and that I may have lucked into replacement parts cheap.

I was not needed at camp this past 4th of July week thanks to some campers that cancelled. I spent the week resting and spent a day pre-fishing for the Horseshoe Chain. I will not be needed for camp this week, which is fine seeing that I've have no tow vehicle for the boat.

All in all I'm pretty bummed about the hitting the deer and missing the tournament and last week of camp. I'm going to try and get over it by going down to the cities and see my niece Isabelle for a couple of days. Hopefully the little cutie will cheer me up.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

It's official:
Dave Maas wins 2006 Bowfin Championship

Dave Maas won his second Grand Championship in the Minnesota Bowfin Club (MBC). The Hillman, MN angler also won the Championship in 2004. Maas took the lead early, registering a 30 inch fish in April this spring, and was never seriously challenged for the title. His nearest competition was a 25 inch fish recorded by Chuck Fields, of Brainerd, for a distant second place.

Maas caught the winning bowfin (sometimes called dogfish) on April 26, 2006, on Mille Lacs Lake. He was sight fishing, and used a ½ oz white jig & pork rind. Maas is the first person to win two Grand Championships since the club began competition in 1999

The MBC tournament occurs each spring to see who can catch and release the largest Bowfin. The Bowfin is considered a “rough fish,” by some. However, this fish puts up a great battle when taken on traditional bass fishing equipment. The MBC promotes fishing for these fish using artificial lures, and releasing them unharmed. Bowfins play a valuable role in the eco-system of any lake.

The MBC tournament season is held from ice out until June 15th each spring. For a complete listing of tournament rules and registration procedures, please visit the MBC website at http://get.to/bowfin/

FYI-Dave Maas is the BP.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

The Week in Tournaments:

Monday June 12th GEM Pepsi Challenge Tournament Town Line Lake:
The fish were on the feed this night with lots of fish caught in all boats. The winner of the 3 Bass, 3 Pike tournament was Dave Lindmark and the 6 kids in the pontoon achored by Sarah's 20inch Largemouth. Sara is a girl, duh, who has mild cerebral palsy and retardation but she held up wonderfully for the week and was a joy to be around; Her 20 incher was big Largemouth for the week and her first fish ever. My boat, Rick and Justin, caught a bunch of bass and some pike but no size.

Tuesday June 13th GEM Pepsi Challenge Tournament Mule Lake:
The weather was sunny which makes Mule Lake tough, the fish did bite late in the day. The Tournament was taken by Guide Mike Thompson and his two kids. I think they won this Multispecies Tournament with 7 species: Largemouth, Smallmouth, Rock Bass, Perch, Sunfish, Crappie, and Pike. Mike caught several 4lb class largemouth on docks and a few good smallies on docks and poppers. My boat, Rick and Justin, didn't try that hard to fish multi-species. I caught a 4lb Larry and 4lb Sally on the Frenzy Popper.

Wednesday June 14th Pepsi Challenge Tournament Town Line Lake:
We went back to Town Line cause the fishing was so good on Monday night, but the weather was warm and sunny which made fishing much tougher. Mike Thompson took the tournament with Rick and Justin on the strength of 3 good Bass and Pike. My boat Malik and Dylan, struggled and didn't have much size on either the bass or pike. We did have fun "surf fishing."

Thursday June 15th GEM Pepsi Challenge Tournament Blackwater Lake:
Conditions were sunny with a south east wind with growing cloud cover late, not ideal but Blackwater has lots of bass and fishing was pretty good. The Best 6 Bass tournament was a tie at 97inches between my boat, Elijah and Alex, and Dave Lindmark and the 6 kids in the pontoon. The pontoon won the tie breaker with Rick's 19inch smallie which was also big smallie of the week. Thus my boat was shut out for the week.

Saturday June 17th Fishers of Men Club Twin Cities Multi-species Buffalo Lake:
The weather was cloudy with a slight South then North wind turning very wet. The fishing was tough and me and my partner Tony Hanf got skunked. Buffalo lake appears to be in the midst of a major decline thanks to winter time over harvest, weed killing, and run off. The Tournament was won by Mike Thompson and his Dad with 10 Crappies and a 20.5 inch Largemouth. The day was not a total wash out as that I had Angeno's Pizza for dinner.

Camp Summary: It was a good week with good kids. On to Lindisfarne.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Great Expectations Ministry

It's time for the me to head off the GEM camps for the summer. I will be spending the next 5 weeks volunteering as a guide to take kids fishing. It's a lot of fun but my blogging will take a big hit as that I will only have access during the weekends and those are busy enough already.

Hopefully I can get some pictures from the camp this year. I think the director has a digital camera.

Please be in prayer for me and the kids
Peace Out!

Saturday, June 10, 2006

The BP Tournament Scuttlebutt:
The first two Team Bass tournaments are now history and the results are satisfactory but not spectacular. The first tournament was last week at Lake Osakis in Todd County. Osakis is a big lake that is known more for panfish and walleye than bass. I had a reasonably preductive pre-fish and managed to parlay that into my first check of the year with a fourth place finish out of 17 Teams. This was my best regular season finish since two years ago.

Today we had our tournament at Lobster lake, as I said yesterday I had low expectations. The weather was better than I thought it would be and I actually had a really good time. I managed to beat my weight from last year by a few ounces but didn't manage to crack the 12lb mark . I thought I had a great shot at another check but it wasn't to be. I ended up in 5th place because the 3rd place team caught a 4lb03oz kicker right at the end of the day, otherwise I would have been ahead of them. I am keeping on track so far with the 5th place average finish that I will need to have a shot at the top 10 at the end of the year. Still no kicker fish for me. The next tournament isn't until July 8th at the Horseshoe Chain.

Kumar Blog Day 3

Friday, June 09, 2006

On tommorrows tournament at Lobster Lake: My pre-fish didn't go well and now lousy conditions are going to prevail. It is gonna get cold and it will be a wet and windy morning. This will probably make the fishing tough. Not looking that much foreward to fishing this one.

BassFan's Jay Kumar is blogging the Skeeters Owners Tournament this weekend at Lake Fork, TX at the BassFan Army Site
Day One Here
Day Two Here

Check out this somewhat new fishing blog Black Gumbo a good primer post would be How We Started This Fishing Thing, and Why Excerpt:
Our first fishing trip of 2006 was spawned by my son’s question “Dad, when can we go fishing again?” I had really been trying hard for years to find some activity that my son really embraced. He had tried sports, and while he was enjoying himself, he really wasn’t embracing it like some kids do. Swimming, soccer, gymnastics, all were tried, all were dropped. He got into BMX racing for while too, but the heat really kills that sport in the summer for all but the most dedicated.

And to add another layer to our quest for something he would really click on, I never really was an integral part of his outdoor activities. That bugs me. You see, we believe in a strong family identity and we foster things that some folks consider out of place. We belong to a classical education home schooling program of maybe 200 kids; we attend a family integrated church where we worship together, not segregated; we actually sit down to eat dinner as a family more often than not; and we do stuff together because we like each other. All four of us genuinely like each other! Imagine that. So my desire was to carry on that kind of togetherness with my son’s activities. Sports wasn’t cutting it.
It looks like the fishing is centered around inshore down in Texas.

See a Fish shaped coffin at The Trout Underground

Don't miss this blog: Spike of Living the Dream has his tribute to Kirby Puckett done. Actually it was done March 17th but I've not been to his blog since then.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

BP 2005 Team Bass Tournament of Champions Report

Hellabass Le Homme Deu Tournament Story- Congratulations on 10th Place and making a check. Full Bassmaster Series LHD results here with Co. For the intial Bassmaster Series they had 60 boats and Dean Capra won it going away. Lots of the Excel Bass guys fished this tournament either as a boater or Co.

Tournament Results at the Ohio Bass Fishing Blog

Chris Koester wins the Co-Angler division at Elite Series Grand Lake plus other BassFan Big sticks stories.

GOLIATH fish story at Fishing Jones

Friday, June 02, 2006

What I've been up too.

I've turned into a slithering reptile in the TLLB ecosystem, wonder when that happened?

Pre-fished Osakis on Wed. more on that later.

Didn't feel well yesterday, bad head and back aches

I've got a new trolling motor. More on that later.

Monday, May 29, 2006

BP sends out Memorial Day gratitude to all soldiers who served this nation. God Bless America!

Posted by PicasaPic from the launch on Mille Lacs. Story Here

The Weather edited(from earlier today): It has been rumbling for the last 45 minutes and it has gotten very dark outside. I love a good thunderstorm, just waiting for it to punch. It has started to rain with a medium downpoor... It eventually came down pretty good with some marble sized hail. The temp went from 92 to 74.

Blogs that BP recommends:
Fishing Jones
Ezods
Hellabass One & 2
The Bass Hole

BP finds a new search engine: Dogpile I'm one of the many who are miffed that Google didn't put a tribute to our soldiers on Memorial Day.

Sunday May 28, 2006

BP VS. Cyberfish Bass Opener 2006

Tommorrow is supposed to be hot again. I don't have a plan but I'm scheming to get rid of that Minn Kota Endura trolling motor as fast as I can.

Family News
Congratualtions to my older brother Jeff for being accepted to Hamline Law school with a generous merit scholarship. So William Mitchell, what is thy offer?

Mom got a speeding ticket in Florida

I got a call from Isabelle Todd and Kristen yesterday

Devin Sage lost Grandma Maas to the road as of yesterday. Mom is heading north.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Liveblogging the 2006 MN Bass Opener

I didn't repeat last years mistake and got up early to hit the PRO where the early bird gets the worm. I woke up at 5:00 and was on the water by 5:35. It was a cool 67 with a bit of a SE breeze already stirring the air. I headed straight for the Platte River Outlet.

Upon Arrival I had several rods rigged and ready to go. I picked up the white swim jig and reddish purple trailer first. I got a hit on my very first cast but it was a pike. The Swim Jig was getting to caught up in the rice and so I switched to a green Zoom Horny Toad, shortly after starting to throw that I landed a 13.75" bass. Shortly after that I landed a 16.75" fish on the Horny Toad, then I landed a 17" bass with the swim jig. I then caught another 13.75" on the Toad and then a pike and then a 12" bass.

I had started making my way into the river at this point and another boat was coming in there with me. I landed a 15" right in front of these other two guys. They proceeded to go right in front of me and start fishing almost immediately the guy in the front of the other boat caught a 14-16" fish. I kind of worked slowly allowing for us to have some separation. I then started thoroughly working the wind blown side of the river. I caught a couple of 12 inchers then I got 2 that were 15-16", this was fishing behind these two guys. I narrowed the gap between us and decided to split.

I went to a semi-protected part of the PRO outside of the river. The slop was thick enough that it was Snagproof Frog time. I started by throwing a white frog and was shortly rewarded with a 16" bass. A little bit later I caught a 15" fish. I switched to a brown Snagproof Bobby's Perfect Frog, I got a bite and broke off, I'm not sure if it was a pike or not. Disappointed I tied on a Black Red Sparkle Frog and kept fishing. I worked my way to the river mouth then headed to the south shore of the PRO. All I got on the south shore was a few hits from Pike.

I then headed into "Old Cabin Bay" to do a little dock fishing except the good dock run was all covered up by parked panfish fishermen. I moved beyond them and started on docks with a black and green jig. I got a few on the docks and missed a few but nothing bigger than 15" and the fishing was fairly slow. I headed in about 11 O Clock. Overall I did alright. Conditions started to get tough with that wind, there were a ton of people on their docks or out in boats, it was a zoo out there by 9AM.

And then I took a nap

I went out for about 45 minutes around 4:30PM. I was fishing docks in our bay with the black and green jig. I managed to get one little bass. Didn't see much activity but a few sunnies. I left my polarized glasses here at the house. I got back to the house by 5:30 and shortly after that Mike "Cyberfish" Thompson arrived and we had dinner. He had been out on Mille Lacs hammering crappie and sunnies. He said he saw a lot of bedding Larry's and Sally's but could not get them to bite. After Dinner Mike cleaned crappie for a fish fry tomorrow.

We decided to go out around 7:30 in the calm area just to the East of our place. I got one 12"bass and Mike had a couple of follows. This area is full of rice which caused the Trolling Motor to overheat and now I have no working forward speeds. NICE! Fricking Minn Kota piece of crap.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and more windy than today. Dad will have a look at the trolling motor tomorrow. I have a sinking feeling that I will be using our old trolling motor for at least the first couple of tournaments. I think it will work out ok provided I don't have to fight millfoil or rice. Tomorrow with the high winds and boat out of commission Mike and I may go float tubing on a little lake.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Tournament Reports 2005 for Knife and Platte Sullivan are up at the Tourny HQ.

MN Bass Openner is now just under 24 hours away!

The Plan: Wake up at day break and hit the PRO, from there it's anybodies guess but I will be out today looking for beds and bass activity. I suspect I'll be throwing lots of jigs and trick worms at docks with maybe a little bit of action in the slop. It's supposed to be quite windy and warm.

Mike Thompson will be coming up on Sat. night and we will hit the lake after church on Sunday which is supposed to be into the 90's. We may hit Mille Lacs if it's nice on Sun. or Mon.

Gar at The Bass Hole has been whackin and stackin

Mosquito's the little buggers started to be out in force today with the warm weather. Bass openner is now just a few short hours away. Visions of Snagproof Tournament Frogs will be dancing in my head tonight.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

BP Feature: BP's 2006 Tournament Outlook Part 1

Picture of Devin Sage Maas

This is what Uncle Todd had to say at his blog.
Welcome....

Devin Sage Maas my wonderful new little niece coming in at 21 1/2 inches and 8lbs 7oz at 4:51a.m.

I am an uncle again. So welcome little one, my prayer for you would be that you would know Jesus, know Jesus, Know Jesus and that you would grow in wisdom and mercy. Wisdom and Mercy will be your the 2 godly attributes that I will pray be raised up in you.

Congrats Steve and Kim and of course Haley! I'm sure you are exhausted. Love you,

Uncle Todd
We are all very excited!!!!!!

Posted by PicasaFishing Rod and Reel Story from My Fishing Chronicles- "Fishing is a Passion." This is one good fishing blog, lots of pictures and stories.

Gar with Big Korean bass at The Bass Hole.-Check it out!

In case BP fans are wondering, why all the blogging. It's kind of cool outside and I don't think the fishing will be that great, plus bass aren't officially open, plus the weather is supposed to take a turn for the better starting tommorrow; that's why I blog today.

The first BASS Major is over with Peter T taking home $250,000 at the Bassmaster Memorial.

Check out this Blog: Bassin' the Net (a very fishy blog)

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Devin Is Born! Plus Misc

Hooray! my Brother Steve and Sister in law Kim had Devin Sage Maas at 4:40AM. She was 21" inches and 8lbs7ozs. I haven't seen any pictures yet, but Steve says she is definitely a little Maas. The labor went on for 15 or 16 hours. Poor Kim had a terrible time of it, but everything is good now.

Hellabass has his first tournaments of the summer this weekend. Preview
Because we are fishing these two tournaments "No Cull", it changes how I may go about things. I feel pretty confident I could start out with Jerkbaits & lipless cranks and get a limit in the morning. If I do that and females make themselves easy pickings in the afternoon, then I am hosed because I am stuck with a livewell full and I cannot cull them out. So if the water looks right, I may just start the morning looking for bigger fish.

Although traditionally our May club tournaments are pretty stingy, so I may put the first few keepers in the box regardless of size. I have been burned before by throwing keepers back. I feel there is a pretty solid chance there will be some fish ready to spawn by tomorrow afternoon
.
I don't know about in the Amery area but up here the weather threw a curve ball from the actual forecast. It was nice up until about 11 and then the clouds rolled in the wind picked up and it even rained for a while. This front wasn't supposed to come through so fast. The bite up here on Sullivan for pike went from so so to tough. I hope Hellabass wasn't counting on the bite getting better as the day wore on.
Have I been dissed?
Anyhow, if you want a target to shoot for, it makes more sense to target Instapundit than Bass Pundit.
via basil's blog

Man he could have used any of the other 143 other Pundits out there, but NO basil chooses to smack me around.

Actually I thought it was funny. I think I'm gonna add it to the top of my page.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Today...

Was a nice day a wee bit windy. I hung out most of the afternoon throwing the frisbee to Pattie Lou. Eventually I braved the wind and went out fishing. I caught 3 Pike including a strong 29" that made my day. I also had a break off and caught several bass. I fished Sullivan.

Tommorrow I will be heading to Lake Minnetonka for the inagural Fishers of Men 3rd Thursday Outing. At this point I expect to be the only boat out there. Oh well.

More trolling motor problem, my bracket broke, but dad worked out a pretty good fix for me. Minn Kota Endura transom mounts are junk for serious fisherman, step up to the Maxxum's.

Brought the Widow Olson some fish to eat and she repaid me with a choclate bar and banana bread. Had fish for dinner, yum.

Still no word on Kim, tommorrow must be the day

Tommorrow is the start of the Bassmaster Memorial Major-be sure to get those Fantasy Bass Rosters up to date.

All for now.
How much longer until bass opener? Anyone seen any dogfish I can catch?

It's been a pretty lethargic last couple of days, I did get the boat cleaned and visited the Minnesota Fishing Museum with Dad yesterday.

Go check Hellabass for some interesting Wapo informationO. I am amazed that he would write about his pre-fish before the tournament was over. Or maybe he was doing PsyOps with the competition.

Here is Cyberfish's openner report: via Catch-N.com
No walleyes for me either. We took some kids out on a pontoon for some pike
and crappies. the lake I wanted to fish had too shallow ramp for the toon.
Decided to mosey on over to whaletail, where I have heard rumors of huge pike
and slabs. Well, I am sure they are in there, but we didnt find em. The bass
must have known the season was closed, cuz that is all that was biting! I threw
a huge spinner with a heavey steel leader, but only got two nice bass. Mitch our
best GEM fishing guide boated a huge bass over 21inches and full of eggs. No
pike not even a hammer handle, no crappies, one kid got a couple of sunfish on
waxworms. Everyone had a good time, we got out of the wind and it didnt rain too
much.


Kim, I think you should have your baby today;)

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Opener in 4 Parts

Opening Report Part 1:
I'm Back. The wind and waves were howling in out of the East which means I couldn't cast very well. After about 6 to 10 casts I was out of there. If the wind stays like that than the Eddy's Jetti may be pretty good tomorrow during the day.

Opening Report Part 2:
I've spent the day so far inside relaxing, the weather has been cool rainy and windy, but plan to get out in a bit. Here is the results so far from the Gov., Governor, first lady reel in walleyes.

Opening Report Part 3:
Around 3PM or so I started getting around to getting the boat ready in a steady drizzle to light rain to steady downpour. I was not thrilled about this. When the boat finally launched I trolled a Excaliber Floater Shad for Pike and Walleye's. I got a pike and then the motor started giving me trouble so I headed into the little east bay. I got 3 small pike and a bass. From there I headed into Sullivan and trolled the Excaliber Floater Shad for Pike and Walleye's with no results. I then headed to the South side of the Pro. I started with throwing a swim jig and caught a small bass immediately. Shortly after that a pike separated me from the swim jig. I put on a spinnerbait and worked all the way into the river. I got 2 more small pike and a bass. I was getting hungry and so I headed back into Platte. I decided to troll with the Excaliber Floater Shad for Pike and Walleye's when I was between the two Islands. Trolling in I whacked a 5-6lb Northern and then I decided I was good and headed in.

Opening Report Part 4:
The weather was finally clearing up and so I decided to head to Mille Lacs and Eddy's Jetty. The reports from Mille Lacs today have been that the fish were on fire. I waited until I saw all the fishing stuff on the 10 O'clock news and then headed out. Between 10:45 and Midnight I landed 4 Eyes all off the same spot on the Jetty. The first two were a 15" keeper and 19" keeper. I then landed a 21.5" slot fish and 20.5" slot fish. After casting for another 15 minutes or so without a bite I decided that was good and left.

Not a bad end to a somewhat crappy day.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Pre-Opener Thoughts

Posted by PicasaMinnesota Pro Jim Moynagh is leading the FLW Kentucky Lake Tournament.
BassFan Story
FLW Story
FLW Quick bites

Pre-Opener Thoughts:
Tomorrow night at Midnight is the start of "The Opener," the weekend that marks Minnesota's open season for the state fish Walleye and the toothy Northern Pike. "The Opener" comes with a great deal of hoopla and anticipation amongst the angling crowd; It is a rite of Spring.

I do look foreword to "The Opener" but it is not the end all be all for me because it doesn't open the season for bass. I must note it is OK to catch bass provided you are fishing for northerns, walleye, dogfish, or panfish. It's still a couple of weeks away before I can break out the full arsenal of bass catching bliss. In the meantime I do enjoy fishing for both pike and walleye and will do a little of both over the weekend and throughout the rest of the open water season.

The weather is supposed to be cool and breezy with a hint or two of some rain. Not the greatest but not outright cold wet with gale force winds either. If the weather was better I would be hitting the water hard. As it stands I will take it easy. I will probably head to Eddy's for some midnight shore fishing. When I wake up on Saturday I will venture out on Platte/Sullivan to see how many hammer handles I can catch. The weather should be good for catching pike. I may even try to troll for walleyes a little bit.

The weather is supposed to be better for Sunday and I may hit the big pond on Sunday night before the night ban goes into effect on Monday.

Those are the plans, report to follow.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

2nd Dogfish of the Year

2nd Dogfish of the Year
Got a 21incher tonight on a white Stanley Phantom. May have had another follow.

Happy Birthday Kim!

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Posted by Picasa
1st Dogfish of the Year!
Yesterday I went to Mille Lacs for a little bit of multi-species angling. I started in the Isle Island Canal for panfish. I caught 2 small crappies 1 sunfish and one milting perch. There were tons of baitfish in this canal along with several muskie; At one point I had two 40 something inch muskies swimming side by side right under the boat. Apparently the crappie had been going good in the canal up until the cold weather a couple of days ago.

As the day wore on I deceded to try "Dogfish Nirvana" which is a very small bay over by the State Park Isle Bay. For some reason there always seems to be dogfish in this particular cut. I got in there and started tossing a 1/2White Jig and pig. As I made my way in I spotted a nice doggy right in front of me. I was able to make a couple of casts and bounce the jig off his white nose, but he didn't bite. The boat then passed over the fish and I had to spin around. I respotted the fish and cast passed it. I then hopped the bait closer and closer, sure enough it struck and I set the hook. I fought the dogfish until it was plum wore out and then I netted it. It was a dark fish (looked a lot like doggy drawing above) that measured 30inches. YES! What a way to start for doggies this year.

I think I saw another smaller fish in "Dogfish Nirvana" too.

Fish attractant scare reported at Bassfan

Various news outlets are reporting that a leaky bottle of J.J.'s Magic Dippin Dye fish attractant yesterday forced the closure of the Hueytown, Ala. post office. In addition, 20 workers were sent to hospitals in the Birmingham area.

Apparently, officials were at first unsure whether the concoction was lethal. The Associated Press reported that six workers had difficulty breathing and were rushed to hospitals as a decontamination measure. Others reported a burning sensation in their throats.

And as its name implies, J.J.'s Magic Dippin Dye also contains lure dye. Workers initially thought the substance was caustic and had burned the floor.

The threat of a terrorist attack is anything but funny, and BassFan, every day, thanks the men and women who put themselves in harm's way to keep up safe. But there is one line of an AP report on the event that we got a chuckle from, and you might too: "Many anglers are familiar with such concoctions and use it without any protection."

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

No dogfish yet. I've only had one good day with the Crappies.

The Weather: To nice to blog.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Fishing Goals 2006

Fishing Goals 2006

Crappie:
1. Catch 14inch or bigger
2. Find the Crappies this spring on Platte

Dogfish:
1. Repeat as MN Bowfin Grand Champion
2. Catch a State Record Doggy (Current Record 10lb15oz 32"/15"- 31"/14.5")

Walleye:
1. Catch a 30inch fish.

Pike:
1. Win or place in the money in Hillman Lions Platte Lake Pike Tournament (August)

Bass:
1. Catch a 21plus inch or 7lb Largemouth
2. Catch a 21plus inch or 6lb Smallmouth
3. Catch 40 Bass@ or over 19inches or 4lbs.
4. Catch 60 Smallmouth.

Team Bass Trail:
1. Win 2 Tournaments (1@Horseshoe)
2. Win Big Bass 2 Times
3. Place in the Money 4 times
4. Never Finish below 10th place
5. Limit every tournament
6. Average over 2.25lbs per fish
7. Make the Super Stars Tournament

New Lakes to Fish:
Osakis (Team Bass)
Bordon

Thursday, April 20, 2006

SPRO Stuff:
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Here is what I won in the Spro Monthly online prize drawing.

Two Spro Visors
A Black Spro Polar Fleece Pull Over
Roland Martin Signiture Aruku Shad 75 Blue Shiner
Roland Martin Signiture Aruku Shad 75 Red Craw
Roland Martin Signiture Spro Dawg 100 Silver Black
Roland Martin Signiture Spro Dawg 100 Chart.
Charlie Ingram Special Fat Crank 20 Firetiger
Charlie Ingram Special Fat Crank 20 Shad
Charlie Ingram Special Crank 25 Baby Bass
Charlie Ingram Special Crank 25 Parrot

So far I'm quite impressed with the quality of the baits, although I have not caught any dogfish with them. I like the Spro Dawg better than the Lucky Craft Sammy of similiar size. The Spro Dawg throws a country mile. The Aruku's look like they will be fish catchers. The Fat Cranks are super shallow runners like Mann's Minus 1's and the Crank 25's are a unique bait that is shaped just like a small sunfish or perch. When bass season opens these baits should get serious consideration. Unfortunatly I did not get any of those new Dean Rojas Bronze Eye Frog's, but beggars can't be choosers.

It's that time of year again, so once and for all.
BP's Philosophy of MN Closed Bass Season over at Bass Pundit Preach

Hellabass on Wrapped Boats

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

The Weather: Has been unseasonably warm, so I've been fishin instead of blogging. Also this computer is a bit mixed up right now so that's been a factor in my non-blogging as well.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Posted by Hello
Boat in the water, motor fired right up. YES!

BP Fishing Report: Rock Off

Saturday, April 08, 2006

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Can Shin do it agaIN?

In case you are unaware Japanese Angler, 2004 FLW Angler of the Year, Shinichi Fukae is in the hunt at Beaver Lake Wal-Mart open to win the $200,000 first place prize. This would be his second FLW tour victory of the year. He won $100,000 at Lake Okeechobee, the first tournament of the year. It is quite a test to win a 200 boat field Pro Tour tournament, two in one season would be incredible.

FLW Walmart Open Live blogging:
It 's down to Shin and Mark Rose, both have 1 fish left and Shin has a 2lb7oz advantage.

Mark Rose weighs his last fish: Has a Smallie it weighs 2-2 he needed 2-7 to take the lead Shin Wins Shin Wins !

Shin's winning weight 21lbs a full 2lbs15ozs bigger than Mark Rose in 2nd.

Shin's Win BassFan Shin's Win FLW Online

The Weather: Mid 50's no wind, I'm going fishing.

BP Fishing Report: Rock Again

Friday, April 07, 2006

Rock ON today's report from Rock Lake.

Ice Off !
Platte Lake April 6th
Sullivan Lake April 7th
Rock Lake April 7th
Long Lake April 7th
Erskine Lake April 6th

We didn't get the rain that the twin cities had, but that didn't matter. We are free and clear.

The Weather: Extended Forecast Bring it on!

Bass Fishing and Other Things 2006 Bass Fishing Goal

Bassfan Big Sticks are done blogging from Beaver

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

BassFan Cartoons:
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Also at Scalesandtales.net obviously.

Platte Lake Ice Out Update: I'm going with tomorrow for the official "Platte Ice Out Day" even though the big western and big northern bay will still be ice covered but our bay will be ice free thus Jenny's launch would be open along with about 70% or more of the lake. I could fish the lake tomorrow so tommorrow it will be.

Other Area Lakes: Long (80-90%) Erskine (20% or less ice cover) Rock (60% or more ice cover) Whitefish (50% ice cover) Shakopee (70% ice cover) Sullivan (70% Ice Cover, River Area 100% open) Mille Lacs (99% but I could float the slip slop over fishable water in Wigwam, and probably in Isle) 2006 MN Ice out status.

Goings on at the GOMH

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Explain this to me : At the recent Bassmaster's Elite Series Tournament at Santee Cooper Kevin Van Dam and Alton Jones were disqualified for breaking the rules. (For background click on names). For more background read here

Here are the applicable rules:
Rule 3: "During both the official practice and the tournament, a competitor may not have the assistance or advice of anyone for the purposes of locating or catching bass, nor enter the tournament waters with anyone who has been on the tournament waters during the off-limits period including, but not limited to, a professional guide, state or federal wildlife agency employee, or any other person deemed an "expert" on these tournament waters by the tournament director, unless they are a competitor in the tournament."

Rule 12: "In pro-am type events, pros will fish from the front deck, non-boaters from the rear deck, no exceptions. Non-boaters are only allowed to drive the boat in emergency situations in both practice and competition with the exception of loading and unloading from trailers."

Now in Kevin's case the "non-boater" who was "a competitor" drove the boat in a non-emergency situation and that garnered the DQ. I think this punishment was harsh and unnecessarily severe, but clearly KVD broke the rules.

In Alton Jones case he was disqualified because his son "Little Alton" was on the front deck spotting fish. In light of both rule 3 and 12 Alton was in violation of the rules. "Little Alton" was not a "competitor in the tournament" thus helping his dad find fish would put him in violation of the rule 12 and being on the front deck in violation of rule 3.

However, I have learned that angler Randy Howell was looked into for violating the rules but was not disqualified. According to the story at Bassfan this what happened:
On the first day of practice I had my brother-in-law practicing with me. We got hung up on a stump, and it was one of those situations. He cranked it up to get me off the stump and idle me over in an emergency situation, which is legal
Now never mind the definition of emergency situation or not, Randy clearly admits he was practicing with his brother in law who was not a "competitor" in the tournament. Should not Randy Howell have been guilty of breaking Rule 3?

I just do not see how it is legally allowed for a boater to fish with a non-boater who is not also a competitor. Someone explain it to me, please?

Monday, April 03, 2006

Platte Ice Out Update: The rain and wind have been chipping away. From what I can tell the lake is now 30to40% open with a real shot at being fully open in the next couple of days.

New Platte Ice Out Prediction: April 5th

Saturday, April 01, 2006

On the FishingMinnesota.com Bass Forum this question was asked by SLP:

I'm just curious what people think a great day on a Minnesota lake would be from a quantity standpoint fishing for Bass with 2 guys in the boat. 10? 20? 30? 50? 100? The few people I have talked to say 75 plus days are pretty common in the spring(late May early June). What do you think?
Now instead of answering the question in a straight foreword answer, most responses consist of talking about how any day fishing is a good day and quantifying it does not matter blah blah blah. Finally after a bunch of those sophist responses Tom Wilson answers with this:
SLP,
While you got a few answers here, and they are all right on about the company you keep, I don't think anyone answered your question. From the end of may (after opener) until about the 4th of July, for two people in a boat fishing for an average 6-7 hours 100+ fish is not uncommon at all. At that time of year, shallow water fish are the key, and if you know what you're doing, then 50 bass apiece is absolutely doable.
BP's responce: I am a fisherman that is geared to pay attention to numbers and so feel qualified to offer an informed responce. I think the answer depends upon the lake being fished, the weather conditions, and the pattern/presentation being used.

Obviously some lakes have better bass populations than other lakes and that will be the number 1 deciding factor of guiding expectations for bass "by the numbers." 2 Guys would be having a pretty darn good day on Platte/Sulivan if they could put 50 fish in the boat. On Sylvia/Twin in Wright County catching 50 is probably an easy mark, 75-100 about average and 100+ a pretty good day with 125 to 200 fish days possible. I don't know which lakes or rivers Mr. Wilson fishes but I would say calling 100+ fish days "doable", meaning in somewhat common, is a bit of a stretch. You have to really be whacking them pretty good to be boating 20 fish an hour for 5 straight hours; many lakes just are not capable of that type of output.

As I mentioned before the weather conditions and pattern fished obviously play a role. If the fish are shut down because of conditions than even a great bass lake can be pretty stingy. Also if you a chuncking a jig at docks, 100 fish days are gonna be the exception rather than the rule even on a great dock bass lake.

Overall I would say the normal range for a "good day" for 2 people in a 8 hour day would be between 40-80 fish, 90-120 a very good day, 120+ phenominal.

The Weather: Today was below normal cool and cloudy. Despite that a several acre large patch of water has openned up the NE corner of the main bay on Platte. Had we gotten that rain and the sun that was predicted today than there probably would have been serious momentum towards ice off being next week. As it stands I'm sticking with yesterday's prediction.

Friday, March 31, 2006

Is it Friday already?

The Weather: We didn't get the big warm rain I was hoping for. Today was cool and windy.

BP's Predicted Platte Ice Out Date (As of today): April 9th

Fantasy Bass Note: As of today BP'sObro assumed the lead position in the fishers of men league and 4 of the 6 posse members are in the top 50.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Ice Conditions Platte Lake: 10inches of honeycombed ice.

I went out fishing today and the ice was rotten from top to bottom. It never got below freezing last night and the wind worked the water on top of the ice through the ice column. The lake has even turned dark at this point. Open water could be here within a week if the correct conditions prevail, which they just might.

BTW-Didn't catch anything but saw a pike go by high in the water column.

Kevin Van Dam's DQ Full BassFan Story here.

BP's Take: One thing wrong with the current state of professional bass fishing is the state of rules in relation to violation enforcement. Often the time DOES NOT fit the crime. I don't understand why a disqualification is the default punishment for a rule infraction. A minor rule violation, such as Van Dam's oversight, should not in my mind rob a competitor of the chance to be competitive in a tournament; There are far more creative ways to mete out justice. What about weight penalties? fines? docking a person's blast off time? Instead of being creative and fair they hand out what amounts to a death sentence for a tournament. Hopefully this is something the PAA will be able to redress and get some positive action on.

Also frosting my cookies on this issue is this comment from FishingMinnesota.com Bass Forum.
Why is he such a class act? He was caught CHEATING, whats more damaging to the sport, a stuck up snob that follows rules or someone caught cheating? I like KVD dont get me wrong but he did something that he is not supposed to do period. friendly
KVD did not "CHEAT", he broke a rule or in basketball terminology he commited a foul.

Let us consider "CHEATING" vs. commiting a foul:
Putting lead weights in the belly of a fish, CHEATING! Putting fish in a box or on a Stringer to retrieve, CHEATING! Breaking lake restriction rules in pre-fishing, CHEATING! Culling in a no cull tournament, CHEATING. Blowing through a no wake zone, CHEATING

Forgetting to put your life jacket on, NOT CHEATING! Forgetting to wear the kill switch, NOT CHEATING! Failure to have a ratings plate on your boat, NOT CHEATING! Fishing in a restricted area, NOT CHEATING! provided you don't catch and keep a fish out of the area otherwise, CHEATING! Fishing without a licence, NOT CHEATING! Having a observer hold a branch, NOT CHEATING!

Updated: The KVD DQ cost him Angler of the Year, which he would have won going away. He nearly won it as it was finishing 2nd to Ike.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

The Weather: It was a little above normal today even though it was overcast. The forcast is for more of the same the next few days. Hooray. Took Patti and Lilah for a walk on the ice and it was slush city. Finally a good weather day for melting ice.

Reel Problem: Life is sweet when your baitcasting fishing reels are brand new; They are properly lubricated, smooth as a whistle, and everything works. I am hard on my baitcast reels and all of them have too many seasons under their belt. I have several reels that are broken down and all of my reels really could use being being professionally gone over. Most of the working reels have glitches or are in need of cleaning and lubrication, which is something that I don't have a knack for. I've been frustrated a couple of times having paid for service that was less than satisfactory in result, needless to say those places do not get any more business from me.

In addition to that, I have added one more rod to my arsenal than I have working reels. What to do, What to do?

Monday, March 27, 2006

Belated Tournament Report from Last Summer: Team Bass Guy /Gal Tournament Sylvia Twin July 23rd 2005

The Weather: It has turned warmer though still below normal. There is significant open water at the "Grumpy old man hole." It is supposed to be warmer with rain this week. I say, Bring it AAAAWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNN!

Grumpy Old Man Sighting: Last night I scratched that itch and went to the GOMH to do some fishing in above said open water while on my way to pick up dad at the new house. As expected I caught nothing. The water is very low right now. I then went to the East Access to see if anyone was ice fishing Sullivan. Lo and behold there was the grand pooh bah of GOM, Willard was at the access. Apparently he and Lee Ander had been out terrorizing little sunfish for the afternoon. He had a pale full of just big enough to clean one's. I had a good time listening to Willard talk; he had a story about a guy who he nearly saw drown last year and a story about almost getting wet getting off the Gull River.

Gar has been out fishing at a new Bass Hole

From BassFan: Show Me The Money:Veteran Pros Dispute Myth of Fishing Riches
BP comments: Frankly I am not surprized by the fact that all but a select few (KVD, Rick Clunn) have it tough when it comes to making ends meet as a Tour Pro

MN Tournament Fishing Schedule 2006

Friday, March 24, 2006

10,000 Hits for the BP- It's about time.

The Weather: Things are finally looking up as the past couple of days up here have still been below average but above predicted. It's supposed to be in the mid to high 40's on Sunday and in the 50's in the middle of next week.

The Blogging: The computer has been acting funny, probably mostly due to a fan that isn't working. I'm also having a problem logging in the my ESPN/Fantasy Bass Fishing information.

Another Big Bass story

Thursday, March 23, 2006

This from BassFan:
Kriet bushwacked 3/23/2006
At the recent Rayburn Bassmaster Elite Series event, Jeff Kriet was bushwacked by poachers – hole poachers. Granted he was fishing an area (known as the Deer Stand) that gets a lot of local pressure. But it sounds like courtesy was out the window.

"I slid in there the first day and caught 18 pounds real quick," Kriet said, so he was in a good spot (22nd) in the standings. Locals were watching, and on day 2 he went back and "had no less than 20" local boats with him, he said.

"I figured I'd have some pressure in there, but normally people will back off and give you a little leeway. This was unbelievable. These guys were catching big ones, holding them up and were keeping them all. There were times when I could flip to one guy's boat in the front of me and another guy's in the back of me."

Here's an illustrative anecdote: "This is no lie. I missed a fish, and turned around to get another Senko. I felt my line, and it was kind of frayed. Before I could retie and put another bait on, a guy slid in behind me, fished the same stump and caught that fish.

"It was so bad. I've never been so frustrated in my life. It was unbelievable.

"I had a mental breakdown," he added. "If I hadn't been running a wrapped boat with my name on it and all that, I would've self-destructed."

He said he felt it was pointless talking to the other boats, which apparently were not fishing a tournament. "They were local guys on spring break, and were saying things like, 'Maybe we ought to be in the tournament.'

"It was the most sickening thing I've ever seen in my life," Kriet said. "I should have just left. I shouldn't even have tried to go back in there (on day 2)."

He ended up 59th, less than a pound out of the money. "All I had to do was catch 10 pounds to make 10 grand, and I caught 9," he said.

Bummer Kriet was on my fantasy team.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Big Cali Bass:
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BassFan Coverage, ESPN, Hellabass, Ohio BassFishing Blog , Ezods, Fishing Jones,

BP's Thoughts: I don't think a snagged fish, whether intentional or not, should merit consideration as a world record. They did the right thing and let it go, so maybe it will be caught again. Big Bass gotta feed.

The Weather: We have gone into a slightly below normal weather pattern, which is frustrating as all get out to me. At this time of year every day of below normal temps means another day of Ice cover on the lakes. With this years mild winter we were on track for an earlier ice out than the last couple of years but that eventuality is slowly slipping away. When is it gonna be 50 again?

I won something! I just got an email from Bigfishtools and Spro, to let me know I won the Spro monthly lure give away. Hopefully it includes a Bronze Eye Frog or two. Yeah!

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Global Warming: Bring it on, cause so far we are in a slow thaw here in the North Country and the extended forcast is for more of the same and that sucks.

Hack wins at Sam Rayburn!
Posted by Hello
BASS Story
Bass Fan Story
Hackney Said:
"I learned that I am $100,000 richer."
Rayburn Lessons Learned.

BP Fishing Report for the last few days.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Culpepper thrilled to join Dolphins Well isn't that Special? The BP is NOT thrilled to see a second NFL Elite player leave the Purple for a pitance. Randy left because of the stupidity of Red and Tice, this one is the stupidity of Zygi and Childress. I cannot believe that we would give someone worth potentially so much for so little just because he wants to be traded. I thought this sports thing was supposed to be a "business" but the Vikings have been exercising the roster like it is some meaningless fantasy league. As a fan I am flummoxed and frustrated.

ON Culpepper...
I was a devoted fan of the guy and believed in him even when his performance was less than stellar. At this point I feel duped and don't wish the guy well. Unfortunatly I think he's got a lot of good football in him, with pass protection the guy is just scary good. He very easily could take Maimi to the Super Bowl, but I sure hope not. Keep throwing those pics and fumbling the ball Daunte, that would make me a happy fan.

Bass Pro's on the New Elite Series
"A different feel? No, not yet."
My Favorite responce: Edwin Evers who differs from everyone else.

Daily Pro Site-ING
See Steady Edwin Evers

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Weather Report: The Shores of Platte Lake Minnesocold are Sunny but Cool today, with a lack of wind.

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Congratulations! to veteran Bass Pro Zell Rowland who surpassed the B.A.S.S. Million dollar mark in Career earnings at the Amistad Elite Series Tournament.

Don't Forget: Fantasy Bass Fishing Roster Deadline for the "Lonestar Shootout."
The Pundit Picks are up now, too.

Fishing Report from Today: Mixed Bag