Tonight on Platte

Tonight I fished Platte Lake from 5:30PM to 9:30PM.  I started out across from the access in the vicinity of the   maidencaine. I didn't get anything until I got up closer to shore in the Reeds.. I got two 14 inchers on consecutive casts.  I got a 15 on the Grass Pig.  It was the only one I got on the Grass Pig.  The rice is up enough to foul the Grass Pig so I didn't throw it much.  I got into the rushes up by shore and caught some on the Horny Toad and a yellow Spro Bronze Eye Frog.  I fished near a tree that was fallen into the lake and I got a pike.

22"

 I went around the point to check a little river inlet, but a pontoon was sitting on it, so I headed up to the NW Corner. I managed to pooch my first half a dozen bites or more on the Horny Toad before landing this 16", which was my big fish of the night.

I then managed to miss a couple of more good bites.  Of coarse I caught a 12 incher that smacked the Toad.

I moved to the North Point and got 14.5 on the Toad and a couple on the Spro.  I made one last move to the more East North Point and got a 15 on the Toad and a 14" on the Spro.  Over all I missed a lot of bites.

Bay Lake Pre-Fish

I got from 7AM to almost 5PM to fish with Roger Ubl my boater for Saturday's Bay Lake Tournament.  It was a fun day on the water as we caught a ton of fish.  The rap on Bay is that it is a peanut factory and that was pretty much the case as we didn't get a single 3lb bass.  However we did land several quality 2lb fish, which will be gold on tournament day.

I'm not really sure where the fish are in regards to the spawn.  Several of the fish were chunky, but several had raw anal fins but they were still chunky.  One thing is clear, we are gonna catch a lot of pike.  I got 32 pike to my 25 bass and Roger caught about the exact same numbers as me.  I hope the fish are as active on tournament day.

The Full PRO River @ Sullivan Lake

Tonight I fished at the Platte River Outlet from the River Mouth to as far as I could go in the river from 5 to 9PM.  I pulled an idiot and forgot to put the card in the camera and then forgot there is a spare card in the camera case.  I started out at the mouth catching a few pike before I got my first bass.  I caught quite a few fish at the mouth but 15" was the biggest bass I got.  I got a few fish in the river to the dam.  I missed a couple of better fish in that stretch.  I then pounded them pretty good at the dam, also missing lots of bites.  Past the dam was pretty slow with only a couple small bass and pike to show for it.  My biggest bass was a 16" caught just below the dam. I got 11 bass on the Zoom Horny Toad including 5x 15's.  I got 12 bass on a Havoc Grass Pig ; All were 14.5" or under except the 16".  I got a total of 11 pike between 18 and 22 inches.

Rock Lake Again

I headed back to Rock tonight from 6:30PM to 9PM.  Conditions were windy out of the West, cloudy, and cool.  First fish was this pike on a Grass Pig just out from the access.

Didn't get anything after that in the lake so I headed back into the RPRO.  I manged to miss my first 3 or 4 hits before connecting with a 17" bass on the Horny Toad.  I quickly caught a 13" and a 15" and then I missed a bunch of fish.  I moved the boat and got a Toad on the Horny Toad.

20.25"

I caught a few more 14's and 13's on the Horny Toad and got a 15" on a Yum Wooly Bug.  I also got one more pike also on the Horny Toad.  I missed several more bites on the Horny Toad and a few on the Grass Pig.  Didn't get any hits on the Crawtube.

Crushed 'em On Rock To Close Out Bass Opener

Tonight I headed out after 6:00PM and was fishing by 6:45PM.  Conditions were brutal with the wind blowing out of the SW about 20 to 30.  However once I got to the Beaver Dam in the Rock Platte River Outlet it was on.  I got this first fish on a white Havoc Grass Pig.

14"

I put down the anchor and proceeded to beat the snot out of them on the Grass Pig (8 fish), a black/white swirl Zoom Horny Toad (11 fish), and a green pumpkin Crawtube (15 fish).  My biggest was this 18.25"

Got her on the Crawtube.  You can see the beat up tail, she was spawned out as was this 17" that hit the Crawtube.

I filled my Bass Pundit Minnesocold Bass Bloggers Derby limit with this 17, a 17.25", 2x 17.50's, and the 18.25".  All in all it was a pretty sweet trip and a great end to the Bass Opener Weekend.

A River Runs Across It

All this rain in the past couple of days has overwhelmed our culvert.

A minnow swimming over the driveway

This last picture is a pretty normal flow down the driveway after a heavy rain.

Evening on Erskine

I was going to fish Rock Lake but the Access was packed so I went to Erskine. I fished from 5PM-9PM.  Conditions were windy out of the SE, diminishing and starting to blow as I got off the water.  I basically fished across the North End of the lake from NW to East.  First hit was a pike that didn't hook up.  Next I got a almost 14" bass on the Pure Poison & Craw Fatty.  I got 5 bass on a white Grass Pig and the Pike.  I missed a quality 10lb class pike when it hit the Grass Pig coming towards me.  I didn't get a good hookset.  I caught one on a Fluke at the only dock I fished.  As it calmed down I went back to the NW corner and got 5 on a Horny Toad including my biggest at 16.75".  I didn't take bass pictures early because of the wind, then I forgot about it.  I missed a bunch of hits, mostly small fish, on the Horny Toad but I think I missed one big one.  Not sure what kind of fish it was.  It looked like I was going to get stormed on, so I left about 15 minutes before I should have.

Bass Opener Success!!! (Just Barely)

14"

I got a jumpin bullhead, otherwise I would have been skunked for Bass Opener.  Got it on a crawtube.

I Got Up, but Not Early Enough (Bass Opener)

Well I wasn't as worn out as I thought I would be so I was up around 5AM, however I didn't get to the GOMH until 6AM and it was totally covered up.  They had gotten a few jumpin bullheads.  The wind was nasty out of the NE. They hadn't seen any boats.  I did fish on the sides on the NE and SE.  I missed a hit on the Horny Toad.  I think it was a jumper because the toad wasn't all ripped up.  I left after half an hour.

Because of the wind I didn't think anywhere else would be good so I just came home.

Breaking Tradition For Bass Opener

I am not getting up at first light to fish on Platte/Sullivan in the morning. I know I'm gonna be to worn out from my 10 hours on the water today.  Depending on the weather and how I feel I may get out in the evening.

Moynagh's Co-Angler Major Screw Up

Yesterday Jim Moynagh's Co-Angler put a fish in Jim's livewell, so Jim had to go back in, dump all his fish and start over.  Apparently it cost him about 2lbs or so.  Instead of being in 2nd or 3rd he is in 7th Place.  That royally sucks and is inexcusable in my mind.  You should never put a fish in a livewell without a cull tag on it if you are the back seater.  Hopefully Jim can catch a huge sack tomorrow and make it a mute point.

Jim is having a great year and is going to be near the top in the AOY race after this tournament.

3 Pike Tonight

21"

15.5"

Only took a picture of 2.  Got them at the Grumpy Old Man Hole, so really it's 3 Toothy Bullheads.  Got the 1st one on a Havoc Grass Pig and the last two on my Ebay Swim Jig with Devil Spear trailer.  Also got some jumpin' bullheads.  I fished from 7:45 to 9:15PM

Nice Bullheads This Morning

22.5"

18.75"

Got these this morning on a Craw Tube at the GOMH.

Eddy's Jetty Mille Lacs

Today the wind blew out of the SE all day so I decided to give Eddy's Jetty a try.  I arrived at about 7PM and had my first fish a little after 7:30PM

25"

Around 8PM I had two bites in quick succession that both stole my leech.  About 8:20 I caught the fish and it spit up both leeches.

24"

At about 9PM I missed a bite, putting me to my last regurgitated leech.  At 9:25 I got another bite and landed this keeper.

16"

I did throw raps for half an hour and didn't get any hits.

Mille Lacs Eddy's Launch with Dad

Well I screwed up and forgot the camera.  I did take pics on Dad's cell phone but I can't figure out how to transfer them to the computer.  Oh well.  It was a good trip with me getting 7 Eye's. 2x16" keepers, 2x 18", 2x22", and a 24".  Dad got a 23" and missed two fish.  One of the misses happened when his line broke on my rod way up by the rod.  I was able to retrieve the bobber and set up.  No clue why the line broke.  My setup was a yellow bead, and red hook. I caught the most on the launch.  People also gave us 2 fish, so we are getting a meal out of it.  Apparently the group of 9 of us got 27 fish total.

Morning Bulldog, GOMH, and Jenny's

I hit Bulldog up just after 5AM getting one small bass.  The I went to the GOMH and got some jumpin bullheads on the Strike King Pure Poison, and a Crawtube.  Eventually I got this toothy bullhead on the brown/orange Ebay Swim Jig

20"
Then I went to Jenny's and got a slightly smaller pike on the Ebay Jig

17"

Little Evening GOMH

Tonight I fished at the Grumpy Old Man Hole from 7:45PM to 9:15PM.  I got this one toothy bullhead and a few jumpin bullheads on a Grass Pig, Strike King Pure Poison with Havoc Craw Fatty, and a Crawtube.  I missed at least one more toothy.

20"

16"

2012 Opener Comes to a Close

Here is how last night and this morning went.   I arrived at Eddy's at 11:30PM and nobody was there fishing, so I took the North Jetty at the harbor mouth.  Right away I had a hit that didn't hook up on an X-Rap.  I cast for about an hour with nothing more.  At 1:35AM I got this eye on a leech.

24.5"

My next bite was a rock bass at 2AM

At 3AM the moon was up and I decided to throw raps again and on my second cast I landed this fish on a firetiger Husky Jerk.  I thought maybe it was going to be awwwwn, but that was it.

22'

At 4:40AM as the sun was starting to light the sky pretty good the bobber went down.  I had a mishap on the hookset, but it held while I got my line unhooked from the dock and so I landed this leech fish.

23"

That was it for the action. I left at a little after 5AM

I hit the GOMH at 6:30AM I got two toothy bullheads missing at least 3 others and I got 2 jumpin bullheads.  I was done at 8AM

20.5"

Overall I'm satisfied with how Opener went.  I think the fish bit well, there just weren't a ton of them roaming around after the first night

Last Night's Trip

Evening Trip:  I got to the GOMH just before 8PM.  I had a small toothy bullhead get off on the rocks on the NE side right away.  Other than that it was pretty dead just a small jumpin bullhead on the NE side and a nicer one on the SW side.  The meat guy and his girlfriend got a few jumpers as well and missed a silver.

I headed to Mille Lacs about 9PM.  Not much was happening tonight.  The meat guy and his girlfriend showed up an they got a cigar.  Right after they left at 11:30PM I got a decent eye on the clown X-Rap.

With the lack of wind nothing was going on so I left around 12:30AM

2012 Fishing Opener Mille Lacs and GOMH

The fish were snapping at Midnight on the Eddy's Jetty.  I had to take the center jetty because the North side was totally taken.  I started with a leech because it was calm, but after the guys on the North Jetty had 4 eyes in on raps I switched to a Husky Jerk purple perch.  I noticed  they were throwing a light colored bait, so I switched to a clown.  I also noticed they were pretty much straight reeling.  When I started doing that I got my first fish.

16" keeper

About 15 minutes later I got another one.

22"

I netted it and when I laid it down a hook caught on my bag.  When I went to grab my pliers my scissors came out of my bag fell down in the rocks and into the lake.  Amazingly enough it fell to a spot where I could reach it.

I missed a hit then I went half and hour without a bite so I switched to a clown X-Rap and I quickly landed 2 fish on that.

22"

24"

 I ended up going to the South Jetty at 2am.  I had one hit but missed it.  I did try a leech without any luck.  The guys on the North Jetty got a few on leeches.  It was not happening so I left at 3:30AM.  4 eyes, not a bad start this year.

I headed to the GOMH at 4:35AM my first fish was a jumpin bullhead on a Strike King Pure Poison with Havoc Craw Fatty trailer.

15.5"

Eventually I got a toothy bullhead on the Havoc Grass Pig.

20.75"

I had one bite me off and had a least 4 more bites from toothy's that I missed.  I gave up at 8:15AM

Headed Out to Fish

I'm hitting Mille Lacs at Midnight from Eddy's Jetty.  I'll start throwing Raps and will probably throw a leech as well.  It doesn't sound like there is going to be much wind.  And you may recall "No wind, no good"

I Won A Custom Jersey From Gemini!

I had the good fortune to win the Gemini Custom Apparel Jersey in The Jerseys For St. Jude drawing.  I plan for it to look a lot like my hoodie I got last year in the Jerseys For St. Jude auction last year from Rayjus.  Hopefully I'll get it sized a bit better and I won't wear it as much so it stays in good condition.

I Actually Fished Yesterday

I went to the Dr. and was prescribed the anti-inflammatory Prednisone.  It seems to be helping already.  I am to give it a couple of weeks.  After the Dr. appointment, I went to the GOMH and I was able to see dozens of jumpin bullheads on the North side of the bridge.  The water is clearing and with the normal water level you could see them just stacked up.  Only saw a couple of big ones.  I might have seen a dogfish on the SW side.  I didn't fish.

Later on in the evening after the Prednisone kicked in I decided to go fishing.  I arrived and Grumpy Old Man Willard was there.  He hadn't been there since the last time I saw him about a month ago.  He hasn't done any fishing this year.  The old guys where there again tonight getting a few orange bullheads.  Some people were fishing on the Northside.  I fished for a little while on the SW side, but there was a lot of weed debris in the water.  Willard had left to see Duck Dynasty   If fished for about half an hour then left.

Went to the GOMH Tonight

Will be going to the Dr. tomorrow about  my back.  It isn't killing me for the most part, but it isn't great either.  I decided to go out and see what was going on at the Grumpy Old Man Hole.  It was raining when I got there with a guy obviously fishing for jumpin bullheads off the North side.  3 old guys were on the SE side getting a few orange bullheads, but I didn't see them catch any.  A guy that must be a native caught and kept a jumpin bullhead on the SW side on a spinnerbait and he had his little girl there.  He was fishing with a white guy who lost a silver bullhead.  I decided not to fish.

"Strolling" And Some Elites Aren't Happy (Long Lining)

Photo: B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina

Apparently Jeremy Starks the top finisher at Douglas Lake last weekend used a technique where he would make a cast, run out all of his line with the big motor then start the retrieve.  It's an old technique known as long lining or strolling, which allows one to get a crankbait down 30 plus feet.  Apparently some of the guys such as Mark Davis and Kevin Short aren't happy about it and think it should be banned.  Some of the guys mistakenly  thought it was against the rules.

I think it should be allowed, but they shouldn't be able to move with the big motor

Honestly I am not sure why trolling isn't allowed, other than tradition.  I don't see why it shouldn't be allowed.

Not Good!

Went to the Chiro on Friday and Saturday, back is still messed up.

Cool Article From Sports Illustrated 1963

This Is The Fish You Can't Catch Too Many Of

My Back Is Messed Up

Well, my back was getting sore so I went to the Chiropractor.  I came back home and it got worse.  Not sure what the deal is.  I think this happened once last year as well.  Won't get in again until Friday, because he's closed tomorrow. Probably won't fish until I get this fixed.

Tonight at the GOMH

The thunderstorms pretty much stayed to the South of us, so after a little rain I headed out at 7PM.  I got 4 jumpin' bullheads and 1 nice silver bullhead.  I left at 10PM

Fish From Last Night

19"

8.25"

17.5"

I headed to Rock Lake just after 5PM to try my hand at a dogfish.  I started by the inlet from Bulldog Lake and I missed a bite in the reeds that was probably a pike, but you never know.  I then went to the North end and got a pike.  Then I headed to the RPRO.  I got a bass and pike and then it slicked off so I tried for sunfish for a bit;  They were fairly scattered and I quit trying for them after getting 3.  Then I got a couple pike on the Grass Pig.  I decided to throw a topwater and got a big sunfish as well as some bass and a northern.  No sign of any dogfish, but I thought one of the bass might be one the way it came up to and nipped at the bait.  I was off a little after 8:30PM.

9"
Next I headed to the GOMH and got 2 smallish silver bullheads. I stopped fishing at 11:15PM