0 for April

I gave it good shot fishing from 7:30-10:30PM, but I didn't catch a thing tonight or this month.  I might have missed one bite tonight, but I'm not 100% sure it was one.  I fished at Bulldog for about half an hour then the rest of the night at the GOMH. I was the only person there.  I really thought the warm temps today would be enough to bring some bullheads in, but that obviously wasn't the case.  It was a beautiful calm night with 70℉ temps when I finally left.  I did have a beaver give me a tail slap on the Se side.  Also had an otter come through before it got too dark.  The cloud cover was to thick for the moon to make an appearance.

Bulldog 20% Open

Rock Lake 50%  or more

I think Rock goes out on May 1st

Channel Inn Bay past SISP

Dropped A Bullhead Tonight

Right after taking this picture I briefly had a bullhead on. Pretty sure it was a toothy. It turned out to be a really nice night and loons were calling back and forth.

Sullivan Platte River Outlet Mostly Ice Free

I'm thinking Channel In Bay to the Small Island  will be Open by Tuesday

Rock Lake open by Friday???

Bulldog Lake

Will I Catch A Fish By May 1st?

That was the question I asked here at the blog in 2013 on this date. I put my chances in that blog post at 10%. I then lost a jumpin' bullhead and snagged a carp, and did not catch a fish in April. I put the odds at 50/50 for this year. What I've got going in my favor are the sun and warm temps which may bring some bullheads into the GOMH. What I've got going against me are the sun and warm temps which may bring other fisherpersons to the GOMH. With the way the forecast looks, I am highly confident ice comes off the area lakes, minus Mille Lacs, sometime this upcoming week. And if I don't get a fish by Monday, I'm pretty sure I'll be catch one by Friday.

My Tackle Warehouse Opener & GOMH Open

Today was the Offical Tackle Warehouse Opener, even though I did go in there briefly yesterday morning.  Both GOMH Bays are now open.  Loons were calling, swans were trumpeting, frogs were making a racket, saw a great blue heron and a white heron.  A bald eagle was at the dead deer and a deer ran in front of me on 8 on my way to the GOMH.  Didn't get a bite again tonight and I'm now down to two of Pete's minnows left.

Area Lakes, Loons, Swans, and Lost Scissors at the GOMH

I checked out Bulldog, Rock, and the GOMH tonight.  Loons and Swans were at the GOMH tonight for Steve, Kim, and Devin to see.  I found my scissors which I apparently dropped last Fall.  It was a little on the cool side when I first arrived at the GOMH do to a light wind.  There was a guy fishing the NW side with his little daughter.  He said he didn't see any suckers in any of the rivers he checked.  I didn't catch anything.  Once the wind died it was actually pretty pleasant.

Bulldog

Rock Public Access

Pulling away from shore at Rock

GOMH not as open as I thought it would be tonight

Loons and Swans

The scissors I didn't know I had dropped

April 23, 2013 vs. Tonight at the GOMH

2013

Tonight

2013

Tonight

Closer to even then I thought it would be. A difference is that runoff has been pumping into the lakes non-stop for 4 days now.  Most of the snow is gone now, while that wasn't the case in  2013.  It took until the 26th for a significant warm up to happen in 2013.

Lake Pepin Declared, Not Much Progress at the GOMH

And so it begins, a lake in MN is declared ice-free.  The snowmelt isn't having much of an effect that can be seen around here yet.

Looks the same as a couple days ago 

Not worried about it as the warm days are set to continue.  I did throw a few casts tonight.  There was one dead sunny floating in the bulrushes.

Still No MN Ice Free Lakes & GOMH Today

There might not be any lakes opening this week, but there will probably be an avalanche of them starting the end of next week.  As for around here, while not pleased with the snow we got it, the forecast is saying Spring is coming.   Here's what the Grumpy Old Man Hole looked like tonight.

The coming snowmelt should mean an increase in current which should mean a fairly rapid deterioration of ice in the GOMH and Sullivan Platte River Outlet area.  If the below forecast holds true then Platte should probably be ice-free by the first weekend in May.

Note To Self, Courtesy of 2013:

Seeing as how it's going to be a long time before open water I need to get my crap together so that these kinds of situations don't develop.  Once the ice goes off the fishing is probably going to be outstanding.  Be ready for it!

GOMH Tonight-Optimism With the New Forecast

The GOMH was more open than I expected it to be tonight and it looked like most of the snow on the ice is melted.  In another positive, it looks like the brunt this weekends snow storm is going to the South of us.  Also, there are now 50-degree temps in the long-term forecast after next week.  My anxiety level about ice on Platte/Sullivan for Opener went down significantly with these developments.  I now think we are about even with where we were in 2013 and should be pulling ahead of 2013 by the end of next week.  Hopefully, the warming forecast holds.

Major Award from Sportsman's Outfitters Arrived Today

Sportsman's Outfitters

The Lew's Custom Speed Stick and Lew's Tournament MB Reel were well packed.

6.8:1 Lew's Tournament MB Speed Spool Reel

I chose the 6.8:1 Reel and the 6'9"M Fast Rattle Trap Special Rod.  Once the ice clears and I get some time in with the combo I plan on doing a product review.  That might not happen until June.

6'9" M F Lew's Custom Speed Stick "Rattle Trap Special"

Big Thank You's go out to Sportsman's Outfitters, Bass Boat Central, and Basser Jim