When Will I See My Driveway in 2025?

 Tomorrow may be the day I can navigate the driveway without going over any ice.

Top of the driveway is clear of ice.

I also checked Bulldog, Rock, and the Grumpy Old Man Hole tonight. The Rock Lake access looks like it is about done for trucks and cars, and I wouldn't trust Bulldog with anything but a wheeler. There was no open water at the GOMH yet, but should be by this time next week. The long range forecast has me bullish on bullheads before April 1st, no fooling.

Fantasy Fishing @ The Big O

 Anglers I also considered: Canterbury, Blaylock, Palaniuk, Cheesehead Prodigy, Howell, Arey, Benton, Card, Cox, Meyer.

Replaced Martin with Latuso because of the DQ.

If I get more wrong than right this week in the Pick'em Game, I'm flipping a coin to make decisions next time.

GOMH Today and Last Year

 

2/26/25

2/26/24

When Will I See My Driveway in 2025?

 Soon! It is going to warm for the next few days.

First Spring Has Arrived

 

The past two days exceeded expectations for warm weather, with temps jumping into the high 40's. The mild weather and melting look to continue. If this forecast is accurate we will be snow-free around here by next week. No snow means the ground heats up when there is sun and the ice melts from below. I am ready for Spring.

Winner, Winner at the St. John's River

 The final results are in, and thanks to the 40 bonus points for John Cox's big bass of the tournament, I took 2nd Place in the Bass Boat Central pay-to-play group, thus slightly nudging into the black with 9 more tournaments remaining. It's been a few years since I have won anything in Fantasy Fishing. I also came out on top in the HellaBass Visor Gang Group. I may or may not get a prize for that.

BBC Group

Visor Gang

Unfortunately, my Drain the Lake team fell flat on its face on Days 2 & 3, leading to a mediocre score. In Pick'Em, I also shot myself in the foot, going 3-4.

Bassmaster Fantasy @St. John's Reports Main Game Only

 They didn't give out a report after the first day. Card fell out of the Top 10 and Walters jumped up on Day 2. Unfortunately, Welcher caught a limit of dinks and fell even farther back, not even close to making the cut.

Day 3: Walters moves up again, and Card fails to catch a limit, tumbling down the standings to finish in 27th. If Walters moves up again on the final day and Cox holds onto big fish for the tournament, I believe I will take first place in the Bass Boat Central Group and I'm pretty sure I have the Visor Gang Group sewn up no matter what happens.

A Far Cry From Last Year

 It was in the low 20's today. It will be in the 30s tomorrow. Last year, I had caught a gator bullhead already.

Feb 21st, 2025 GOMH

Feb 20th, 2024

Bassmaster Fansty Fishing @St. John's River

 Last year I pretty much sucked at picking my Fantasy Line Ups for regular FBF and Drain the Lake. I always thought I had a good lineup going in, and for whatever reason, few, if any, of my picks did well tournament after tournament.  After Day 1 in 2025, my fortunes have changed considerably. I am in the top 96% in regular FBF and in the top 98% in Drain the Lake. 

It is nice when the hammers are hitting. All of my guys have proven themselves at St. John's in the past, so I am optimistic about my chances of moving up even further on Day 2. Hackney and Welcher are the only two beneath the 50 cut after Day 1, and they both caught fish just no size.  I am a little bummed I didn't go with the Cheesehead Prodigy in Bucket A. Przekurat is only leading the thing.

Fish Swami Tidbit

 So yesterday, I learned that all of my individual "patterns"/fishing lures on Fish Swami are linked to every fishing trip I caught a fish on the lure. I have used Fish Swami since 2011. 

Because of that, I learned I also learned that 2015 was the first year I used an H2O Ultimate Jerk Shad. So this will be my 11th year using that fish catcher. I also noticed a significant drop in the number of trips when I got at least one fish on the lure since 2021, with 2024 being the least productive. I blame the 22/23 Winter Kill.

Bass Pundit's February Platte Ice Off Spitball

 

Currently, we are in the midst of what I hope will be the last "Polar Vortex" of the winter. We have had multiple Arctic Blasts this winter.  I am assuming the ice on area lakes is 20+ inches deep right now and we have several inches of snow. It looks like we are going to end February and start March on a warming trend. This winter as yo-yo'ed up and down quite a bit, so a return to the deep freeze is certainly not out of the question in March. Last year, the ice was off of Platte on March 9th, but we got an Arctic Blast with snow late in the month and everything re-froze for a few days. Who knows what MN weather will do? 

That said, I am predicting the ice will go off Platte Lake on April 21st this year.

Warmer Weather On The Way...

 ... after one more cold week. I'll be giving my annual Platte Lake Ice Out February Spitball in a few days.

When will the first three consecutive 40℉ days be? 

Feb. 13th at the GOMH

 

Cold, but sunny day. I had PT in Onamia. I went and visited with Bean and Bella for a couple of minutes. Checked out the Grumpy Old Man Hole and Platte Lake Access on the way home. There were fewer houses out on Platte than a week ago.  It is going to get close to 20℉ the next couple of days before another Polar Vortex moves in for a few days, but the final 7 days of February are all supposed to be above-average.

Feb 7th at The GOMH

 

We finally got some snow on the ground. Then we got even more snow and cold

Pick 'Em Game Added at Bassmasterfantasy.com

 

Bassmaster has added a third fantasy bass fishing game. The new Pick "Em game pairs two anglers, and the goal is to pick the angler who finishes higher/has the most weight. I assume there will be different matchups for each tournament. When I was first doing my picks, I didn't even notice the reason behind the pairings. I think they may keep the AOY vs. ROY match-up for the entire season. 

My Thoughts On The Tentative 2025 Bass Snatcher Schedule

 Dates and Lakes for 2025 were picked at least until the next meeting.

May 31st Birch at Hackensack: This will be the 4th time we have fished this lake since I joined the club. Two of the of the three times were in the Fall. In 2016,  it was the first tournament of the year as well. I haven't had any notable finishes here, but I enjoy fishing clear water and am not intimidated by it.  

June 21st  Lum Park Mississippi: I really want to catch a limit in a river tournament. This provides me that opportunity. I've fished one other tournament here.

July 19^th Edward: This will be the 3rd time in the last 8 years the club has fished this lake. First tournament went well. The 2nd tournament I struggled in the windy conditions, while my boater kicked my butt. I have wanted revenge on this lake. Lots of reeds.

August 23rd Rush Lake by Perham: This would be my third time fishing this lake. The first time, I only got one bass. The second time was a blown opportunity to finish well. It has a lot of reeds and slop.

Sept 13^th Fish Trap Lake: It's an ok lake. I don't love it. I don't hate it.

Sunday, September 28^th North Long:  The lake seems to have a great population of bass in it. I've fished it quite a few times. I think it has topwater potential if the conditions get right.