BP Story Time: MN Fishing Opener

Picture Fish, Not The One In Story

 My memory is foggy about when this story happened. It was when I was in high school, but it may have been when I was in college. It may have happened the weekend between Fishing Opener and Bass Opener. 

I was fishing in the channel between West Sylvia and Sylvia for pike with spinnerbaits. I was catching pike and bass, minding my own business, when some guy came out on his dock and chewed me out for fishing for bass out of season. I told him I was fishing for pike, but he wasn't having any of it. I was like, what an A-hole. Later that night, I caught a pike that maybe went 7 or 8 lbs and was the biggest of my life at that point on a different spot. A few years later, I caught a 10lb pike almost right where he chewed me out on Opener, setting a new personal best, and I got a 12lber there sometime in the Fall during the mid-1990s.

Mille Lacs Bust, Opener Saved by Bullheads

Conditions: Clear and cold, but no wind, so I was never chilled.

I didn't have my tackle organized enough to be at Mille Lacs at midnight because I overslept yesterday but arrived at Eddy's at around 12:20 AM. As I was driving, I thought about my plan to stay until sun up and fish for smallies and decided with it getting so cold tonight, that wasn't a good idea. At Eddy's, they put up a construction fence around the whole place, including the Marina but the Jetty wasn't blocked off in any way. The lights were off, and there was a lot of piled ice where I fish.    I could have fished off the center dock, but elected to put on my waders and head to Option #2, where I fished last year. I parked across the street from a couple of cars there.   Some guys went to their car while I was getting my stuff ready. I said loudly enough for them to hear. Did you get your limit already? They didn't acknowledge me at all, got in their car, and left.

It was right around 12:45 when I got down to the water. I took my jerkbait rod and two rods with swimbaits, one of them being the Abu Garcia Rocket/St. Croix LTB with the Powerbait  4.5" Rib Shad. I put my stuff down where I crossed the road. I saw and heard the two guys fishing closer to the inlet. I picked up the jerkbait rod and waded straight out. I tried 3 different jerkbaits to no avail. I didn't see a single walleye which was a bad sign because I saw them last year. At some point, the two guys left, but I didn't see or hear them when they did. I got over closer to the inlet and actually saw a walleye. I then noticed a guy walking toward the area where my stuff lay, so I quickly walked back. Turns out it was a creel survey guy. He told me he hadn't talked to anyone who got a fish and said the eye's just got done spawning, and he thought the eye's were going to be in a post-spawn funk. He took the water temp at the shore, and it was 42 degrees. He wished me good luck and took off.

I picked up the Rocket, and I put in the rocks on my very first cast. Luckily I got it unstuck, but the hook was bent. I thought no problem, I'll still be able to hook fish. Wrong! I had several hits but couldn't get a hook into anything. I suppose it could have been bumping suckers as well. Eventually, I went and got the other swimbait rod. I had a few fish just grab the back of the swimbait. Eventually, my feet got too cold, and I headed to the GOMH. I removed my waders, tied a new hook on the Rocket rod, and left right at 3AM.

I arrived at the GOMH at about 3:15, and there were two cars whose people were all fishing on the  SW side. I went to ask if they caught anything;  They said they weren't getting much and had no golden bullheads. Liars, they did get one, which I found out later when more of their friends arrived.

I decided to go to the NE side and started throwing the Rib Shad, which didn't get anything, so I switched to swamp gas Havoc Grass Pig and got this golden bullhead on the first cast.

18.5"

It was a beautiful clear night which I noticed after a brilliant shooting star went across the sky. Loon called, and an owl was hooting in the distance. Eventually, I decided to go to the SE side before somebody else showed up. I was there only briefly when a couple of the other guys left as another group showed up. It started getting light out, and not much was happening. A guy on the other side landed a good-sized golden bullhead. Another couple of people arrived, and one came over to fish by me. He told me that golden was 4 to 5 lbs. It got light out, and I landed a 20" toothy bullhead that hit the Grass Pig. About 20 minutes later, I missed a couple of hits, then had a good toothy bullhead hit right by me and Rocket 3 feet in the air. I landed it.

27" or so

Good thing that another guy was there to take the picture because a selfie of a fish that long doesn't look good. I also got this one on the grass pig. I tried several different jerkbait, only getting one bump that didn't hook up. I also missed several hits on the Grass Pig. I noticed the Rib Shad wasn't swimming well, and I had no hits on it. C.O. Kuske showed up but didn't come to check on me. The guy who fished next to Mike and me yesterday, who I will call Local Walleye Guy, showed up in his boat and picked up 3 people from shore. He went over and parked by the point on the SW side of the GOMH; they were throwing suckers or shiners and getting golden and jumpin bullheads occasionally. Us shore fishers were not getting much. I did get one small jumper on the Grass Pig. I tried the NE side again, but my upper back barked at me, and I had had enough of that. I left around 6:45. I Got home and called the Chiropractor. Fortunately, Dr. Grunst was willing to take me in early because he was booked.  

Grumpy Old Men & Crappies

Tonight I had my first grumpy old man sightings. I arrived at the GOMH around 3PM, it was calm and sunny, and some guy switched to the North side when I arrived, so I took up the S.W. side. I saw two minnows swimming along the rocks, but that was it as far as action. Grumpy Old Man Willard showed up around 3:30.

Willard doesn't like to have his picture taken.

Willard told me stories I'd never heard before, and he told me about the C.O. before Kuske, who apparently was a hard ass. Willard said he was taken off his duty because he had many death threats against him. True??? Who knows. Eventually, the foul-mouthed Grumpy Old Man Bud showed up.

A couple of boats came and fished, and a family fished on the S.E. side. Nobody caught anything. I saw a couple of boats coming from the river. The clouds moved in around 5PM. When I left at 5:20, a couple of young guys fishing on the North side with bass sized Rapala's came and took my spot.

I went to Sue's Drive-In with my mom for dinner. I got out to a lake that shall remain nameless around 8PM. I was fishing with my pink Cubby Mini-Mite and got a bite. It was a crappie that really wanted it.

It went 9.75," and I put it in the bucket in case I got a few more. I started tipping the Cubby with a minnow, and  I  got another 9.75 incher about 5 minutes later. I missed a bite then I got an 8" which I threw back. It was getting dark, so I went to get might light for the bobber. When I did, the light fell through a hole in the bottom of the pouch it was in and dropped into the lake. Fortunately, I had another light that was still in its package. Eventually, I switched to Custom Jig and Spins Glow Demon. While I was trying to spot the bobber light on the bottom of the lake, a crappie took down my bobber. I was lucky to catch another 8". That was the last bite I got, so I threw back the two I had in the pail. It was dead calm tonight, and I saw many fish out on the lake that were up by the surface spooking while it was still light out. A beaver was chewing on a tree to my North, about 80 yards that I could see and hear. A small beaver swam around me a few times, occasionally slapping the water with its tail. After dark, the loons were calling, and I heard an owl or two. It was a really lovely night to be out. I left around 10:20PM.

BP on Dogfish (Bowfin) Fishing

First, a Little History: When I was young, even into a teenager, Dogfish freaked me out; I had nightmares about them and carp. I once caught a 3-pounder in the "Back Bay" at our lake cabin on Sylvia/Twin. The Back Bay is a muck-bottomed boat channel on the back of our property. The Back Bay always seemed to have a dogfish or two roaming around. Growing up, we considered Dogfish trash fish and would kill everyone we caught. I netted this 3lb dogfish to avoid touching it and removed the hook with pliers. I then took the Dogfish about 20 feet up the shore onto the road's edge and left it to die. About 15 minutes later, I heard something in the grass by the water. Sure enough, it was this Dogfish slithering like a snake back to the water. I did nothing to try and stop it; I was freaked out.

Another time when I was a little older, I was fishing out of a boat on one of my favorite spots on Twin Lake that I call "My Island." It is a shallow, weedy, sandy spot with bass and the occasional Dogfish. I don't know what the deal was, but this five-pound dogfish surfaced about 8 feet from where I stood in the boat. I swear this Dogfish was staring me down. After about 45 seconds, the Dogfish accelerated straight ahead and rammed itself smack dab into the side of the boat right at my feet. I was both shocked, freaked, and slightly amused; what a crazy fish!

As I got a little older and became more mature as a fisherman, I lost my fear of things but didn't like catching them much. Sometimes I would throw them back, and sometimes I would kill them. They can be tackled destroyers and unruly to get off the hook if you don't play them out before you land them. (TIP: Always play Dogfish out for a few minutes before you try and land them)

Epiphany: In June 2003, I fished a Minnesota Pro/am bass tournament on Leech Lake as an amateur. I drew Joel Stokka as my partner, and we prefished together. While we were prefishing, we spotted a big dogfish. Joel immediately tried to hook into this monster but was unable to do it before the fish swam away. I asked why he wanted to catch that thing, and he told me about the Minnesota Bowfin Club and their annual Bowfin Tournament. Joel said Spring dogfish angling was a great way to legally use your bass gear before the bass season opened. I had never thought of that before, and after a bit of reflection, my viewpoint on the value of Dogfish was transformed.


My First Minnesota Bowfin Club Grand Championship: I decided that in the Spring of 2004, I would try and win the MBC Grand Championship and, for the first time in my life, started fishing for Dogfish on purpose. One day in mid-may of 2004, after the MN fishing opener but before the bass opener, I went fishing for pike and Dogfish with a trusty white spinnerbait with white Colorado blades and a white pork trailer. I was fishing in "Loon Sex Bay" when a big dogfish struck and rocked my world. This 30-inch fish put on an excellent fight, but I was able to net it. This was by far the biggest Dogfish I had ever caught in my life, and it was full of eggs to make it that much fatter. On my Rapala spring scale, it weighed in at 9.5 lbs. I registered it with MNBC; sure enough, it was the 2004 Tournament Winner.

Second MN Bowfin Club Grand Championship: In 2006, I regained the Minnesota Bowfin Grand Champion title and became the Club's first two-time Champion. On April 26th, I headed to Mille Lacs lake for crappie and dogfish fishing. I knew a little spot in Isle Bay that had held Dogfish in the Spring. I had seen them in there while fishing for crappies on several occasions. I call this spot "Dogfish Nirvana." I headed into the little cut, and sure enough, I spotted a big dogfish sitting there. I threw a white jig with a white pork trailer right next to it and hopped it several times. Sure enough, it struck, and I hooked it. In the cold water, this Dogfish did not fight, and I quickly landed it. This fish measured 30 inches, like my first MN Bowfin Club Grand Championship winner. The fish was less fat and probably weighed less than 9 lbs. I didn't have a camera, so I did not get a picture of the fish. It was dark, with a white scar at the tip of its snout. I registered the fish, and it won the 2006 tournament.

Fishing for Dogfish: Being a two-time Bowfin Grand Champion makes me an expert at the pursuit of Dogfish. However, there is a lot I don't know about them, and I get skunked more times than I catch them. Here are my tips:

In the winter, I know Dogfish hold on relatively shallow weed flats where the water has just a little more depth than the surrounding area. In the spring, dogfish can be found in the same dark bottom bays that hold panfish, bass, and pike. The Dogfish are in those areas feeding up and soaking in the warmer water just like all the other fish. Old weed growth and emerging weed growth are things to look for. I don't think Dogfish are very active until the water temp is over 50°F, and the warmer the water, the more active they get. I think the peak time to get into Dogfish is when the temperatures get into the 60s. Once you find a spot that holds Dogfish, you can count on it to draw them in year after year.

In water that is sub 50°F, the best way to fish for Dogfish is to sight fish them with a white-colored bass jig or a big black worm or tube. The Dogfish will sun themselves in fairly shallow water around old weed growth at this time. They are not apt to chase, so looking for them on sunny calm days is best. During the Spring, summer, and fall, sight fishing is an excellent technique because Dogfish get big, and their dark bodies can stick out in clear water.

Once the water warms up into the 50s, you are as likely to catch them blind fishing as sight fishing. I recommend using white or pink colors. Spinnerbaits, swim jigs, jerkbaits, buzzbaits, and Spooks are all good choices. I like to cover water with topwaters or by "bulging" a spinnerbait or swim jig, looking for a dogfish to make a wake while in pursuit of the lure. Once you find one, you know where it lives and can work it over with fast and slow presentations.

That is the extent of what I know about how to catch them.

The Critics: Fishing for Dogfish in the Spring with artificial lures is not without its controversy. Minnesota has closed seasons for Bass and Pike well into May, and there is a regulation that states: "You may not intentionally fish for any species during its closed season." Many people consider dogfish fishing to be total BS and an automatic violation of the prohibition against intentionally fishing for bass and pike (mainly bass) in their closed seasons. I have argued with these critics on online fishing message boards. Not only do I fish for Dogfish, but I question the validity of a fishing regulation that I believe to be seriously flawed. This drives some people nuts, and I have been called several names.

Here is the thought process of one of the more thoughtful critics:

Are there any lakes that have a fishable population of Dogfish?

I'm all about giving people the benefit of the doubt. But I can't stand it when people fish for "dogfish" and happen to catch 20 bass and no dogfish. It bugs the tar out of me...

I respond that any body of water that contains Dogfish has a "fishable population," just as any body of water that includes muskie has a "fishable population" of muskies. Some bodies of water have more Dogfish than others or bigger-sized Dogfish on average than others, just as some lakes have more bass than others or bigger bass on average than others. Dogfish are not some special fish that is radically different from the rest. However, Dogfish are more like muskie than pike, bass, or panfish. Pike and bass tend to be more prolific species than dogfish or muskie; thus, it is easier to catch bass and pike than to catch muskies and Dogfish. There are plain and simply many more bass and pike swimming around than Dogfish and muskies. I have, at times, caught both bass and pike nearly cast after cast, but I have never had anything close to that happening with muskie or Dogfish.

I would maintain that angling for Dogfish is much like angling for muskie. If you catch 1 in a day, you have done great. You have done phenomenally if you catch two or more in a day. Obviously, things are much different for the prolific bass; One bass in a day of fishing is considered quite slow and extremely poor.

There is at least one big difference between muskie fishing and dogfish fishing: the baits are best used to pursue the quarry. "Legal" muskies are big fish that often require big tricks that will select against most smaller fish striking them. Meanwhile, Dogfish are more modest-sized fish and are most efficiently pursued with baits that are equal to lures that select for largemouth bass. This is the fact that fixates the critics. Dogfish techniques are the same as bass techniques and dogfish lures. I'm sure to make matters worse in the eyes of critics dogfish location overlaps perfectly with the bass location. If you are going to catch a dogfish, you will most certainly catch many more bass than Dogfish in the process due to the simple biological realities. The critics believe these facts prove dogfish fishing is nothing more than a thinly veiled cover for fishing for bass out of season, and thus dogfish fishing is de facto breaking the law.

The big problem with that theory is that dogfish fishing is 100% legal according to MN state fishing regulations. If you are a licensed angler, pursuing Dogfish, which have no closed season, is 100% within your legal rights. If you intend to catch a dogfish, any bass you catch is incidental and temporarily permitted under the law. How many bass you catch or don't catch incidentally or how many Dogfish you catch or don't catch doesn't change that fishing for Dogfish is absolutely allowed under the fishing regulations. The thoughtful critic referenced above succinctly states: "Rules are Rules; if you don't like them.. tough!" The rules about fishing for Dogfish are clear; they have no closed season, so fishing for them is perfectly legal.

It's no secret that I don't like the fatally flawed regulation about angler intent and closed-season fish. The refrain that I have heard from my critics is that if I don't like the law, I should get it changed. The critics on the issue of dogfish fishing are in that same boat. If you don't like dogfish fishing, then change the law so that Dogfish have the same season as bass. But why can't they just let the rules be the rules? Instead of trying to get a dogfish season that aligns with bass, it makes more sense to just open bass up to catch-and-release fishing when they are not in season. CATCH-AND-RELEASE FISHING DOES NOT HARM THE RESOURCE IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY!!! Get this kind of regulation passed, and we can both be happy.

Update: Cyberfish is trying to take some credit for my conversion on Dogfish. Funny, but I don't remember any of that. What I do remember is Cyberfish trying to convince me about the merits of catching big ole carp. I have never really bought into his enthusiasm on that subject. Carp, just don't annihilate a lure like a dogfish can.

First Open Water Fish of the Year

BAM- Due to a late day trip to Brainerd (see "Bummer"), I did not go fishing at the GOMH until slightly after 8PM. The sun had set by then, and it was getting dark when I arrived. The current was running into Sullivan at a good clip. There was open water as far as the eye could see on the Platte lakeside. At first, I ran the Pink Panther and got nothing. I then switched to a glow Cubby Mini-Mite under a small Wing-It Bobber. The bobber is small and hard to see. I may consider upgrading the bobber size at some point. On the second or third cast, I was giving it the old "Thompson Shake," and I thought I saw the bobber go under, so I set the hook, but nothing was there. I fished the glow Cubby for probably another 15 minutes without any action. Then, when I was bringing it through the bullhead sweet spot, the bobber went down, and I hooked into a hawg. It started pulling drag, and I knew it was no silver bullhead. It didn't take long before it showed itself to be a famous GOMH "Jumpin' Bullhead." It put up a solid fight and swam under the bridge for a while. Once it got back on the Sullivan side, I was able to keep it out of the shoreline cattails and land it. It was between 18.5 and 19.25 inches and fat; I'll call it a 19". I unhooked the Cubby, which was firmly stuck in the upper lip, and released her ASAP. Unfortunately, no camera for pic's again tonight. I tried the Cubby again for a while, then I tried a new bait which I will call The Pink Panzer; it is a close relative of the Pink Panther. After a few casts, I thought I had a fish on for a moment, but then the lure came free. I don't know if it was a fish or if I just snagged the bottom, but I guess it was a fish. I tried the Panzer for about 15 minutes and then returned to the Cubby. It was getting quite dark by now, and I had a tough time spotting that little Wing-It. I didn't get any more action.

"GET ME TO THE LAKE" Local Edition: Long Lake is ice-free!!! I could not tell if Erskine was open or not. Bulldog didn't look like it had opened up much from yesterday. Rock had a fair amount of open water on the North end, and it looked like the main ice sheet had developed a fair-sized chasm of open water.

Platte: In our cabin bay, it was 30% open water, and a chasm had opened up toward the North Shore. The center bay had quite a bit of open water. As mentioned above, the GOMH looked like open water as far as the eye could see. The Public Access Bay still looked pretty locked up with the ice being out from shore from 10 to 30 feet. I suppose there is a shot that tomorrow will be the day I call Platte open, but I guess it will be Friday.

Sullivan: The Platte River Outlet open water is slowly eating away into the lake.

Bummer: This week, I wanted to hit the Brainerd Mills Fleet Farm because the weekly advertisement showed Cubby Rods were "On Sale." This rod is made for fishing Cubby Mini-Mite Jigs. I was delighted to see that I would have another opportunity to purchase one of these spectacular panfish rods. I bought one at Mills a few years back but had yet to see them since. The one I bought got broken at the tip, but I was able to fix it well, and the action of the rod wasn't affected much. The Cubby rod is great because it has an extremely light tip that is fast, but the rod is stiff, not whippy. Long Story short, I looked at every rod in the place, and there were none. I found out that the advertisement was a mistake because they could not get any rods from the manufacturer, so no store had them, and they were not going to get any; bummer!!! At least, that was not the only thing I wanted to pick up from Fleet Farm.

"GET ME TO THE LAKE" MN State edition: Tonka and Whitebear, two of the big metro lakes, are considered ice-free as of today.

Note: In 2006, Platte went out before Tonka; in 2005, they both went on the same day; in 2004, Platte was 3 days later, and in 2007, Platte was 16 days later.

A Lotta Stuff (Ice Progress, GOMH Report, Closed Bass Season)

"GET ME TO THE LAKE"- The MNDNR has recorded 9 more lakes ice-free today and yesterday. I was hoping the ice would be out in my area lakes by today, but that was not to be. I checked Bulldog, Rock, Long, and Platte/Sullivan.

Bulldog-The public access had an acre and a half of open water.

Rock-Had some places where the ice had pulled away from shore, and it looked like there was a huge (15 feet wide) open crack just out from the Public Access running SE for at least 100 yards.

Long- The ice seemed to pull away from shore about 10 yards on the North and West sides.

Platte/Sullivan- Ice was pulling away from shore on the North Side of Platte. At the Grumpy Old Man Hole (GOMH), there was an astonishing amount of open water on the Platte Side. It was open to the small island and half of Channel Inn Bay. On the Sullivan side, it looked like the entire widened area of the Platte River Outlet (PRO) was wide open.

It will be at least 2 days before ice is off any of the area lakes.

Fishing Report- I brought a couple of rods and gave the GOMH a shot. When I first started fishing, a strong S wind blew 15-25mph straight in, and the water was flowing at a steady clip back into Platte Lake. I don't think I have ever caught fish when that is happening. The current of water moving from Platte into Sullivan is the big draw of fish at the GOMH. I fished both sides of the GOMH and got nothing but drifting weeds. No Grumpy Old Men sightings. With all that open water, fish could move into the GOMH anytime.

Cyberfish and Bake hit Pool 4&5 on Saturday and Pool 2 on Sunday for a little multi-species action.

Josh Douglas is prefishing the St. Jude Bass Classic on Pools 4&5...

Rite of Spring: It happens annually right about the time the ice goes out; The self-righteous self-appointed guardians of sportsmanship ethics, law, and largemouth bass go ballistic at FishingMinnesota.com about others they perceive as intentionally fishing for bass in the closed season. There was a new wrinkle this year in that the closed-season cops complained about people fishing for walleye in a river. Apparently, the "violation" occurred on a river containing nice crappies. So that makes yet another case where the violators would be indistinguishable from people that are fishing legally. A jig and a minnow or twister tail grub will catch just as many walleyes as crappies.

The FishingMinnesota.com bass forum got in on the action last Sunday with the thread: Does Turn In Poachers Work?. The BP (as in Bowfin Pro) is referenced in the 13th post in a not-so-unusual plot twist. Much to my delight, a well-reasoned defense of the BP is given in post #25 by Ricqik. Yes, I do intentionally fish for Dogfish, and tomorrow I plan to blog about fishing for Dogfish. We learn in one post that the BP should be labeled a "sociopath." (Does that make me a Bonafide Path?)

One person comes up with a bright idea for enforcing the most ludicrous fish regulation in the book:

If they (DNR) would let some of us volunteer to ticket these people, they would not have to cover so much of the area. Plus i think it would keep more people honest, seeings how no one would know if you have a ticket book in your pocket.

That's just what we need, more citations for an infraction that does absolutely no harm to the resource and for which enforcement is merely a notion in the eye of the beholder. Meanwhile, as usual, the closed-season cops are silent about admonishing people who are actually doing some harm to the resource. You know, the people fishing for panfish just can't resist the temptation to keep the bass they catch because they think they will never get caught. Or what about the people that catch a dogfish in the spring while fishing for panfish from shore and throw the doggy up on the bank to die? I witnessed an infraction of wanton waste twice last spring, in the case linked, I got the Dogfish back into the water while it was still alive.

The Cowardly Lie'n

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Exodus 20:16

This Email about the B.P. was sent to the Baxter Bass Snatchers by a false accuser and coward (I don't know any Jon Beaupre):

-----Original Message-----From: Jon Beaupre [mailto:fishincops@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 7:23 AMTo: Subject: Dave Maas-KNOWN CHEATER

If you have allowed Dave Maas into your club, you better think again!

He has a history of pre-fishing the morning of a tournament, fishing off-limit waters during a tournament, and knowingly fishing for bass out of season.

Here is proof of his pre-fishing on the day of the tournament (cheating) from his own blog:

______________________________________________________
posted by Basspastor 6:49 pm 0 comments
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Proof Positive that BP is a bass tournament cheater: http://basspunditthq.blogspot.com/2006/03/team-bass-guygal-sylviatwin-july-23rd.html

http://basspunditthq.blogspot.com/2006/03/team-bass-guygal-sylviatwin-july-23rd.htmlDoes This make me a Bass "Perp"?????
_____________________________________________________


Now, he says that "he didn't think it mattered," but he took second place, cashed a check, and was subsequently asked to not return to the club.

Here is the quote from his blog: "Technically, I think this was against the rules, but it's the guy/gal tournament, and so I didn't think it mattered. I wasn't pre-fishing. I knew this spot holds the bass in the early morning and that I would not visit the spot in the tourney, and probably nobody else would as well."

The Team Bass club rules specifically stated that there was no pre-fishing the day of the tournament, and just the fact that it helped him pattern a bite makes it cheating in most books. How did he know that no one else would fish that spot? It is just a bad excuse for his cheating.

Read the link and make your own decision!
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Now I have already once blogged about this "Cheating" accusation here. I also responded to the "Cowardly Lion" in the comments section of a blog post.

In this email sent to members of my new club, there are two outright, bald-faced lies.

I have never fished "off-limit waters during a tournament."

I was not "subsequently asked to not return to the club."

As for the charge of "knowingly fishing for bass out of season," this has been thoroughly vetted on my blogs. It is neither illegal nor unethical to catch bass out of season, provided you are legitimately targeting a fish species in its open season. Do I catch bass trying to catch Dogfish, Crappie, and Pike in the Spring? Yes, but so does everybody else who legally targets those species. The "Cowardly Lion" obviously cannot let a settled issue rest.

As for the "Cheating" at the Sylvia/Twin Guy/Gal tournament and the so called getting kicked out of the Team Bass Club. A further apology on my part is in order.

The Team Bass Club 2005 Guy/Gal Tournament was held July 23 at Sylvia/Twin Lake in Wright County, MN. My family had a cabin on Sylvia/Twin until I was 31 years old, and it is the lake I know better than any other and have fished more than any other. On the morning in question, I arrived at the access early and headed to a shallow, rocky point with no pronounced drop-off on a weed flat. I went to this spot because I knew it held lots of little bass that bite on topwater in the morning before the sun gets up to high. I have fished this spot many mornings with buzzbaits and other topwaters, and I can't remember ever catching a fish bigger than 12" off of it. The Guy/Gal tournament got off to a late start at 8 am, or maybe it was 9 am, and by that time, the little bass scatter from the exposed rocks and go onto the weed flat. The notion that I was establishing a pattern is ludicrous; there isn't another spot on the lake like it.

My plan for the day and what we did was fish Slop for 95% of the day. I did catch 1 keeper bass off a point, but that point doesn't have rocks, isn't part of a weed flat, has a very sudden and distinct drop-off, was windblown, and I have caught many bass over 12" off of this particular point. That is 5 distinct differences between the two "points."

The Guy/Gal tournament did not count for any points in the Team Bass Standings and was a tournament I thought the club did for fun and trophies. I only found out the money was on the line when we were at the weigh-in, and they handed out checks to the winners. Had I known the money was on the line and someone would be hyper anal retentive about it, I would not have fished for fun early. There was nothing for me to gain by doing what I did except to enjoy myself, which is what I did. I probably caught a dozen 7-10" bass, just like I thought I would. The spot has been consistent that way, and I am willing to sacrifice size for topwater when I'm fishing for fun. I used a topwater popper to catch all of these little bass. I did not use a topwater popper at any time during the tournament. Yet another gaping hole in the theory I was "pre-fishing" to pattern fish.

How does my "sticking" little bass the morning of a tournament in any way benefit me for the tournament day?

The place I was fishing that morning was directly between the public access and where we headquartered the tournament in an area where the lake narrows down. While fishing, I waved at several club boats as they passed by. I am sure at least 3 tournament boats saw me, and no protest was filed on the tournament day. My sister-in-law Erin and I came in 2nd place and won $100 and two trophies. I believe the "entry fee" to fish the tournament was under $20. In Team Bass, you pay a flat fee at the beginning of the year, and that is divided among all the tournaments.

Apparently, the "Cowardly Lion" learned about what I did because they read my blog about it. This person obviously reads my blogs even though they hold a grudge against me. "Know your enemy," I guess. The "Cowardly Lion" has never addressed me directly but anonymously went to the Tournament Director, Dale Glader, and filed a protest months and months after the fact. I assume the same coward sent the email to my new club. The Team Bass Tournament Director got my side of the story and did not D.Q. me and ask for the money back. I would have paid the money back if that had been the punishment. I was "punished" by not being allowed to fish in the first tournament of the next season in W.I. The Tournament Director knew I had no intention of fishing this tournament, so the actual punishment was less than a slap on the wrist.

As I noted above, it is a bald-faced lie that I was "subsequently asked to not return to the club." I fished two tournaments in 2006 and was headed to my third at the Horseshoe Chain in early July when I hit a deer and totaled my truck. I no longer had my vehicle to get to the tournaments, so I didn't attend any more tournaments that year. In 2007 I elected not to rejoin the Team Bass Club on my own; I was never asked to leave.

Since the "Cowardly Lion" still frequents my blogs, why don't you show a little courage and admit who you are and renounce the lies you have told about me. I want to hear about this incident where I fished on "off-limit waters" during a tournament. I am not gonna hold my breath, but I am gonna say this:

The Guy/Gal tournament is for fun, and money just happened to be on the line. My actions were predicated on the fact that I did not take that particular tournament seriously. I think your attitude and actions make you a Grade A Royal Prick, "lighten up Francis."

BTW "C.L.," the guys who got the email think what you did is bush league, and they have made up their minds and have allowed me to join the club.

Big Bass of 2007

How Pathetic!!! At FishingMN.com, there is a thread in the Bass Forum entitled "Top 3." It is a thread for people to list the baits they caught and their three biggest bass of 2007 on. Those who followed the blog last summer know I only did some bass fishing in 2007. I usually keep a tally of 19"+ or 4lb+ fish I caught in my Day-Timer Calendar. I record the date, length or weight, type of bass, lake, location, and lure. In 2007 I did not record a single bass in the Day-Timer; frankly, I didn't land a bass 19" or over in 2007. How Pathetic!!!

However, thanks to the chronicling of BP vs. Duffman here at the Bass Pundit Blog, my blogging at Bass Pundit's Fishing Log Blog, and Bass Pundit's Tourny HQ, I know a little about the biggest bass I caught in 2007.

BP's Top 3+ for 2007

#1. 6-15-07, 18.5" Smallie Twin Bay dock Mille Lacs Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke

#1 5-26-07 (Bass Opener) 18.5" Larry Cemetary Jetty Mille Lacs either a white Swim Jig or a 3/16 White/Chart Strike King Spinnerbait with colored (either Chart or Chart/White) double willow leaf blades. I think it was the spinnerbait.

#2 6-22-07, 18.25" Larry Big West Bay S. shore dock Platte Lake Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke.

#2 5-27-07 (Bass Opener Sunday), 18"+ Smallie (Unmeasured) Wakon Bay Mille Lacs 3/16oz White/Chart Strike King Spinnerbait with dual Chart. willow blades.

#2 5-28-07 (Bass Opener Memorial Day) 18"+Smallie maybe (Unmeasured) NW Arm Bordon Lake 3" Green Pumpkin tube jig.

#3 6-13-07, 17.5" Larry Platte River Outlet Sullivan Lake White Spro Bronzeye Frog.

#3 6-9-07, 17.5" Larry Platte River Outlet Rock Lake White Spro Bronzeye Frog.

#3 6-22-07, 17.5" Larry Big West Bay Dock End Slop Black Zoom Horny Toad with stump legs.

I am amazed now that I look back at it. I blogged most of the fishing trips I took in 2007.

Guntersville 2/ Norman 3/GOMH Report

Morning Fishing Report: I got up at 5:30 and headed to the GOMH. Don W. was there already, but he hadn't gotten anything. I managed to get skunked, but I missed a few bites and had a jumpin bullhead. Don caught one Silver and a bunch of little oranges on waxies. By 7am, I had enough and left. Two guys arrived at the same time as me that fished the NE side and were catching some kind of bullhead over there.

GEM outing at Rush Lake... Nobody told the BP about it. Oh well doesn't look like they needed me.

Evening Fishing Report: I headed to the GOMH at 6:30. The SE side was open, so I took that. Once again, Lee Ander was there with family, and Willard was on sight too. Lewis appeared later, so all the Grumpy Old Men were accounted for. There was lots of coming and goings on this night, and boats were fishing both sides (N&S) of the GOMH. I started out fishing with maggies and a glow Cubby Mini-mite. It was slow at first, but as the night progressed, the action got faster. My first fish was an orange bullhead, followed by a small jumpin bullhead.

I missed several bites but eventually got dialed into a zone to the East of the current. Around 7:30, I got my first Silver which I gave to Lee Ander. About 20 minutes later, I had another Crappie on and missed it at the bridge. I was sporadically hooking several oranges by now. I then caught a couple more silvers, switched to minnows, and got hit immediately 3 times catching 2 nice fish. After another silver or two, I had one on that collided with the weeds, and my line broke. I switched to a glow Ratso with a big hook and kept working minnows; I got my last two silvers on this.

All in all, I went home with 7, having released a few small ones and given 1 to Lee Ander. It was a nice night to be out, 75 degrees, slight SW wind. I did as well as anybody because the SW side was not fast and furious with the silvers.

Tournament News:
Basszone On the Water Blog...

April 27 Tour Notes and Blog SMG... Jay Yelas has a great big fish story.

G-Ville day 2 Bassfan Story...

BassZone G-ville day 2 story...

BassFan Big Stick John Murray G-ville...

Norman FLW BassFan Story...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes:
BASS G-Ville: Both Teams have 2 anglers in the top 12 KVD & Horton, Miyazaki, and Jordan. Mason was a no-point stinker for BP1. IKE rallied and got points on the board for BP boys. The success of this tournament hinges upon those top 12 performances tomorrow.

GOMH Fishing Report, More "Bacon"

Fishing Report 4/25/07: I made an early trip to the GOMH from 3:30 to 5:30. GOM Lee Ander was there with two other guys. 1 of those guys was fishing the SE side in a boat, and he caught several bullheads on a large twister tail. The guy to the west of me tangled with a couple of bullheads. I tangled with a couple of bullheads, catching a small one. Lee Ander caught a 4lb plus bullhead on a waxie and jig. He also missed an orange bully. At about 4:45, Willard arrived and started talking more about "bacon." At 5:30, I went over to get Jenny for the fish fry.

After the fish fry, dad and I hit the GOMH, arriving around 7:15. It was 60 degrees and dead calm. The silver bullheads were just starting to hit. It was our good fortune that Willard had started fishing, thus effectively saving the SW side for us to fish. The silver bullheads were hitting good tonight, nice and steady; I helped five different people fill out limits, including GOM Lee Ander and Willard. I also threw several (4-5) silvers back. Dad's bobber was barely visible on the surface or was just beneath the surface. Dad missed several fish. Fish were hitting on waxies for Lee Ander and minnows for everyone else. I used both maggies and minnows; some of the minnows were dead ones. The later it got, the more the fish seemed to prefer minnows. We quit fishing when everyone had their limit; it was dark, but I could still see my bobber. All in all, it was a lot of fun at the GOMH tonight.

Lee Ander told me that the channel by the golf course on Mille Lacs was giving up big crappies from 5-7pm. The main body of ML is still a sheet of ice.

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes: I finished my lineup for Norman and Guntersville, did YOU?

Fishing With Dad at the GOMH

Fishing Report 4/23: It was a nice night of fishing with my Dad at the Grumpy Old Man Hole. There were 2 Grumpy old men (Lee Ander and his brother Lewis). Dad had quite the time chatting with Lee Ander. The weather was a mild 60 degrees with a slight breeze out of the west. We arrived at the GOMH around 6 pm, and several trucks were parked. I thought we would get shut out of the good spot, but as it turned out, only Lee Ander was fishing, and he wasn't catching anything. Dad and I headed down to the SW shore of the GOMH and set up shop.

Dad had a yellow flu flu with a minnow, and I was fishing a white Cubby Mini-mite. Things were slow for the first hour, with Dad missing a couple of bigger fish, probably bass. Eventually, I gave in and tipped my jig with a minnow, and after about 15 minutes, I reeled in a jumpin bullhead of about 15 inches. Not long after, Dad tied into the Jumpin Bullhead in the first picture. It was about 16 inches. I had a fish steal my minnow and Cubby tail. At about 7:45, Dad landed the first silver bullhead. I had a problem with my rod tangled, and before you knew it, Dad had landed three fat specs. When I got my rod situation straightened out, Dad lost his bobber for the 2nd time. This time the bobber was out in current and went bye-bye; we were able to retrieve the bobber the first time it came off. I let Dad use my rod while I rigged his pole. Around the time I was getting Dad's pole ready, our friend Don Weinmeister showed up. Don was using waxies and started catching Silver and Orange bullheads straight away. Dad and I were still catching them but not as fast as Don. I eventually switched to maggies, and the bite for me picked up a little bit between the silver and orange bullheads. The bite was steady until it got too dark for me to see my bobber. We brought home 11 silvers and 1 orange, with a few small silvers and oranges released. Don managed to get 9 silvers. A guy came to fish just as we left; it was quite dark by then.

The Suckers: Stopped by the Rum River, where it runs into Shakopee lake. The suckers are running thick and spawning like crazy. It was a cool site.