I Thought It Was Gonna Be On, Instead I Got a Mystery

I arrived East of the GOMH at 8:15 and on my second cast with the Herb's Dilly I got this 16" bass.  I then fished the Dilly for the next 20 minutes, mostly getting it caught in the rice.  I eventually gave up on the Dilly and took my 3 Frog rods to where I got fish last night.  I missed one hit on the Horny Toad.  Then Mike B. came into talking range as he worked down the shore line.  I got a small pike on a black/blue Snag Proof Pro Series Tournament Frog.  I think I got it out with my hands, but might have used my pliers.  This little detail will come into focus in a minute.  Willard drove by just as I released it.  Mike caught several fish beyond my casting range.  I missed a couple of fish on the Snag Proof staying in the spot maybe longer than I should have.  I moved and at about 9:30PM I got this 26" pike on the Horny Toad.

At this point I went to get my pliers from the car.  The pliers were not where they were supposed to be.  I think I got confused at this point, because I now think I carried the pliers with me and must have dropped them.  But at this time I thought I had possibly left them on the car bumper when I caught the pike this morning.  Luckily I was able to get the fish off without need of the pliers.  I looked for the pliers up by the road and in the car, but didn't retrace where I had been tonight.  I will try to do that in the morning.

Will I find them or Not?  When did I lose my pliers?

D&M Custom Baits Buzzsaw

I really like the look of this bait by D M. It's a new twist on the Herb's Dilly.

Finally a 5er And A Nice Pike To Boot

Today I fished Platte Lake from about 4PM to 7:15PM. Conditions a first were mostly cloudy with a 15-20MPH wind out of the NW. About 6:00PM the sun came out and by 6:30 the wind died down to nothing. Temps were in the mid to high 60's. It turned into a beautiful night for fishing.

To get out of the wind I headed to the NW corner of the lake and I went shallow. I started off in the reeds near a rice bed that was practically non-existent at this point. Right away I got a small pike on a green/yellow Herbs Dilly Buzzbait. I moved up very close to shore into pads and sparse rice and scored a 13.25" bass on a watermelon red Zoom Horny Toad. As I moved North I got a 24" pike on the Horny Toad, which came off during the fight. I went a long way in great looking water with nothing. I wasn't seeing any fish activity at all.

I got to a spot that has traditionally been good where there is pads and rice that give way to reeds and sparse rice. I cast into the reeds with a pumpkin Zoom Horny Toad when I brought it out into the open space before the pads start a fish blew up and missed 10 feet from the boat. I figured it was a pike, but cast back anyway. The fish blew up on it again about 6 feet from the boat. I quickly discovered it wasn't a pike, but a big bass.
She went 20" and looked to be a touch over 5lbs on my Rapala spring scale, which I believe is pretty accurate. This is my biggest largemouth in several years.

I ended up working out of the reeds and into the deeper sparse rice when I had a swirl on the Herb's Dilly. I cast back a couple of times but it wouldn't go. So I cast back in with a crawdad color Yum Wooly Bug. The fish hit just as I got into some weeds and it didn't hook up. I cast back and it flashed but didn't get it. I was right next to the boat and it flashed again but missed. I saw it was a nice pike. I just kept shaking it right next to the boat and finally it slammed it and hooked up, fortunately with the hook safely in the side of it's mouth. It put up a good battle and finally I netted it.
The fish went 31".

Conditions basically got perfect about 20 minutes before sunset and the stuff I was fishing looked awesome, but it was totally dead water. Didn't get another bite.

Platte Lake Sept 28th

Today I got out from about 4 to 7:15PM. Air temps were in the low 60's with sun and it was pretty much calm until about 7PM when a 5MPH wind came up out of the E SE.

All my equipment was at the lake, so I didn't fish Jenny's. Off the dock I had a strike in the exact same spot I got a pike yesterday, but the fish didn't hook up and didn't go after any follow up casts.

I headed out in the boat and my first stop was at the reed bed off the North point of Channel Inn Bay. There was some activity off the deep edge of the reeds, so I started there. I had a nice bass come completely out of the water as it hit the green/yellow Herb's Dilly Buzzbait but it didn't hook up. I was seeing some activity off the reeds on the weed flat so I went that way. My first fish was a 14.25" largie on the Herb's Dilly. I also got a pike out there on a bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. Eventually I got back to the reeds and in closer to shore where it looked awesome but there were not any fish. I started working North and picked a 11.75" largie from open shoreline by where a dock used to sit. I kept working around the point to the west. This water was now shaded and the docks were worthless. I did get a couple of hits between docks on the Buzzjet Jr. but the fish didn't hook up.

Eventually I decided to motor farther West to some docks that have historically been better; They weren't. I decided to go deeper onto the flat into some reeds. I started seeing some activity. I had a 15" largie jump all over the Buzzjet Jr. in the sparse reeds. I worked west to where there were the remains of a rice bed. I nailed a 18.25" largie just before the sparse rice.

I did work into the rice edge with the Herb's Dilly but didn't get bit.

I decided to motor back to the weed flat reeds. The wind had come up at this point. I was throwing my new jet black Buzzjet and had a pike come out of the water after it but not hook up. Eventually I switched to the Paycheck Baits Repo Man and I got a 13.25" largie and a small pike on that. It was getting dark and the fish seemed to shut down so I headed in.

Tough, But A Good 1

In anticipation of the rain we are suppose to be getting, Dad and I pulled the dock up on to shore about 8 feet, so it won't be underwater. We got done with that around 2PM and I went out fishing.

Conditions: Overcast with a 8-12MPH East wind. At times it seemed like it was more SE and at other times more NE.

I started fishing across the bay in the reeds where I missed a big fish a little over a week ago. The reeds were dead and I don't think I even had a hit.

Next I went to a slop patch on the North End of the big middle bay. I was throwing the same Herb's Dilly buzzbait as yesterday, when it got plastered by a good one.
It was 19.25".

Down the way a little bit I got a 13.5" close to a dock on the Dilly. I worked down to the last slop patch which is basically nothing but a few pads at this point.

Next I moved all the way around the point to the NE bay where it was calm. There was some activity in this spot but all I could raise was pike. I didn't catch any. I made a move to fish the entrance to the North middle bay. I got a 13.5" on the Dilly along some bullrushes by shore and got a 14" on the Dilly in some rice with reeds. Fished some good looking pads and rice but nothing was going. On the back side of the maidencaine I got a little pike. Next I moved to where I got the big one yesterday but the whole area was totally dead, not even a pike strike. I decided to call it a day a little after 5PM

Herb's Dilly Day

Today I was out on Platte Lake from about 2PM to 6:15PM

Conditions were overcast with W NW wind blowing 8 to 18MPH

My first stop was Jenny's from shore and I had a hit on a Sizmic Toad almost up on shore. I didn't set the hook, so I don't know if it was a bass or pike.

Next I headed to the lake place and got the boat ready. I decided with the West wind to just drift the slop to the East of our lake place. Two docks down I got a 13.75" bass on the white Sizmic Toad. As I rounded the corner I had something big follow the Toad to the boat. I wasn't paying attention and didn't realise something was up until there was a big boil just after I pulled the Toad out of the water.

I decided to try a Herb's Dilly buzzbait and I had a couple of strikes right away that didn't hook up. Then I caught 14", 15", and a 15.25" and a pike. The fish definitely wanted that buzzbait. I missed a couple of more strikes. I worked my way out of the slop, then decided to go right back into a boat lane. I made a good cast into an open area in some thick stuff and was rewarded with a 15.5" largie. I had a swirl and I cast back with a Title Shot Jig with white/red Strike King Bleeding Bait Flippen Tube. The fish nailed it, but I missed the hook set. I cast back in and it got picked up, but I missed it again and it was gone. I worked the area with the Dilly. As I was ripping it out of the weeds I had a Norman Speed Clip malfunction and the Dilly disappeared. I got right to the spot, but the water was just to weedy, murky, and deep for me to get it back. Stupid mistake on my part not tying direct as soon as it was clear the fish were on the Dilly. As far as I know the Herb's Dilly with a normal buzzbait blade are not made anymore and losing one totally sucks. Fortunately I have several I picked up on Ebay and I just put on another one in the exact same color, green with yellow skirt.

It was about 4PM and I decided to make a move to the North end of the big West bay across from the Public Access on Platte. Right away I was rewarded with a 14" and 13.75" bass on a Snagproof "Buck Nasty" (brown) Ish's Phat Frog. I had a fish follow the Dilly out from the bullrushes. I cast back at the follow with the Strike King Tube and the fish hit. It was about a 23" pike. I worked my way around the bullrushes. I was casting towards the last patch of rushes that are out from shore when the water erupted on the Dilly. I knew it was a good one immediately. It stayed hooked up and I landed this 19.5" which was just under 5lbs.

I had a couple more good opportunities with the Dilly. One I think was a big pike but I couldn't hook up or they just boiled on it. My final fish was a Pike on the Sizmic Toad.

As I headed out of the junk I decided to throw my new Lunker Punker on the edge of the maidencaine. Can't say I'm real impressed with the thing, but I did have a small pike swirl on it.

I'm now 3 for 4 on fish with the Ish's Phat Frog.

Mostly Sullivan

Today I hit the water about 6:30AM and made my way to Lake Sullivan. But before getting into Sullivan I decided to fish the channel by the bridge connecting Platte and Sullivan aka the Grumpy Old Man Hole. This is a good area for me to try throwing the Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm. I went with red shad today. Didn't get anything on the approach to the bridge, but I expected to get action in close to the bridge and I did. I got a couple of bites while I was reeling the worm in but it seemed like they were just pulling on the back of the worm. After a couple of casts with no more bites I decided I would let it sink to the bottom and hop it back. Sure enough a this 15" picked it up while it was on the bottom.
I didn't get any more hits until I was actually under the bridge and I didn't hook up, might have been a sunfish. I worked a little ways into Sullivan and did have a good hit, but I think it was a pike. Once I was past the pads. I cranked her up and moved quickly to East side of "the intersection". The intersection is the area where you can go into the main body of Sullivan, travel into the Platte River Outlet(PRO) in Sullivan, or go down the channel that goes into Platte Lake. I managed to get a 13" and 12.25" on a white Spro Bronzeye Frog. Both fish were in the rice out a ways from the reeds. Didn't get hit by anything in the reeds.

Next I went to hit docks in "Old Cabin Bay." Old Cabin Bay is where we had our cabin on Sullivan at one time and is the Eastern Most Bay of the lake. I elected not to start on the best section of docks but well before that along the point. On about the 3rd dock I got a 9" on the electric chicken Zoom Super Fluke. It was a long time before I finally got another bite. I was about 1/2 way through what has been my best stretch of docks on Sullivan when I had a hit at the corner of a boat lift from a 14.25" largie. About 5 more docks down I got a 12.5" and a little farther down the way got two 8.5" dinks. I put on a watermelon Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm that had most of it's vibe tail bit off. I had a fish swirl on it out in open water I missed on the hookset with the fish taking the worm. I pitched a watermelon Picasso Jig with watermelon Zoom Speed Craw at a few docks and got a 12". I got one more 10.75" largie on the electric chicken fluke before I decided to give up on the docks.

Next I went out to the reed bed that is kind of in the middle of the bay and started throwing a white/silver Herb's Dilly buzzbait. I missed the first couple of hits, but managed to connect with an 11", 13.75", and 12.75". I worked the reed bed pretty good.

Next I was off to the NW corner of the lake, which was basically a bust until I got to the West side of the intersection. When I was first getting to know Sullivan this was my best spot on the lake. A lot has changed in the area since then and not for the better. I was pleased to see the area looking a bit better than it has for a few years and there were actually fish there. I smoked this 18" on the white Spro Bronzeye Frog up by the bullrushes in a little patch of rice.

I had another fish bite a couple of times in close to the bullrushes but it didn't hook up. I don't think it was a big fish. I started throwing out into the intersection and busted a 17.25" on the Spro in a spot where there was a small patch of pads at the outer edge of the rice. I worked the area hard and missed a few blow ups on the Spro and a Zoom Horny Toad.

It was coming up on 4PM, I was out of water and hungry so I called it quits after having fished across to the North West side of the intersection.

All totalled I got 15 bass, 10 of which were over 12", and surprisingly not a single pike.