First Fish of 2026 (1/7/26)

 

I finally got out fishing in 2026. I decided to go to Rock instead of Peavy. Ice fishing is such a PITA, when I am in exploring mode. I was inefficient and rusty, wasting good daylight, when I should have just set up when I found a pile of sunfish. 

Shakopee Lake Trip with Cold and Snow

Took pic after drilling my second set of holes

 

Didn't Get Skunked!

Took the pic and then the phone died

3:45-8:30PM Shakopee Lake 8' and 9' just a little south of the access

-2 to 18℉, Mostly Clear, Calm

Unfortunately, not many people had been out on the lake since the snow dump this week. Not so much an issue getting out. Going back, I had to carry the auger and minnows and then go back for the smitty/Fish Trap. I got out to about 8 feet of water and drilled holes. I could see weeds. Not a whole lot going on. I marked a couple of disinterested small fish and saw one sunny on the camera. My Eddy's hat fell into the slush puddle. After sunset, I drilled another set of holes about 100 feet farther out and fished there the rest of the time. Around 7pm, I ran out of propane for the Little Buddy. I caught the first bullhead before I got the propane changed out. I had trouble getting the Little Buddy to fire at first. I had to unscrew it completely and put it back on, and that did the trick. I lost something that bit on a minnow. I put the camera down and saw bullheads. I caught one more small bullhead. Bullheads were still down there when I pulled my lines up for the night. On the way back to the car, my phone died after I took a picture. My bad for not having the second Mophie iPhone case along. I need to get with it, keeping the iPhone charged up. The second time this ice season, my phone died. It could just be that it gets too cold

The Sun Has Set On Open Water For 2025(11/25/25)

 

11/14/25 GOMH

I didn't make it to Eddy's Jetty until a quarter of ten last night. I had to get in one last open-water trip. I had one very small walleye on the gold Husky Jerk (10) on briefly. I fished at the Grumpy Old Man Hole on my way home just after midnight for a few casts and then called it on my Open Water Season.

This is why.

I am assuming that with the snow today and temps not getting out of the mid-twenties and lows in the single digits, that Platte Lake will have walkable ice by the weekend. I'll be getting my stuff together in the next couple of days. After not getting out last winter because of the hip replacement, I am actually looking forward to ice fishing this year. I will probably resume making ice fishing reports on YouTube. 

Sunrise Platte Lake 12/2/2022

Cyb Catches A Huge Gator On The Schooley

 The wind noise is kind of annoying, but staying until the end is worth it. MT channels Taku Ito complaining about hooking into big fish. 

Nice Catch, Mike

First Ice Trip 22/23

  

1st Fish Of Ice Seaso

3:45-5:35 10' Out From the Platte Lake Access

26-35℉, PC, 0-3mph

Forgot to bring the spud, but there were a few people out, and there were old iced-over holes where I was fishing. I did a zig-zag pattern in 10-12' feet of water and spied a gill down in the third hole, so I drilled three more, and that is where I fished. Saw two gills catching one. Saw at least one pike, possibly two. It was about 10 minutes between appearances, and I didn't get a great look at the first one. A few marks came in, and looked, but I didn't detect any bites. Almost nothing as it got dark

1Sun 

(This is YT Report I did with the VN Video Editor App, first-ever time using video editing software)

(This is the YT Report before I got the VN app)

Quick Transition To Ice Fishin'

I'm guessing Platte will be ice covered by Thursday and be safe for fishing a few days before Thanksgiving if this forecast is accurate. I'll be ready.
 

Goodbye, February!

 Coming into February I had such high hopes for the month with how good fishing was in January. But Old Man Winter had other ideas. The month was cold, windy, snowy, and at the end, we got clobbered with snow. I fished 10 fewer days this February than I did last year. The fishing was alright when I got out. So far the only species of fish I have landed in 2022 is crappie and the only lake I have fished is Bulldog. With all the snow and fish I am catching I don't see that changing any time soon.

Here are some January and February comparisons thanks to Fish Swami.

 

I am off to my best start to a year in terms of the number of fish caught. Last year I had fished more often, but only had caught 801 fish at this point.

2021 Year In Review (By The Numbers) And Report Card

 

In 2021, I set records for the number of fish caught in a year (3938), the number of days fished (242), the number of trips taken (330), and fish caught per hour (4.96). However, my bass numbers were down 113 fish from 2020. I had a record number of trips I rated as Great (74) and Good (190), and I only had (16) Trips rated as Poor, down from (33) poor trips last year. Not a lot of skunks were had this year (17). 

2021 was the Year of Ice Fishing Where Crappie Catches Were King
2021 started with me on the same old suck truck for ice fishing success. But then I got my new Fish Trap, Smitty Sled, and broke through on a school of fish on Rock Lake in January, and my fishing numbers were on fire for about a month. I ended the year on two fifty-fish nights on Bulldog. If not for the snow and my getting sick, I probably would have reached the milestones of 5 Fish Per Hour and 4,000 Fish in a year. I caught a record number of crappies in 2021 (834).
Ice Fishing Grade: B+

Crappie Fishing Grade: A

2021 Bass Fishing:

I would describe bass fishing in 2021 as solid but challenging. No matter how tough the fishing was, I always seemed to boat one or two, but man, did we have to work for bites. I fear that the bass population in Platte/Sullivan is decreasing. I never really whacked them once non-stop in 2021. If there are schools out there, they were not shallow in 2021. Hopefully, it is just a shallow water and baitfish issue that will work out if water levels and temps are more normal in 2022. We got a good number of 4's and 5's this year between the brothers and me.

Bass Fishing Grade: B-

Bass Size Grade: B+

Tournament Fishing in 2021:

Overall it was a tough tournament season for me, but I got lucky with Platte/Sullivan for the blind draw, doubly fortunate to get Darien Kiefer as a boater, and the rest is history.

Whitefish Lake: 13th Place (Saved by a rally in the final hour and a half)

North Long: 20th Place (Didn't fish well at all)

FishTrap Lake: 8th Place (Rallied in the final hour and a half)

Edward Lake: 15th Place (I sucked, Beau caught 'em fine)

Leech Lake: Skunked

Blind at Platte/Sullivan: 1st Place, Lunker, and Top Co-Angler

Serpent Lake Challenge Cup: (Snatchers came in last, my head wasn't in it)

Tournament Season Grade: A-

Tournament Performance Grade: C

Sure I sucked for the most part, but I got a W, so it's all good. 

2021 Walleye Fishing:

Ouch, this wasn't expected. Walleye fishing crashed back to historical norms after the last few boom years. Low water on Mille Lacs this Fall is the primary driver of the decline.
Walleye Fishing Grade: C

2021 Grumpy Old Man Hole (GOMH) Fishing:

Low water and lack of baitfish made fishing the GOMH the toughest in memory. Thank God for the Trophy.

GOMH Grade: C-

2021 Pike Fishing:

The great thing about the drought and early high water temps was that it threw the pike in Platte Lake for a loop. I only lost about 10 frogs this year. Last year, I lost at least two dozen. I also caught some tanks.
Pike Grade: A

2021 Bowfin Fishing:

I landed a 3 this year, including one tank on August 8th while fishing with Steve.
Bowfin Grade: B+

2021 Smallmouth & Tulibee Fishing:

Didn't catch either one in 2021. Straight up F's Homey!
Smallmouth Grade: F

Tullibee Grade: F

2021 Fishing Grade: B

Final Two Fish of 2021

 I ended 2021 with a double. The snow and a cold kept me off of the lake for the rest of the remaining days.

1st Open Water/Last Ice Trip Today(3/21/21)

 

9" VMC Fly/Wax/Polli (Pink)

 7:30-9:30PM 5 Tul Hole 26' 

42℉, PC, 10-20mph SE

Amazingly enough, I was able to get up. Pete beat me to the lake by about 20-minutes. I set up in my spot and had a pike show up about 10' down. It loitered for a while, then left for about 10-minutes, then came back. I started seeing stuff near the bottom, so I lowered the camera. There were crappies, sunfish, perch, and shiners down there. The crappies seemed more enamored with the barrel swivel. I had several of them hit it. I only caught one 8-inch crappie that I didn't take a picture of. I realized that right after I released it. Think I had the same pike come back around 9:00AM. Didn't see tullibee, neither did Pete, who fished all over the place. Called it a morning at 9:30AM. One other guy came off with us.

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7:00-8:10PM NE SW GOMH

53℉, Cloudy, 3-4mph S

I got to the GOMH, and there was a guy and a lady fishing off the bridges Southside. I went down the NE side. He asked me which side was better. I told him right now it probably doesn't matter much as it would probably be a couple of weeks before anything showed up. But I did say to him that the Southside tends to be the better option. They left at about a quarter of 8. I switched sides. Nothing going on. The water is low, but not as low as last Fall. It is probably going to be a week plus before anything shows up.

She Does Love To Fish

 

Ashley Rae putting on a clinic on how to catch crappies with a Garmin LiveScope up in Canada, eh!

Back On the Ice After 11 Days

 

 

Ice is 20+

8.5" Glow Demon/Minnow

4:30-6:30PM 16' 2021 Hole

-5 to 5℉, MS, 0-3mph S

It was cold out, but the sun was shining and there wasn't much wind so I went fishing. Drove out to my area. Hands got cold while I was drilling holes, had to get the choppers out. Ice was a good 8-inches deeper maybe more. Got set up and it was so warm in the house I eventually took my jacket off. Couldn't get the old Aqua-Vu to work. Wasted at least 20 minutes on that. I did eventually put the Aqua-Vu 5c down, but there were only about 15-minutes of good light for me. Saw a couple of crappies and a perch.  The first crappie took the minnow, but fish were way more active on THE Jig. Got one crip on the Glow Demon Spoon. The bite shut down at about a quarter of 6PM. I got a few stragglers after that. It was cold while packing up.

21 Crip

1 Perch

1st Ice Fishing Trip of 20/21, Skunked

 

Because I move like a turtle it took a while to get the Expedition cleaned out and get my gear together and ready to go. I stopped at Bear Trax to pick up some minnows and waxies and then I headed to Bulldog. I wasn't sure how thick the ice was where I wanted to go, so I just went out with the spud first.  I was able to strike through in two. Not ideal, but it's clear ice. Went back and got my stuff. Didn't even put the Aqua-Vu down it was getting so dark. Didn't mark anything and only fished for maybe 35-minutes. There were fish here last year. Think I just got out too late in the day. I may get out before the Vikings game tomorrow.

I Got the Fish Trap Out Today

 The area lakes are locked up and should be safe soon. There is no snow in the forecast and I am motivated to make use of the time for fishing for as long as that's the case. I need to get some ice fishing braid to put on my panfish rods and will be checking lakes within the next couple of days. I should be fishing somewhere by Friday.

Winter 20/21 Mille Lacs Walleye Regs

 

I caught quite a few in the 21-23" slot this Fall, so they are out there. I plan on giving it a try in open water off of the Jetty on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tullibaby Baby!

17" VMC Fly/maggots

8.90" VMC Fly/maggots

7:20-9:30AM Tullibee Hole 25'
31-29℉, Cloudy/Partly Cloudy, 13-20mph SE

I got out a little later than I should have.  There was snow on the truck and on the road.  As far as I can tell I was the second one at the access.  A couple of trucks drove on when I was unloading.  I walked out which ate more time.  It was quite windy.  I got to the area drilled three holes and put the camera down first.  Then I put waxies down on the bobber rod.  The first fish of the morning was the bull gill that bit at about 7:50AM.  I was not on point with keeping the fish. I had to fill a bucket with water using the hawg trough in hopes the fish would survive if I wanted to release it.  That took time and the fish went belly up so I had to keep it.  I'm pretty sure there were others down there that were gone by the time I got my line back down. About had an hour later the tullibee showed up.  There were at least two of them by the marks I had.  Fortunately, I got a bite and hooked it in the shoot.  Excellent fight.  I got the camera and transducer out, but I got caught up on the bobber line.  Landing these slippery things is tricky.  I was using 3lb test. After that, I might have had one more tullibee come through. But who knows I also had crappies come through that I got to see on the camera.  I watched a crappie charge the Fly and suck it in, but I didn't connect with the hookset.  I had perch messing with me by the bottom and eventually put the camera down to watch them.  It was quite windy and my right foot was cold so I called it a day at 9:30.

New Spot on Bulldog

10" VMC Fly/maggies (Pink)

8' VMC Fly/maggies

3:30PM-8:30PM Bulldog 9' NE Point
35-32℉, Partly Cloudy, 2-8mph South

I decided to fish Bulldog Lake today.  I parked at the public access and walked out to the deep hole.  Didn't mark anything.  I decided to give the point on the NE side of the lake a try.  I've never fished there before.  I drilled several holes before I hit paydirt 9' with some coontail on the bottom.   The fish were suspending above the weeds.  Lots of small sunnies and perch, I did get one 8" bluegill.  Eventually, some crappies started swimming through.  A pike made a brief cameo.  I finally drilled a third hole to put a minnow down  As it got dark more crappie came through.  The last fish of the night was a crappie that took a minnow. at 7:50 or so.  That was the only bite on the minnow.  I did hit the deep hole on the way back and didn't see anything.

5 Sunfish
4 Perch
8 Crappies

1st Ice Fishing Trip of the Winter, Skunked

4:00-6:30PM Rock Lake
34-36℉, Cloudy, 4-7mph SE

I finally did it.  I got my gear together and headed out ice fishing.  I discovered the bite detector was busted on the rod.  I didn't mark anything out in my area and didn't get to the sunfish hole until it was starting to get dark.  Didn't put a minnow down.  Ice was 20" plus inches thick.

Not sure where I will try on Friday.

Ice Fishing Goals Achieved and Not Winter 18-19

Goals achieved in bold green
Goals not achieved in red
Partly achieved in purple
Commentary in blue

The weather made for an abbreviated ice fishing season for me this year.  Once the Snow and cold hit in early January I was done.

Tackle Goals:
1. Have my tackle ready to go by November 24th.

Fishing Buddies:
1. Fish with at least 2 others this winter. I did go fishing with Pete, so 50% achieved isn't too bad.

Blogging:
1.  Record all fishing trips at Fish Swami
2. Blog all Trips at the Fishing Log Blog

Fishing Goals:
1.  Catch at least 300 fish. Caught 203 Fish
2. Catch at least 12 fish per outing.I struggled to catch them on a bunch of trips, but I was starting to get there when the weather turned against me.

Crappie:
1. Catch at least 200. I Caught 78 Crappies

Sunfish:
1. Catch at least 100. I Caught 40 Sunnies

Pike:
1. Catch at least 1. I caught 4 Pike

Bass:
1. Catch at least 1. I caught 1 Bass

Walleye:
1. Catch at least 1.I caught 12 walleyes
2. Fish Mille Lacs at least 3 times. I fished Mille Lacs 5 times

Tulibee:
1. Catch at least 1. Didn't really try for them

Lakes:
1. Mille Lacs
2. Bulldog
3. Rock Lake
Also fished Long and Platte

Will I Ice Fish Again This Winter?

Seeing as how I have only blogged once so far this month I thought I should get a thought out on what I've been pondering as far as ice fishing this year.  I haven't gone ice fishing yet this year thanks in no small part to the cold and snowy weather we have had.  I've only seriously considered going out one time in early February and didn't do it.  Since then it has been nothing but cold and snow.  With all the snow we have right now my interest level is at zero.  If we didn't have the snow my interest level would be at a 6 or so.  I do have a bit of cabin fever.  The next couple of days are going to be OK before we go back into the deep freeze again.  I will just have to see what the weather brings in March before I answer the question.  Please God, no more snow and a gradual snow melt would be much appreciated.