BP/Duffman Wk4/ Grand Day 2/ Dogfish Champ

BP vs. The Duffman Challenge
I have not heard from the Duffman and am assuming that he did not fish once again this week. I got out tonight and caught a 18incher, so once again the week goes to BP.

Week #4
Basspastor 1
Duffman 0

Summer 2007
Basspastor 4
Duffman 0

BASS Elite Grand Lake:
Bass Zone On the Water Blog...

BassZone story...

BassFan Story...

Bassfan Big Stick John Murray...

BP Fishing Report: Platte Lake 6/22/07

The Story: I put in at the E Sullivan access around 7PM and headed into Platte to fish Loon Sex Point. I only managed a single 12" fish on the Spro Bronze Eye. The wind was out of the SE, so I decided to fish the S shore of the big Western bay in Platte. I decided to hit a few docks before getting into the slop. This paid off with a 18.25" and 13" both on Bubblegum Zoom Super Flukes. Once I got to the slop I started throwing a black Zoom Horny Toad. I lost the legs off of 2 different toads, probably to small pike. I fished with a toad with stump legs and caught a nice 17.5". I also missed a bite from a smaller bass on this frog.

To end the night I elected to go to the North end of Platte rather than the Sullivan PRO. I managed a single 13" on the North End. I called it a night around 9:35PM.

Congratulations to 2007 Minnesota Bowfin Club Grand Champion Chuck Steinbauer!
He won the title with a 26 incher but the lake wasn't specified. The BP managed to make the article that appeared in the June 22 Brainerd Dispatch. As for me I did not manage to catch a single Doggie this year yet. Google "A Bowfin Champion at last Brainerd Dispatch" Registration required to read the article.

BASS Grand Lake Day 1

BassZone On the water blog...

BassZone Story...

Bassfan Story...

BassFan Big Stick John Murray...

Cyberfish with GEM week 1 pics...

Cyberfish catches yet another hawg...

Hellabass is back in the USA and doing some fishing...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes:
Both Teams have anglers in the top 5 (KVD & IKE) and both teams have McClelland in 11th. BP1 is once again better than the BPboys. Actually the BP Boys are hurting. But Day 1 don't mean Jack Squat!

FLW Potomac Day 3

BassFan Story...

Flw Story...

Quick Bites...

Cheese Head wins Co-Angler title...

BP/Duffman-FLW Potomac Day 2

BassFan Story...

FLW story...

Quick Bites...

Jay Yelas BassFan Big Sticks...

Fantasy Bass Notes: Well the Potomac has been the best tournament of the year so far. Lots of movement on Day 2.

1 Schmenzig Bassmen 859 +86
2 Cyb'sBboys 828 +282
3 BPObro Todd Maas 811 +73
4 Minnesocold BP's Boys 790 -78
5 Bp's Mommy 690 +8
6 Bass Pundit 1 664 +88
7 BP's Dad 603 -135

BP Fishing Report: Mille Lacs 6/15/07...

I nearly forgot it's Friday and that means BP vs. Duffman challenge day. I haven't heard if Duffman got out. Actually I think he is injured and unable to fish therefore my 18.5" smallie is big fish of the week.

Week #3
BassPastor 1
Duffman 0

Summer 2007
Basspastor 3
Duffman 0

Today is also the day that the MN Bowfin Club Contest ends. This year I did not catch a single dogfish for the contest. Ohh well, there's always next year.

FLW Potomac Day 1

BassFan Story...

FLW Story...

FLW Quick Bites...

Fantasy Bass Notes: Was a banner day for the BPboys, but can it last?

1 Minnesocold BP's Boys 868
2 Schmenzig Bassmen 773
3 BP's Dad 738
3 BPObro 738
5 Bp's Mommy 682
6 Bass Pundit 1 576
7 Cyb'sBboys 546

Fishing Report: Fishing with Todd 6/13/07...

BassFan Big Stick Jay Yelas at the Potomac...

Hellabass cashes a check at Le Homme Dieu Chain - Bassmasters Weekend Series...

BASS announces 2008 Elite Series Schedule (BassFan)...
> March 6-9 -- "Sunshine Showdown" -- Harris Chain of Lakes -- Leesburg, Fla.
> March 13-16 -- "Citrus Slam" -- Kissimmee Chain -- Lake Wales, Fla.
> April 3-6 -- "Lone Star Shootout" -- Falcon Lake -- Zapata, Texas
> April 10-13 -- "Battle on the Border" -- Lake Amistad -- Del Rio, Texas
> May 1-4 -- "Pride of Georgia" -- Clarks Hill Lake -- Evans, Ga.
> May 15-18 -- "Carolina Clash" -- Lake Murray -- Irmo, S.C.
> June 5-8 -- "Southern Challenge" -- Wheeler Lake -- Decatur, Ala.
> June 12-15 -- "Bluegrass Brawl" -- Kentucky Lake -- Gilbertsville, Ky.
> June 26-29 -- "River Rumble" -- Mississippi River -- Fort Madison, Iowa
> July 31- Aug. 3 -- "Empire Chase" -- Lake Erie/Niagara River -- Buffalo, N.Y.
> Aug. 7-10 -- "Champion's Choice" -- Oneida Lake -- Syracuse, N.Y.

GET THOSE FLW FISHING CHALLENGE ROSTERS IN!

Smith Mountain Day Final & Platte/Sullivan Report

Congratulations to rookie Casey Ashley on his victory at Smith Mountain Lake!

BassFan Story...

BassFan Big Stick John Murray...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes: Well John Crews managed to move up to 8th which helped out BP 1 considerably. This tournament hopefully will be the low point of the season for the BP boys. Thanks Morris ya shmuck.

BPboys Score 193, overall place 4201 drop of 1,267places!! In MN Fantasy Bass league dropped from 10th to 18th.

BP1: Score 297, overall place 377 drop of 36 places. MN Fantasy Bass League still #1.


My Sunday Morning on Platte/Sullivan: Not the biggest guy in the world but I decided to take his picture anyway.
Once again my big fish of the day is a 17incher

The Story: I got up at 4:40am and was on the water by 5:20. I forgot to tie the rope off on the trailer, so I sent the boat off into the lake. I ended up wading in to get it, thankfully the area around this access is shallow and sandy. If it would have come to it there was a boat putting in after me. It was a sunny and clear morning with a light SE breeze, but mostly it was perfectly calm.

I first hit the Crossroads reed point, didn't get a bite. Next stop was the PRO river mouth. I got a 16", 15", and 12" (picture 1) on the Spro Bronze Eye Frog. Instead of following the river in, I decided to run to Platte. My first stop was just North of the GOMH fishing the Western shore. I managed to pick up a 15" there, then headed on to the North shore of Platte. The North end of Platte looked extremely fishy but all I caught were the 17" and a 11". Around 8am I headed back to the launch.

Had the GPS out in the boat today and the trophy did manage to hit 20mph, but mostly top end was 19mph.

Smith Mtn Day 3

BassFan Day 3 story...

Bass Fishing the Rock Lake PRO:
This was the first fish of the night. He gave his position away by hitting something. I moved in and capitalized. This was the only fish I got by that method tonight, though I had several tries at others.

This was my last fish on the night and the biggest by an inch.

The Story: I was up and fishing by about 6:40PM and stayed out till about 9:20PM. There was a slight SW breeze when I started which dwindled to calm. Temps in the mid 70's and the skies were mostly sunny/clear. I worked my way from East to West staying more to the North.

The action was far from fast and furious. I only caught 4 bass and these were the only serious blow ups I had. Maybe 2 other times fished swatted at the frog. Most of the time I was throwing the Bronze Eye Frog pictured; I threw the white swim jig too. All fish were caught on Kermit. The first fish was 16.5" and the last fish was the biggest at 17.5". All in all I don't think the Rock Lake PRO is holding the quality fish anymore, they have moved back into the lake.

BPvDuffman Week 2/Smith Mtn Day 2

It's Friday and here at the Bass Pundit blog for the summer of 2007 that means BP vs Duffman Challenge results day.

Week #2
Basspastor 1
Duffan 0

Summer 2007
BP 2
Duffman 0

Challenge Notes: It was a weak week where it only took a 17inch bass for the BP to win. Apparently Duffman slipped and separated his shoulder at the ramp today, Ouch. Hopefully he will be up and fishing again soon. Once again the wisdom of locking out Cyberfish was apparent as Cyb caught at least 3 fish over 17" this week.

It was Day 2 at the Elite Series Smith Mountain Lake:

BassZone on the Water blog...

BassZone Day 2 Story...

BassFan Day 2 Story...

Rick Morris Day 1 DQ...
DQ My take: I think Rick Morris is in all probability lying about how the incident went down. He says he had a hand in the boat at all times yet he freed the fish from his topwater lure to get it in the boat. How would one do that one handed? Obviously you can't. As much as I hate to say it, I think the DQ had to have been the right call.

Fantasy Bass Notes: The Morris DQ will hit the BP boys hard during an already bad tournament. Day 2 was an improvement especially for BP 1, but the score is still well below the average score. BP 1 has 4 in the cut so hopefully more ground will be gained tommorrow.

BASS Smith Mountain Lake Day 1

BassZone on the water blog...

BassZone Day 1 story...

BassFan Day 1 story...

BassFan Big Stick John Murray...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes: Please let day 1 not mean Jack Squat. It's ugly for BP 1 with the best angler on the roster in 40th place. BP boys have Rick Morris in 6th, but that's it with 3 of the 5 below 50th.

Rock Lake Fishing Report 6/7/07

The main lure of the night a swim jig either white on white or white gold w/rootbeer. This particular swim jig was soon lost to a pike or dogfish.
Big fish of the night 17.25" caught on white/white swim jig in the pads.

The Story: After a warm and thundery afternoon a cool front swept through. I got tricked into thinking the winds were going to let up, but by the time I was in the Rock Lake Pro it was gusting 15-20mph out of the SW. It was partly cloudy when I started and overcast with light sprinkles when I left with the temp falling from near 70 to the lower 60's. I fished from about 7:30pm to 9:30PM.

Things started off quickly with a first five cast 13" bass. I then missed a couple of hits by the Beaver Lodge. I slowly made my way against the wind back into the river. I missed a couple of small fish in the river then turned around and headed out. I decided to drift with the wind as I left the river. I missed a strike on the Zoom Horny Toad but I was mainly throwing a white gold swim jig with rootbeer grub. On my first drift I got a few strikes and probably caught 1 bass. I had the tail of the grub bitten off a couple of times.

I decided I would use an all white swim jig on my second drift. I quickly got hit by a 14" bass by the Beaver Lodge. I then caught a dink. As I drifted out I got a solid hit and then my line broke. I retied with another white/white swim jig. I missed a few bites, had a tail bit off and caught 2 bass including the 17" (pictured) on my second pass.

I tried a third pass but don't think I got anymore fish, though I missed a strike or two. It was getting dark and the wind was a bear so I called it quits. On my way out of the PRO I stopped to fish the South side mouth along the bullrushes and weeds I managed to get a 16" on a Spro Bronze Eye Frog.

So I got about 6-7 fish total with the 17.25" being the biggest.

Fishers Of Men Club Beebe Lake Tournament 6/2/07

Fishing Report: Sullivan Lake 4/6/07...

Fishers of Men Fishing Club Twin Cities
Beebe Lake Tournament 6/2/07
I left for the tournament before 5AM which gave me plenty of time to make it to "Land of Promise" and Beebe Lake by 8am. With the extra time I decided to hit the Crow River outside of St. Michael to see if I could get a little topwater smallie action. I must have hit the rip rap around 6:45 and started working my way down. I thought I got a hit from something small and kept right on going. A little while later I did get a hit from an 8" smallie that managed to get the whole back treble in it's mouth. Without pliars it was tough to get out, but I did, hopefully with no damage done to the fish. A little ways farther down I got a harder hit and the fight was on. The fish got caught up in some debree, but it did not come off. As it turns out the fish was hooked on the front of the dorsal fin. Once again this was a pain to get out without pliars, but I managed to do it and release the fish. Not a bad start to the day, two smallies on the Clown Frenzy Popper.



My 5th fish of the day. Was 15" or 16"
My limit fish and last bass of the day. I think it went 16.5" and tied for my big fish.
Partner Wayne Jacobson staves off the skunk with a 15.5"=2.3lb Keeper.
Thompson scores a Beebe Lake Toad. 20"=5lbs

Mike with a chuncky 18.5=3.9lbs.

The Story: The scheduled start of the tournament was 9am but we got started a little late. The weather went from fairly sunny to increasing clouds. The wind was probably 5-10mph out of the south. I think we had 7 boats with 13 participants. The lake was bursting at the seems with Curly Leaf Pond Weed. I only found millfoil in "telephone pole bay."

The day started quite slow for Wayne and I. First we hit the whole Eastern and Southern Shore of the big island hitting both the inside and outside weed edge. Not a sign of a fish. So then we tried around the reed Islands, I did get something, probably a small pike, to slash at my Zoom Horny Toad. From the reed Islands we progressed to the SW side of the lake just below the Southern notch/bay. While working that weedline we ran into Mike Cummins who told us there were lots of bass that were not biting on the inside weedline in the NE bay by "Land of Promise." After working down the SW weedline quite a ways we elected to pull up and hit the NE bay.

Finally there were signs of life. The inside weedline was full of sunfish and the occasional bass. I switched to a Senko knock off and tried to hit the holes in the weeds and around the docks. I was seeing an occasional bass but wasn't getting anything. I started throwing the white Zoom Horny Toad and got a blow up and caught a 15" largemouth from a hole in the weeds. We kept working our way around the inside weedline and I got another fish on the white Horny Toad. I had a couple of fish either boil on the toad or follow it to the boat. When we got to the Land of Promise East dock, Wayne decided to take a trip to Mcdonald's to get us some lunch. I threw some casts with the Horny Toad off the dock but didn't get anything. I then switched to a purple Frenzy Popper and was rewarded when a 16.5" bass annihilated it. This bass was barely hooked but I managed to fight it through the weeds and land it. After a while Wayne came back with some snack wraps for me to snack on.

We elected to go back and re-trace our steps in the NE bay. I set Wayne up with a Horny Toad. In the general area where I got my 1st fish I had a good take, but I missed it. This tried to hit through the matted weeds and I didn't give it long enough to take the bait down. We kept working our way W and I started mixing in the Frenzy Popper as the weedline would allow. After throwing it for quite a bit and almost giving up on it, I got a hit and landed my 4th bass of the day. We ended up giving the NE bay one more run through but didn't garner any fish.

We then headed to the North Point of the Island and worked our way down the Western side this time. The west side was full of activity and I saw a really nice bass and a few small one's but we just couldn't get anything to go. With about an hour to go we hit the "telephone pole bay." As we worked our way toward the telephone pole in the water I got a hit and missed it. Shortly after that Wayne had a solid strike on the Horny Toad but missed it. A little bit later I got a good blow up on the Horny Toad and landed my 5th fish (pictured). Just a little ways farther down as we were exiting the telephone pole area, I got another blow up and landed my second 16.5" fish (pictured). That fish was my limit fish. We worked our way out of the telephone pole bay onto the sunkin penninsula where I had a good blow up but missed it. Shortly after that Wayne got a 15.5" bass off of the outside weedline of the sunken penninsula. That was to be our last fish of the day and it wasn't long till we had to be in anyways.

When we got to the Western dock at land of Promise everyone was waiting. It had been a rough day on most boats with most of the anglers bringing in Skunks as far as I can tell. Before the weights were calculated I found out Cyberfish jacked a 20incher (pictured) and I knew it was over. Mike ended up winning with 6fish for 19.6lbs. I took 2nd with 14.2lbs. Mike Cummins had 6 fish for 10.4 lbs and 3rd. Wayne's lone fish was good enough for 4th place.

As it turns out Mike got 2 fish in the last half hour including the 20inch Toad. I thought that mike would have caught the snot out of them, but he only got 6 keepers, but they were all nice fish.

Mike and I headed to Angeno's in Maple Grove after the Tournament for some Pizza. Yum Yum. It stormed something fierce while we were at Angeno's.
A big thanks to my partner Wayne Jacobson for turning us on to land of promise and for sharing his day in the boat with me.

Trophy In The Water

We finished the transom repairs yesterday and so today was the inaugural voyage of the Trophy for 2007. The motor didn't start on the first pull but it did start and soon I was off for a couple of hours fishing at Rock lake.

16incher takes on Kermit.

Fishing Report 6/5/2007: I arrived at the landing sometime after 7PM and put the motor through it's paces. Had a little issue with the fuel line becoming unbuttoned at the motor, but eventually got that fixed. Once I was satisfied with the condition of the motor I headed to the Rock lake Platte River Outlet (PRO). The entrance to the bay was already significantly weeded up with Rice and other weeds so the motor got bogged down pretty quick. I started at the Eastern edge of the pads and worked my way west. I was set to throw a Spro Bronze Eye, a Zoom Horny Toad, and a swim jig; I never did get around to throwing the swim jig. I fished from about 7:30 to 9:30 getting about 8-10 bass from 13" to 16". All but 1 of the bass came on the Bronze Eye (pictured), the other one came on the White Horny Toad.

During a cast, I had the reel handle come off the reel I was throwing the Bronze Eye with. Fortunately the handle landed in the boat, but I could not find the nut
I decided to do a rod and reel switch and kept right on fishing, although my distance was significantly cut back on the replacement reel.

The action on the fish was spread out with the action improving as it got darker out. I fished a fair distance West, but about 120 yards short of the beaver dam. There was a big beaver swimming around.

Hellabass hits the St. Croix...

Don't forget those fantasy line ups for BASS Smith Mountain!!!

BP vs Duffman Challenge Week 1

It's Friday and here at the Bass Pundit blog for the summer of 2007 that means BP vs Duffman Challenge results day.

Week #1
Basspastor 1
Duffman 0

No super hawgs were caught this week and Duffman's largest went 17inches. Apparently Duffman lost a toad boatside, so sad. With my 3 bass (2 Sally's, 1 Larry) that were 18"+ the BP takes week #1. I have a feeling if I don't get that boat of mine fixed quick, that this lead won't last very long. However tommorrow I will be in a boat at Beebe Lake with a Fishers of Men Club Twin Cities bass tournament.

Note: Sorry Cyberfish but I am not allowing you to compete in the Challenge. The fact that you would have won week #1 is reason enough. You can have your revenge tommorrow @ Beebe.

Bass Opener Weekend Report: Sun. May 27, 2007 Mille Lacs ...


Bass Opener Weekend Report: Memorial Day Mon. May 28, 2007 Bordon Lake...

Hellabass Opener on Tonka...

Lakeview Eddy's Launch 5-29-07

On 4/29 I went with Dad and the people of Lakeview Community Church on an Eddy's Launch. Dad strikes first again with a nice eater. Pictured with Launch Captain Tom.

One of the guys with a fish that had to go back. All totaled the launch had 6-8 that were to big to keep.

Dad's 2nd fish, this one may have to have gone back, 20+.

Dad with a big smile as he racks up #3

Dad packs in with #4, a good eater.

Dad catches his 4 fish limit with this one.

The Nights haul 7 plus one from 1 from Don Weinmeister.

The Story: The people of Lakeviw decided to take out a launch, this was spearheaded by Dad. It was cloudy with gathering rain showers as we headed South from Eddy's down to Rocky Reef. Our launch parked in 13ft of water and Dad landed the 3rd fish of the trip. I missed my first one of the night in this spot. After about an hour and a half of pretty sporatic action and a rainstorm we headed out by one of the other launches in about 22ft of water. In this spot Dad had the hot hand landing 3 eaters 1 over and a rock bass. On the night I went 3 keepers from 10 hits and got 1 rock bass. Dad and I did the best of anyone on the launch. We fished off the back of the launch this time and I now will seek the back out because it's easier to fish from there. All in all our launch probably landed 20+ fish with 6-8 overs and 6-8 cigars with about a dozen keepers, 7 of which were caught by Dad and I.

And God smiled on the Basspastor...The BP MN Bass Opener Report!

The real Bass Poachers...

Did get some work done on the boat today, but still far short of having it ready for tommorrow. Didn't fish today may not fish tommorrow.

Trophy Encounters has been hittin it...

Once again no work on the boat today due to the chief mechanic being sick. I would say there is a 0% chance I will be out in a boat for bass opener. On Sunday Shake (Cyberfish) and Bake are comming up, so I will fish with them Sunday and Monday.

Fishing Report 4-24-07 from Eddy's Jetty...

Bassfan Bigstick Beaver Lake...

Wednesday May 23, No work done on the boat today. Not Good.

Hellabass Tournament #2...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Update

BASS-Pts High Rock, Overall place, MN Fantasy Bass League, Overall movement
BP1: 270,341,1 -120 places

BPboys: 223,2934,10,-705 places

FLW (the Posse)-Beaver Score,Beaver Place, Overall Place
Schmenzig 787,346,633
BP 1 698,1130,463
BP Dad 689,1221,1022
BPboys 661,1524,545
Bp Mommy 644,1707,564
BPObro 633,1805,296
Cyb's 606,2076,1142

The Big Question: Bass Opener is Saturday, will the boat be ready????????

Once again I did not fish today or yesterday even though both might have been good days at the Jetty. Tonight I elected to watch Idol and On the Lot instead.

On Tour SMG Blog...

Clay Dyers Blog...

Hellabass 1st tourny of the year...

The Lost Nomad has been fishing...

Cyberfish whacking big Mille Lacs pannies in a Kayak...

Day Final Beaver/Townsend

Didn't fish today, it was windy and cool. Worked on the boat getting the bilge hole drilled.

Pro Bass Fishing Notes:

Townsend: Congratulations Fred Roumbanis
BassZone On the Water blog...

BassZone Story...

BassFan Story...

Beaver Lake: Congratulations Andy Morgan
BassFan Story...

Angler of the Year races...

Day 3 Beaver/Townsend

Fishing Report 5-19-07: I arrived at Eddy's Jetty around 7PM. When I arrived it was cool and windy from the SE. The wind however was more E than S unlike on opener where it was about even thus allowing me to cast well. With the SE wind I decided to throw the Purple Perch Husky Jerk off the North conrner, but I quickly discoved casting was difficult and it just wasn't working out unfortunatly. I elected to switch to leech and bobber off the center Jetty harbor mouth. The spray from the waves ruled out fishing from the rock outcropping and so I fished off the North Harbor center dock. Casting proved difficult and the bobber got blown about quite a bit. I did not dress warm enough and it was cool. The wind was blowing a steady 20MPH with higher gusts. Sometime around 8:15 I got a bite and missed it. About 15minutes later I nailed a 20"+ eye, so back in the drink it went. I went back to the car and got a glove for my left, rod holding, hand. At about 8:45 I missed a bite right close to where I was standing, lost the leech. About 10 minutes later my bobber went down again and I landed a 23" Walter who bit right at my feet. The wind got worse, I was cold and called it quits about 9:15PM

Pro Bass Fishing Notes:

Townsend On the Water Blog...

Townsend Bassfan Story...

Townsend BassZone Story...

FLW Beaver Lake BassFan...

Day 2 Beaver/High Rock

Didn't fish tonight, worked on the boat instead. Hopefully the Trophy will be squared away by early next week. But will the motor run?

Pro Bass Fishing Notes:
High Rock Highlights-
BassZone on the Water Blog...

Basszone Story...

BassFan Story...

The FLW Beaver Lake-

BassFan Story...

FLW Story...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes:
BASS High Rock- Day 2 only made a bad situation worse. Ducket pitched a -10 for the skunk penalty. Remitz dropped hard and my best angler in a 51 boat field was KVD in 14th place. Skunked for Super 6 Pick'em

Beaver FLW Fishing Challenge-More mediocrity on the FLW side of things. Sure day 2 was an overall improvement in scores but it's all petty points pretty much.

1 Schmenzig Bassmen 787
2 Bass Pundit 1 697
3 BP's Dad 689
4 Minnesocold BP's Boys 661
5 Bp's Mommy 644
6 BPObro 633
7 Cyb'sBboys 606

Day 1 Beaver/High Rock

BP Fishing Report: Eddy's Jetty...

BassZone on the water Blog...

BassFan High Rock Day 1 story...

BassZone High Rock Day 1 Story...

FLW Beaver BassFan Story...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes:
BASS High Rock: Ouch and that's all I have to say. Hopefully Day 2 will bring drastic changes.

FLW Beaver Lake:
1 Schmenzig Bassmen 765
2 BP's Dad 673
3 Bass Pundit 1 637
4 Bp's Mommy 634
5 Cyb'sBboys 568
6 Minnesocold BP's Boys 555
7 BPObro 544

Overall not a great day here either but Day 1 don't mean jack squat!

5-16-07 Eddy's Launch Trip with Dad

Tonight Dad and I went out on an Eddy's LaunchDad draws first blood but it was only a Cigar.
Dad's first keeper of the night with our Eddy's Launch Captain Tom. Dad's second cigar goes back to the lake.
Our biggest fish. It was slightly to big to keep.
It wasn't shooting fish a barrel good, or maybe it was.
Dad with the nights haul.

The story:
The launch left the dock right around 6PM and it only took about 10minutes to reach our spot in Vineland Bay. We were sitting in about 10feet of water and we never moved from this spot until we left at quarter to 10PM. The night started quickly with a guy on the back of the launch landing a nice eye in the first couple of minutes, but after that it was a long lull. We brought our own rods but the stuff I gave Dad was having all kinds of problems so we switched him to an Eddy's rod with a red hook, no beed. I was set up with a longer rod, lighter bobber, white beed, and red hook. Finally after about an hour Dad's bobber started bobbing but all that happened was a lost leech. A little while later I landed a perch. We only got perch bites catching a couple in the first two hours. Sometime a little before 8 PM Dad reeled in our first Walter, but as the pic shows it was only a cigar. I caught a few more perch then tied into our first keeper eye of the night. Not to long after my catch Dad brought in another keeper (picture). Dad caught the next walleye as well, but it was another Cigar and it went back in the lake. I followed that up with a 14.5" keeper. Dad landed the next eye but it was just a bit over 20" and so it had to go back (picture). Shortly after that, Dad caught our forth keeper. I missed a good fish. Around 9:30PM I landed our 5th and final keeper. The launch as a whole caught a bunch of fish as the barrel of fish picture shows, about 6 fish had to go back for being to big and about 6 that I saw went back for being to small. It turned out to be a really nice night weather wise because the wind died down. Dad and I also missed lots of bites, sure some were probably perch, but some were most definitely eyes as well. I cleaned the fish when we got home.

The score: Dad 5 walleye (2keeps, 2 cigar, 1 over the slot) and a couple of perch
BP 4 walleye (3Keeps 1 cigar) and about 6 perch.

BP Fishing Report 4-15-07Got to Eddy's around 8PM and the North and Center Harbor mouth's were covered with anglers. After thinking about it a bit, I elected to try the South Jetti corner. When I first arrived there was a pretty stiff wind out of the North and so I brought the jerkbait rod thinking that after dark I may be able to get some action. I made some preliminary casts to check for rock snagging. I was definitely hitting more rock than on the North corner. After a few casts I put on a leech under a bobber. My first several drifts produced nothing. Around 9pm I started to get bit, but it was little perch. I did see a couple of eyes get caught off Center and North Harbor mouths around this time and later. As it got dark the perch bite shut off. Around 9:40PM my bobber went down and I set into a 16" eye which was barely hooked, but I landed it. I got another bite right at 10PM, but it was a cigar and I threw it back.

The launches brought in a few fish, but nothing spectacular.

4-13-07: It was a windy day out of the SE for most of the day, however by the time Dad and I hit the Eddy's Jetti it had calmed significantly. Arriving around 7:30PM I got us rigged up for bobber fishing and we headed to the center Jetti harbor mouth. Dad started with a leech and I tried a minnow. It wasn't long and Dad had something pull down his bobber, but he missed it. The night progressed with Dad missing 2 more bites. Some fisherman on the North Jetti harbor mouth caught a couple and were getting many more bites than we were. The minnow was worthless and I eventually switched to the Jumbo Leech. It was getting dark by now and we had the bobbers lighted up when my float went down and I landed a 16" eye. At 10PM the Eddy's launches came back and we moved to the North Jetti where I had been catching my fish. I threw the Purple Perch while Dad kept the leech. The wind was just to calm and my jerk bait bite died. Dad got a bite and missed it. And I decided to go back to bobber fishing. Dad got a bite and pulled in a 12inch bullhead which swallowed the hook; When I took the hook out the bullhead bled all over me. After a little while I think dad missed another bite and around 11:30 he called it quits. I went to the North harbor mouth cause the guys fishing there said they were biting. After 20minutes with no action I called it a night. 1 fish that's it. We might have done better fishing during the day when the winds were howling.

4-14-07 Another windy and hot day where for most of the day the winds were out of the W SW, but a front came threw around 5PM switching the wind the NW and cooling things down. Dad and I headed to the Eddy's Jetti at 7PM. After a little rigging at the car we were all set for more bobber fishing at the North Jetti harbor mouth. It didn't take long and we were getting bites... from perch. The little bait stealer's were going through our remaining leeches and minnows fast. Finally I caught a couple of the little bait stealer's. Dad got a nasty tangle which I had to cut, lots of line go by by. Dad went to the Eddy's marina to get bobber stops and more leeches. They didn't charge much for the bobber stops and gave around 2-3 dozen leeches of all sizes for $4. I put on a smaller leech and caught a couple more perch. The wind was blowing 10-15 out of the N shortening our casting distance and moving our floats S along the Jetti fairly rapidly. I let my bobber get to far to the S and a guy fishing the center Jetti harbor mouth casted over my line and we got all tangled up with him trying to do the untangle eventually he had to cut his line. His jig head was stuck through my Fireline and I had to crimp down the barb to get it free. Eventually it started getting dark and I had a good pick up and had what felt like a good fish on for a couple of seconds but it came off. Dad gave up about a quarter to 10 and I stuck it out till the bitter end. The people just to the north of us and the guy on the center Jetty got a small eye a piece. Disappointing trip.

Don't Forget FLW and BASS Fantasy Bass Fishing this week.

Different Night Same Story: I hit Eddy's Jetti last night about 10PM armed with my trusty 6'6" Fig Rig rod and Glass Purple Perch Husky Jerk. I landed a 16 incher on my very first cast. The action was quite hot for the next hour with me landing a fish about every 5-10 minutes in between trips back to the car. A couple of guys from St. Cloud moved in on where I was fishing on the N side of the Jetti but it didn't matter as I kept right on catching fish. I ended up giving these guys 3 fish putting them 1 short of their limit.

Around midnight my back started getting sore and I headed to the truck and took about an hours rest. At this point I had landed 8, missed one, and had a couple of hits that never hooked up. All fish were 15-19+ with a 19 and 3/4 being the biggest. As I sat in the car I watched some bobber fisherman catch 1 small eye and one nice one. I heard somebody say that a guy caught a 28.5" off the Jetti, but I didn't see that fish.

Round about 1AM I resumed shore casting and landed my 9th fish. The action stopped after that and my back got sore quick. Eventually I switched to a lighted bobber and minnow. I whiffed on my first 2 bites and then pulled in a cigar. At 3AM I called it quits.

Opener according to Cyberfish...

Limit

The plan was Mille Lacs at Midnight from Eddy's Jetty and while the execution was not perfect. Still I had my limit by 1:30AM

The Story: I arrived at Eddy's about 5 minutes to midnight. By the time I was unloaded and ready to cast it was open season. I started off at the South end of the Jetty as that in the past I've done best from there. The wind was NOT out of the NE but the SE with pretty good size rollers coming in. I put on a size 12 Glass Purple Perch Husky Jerk. Casting into the wind proved difficult and I quickly realized this was not happening. The wind was set up perfect for casting from the North end of the Jetty, so I headed there.

Upon arriving on the North corner I started chucking long casts quartering the wind and within 10 minutes I was hooked up and landed a 15-16 incher. I took a walk to the truck to put him in the pail then headed back to the North corner. I had some spectators now and they were kind of in my back cast zone and so I couldn't fling the Husky Jerk as good. Fortunately they moved fairly quickly so I could get a full cast out. Within 5 minutes of getting my casting up to par I had a good fish on but it came off right at shore. I think I lost it due to a treble hook breaking. This was the biggest fish I had on for the night and it very well may have been in the protected slot (20+inches). I then had to chuck and wind for about another 15 minutes and I was rewarded with a 17" eye. I took him to the truck and then headed back to my spot. At this point visions of an Opener eye limit started dancing in my head.

It took another 10 to 15 minutes and I was hooked up again with another eater. As I went to lift him in it became unbuttoned and fell into the area where rock and water meet. I quickly turned on my headlamp and got after him; It was a close call but I got him before he could swim away. Once again I headed to the truck to put him in the pail.

Back to casting. After about 10 minutes I made a particularly good cast and got smacked right away by what felt to be another eater. Unfortunately it got off and my hopes of an Opener limit were back on hold. After another 10 to 15 minutes I got struck again with a 15-16 eater that got hooked along the head with all three trembles. And boom I had my limit within an hour and a half.

After putting the last dude in the bucket I headed to the North side harbor mouth where 4 guys were fishing. They had caught a couple of keepers and a couple of throw backs and 1 bullhead. I think they were all using leeches. After some small talk I headed home.

Shore Nuff: Tonight I headed out to do some shore fishin. First stop was at Jenni's to drop off fish and she gave me some fudge bars. I then fished from Jenni's launch missing one bite and catching a small bass. From there I headed to the Platte house and didn't get anything. I then headed to Rock and got a really small pike on my first cast from the ramp. I went out on the dock and got another small pike. I then checked out Bulldog but a guy was there fishing. Next stop was the GOMH. I gave Willard a fudge bar then headed down on the NE side and got a jumpin bullhead on my first cast. A couple of casts later I had a hit and miss. I fished the SE side and got nothing. On the SW side I caught a little jumper that had some nasty scars from a slime rocket. All fish were caught on a yellow Terminator Spinnerbait. I will soon be headed to the Eddy's Jetti, hopefully, for more walter action; the wind is about the same as last night so I am opptomistic. I will probably give the minnows a shot because my upper back is sore (bad sign).

Opener for Hellabass...

MN Gov. Pawlenty with wife whacks em...

Darin Roddick-Small's Tournament Journal from Futurebass.com...

Opener Eve

I have decided it's going to be Midnight at Mille Lacs. I will open the 2007 season from shore on the Eddy's Jetti. A East wind has been blowing the western shore line all day long, so the fish should be in shallow. Hopefully shallow enough and near those rocks.

Opener Eve at the GOMH...

Of interest at FishingMN.com: Fishing with your limit

Naturally being the liberal with Fish and Game laws that I am, I think it is OK to keep fishing after you have a limit of fish. There is no way that having a fish in hand for immediate release should constitute "possession." The wording of the law in no way specifically says that fishing with a limit is a no no. Fish sorting with a limit is specifically banned and therefore a no no.

From that thread Suzuki says:
Speaking of targeting out of season fish. The occasional accidental catch is fine but if you are reasonably sure your going to continue catching an out of season species while you supposedly pursue another then you are breaking the law. Unethical too. You know who you are.

If you know anything about the BP, you should know that I totally disagree with this ultra strict interpretation of the closed season law. I believe that as long as you are intenionally targeting an in season fish, that you are being legal and ethical no matter how many out of season fish you may be lucky enough to catch. Yes Suzuki I know who I am and I know I am right and you are wrong.

"The Opener"

"The Opener"

In the state of Minnesocold the gamefish species (walleye, Pike, Bass, Trout) all have seasons in which they are closed for fishing. The 2nd weekend in May is the traditional "Minnesota Fishing Opener" for Walleye, the state fish, and Northern Pike; Bass don't open until Memorial Day weekend. Being that this is the 2nd week of May, it is the week of "the Opener." "The Opener" week is for many a time of hightened excitement in preparation for angling the preferred species in MN.

Obviously I haven't been blogging this week. That has not been because I have been diligently preparing my gear. Yesterday for instance I had a doctors appointment and ICD check after which I went and had a play day with niece Isabelle; I also got to see more of niece Mallory than I have before. I did however do some gear prep today.

So what will the BP be up to for "The Opener"? Well, I now know I will not be spending the weekend at Camp Lebanon with GEM and Teen Challenge. Without a boat, I would just be an extra wheel. There is a slight possibility that the Trophy might be useable by Saturday, but I think the chances of that are slim at this point. I would not haul the boat to Camp Lebanon without first having run the boat to make sure everything checks out and I just don't see that happening tommorrow. Thus I am left here maybe with a boat, but probably not.

I may head to the Eddy's Jetti tommorrow at midnight, but I am not firm on that yet. I have had success on the Eddy's Jetti on Openers past. However, I think the low water level at Mille Lacs could present a problem for shore casting husky jerks. As a solution I would maybe go with live bait and lighted bobbers.

If the boat is ready for Saturday I will probably hit Platte and Sullivan for a little Pike and Dogfish action. If not than I am stuck on shore, so Eddy's Jetti would be my best bet.

Cyberfish has been out fishing here, here, and here

Fishing Report 5/2/07...

The Duffman Challenge:
Hey BP....
Let's have little contest this year. I'll send ya a pic of my biggest bass that I catch each week. You can post it on your blogs up against your fish of the week. Let's go with length. And I guess....the honor system LOL

Background: The Duffman is an old online nemisis of mine from FishingMinnesota.com and LakeStateFishing.com. We annually debated the bass closed season question and bed fishing which he calls "bed raping." As noted earlier this month on Bass Pundit blog, the Duffman took a shot at me in this thread. I don't know how often Duffman stops by the Bass Pundit blog, apparently he must occasionally.

So Duffman if you can remember your challenge come bass season then email pics to basspundit@hotmail.com and it will be AWWWWWWWN provided I have the energy and will to blog this summer. The Challenge will run Saturday through Friday all summer long. If you have a pic that is great, but if not just email me the length, I don't think pics are essential.

Tommorrow: I will officially accept the Duffman's challenge.

Fishing Report 4/30/07...

Hellabass Fantasy Bass Fishing Success... The Bp's year is not nearly so good.

Updated Tour Angler of the Year Standings...

KVD with a snoopy pole and winning...

More Dogfish at the BFHP...

Guntersville/ Norman Final Day

GOMH Fishing Report...

Dogfish News: From Bass Fishing Home PageTM-Can Bowfin bite off 40lb Power Pro Line?

Tournament News: I am watching the Guntersville Live Leaderboard on-line.

And the winner is KVD! He lands 25-5 to take it all. Way to go Kevin!

G-ville BassFan Story...

G-ville BassZone Story...

Congrats to Larry Nixon on his FLW Lake Norman Win!

BassFan Norman Story...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes:
BASS G-Ville:
BP 1 rocks with KVD and Horton 12=Total Pts 426 for 221 place thats a 145 place up grade. #1 in MN Fantasy Bass League.

BP Boys do OK with Jordan 6th and Miyazaki 7th=Total points 346 for 2229th place, 16 spot upgrade, #10 MN Fantasy Bass League.

FLW Norman:

Name, Norman Pts, place, Overall place
1 Bp's Mommy 850, 60, 566
2 Bass Pundit 1 705, 1695, 647
3 BPObro 683, 1990, 208
4 BP's Dad 651, 2731, 1333
5 Schmenzig Bassmen 634, 2552,1249
6 Minnesocold BP's Boys 609, 2745, 606
7 Cyb'sBboys 541, 3004, 1142

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.

Guntersville 1/Norman 2

Fishing Report 4/27/07: I got one measly orange bullhead, missed a few bites; I fished the SE side for most of the night with maggots. I think I should have saved some of the dead minnows I threw away when I first got to the GOMH. Lee Ander and Willard were there with 1 of Lee Anders sons and two grandsons. They caught silver bullheads and jumpin bullheads. It was pretty slow for the most part.

Dad and I are gonna get up early tommorrow and give it a try, with minnows.

Tournament News:

Basszone On the Water Blog Gunterville...

BassZone G-ville day 1 story...

BassFan G-ville day 1 story...

BassFan Norman day 2 story...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes:
G-Ville BASS
BP1: has KVD in 3rd but the rest of the line up isn't that great.

BP boys: Duckett and Miyazake in the top 10 the rest not so great. IKE in 82nd, Ouch!

FLW Norman:
1 Bp's Mommy 856
2 Bass Pundit 1 705
3 BPObro 683
4 BP's Dad 657
5 Schmenzig Bassmen 634
6 Minnesocold BP's Boys 609
7 Cyb'sBboys 541

Overall it was a good moving day for the posse with all teams increasing in points except BP's Obro.

Elite Guntersville/FLW Norman Day 1

Fishing Report 4/26/07: Got to the GOMH after 7PM. There were 6 guys on the SW side including Lee Ander and Don W. was fishing the SE side. Someone on the SW side caught a dogfish just as I arrived. Shortly after that Don nailed a silver bullhead. I took up a spot where the dogfish had been thrown at the W end of the SW side. I managed to catch a few orange bullheads including a nice keeper I gave to Lee Ander. I also got 1 small perch. Eventually the guys to the east of me started busting silvers. I was shut out until a couple of guys left. I stayed long into the darkness (10PM) and only managed 2 silvers and an actual bullhead. There was no bite after dark to speak of. Don went home with 10 and got 6 on the SE side. He said he missed quite a few fish. The guy immediately to my left for most of the night was catching orange bully's on waxies and a small jig. He missed a dogfish and eventually managed to catch 4-5 silvers. After everyone left I threw the still alive dogfish back in the water.

Tournament News: In case you haven't heard day 1 of the Elite Guntersville was cancelled due to the threat of severe weather. As it turned out I don't think the weather was that bad, but I agree with the decision, better safe than not.

FLW Norman Day 1 BassFan Story...

BassZone Norman Day 1 Story...

BassFan Big Stick John Murray at G-ville...

BassFan Big stick Jay Yelas at Norman

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes:
FLW w/the Posse: Nearly half the field (95 anglers) is within 5 pounds of the lead.
This note from BassFan shows just how important Day 2 is going to be. The vast majority of the posse picks are in 1st 100 anglers (15) with 8 of those in the top 50. The best pick so far is Brent Ehrler in 17th and the worst pick is Wendlandt in 174th.

Here how it shakes out:
1 Bp's Mommy 782
2 BPObro 713
3 Bass Pundit 1 695
4 BP's Dad 598
5 Minnesocold BP's Boys 588
6 Schmenzig Bassmen 523
7 Cyb'sBboys Mike Thompson 459

All in all a mediocre Day 1, but since the weights are so compacted there is room for a great deal of movement on day 2.

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?

Good Evening at the GOMH (GOM Willard "Bacon" Night)

Fishing Report: Headed to the GOMH at 6:20PM. There were three anglers fishing the SW side. Also at the GOMH was grumpy old man Willard. If he said bacon once, he said it a hundred times over the evening.

Since the SW side was covered with anglers I took the not nearly as nice to fish from SE side. In the first hour I fought two big bullheads but they both jumped me off by slightly bending the cubby hook out. The first hook up was at least a 4lber that jumped numerous times. A lady fishing the SW side said if I gave her the bass to keep, she would give me a couple of brewski's. I think she was half kidding, but then again maybe not.

I landed my first fish, which was a 2lb jumpin bullhead after I had been there about an hour. I was fishing a busted Cubby body with a minnow. I landed two more jumpin bullheads, a 2 and then a 3lber. About 8PM the people on the SW side started getting some action with orange bullheads then by 8:20 some silvers started showing up. I caught an unlucky break when a slimmer broke my line sending my Wing-It bobber into Sullivan Lake. However soon after that my luck changed because the guy and the girl fishing the SW side caught enough fish and packed it up. I immediately took their place.

For the next 20 minutes or so I proceeded to whack and stack silver bullheads on Dad's set up from last night (Chart flu flu and a minnow). Another guy showed up while the action was hot and he immediately started catching them too. As it was starting to get pretty dark the 1st guy left and the action slowed. I put on my lighted bobber and got about 4 more fish. The action slowed the darker it got. I got my last couple of fish on another set up with a Glow Demon. All in all I kept 9 (see pic) and released 3-5.

Word on the street is that Santa Claus Don woke up early and smacked em good in the morning around 6am. He said he also got a 5lb jumpin bullhead.


Classic Bass Pundit: Goings on at GOMH

April 2006 Fishing Log Blog archives...

April 2005 Fishing Log Blog archives...

More Closed Season Vigilanteism at FM.com: Targeting Bass before they are open (Duffman takes a shot at the BP in his post) and Lawbreakers

Hey Duffman, in case you aren't paying attention, I actually do fish for Dogfish. I am the 2004 and 2006 Minnesota Bowfin Club Grand Champion. I will try and repeat again this year. I think I may have missed a my first doggy of the season the other night. FYI I was fishing for Crappies at the time.

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.

Clarks Hill Day Final

Fishing Report: The GOMH comes alive in a steady rain. Windy out of the north pushing current through. I started it off with 11 jumpin bullheads and 1 marble eye bullhead. Then I caught 6 orange bullheads and 5 silver bullheads as it got dark. I fished until I couldn't see my bobber anymore. And that is why I have been showing up every night since ice out.


Mike McClelland Wins! Congrats!!!

BassZone.com on the water blog.

BassFan Story...

BassZone Story...


Fantasy Fishing Notes: Clarks Hill was not kind the BP teams. I dropped Ish, Martens and Roumbains For Kriet, Ike, and Williamson. 243 was the average score at Clarks Hill both teams were below that standard.

BP 1: Dropped 149 places overall with 221pts to put me in 366th. Dropped to 2nd in MN Fantasy Bass League.

BPboys: Only mustered 208 pts dropped to 12th in MN Fantasy Bass League and down to 2245 Overall which is a drop of 686 places. Ouch!

In Super 6 pick'em BP 1 blanked and the BPboys scored all of 4 points. The worst showing of the year by far. BP 1 wasn't even close.

Cool Site: Toyota Fishing Team

Clarks Hill Elite Day 3

Fishing Report: Caught a pike at the GOMH, nothing at the Rock Dock. Saw loons on Rock.

BassZone on the water blog... Sounds like it's tough out there today.

BassFan Day 3 story...

BassZone Day 3 Story...

Fantasy Notes:
Bass Pundit 1: Poor tournament. Best angler Lintner in 16th. 221Points dropped nearly 100 places to 312.

BPboys: Need Ashley to rally, he's dropped to 6th.

Clarks Hill Day 2

Fishing Report: Skunked, nothing at the GOMH not even a Grumpy Old Man; fished it in the afternoon and dusk. Two boats at the GOMH, nothing.
Rock Dock zero.
Got bites from a minnow at Bulldog Outlet.

Basszone On the Water Blog...

Clarks Hill Real-Time Leaderboard
Kriet sacks 13-15
KVD sacks 14-12 hopefully this will mean some fantasy upward mobility, however it looks like weights are up today for everyone just about. Still Early

Bassfan Day 2 story...

BassZone Day 2 story...

BassFan Big Stick John Murray misses $10,000 by an ounce...

SMG Tour Notes and Blog...

Fantasy Bass Fishing Notes:
Bass Pundit 1 Kennedy sucked 83rd, KVD moved up to 55th so he's out of the cut, Lintner dropped 1 spot, Kriet up 14 to 39th, Williamson up 12 to 34th.

BPboys: Rough day Ike dropped 30places, Hite dropped 34 places no limit bonus no points, Kennedy 83rd, Ashley drops 2, Williamson is only gainer. BAD DAY!

Platte/Sullivan Ice Free & More

Platte/Sullivan ICE FREE!
Rock Lake Ice Free

Let the Dogfish chase begin!!!!
Got my first fish of the 2007 Open water season today. It was a 17" Larry Bass from the Rock Dock on lure X. Nothing happening at the GOMH yet.

Weather: Mid 60's breezy out of the SE.

Clarks Hill Elite Real-Time Leaderboard...

Basszone Clarks Hill on the water blog day 1...

BassFan Clarks Hill Day 1 Story...

BassFan Big Stick John Murray Day 1...

BassZone Day 1 story...

Fantasy Notes:
Bass Pundit 1 DISASTER KVD 4 fish 82nd, Kennedy 86th Total Points for the day 127! Lintner in 17th is best angler.

Minnesocold BP Boys: Picked day 1 leader Casey Ashley so that alone saves this team. Right now the average score for all players is only 158. After Ashley it is down hill fast: IKE 34, Williamson 46 no limit bonus, Hite 50, Kennedy 86. I need Ashley to hold on.

Hopefully Day 1 don't mean Jack Squat! except for Ashley

Ice Check: Bulldog Ice Free
Long Ice Free
Rock 80% Ice Free
Platte 70-80% Ice Free
Sullivan 60% Ice Free

Stopped at the Rock public access to do some fishing. The ramp has been fixed and the dock was out. Also fished the GOMH, nothing. Platte Lake public access dock out even though there were ice bergs all around it. Sullivan NE public access dock not in.

BP archives April 2005...

BP archives April 2006...

BP Clarks Hill Fantasy Rosters Picked.

Bassfan Bigstick John Murray on Clarks Hill...

Weather, Notes, and FM.com Whiners

Weather: Sunny and 65. Nice! Allergies were bugging the heck out of me this afternoon. AhhhhChoo! Eyes watering to tears and nose running like a faucet. I finally gave in and took a generic Claritin and now I am Caritin Clear.

Picked up the 2007 fishing licence today, I was going to get it yesterday but both of the local bait shops closed up before 6PM and so I couldn't get it. Today I also ordered a pair of Cocoons Sunglasses from Bass Pro Shops (Thanks Steve and Kim for the gift card). This spring I have been unable to find any of the three pairs of amber polarized Sunglasses that I wore last summer. I believe Cocoons used to be called Fitovers. I had a pair of Fitovers and loved them, then I lost them sometime last year, so it will be nice to have a new pair. I also discovered where the propane Coleman Lantern was plus a 5 gallon bucket/livewell for Spring time Crappies; Yeah for me!

On the down side, my boat mechanic (aka BP's Dad) informed me that I won't be able to use the Trophy (the boat I use) until he inspects and probably does something to fix the transom. I am not totally sure what he thinks is wrong. There is a spot on the back port corner of the boat were there is some cracking on the top of the boat. It doesn't look serious to me, but what do I know. I'm not even sure if that is what Dad is concerned with. With the trophy out of commission I will be forced to use the "Slop Slip" (10' Coleman Crawdad Jon Boat). Out of the slop slip I would probably try some Spring Crappie fishing at Bulldog, something I've not done before.

At FishingMinnesota.com the armchair anglers patrol is out in full force whining about the suspected "targeting" of out of season fish. I look forward to this annual rite of Spring that is the armchair angler patrol crying their eyes out till they are red in the face and steam comes out of their ears about anglers who they suspect of "targeting" out of season fish.

This weekend I sat and watched a boat fish for "slabs" with their plugs. They caught fish after fish and were having a ball...yet not ONE that was the "right" fish. When I finally called them on it "Oh, we are just fishing for big slabs".
At least some people are giving the offending anglers the benefit of the doubt.