GOMH Oh Yeah!

Weather: Today was sunny and in the mid 60's with a breeze out of the NE about from 3 to 10. As I fished the wind would come and go.

Tonight I arrived at the Grumpy Old Man Hole right about 5PM and I set up on the NE side. I started off throwing a clear smoke sparkle Berkley Havoc The Deuce double tail grub on a ball head jig and I was quickly rewarded with an 18 inch toothy bullhead.

I didn't bother to ask if anybody wanted it and threw it back. I started getting some small jumpin bullheads, several of which were jumpers. Next I tried a couple of swim jigs with no luck whatsoever.

I pulled out the River2Sea Wide Glide that I won in a contest and tried to work it. It didn't help that it was breezy and I couldn't work it right. I tried later when there was less wind and still couldn't get the hang of it. The lure is suppose to glide from side to side. It takes a different cadence than a normal walk the dog bait. I'm skeptical that I am going to like it, do to the difficulty in working it properly.

Eventually I put on a black/blue Strike King Pure Poison chatter jig with Berkley Havoc Craw Fatty black blue flake. It didn't take long and I got this 20" class fish.

I gave the toothy to a guy and girl that were fishing. The girl had just left to go to the South side and had been throwing a spinnerbait right where the fish hit. I proceeded to miss a couple of toothy's and then it got slow when the wind picked up.

I was hoping the Poison/Fatty off the bottom when I had a hit and it quickly was apparent this was no little fish. It took a couple of powerful runs pulling drag before I saw it was a toothy. I couldn't see the lure and the line was coming out the side of it mouth. I thought for sure it was going to break me off, but the 14lb Fireline held and I landed this 35 inch beast.

The guy who took the picture thought it was a good idea to take the picture with the truck as a back drop. I wish he hadn't. This pike went back in the lake. I wish all people would throw back pike that size so they have a chance to get to 40". At 40" I don't care if somebody keeps it for the wall. This is my biggest GOMH toothy bullhead and biggest Platte/Sullivan Pike. However Cyberfish caught one quite a bit bigger than this one a few years back in shallow slop in like July or August on a hollow body frog. I wish we had a pic of that fish.

After this one I might have gotten a couple of more toothy hits but nothing for sure. Of note I did get this 18.75" pig jumpin bullhead on the Poison/Fatty.

I'll tell you what, that Berkley Havoc Lane's 4" Craw Fatty is a good bait.

As it got dark GOM Willard came over to see me. He actually had been fishing tonight. He ended up giving his bullheads (orange's and 1 silver) to GOM Lee Anders grandson to take to Lee Ander. Willard didn't see the pike, so I showed him the picture on the camera.

Also of note tonight Conservation Officer Kuske showed up for a few minutes. He didn't come over to talk to me, so I didn't get to show him the pike pictures. There were several boats tonight fishing the South GOMH.

I left about a quarter to 10 or so. Didn't even try for silvers.

Another Night at Eddy's with GOMH Stop.

The night ban goes into effect tonight at 10PM, so that leaves two and a half over nights to take advantage of the Eddy's Jetty night bite. Sunday was sunny and warmer with a good wind out of the East and that East wind should be good for fishing the Eddy's Jetty which is on the West shore, but if you read my last report Saturday night was inexplicably a bust.

I arrived at the Jetty around 9:30PM and it was pretty much slick with clear skies. I went to the North Jetty corner and threw out a leech with the lighted bobber. After about 10 minutes it got weird. With no hint of a bite my bobber started moving toward the Jetty and off to my right. I started reeling in and the movement to the right was more pronounced but there didn't seem to be a fish there and the bobber was up on the surface. The more I reeled the farther to the right it went. It seemed that I somehow my line got stuck in a rock that was well to the right of where I cast. As I got to were the "rock" was my bobber went under and I thought I was going to lose the bobber. But then the bobber came around and I was hung up, but not on a rock, but a very big fish. I had the fish on for about 40 seconds and then it came off. Could have been a muskie, pike, walleye, carp or smallie.

Here's my theory, my fishing line which was sinking got grabbed by a crayfish. A big fish then picked up the crayfish getting my line in it's mouth. As I reeled in the line passed through the fish's mouth until the fish got stuck by my hook. Man I wish I would have landed it or at least figured out what it was.

Anyway about 20 minutes later I caught this fellow on my line.

I had crayfish on my line 4 or 5 times throughout the night.

I tried Leeches and throwing raps but basically nothing happened until about 1AM when I put on an old clown Rapala Husky Jerk 14. I decided to give it a twitching action in the calm conditions and I got a hit but it got off. About 10 minutes later I landed one that was just over 18 inches and so in the protected slot.

After a little while I decided to change colors to a silver blue black Husky Jerk 14. I got a hit on that and landed my first keeper of the weekend at 16".

I went 15 minutes without a hit so then I tried a couple of smaller HJ12's without any luck. Because of the clear skies I thought maybe the glass white HJ14 might work. I had to the middle belly hook off so it wouldn't sink. This lure sort of turned out to be the deal. I missed a hit then on the next cast hooked up with a 17.25" keeper.


Shortly after that I caught a 18.5" that had to go back.

I then had 5 or 6 more hits a couple of which were ferocious, but couldn't hook up any of them. Then the action stopped. I tried switching baits but it went dead. This guy named Luke who I'd talked to a couple of times this weekend came out and got a bite on a leech, so I switched to a leech in the area where I had missed the most hits. After about 15 minutes the bobber went down and I got a 22". Here being held by Luke.

While it was still pretty dark but light on the horizon I got another bite but the fish let go right before I was going to set the hook. It took it down again for a couple of seconds, but then let go and that was it.

When it got pretty light out I caught 2 perch, one of which was nice which I gave to Luke. Luke put it on a stringer which he would later lose when he went to show a security guard the fish and he nearly fell in the harbor in the process. After that bigger perch Luke's bobber went down and he pulled in an eye that I think went 22".

I left just before 6AM.

I stopped at the Shakopee Lake bridge and I think I had a hit on my Strike King Pure Poison chatter-jig, but it got off right away. Wonder what it was?

I decided to go straight to the Grumpy Old Man Hole, where all I could catch was some jumpin bullheads, so I left.

Mille Lacs Gets Tough and GOMH Show

On Saturday the wind blew out of the East all day. Normally that makes Eddy's hot. It didn't. I arrived at 8PM and set up on the North Jetty Harbor Mouth. Much to my astonishment nothing happened. Finally at 10PM I went to chuck raps off the North jetty corner and that didn't work. The wind was about 5 mph less than last night. I went to the lighted bobber and a leech and got bit around 11PM. I lost the fish more than half the way in. It may have been a keeper. About 35 minutes later the bobber was gone and this time I landed it. The fish went 19" and had to go back.

At 12:30AM I went to the truck to take a nap. I got up at 3AM and tried off the South jetty. The wind had picked up some. No luck. A little after 4AM I went back to the North jetty. I did get a bite but I waited to long and it spit the leech. Once the sun got up I tried the harbor mouth, nothing! I left at 6:30AM

I made a quick stop at the bridge North of Shakopee lake. Nothing, but I talked to a guy who said he gets walleye and northern there and bass occasionally.

After getting home and changing some things out I headed to the Grumpy Old Man Hole. There were several trucks parked, but nobody on the NE side so I was happy. My first lure was the Chuck Fall Pike Spinnerbait. I got a 14.5" jumpin bullhead on my first cast and 17.75" on my second. About 20 casts later I got a 16" jumper and that was it. I tried a bunch of lures but got nothing more.

I went to the SE side on the bank and made long casts with an orange swim jig I just won on Ebay with a Havoc Devil Spear Green Pumpkin dipped in Chart. JJ's Magic Dye. I got a 20" toothy bullhead and two 14.5" jumpin bullheads on it and missed a couple of hits. That Devil Spear is the bee's knee's for a swim jig trailer.

Seriously???!!!

Got out at midnight on Eddy's Jetty and man did conditions seem right with that E SE wind. From Midnight to 2:15AM I got 5.

23" and 19" on gold Husky Jerk 12
25" and 24.5" on glass perch Husky Jerk 12
22" on white X-Rap Shallow Shad

Full report and pictures on my blog Bass Pundit
This is a fishing report I left this morning on a certain Minnesota fishing message board/forum. I went back to look and see if there were any more reports and I discover the line referring people to my blog had been edited out. (Keep in mind that is just a mention without a hyperlink)

An Administrator leaves a comment:
It would sure be nice if you posted some pics and the full report here.

Really LSF!!!
That thread as of 6:30pm today has 273 views. Meanwhile my blog has gotten 64 visits since I posted there and it looks like less than half of those visits had anything to do with today's Mille Lacs Lake post. Keep in mind I also posted on Facebook and at IDOFishing.com, which has left my little blog plug (no link) up.

Of all the fishing message boards out there I think The Bassholes.com gets it. The Bassholes.com banner on my sidebar is there totally free for the Bassholes.com. If you have a fishing blog, the Bassholes.com is your friend.

Somehow I don't think ole LSF is getting any more fishing reports from me.

Gold Rush!!!

Lord Have Mercy!

That was my reaction when I saw the conditions off of Eddy's Jetty. 10-15mph E SE wind so I went to the corner of the North Jetty. I thought it was going to be a serious whack fest, turns out the fishing was just OK.

I started casting a couple of minutes past midnight throwing a purple perch Husky Jerk because I whacked them hard on that color in similar conditions in 2007 (and 2007 Part Deux). That didn't pan out so I switched to a gold husky jerk.

After about 10 minutes it was "fish on" and I landed it.

It went 23" and had to go back because it was in the protected 18-28slot.

About 10 minutes later it was fish on again.

This one went 19"

I went for about 15 minutes without a bite, so I switched to a glass perch color and I got two on that.


This one, both pictures, went 25" and was big fish of the night.

This one went 24.5

I then had a long lull and tried several baits before getting this 22" on a white Shallow Shad X-Rap.


I got this last fish around 2:15AM. Soon after that my upper back started to really bug me and by 3AM I had to give up the rap throwing.

I went and got my bobber rod and went up the center jetty and fished the North harbor mouth. There had been 3 guys fishing at the North harbor mouth from the North Jetty and they got a total of 4 Eye's. After about an hour I got a bite and missed it. I quickly put on another leech and cast back to the same spot. Sure enough it got picked up and I reeled the slack and set the hook. This one looked like an eater, but it got off. That was my last bite. I stayed till a little after 6:30am but the fish were just not going like I would think they should be.

I'll be back tonight.

Fishing Opener Eve 2011

Well it is now almost 11PM on the eve of the 2011 Minnesota Fishing Opener. "Minnesota Fishing Opener" is the day the state fish walleye and those toothy Northern Pike become legal to fish. The Bass Opener isn't until Memorial Day weekend.

It's going to be a low key opener for me this year. I plan to hit Mille Lacs at mid-night from Eddy's Jetty for walleye. The weather and bite will dicatate how long I stay. I may or may not hit up the Grumpy Old Man Hole early to try for some toothy bullheads. The boat isn't ready to go this year so I'm 100% shore bound.

You can view Bass Pundit Opener Posts Past Here...

Two Trips

Last Night I fished at the GOMH from 7:30-10PM. Weather was cool and cloudy with moderate wind out of the NW.

I started out fishing on the bridge with GOM Bud. Bucketman was there on the SW side as were a couple of other people I recognized. The SE side was filled with people I didn't know. The action was pretty steady. I used a plain leadhead panfish tube jig head with a minnow. I got a silver bullhead and two jumpin bullheads while on the bride.

Around 8:15PM everybody that was on the SW side left so I went down there. I was catching a few silvers and then I stared missing a bunch when GOM Willard came down to talk. Eventually Bud left with 9 silvers, 4 of which I gave him. John W. showed up and started nailing fish right away. I started giving him the one's that I caught. Eventually Lantern Man and a friend of his showed up. Lantern Man was once again up in arms about the GOMH being on the Internet. The friend had bow fished some dogfish at the bridge North of Shakopee Lake. Interesting. When I left at 10PM I had caught a total of 10 silvers with 1 of them being a dink.

This morning I got to the GOMH a bit later than I should have at around 6AM. John W was there and said he had caught 10 but only 3 were keepers. He was on the SW side so I went to the SE side. I proceeded to go through my last 6 minnows without catching a thing. The fish were real finicky and would often take it down for a second let go and not come back. When the minnows were gone I switched to a beetle spin and got several jumpin bullheads including an 18" and another real fat one that I didn't measure that was in the 17" class.

I left at 8AM and stopped to get more minnows at Bear Traxx, they didn't have bigger leeches in yet/

FYI

Blogging Note- Not that it is my readers problem, but Google Blogger, which is my blogging service was down yesterday into this morning and I didn't get some things blogged that I wanted to and now I'm way behind because I also didn't do my tackle preparation for the Minnesota Fishing Opener yet. So basically I'm behind the 8 Ball on where I should be at this point. I need food!

Thank You!

Update: Fishing Tackle Prep done, such that it is. Tip: Don't open J.J's Magic Dye in the house.

Another Double Trip

Weather- A bit of fog in the morning with overcast and even a quick sprinkle. Light South Wind. Humid

Evening- 77°F was the days high, I think it was hazy with some sun.

Morning Trip:
I headed out the door for the Grumpy Old Man Hole a bit before day break and had to use the lighted bobber for about 20 minutes. I got 3 silver bullheads. After that it was nothing but jumping bullheads on both the South and North. Notable was this 18.5" jumper caught on a Panfish Chatterbait.


Evening Trip- I didn't get to the GOMH until a bit after 8:30PM, it wasn't as busy as last night, but the South side was well covered. GOM Willard arrived when I did. GOM Bud was there as was Bucket Man who was back to his bucket tonight. I was told the bullheads had been biting fairly good, so I got my rod and fished off the bridge. I was having zero luck. The guy next to me, John, said people were getting them on a plain hook. He started getting a few on a plain jig head. I tried a couple different colored tubes, then took the plastic off. Finally I got bit. Gave that one to John. Proceeded to lose my next 5-6 bites. It got dark and people started leaving. Joe from my bass fishing club the Baxter Bass Snatchers showed up with a buddy. A little later Lantern Man showed up. LM got to talking to Joe about how more people were fishing the GOMH because they heard about it on the Internet. Joe didn't tell him about my blog. It's hard for me to tell if the Grumpy Old Man Hole is busier now than it was previous to my blogging about it. People have always fished there and if the bite is on the word gets out. Lots of people fished it 2009, but the bite was really hot that year. It seems like it was less busy last year with the prolonged Spring and a bite that just wasn't as good. This year it has been moderately busy starting last Friday.


Anyway I got 3 nice silver bullheads and gave them to Joe and friend. I left at 10:30PM.

Culling Allowed In Cheese Land

The Wisconsin "Culling Bill" has passed and is on it's way to be signed by the Governor, which he has said he will do.

Congratulations to all the Bass Fishermen that made it happen!

I wonder if MN will now immediately reciprocate and drop the ban on culling on the WI border waters.

Yesterday's Fishing Report

"Double Trip" over at the Bass Pundit Fishing Log Blog...

WOW!

Andy's Bass Blog-A Minnesocold Bass Fishing Blog that has evaded my detection since May of 2008. I am actually Facebook Friends with Andy and that is how I discovered he was a bass fishing blogger. He put up a link to his most recent post and I was like, what?

Bullheads- No Kidding Around!

Weather: We had thunderstorms in the morning or I would have gone out. The rain quit about 8:30AM. The day was cloudy, breezy, and mild with a high of 63°F.

After a feast of silver bullhead for supper I headed out and arrived at the Grumpy Old Man Hole around 7:30PM. No surprise it was busy. Bud, the foul mouthed Grumpy Old Man was there, along with "Bucket Man" who now sits in a chair, a new guy this year who I'll call Turkey with his kid, and then there were several others fishing as well. I set up next to GOM Bud up on the bridge South side. Silver bullheads were coming in everywhere sporadically and after about 10 minutes I got my first and gave it to Bud.

I would give him a total of 3 and also get a 14" bullhead from the bridge. Around 7:50PM Grumpy Old Man Willard showed up. Round about 8:30PM Turkey and son left, so I went down on the SW side were they were. That turned out to be a bad move as I couldn't figure the fish out. Bucket Man filled his limit and I caught a little silver and missed one. Bud managed to fill out his limit up on the bridge. Some other young guys fished the South side of the bridge and got a couple of silvers and jumpers. The people on the SE side were getting fish, but by 9PM it was pretty much just me and Willard and those young guys who were now fishing the North side. Willard suggested I go to the SE side, so I went and tried that. Willard told me that GOM Lee Ander can't drive anymore because of his eye sight and it isn't very likely that he will fish at the GOMH anymore.

After about 5 minutes on the SE side I got a nice silver bullhead. Willard almost took it, but it went back in the lake. Willard left shortly after that. I started nailing a few silvers including this 12.25" fish.

Around 10PM the action slowed, but I did catch a bullhead. Yes a real live bullhead.

I had 3 more bites that I couldn't hook and I left around 10:30PM.

All in all I got
11 Silver Bullhead
1 Jumpin Bullhead
1 Yellow Bullhead

National Fishing and Boating Week June 4–12, 2011

This is my National Fishing and Boating Week contest entry sponsored by Take Me Fishing and the Outdoor Blogger Network.

“How do you plan to celebrate National Fishing & Boating Week?”

That is the contest question I need to answer.

This much I do know. June 4th, the kickoff day of National Fishing & Boating Week also kicks off the tournament season for my bass club the Baxter Bass Snatchers. We will be fishing my "home lakes" of "Platte/Sullivan." Platte/Sullivan are connected lakes in Central Minnesota about 15 miles West from the South West End of Mille Lacs Lake. Platte is 1,746 acres shallow (Littoral Area 1,694 acres) and generally weedy with a fair amount of undeveloped shoreline. Sullivan is 1,221 acres, has deep water (Littoral Area 567 acres with a max depth of 57ft), still has a fair amount of aquatic vegetation and is developed everywhere except it's NW corner where the Platte River flows out of the lake. I have fished Sullivan since about 1999 and Platte since 2001. This will be my 5th bass tournament on the lakes; I have a mixed record with 2 OK finishes and 2 terrible finishes. Because of my terrible finishes I look on this one with a bit of trepidation.

I am a non-boater in our club, so I will be fishing out of someone else's boat. By rule I am allotted half the day in the front of the boats on spots I want to fish. Normally I don't take advantage of that rule, but at this tournament I just might. Right now the bass population in both lakes is very good, but for the past 3 years or so I have had a hard time catching quality fish in June. In the past these lakes have been know for their quality fish and the potential is certainly there for some big bags to come in. If fishing is tough it may take only 14lbs on a 6 fish limit, but if fishing is good it may take more than 20lbs. I expect fishing is going to be good, here's why.

One thing that will play a factor this year is high water. The water has been up more than a foot over normal levels since last Fall. We had a fair amount of snow in the winter and it has been a wet Spring and so water levels are still quite high and I don't see that changing over the next 4 weeks. In addition to a wet Spring, ice off was on the late side and it's been cool. Combine the high water with cool conditions and weed growth will probably be a bit behind normal. Last year many area's were unfishable due to weed growth by late May. I expect on June 4th there is going to be a lot of shallow water that is just prime for fishing and in early June in MN the bass should be shallow.

I plan to kickoff National Fishing & Boating Week by rocking Platte/Sullivan largemouth bass. Topwater should be AWWWWWWWWWWN!!!

Mission Aborted!

Last Fall we decided to store the boats over winter behind the house where they would be out of the way. Seemed like a good idea until we have had a late and wet spring. As you can see in this picture of the boats there is standing water where you have to be to pull them out. I figured we were just going to have to wait for conditions to get dry, but my Dad had other ideas. Yesterday while I was sleeping he made an attempt to get the boats.

As you can maybe tell from these next three pictures, the Ford Explorer didn't get there because it bogged down in the mud.


This 4th picture you can't tell my looking but the hole is about 10 inches deep.

At church this morning Dad talked to our neighbor the Niekens who are farmers across the street and he agreed to bring his big tractor over. The tractor struggled a bit but was able to get the truck out. Around the side of the house the Explorer got stuck again and had to be pulled out a second time.

The Niekens have a couple of four wheelers so we are probably going to try to get the boat out with those.

What a mess!!!

Fishing Report From Yesterday Morning

After the slugfest that was Friday night, I figured it might be a good thing to hit the Grumpy Old Man Hole first thing in the morning Saturday and so I did. I left the house about 5:20AM and as I did I wished I had left about 10-15 minutes sooner because of how light out it already was. Wouldn't you know it but a car turned in front of me from 27 onto 8 and they headed straight to the GOMH. The guy was quick about unpacking his gear and went straight to the SW side where I was going to go. I decided to fish on the bridge to the SW, where the people were having lots of success yesterday. I popped 3 nice silver bullheads immediately on the pink Cubby with minnow. The other guy started catching some and a guy and lady showed up and took the SE side. Then after about 15minutes I got a 4th. A man with his son who fished last night showed up and started fishing next to me on the bridge. I got a bite from a nice bass and had to go down to the SW side to land it. I'm not sure what happened but my line broke and I almost lost my wing it bobber, but I did get it back.

I went back up on the bridge and re-tied. I decided to try a tube, but I picked a ball head jig that was just a little to big to get the jig head inside the tube. I did catch one small silver that I threw back on a smoke tube. I tried a lemon tube, then I decided to switch jig heads, to an elongated lead tube jighead. I went with a red sparkle/smoke tail color and snapped two nice silver bullheads right away and I thought I was on to something but unfortunately the silver bullheads almost totally shut off at that point. My next 7 fish were all jumpin bullheads caught on the SW side. I stayed until about 10:30am.

Cheesehead Bass Opener!!! (And a little prediction for MBO)

I'm not there this year. Last time I did that was in 2009 and the fishing was kind of poor.

As for me, it's another 3 weeks before I can go after the bassies with reckless abandon. As it looks right now, there is going to be very high water which I think will be a plus. There is a lot of water in Platte that is normally a little to shallow to fish, especially with the weeds up. But this year that stuff should be prime. I think it might be topwater domination in 3 weeks.

A Bit of Frustration

Weather: Nicest day in a while, high of 67 with sun and little wind.

Today was the day the fish made the big move into the Grumpy Old Man Hole. Unfortunately it was also the day other fishermen showed up to fish it. I headed out the door early today around 6PM and there were quite a few trucks parked as well as 2 boats. One of the boats was sitting right by shore on the SE side of the bridge. I got out of the car to do a little recon and the people were slamming the silver bullheads in one little spot just out from the bridge on the SW side. A couple of old guys could just drop there line down straight from the bridge and they were right in the spot. A guy on the SW side stairs was fishing out and to the west of the stairs and catching orange bullheads. I overheard the guys in the boat at the bridge say they only had two more to go to get their limit, so I quickly went to the car and got set up on the SE side where no one was. Within 15 minutes the boat left. I was able to cast in to where some fish should have been but it was mighty slow for me. I probably should have started experimenting with stuff, but I just stayed with the pink Cubby and a Minnow. I think one of the old guys on the bridge was using waxies and the other guy said he was just using a tube. A third old guy on the bridge had minnows and wasn't doing as well but he was like me and not quite on the spot. I eventually did pop a couple of nice silver bullheads. Two of the old guys up on the bridge got their limits and left. It had kind of slowed down at that point.

The last old guy remarked that it had gotten slow and I said well there were 4 limits just taken out of here and the guy fishing the SW side said there were 3 limits on top of that gotten by people who were there before I arrived. Sheesh!

I would say it was around 7PM when blog reader Mike B. showed up. He had been fishing Little Whitefish and dropped by to see if I was fishing. We talked for a while and I didn't fish. Eventually he went up to his boat to get a rod and I started throwing a beetle spin around. I started catching some small jumpin bullheads on that. Mike hooked into a dogfish but before he could get it on shore it broke his 4lb test line.

Eventually I switched back to the Cubby and Minnow and started getting some silver bullheads. Mike caught some jumpin bullheads and silver bullheads which he gave to me. The guy on the SW side left but was quickly replaced by 3 young guys. Eventually the old guy on the bridge left and kid took up that spot. I got a few silvers and missed some bites. The kid on the bridge started whacking them and the guys on the SW side got into them pretty good. As it got later it seemed like there were at least a few silvers spread out. I ended up throwing a couple of 10 inchers back, hoping for bigger.

Mike left about 9PM and so did the kid. The guys on the SW side kept catching them pretty steady while I just couldn't get anything to go with lighted bobber with the Glow Demon and a minnow. Once those guys left I went to the SW side and got 1 that I kept and that was it. I left around 10:15PM.

Seriously, I got smoked by the other fishermen. This was my haul (2 of the fish came from Mike):

Think I might hit it at first light tomorrow and see if I can't put on a whackfest. Should be crowded tomorrow night seeing how it's the weekend and fish are in.

GOMH Bullhead Slam!

Weather: Early this morning it was in the low 40's and rained/showered from 1AM to about 9AM; We got maybe a quarter inch. After that the day was partly cloudy giving way to sun occasionally and 60°F was the high.

I headed out of the house after 7PM and was fishing by 7:30PM. When I arrived Lantern Man. and his brother in law were fishing one on the SE (LM) and the other on the SW. I moved my stuff by LM and went to fish to the East of him in the rough.
First bullhead of the night was this 16.25" jumper on the black/red Pit Boss. After about 15 more minutes I moved next to LM on the steps and tried the pink Cubby with a minnow. LM's BIL went to the North side, so I went over the SW side. I had the bobber pulled down twice in the same spot but couldn't hook up. I switched to the beetle spin and banged a toothy bullhead. Shortly after that GOM Bud aka the foul mouth GOM, showed up.
We had more visitors watching for a while, but they left as nothing was going on. Eventually I switched back to the Cubby and Minnow and was in the vicinity where I had gotten all the bites when my bobber went down and I pulled in an 11" silver bullhead.

As it was getting to be bullhead prime time I stuck with the Cubby until it was quite dark. I was just about to switch to the lighted bobber when I got a bite right next to the rocks. It put up a good fight and I knew it was no silver bullhead. I had to get my headlamp on while fighting the fish and once I did I was able to see a golden bullhead. That's right I got a Bullhead Slam!
The GB went 21" and because they are not open until the 14th, it went back in the lake.

I stayed until almost 10PM and on my very last cast I got a 10" silver bullhead that was sitting right where the golden bullhead was caught. This one was caught on a Glow Demon.

Elite Series West Point Fantasy Roster

That's right Brody of the Lake.

Fish Fair Is This Friday & Saturday

More at fishingforlife.org

Last Night's Fishing Report (GOMH)

Weather: Sunny most of the day, but turning overcast by the time I fished. It got to 63 and was kind of breezy when I first arrived but it quited down pretty quick.

I had to get minnows at Bear Traxx, so I was at the Grumpy Old Man Hole by 6:45PM. There was a truck parked, but I didn't see anybody so I set up on the SE side. I wasn't there long when Grumpy Old Man Willard showed up in his truck. As he was getting out of the truck I got the first jumpin bullhead of the night. Talked to Willard for a bit then he went to check and see if somebody was on the North side. Sure enough there was somebody there but he said he didn't catch anything. The guy never did come fish the South side, so maybe he tried it earlier and didn't get anything.

While fishing for dogfish with the red/black Havoc Pit Boss I had a fish in the cattail stocks bite 6 times but never hook up. Bowfin maybe??? Anyway I got a few jumpin bullheads on the Pit Boss and a beetle spin. By 7:45PM the action died.

I was fishing the pink Cubby and had a few very light nibbles that didn't take it. Finally when it was quite dark the bobber went down but I missed it. I put the light on that rods bobber and had another bite, but missed it. Eventually I switched up to the Lindy Lighted Bobber with the Custom Jigs and Spins Glow Demon. I managed to get two 12" silver bullheads on that. Here's the 1st one.


6 jumpin bullheads
2 silver bullheads

Bullhead Is Back (and a Dogfish too)

Weather: Today it got to 58°F and it was sunny with light winds. That was enough to bring the fish back in.

I didn't get to the Grumpy Old Man Hole until 7:45PM. I set up on the SE side and I got rid of the skunk on the first cast when a small jumpin bullhead bit. I proceeded to get a bunch of jumpin bullheads over the next hour.
This one was the biggest (18.25")and bit on a pink Cubby Mini-Mite with a minnow.

Once it got sufficiently dark I started getting into the silver bullheads. I caught 3 nice one's, and missed 2 more on the Cubby with a minnow. I then got a bite that was a little different, I set the hook and thought for a second I had hooked into a muskrat. It wasn't a muskrat, it was about a 19" dogfish. I fought it for about 45 seconds and then it got off. In the coarse of the battle I lost the split shot on my line, so I decided to go up and get my other lighted bobber rod that has a Custom Jigs and Spins Glow Demon on it. On that set up I got 1 silver bullhead on the SE side and 1 silver bullhead on the SW side. This was my total haul.

I stopped fishing at 11PM.

Sweet Mother of Ebayt Monkey!

53 handtied swimjigs
- Top quality heads (the vast majority are Brovarney heads)
- Top quality hooks
- Hand tied skirts in various colors
- 27 3/8oz & 26 1/4oz jigs
I got this lot for $21 shipped.

Looks like I'm gonna need a 3rd swim jig box. Also at this price I can forego messing with wire leader on at least 1 swim jig rod.

SCORE!!!

Skunk Served Cold!!!

I arrived at the GOMH at 7:15PM and fished to 9:15PM, not a nibble, not one. Did see baitfish flipping on the surface occasionally. It only got to 45°F today and as the sun went down I swear it had to have dipped down below 40°F. There was no wind but I still got cold. It's suppose to get down to 26°F tonight, but tommorrow is suppose to be almost 60°F, and sunny with light wind so maybe some fish will move back in.

Nothing, Really??!!!

New Bass Fishing Blog Recommendation

I have been coming across quite a few new to me Bass Fishing Blogs in the past couple of days. They are all linked on the Blogroll under New Found Bass Blogs. One that really caught my eye was Wishin' I was Fishin'with Shaye Baker It looks like Shaye is an aspiring Bass Pro and Outdoor Writer who made a name for himself fishing on the Auburn Tigers College Bass Fishing Team. He writes very well and his blog is worth the read and to follow.

He also has a Facebook Page, so go and "Like" that as well.

One Bullhead is Better Than None!

I didn't get out until 7:45PM. Today was cold and windy but the wind was more out of the West so the GOMH was protected a little better. I didn't get bite in the first hour fishing the SW,SE,and NE side. I decided to end the night on the SE side and that kept me from the skunk. I was fishing the pink Cubby Mini-Mite with a minnow close in to the end of the old cattail stocks when the bobber went down. It was the 12" silver bullhead in the picture. I had to go and get my stuff, which was on the SW side. I did have the bobber go down one more time about 10 minutes later but I missed that bite. It was cold, dark, and I figured my chances at a fish were pretty low, so I quit at 9:15PM.

Mille Lacs Lake Ice Is Out

Apparently the heavy winds of the last couple of days have done the job.

Cheesehead Bass Fishing Blog

Somehow or another I came across the Fishing Forward™ boys on Facebook, they have a website with blog. One thing they do is video's. Here is there video on Slop Fishing.
The video is almost 10 minutes long, some of the production is pretty good and some of it not so much. Seriously, what is the deal with washing the dishes?

They have a Facebook Page, so go visit and "Like" them.