Bass Pundit's Fishing Goals 2026

  Normally, I release my fishing goals for the year in early March, but I was not on the ball this year. So April Fools' Day is when they are dropping in 2026.

New Goals in Bold Italic Orange

Goals Accomplished in Bold or  ✅

Fishing Buddies List

1. Keep a list of everyone I fish with during 2026.

The List:

GOMH Crew: (Last Year this list had 28+ People)

Trophy Crew: (6 People last year)

Bass Snatchers: (9 Snatchers last year)

Bass Snatcher Goals: 

1.  Win my 2nd club tournament. 
2. Get "Wood" in at least one tournament. (1st-3rd Place Finish or Lunker or Co-Angler Challenge) 

3. Get "Lunker" in a tournament.   (Preferably one over 5-8 to win the revolving big bass pot.)
4. Finish in the Top 10 at the end of the year. 
5. Catch a limit at every tournament of the year.  (I've done this twice, but in 2012 I only fished 4 out of the 6 tournaments due to a bad back.)
6. Pre-fish with at least 3 boaters. 
7. List the Rods I'm bringing for each tournament before the tournament.
8.  Win the Co-Angler Challenge at least once.
9. Make the Challenge Cup Team

10. Finish higher than Tuma in a Tournament (He is the only long-term Snatcher I have not beaten on tournament day. He beat me on the tie-breaker on Whitefish Chain his rookie year in the club. That is the closest I have gotten)
11. Give each boater I fish a lure from my collection.

12. Catch a 20+ Bag and make the Club's list of Top 25 Biggest Bags 

13. Set Personal Bests on each lake for Bag Size, Big Bass, and Place of Finish

14. Grade my performance in each tournament and do this for all my past Bass Snatcher tournament recaps.

Technique, Equipment, & Tackle Goals:
1. Win something in Fantasy Fishing or Facebook giveaways/contests. 
2. Officially Open the Tackle Warehouse.✅(3/8/26)
3. Give away some of my tackle
4. Experiment with a Rocket Bobber and Wacky Rig

5. Sell some of my tackle

6. Catch 5 Fish on a Thin Fin

7. Catch 82 Fish on a Lipless/Trap

8. Catch 155 Fish on a Crankbait

9. Catch 260 Fish on a Jerkbait 

10. Catch 5 Fish on Powerbait Nessie

11.  Keep a Lures Lost List

12. Catch some fish on an MN Alabama Rig

13. Catch some fish on a Spybait

14. Catch fish on a Cull Shad

15. Have the Trophy in Platte Lake within 7 days of ice out.

Lures Lost In 2026:

Glow Demon: |

JB Gem-N-Eye: |

Blogging:

1. Blog about it when I achieve a goal, most of the time
2. Record all fishing trips at Fish Swami
3. Fish at least 200 days and blog about them

4. Get unblogged trips from 2021,2022,2023,2024 at Fish Swami blogged at the Log Blog.

5. Be more intentional about taking Sunrise/Sunset pictures

6. Make more of my past Fish Swami entries public.

Fish Catching Goals:
1. Catch 4,500Fish  (I caught approx 4,000 fish in 2025)
2. Have a 100-fish day.✅ (2/20)

3. Catch Devin's Birthday Bullhead On May 20th

4. Catch A Fish Every Month 

January✅

February✅

March✅

Bass: 
1. Catch a 21plus inch or 6lb Largemouth (6.5lbs/21" PB)
2. Catch a 21plus inch or 6lb Smallmouth (20.5" PB)
3. Catch* over 2,500  LMB. (Caught 2,033 in 2025)
4. Catch* at least 10 SMB.  (Caught 2 in 2025)
5. Catch a 25lb 6 Fish Bag
6. Have a 50 bass day 

7. Catch over 500 bass on Frogs/Toads
8. Catch 5 bass over  5lbs/20-inches (8 in 2025)

9. Catch 20 bass over 4lbs/18.75-inches (42 in 2025)
10. Get Steve and Todd at least one 4lber

Dogfish:
1. Catch an MN State Record fish. (11-4  or over 31")
2. Catch a new personal best.

3. Catch 5 Bowsers (8 in 2025)

Pike:
1. Catch* over 1,000 this year. (Caught 1,049 in 2025)
2. Catch a 38" or over/personal best.

Walleye:
1. Catch at least 100. (Caught 105 in 2025) 
2. Catch 30"/10lber or new personal best. (29.5/9.12lbs is my PB 10/29/25)

Crappie:

1. Catch a new personal best.(14.75/1.80lb on 5/9/22, 14.75 on 4/20/24)
2. Catch* over 300 Crappies this year. (85Crappies, 525 Silver Bullhead in 2025)

* Catch is anything I deem it to be, including follows by pike or bass (while pre-fishing), a pike missing my lure, fish viewed on the Aqua View, and fish that get off before I have them in hand that I can positively identify.  And fish caught by people I am guiding or boating with during pre-fishing.

GOMH & Rock Lake Today(3/31/26)

 Ice is starting to pull off the shore on Platte and Rock. One more day in the 40's before we get cold and snow. Long and Platte were looking dark. There was some open water at South Point Small Island on Platte. I think it will be a waiting game for open water, but you never know. The Platte GOMH Bay was open tonight The Intersection in Sullivan is mostly open, but there is a lot of ice in the SPRO.

Rock Looking North

Rock Looking South

Upcoming weather

MN Ice Out's Started A While Ago

 The DNR finally got around to updating the 2026 Ice Out webpage and dumped a bunch of them. Most of the lakes in the Twin Cities are now open. Looks like we are going into a cold stretch with snow. The shorelines in the Platte/Sullivan area were just starting to pull away. Platte and Long Lake have been looking pretty dark. I think Platte will go out after the April 10th, but it wouldn't shock me if it is ice-free by the weekend as well.

 

GOMH Today(3/27/26)

 It was sunny and below freezing all day, but the next three days will be sunny and warm. If the temps live up to the forecast or exceed it, three straight days of warming may build enough momentum toward ice off that the cooler, but not cold weather later next week can't stop it. We'll see. 

GOMH nearing sunset

If the wind forecast is accurate, Ice out by Easter Sunday, the 4th, could be a thing.

Update: Monday only got to the low 50's and was cloudy. Snow and cold now in the forecast for Thursday through Saturday.

GOMH+ Today(3/26/26)

 I went to Bulldog and Rock first.  The water level has come up some. Then I went to the Sullivan Inlet. Then, to Round before fishing at the GOMH. I got skunked.

Ice out just beyond Eagle Perch Point

Not quite to the dock NW GOMH

Tenn-Tom Fantasy Line Ups

Day 2: Dang Walters and Cox don't make the cut. I still may have an outside shot at being in the BBC top 4, if Palmer and Atkins finish in the Top 5 , Mosley gets into the teens, and Christie and DollaBill fall out of the hunt on Day 3.  

 

Day 1:

 

GOMH+ Today(3/24/26)

It got to the low 50's. I stopped by the Shakopee Lake Bridge, no suckers, and the water level in the lake is down at least a couple of feet.  The GOMH is progressing, and the ice should be out beyond Eagle Perch Point tomorrow.  Water level is rising, and on the normal/high water boundary, so there should be continuous current.

Shakopee Lake Bridge

First Bullhead of 2026(3/22/26)

 

2nd Gator Bullhead of the night

The Sullivan side is open wider now than pre-cold snap peak

I forgot to put my tackle bag in the car, doh! I  left the bag sitting on the garage steps. I did put the rods in the car, however. There is more open water now on the Sullivan side than there was pre-cold snap. I was much colder today, with temperatures only reaching the mid-30s. I got two bites tonight.  I had a slightly smaller gator bullhead than the one pictured come off as I was pulling it up onto shore that bit on a Mepps Spinner. The Gator in the picture fell for a Rage Swimmer, and it had something in its tummy.  There were ducks, red-wings, eagles, Canadian geese, and swans around tonight.

Bassin Plan of Attack Post Ice Off to May

 

Fish:

2026 is the first year when it is legal to fish for bass in Central MN before the MN Fishing Opener in May.  Here is my plan for bassin the Platte/Sullivan area lakes. 

Location:

The Grumpy Old Man Hole, the bridge between Platte/Sullivan, is the first area to have accessible open water, so this is where I have already started flogging the water. Unfortunately, it locked back up completely with the sub-zero temps. It's my guess that I will be able to pick up a few bass at the Grumpy Old Man Hole before I am casting anywhere else. I will also fish at the Rock Lake access before the ice is off the lake, provided the ice doesn't get pushed into the Access area as it retreats from the shoreline. 

Once the ice is off the area lakes, I plan on fishing in the Slop Slip on Rock Lake, provided things are not "Going Gonzo at the GOMH." Hopefully, the area docks, including the family dock, will be in quickly post ice out. I will get the Trophy in Platte ASAP after the family dock goes in. Once the Trophy is in the lake, weather and fishing conditions will largely dictate where I fish on a given day. If I get on a hot bite somewhere, I will ride it out. If I am not catching much, I'll do a lot of bouncing around between Platte/Sullivan, Rock, Erskine, and Round. Not really sure how much I fish at the GOMH from shore. I'm guessing a lot of morning trips.

Presentation:

I have made a fishing goal this year of catching 82 fish on a Trap, 155 fish on a crankbait, and 260 fish on a jerkbait. The crankbait and lipless numbers were derived from all the fish I have caught on those lure categories since I started keeping track with Fish Swami. The jerkbait number is my highest yearly total, which was from 2016. Those lures will see a heavy rotation early, as well as a Chicken Jig, Chatterbait, soft swimbait, Turbo FattZ, and Spinnerbait. The weather will determine how early I start mixing in topwater.

Rock And GOMH Today

 

Upside down shot N GOMH

Grouse on the way to Rock Lake Access

Rock Platte River Outlet Bay Narrows

Baxter Bass Snatchers Mr. And Mrs Bass 2025

 On March 21st, my bass club, the Baxter Bass Snatchers held our annual Christmas Party/Awards Banquet.  Tuma and Rainya were all smiles to be Mr and Mrs. Bass 2025.

Keith and Rainya

GOMH Today(3/21/26)

 It got to 70℉ today. It was breezy and overcast for the most part.  I stopped at the Grumpy Old Man Hole on my way to Brainerd for the Bass Snatchers banquet. I'm guessing the ice melt wil be bac to where it was pre-cold snap tomorrow on the Sullivan side and it may take 2 days on the Platte side. I watched eagles with the binocs and saw a good-sized muskrat. I wish I would have packed a rod as that there was an open casting lane from the rocks. The water level has come up. I'm guessing we will see quite a bit of progress on the ice out front before April 1st. I have had to remind myself that it is only just now getting to the March 20's, still plenty of month left, and also that it is March.