GOMH Locked Up Again

 

Flurries Today

Dropped by the GOMH tonight on my way home from running an errand for Steve to Brainerd. With temperatures near zero last night and tonight, the GOMH has locked up again and is making ice. Right now, things are only ahead of 2013 and 2014. But this weekend brings hope, and I'm also hoping the snow forecast for next week only pans out to be 4" or less. There is a lot of snow around. I am optimistic that we will not have an April that mirrors 2013 or 2018 when the ice wasn't off Platte until May.

  

2023 When Will I See My Driveway? #1

I originally wasn't going to start this year's count down to when I will be able to see the driveway until later in the week after the cold weather passed, but the rents were out tonight; there are a few patches of ground showing on the upper driveway, so I thought what the heck. This is the latest I have ever started with the question. The previous late start was on 3/26/13. It looks to me like there isn't much room for melting in the next couple of weeks between the lack of sun and cool temps. I'll be happy to see the full driveway by the 10th of April, but I think it may take longer. 

Where the car sits

 

A few open spots along the southside

All snow on the end of the driveway.

GOMH Yesterday and Today

 

Yesterday

The Sullivan Sign was back up. Didn't even notice it as I took a quick pick, then was on my way to Brainerd for the Snatchers Banquet.

Slightly more open today

A little bit of bare ground on the hillside

Dead fish & fish struggling to breathe at the surface.
Something I've never witnessed here and an ominous sign.

It's gonna be a while before the North side of the bridge is snow free.

Hopefully, open water here by April 1st

Baxter Bass Snatcher's 2022 Mr & Mrs. Bass Were Crowned

 The Snatchers had our annual banquet on Saturday.  The highlight of the evening was Mrs. Bass getting her crown from Mr. Bass, Snatcher Fields. 

Congrats To Gussy Bassmaster Classic Champion

Score 1 for Team Maple Leaf

Photo: James Overstreet

 Two 3lb smallies were just enough to hold off the field and take the win on a very-tough Tennessee River. The 18-inch minimum size for smallmouth undoubtedly had an impact on a lot of anglers.

Bass Fishing Has A New Unofficial Commissioner

 

Office Of The Unofficial Bass Angling Commissioner

I'm guessing this is a Twitter Account that is linked to Blogger. I hope the guy has a long tenure and is not just a flash in the pan.

Tough Day 1 For My FBF Squad. Updated: Final Place

 

Day 1 don't mean jack squat, but not the start, but not the start I want to see. And, of course, Cheese Prodigy, who I switched out, had the 5th best bag of the day. I am not panicking, though. All of my guys are capable of putting 15lbs on the scales tomorrow and making the 25 cut. They just have to keep their heads and fish smart. I will be glued to the coverage tomorrow from start to finish. 

I think 19/8 makes the cut, so

BP needs 13/5

Walters needs 12/5

Ole Bob needs 9/8

Luke needs 14/6

Tristan needs 15/9

Palmer's 40 pt bonus for the tournament, big bass, saved my bacon from disaster. On to Lake Murray.

Thoughts On The 2023 Baxter Bass Snatcher Tournaments

 

Bay Lake: May not return until after 11PM due to being down in the cities on Saturday. Hope I don't run out of energy. Hope to pre-fish it at least one time with Roger Ubl, maybe a second time with my boater. 

Tournaments Fished: 3 (12,15,18)

Best Finish: 2nd (6/2/12) Roger Ubl (Boater)

Best Limit: 15/11 (6/2/12) Roger Ubl (Boater)

Biggest Bass: 3/2 (6/2/12) Roger Ubl (Boater)

North Long: I just want to catch a limit. Haven't done that the last two times we have fished here. Also hope to pre-fish this one with Roger and maybe my boater as well.

Tournaments Fished: 3 (08,17,21) 2 Snatcher Mini-Bucks

Best Finish: 17th (8/23/08) Chuck Steinbauer (Boater)

Best Limit: 11/1 (8/23/08) Chuck Steinbauer (Boater)

Biggest Bass: 2/9 (In both 08 and 21) Chuck and Nate Steinbauer (Boaters)

Alexander: I like the lake. Will smallies be hitting topwater? I should rig up a wacky rig on a rocket bobber.

Tournaments Fished: 2 (14,19)

Best Finish: 18th Place (6/29/19) Tim Benson (Boater)

Best Limit: 10/1 (6/7/14) Chuck Johansen (Boater)
Biggest Bass: 2/3 (6/7/14) Chuck Johansen (Boater)

MN B.A.S.S. Nation State Championship Leech Lake Aug. 2-4.: I have been thinking about going to a BASS Nation State Championship for a long time, and it's probably now or never. I hope I don't get paired with guys using forward-facing and chasing smallies, but I will come prepared if I do. I pray we get favorable weather.

Tournaments Fished: 5 (09,12,14,19,21)
Best Finish: 10th Place (9/28/19) Paul Ruff (Boater)

Best Limit: 16/11 (6/30/12) Darrien Keifer (Boater)

Biggest Bass: 3/14 (6/30/12) Darrien Keifer (Boater)

Blind: I don't think there are any conflicts on Platte/Sullivan that day that will get it thrown out of the drawing. It would be nice to draw P/S to save me driving time, and I'm usually somewhat dialed in at that time of year.  I also wouldn't mind Edward, Fishtrap, Serpent, The Cullen Chain, or the Mississippi. Not so hot on Mission, Pelican, or Cedar.

The Poke: It's about time the Snatcher's returned to The Poke; it's been 7 years since we last had it on our schedule. I've never fished it in the Fall.

Tournaments Fished: 3 (08,12,16)

Best Finish: 13th Place, but only 14 guys went North for this one (8/6/16) Bill Bailey (Boater)

Best Limit: 12/8 (7/19/08) Bill Ludenia (Boater)

Biggest Bass: 3/7 (7/19/08) Bill Ludenia (Boater)

Whitefish Chain: Hopefully, it isn't windy, cold, and raining because The Chain is a fish factory. Wouldn't mind a little rain to keep boat traffic down.

Tournament Fished: 6 Snatcher Tournaments (10,12,14,16,19,21) and 1 Excel (04)

Best Finish: 10th Place (6/5/10) Chuck Steinbauer (Boater)
Best Limit: 14/02 (6/5/21) Hammer (Boater)

Biggest Bass: 3/5 (6/5/21) Hammer (Boater)

My Bassmaster Classic Fantasy Squads

 

I tweaked my roster in the final hours after seeing the Prodigy from Cheeseland talk about his prefish. I gave him a second look and discovered this will be his first Classic. His report and the fact that he is a Classic rookie spooked me. I almost went with the Golden Ram, but his Classic performances haven't been particularly noteful, while Palmers has a much better average finish and one Super 6.

My first two Drain the Lake rosters were underwhelming. Gonna need big scores and several tournament winners if I am going to go anywhere in this game.

 

GOMH Today

Unfortunately, the cold air won the battle last night. Yesterday's forecast called for warmer air to settle in around midnight and for us to get some rain. It wasn't supposed to get cooler than 34 degrees today. The warm air never made it this far North; we got 2 to 4" of snow and only got to 33 degrees today. There was a little bit of open water when I went by the Grumpy Old Man Hole this afternoon. It looks like we are in for a slow thaw which is OK with me.  It will be interesting to see how quickly the GOMH area and Platte Lake open up this year. I'll get out ice fishing again next week. I may or may not start when will I see my driveway this weekend.

MLF Douglas & Cherokee Fantasy Picks

 Getting these picks out a little late. MLF didn't have their act together, assigning picks to the days they are fishing. I only had 3 guys fishing on the first day, as you can see below. Hopefully, it doesn't matter and all my picks advance.

Penultimate Day of Winter @GOMH

That is ice, not open water. I am guessing once it opens up again, it will be forward progress until ice-out by day's end until the ice is totally gone. 

 

Added A Tackle Goal For 2023

 I have resolved to catch 5 bass on a Jitterbug this year. I don't know if I will buy a new one or go with my small collection. I bought a couple off eBay several years back, but I don't think I ever used them because they struck me as poorly made-Chinese junk. I'm pretty sure I can catch five bass at the Grumpy Old Man Hole this Spring, so I will add a bait or two in the topwater boxes I bring.

Spring Watch! Episode 4, 2023

 With this latest cold dip and last weekend's snow things have taken a step or two back. More winter coming this weekend. It does kind of look like there may be a slight bump up in temps to close out the month. There is a lot of snow to be melted from all directions, so it's possible we may not see 50℉ this month.  I hope to start the countdown to "When Will I See My Driveway?" by this time next week and have the backyard snow blown out by the end of next week. 

GOMH March 13th

Frozen back up thanks to the snow and cold this weekend. It didn't get to 30℉ today.
 

One guy fishing on Sully.

Kaylee along for the ride

Looks like one more weekend of winter, then hopefully Spring, but not too fast. There is a lot of snow to melt. Will start when will I see my driveway next week, most likely.

Godspeed, Bud!

 

GOMH Today

 

Definitely moving water and a little bit of sun doing work in between snow days. Looks like more of the same for at least another week. It will be interesting to see if things progress or stay status quo.

 

Youtube Channel, The Nature of Fishing

 Thanks to Bass Boat Central forums, I just discovered a fantastic largemouth bass fishing channel on YouTube named The Nature of Fishing. The content is top-tier and a bit of a throwback to old-school In-Fisherman type teaching. Excellent stuff!

Platte Lake Ice Out Prediction For 2023 (Updated)

No more spitballing; it's March and time for BP to give his official ice-out prediction for Platte Lake. Right now, we have a lot of snow to melt and seem to be heading into a slightly cooler-than-normal weather pattern. The average temp right now in this area is 33℉ and raises 1℉ every couple of days. On the 19th of the month, two weeks from today, the average high temp reaches 40℉. With the forecast being what it is, we are looking like a slow thaw this year. It would take a major warm-up to reach my February Spitball of April 8th. I don't think that is going to happen. There is open water at the Grumpy Old Man Hole, which wasn't the case last year until after March 20th.

I predict the ice will be off Platte Lake on April 17th, 2023 

2022 Prediction April 17th, Ice Off April 24th

2021 PredictionApril 13th, Ice Off on March 29th

2020 Prediction April 8th, Nailed it! 

2019 Prediction May 9th Ice Off Date April 20th 

2018 Prediciton April 22nd Ice Off Date May 2nd 

2017 Prediction March 29th Ice Off Date April 1st 

2016 No Prediction Ice was off on March 23rd

2015 Prediction April 20th Ice Out Date April 3rd

The extended forecast (Updated below)

I wonder why they now say 30's instead of 20's next weekend.

  

Tuma Rallies!

Snatcher Tuma more than doubled his Day 1 weight catching 22/12 and jumped up well over 100 places in the standings to finish in 25th Place in the first Bassmaster Open Elite Qualifier of 2023.

Way to get it done, Keith!