2004 Bass Pundit's
"BEST!" and "WORST!"
Well, it looks as if Part 2 of my Tournament Review will have to come in the new year cause I gotta get this done now or it won't get done.

The Bass Pundit's "BEST!" will be given in 5 categories and "WORST!" in 2 catagories in this the inaguaral year of Bass fishings "BEST!" blog .

The Five Catagories for a Bass Pundit "BEST!" are:
Professional Bass Fisherman
Professional Bass Trail
Bass Fishing Web Page
Bass Fishing Bulletin Board
Bass Fishing Blog (Can you guess who's gonna win this one?)

The Two Catagories for a Bass Pundit "WORST" are:

Decision in Bass Fishing (Pro or AM)
Bass Fishing Tackle Add or Product

As that I, the Bass Pundit, am the blogosphere's pre-eminent self-appointed authority on all things Bass Fishing it gives me not only the right but the duty to honor certain bass fisherpeople as the "BEST!" of the best and "WORST!" in their area of contribution to the global world of bass fisherpeople. And after all what good is a Bass Pundit if they are not going to come up with such things at the end of the year. I suspect we will have many newly added categories next year. So without further ado, here I my "WORST!" losers and "BEST!" winners of 2004.

The first catagory on tap is:
"WORST!"
Bass Fishing Tackle Add or Product.

Dishonorable mentions:
#2 ALL STAR RODS AND Mark Davis:
This is for their absurd advertising campaign that portends to put an ALL STAR rod in the hands of the next person to break the World Record for Largemouth Bass. "Designed specifically to whip the next world record bass." and "I believe that the next world record bass will probably be caught on an ALL STAR rod..."
I'm sorry but with this add campaign, no they won't! Only a trout or walleye fisherman would buy into that hype. This add can be seen in the 2005 Bass Pro Shops Master Catalog P.156 and is probably in Bass Mags and other media they do as well.

#1 Ray Scott's Lighted Lures: Fishing crankbaits that have electronic innards that make em blink and make noise. Gimmick! At 8bucks plus, plus batteries it ain't one of the cheaper one's. BP's advice, look for em on Ebay. (To see click here.)

And the 2004 Bass Fishing Tackle Add or Product award:
"WORST!"
DANCIN BUZZBAIT by Bill Dance
A buzzbait where the wire is a foot or longer separating the buzzer from the hook.
Yes! I am sure it will catch fish but that thing has got to be one of the most aerodynamically prone to backlash lures in the history of bass fishing. Buzz baits already were about the worst offenders and then to stretch it's profile and constustruct a bait this way is asking for more cursing than catching. Also, what do you think is gonna happen when a fair sized Doggy, Pike, or Ski grabs that thing and bends it into a paper clip or outright corksqrew that thing around their mussel and wire their toothy mug shut in such a way that would make an MD proud? ( that is if they just doing snap it in two immediately) This monstrosity sells retail for a mere $5.99 a pop.Seen here

The next category is:
"WORST"Decision in Bass Fishing (Pro or Am)

Dishonorable Mentions:
#2 Byron "The Bachelor" Velvick:
Yeah, the BP thought it would be cool having a pro bass fisherman in the leading role of one the most popular RTV programs. That was until I and all of America realised what a wanker slime dog skankin psycho creep he is. Thank goodness the ratings on this one were pathetic from what I hear. There are a lot of upstanding and great Pro Bass fisherman and ole Swimbait boy did not come across as one of them. Sorry Dude! but the only winners on that show were the women that lost.

#1 The Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society and ESPN for starting up their new Bassmaster Weekend Tournament Series with such lousy rules for the Co-Angler (that's a person who fishes out of the back of the boat all day and does not get to choose the angling location). I am sure many of you are not familiar with the controversy but this was just a boneheaded move on ESPN/BASS's part that has raised cain amongst serious Co-Angler types and frankly makes no sense that the BP can see. I guess in not wanting to follow the FLW's lead they were perfectly willing to drive themselves into a ditch. Nice Move!

"WORST!"
2004 Decision in Bass Fishing:
FLW for the DQ of Kevin Snider
Here is a guy who fights up the boater ranks in his division all year in his boat, qualifies for and wins the regional as boater in his own boat that he has fished out of all season and then is stripped of his achievement on a technicality; a technicality if the rules were fully interpreted literally would disqualify many many of FLW winners past and present. This was a travesty and I hope either FLW comes to their senses or the guy gets a good lawyer. To learn more

And now enough with the negativity and lets move right on into the next phase of the Punditry.

"BEST!"
2004 Bass Fishing Blog:
BASS PUNDIT
OK OK so I am a homer but it's my blog and I'll call it "BEST!" if I want too. But a big reason why I started this site was that all the blog references I could find for Bass fishing were either snide remarks or wonderment about the subject. I did find one other Bass blog but it wasn't a pure blog, but was a blog attached to a Pro Bass Fishermen or two's site. I suppose the BassFan Army stuff could be considered blogging as well, but this site as far as I know is the first real Bass Fishing dedicated pioneer of the blogosophere. If that's not the case someone let me know, I searched Google but got nothing. Ah but now I have learned that I and another site are on Google. Try the Bassin Blog here . His is older but mine is better, so there.

Plus I've had a visit from Maryam of So I Want To Be An Astronaut who is a true force in Blogosphere, even though I had no idea at the time. She has a great site and is an inspiration and encouragement being a Kuwaiti young women who wants to reach for the stars or mars and grab them.

"BEST!"
2004 Bass Fishing Bulletin Board
Tackle Tour!
Ok Ok I just found this site at the end of the year and maybe it's Bass forum isn't the best out there but for talking tackle and bass tackle you probably can't beat this place. Plus Tackle Tour! has an amazing avatar collection which was the decisive factor.
"BEST!"
2004 Bass Fishing Web Page
BassFan.Com
Face the Facts man, BassFan is in a league of it's own. It has a silky smooth layout and is the hottest Bass Page on the Web bar none for the Bass fishing junky like me. A month worth of BassFan reading is far better than a months Bassmaster Magazine. The BP hopes to qualify for the BassFan Army in 2005. Details on that coming soon.

Ok so the next catagory is like Pepsi or Coke, there are only two players that matter and lots of people have a strong preference for one or the other. I'm a Coke man myself. In an upset it's:
FLW
"BEST!"
2004 Professional Bass Fishing Tour
This one is an upset because FLW through the BFL's made the "WORST!" decision of the year, has a second rate Fantasy Bass Fishing set up, and did not have, KVD, the biggest player currently in Pro Bass Fishing fishing the circuit; And ESPN/BASS has probably more familiar "name" anglers, a better Fantasy Bass Fishing set up, the innovative E50's, and the Bassmasters Classic. Yet the BP has to go with FLW because they did a better job of spreading the schedule, paying the Pro's and Co's, respecting the Co's, and keeping a bass addict like me on top of things with their instant results web streamed weigh ins and better than Bass pre, during, and after Tourny information in general. Plus it is just absurd that "The Classic" is not the highest paying touny in Bass Fishing. BASS needs to get their act together on that one.

Ohh thank goodness only one more catagory and that is the biggest "BEST!" of them all.

First the Bass Pundit's:
2004 Professional Bass Angler Honorable Mentions:
#5 Takahiro Omori
This is Japanese transplant has paid his dues and won the biggest tournament of them all. He had great finishes on both the BASS and FLW circuits, but the BP is simply more impressed with some others. Sure the Bassmasters Classic is what it is, but it is a limited field tournament.

#4 KVD
(That is Kevin "Fricken" Van Dam, the kid from Kalamazoo) He starts and ends the year as the #1 ranked Bass Angler of the year,. He wins the first overall Elite 50 championship which was a multi tournament competition against most of the greatest sticks in bass fishing ever, and he nearly wins the Classic for a second time continually showing them Southern, Western, and Eastern boys how it's done. That's why he is Kevin "Fricking" Van Dam!

#3 Shinichi Fukae
This was the year of the Japense invasion, even though Takahiro has been in the states for awhile. "Shin" won the 2004 FLW Angler of the Year despite knowing zero english and having never really fished in the USA before. Sure he got a sponsor's exemption and sure he basically lived on the lakes and probably pre-fished as much as anyone; "Shin" was the bomb for me in Fantasy and that's all there is to that. I saw that train rolling and jumped on it, "Shin" is a stud!

#2 Greg Hackney
The Hack Attack was AWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNN! Simply amazing that this guy is not #1 with the year he had. He came in second by just a small amount for angler of the year on both the BASS and FLW tour and then he goes on to just kick more tail in the BASS OPENS and is now pre-qualified to fish the Bass Masters Classic. What am I thinking not putting this guy as the best Pro of 2004, especially with all the Fantasy points he gave me and the Posse. I like this guy, he's the real deal.

Drummroll Please:
2004 Professional Bass Angler
"BEST!"
Mark Davis
Mark is quite a guy and a pro's pro, when healthy is consistantly among the best on the water. This year he won an astonishing 3 tournaments, two in a row of which were Elite 50's against the best Bass Pro's ever. He gave me one huge score in Fantasy, but then I dropped him just in time for him to win those 2 in a row. I won't be a hater, that was my dumb move. Find out more about Mark at his website here.

BP's 2004 Tournament Review Part 1 (Accomplishments)

2004 Top Angler Fishers of Men Fishing Club (Twin Cities)
2004 "FallEE WallEE" Trophy Fishers of Men (TC) Fall Outing
1st Place Team Bass Bone Lake Tournament
4-01Big Bass Team Bass Bone Lake Tournament
1st Place Fishers of Men Club (TC) Rush Lake Tournament
20" "Trophy" Size Big Bass.
1st Place Fishers of Men Club (TC) Fall Outing Tournament 2
3rd Place Excel Bass Rabbit Lake Tournament
3rd Place Fishers of Men Club (TC) Fall Outing Tournament 1
4th Place Team Bass Koronis Lake Tournament
5th Place Team Bass 1stPlatte/Sullivan Tournament
7th Place Team Bass Super Stars Tournament
Total of 7 Team Bass Top 10 Finishes.

2004 Fantasy Bass Fishing:
FLW Fishing Challenge
7th Overall in Final FLW Fishing Challenge Fantasy Bass Standings
"Minnesocold BP Boys" (900 Plus Players)
8th Place Prize FLWFC Lake Okeechobee Proxy Team (P.T): "Cyb's BP Boys"
18th Place Prize FLW Kentucky Lake "Minnesocold BP Boys"

ESPN/B.A.S.S. Fantasy Bass Fishing
2nd Place FishingMinnesota.com League with P.T.: "Schmenzig Bassmen"
86th Place Overall Finish ESPN/BASS FBF with P.T.: "Schmenzig Bassmen" (30,000 plus players)
4th Place FishingMinnesota.com League with P.T.: "BPs Dad"

2004 Big Bass Review.

20" 9/20/04
Largemouth:
Measured by length:
20inch 9Bass
Lakes: 5 Sullivan, Rock, Platte, Mille Lacs, West Rush.
Baits: 2 White Scum Frog Trophy Series,2 Bass Jig, White Spinnerbait, Blue/White Spinnerbait, Coot SnagProof Tourny Frog, BubbleGum Zoom Super Fluke, dropshot.

19inch 13Bass
Lakes: 6 Sullivan, 5 Platte, 2 Rock
Baits: 3 Dropshot, 3White/Red Scum Frog Trophy, 2White Snagproof Tournament Frog, White/Green Scum Frog Trophy,Coot Snagproof Tournament Frog, Senko, Berkley Frenzy Popper, Bass Jig.

Measured by weight:
4-01 Bone Lake, BubbleGum Super Fluke (Big Bass Team Bass Bone Lake)
4-?? Little Boy, Coot Snagproof Tournament Frog

Smallmouth:
Measured by weight:
4-02 Koronis Berkley Frenzy Popper
4-02 Koronis Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke

BP's Thoughts: I consider a big bass in MN as anything bigger than 19" or over 4lbs. Generally in Tournaments the Big Bass will be a 4 to 5lb fish with an occasional 6lber. The way the year started out I really thought I was gonna slay the big bass but I would say the results ended up just being OK and just about the same as 2003; I didn't keep track of big fish in 2003 to know for certain. I just could not find the big fish or larger concentrations of fish in Platte this year despite the fact I spent far more time in Platte than Sullivan. By the numbers it is clear that Sullivan was my best bet for big bass this year.

I didn't match my big bass of 2003 which was a 21"monster out of Platte. My biggest fish in 2004 were all about 20.5 and came from Sullivan, Rock, Mille Lacs, and West Rush. The biggest smallmouth were caught the same day during the Team Bass Tournment on Koronis.


19" 7/24/04


18+ 10/6/04


17+ 10/6/04


20" 6/17/04

Tommorrow BP's 2004 Tournament Results and Review.

The Vikes Magic Number is...

Comming into this extended holiday weekend of NFL, the magic number for the Vikes to make the playoffs was and is 1.

Comming into the extended weekend there were a total of 7 opportunities for the Vikes to get the magic number down to 0.

Here are the 7 opportunites

This weekend (Week 16):
Vikes beat Pack Christmas eve.
Bucs at home beat Panthers
Rams at home lose to Eagles on Monday Night Football
And a 1/2 Tick down for a Seattle loss to the Cardinals.

Next Weekend (Week 17):
Vikes beat Redskins
Rams loss at home vs. Jets
Panthers loss at home vs. Saints
1/2 Tick down for a Seattle loss if they also lose Week 16

As we know the Vikes lost another close one to the Pack. It appears as if the Panthers will beat the Bucs and Seattle will beat the Cardinals. The Eagles have nothing to play for and probably will play backups most if not all the game.

It looks like the Vikes 7 Chances are going will be down to 3 heading into Week 17. Ugggh!

Purple Pride Purple Pride

SKOAL VIKES!

BOGUS!
I want the Pack in Lambert in the Playoffs.

I give the Pack credit for playing well but if it were not for the ref's, the Cheese would have lost this one.

It's Cold

-10F
Yes, it's finally putting the Cold into MinnesoCold. I haven't been posting for what should be an obvious reason, I just haven't felt much like blogging this past week. I also have not been doing any fishing. To get my mind off things I went to the Cities for the weekend and hung out with Cyberfish as well as going on a GEM outing to the Cabela's in Owatanna MN. We also watched the football games on Saturday and Sunday which was a total blast because all the games were exciting plus the Cheese lost while the Vikes pulled out the victory. If you did not know, the Vikes and Pack play tommorrow, Christmas Eve, for the division title and a home playoff game.

If the Vikes pick up there level of play they could conceivably make it to the Super Bowl this year. Amazing!

Once this cold weather passes I will be back to fishing and blogging. I have a lot of stuff on tap for the last week of 2005; Including a review of Bass Pundit's year in tournaments and Big Bass, Bass Pundit's Bass Fisherman of the Year, Bass Pundit's Bass Fishing Website of the Year, Bass Pundit's Fishing Message Board of the Year, Bass Pundit's Bass Lure of the Year, and Bass Pundit's new years resolutions.

Tribute

Tonight at about 10:20PM my faithful friend and companion Søren passed away due to unknown natural causes. He had developed some kind of respitory problem and we were gonna take him to the vet tommorrow to find out about it. I had a feeling there was something seriously wrong but Søren didn't seem that uncomfortable, in fact Soren didn't seem distressed at all beyond his heavy breathing. I was with him, petting him when he just stopped breathing; he died quite peacefully without fear, fit, whimper, or cry






3

Goodbye ole buddy, Goodbye!

Updated 4/19/13

Tight lipped and spooky.

I don't know if it was the creaking and cracking of the lake building ice or just today's high pressure front, but the fish I encountered tonight were negative as can be. They would come in on occasion usually just underneath the bait, look at it for 2to10 seconds and then swim off. Last year these basin fish tended to the agressive side, usually if you saw it you caught it. Not tonight.

Oh, the pick of the lake was Platte. We got back around 2:30 from Mom's birthday lunch and I either could have gone straight to Mille Lacs or out to check "the hole" to see if the ice was safe. I decided to take Pattie for a walk out to the hole. No problems Mate! 5" to 6" on the last part of Platte lake to freeze. I then went back and rounded up my stuff. Marked perch right away but didn't even fish them. I was trying for Pike at first. Then after the sun went down most of the way I switched to Crappies. I only got one about 6" but probably had more than half a dozen to a dozen take a look. Sorry No pics, I did almost take the camera out to show a fish that lingered on the Vex before it left, however, I really thought I was gonna get that one to go. I think there was an eye messing with a big minnow just after dark but it just nipped and never commited. The bite was just off tonight. I will probably hit Mille Laction tomorrow.

Also, it seems everything locked up last night as predicted and it's cold out tonight as well.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Guess which one was born when FDR was President and which one was born when GWB was President?
(BTW the date on the pic is wrong again should be 12/14/04)

Click on Pic to read caption.

Bass Fan Radio

BassFan.com is probably one of my favorite sites on the net. I love the layout and it's info on the Pro bass fishing and bass fishing in general is top notch. One of the many great features of the site is BassFan Radio where Pro's and people in the Professional Bass fishing industry are interviewed. They have quite a catalog of interviews you can listen to and they usually add one or two a week.

Wanna know about Tim Hortons' great catch and show down with the "Hack" on the big O than click here

Wanna hear Kevin Van Dam talk about being the #1 ranked Pro in the world and his thoughts on what makes him tick than click here

Wanna hear Takihiro Omori talk about winning the classic than click here.

There is a ton of good stuff there check it out.

Options

The Bp's Ice Fishing options have and are rapidly openning up. It was cold yesterday, today and it's gonna be in the single digits tonight. There will probably be safe ice tommorrow in area's I saw open water today. I went on a little visual exploration of area lakes today and here is what I found with my forcast.

100% Frozen
Platte: I believe it will be 100% walking safe tomorrow. Drive safe by sometime next week in selected area's???? Time to get out the gas auger.

Bulldog: Saw someone fishing out there today and it was all ice today. I suspect it's 100% walk safe now and will be for sure tommorrow. Yeah all the little Crappies I can catch. However first ice last year gave up a better size of fish than after it started getting fished.

Erskine: There were portable tracks out onto the lake, but know one there when I went by. I don't if the lake has good fishing or not. Could be a bust, could be a sleeper.

Less than 100%
Sullivan: There were spearing houses in start of the river channel, traditional 1st ice spot. The deeper sections of the main body were wide open. I expect this to totally freeze over tonight with walk safe ice by the weekend.

Long Lake: Was about 50% frozen should be totally iced over at the end tonight. Could very well be walk safe tomorrow as well.

Rock Lake: Looked 80% frozen will be totally iced over tonight and probably walk safe tommorrow.

Shakopee Lake: I think there was open water on the SE side but I am not possitive. There were houses along the West side from the access south. Should be 100% frozen by tommorrow and walk safe as well except over the channel. This lake should always be viewed as suspect because of the current that runs through it; there is a channel of moving water.

West Side of Mille Lacs: Much to my surprize I couldn't even see open water. Vineland, Sha Bosh Kung (Casino), and Wigwam all fully iced over. Someone was checking the ice out of the Casino Access but I didn't stick around to see how far he went. My guess is that by tommorrow you will be able to reach some close in spots tommorrow. I very well may try to hit a spot there tommorrow. I've got giant ice Eye's on the mind and I think I might know where I can get me some.

Camp Lake: Looked to be 70% iced up and should be 100% tomorrow. I think the Crappie hole out from the public access will be 100% walking safe tomorrow.

Whitefish Lake: Looked like it was 100% frozen from what I saw. Probably walk safe tommorrow if it isn't already.

FYI-The BP blog Color Scheme

There is a method to the maddness.

Green: Is for bass the "little green fish" of lore. Green is also for healthy weeds and we all know how Bass love the grass. Green is also the traditional frog color, and the BP does love those topwater frogs.

Blue: For clean clear water.

Black: Is for muck bottom where the weeds grow thick and the bass grow big.

Red: Is for blood because bass fishing is in my veins and for when I poke my finger with a hook by accident. Red is also supposed to represent something wounded and vulnerable, hense the rage with red "bleeding bait" hooks and color scheme's on lures.
(OK red and black is a stretch but the blue and green were chosen for those reasons)

Rapala Christmas Commercial

It's Ok, not great.

Fantastic Fishing Avatars!

I have been searching around on many of the websites on the Bass Fishing Top 100. One of the sites ranked near the top is called Tackle Tour . The emphasis of this site is product testing and it is a great site to get info. The site has a message board/forums that are pretty good as well. What impressed me the most about the forums was the selection of Avatars on site to choose from; it is simply amazing. They have tons of fishing company logo's, lures, reels, cartoons, fish, etc. It is worth going there and signing up for the forums just to get into see this collection.

The BP at Bass Fan.

Once again the BP was published in the BassFan feedback section. It's more like a "letter to the editor" than wide open comment section. I should have taken a little more time to craft my statement, but I figured they would edit it to be a little more clear where it wasn't. Unfortunatly, the only thing they edited was "The Bass Pundit" as part of my name.

Here's an excerpt (for full excerpt click the title of this post and scroll down).

Dave Maas of Lake Platte, MN writes:
My initial rections to the BASS co-angler changes were slightly negative, but nothing like the hysterics people seem to have at this point...

The topic of my "letter" was the controversial change B.A.S.S. has just made to it's Co-Angler rules. A Co-Angler is a person that fishes only from the back of the boat in a tournament and they compete against the other Co's; there is a separate tournament within the tournament. This type of tournament format is also sometimes called a Pro/Am.

The new Co-Angler rules at B.A.S.S. show a different direction in philosophy than FLW. The B.A.S.S.'s philosophy seems to view Co-Angler's as tourists with perks, while FLW cultivates Co-Anglers as a legitimate form of Bass fishing competition from it's lowest level, BFL (Walmart Bass Fishing League), to it's highest level, The FLW Pro Tour. In fact I think it was the FLW regime of tournaments that have changed the bass fishing nomenclature from "Am" to the now popularized term "Co."

The Bass Pundit doesn't think there is a right or a wrong answer as to which philosophy is better or more legitimate. Personally, I really want to try both at the highest level's of the "major league" trails. I think both sides are missing the boat in not giving the Pro credit in some way for fish that the Co-Angler catches. In FLW the weights are totally separate and BASS is now counting the Pro's weight with 3 fish for the Co, but the Pro's bass stand alone. I believe firmly the pro should get credit in some way for big fish the am catches because the pro chooses the fishing location and controls the boat. I will probably spell out how I think the Pro/Co formatt should be done at some later date.

One Good Bite a Night

That is the story for this week. I have been getting out at dusk and I get one quality bite a night. Tonight it was that little Pike on the left and last night it was the nice eye on the right. BP followers have seen pics of the other nights I was out (scroll down if you haven't).


Tonight there was a slight change in the routine, however, as I did bring up a half way decent sunfish. Last night I caught a small sunny and small crappie besides this 20.5" Eye.

Good Ice Fishing Article

The Aggresive Ice Angler is a good ice fishing article written by fellow Team Bass fisherman Deitz "Exudedude" Dittrich.

Today’s aggressive ice angler would be unrecognizable to the ice angler of
twenty years ago. The days of sitting over a hole in a permanent fish house are
far from over, yet the new breed of aggressive ice angler is becoming more
conspicuous. Fishing is no longer a form of relaxation; it’s a sport, and it’s
fun!

Check it out.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

If you don't know know what you are looking at, it is one of the finer things in life; my Mom's Christmas Sugar Cookies in it's rolled frozen pre-cooked dough state. The cookies are good, but the dough is MONEY!

In the immortal words of Bart Simpson all I have to say for myself is:

"I didn't do it, nobody saw me do it, there's no way you can prove anything!"

Patti's first Ice Fishing Trip.

Well I decided to let the pup come out with me and ice fish today. I was quite worried she would be more of a nuisance than she was. Other than not sitting for the pic I wanted to take, she was pretty good. She quite enjoyed playing with the perch before finally eating it. Patti Lou does love sushi.

As far as the fishing, I got out even later than yesterday so I fished the same general area. Picked up more perch right away but that stopped after a couple of fish. I decided to try and find the hump that is out from the point I had been fishing. Amazingly enough I found it rather quickly and started getting perch right away. As it got darker I figured an eye or crappies might be inclined to position on this spot, just like I always think they will, but I've never got one yet. I hole hopped for a while and got nothing on the hump.

I then went back to last night's holes as my final stop. Once again I started doing some Trap keeping and I saw something on the Vex and grabbed the rod right away. It looked like a couple of fish had come in and then I got a bite. I got tangled in the transducer which stunk cause it was a good fish. I managed to get it entangled and fought the fish for a good 3 minutes. At first I thought I had another nice crappie, then I thought it might be an eye, I got it up by the whole twice and then it ripped off runs. Unfortunately I didn't get a good enough look to see what it was and it broke me off. I suspect it was a pike because of the way it ran but yah never know. It was well after dark, not normal pike time and if 2lb test gets nicked it's gonna break. Looks like that spot is good for one hit a night. Hopefully I will be able to get out to the deep whole soon.

My day on ice

Well I didn't exactly get out first thing, but that is OK. It was warm today and as you can see the whole of Platte is ice covered with a slight snow covering. The ice seemed to be about 4-5" where I was. The date on the pick is a day early. This was taken about 4PM just after I started fishing and is the view NW from our bay.


The Blue in the Grey

Unfortunatly due to the snow cover I was unable to find the holes I wanted from last time out. It took me a while to find fish. I took this pic of the first fish to prove I didn't get skunked just in case I didn't catch anything else. I got several small perch, but once again was shut out on pike, amazing.

At least... (Click on pic to enlarge, it will make all fish pics look better)


After it got dark, I thought I would stick around in case another eye or more likely a bullhead would come by; I even chummed the hole with minnow cuts. I hadn't gotten anything for 1/2 an hour and started doing some housekeeping things in the trap. While I was doing that I noticed that red line on the Vex that was my bait seemed to be big maybe with some strange separation (people who know flashers will get it, the rest of you will have to come out ice fishin with the BP sometime.) I immediately grabbed the rod and slowly lifted and sure enough the electronics started separating my lure from something else. I stopped lifting and immediately the bigger red line moved on top of my lures red line. I didn't feel anything, but figured whatever it was bit. Sure enough I set the hook into something bigger than a perch. I figured it would be a wooly bully or maybe a smaller eye than I caught last week; I was presently surprized when I saw a silver mug in the hole. I've never caught a crappie off of this spot summer or winter.

Fresh Crip on Ice

This one must have been a loner as that I didn't have another fish come in again. I was in about 10feet right on the break on a point.

The fish was a perfect eater size at 11.5 inches. Those who know there ice jigs know that is a Glow Demon which is indeed a fish catching demon once the Sun goes down.

Results of Gone Fishin Above

Gone Ice Fishin!
(Click "Gone Ice Fishin" for Poem and Flash Animation)
(You will need a Flash Player to see it)

New Fishing Message Board- Get free tackle.

Goto:
Catch N

The guys at Catch-N Tackle have started a fishing BB or forums or whatever. Anyway they are giving away free tackle packs to the 1st 100 to register and then Personal Message Dave Hoggard.

As of midnight 12/7 I was the 67th person to register. Check it out.

If your not a fisherperson register anyway and send the BP what you get as a Christmas present. Ha!

Breakthrough News

I broke into the Top 100.

Ok it's just a stupid Internet Top sites site, but I did break the Top 100!
Rank is determined by the number of "hits" I get at this site and then averaged over three days.

Didn't get out today.

I was just not up to getting out on the ice today. Maybe tomorrow.

Here's some pics from last season and Scott "CollegeOutdoorsguy" Hillesheim. Scott was living at his uncle's cabin on Platte while he finished up his last year at college in Brainerd. We discovered each other through Fishingminnesota.com and we ended up fishing together in his uncle's permanent many days and nights. We had a good time and caught some nice fish, Scott was an entertaining person to be around, I'll miss him this year as that he has now graduated. Hey Scott, if you see this buzz me an email or sign the guest book or something.

Here is what I am pretty sure was Scott's biggest ice bass of last year. I think it was about 18.5"



And I believe this was the 1st Good Bass of last winter and it was just a hint of all the good fish in the area which we would later catch a bunch of. The majority of the bass were slightly closer to shore than where the permanent shack was located.


Man I hope to get into that kind of Ice Bassin action this winter.

AAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

As that the BP bleeds Purple and Gold, today was a rough football game to watch. DA Bears held the Queens to 14 and stole a win. I love Daunte but he cost us this one. The O line, O and D coordinators helped out too. I watched that instead of going fishing AGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

However, my attitude is settling with the Packers getting utterly undressed in in Philly. 28-0 and it isn't even half. Do I hear 35!

No sooner do I hit publish and the Eagles go in for 7.

EAGLES 35 Packers 0

I think I'll live blog it.

Halftime Score Eagles 35-3. Packers Suck!

GAME ON!

Eagles go down and only get a field goal this time. 38-3

Well so much for liveblogging the game. The BP's gotta eat.

Final Eagles 47 Packers 17. So basically the Pack and Vikes are tied.

1st Ice Fish of the Year

I got out to the little point in our bay and put a minnow down. Nothing, but I was messin around in the Trap getting things in order. I had only drilled one hole and the depth was right at 9.5 feet for me to be right on the break. After I got done getting things in order I put a Cubby Mini-Mite down the hole. Much to my surprize a fish showed on the Vex which had not happened yet and the fish immediately hit. First thought was that it had to be a pike, and it was a half way decent fish. As I fought it, it didn't run like a Pike and so I figured I had a bass, eye, good sunny or crappie on. As I got it about 1/2 way up it came unbuttoned. AGGGGH!

A short time later a school of little perch moved in and I iced my first fish of the year this ice season. Here it is:

He's inside of the Ice scooper. I actually lost several bigger perch before I got this little dude through the hole. All I was getting were small perch and so I moved around a bit but couldn't find anything in the other holes. As it started getting dark I went back to pull some more perch. I lit up the lantern for the 1st time only to find out it had about 5 minutes worth of propane left. I switched to Glow Demons as the light faded. Right after I got the Demon on my jigging rod with maggies glowed up and down the hole, bam. I had a good fish on and it wasn't fighting like a pike. It got caught up on the Vex transducer so I though I would lose it but it stayed hooked. When I finialy did get the 2lb test unwrapped I kind of figured it was a bullhead, but much to my pleasure a golden fish appeared in the hole. Ahhh success.

Well here she is

15" of Perfect Platte Eater Eye

Gone Ice Fishin!
(Click "Gone Ice Fishin" for Poem and Flash Animation)
(You will need a Flash Player to see it)

VADOS!

"The Best In Baits From The Land Of Lakes"


Multi-Cultural Maggots, Maggies, or Spikes
They look yummie, don't they? If you are on Survivor or Fear Factor maybe/maybe NOT! If you are a Crappie definite maybe. If you are a hungry Crappie; GULP and my St. Croix Avid Ice Rod is a bendin! And the only question left is: "Are you are a lover or a fighter or both?"

Today, after holding niece Isabelle, was the first of my annual trips to get some creepy crawly critters from Vados. Somehow I don't think Kristen would have let me in the house had I gotten the bait before hand. The Staff was friendly as always and I even got a hot tip somewhere here on the BP blog about a good Crappie bite just north of me from Vados GM?? Mike Jacobson. Mike is a fishing buddy from the Viking Bassmaster days of the BP. I just might have to check that one out.

I will be hitting the ice tommorrow 4sure!

(Next time I go in I think they should give me one free red spike for this post and one free green spike for the link)

About G.E.M.

A little GEM Camp overtime on Platte Lake for Jordan and Malik.

G.E.M. stands for Great Expectations Ministries and it is a Christian Fishing Camp and club for kids. You can find out more about the organization by clicking on the GEM link on the blogroll in the right column.

This past summer I was volunteer staff for about 6 weeks during the summer. With my physical limitations it was quite exhausting at times, but they are small camps and we had ratio of no more than 3 kids per staff member which allowed me to rest when I needed it. Plus the camp is pretty laid back and we usually didn't get out fishing until mid to late afternoon and so the time on the water was not to much for me.

The kids were great for the most part and I particularly enjoyed the camps at Luther Dell Bible Camp. I will probably help out in some capacity next summer, I'll just have to wait and see where my physical endurance levels are at. Unfortunatly I didn't have a camera with me or I would have some great pics of kids with fish. Oh well.

Tonight at the Fishers of Men Club Twin Cities meeting camp director Dave Lindmark will be speaking.

SKUNK!

That's right, my first ice outing was a skunking. I did get out to the little break, in 8-9ft of water, where I thought I might find a few fish but nothing was there. No Pike, No Perch, No Sunnies. The wind was blowing pretty good or I would have moved around a bit more. On thin ice you don't wanna take the chance of the fish house blowing down the lake. It was also pretty cold out in that wind. The upside is that I discovered my propane heater is out of gas and that I rediscovered the need for remodeling the Trap to get it the way I want it. I did take a couple of other pics but I left the cover on the lens for those, Dough!

The view from the inside.
(When it appears, this pic didn't format right and only comes on when I go back in and re-edit it)
(Isn't it remarkable how precise my "writing" of the days date came out.)

Ice Fishings 1st Attempt

In mere minutes I am going to start getting dressed in the warm clothes, put my gear in the Fish Trap and try to ice a few fish; Probably Pike, Perch, or Sunnies. Due to treacherous ice, I will not be able to get out to where I would like to fish, but I think down the shore line I can get over a drop off safely. Wish me Luck.

Ahh the sound of ice cracking under your feet, the hum of the Vex, the feel of shaving ice with the Laser Hand auger, the sight of sunnies nosing up to your bait, or a pike ripping through the hole. Ice Fishing is here again!

(Actually yesterday I did put a line down right out in front in 3 to 4 ft of water but that won't get the job done. It seems like you have to be 6ft or deeper to get fish under the ice on platte.)

I will report with Pics if I don't fall through and die of hypothermia.

How the B.P. became the "Banned" Pastor.

At the Fishers of Men fall outing in 98 or 99 I was given the nickname "the Bass Pastor" by a jovial blind guy named John Boler. The nickname was due to the fact that I had been a youth pastor, was the club chaplain at the time, combined with my love of bass fishing. The nickname stuck and I have used it ever since in an email account, basspastor@hotmail.com, and when I participate in online fishing forums.

The big kahuna of online Minnesota Fishing forums is Fishingminnesota.com (blogrolled). I became a fixture on that board because I posted on it quite often, my famous rivalry with Cyberfish, and my outspoken position on a particular fishing regulation that I deem absurd for largemouth bass.

This is how the regulation reads:

You may not intentionally fish for any species during it's closed season.

I have a multitude of reasons why this regulation is unrealistic, unneeded and unenforceable as it pertains to spring pre-spawn largemouth. However, my POV is controversial and some people are better at being self-righteous snobs than rationale thinkers and level headed advocates for conservation. My online debating persona is a bit flamboyant and eccentric which tends to get under peoples skin as well.

Anyway, those who disagreed with me on the issue would whine and complain to the Fishingminnesota.com site administrator about how I was breaking forum policy regarding encouraging illegal or unethical behavior or some falderal like that. The administrator got tired of dealing with the complaints and told me to tone it down or else. I don't think I ever agreed to that, but the bass season opened and the annual argument had already come to a close; I participated in the same discussion on the matter for three consecutive Springs at FM.com.

More than a half a year after I had been warned, a topic came up on FM.com asking a question about whether or not a guy who witnessed a Muskie iced on Mille Lacs out of season and kept should have done more than tell the guy the fish was out of season and also have gone out of his way to call Turn In Poachers. This particular post was particularly humorous because the guy who witnessed the Muskie get caught said he was fishing for walleye's at the time; walleye's were also out of season and so the guy asking the question was fishing illegally himself. My opinion was that telling the guy that the muskie was out of season was the extent of his moral obligation and if the guy who caught the fish wanted to risk getting the fine for keeping the fish that was his business; I wouldn't go out of my way to see that the guy got caught because as far as I'm concerned the catch was a fluke and no harm done; there are lots of Ski's in the Dead Sea. Rendering this opinion was the last straw and I was banned for encouraging illegal or unethical behavior.

IMHO it was bogus to ban me for giving my opinion on question someone asked, but the site administrator of a board gets to be a dictator and what they say goes, and so I was done. While FishingMinnesota.com is good message board for information thanks to it's size and participants, it also has gained a reputation as being a "Nazi" board that arbitrarily punishes and sanctions people because that is what they do.

MN fishing forums that I am currently involved with are Lake State Fishing.com and In-Depth Angling.com (see blogroll).

Ice Bassin Preview

Bass are not known to be a fish that are very active under the ice. However, last winter we found a couple of spots that were holding some good sized schools. It was a blast. I can only hope they hang out in the same places this winter.


It won't be long now!