Wide Open!!!

Wide open is the description of all the lakes I looked at today except Mille Lacs. Shakopee open, Bulldog open, Rock open, and yes even Sullivan open.

My day started out with a trip to Onamia to pick up meds and check to see if the suckers were running in the Rum River just North of Shakopee Lake. Do you see any suckers in this picture:

If you do your eye sight is better than mine. The river was empty, therefore sucker fishing was out. I went to Subway for lunch and came back, still no sign of suckers. I hung out for about an hour and no suckers so I headed home.

I got out to the GOMH around 2PM and there was no bullhead action. So next I headed over to check out Bulldog then to the Rock Lake public access. No surprise the Rock Dock was not in the water yet, maybe tomorrow. The Rock access has been known to cough out fish even before the ice gets off the lake, so that is where I set up for the afternoon. Unfortunately for the fishing it was overcast and hazy for most of the afternoon keeping the shallows from heating up. The sky's started to clear a bit around 4:30 and sure enough my bobber went down and I caught my first open water fish of the year.
It went 17 inches.

A little bit later the sky's cleared up and a small school of little bass, a few sunfish, and a couple of crappies swam right up to me and then just as soon as they were there were gone. Didn't even get a bite. A little while later the bobber went down and my lure went bye bye. Stupid Pike!!! I fished until after 7 and occasionally there were sign's of fish swimming around, but I couldn't get any more bites.

I headed to the GOMH and Willard was sitting in his mini van and a guy, lady, and kid were fishing off the bridge and on the SW side. Willard informed me they had not caught anything and were fishing with minnows. I talked to Willard for about 15 minutes then headed over to the SE side which was open. While I was fishing CO Kuske and another CO showed up and did a fishing licence check. As the CO's were leaving I swear I got a bite on my drop shot power minnow but it got off right away. Felt like a silver bullhead. That was it for action at the GOMH tonight.

A Couple of Good Bass Blogs

Both of these are hosted at Gary Yamamoto's Inside Line

Beatin' the Bank with Bernie Schultz- This is the blog of Elite Series Pro Bernie Schultz. Looks like it is new for this season.

Pete Weighs In- I am not sure who Pete Robbins is, but he writes a pretty good blog.

Shocking Development...

The Ice is Out on Platte Lake!!!

I arrived at the GOMH around 6PM and to my astonishment there was open water as far as the eye could see as I looked North over Platte Lake. I thought maybe the ice was going to be off by Saturday, this is just stunning. I thought there was a pretty good chance I would catch a bullhead or two tonight but it was dead.

Tonight was the first Grumpy Old Man sighting as Willard was sitting in his truck when I got there. He didn't get out ice fishing this winter and is really looking forward to catching some fish to eat. Willard reported that the ice went out on Erskine today as well.

I left the GOMH while there was still a little bit of light out. I went to the Platte public access and all I saw was open water. Then I drove to Bulldog which is about 44% open at this point. Then I went to Rock which was fishable and maybe 25% open. There actually was a little bit of ice on the North end of Platte, but I consider Platte Lake open when you can get from Jenny Olson's access to the Platte Lake public access and there would be no problem at all making that trip.

2010 Ice Out by Easter Update #6

The MN Ice Out Status Website only added 2 lakes today.

Loon Lake (Waseca) out 3-30
Lake Gervias (Ramsey) out 3-30

Warm and windy conditions on March 30 have hastened ice out over southern and east central Minnesota. The next update will be March 31.

With today's winds, sun, and temps I would imagine a lot of lakes are going today.

4:15PM I think at 5PM I am going up to the Brothers for the Tuesday $3 Taco and then I'll head to the GOMH from there.

Hmmmm

Switched my computer monitors and now I think I am seeing the world the way it's supposed to look, which I wasn't before. This should definitely help when I make my judgements about how bright the pictures I take actually look. Things looked darker before so I was always editing the photo's to make them brighter.

2010 Ice Out by Easter Update #5

The MN Ice Out Status Website surprizingly only added 3 lakes today.

3-28 Kohlman (Ramsey) This lake is in the Twin Cities
3-29 Cannon (Rice)
3-29 Zumbro (Olmsted)

So according to Minnesota Climatology all the SE MN lakes are open, while none of the S. Central and SW lakes are open, which I find hard to believe.

Word from FishingMinnesota.com is that Nokomis in MPLS is open.

GOMH 4/29/2010

As can be seen in this first picture open water has made a serious expansion on the South end of Platte Lake (Click on picture to enlarge to see where the ice starts). I would say there were pretty close to 4 football fields worth of open water. I am pretty sure at this point the whole Platte River Outlet area of Sullivan is now ice free. It got to 59°F today and was on the windy side. It is supposed to be about 10 degrees warmer tomorrow and even warmer on Wed. and Thur. It would not shock me at all if Platte is ice free by Saturday. Once again tonight I didn't catch any bullheads, but I'm thinking with all that open water in Platte warming up tomorrow and flowing into Sullivan that there is a pretty good chance of catching something tomorrow.

This picture is the view looking North from the Platte Lake public access. It almost looks like a boat launched and made a path out into the ice. In reality I think the main ice truck path completely melted down.

GOMH

It only got to 50 today, but it was sunny so I decided to hit the Grumpy Old Man Hole and see if any fish might have shown up. No luck

The early rising almost full moon was beautiful tonight. I think with these warm days ahead and that full moon, bullheads will start showing up this week.

(Click to enlarge for better picture)

Bait Monkey March Madness Continues...

Well Mills Fleet Farm didn't have either of the two things I wanted to buy, but Husky Jerks were on sale for $3.99, which I think is $1.50 off the regular Mills price and $2 cheaper than Gander Mtn, so I couldn't resist. As you can see I also picked up a couple of packs of 2" Storm Wildeye Swim Shad's in baby bass. Last year I had good success with the Wildeye's on 4 kinds of bullheads. The Wildeye's are a sturdy bait but the tails do get bit off so I thought stocking up a little was called for.

Speaking of Gander Mtn, I browsed around in the Baxter store today and was less than impressed by the size and selection in the fishing department. Maybe they have not gotten around to beefing things up for Spring. I should have asked, but I figure I will be back.

Bait Monkey March Madness

This is what arrived in the mail this week. Tomorrow is a trip to Mills Fleet Farm which I have a $50 Gift Certificate for. After that, the monkey needs to go on a leash.

Interesting those bottom 2 grubs are supposed to be the same color but the big one is more purple and the smaller one is more blue.

Update: Just took some grubs out for a closer inspection and that more blue color is an illusion. The two sizes are the same color and the tail has the more purplish hue.

2010 Ice Out by Easter Update #4

Well MN Climatology is listing Lake Pepin as open on 3-24 with Cannon and Zumbro Lakes listed as partial cover. All the Southwest and South Central lakes still say ice cover, but I don't believe that is accurate. If there is an update Monday I expect we will see that some more lakes were open today.

The weather forcast into next week is upper 50's and 60's with a possible 70's. Lake ice is going to be disappearing fast next week.

FLW Tour Lake Norman Day 3

For those Fantasy Points here is that Top 10

1 THRIFT, BRYAN 13-01 (5) 16-09 (5) 16-00 (5) 45-10 (15) -
2 TRANCYGIER, RUSTY 12-11 (5) 14-14 (5) 12-15 (5) 40-08 (15) 5-02
3 MONTGOMERY, ANDY 14-05 (5) 12-01 (5) 12-09 (5) 38-15 (15) 6-11
4 SALEWSKE, RUSTY 9-05 (5) 13-05 (5) 13-09 (5) 36-03 (15) 9-07
5 TRAVIS, BRIAN 12-07 (5) 10-08 (5) 12-07 (5) 35-06 (15) 10-04
6 MORGAN, ANDY 15-00 (5) 7-01 (4) 13-02 (5) 35-03 (14) 10-07
7 MONROE, ISHAMA 13-14 (5) 8-03 (5) 12-03 (5) 34-04 (15) 11-06
8 VATALARO, VIC 12-03 (5) 11-06 (5) 10-06 (5) 33-15 (15) 11-11
9 PIRCH, CLIFFORD 12-01 (5) 10-05 (5) 11-00 (5) 33-06 (15) 12-04
10 COMBS, KEITH 11-05 (5) 11-08 (5) 10-06 (5) 33-03 (15) 12-07

Andy Morgan getting 6th and Greg Pugh getting 12th just kill me. I messed up not putting Montgomery or Travis on the team, because I think with one of those guys I probably would have had a prize worthy roster if Thrift holds on for the win.

FLW Tour Lake Norman Day 2

Here is the Top 10 on Day 2
1 THRIFT, BRYAN 13-01 (5) 16-09 (5) 29-10 (10) -
2 TRANCYGIER, RUSTY 12-11 (5) 14-14 (5) 27-09 (10) 2-01
3 MONTGOMERY, ANDY 14-05 (5) 12-01 (5) 26-06 (10) 3-04
4 CHRISTIE, JASON 16-00 (5) 10-00 (5) 26-00 (10) 3-10
5 PUGH, GREG 13-14 (5) 11-07 (5) 25-05 (10) 4-05
6 AUTEN, TODD 11-14 (5) 12-07 (5) 24-05 (10) 5-05
7 NEWTON, JONATHAN 12-07 (5) 11-08 (5) 23-15 (10) 5-11
8 HARRISON, CHIP 11-12 (5) 12-03 (5) 23-15 (10) 5-11
9 VATALARO, VIC 12-03 (5) 11-06 (5) 23-09 (10) 6-01
10 GAGLIARDI, ANTHONY 12-03 (5) 10-15 (5) 23-02 (10) 6-08

In Fantasy I have Thrift to win it and Greg Pugh, which is nice but I'm really going to need a couple of other guys to step up big tomorrow.

Facts of Fishing FYI Episode 10

The end of this one gave me a good laugh.

2010 Ice Out by Easter Update #3

No news from the bottom of the state yet, but like I posted before I was going to go out and fish me some open water today and I was a little bit surprised by just how open the GOMH was. There was easily more than a football field of open water on the Sullivan side. I didn't catch any fish which isn't that big of a surprise, but it is conceivable that I could have my first bullhead on the line by this time next week because the forecast for the next 10 days is supposed to stay mild. I stopped fishing and did a little landscaping of the rip rap on the NE and SE bridge corners. I was sitting on the SE side steps watching the sun set when a guy and his son showed up to fish. I didn't recognise them. They had minnows, but they didn't catch anything at least not while I was there. I left a little while after the sun set. It was a beautiful night with the red wing black birds singing and ducks and Canadian geese flying around. No loons yet.

(Click to enlarge for a better view)

FLW Tour Lake Norman Day 1 Weigh In (Liveblogged)

Apparently the weigh in has started and Edwin Evers was in the lead with 8lbs something. But the first guy I heard was Rob Kilby and he weighed 9 something to take the lead.

Robbie Dobson with 11 something and takes the lead, this should be strong.

George Cocheran got 5 for 8-13. Cocheran's Co-Angler weighed 10lbs.

Luke Clausen 5 fish for 11-6 into 2nd. He whined about how he can't get big fish.

Ish "I love this lake" "I want to fish until dark" 13-14 and into the lead. WOW!!! Never would have guessed that after he sucked it up in Cali the last two weeks.

Randy Tharp, didn't get a limit. Lost a good fish has 9-13 on 4 fish.

Rusty somebody just weighed 12 something to go into 2nd.

Greg Pugh 13-14 tied with Ish

Shoot had to take a phone call probably missed 4 or 5 guys

Facebook Friend Art Ferguson(Sp) 5 for 9-5

Another guy got 13-14, said he lost the fish to have 18lbs.

Andy Montgomery 14-5 and into the lead.

Scott Suggs 5 for 9-13 currently 14th

Andy Morgan "I like Lake Norman, it fits my style." 15-00 and into the lead.

Ott Defoe 3 fish only for 3 something. This one is bad for the fantasy team.

Steve Kennedy on 6 or 7 hours of practice has 11lbs something.

And Charlie Evans leaves

Shin 9-6 didn't have a fish until 1PM

Chad Grigsby "scrambled around caught a limit" "pimping his sponsor Goodwill" Only 8lbs something.

Tom Mann Jr. lost a big spot,"that's fishin'" 10-8.

Chip Harrison with 11 something.

Bud Pruitt "caught them on bottom, the middle, and the top"

More tails of woe on lost fish

Dion pimping Chevy Pro Night

Dog is barking gotta see what that is about...

...wan't anything, big surprise.

Jim Moynagh "This has been a great lake for me in the last 3 years" "Not biting for me the way they have for me" 9-13. Doesn't sound like he is confident at all.

David Fritts caught them a bunch of different ways. Doesn't think the largemouth are really up yet, thinks fishing will get better.

Lots of fish on the shakey head but lots of other stuff too.

Ron Shuffield 10-2, thinks later flights will have better weights.

Mike Wurm 8-13

Mike Bennett "it will keep me in the hunt" 11-3

Brett Hite "I had a pretty good practice" "They are coming in" 9-3

Guy says he broke off a $40 bait. Ouch!

"Kat" has boat problems blew her motor but got 5-5.

Jason Christie "I got lucky and caught 2 good one's" 16-00 and into the lead. Says nobody is fishing around him and he thinks the fish are coming to him. His biggest was 5-1.

Dan Morehead only 3 fish, "things changed, didn't correct to it."

Terry Bolton "fished all up and down the lake" pimps his Yami. Didn't catch his weight.

Clark W. "caught on a shakey head which I really don't like doing" 10-6

Stetson Blaylock "I had one of the worst days mechanically that I've ever had" Not talking about his boat 6-7. Stetson won here last year.

Charlie Evans is back

Matt Peters only 2-15, couldn't get them on a jerkbait.

Brent Ehrler 8-15 OUCH!

Cliff Perch "had a good day, caught a lot of fish" 12-1 puts him in 12th Place

Guido "This lake is a great lake, it's a little off right now" 10-11

Chad Morganthaler Got 5 but didn't catch a lot 8-9.

Charlie has left again...

Looks like they have a break before the last flight shows up.

Dave Lefebre only 4 fish, thought he was going to do well. Was fishing out deep and said they left. He couldn't get bit. 6-8, Not Good

Mark Rose "I really had a good practice" 9-3

Bryan Thrift "I think the fish are setting up for what I want to do" 13-1 into 9th.

Scott Martin only 4 fish "had the bites to have a decent bag" 6-9, Ouch!

Some guys are saying it was tougher than they expected and some guys have just smacked em'.

Man I'm hungry when will this weigh in end?

David Dudley 10-6 for 36th at this point.

Co-angler Robert Adams Man that dude was big.

Larry Nixon "You ever feel snake bitten?" 1 for 1-12 OUCH!

Joe Thomas 7-9 on fast moving baits.

Man Chad Brauer sounds just like his dad.

Jimmy Houston only 4 keepers caught 30 or 40 fish. "I had to work real hard not to catch a limit today" 5-1.

JT Kenney 12-7 all caught on a jig.

Jay Yelas "I never got a good bite today" 8-7.

David Walker "I tried everything" 8-9

John Newton pimping National Guard 12-7 into 12th.

Jacob Powroznik 9-13 another fantasy disappointment

Hoernke 5 fish for 10-7 and another fantasy disappointment

Gags 5 fish for 12-3

4:21PM Weigh IN OVER

Here is the Top 10
1 CHRISTIE, JASON 16-00 (5) 16-00 (5) -
2 MORGAN, ANDY 15-00 (5) 15-00 (5) 1-00
3 MONTGOMERY, ANDY 14-05 (5) 14-05 (5) 1-11
4 PUGH, GREG 13-14 (5) 13-14 (5) 2-02
5 MONROE, ISHAMA 13-14 (5) 13-14 (5) 2-02
6 WELLMAN, NATE 13-14 (5) 13-14 (5) 2-02
7 MCDONALD, TIM 13-07 (5) 13-07 (5) 2-09
8 DEVERE, JOHN 13-05 (5) 13-05 (5) 2-11
9 THRIFT, BRYAN 13-01 (5) 13-01 (5) 2-15
10 TRANCYGIER, RUSTY 12-11 (5) 12-11 (5) 3-05

My FLW Tour Lake Norman Fantasy Bass Fishing Lineup

Bryan Thrift Winner 45lbs 8ozs
MICHAEL BENNETT PANAMA CITY, FL
OTT DEFOE KNOXVILLE, TN
BRENT EHRLER REDLANDS, CA
SEAN HOERNKE THE WOODLANDS, TX
ANDY MORGAN DAYTON, TN
JIM MOYNAGH CARVER, MN
JACOB POWROZNIK PRINCE GEORGE, VA
GREG PUGH CULLMAN, AL
CLARK WENDLANDT LEANDER, TX

I put pretty much zero work into paying attention to what was going on after I set my line up last week.

I will...

... go throw some casts into open water today.

Bassdem On Making Choices

Move or Stay: An Undeniably Difficult Question. Over at the blog I Am A Bass Fisherman Bassdem has written a very thoughtful essay on the decisions that face all fisherman in there pursuit of angling success.

I highly recommend you give it a read.

Cyberfish: Panfish Stud!

However, what is with that reel?

Bass Blogging: Ross Returns & Victoria is Pissed

Ross of Ross Talks Fishing, a Minnesocold bass fishing blog, is back to posting. One of his first efforts is a take down of Skeet Reese and in another posts he builds up Byron the Bachelor and Clear Lake Elite Series Champ. Welcome back to blogging Ross.

Victoria Taber fished as a Co-Angler at a WON Bass tournament on Lake Havasu. Day 1 went well, However her Day 2 partner "Egg Salad" left something to be desired.

For the tournament Victoria came in 83rd out of 90 and Tami Curtis came in 30th. As far as I can gather it's a Pro/Co shared weight format. Hopefully Tami will be blogging about this one soon. This particular tournament was won on the Pro side by Western bass fishing legend Mike Folkestad who will also probably be blogging about the tournament soon.

Brent Chapman has blogged his Clear Lake Elite Series experience...

2010 Elite Series Clear Lake Day Final (Liveblogged)

Could BassTrakk be right and Byron and Guy have goose eggs? If so Bill Lowen walks away if it. Only the weigh-in will tell.

Well BassCam seems to show Byron with fish, so there is a good chance it is Velvicks tournament.

What is this? Am I going to get to watch the weigh-in today?

I saw the National Anthem and now Elvis and Trip are shooting the breeze.

Yes here comes Biffle with 5 Fish 22-15 for the day for 81-14.

Next is Skeet 25-1 for Skeet 85-3, "I had a big swim bait all day long" "I realized where they were yesterday" says he lost a 7lber right at the end of the day. Thinks he will be leading AOY points coming out of Cali. "If I don't see anything else this season I want to see Guy Eaker qualify for the classic.

Brian Snowden won his first boat at clear lake, only had 4 fish today.

Boyd Duckett 17-13 for 79-8. Catching them on Berkley Chiggar craw, a few on swimbait. Skeet gets a hard time about losing to Boyd in the Classic, it was pretty funny.

Matt Herren only 13-14 "My pattern died"

Jared Lintner "The Milkman" 5 for 16-1 for 78-9 "set a record today for smallest bag at Clear Lake". Says he lost some good fish today. Pimping the Revo Toro for swimbait fishing.

Terry Butcher former full time Bull rider. Threw a Boogie bait.

Bradley Roy with 15-9 for 78-11. They call him "Pampers" "Tried to swing for the fence and obviously I missed." Thanks sponsors and family. Was using a spining rod and fishing a jerkbait. "Today the hitch didn't come up."

Randy Howell with 18-14 and 86-2 takes lead. Threw swimbait with no luck was hurting right up until the end of the day. For the tournament had a early jerkbait bite. Today started with a big swimbait and thinks it might have scarred his jerkbait fish away.

Guy Eaker with 22-7 for 90-11 and into the lead. "I can't believe the fish we caught in 1 place." Bill Lowen was fishin' shallow and Guy was fishing deeper. "The Good Lord blessed me the do this for 35 years and I give Him all the credit."

Bill Lowen 23-0 for the lead with 92-9. "There is to much clear water here" "I am not a swimbait fisherman and that is what you need to do to win here." Caught fish on black/blue Chatterbait and swim jig. Says he had 3 5lber hooked outside the mouth today that had to go back thanks to Cali law. "The water got cleaner as the tournament went on" Had an early limit.

Byron Velvick 22-14 for the win 98-6. His big fish was 6-2. "I love clear lake man, this place rocks." Need to fish a swimbait real slow, most guys reel them in to fast. Was using a brand new bait that came through the weeds good. Likes to doctor up the swimbaits, wants them to have a scent trail. Says high to Dad and Armed Forces. Sounded like he believes in a slow stop and go, stop and go, retrieve for the swimbait.

Post Script: I am not a Byron fan thanks to his appearance on the Bachelor where I thought he came off as a total creep. I would have much rather seen Bill Lowen or Guy Eaker win this one. Still Congratulations Byron!!! Clearly the guy can fish Clear Lake.

Now when can I switch my fantasy line up. My year is in the super suck truck.

Here are the final standings:
1 Byron Velvick 5 29- 0 5 22- 0 5 24- 8 5 22-14 20 98- 6
2 Bill Lowen 5 22-14 5 22- 9 5 24- 2 5 23- 0 20 92- 9
3 Guy Eaker 5 21-14 5 22- 6 5 24- 0 5 22- 7 20 90-11
4 Randy Howell 5 23- 3 5 23- 7 5 20-10 5 18-14 20 86- 2
5 Skeet Reese 5 20- 4 5 18-12 5 21- 2 5 25- 1 20 85- 3
6 Tommy Biffle 5 16- 8 5 21-13 5 20-10 5 22-15 20 81-14
7 Terry Butcher 5 18- 3 5 21-13 5 22-12 5 17-12 20 80- 8
8 Bradley Roy 5 19- 8 5 22- 1 5 22- 9 5 15- 9 20 79-11
9 Boyd Duckett 5 17-14 5 20-14 5 22-15 5 17-13 20 79- 8
10 Jared Lintner 5 23- 4 5 17-14 5 21- 6 5 16- 1 20 78- 9
11 Brian Snowden 5 17- 6 5 21- 3 5 22-12 4 14-11 19 76- 0
12 Matt Herren 5 21-13 5 18- 6 5 21-12 5 13-14 20 75-13

A Blog worth your time.

Cappy's Blog- Stories From An American Angler Is a blog I just discovered thanks to a Google Ad of all things. Cappy is a fisherman out of Illinois that is trying to start and organization called Cast Across America. Cappy is a good story teller and writer. It seems to be a multi-species affair, but Cappy is definitely a bass guy, so I consider this a bass fishing blog.

Another new blog, that I don't know if it will be worth your time or not because there is almost nothing there is:
David Pechacek's Fishing The biggest thing of note here is that it is yet another Minnesocold bass fishing blog.

D & M Custom Baits Piranha In Action

Last year I was sent some complimentary D & M Custom Baits Piranha's and Mat-Rats to try out. They proved to be an OK lure for bass and a good lure for pike. To be honest I personally prefer the feel of the vibration given out by a Strike King Pure Poison which doesn't thump as hard as the D & M Bait. Still the D & M's are a high quality bait, they have the nicest jig head of any chatterjig I've ever seen, and you won't be hurting yourself by picking up a couple.

2010 Elite Series Clear Lake Day #3

It looks like the Real-Time Leaderboard isn't making the transition to Day 3. Although I don't really know if the weigh in has started. Well I haven't even posted this yet and now it's working.

Looks like 19 year old rookie Bradley Roy will make the Top 12 as will Lowen and Eaker and probably Skeet. It's amazing that Bill Lowen and Guy Eaker are pretty much fishing the exact same water and they both came in with 24lbs within 2ozs of each other. Now they have said in an interview that if only 1 guy had it than it would be a winning spot, but I am not so sure because it seems to not be kicking out the super submarines over 7lbs.

Hmmm Skeet is now in 11th with a lot of guys yet to weigh, but none of the guys left to weigh were near the top at the end of yesterday. It will take a couple of monster sacks to bump Skeet.

Byron is in the lead with 75-8 and he gained 6 whole ounces on Bill Lowen today. So far Byron's 24-8 is the big bag of the day.

Here are the Top 12:
1 Byron Velvick
2 Bill Lowen
3 Guy Eaker
4 Randy Howell
5 Bradley Roy
6 Terry Butcher
7 Jared Lintner
8 Matt Herren
9 Boyd Duckett
10 Brian Snowden
11 Skeet Reese
12 Tommy Biffle

It's good to see that Boyd is back on the ball and big props to Bradley Roy who is definitely in contention to win if he can figure out how to bag multiple 8 pounders.

My fantasy team, not good at all.

There were 18 bags of 20lbs or more today and yesterday there were 16, so the fishing seems to be getting better. No one popped a super pig as big bass was only 7-7 today.

Dave and Dick Grzywinski are now friends

That's right folks I am now Facebook Friends with famed Minnesota Fishing Guide, "The Griz".

It's kind of wierd, The Griz doesn't have a Wall. I can't image he would be on FB much because by reputation he is always out fishing.

Ebayt Monkey Monsoor Swim Jigs

Today the Bait Monkey was very happy when 15 Tom Monsoor Swim Jigs arrived in the mail. There are 7 Blue-Purple-Pink, 7 Blue-Purple-Black, 1 Black & Red. I won these for a buck and a quarter a jig shipped which I think is good for a discontinued jig that retailed for $3 a jig.

(Click to Enlarge)

Update: since these baby's were all blue themed I had to order up myself some electric blue Action Plastic Grubs. They would be an awesome bargin if it wasn't for the shipping costs. Still I bought in bulk for cheaper than I would be able to get anywhere else, but not by much.

2010 Ice Out by Easter Update #2

Nothing to report Minnesota Climatology Minnesota's Lake Ice-Out Status webpage has not reported anything this week.

My other good source for ice out info has been down for 3 days now.

I talked with Cyberfish and he knows a guy is fishing open water near Rochester, but he wasn't sure where and it may have been a situation with current.

Elite Series Clear Lake Day 2

Here is the Top 12. Impressive to see Roy in there.
1 Byron Velvick 5 29- 0 5 22- 0 10 51- 0
2 Randy Howell 5 23- 3 5 23- 7 10 46-10
3 Bill Lowen 5 22-14 5 22- 9 10 45- 7
4 Guy Eaker 5 21-14 5 22- 6 10 44- 4
5 Bradley Roy 5 19- 8 5 22- 1 10 41- 9
6 Jared Lintner 5 23- 4 5 17-14 10 41- 2
7 Bobby Lane 5 16- 3 5 24-13 10 41- 0
8 Matt Herren 5 21-13 5 18- 6 10 40- 3
9 Terry Butcher 5 18- 3 5 21-13 10 40- 0
10 Grant Goldbeck 5 19- 2 5 20- 5 10 39- 7
11 Skeet Reese 5 20- 4 5 18-12 10 39- 0
12 Greg Hackney 5 16- 9 5 22- 5 10 38-14

My Fantasy Team
Skeet 11th
Rojas 24th
KVD 59th
Roumbanis 70th
Ish 75th
All I can say is ouch, the past two weeks have been about the worst fantasy line ups I've ever had.

The Weigh-In has started...



John Murray is going Hero or Zero...

2010 Elite Series Clear Lake Day 1

Top 12
1 Byron Velvick 5 29- 0 5 29- 0
2 Jared Lintner 5 23- 4 5 23- 4
3 Randy Howell 5 23- 3 5 23- 3
4 Bill Lowen 5 22-14 5 22-14
5 Guy Eaker 5 21-14 5 21-14
6 Matt Herren 5 21-13 5 21-13
7 Denny Brauer 5 21- 9 5 21- 9
8 Kelly Jordon 5 21- 8 5 21- 8
9 Jeff Kriet 5 21- 4 5 21- 4
10 Skeet Reese 5 20- 4 5 20- 4
11 Matt Greenblatt 5 19-13 5 19-13
12 Gary Klein 5 19-10 5 19-10

Outstanding day for Hellabass who has Velvick, Lintner, Kriet, and Skeet.

I've got Skeet 10th, Rojas 19th, KVD 51st, Roumba 78th, Ish 82nd. Pathetic!!!

The weigh in has started...

Ish is behind the 8 ball again. 3 for 8-4.
Roumbanis just 4 for 11-10, I more fish would have really helped.
Skeet with 20-4 which looks to be pretty good for today.
Rojas did OK with 19lbs
KVD with a mediocre 15lbs

I am really going to need a big Day 2.


Bada Bing here is my Fantasy Line Up:
KVD
Skeet
Rojas
Roumbanis
Ish

You might want to check out these Elite Series anglers blogs:
John Murray
Bradley Roy
Kota Kiriyama
Brent Chapman
Mark Menendez

From Facebook Clark Rheem thinks he may be onto something. Rick Clunn says it's tough and Mark Davis didn't have anything to say.

An Interesting Take On Trailer Hooks @ Big Indiana Bass

Better Trailer Hook Setups is a post that I think you might find intersting at the excellent bass fishing blog Big Indiana Bass.

I don't use trailer hooks a whole lot unless I am using a buzzbait. I wonder if people ever put trailer hooks on swim jigs?

Tackle Warehouse Opener

Despite the fact that I went to bed relatively early compared to when I have been getting to sleep this week. I still didn't wake up until late in the day. It got to 53°F today but I think it was slightly cooler than that when I opened the Tackle Warehouse up. The "Tackle Warehouse" is where I keep most of my fishing gear. I didn't spend a whole lot of time there today, but kind of shuffled through looking at things. Here is a few pictures.

(Click to Enlarge for a better view)

Update: Last year my first day in the Tackle Warehouse was March 22nd.

Update: Check out the TBrinksFishing.com blog Tackle Cave...

Hmmmm

Apparently Cyberfish of MT Bucket Blog was so worried I was going to steal the picture of this fish, that he marked it so everyone would know where it came from. Good Call!!!

More of Cyberfish's pictures of that ice outing here...

Frenzy Bubble Pop

I know the pic isn't good, but this is a Berkley Frenzy Popper of a color I've never seen a BFP have before. This used BFP was for auction at Ebay and I was willing to bid up to about $16 shipped to get the lure; It went for $16.41.

If I had won the lure I don't know if I would have fished with it or not.

On another note a BFP in the ghost shad color that had a minimum bid of $5.99 + $1.90 shipping was not bid on at all.

In case Tami reads this post, BFP stands for Berkley Frenzy Popper, lol.

2010 Ice Out By Easter Update #1

Yes folks it's that time of the year here in the North country. We are now counting the days until ice starts leaving the lakes in Minnesota. And that means of coarse that my blog will be following the Minnesota Climatology Minnesota's Lake Ice-Out Status webpage. The actual URL is http://climate.umn.edu/doc/ice_out/ice_out_status_10.htm and if you change the number 10 at the end of the URL to a different number back through 99, you can see the ice out dates from 1999; Put 00 and you get 2000 and so on...

Something new they have added this year is a Ice out status - spring 2010 MN state map.

(Click to enlarge)

At the map webpage you can hover over the lakes and get info: This addition is pretty cool.

I suspect the 1st lakes are going to be opening up late this week or early next week due to the fact the weather has been mild and will continue to be mild this week.

The closest lake to me is of coarse Sullivan in the "Central" column followed by Mille Lacs in the "East Central" column back on the full lake listing page. As for me I keep track of many area lakes: Platte, Sullivan, Rock, Bulldog, Long with maybe Erskine and Shakopee. Easter is on April 4th this year and so I doubt the ice will be out around here quite that early. I am thinking the 10th of April is a little more realistic, but one can always hope. Global Warming: Bring It!!!

Dude, when can I make Elite Series Fantasy Bass Fishing line up Changes?

More Bass Fishing Blogs

Mark Menedez @ Largemouth Mafia Largemouth Mafia is a social networking site for bass fishermen and other fishermen and Elite Series Pro Mark Menendez has a blog there. Found this blog because of Facebook.

Donna Rutledge....Bass Fishing Yankee (this is a blogspot blog) She was a Women's Bassmaster Tour Pro who was left in the learch, see this post entitled "Sadness". The blog has been around since October 09, and there have been a total of 15 Posts in that time. The most recent post is March 4th. Found this blog thanks to Tami Curtis.

Crankbaits: I think this is a blog/online store. Can't say I've seen anything else like it. Found this blog thanks to Tami Curtis.

She Loves to Fish.com This is the blog of Ashley Rae out of Canada and she says bass are her favorite, though she obviously does quite a bit of walleye fishing. It looks like her main body of water is the Bay of Quinte. Kind of strange that this blog apparently has two URL's. Found this blog thanks to Tami Curtis. Ashley has a Facebook Fan Page. This lady angler is big into doing video's and they are pretty good.

Victoria Taber It looks like this is one hot bass fisherwomen out of Cali. She is friend of Tami Curtis and as far as I can tell also fishes against Tami. I think her husband (or boyfriend Duane) must be a professional angler and she fishes as a Co. Naturally found this one thanks to Tami Curtis. Now that I have read her blog it's pretty clear that her guy Duane is an aspiring semi-pro who is a fire fighter by trade.

Travis Moran- Dream Catcher 33 This nice looking site is kind of a website/blog hybrid. He has a blog that has 1 post, but the "News" is very bloggish as well. This guy aspires to be a professional fisherman. This is another buddy of Tami Curtis.

RBBassFishing.net- This is a bass fishing news website out of California that is kind of a website/blog hybrid. Found thanks to Tami Curtis.

Jen's Fishing Adventures- This is a brand new blog this month started by the President of the Humboldt State University College Bass Fishing Team. Humboldt State is in California. Tami was on top of this one as well.

If you didn't guess, Tami Curtis has added a new blogroll and I was just picking off all the bass fishing blogs I had not found yet.

Why do fish die in the winter?

Nate's Fishing Blog has a excellent but sort of long post that gives the answer. Nate runs a pond management business and knows his stuff. Basically it is a post about why winter kills happen and I found his thoughts highly interesting.

Money quote:
After all this rambling, the answer to the question of what causes fish to die in the winter is simple: they either suffocate to death, or they end up on my dinner plate. Both of these causes of death will end the life of thousands of fish every winter.

Skeet in Parade Magazine

Up close with pro bass fisherman Skeet Reese
Why He's The Reel Deal
by Harlan Coben

It's an excellent read.

Plus Check this out, Skeet on the Cali Delta for Classic Patterns

Elite Series Cali Delta Day Final

And now we know, it's Little John Crews by an ounce over Skeet. Hackney was 1 good 2.5lb keeper away from winning. Congratulations Little John!!!

No time to liveblog the weigh in, which I now believe starts at 6PM. I've got some lures I want to go test out.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apparently they are running BassTrakk today:

11:05AMCST:
1 Greg Hackney * 15 57 lbs 5 oz -- 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
2 John Crews * 14 54 lbs 14 oz 2 lbs 7 oz 1 3 lbs 0 oz 1 3 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
3 Michael Iaconelli * 15 54 lbs 10 oz 2 lbs 11 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
4 Skeet Reese * 15 52 lbs 10 oz 4 lbs 11 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
5 Stephen Browning * 12 47 lbs 9 oz 9 lbs 12 oz 1 1 lbs 8 oz 1 1 lbs 8 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
6 James Niggemeyer * 12 46 lbs 15 oz 10 lbs 6 oz 1 4 lbs 8 oz 1 4 lbs 8 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
7 Rick Clunn * 14 46 lbs 8 oz 10 lbs 13 oz 1 2 lbs 12 oz 1 2 lbs 12 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
8 Denny Brauer * 16 46 lbs 0 oz 11 lbs 5 oz 1 5 lbs 0 oz 1 5 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
9 Dustin Wilks * 15 45 lbs 12 oz 11 lbs 9 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
10 Shaw E Grigsby 13 45 lbs 12 oz 11 lbs 9 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
11 Gary Klein * 13 44 lbs 3 oz 13 lbs 2 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
12 Zell Rowland * 11 41 lbs 8 oz 15 lbs 13 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz

5:00PMCST:
1 Skeet Reese * 20 69 lbs 14 oz -- 5 17 lbs 4 oz 6 18 lbs 4 oz 1 1 lbs 0 oz
2 John Crews * 18 67 lbs 3 oz 2 lbs 11 oz 5 15 lbs 5 oz 5 15 lbs 5 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
3 Greg Hackney * 18 65 lbs 13 oz 4 lbs 1 oz 3 8 lbs 8 oz 3 8 lbs 8 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
4 Stephen Browning * 16 58 lbs 9 oz 11 lbs 5 oz 5 12 lbs 8 oz 6 14 lbs 0 oz 1 1 lbs 8 oz
5 James Niggemeyer * 16 57 lbs 8 oz 12 lbs 6 oz 5 15 lbs 1 oz 8 19 lbs 3 oz 3 4 lbs 2 oz
6 Rick Clunn * 18 54 lbs 13 oz 15 lbs 1 oz 5 11 lbs 1 oz 6 11 lbs 13 oz 1 0 lbs 12 oz
7 Michael Iaconelli * 15 54 lbs 10 oz 15 lbs 4 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
8 Dustin Wilks * 17 50 lbs 12 oz 19 lbs 2 oz 2 5 lbs 0 oz 2 5 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
9 Denny Brauer * 17 48 lbs 0 oz 21 lbs 14 oz 2 7 lbs 0 oz 2 7 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
10 Gary Klein * 14 47 lbs 3 oz 22 lbs 11 oz 1 3 lbs 0 oz 1 3 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
11 Shaw E Grigsby 13 45 lbs 12 oz 24 lbs 2 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz
12 Zell Rowland * 11 41 lbs 8 oz 28 lbs 6 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz 0 0 lbs 0 oz

If Hack fills his limit than this thing looks like a 3 way race.

Arrived In the Mail

I would say there is a fair chance these get an in the water inspection at the GOMH in the next few days, maybe even today seeing as how it is supposed to be as warm as it's gonna get this week today.

Update: I have now put these guys through their paces and I like what I see. Their action is more like the DM Custom Baits Piranha than a Strike King Pure Poison. The vibration is a little bit tighter than the DM lure.

No I did not catch a fish, which is no surprise there was a 35 yard by 10 yard open channel at the GOMH. Unfortunately I forgot the camera.

When Will I See The Driveway? (#7)

Well today it's official, NO MORE SNOW/ICE ON THE DRIVEWAY!!!
(Click to enlarge)

As can be seen in this last pic, the snow is also fast disappearing from the yard.


When Will I see the Driveway?
When Will I see the Driveway? (#2)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#3)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#4)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#5)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#6)

Note: This is a real possibility that central Minnesota will yet receive a snow storm with significant accumulations. If that happens I don't have any plans to start this process over again.

Very soon I will once again this year be keeping track of the progression from ice to open water here in Minnesota.

Elite Series Cali Delta Day 3 (Liveblogged)

The Weigh-In has now started.

The big news: Stephen Browning crashes and burns. Just 1 fish for 13 ounces.

Meanwhile Greg Hackney sacks 25-7, anchored by an 8-10 and he goes into the lead with 57-5.

Ike has moved up to 2nd with 54-10.

Weights are way down today. It looks like it was about as bad as Day 1.

The Wolverine got only 3 fish today and is out of the Top 10.

6:35PM Weigh In over.

I believe there were only 16 limits and 1 Skunk

KVD finished in 29th

Here is the Top 10
1 Greg Hackney 5 14-14 5 17- 0 5 25- 7 15 57- 5
2 Michael Iaconelli 5 14- 0 5 25-12 5 14-14 15 54-10
3 Skeet Reese 5 15- 1 5 18-13 5 18-12 15 52-10
4 John Crews 4 15- 2 5 21-13 4 14-15 13 51-14
5 Stephen Browning 5 21-11 5 23- 9 1 0-13 11 46- 1
6 Dustin Wilks 5 14-11 5 14- 6 5 16-11 15 45-12
7 Shaw E Grigsby 5 14- 8 5 18-14 3 12- 6 13 45-12
8 Gary Klein 5 13- 9 5 21-10 3 9- 0 13 44- 3
9 Rick Clunn 4 9-13 5 18-15 4 15- 0 13 43-12
10 James Niggemeyer 1 2- 8 5 18- 9 5 21- 6 11 42- 7

Zell Rowland was 1st out of the cut, still I think this was his best finish in a long time.

I would think this one is most likely a race between the top 4.

Elite Series Cali Delta Day 3

Apparently not a single Elite Series Rookie made the cut.

Gary Klein doesn't seem to think he is on any really big fish, but he must believe he can put together a couple more really good bags because he doesn't plan to switch areas.

Why can't I change my fantasy roster for Clear Lake, now? Actually I'm probably only going to get rid of 1 guy even though my roster has sucked for the Delta.

The Ninja is blogging it...

When Will I See The Driveway? (#6)

We are really getting somewhere now.
(Click to enlarge)

When Will I see the Driveway?
When Will I see the Driveway? (#2)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#3)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#4)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#5)

Update: 4:30AM on the 13th and all the ice is not gone quite yet. But I virtually guarantee it will be gone by picture time.

New FLW Logo Policy

See BassFan Dock Talk for the Details:

IMO- It's pretty much still a load of crap for the anglers. This new policy isn't much better than nothing. The no BASS or PAA logo's is petty and in certain categories anglers may still be screwed out of incentive programs that require a patch.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Elite Series Cali Delta Day 2 (with Liveblogging)

I am watching Hooked Up with Zona and Sanders for the 1st time. It's pretty good. Wonder if anything is up at Bass Zone? (Ok apparently Wide Open starts at 9:05PM) As for Hooked UP, I have no clue why they don't archive it so it can be watched anytime.

Send congratulations to John Murray for making the cut here... John has to be feeling fortunate he only caught 3 fish for 5-12 today. That puts him 4 bass shy of his limit, yet he still made the cut in 43rd.

Unfortunately blogger Brent Chapman didn't make the cut.

Liveblogged:
The Weigh-In has now started.
The weights are up today.

Bradley Roy caught 12-8 for a total of 18-14 which I think will get him in the cut, but it might not. Quite a few people so far who were behind him yesterday did a leap frog.

Currently
Gary Klein is in the lead with 35-3
Scott Rook has big bag at 25-11
Greg Vinson has big bass with a 8-10

BAM: Stephen Browning sacked 23-9 for a 45-4 Total, Yes that is 10lbs on 2nd Place at the Moment.

Apparently Clark Reehm was late and will get a 2lb penalty. Won't matter much, he is well in the cut with 26-10.

John Crews moves into 2nd with 36-15

Ike pounds 25-12 to move into 2nd with 39-12.

Skeet caught 18-13 which moves him into 5th for now with 33-14. Hmmm how are my other Fantasy anglers doing.
Ish is on the cut bubble for sure with 19-4 total.
Rojas only caught 8-7 today but will make the cut with 20-1.
Aaron Martens is out of the cut with 16-14
Boom Boom Roumba laid an egg, no better than 84th.

Only a few left will Ish and Bradley Roy make the cut? I think Roy is screwed.

Unbelievable Tim Horton comes in with the Skunk and Roy gets the 50 spot. Ish in 49th. All Horton needed to bounce Roy was 3-11.

The weigh in is over.

Correction: apparently the cut spot is 49 not 50 so 19 year old rookie Bradley Roy was 1st man out. I'm confused Bassfan says the Top 50 make it and according to the Live Leaderboard Roy is #50

Update: Clarification from the Bass Zone, only the Top 47 anglers will fish Day 3. So that means my guy Ish is out also. I am assuming the fact that there are less Elite Series anglers than in years past is the reason for the change.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Murray blogs Day 1... John is in 16th place and did it on only 3 fish.



The Youngest Gun:This is Bradley Roy who is on the Elite Series at just 19 years old. His official website is a BLOG. I like this kid already. And guess what, he is keeping the blog up to date. GO READ IT!!!

If you are on Facebook I recommend you sign up on his Fan Page...

From what I have seen, Bradley seems like a fine kid and I wish him well. He has a shot at the cut because he is sitting in 47th Place with 3 for 6-6. That is a better day than Ish, A-Mart, Boom Boom, and Mark Tyler. I am thinking he is probably going to need to up his weight by about 10lbs to make the cut.

A-Mart: Apparently he has a leg injury that is drastically effecting his fishing. I think I read a comment on Facebook that said he looked like he was in a lot of pain from what could be seen on the Bass Cast Cam. I wish I had known this at this time yesterday, so I could have dropped him for KVD. Not that KVD is killing it, but I think an injured A-Mart is serious trouble. You just can't fish very well on one leg.

Update on A-Mart from Bassmaster.com: "The diagnosis: a possible tear in his right calf. Martens was given a stronger painkiller, and planned to ice and rest his injury as much as possible last night."

When Will I See The Driveway? (#5)

For the amusement of Tami Curtis, here is more melting snow and ice:

The warm and rain are really starting to take a toll. I would say the driveway is now about 90% snow and ice free. This first picture is maybe a little deceiving. Click to enlarge and it gives a little better idea.


This pic clearly shows most of the bright area on the 1st photo is not actually ice but water reflection.
At this pace the driveway will probably be ice free on Saturday.

When Will I see the Driveway?
When Will I see the Driveway? (#2)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#3)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#4)

Elite Series Cali Delta Day 1

Well Bassfan's the start of Elite's Season is now upon us.

The Weigh-In has now started.
Dave Wolak with the early lead with 19-8

Notables:
Skeet 15-1
Ike 14-0
Biffle 1 for 5-10
A-Mart 4 for 5-0 (Not good for the fantasy squad at all)
Boom Boom Roumba 2 for 4-9 (Uggggg!)
The Squirrel 14-3
The Ninja currently in 2nd with 15-2
Tim Horton and Guy Eaker also with 15-2
KVD 9-6
Some guy named Dennis Tietje is in 2nd with 15-4
Rojas 4 for 11-10 (I suppose this one could be a lot worse for fantasy)
Right now John Crews has big bass with a 7-2
Stephen Browning takes the lead with 21-11. He did really well the last time at the Cal Delta.
The Wolverine 15-13 into 4th Place
Ish 2 for 5-13 (My fantasy team is now in serious trouble, I am going to need some big Day 2's.)

My Fantasy Line Up as of Day 1
11th, 29th, 53rd, 64th, 67th Not Good at all.


Wow Big Show and Duckett with the Skunk!!!! Could it be the rods?

Earlier Today:
The big questions in my mind:

Will KVD win even more tournaments this year and will he get himself a 3rd consecutive AOY title?

Can Ike stay on fire?

Can Skeet stay on fire?

Can MN kid Derrick Remitz return to his Rookie of the Year form?

Will the Cali events play big in the AOY race for the West Coasters?

As for Live Coverage:
It looks like there will be Bass Cam's, Bass Cast, Bass Trakk, Hooked Up, and Weigh-In's, so lots of options. I really have not paid attention to what Bass Zone is doing this year.

My Fantasy Team:
Skeet
Martens
Rojas
Boom Boom the Roomba Man
Ish

I went big Cali and "West Side" on this one but will change it up some for Clear Lake. Yes I probably am a fool for leaving Van Dam off. Hard to believe Ish only got onto 7.5% of fantasy teams.

When Will I See The Driveway? (#4)

Update: 5:15PM I would have to say the driveway is now at least 50% free of snow and ice.

Lots of progress today thanks to the rain
Forecast: Temp in 40's, more rain
(Click to Enlarge)

When Will I see the Driveway?
When Will I see the Driveway? (#2)
When Will I see the Driveway? (#3)

Irwin Speaks...

An Open Letter Regarding FLW Outdoors Kind of sounds like they may change their angler sponsorship policies some.

Frenzy Poppers On Ebay Part 2

For Part 1 See: Frenzy Poppers On Ebay

The auctions are now over and the results are in.

The Grey Ghost Frenzy Popper went for $10.09
The Chart Shore Minnow Frenzy Popper went for $9.04
The Rainbow Trout Frenzy Popper went for $5.53

The Grey Ghost and Shore Minnow were bid up by the same two bidders and the Rainbow trout had the bidder that won all three and a different bidder than the more expensive auctions. Since the same bidder won all 3 I suspect there will be a single $2.50 shipping charge.

So they went for an average of $9.05 per bait. In December 2008 I was buying them on Ebay for $3 to $4 per lure shipped. Glad I stocked up when the getting was good. I have no plans to sell mine for now. If they start going for $20 a lure I may change my mind on that.