Platte Lake Sept 30th: Avoided the Skunk

Tonight I got out from about 6PM until dark around 7:30PM. Today was near 70 degrees with a 10MPH W NW wind. The wind steadily diminished and was non-existent by 7PM.

I headed out to the Big West Bay (Platte Public Access Bay) and planned to fish water that I caught 3 fish on Tuesday Night. I started quite a ways West of the area I got the fish and drifted with the wind along the sparse but definite rice edge. Right away I missed a hit from what I think was a small pike. I threw a Herb's Dilly, Buzzjet Jr., Repo Man, Texas rigged Yum Wooly Bug, and a spinnerbait. Nothing was happening and there was very little surface activity, whereas on Tuesday night there was a fair amount.

At around 7PM when the sunset I bailed to try the North side of the bay by the maidencaine. As I was getting close to the start of the rice I saw some rings in the first area of rice. I shut it down and started fishing a pumpkin Zoom Horny Toad. On about my 4th cast it got nailed by a big bass, but I didn't hook up. A few casts later I had a little pike harass the Horny Toad. I saw a little bit of movement on the surface and quickly moved to cast in that area. I made several casts with nothing, but on about the 5th cast something waked behind the bait, so I killed it and the fish took it. I set the hook and landed an 18" bass.

A couple minutes later I had a 15" class bass blast the Horny Toad, on my hookset the fish skipped across the water which caused it to get loose. I got a hit a few casts later and landed a little pike. That was my last bite.

Finally a 5er And A Nice Pike To Boot

Today I fished Platte Lake from about 4PM to 7:15PM. Conditions a first were mostly cloudy with a 15-20MPH wind out of the NW. About 6:00PM the sun came out and by 6:30 the wind died down to nothing. Temps were in the mid to high 60's. It turned into a beautiful night for fishing.

To get out of the wind I headed to the NW corner of the lake and I went shallow. I started off in the reeds near a rice bed that was practically non-existent at this point. Right away I got a small pike on a green/yellow Herbs Dilly Buzzbait. I moved up very close to shore into pads and sparse rice and scored a 13.25" bass on a watermelon red Zoom Horny Toad. As I moved North I got a 24" pike on the Horny Toad, which came off during the fight. I went a long way in great looking water with nothing. I wasn't seeing any fish activity at all.

I got to a spot that has traditionally been good where there is pads and rice that give way to reeds and sparse rice. I cast into the reeds with a pumpkin Zoom Horny Toad when I brought it out into the open space before the pads start a fish blew up and missed 10 feet from the boat. I figured it was a pike, but cast back anyway. The fish blew up on it again about 6 feet from the boat. I quickly discovered it wasn't a pike, but a big bass.
She went 20" and looked to be a touch over 5lbs on my Rapala spring scale, which I believe is pretty accurate. This is my biggest largemouth in several years.

I ended up working out of the reeds and into the deeper sparse rice when I had a swirl on the Herb's Dilly. I cast back a couple of times but it wouldn't go. So I cast back in with a crawdad color Yum Wooly Bug. The fish hit just as I got into some weeds and it didn't hook up. I cast back and it flashed but didn't get it. I was right next to the boat and it flashed again but missed. I saw it was a nice pike. I just kept shaking it right next to the boat and finally it slammed it and hooked up, fortunately with the hook safely in the side of it's mouth. It put up a good battle and finally I netted it.
The fish went 31".

Conditions basically got perfect about 20 minutes before sunset and the stuff I was fishing looked awesome, but it was totally dead water. Didn't get another bite.

Platte Lake Sept 28th

Today I got out from about 4 to 7:15PM. Air temps were in the low 60's with sun and it was pretty much calm until about 7PM when a 5MPH wind came up out of the E SE.

All my equipment was at the lake, so I didn't fish Jenny's. Off the dock I had a strike in the exact same spot I got a pike yesterday, but the fish didn't hook up and didn't go after any follow up casts.

I headed out in the boat and my first stop was at the reed bed off the North point of Channel Inn Bay. There was some activity off the deep edge of the reeds, so I started there. I had a nice bass come completely out of the water as it hit the green/yellow Herb's Dilly Buzzbait but it didn't hook up. I was seeing some activity off the reeds on the weed flat so I went that way. My first fish was a 14.25" largie on the Herb's Dilly. I also got a pike out there on a bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. Eventually I got back to the reeds and in closer to shore where it looked awesome but there were not any fish. I started working North and picked a 11.75" largie from open shoreline by where a dock used to sit. I kept working around the point to the west. This water was now shaded and the docks were worthless. I did get a couple of hits between docks on the Buzzjet Jr. but the fish didn't hook up.

Eventually I decided to motor farther West to some docks that have historically been better; They weren't. I decided to go deeper onto the flat into some reeds. I started seeing some activity. I had a 15" largie jump all over the Buzzjet Jr. in the sparse reeds. I worked west to where there were the remains of a rice bed. I nailed a 18.25" largie just before the sparse rice.

I did work into the rice edge with the Herb's Dilly but didn't get bit.

I decided to motor back to the weed flat reeds. The wind had come up at this point. I was throwing my new jet black Buzzjet and had a pike come out of the water after it but not hook up. Eventually I switched to the Paycheck Baits Repo Man and I got a 13.25" largie and a small pike on that. It was getting dark and the fish seemed to shut down so I headed in.

Fishers of Men Club Twin Cities Fall Outing Report

(FallEE WallEE the Fall Outing Tournament Trophy)

On Friday it was cold very windy and wet in the morning. Nobody wanted to go out in it. Around 1PM it dried up, still overcast, and I was willing to go out but nobody with a boat wanted too.

On Saturday I fished with Gary Pflipsen on Mule Lake. Conditions were clear, then cloudy, then clear again with little to no wind and it got warm enough that I fished for about 3 hours in a T-shirt.

When Gary and I arrived we motored a fair ways North of the access and started fishing the West shoreline. I got the first fish which was this largemouth.
It bit on a green pumpkin Strike King Pro Model tube on a leadhead jig. Gary got then next bass which was a 15+ largie caught off a dock. I got another decent bass on the tube. I was missing a few bites.

In the calm and overcast I started throwing topwater and I caught an 18" pike on a Lucky Craft Gunfish. Gary caught a nice mid 20" pike off a dock with a Senko. Finally we got down to the Narrows and on the North point I got largies number 3 & 4 on a PB&J Yum Wooly Bug. 4 Bass was the limit for bass in the FallEE WallEE Tournament. I believe bass #4 was 15" and my biggest of the day. To the East of the narrows we started seeing a lot of baitfish activity on the surface so I started throwing topwater. I got an 8" largie on a clear bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. I put on a motor oil Yum Wooly Bug and caught my second pike which was a meager 14 inches long. 2 was the tournament limit on pike and it was this fish that won me the top spot for 2010 on FallEE WallEE. I caught one more 11" largie on the bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. and a 12" largie off a dock on the Strike King tube.

When the sun came out in the afternoon the fishing got tough and I didn't catch any more fish.

As it turns out fishing was kind of tough on everybody. Several of the guys had their 4 bass, but didn't get their limit of pike. Because of this and Gary Pflipsen and Mike Thompson not participating in the tournament I won the top spot on FallEE WallEE. Gordy got second and Jim Druk got 3rd. Gordy was fishing out of his new boat on Boy Lake and Jim got his fish on Three Island Lake fishing with minnows.

Too Tired to Blog

It's 12:30AM and I think I need to go to bed. I will be blogging about the Fall Outing and I went out for a few hours on Platte last night.

Update: I pre-dated last night's Platte Report, so it is below this post.

And Bazinga, I got 21 Herb's Dilly Buzzbaits on Ebay for $30 more than half of which is shipping & handling charges.

Platte Lake Sept 27th

It was a nice day. 70+ degrees, partly cloudy to cloudy, and a 10 to 15mph West NW wind. I got out around 3:30PM.

First stop was Jenny's and I got bit off by a pike on a white Sizmic Toad.

Off the dock at the Lake Place I got a 22" pike on a wht/silver Herb's Dilly Buzzbait. I took the boat and mostly drifted towards Jenny's fishing a watermelon red Horny Toad and a green/yellow Herb's Dilly. I only got a couple of hits and didn't hook anything.

Around 6PM I moved to the North side of our bay to try around some docks. At the first dock I think I missed a fish. On the second dock I had a bass flash on my brand new bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. but it didn't get it. I pitched back in with a crawdad color Yum Wooly Bug and on about my 4th cast it got picked up and I got a 13+" bass. On the next dock down I pulled 2 bass on an electric chicken Zoom Super Fluke. Next came a big open area with scattered weeds between docks. I was throwing the bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. when it got crushed by this 15.75" largie.
In this open area I also got a 14" largie and a pike on the Buzzjet Jr. Also had a couple of blow ups that I missed.

On the next dock I got this 15+ bass, obviously on the Buzzjet Jr.


I pretty much worked to the bend South and didn't get any hits, then I quickly worked the reeds in the area I missed that big one a couple of weeks ago. Then I headed to the place I got a 19+" last week. There was baitfish activity and a couple of big swirls that I was able to cast too fairly quickly, but those fish wouldn't hit. It got dark and I went in.

Fishers of Men Club Twin Cities Fall Outing Weekend

I will be leaving tomorrow around 6AM in the morning for the Fishers of Men Fishing Club Twin Cities annual Fall Outing held once again this year out of Lutherdell Bible Camp on Boy Lake. For the past couple of years I have been fishing with Dave Lindmark in the GEM pontoon boat, but Dave won't be there this year. I have no clue who I will be fishing with and what lakes they will want to fish. It's pretty much suppose to be cloudy and very windy tomorrow out of the NW. I am going to try to talk my boater into fishing Mule Lake because it has clear water which is better with overcast/wind and it has a lot of protected shoreline from a NW wind.

Saturday is suppose to be much nicer and I'm hoping my boater will go to Townline which has good pike and bass fishing. Those are the lakes I have fished the past two years and we've done quite well.

Hopefully the rain we are getting will be gone by the time we start fishing tomorrow.

Tough, But A Good 1

In anticipation of the rain we are suppose to be getting, Dad and I pulled the dock up on to shore about 8 feet, so it won't be underwater. We got done with that around 2PM and I went out fishing.

Conditions: Overcast with a 8-12MPH East wind. At times it seemed like it was more SE and at other times more NE.

I started fishing across the bay in the reeds where I missed a big fish a little over a week ago. The reeds were dead and I don't think I even had a hit.

Next I went to a slop patch on the North End of the big middle bay. I was throwing the same Herb's Dilly buzzbait as yesterday, when it got plastered by a good one.
It was 19.25".

Down the way a little bit I got a 13.5" close to a dock on the Dilly. I worked down to the last slop patch which is basically nothing but a few pads at this point.

Next I moved all the way around the point to the NE bay where it was calm. There was some activity in this spot but all I could raise was pike. I didn't catch any. I made a move to fish the entrance to the North middle bay. I got a 13.5" on the Dilly along some bullrushes by shore and got a 14" on the Dilly in some rice with reeds. Fished some good looking pads and rice but nothing was going. On the back side of the maidencaine I got a little pike. Next I moved to where I got the big one yesterday but the whole area was totally dead, not even a pike strike. I decided to call it a day a little after 5PM

Herb's Dilly Day

Today I was out on Platte Lake from about 2PM to 6:15PM

Conditions were overcast with W NW wind blowing 8 to 18MPH

My first stop was Jenny's from shore and I had a hit on a Sizmic Toad almost up on shore. I didn't set the hook, so I don't know if it was a bass or pike.

Next I headed to the lake place and got the boat ready. I decided with the West wind to just drift the slop to the East of our lake place. Two docks down I got a 13.75" bass on the white Sizmic Toad. As I rounded the corner I had something big follow the Toad to the boat. I wasn't paying attention and didn't realise something was up until there was a big boil just after I pulled the Toad out of the water.

I decided to try a Herb's Dilly buzzbait and I had a couple of strikes right away that didn't hook up. Then I caught 14", 15", and a 15.25" and a pike. The fish definitely wanted that buzzbait. I missed a couple of more strikes. I worked my way out of the slop, then decided to go right back into a boat lane. I made a good cast into an open area in some thick stuff and was rewarded with a 15.5" largie. I had a swirl and I cast back with a Title Shot Jig with white/red Strike King Bleeding Bait Flippen Tube. The fish nailed it, but I missed the hook set. I cast back in and it got picked up, but I missed it again and it was gone. I worked the area with the Dilly. As I was ripping it out of the weeds I had a Norman Speed Clip malfunction and the Dilly disappeared. I got right to the spot, but the water was just to weedy, murky, and deep for me to get it back. Stupid mistake on my part not tying direct as soon as it was clear the fish were on the Dilly. As far as I know the Herb's Dilly with a normal buzzbait blade are not made anymore and losing one totally sucks. Fortunately I have several I picked up on Ebay and I just put on another one in the exact same color, green with yellow skirt.

It was about 4PM and I decided to make a move to the North end of the big West bay across from the Public Access on Platte. Right away I was rewarded with a 14" and 13.75" bass on a Snagproof "Buck Nasty" (brown) Ish's Phat Frog. I had a fish follow the Dilly out from the bullrushes. I cast back at the follow with the Strike King Tube and the fish hit. It was about a 23" pike. I worked my way around the bullrushes. I was casting towards the last patch of rushes that are out from shore when the water erupted on the Dilly. I knew it was a good one immediately. It stayed hooked up and I landed this 19.5" which was just under 5lbs.

I had a couple more good opportunities with the Dilly. One I think was a big pike but I couldn't hook up or they just boiled on it. My final fish was a Pike on the Sizmic Toad.

As I headed out of the junk I decided to throw my new Lunker Punker on the edge of the maidencaine. Can't say I'm real impressed with the thing, but I did have a small pike swirl on it.

I'm now 3 for 4 on fish with the Ish's Phat Frog.

Mille Lacs Skunk

Tried for some smallies today for about an hour from Eddy's Jetty (5:30-6:30PM). Didn't have a hit. Did get to try the Paycheck Baits Repo Man and a Deps Buzzjet Jr. I really like both and think they will be good for picking off fish. The Repo Man has a super smooth gliding walk the dog action that I've never seen before.

uh-oh

It's Monday, so it might be time for some Monday morning quarterbacking in regards to the now 0-2 Vikes. The loss to the Saints in New Orleans, no biggie kind of expected it. Loss to Miami in the home opener, time to hit the panic button.

I chock this one down to Chilly's hubris. Last week I witnessed lousy coaching decisions cost Arizona the game when they didn't kick field goals when they had the chance. Kind of was the same thing this week when Chilly opted not to kick a field goal at the start of the game. It turned out the Vikings needed those 3 points. I think Chilly was just too caught up in the belief that our offence would be a powerhouse just like last year. Bad call, now your 0-2.

It's clear our receiver core minus Sidney is not as good as last year and it could very well be that our offensive line isn't performing as good as last year and Brett Farve is obviously not at last years form either. The sad thing is we didn't need to perform that well offensively to beat Miami. They scored 1 touchdown on the Vikings defence.

Hate to say it, but this could turn into a lost season, fast.

Platte Pike with Pete

Today Pete and I got out around 3PM until about 8PM. Conditions were partly cloudy with a 5 to 12MPH West wind. Was windier earlier than later. Forgot the camera.

First we drifted off the weeds down past Jenny's. I got 2 small pike on a blue/white Strike King Burner Spinnerbait.

Then we went to the East shore of the Big Island and fished from the middle corner around to the West shoreline most of the way up. We were getting a few pike here and there and got several in one concentrated area on the back of the island. We decided to work ourselves back over the productive water going South. I caught 3 largies and Pete got 1. I got a couple of more pike on the South end of the island.

I think I ended up with 8 Pike and those 3 bass which were not bigger than 14". All my fish were caught on the Burner. I think Pete caught 8 Pike and the bass. When we got in Jim's grandson Landon was coming in. He said he just hammered small to medium sized bass on a buzzbait, getting a few fish on docks. He was fishing on the North end of the lake, protected from the wind for much of his fishing.

Young Man's Bass Fishing Blog

Jody's Fishing- is a bass fishing blog by student Jody White of the Virgina Tech Bass Fishing Team. Originally from Vermont he went to Virgina Tech for the fishing. It's a Blogger blog, so be sure to become a follower.

Hint- And if you are not a follower of Bass Pundit, look on the upper left at the top of the page. It says "Follow". You can follow Bass Pundit in your Blogger dashboard by clicking on that link.

Not Sure I Believe This Is Legit

Berkley Frenzy Popper sells on Ebay for 36.88 before shipping.

High Teens, believable $20+ maybe. Over $30, seriously what is that buyer thinking?

FYI- Anyone that wants to offer me $30 for a Frenzy Popper, I WILL SELL a few.

Derby Updated for Rich and New Guy Glenn Walker

Bass Pundit Minnesocold Bass Bloggers Derby 2010

Big Bass Fishing Blog News: Jay Kumar Returns to Bass Fishing with BassParade.com Blog

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Jay Kumar Returns to Bass Fishing with BassParade.com

Califon, NJ - Sept. 15, 2010 - Jay Kumar – founder of BassFan.com and other properties now owned by Intermedia Outdoors, as well as a former co-host of ESPN's underground hit show "Loudmouth Bass" – is back in bass fishing with new site BassParade.com. What exactly is a "bass parade?"

"The best way to put it is that you're either in the parade or watching it, and either way you're a part of it," Kumar said. "We chose the blog format for the site because it encourages fishermen to be part of what we're doing – to participate by leaving feedback, sending in pics and videos for us to post, posting our posts to Facebook, that kind of thing.

"BassParade is also a constant stream, or parade, of all things fishing. It's not the news model pioneered by BassFan. It's not the free-for-all you find in forums. It's more like the Gawker of fishing – short-form, fun, commentary-like content. We cover anything about fishing we think is good, bad, funny or otherwise entertaining."

"We" means him, well-known bass and inshore writer Jason Bryant, and an Alabamian with no shortage of opinions, Bo Crawford.

Bryant said: "The fun thing about BassParade is that it's essentially a stream-of-consciousness blog about all things fishing. We don't sterilize content through a chain of command or a panel of editors. We write it, post it and people read it."

Crawford said: "I hope fishermen find our edgy, out-of-the-box style refreshing." He added: "What I'm most excited about is delivering a mobile device-friendly site to all the anglers out there. I believe that's a first in bass fishing."

Kumar is known as an entrepreneur with no shortage of solid ideas, so what else is he up to? "In hunting, check out SeriousBirdHunting.com," he said. "In fishing, all I can say right now is 'plenty.'"

Naturally I wish the boys well in this endeavor, I hope it is a runaway hit. The Bass Fishing Blogosphere has really started to take shape with some excellent blogs and many blogs like mine that maybe are not so excellent but still contribute to bass fishing in a positive way.

Oh Coarse most of the Bass Fishing Blogosphere is linked here in the blogrolls of Bass Pundit.

Update: I have now read almost all they have written so far and they have a good mix of funny and serious.

Rich Lindgren's Tweeting DQ Makes Facts of Fishing FYI

It's the very last item.

I think I might have had something to do with this recognition.

Congratulations Nate!!!

Nate Steinbauer of my bass club The Baxter Bass Snatchers pulled off the win at the 2 day 2010 Minnesota Bass Federation Nation Tournament of Champions held on Lake Minnetonka. Nate bested the 164 person field by more than 8 pounds, though it would have been less than that had Rich Lindgren not been DQ'd.

Nate said he didn't do a whole lot of pre-fishing, which probably served him well. It sounded like he got on a good pattern and found a couple of key area's with it, then made an adjustments to catch what were more lethargic fish on Day 1 and the rest is history.

Rich Lindgren DQ'ed

Ouch!!! In the MN Federation Nation Tournament of Champions, Rich Lindgren caught the fish to finish 2nd. However, Rich did a bit of "tweeting" status updates during both days and was disqualified for it.

The MN Federation Tournament Rules State:
During the official competition days of the tournament, a competitor may not use a CB radio, a VHF marine-band radio, a cellular phone, or any other type of communication device for the purpose of locating or catching fish. Contestants are permitted to transmit by radio or telephone only in the event of an emergency.

Honestly, I do not think this rule envisions, nor touches on what Rich did. To transmit by "telephone," you have to call a phone#, which is something I don't think Rich was guilty of doing. A smart phone is essentially a computer and telephone and he was to my thinking using the computer, not the phone. Sending a text message to another phone is using a telephone. Sending a message via computer to another computer is NOT using a telephone. In my mind the Tournament Director wrongfully erred to the side of caution, when neither the actual letter or spirit of the law was being broken.

That said, Rich probably should have gotten a clarification and ruling from the Tournament Director prior to Day 1 blast off.

Update: Another thing I really don't understand. Why is an infringement of a rule like this, if it was really an infringement at all, penalized with a disqualification? The degree of punishment is absurd. In my view the penalty shouldn't have been anything worse than losing a single place in the standings or losing 1lb from his total weight, taking which ever punishment is greater.

Cool Canadian Bassin Blog

Jon Belanger Got Bass? Is a blog by a guy who catches some big smallies in the North Country.

MN Bass Federation Nation State Tournament Day 1

Rich Lindgren of Rich's Bassin Blog took the Day 1 lead in the State Tournament of Champions (PDF) on Lake Minnetonka. He weighed in 17.51lbs anchored by a 5.84lb kicker.

In 2nd Place is fellow Baxter Bass Snatcher Nate Steinbauer who I fished with this year at Farm Island Lake. He has 17.31lbs and had a 5.74lb kicker.

Currently the Baxter Bass Snatchers are in 5th Place out of the 30 teams. The DH Bassmasters are in last place, but it looks like the other Bass Snatchers squad is only Bill Ludenia in this one.

Good Luck to Rich and Nate today!!!

It's also conceivable that Chuck Steinbauer who is in 35th could have a good day and make the State Team yet again. Chuck had a 4.58lb kicker, so between him and Nate they have a little something figured out for big fish.

About An Hours Worth

Today I fished for about an hour maybe a little more.

Conditions were overcast with a bit of drizzle and 10MPH winds out of the E SE.

First stop was at Jenny's, nothing.

Next I went to the lake to get the boat. Fished around the dock first with a white Sizmic Toad and didn't get any hits. Got the boat ready to go, only bringing 4 rods. 2x Ish Phat Frog's, 1 Sizmic Toad, and Fin-Tech Title Shot Jig with wht/red Strike King Bleeding Bait Flippen Tube.

I didn't fire up the big motor and just started moving East fishing into the wind. I basically worked my way far enough to know, nothing was happening in this slop. So I decided to head across the bay to the reeds where I missed the big one last night.

I was hoping the wind was more out of the NE so this area would be a little protected, but the SE direction meant I would quickly get pushed right into the reeds. As I was drifting through the weeds in the area I missed the big one last night, I had a fish swirl on the "Iced Out" blue Ish's Phat Frog. This happened really close to the boat, so I followed up with the tube and think it got swiped at by a pike. I continued to drift through the reeds and had a small pike come flying out of the water after "Iced Out". On probably the next cast a fish boiled about 10 feet in front of the boat. I was kind of out of the wind at this point and pretty stationary. I followed up a couple of times with the frog, then the tube. I thought the tube got picked up and I set the hook, nothing. I re-rigged the tube and cast it back. Sure enough it got picked up and this time I hooked the fish and landed a 15.25" largie. I worked the area hard and had one more blow up that didn't get the Phat Frog. The follow up with the tube didn't produce this time, so I think it was probably a pike.

It was getting to be time to leave (Vikings Game) and I decided to go on the inside edge of the reeds to leave. There was a dock there that I decided to fish. I skipped the "Buck Nasty" (brown) Ish's Phat Frog well under the dock and sure enough I heard it get attacked. I set the hook and landed this nice 16".


1 consider myself 1 for 2 on catch to stike with the Ish Phat Frog.

Zona has new website with blog

MarkZona.com is the website and ZAFS CLIPZ is the blog.

Can't wait to see his new show on Outdoor Channel.

Vikes vs. Naw Orleans Saints

Well it's now time for the 2010 Football season to kick off with a rematch of last seasons heartbreaker NFC Title Game.

The honest truth is I'm not all that excited for our prospects this season. I just don't think the team is going to perform better than they did last year. We have a tough schedule and I think Sidney Rice is going to be out for at least half the season.

I hope the Vikes prove me wrong, but until they do, my hopes are not up very high.

Update: The game is over and the Vikes lost 14-9. They actually went into half time with the lead. I didn't think the Vikes were going to win, but I take a positive away from the way they lost. They were within a touchdown from winning and the Saints only scored 14 points (2 missed field goals helped out). If we can hold the Saints to 14 then I think it is reasonable to hope the Vikes will be able to keep most teams at 14 or under. If the Vikings can do that, we should win a lot of games this season.

The Vikes next two games (Dolphins and Detroit) are must win.

3 X 15"

Tonight I left the house a little after 5PM to go fishing. Today was sunny and in the high 60's with a fairly light NE breeze. Naturally, I stopped to fish from shore at Jenny's. I had replaced the Mad Maxx frogs with the Snaproof Ish Phat Frogs I got yesterday. On about my third cast I got a backlash and my line broke at the knot sending the "Iced Out" Phat Frog off into the lake. Being that the Phat frogs are not supposed to take in water and sink, I figured I would be able to come back with the boat and find it. I then worked the area with the "Buck Nasty" color Phat Frog and didn't get any hits. At the lake place I did a quick round off the dock with a white Sizmic toad. I got struck by a pike right in front of the dock and it stole one of the Sizmic Toad's legs.

I got my stuff in the boat and headed off to retrieve my frog. Sure enough I found it and got it tied back on and I started fishing with it. I probably fished for 20 minutes without a single hit and it was pretty clear to me that these fish were off. I decided to go across the lake and fish docks.

Before I got to the docks I decided to hit the Southern edge of a big reed bed. I wasn't getting anything when I noticed a some fish movement. I cast past the spot and brought the Phat frog slowly into the area. All of a sudden a big bass (4+ I'm sure) comes completely out of the water as it hits the frog. The fish jumped in my direction and I ended up with a lousy hookset and it got away. It sure seems like I've missed my fair share of bigger fish over the last couple of years. I worked the reeds but couldn't get anymore hits, so eventually I started in on docks. On probably the 6th or 7th dock I cast my white Fin-Tech Title Shot Jig with white/red Strike King Bleeding Bait Flippen Tube up by a shallow fishing boat lift and sure enough it got picked up. I set the hook and caught this 15.5"
I was really glad I caught something as it was around 7:30PM and I thought I might get skunked.

A couple of docks down I pitched in between a dock and boat lift with the same tube and I thought I felt something pick it up, but when I set the hook all I did was mess up the tube on the jig. I got it re-rigged and pitched it back in and sure enough it got picked up again and I landed a 15.25" bass.

Down the way a couple more docks there is a good sized slop patch between a couple of docks. I threw the one legged Sizmic Toad on the inside weedline of the slop and had a fish steal the other leg. I cast back and ended up pulling out a 15" bass, which was my last fish of the night.

The last dock in the run, which is usually money had the pontoon lift, boat lift, and the 2 wave runner lifts taken out of the water. I just left.

DNF

Today was windy, cloudy, and cool so I didn't go to the lake. Tommorrow is suppose to be much nicer so I will probably get out.

This morning I woke up early to put a Ebay bid on a pair of St. Croix rods that were for sale. I discovered the auction last night and thought I had a real possibility of getting a good deal. I am currently considering buying a 7' MH or H rod and these rods were both 7' MH, one X-fast, one moderate action. The thing about it was they were custom made rods built on SCIII blanks (Avid), so I wasn't real sure what the value was compared to a factory built Avid. I'm guessing they are of slightly less value than a factory Avid. Anyway I was quickly disappointed to discover that these rods had not gone through unnoticed and there was a small group of bidders slowly bidding the rods up. I wasn't going to play that stupid game and so I waited to snipe in the last few seconds. By the time it came to bid the rods were actually about $10 more than I really wanted to pay for them, but I still thought they were probably at a bargin price, so I put in a bid for $15 more than I really wanted to pay. Well that didn't end up being enough, but it was the 2nd highest bid made, which kind of tells me these rods went for about what they were really worth and were not a total steal.

In the Mail today:
The 2 Snagproof Ish Phat Frog's that I won on Ebay for $10 shipped. The colors are "Iced Out" blue and "Buck Nasty" brown. The reviews I've read on these frogs have all been positive. Will probably be throwing them tomorrow.

BTD Bait Monkey Madness

Bass Tackle Depot is having a 15% Labor Day Sale and I couldn't resist the Bait Monkey temptation. I went all topwater.

First on the agenda was a bright bluegill color 5" Black Dog Molded Lunker Punker
If it wasn't for the Tackle Tour message board I don't know that I would have considered getting a Lunker Punker. I've never heard of these lures being fished here in MN. I think it has predominately been a West Coast lure. They just recently started making the 5 inch bait. Previous to that the smallest size was a 6" that weighs just under 2ozs and they go up to 10" at 6.6ozs, which I think put the lure more in the Musky category for here in the upper Mid-West. It's quite possible Musky guys here in MN may have been throwing these things, but I'm not a muskie guy, so I don't know. Anyway, on Tackle Tour a lot of bass guys sing this lures praises, so I got one.

The next lure on the agenda was a "Drag Stripper" color Paycheck Baits Repo Man.
It is my understanding that the Repo Man is a remake of the Reaction Innovations Barely Legal Vixen. The discontinued Vixen's sell on Ebay for $40 to $50 a pop maybe even more with certain colors at auction. Rich Lindgren has sung the praises of the Vixen, but honestly I didn't give the $15+ lure much thought, until I recently saw what the things are fetching on Ebay. If a lure is discontinued and then the market dictates they more than double in asking price, well that tells me the lure IS something special.

On top of these two premium priced baits I bought up several more sale priced Tru-Tungsten Mad Maxx Frogs to put myself over $50, so I would get free shipping. Honestly, because those frogs are going for so cheap and with the 15% discount, I think I made out like a bandit.

Mille Lacs, Platte Lake Dock N Slop

Went to Eddy's Jetty on Mille Lacs. The SE wind was probably too much for topwater and I didn't get any hits on a spinnerbait, so this trip was a skunk.

My first stop at Platte Lake per usual was at Jenny's from shore. Right away I missed a good bite on a white Sizmic Toad. I didn't hook the fish so I thought I could get it to bite again, but the Toad didn't get a 2nd look. After working the area I went and got a "Grapes of Wrath" Tru-Tungsten Mad Maxx. I cast to the area where I missed the strike and slowly brought it to the edge of the opening when WHAM. Fish ON!

Do you think it wanted it?


Next I headed to the lake place. Fishing from the dock I had a hit on the Sizmic Toad that didn't get it and I couldn't get the fish to go a 2nd time, probably a pike. I thought the wind was blowing out of the SE so I took the boat to go fish docks by the Platte Lake public access. Turns out the wind was out of the E NE so I was actually getting blown along the docks and a bit towards shore. On the first dock I thought I had a hit twice, but both hooksets came up empty. On the 2nd dock I picked up a 13" bass on a junebug crawtube. On the 3rd dock I got a 20" pike which lost the crawtube body, so I put on a black/blue one. On my way around the dock I spotted the junebug crawtube floating, so I went and got it. It will need some Mend-It before fishing again. The rest of the docks I fished were a bust and I broke off the crawtube on a boat lift. I came to area with a sparse pad bed and I fished the white Sizmic Toad. I missed my first bite, small fish and then caught a 13" bass. The wind was blowing in pretty good to the slop I wanted to fish and I didn't get a bite. I headed to the other side of the bay (North) to see if the wind wasn't as bad. I went past the maidencaine in up by shore where there are reeds, pads, and bullrushes. I missed the first 3 strikes I got on the Sizmic. Finally I picked up a 14" bass on a "Big Sexy" Mad Maxx frog along the bullrush edge. A little farther down I picked up another 14" on the Sizmic Toad off the very last edge of the rushes.

I worked my way into the rice and pads managing to miss the final 3 strikes I got. One of the misses was a choke on my part with the "Grapes of Wrath" Mad Maxx. I think that one was a bigger fish.

I am now 9 for 11 on Tru-Tungsten Mad Maxx frog bites.

Platte Lake Sloppin'

I got out around 3PM today and fished until dark. All I did was fish slop (rice, pads, weed mats, duck weed, reeds). I started from our lake place and worked East. Around 7PM I headed to the vicinity of the big maidencaine bed across from the Platte public access fishing rice, pads, and weed mats. My big fish was this 19.25" caught on a watermelon Red Zoom Horny Toad.
I also caught fish on a white Stanley Ribbit, Junebug Crawtube, and a white Sizmic Toad high floater.

Here is a run down of the Fish:

Horny Toad: 15, 14.5, 19.25, 13.25
Ribbit: 13.5, 14, 14, 13.25, 14, 14, 14.25"
Crawtube: 13.25"
Sizmic: 14.25"

I did miss a few fish today, including what looked like a very good one that stole my last Stanley Ribbit. I had one pike bite off a Ribbit as I went to lift him in the boat.

Wind, Rock Dock, Platte Lake

Today I left the house to go fishing at 4PM. When I arrived at Jenny's, the wind was blowing hard out of the W NW and I found it difficult to cast. Next I headed to the lake place which was a bit more protected and I worked the area from the dock. It was blowing a steady 20+ with gusts to 30 I'm sure. I made the decision that taking the boat out in that wasn't the best idea. Since the Rock Dock would be protected I decided to go there. Indeed the area was totally calm and I elected to try my new Lucky Craft Gunfish. I had pike miss and come completely out of the water. Glad I didn't lose the lure on that one.

I made a cast to a pocket in the shoreline weeds to the North of the dock and this bass was all over that Gunfish.
I was a happy camper at this point. I tried several of my new topwaters, but didn't get any hits on those. Eventually I started throwing a spinnerbait and I had a small fish on that got off after about a 5 second fight. I switched to a black/blue Crawtube and I felt something hit it. Set the hook and reeled in a 13inch bass.

It was getting close to 7PM and it seemed like the wind had maybe calmed down some, so I headed back to the lake place to check it out. Sure enough the wind was now down under 10MPH, so I decided to take the boat out.

I decided to hit up the SE side of the big Island because that area was protected from the big wind today. I ended up catching 2x14+" bass and one nice pike on a "Big Sexy" Tru-Tungsten Mad Maxx frog. I am just glad I didn't get skunked.

I think I am now 7 for 8 on catching strikes I've gotten with the Mad Maxx.

In Today's Mail

Lately I've read some good stuff about the Lucky Craft Gunfish, so I decided I had to have one. Won this Gunfish 95 Chartruese Shad on Ebay. Could have got a little better deal had I waited a bit longer, but still got it for more than a buck under retail.

Don't think it will see the water with today's wind.

Cedric Jerome Perry Bass Fishing's Next Busted Cheater

Apparently down in Florida a man by the name of Cedric Jerome Perry was winning several tournaments and the competition got suspicious. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission put the guy under surveillance, and witnessed him not catching fish, but he still won the tournament. Huh!!! At the next go round they discovered a cooler with livewell in his truck, mystery solved. Apparently Perry was catching fish at other lakes and keeping them in the cooler in his truck. When he would get his boat out of the water at the end of the tournament, he would then put the cooler in his boat and then get the fish for weigh in. This Doofus was charged with fraud, grand theft, fishing license and bag-limit violations. Yes, that's right he was fishing without a license and on the night he got caught he had to many fish in his boat.

LOSER!!!

Lake City Reporter Story...

Hat Tip to T Brinks Fishing blog

Sept 1 Evening on Platte Lake

I headed out the door a little after 3PM and dropped off a fish fillet for Jenny. Naturally I hit up Jenny's from shore, but couldn't get bit on the Mad Maxx frog. So off I went to get the boat ready. I fished the area around the dock with a Mad Maxx and didn't have any hits. I got the boat loaded and went to start the motor. It was turning over but not starting. After a couple of minutes of this I sat back to reflect and realised I didn't have the kill switch attached. Put it on and the motor started right up, amazing.

Conditions were sunny with a light breeze out of the E NE, around 6PM it changed to the SE but still only a light breeze.

I would say I was off around a quarter past 4PM. And my plan was to hit docks on the North End of the big Center bay. I started out in a little slop patch with a white Zoom Horny Toad and was immediately rewarded with a nice 15.25 bass. Originally I was going to work to the East but I decided to go hit up the first dock to the West of the slop. I cast in front of the dock and had a fish boil and steal the Horny Toad. I decided to pitch a black/blue Crawtube to the spot and it got picked up immediately. I set the hook and my line broke, probably a pike but I'm not 100% sure. I rigged up a watermelon red Horny Toad and cast to the next dock to the West and got a 12.5" which I kept. The water looked good, so I continued west but I didn't get a fish until the last dock on the stretch and it was only a 10 incher that I got on the Horny Toad. I tried the reeds for a few minutes with the Mad Maxx, but nothing was going so I motored back to the dock where I broke the fish off.

I worked a bunch of docks to the East and didn't get anything until I came to another patch of slop. I had a hit back in the reeds by shore but didn't get the fish. At one point right before I was to go over a weed mat I think something pulled the Horny Toad under. I pitched back into the spot with a black/blue Crawtube and sure enough it got picked up, but I came up empty with the hookset. I pitched it right back in and it got picked up again. This time I pulled a 14.75 out. I made a cast over the weed mats the Horny Toad and pulled a bass that was just over 13" which I kept. The slop area ended and it was back to docks. I think I missed a fish on an electric chicken Super Fluke and I got a few pecks from sunnies. I got to a little fishing boat on a boat lift. I pitched the Crawtube underneath and something picked it up. This 17.25" would be my big fish of the night, even though a little later on I pulled one that was longer.


A couple of docks down I made a good skip cast under a dock and boat lift. I felt something pulling on the Fluke and I set into a fish, which turned out to be this 8+" pumpkinseed, which I kept.


Eventually I got into some docks with some vegetation around them and I pulled up a hammer handle on the Horny Toad. I made a cast in front of the next dock and had a big blow up. I set the hook and my line broke. Probably another pike or maybe my line was frayed from the pike I just caught. After that dock there is another lengthy slop area. I got a thin one eyed 17.75" bass on the Horny Toad towards the middle of this slop bed. Just before the slop ended I got a 15.5" on a "Big Sexy" Mad Maxx frog. It was starting to get late in the day and I opted not to make a move but to try the firetiger Megabass Pop Max around the docks in this area. I did get one hit up real shallow but I think it was a little fish. The area was full of the carpet weed that takes over after chemical treatment for weeds. I didn't get any more bites except from Mosquito's.

Note: The kept fish went to my parents renter John who likes to eat bass.

Baxter Bass Snatchers Washburn Lake Tournament August 28th

Note-Washburn Lake is made up of 3 distinct basins (West, North, East)

Conditions for the day would be a little hazy for about the first hour giving way to sun and wind 12-20MPH out of the S or SW.

A number of our guys were none too pleased with the welcoming committee at the public access. Basically, a number of people from the Washburn Lake Association wanted to make sure we weren't bringing any exotic species to their lake. The lake already has Milfoil in it. Apparently, they also quizzed some of our guys about what lakes they have had their boats in recently.

We blasted off around 10 to 8AM from the Public Access on the South end of the East basin. My boater Darren and I headed North to a large rice and pad bed in the East basin. The wind was blowing close to 10mph at this point. I quickly switched from a white Spro Bronzeye Frog to a white Zoom Horny Toad because the slop wasn't the thickest stuff in the world and there were lots of open pockets. About 15 minutes into the day I landed a 13.75" largie. About 2 minutes later I had a blow-up that didn't get the Toad. I cast right back to the area and let the Horny Toad sink in a whole and sure enough, it got picked up and I put a 14.75" in the boat. Right after that, my partner Darren missed a blow-up on his black Spro Frog. At one point we worked our way down a lane in the weeds towards a beaver hut. I made a cast to the South into another open lane in the weeds and had a good blow up that didn't hook up. I cast back to the spot and got a good backlash. Right as I got done pulling out the backlash I realized a fish was running with the Toad. I set the hook and landed a 11.5" which was a short fish (12" minimum length). We kind of got stuck for a couple of minutes but eventually were able to get away from the beaver hut. We worked out way down a trail in the weeds but it was super shallow and we didn't get nothing.

Next, we headed off to some docks in the channel between the West and North basins where my boater had success in pre-fish. We were between docks where there were reeds and pads when Darren said he had a bite. At the time I was throwing a texas rigged junebug Crawtube out into the lake. I switched directions and started pitching the Crawtube into the pads. Sure enough, I had a pickup and I brought in a 15.5". We kept working down the shore and I started throwing a white Strike King Burner spinnerbait out into the lake. I got a hit and brought in a 12.75" bass. Eventually, we worked our way into a little bay. When we didn't get anything there we headed out to work a rock pile in the West basin.  I started out throwing the spinnerbait and had a couple of hits that didn't hook up. Eventually, I got a very small pike. When we got on the backside of the rock pile where Darren had gotten a couple of bites in pre-fish. I switched up to the Crawtube. Darren caught a rock bass, then I caught a pike. We worked the area good, but no bass.

Next, we headed to go hit a fallen tree where Darren got a good bass in pre-fish. We actually started a little North of the tree at the first dock on that side of the bay. There were good looking emergent and submerged weeds here and I got hit right by the boat on the spinnerbait by what I'm guessing was a little pike. We got to the tree and Darren got the first crack at it. Eventually, I started pitching a black/blue Crawtube to the tree and on about the 3rd pitch I had a fish nail it. I set the hook and it was a good one.  18.5" and it would go 4lbs even. We kept working down the shoreline and I got a little pike. We were not getting any bites, so we headed to the other side of the bay to work the weedline and docks where Darren had gotten a number of bass in pre-fish. I pulled a couple of pike off the reeds weedline transition and then we got into fishing docks. On about the 6th dock I had a bad skip that went through and then under the dock. Sure enough, a fish picked up my Zoom Super Fluke. I set the hook, but being that my line was over part of the underside of the dock I didn't get a good set and the fish came up and got off. I ended up hanging on the dock, so we had to go get me un-hung. That would be the only bite we would get on a dock. We did fish several more docks and then we decided to make a move to another rock pile.

I started throwing a Mann's Baby Minus One and got a little dink of a pike. Next, I tried some topwater, then I switched up to a mushroom jig with a wacky rigged Zoom Z-Nail. I had a pike steal my jig. We worked this area hard as my Ace in the Hole said this was his favorite rock pile, but we came up empty.

Next, we headed off to find a dock that was recommended. I am not sure we found the right dock. It was about 1PM and Darren informed me that the trolling motor was losing power. We fished a little pad filled bay that was out of the wind. It looked awesome but there weren't any fish.

Next, we headed to the slop in the NW corner of the West Basin. It was a challenge working in this stuff with a dying trolling motor but at first, the wind actually helped us a little bit. I was fishing with an albino Spro Bronzeye and I had a fish just bump the lure in the duckweed. I cast back to the spot and very slowly worked the frog. Sure enough, it took it and I landed my limit fish, which was 14.5". The wind was starting to be our enemy and Darren missed a good blow-up on his black Spro. Right after that I had a blow-up and landed a 14.25". At this point, Darren was really struggling with the wind and we almost got stuck in the junk.

Basically, we were not sure what to do next so we headed to the SE end of the lake and just started a controlled drift down the East side of the West Lake. I got a couple of pike on the spinnerbait, I switched up to a white Pointer 100 but couldn't get bit on that, so I switched to a black/blue Strike King Pure Poison chatter jig. I got a couple of pike on that. Darren caught a couple of pike on a spinnerbait. I had a big pike hit but not hook up on the Burner spinnerbait. With about 1/2 an hour left we decided to head back and try the shallow pads by the access. I did get a hit on my Spro, but I think it was something small. And that was it.

Results:
As I wrote before my big one was 4lbs even and my bag went 12lbs 13ozs and was good for 4th Place, which equals my best showing of last year and this ties for my 2nd best result in the club. My poor partner Darren got skunked. The Tournament was won by Nate Steinbauer with 14lbs 11ozs and big bass was 4lbs 6ozs. I believe 1 smallmouth was weighed and a couple of guys caught them in practice.

Analysis: I fished clean other than missing that one at the dock. If we had not lost trolling motor power I think I would have probably done even better. Unfortunately, the bass just didn't seem to be chasing on the weedline and flats and that drifting in the wind was totally unproductive. How I wish we had made a move to a pad area my Ace in Hole informed me about. This spot was out of the wind and on our way in we watched one of our boats pull a good fish from the spot and they got another good one right after that.

I want to say a BIG THANKS to my "Ace in the Hole" Bob Downey* of B3 blog for giving me excellent info about the lake.

Next Tournament: Serpent Lake (With a very good showing at Serpent I could move into the coveted Club Top 6 for the year. Currently I am in 8th, which is the highest I've ever been ranked)

*Bob Downey would go on to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic and the Bassmasters Elite Series.