The View at the Grumpy Old Man Hole Today

(Click to enlarge to see the ducks)

I got out to check out the GOMH today.  I had Kaylee with me.  It was pretty darn cold in the wind.  It's going to be cold the next 3 days and then it will warm up to around where it's suppose to be this time of year.  I don't anticipate catching my 1st fish out there until at least the 15th and that is being optimistic..

2013 When Will I See MY Driveway? #3

The rain last night definitely helped and it was warm and sunny again today.  I had 4 geese fly over tonight.

Click to Enlarge Pictures

MN Fishing Museum Fishing With the Pro's Benefit

Click to Enlarge

2013 When Will I See My Driveway? #2

Well, we are starting to see some progress.  I'm guessing I will see the driveway completely on a week from today April 5th.

View out from the garage (click to Enlarge)

My Tackle Warehouse Opener 2013

I actually opened the door for the first time a couple of days ago.  Today I actually went in to sit.  A mouse made a home in a tackle bag that also had leakage from one of my bags holding this slimy gunk.  I probably won't start organizing anything until we get warm again in the middle of next week.

Captain Knoll's Fisherman's Formulas Fisherman's "Triple Play"

Captain Knolls is a small US company making gifts marketed for Golfers and Fishermen.  They have sent me their Fisherman's Formulas Fisherman's "Triple Play" to do a product review on.  The "Triple Play" consists of their Fisherman's Hand and Body Soap, 60 SPF Fisheman's Sunblock, and 30 SPF Fisherman's Lipgard.  As that I am not fishing yet I haven't had the opportunity to use the product.  I suspect I'll probably have the review ready around the 15th of  June.

Check out their products here.

2013 When Will I See My Driveway? #1

For the fourth year in a row I am chronicling when I can see my driveway. Last year I started the count on March 7th and it was off by March 12th.  In 2011 I started counting on March 24th and in 2010 I started on  March 5th.  It took until April 3rd in 2011; I sure it will be later this year.

The View out the Garage (Click photo's to Enlarge)

A minor hole in the ice

The biggest hole

A couple of spots in the middle

The end of the driveway

Congratulations Keith Combs On Winning Falcon Lake B.A.S.S. Elite Series

James Overstreet 

Basstrakk had Clunn winning it, but Keith Combs weighed in 28-2 thus beating Clunn by an ounce short of 6lbs.  Personally I was rooting for Combs.  Nothing against Clunn, but the guy has won enough and doesn't need the win like a young Pro does.

Congratulations Keith!!!

Mille Lacs Smallmouth Regulations Changed

This fish would now be a keeper.  Smallmouth 17 to 20 inches are protected.  They have a 6 fish limit just like the rest of the state.  You can now keep 1 over 20".

In my experience most of the smallmouth I catch in Mille Lacs are in the protected slot, but obviously there are a bunch of fish in the lake that are now open to harvest.  The previous slot only allowing 1 fish over 21", made it pretty much a catch and release lake.

It will be interesting to see if things change much or not.

A Year Ago My 1st Open Water Fish

At the way things are progressing so far this year I may not be getting my first open water fish of this year until a month or more from now.   Doesn't look like it even gets above freezing until Saturday.  At least there is no more snow in the forecast.

Come on Sun!!!

My New Cabela's Tackle Bag Vs My Old Bag

My old tackle bag that was really a soft sided cooler that I thought would make a good tackle bag is pretty beat up.  All the zippers no longer work.  I've had it for over 10 years and it was time to get something else.   I ended up buying a new "Super Magnum" sized Cabela's Advanced Anglers Tackle Bag.  I wasn't sure when I bought it if it was bigger, smaller, or the same size as my old bag.

As you can see from the pictures the Cabela's bag is both longer and taller.  The inside is 4 inches longer and 2 inches taller;  It has 13 extra pockets to 3 in the old bag.  Basically I can carry the same amount of stuff or even more if I want too.  I'll have room to put my rain gear inside, no problem.

The waterproof base is nice but it adds a fair amount of weight

MT's Got Skills

click to enlarge

This incredible shot was taken this morning on Lake Waconia by Michael "Cyberfish" Thompson.

And here's another one

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And here's another one

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You can see more of then here.

Ike Wreck's On the Sabine

From B.A.S.S.

Lucky this wasn't worse.  Apparently he hit something and lost control.  I'm guessing his day is over.

Update: Blogger Chris McDonald wrote a post saying something should be done.  Personally I disagree. Anglers and their riders except the risk going in. Even riding in a boat going 20 miles an hour can be dangerous if you hit something. It's like wringing our hands over a car accident when some one was following all laws. Accidents happen.

A Year Ago Today

It's going to be 29 degrees today and the forecast for the next 10 days doesn't look promising for me to be in by March 22nd this year.  However, since my bad back last Summer and Fall I didn't get my big tackle bag put away in there.  I will be messing around with tackle here in the house next week.  Yeah, I'm getting antsy.

My Fantasy Squad for FLW Smith Lake

Update:  Should have picked Ehrler, almost did.  I ended up with a respectable score, 1,887 points.

New Bass Fishing Blog from Wisconni

Upper Midwest Bass Fishing- Is a new blog that looks promising out of WI.  Click on the link and check out the first blog post to see what the blog is all about.

No More Slot On Mille Lacs Smallies???

Due to the current shape of the walleye fishing on Mille Lacs, they are seriously discussing changing the smallmouth regs.  If you don't know the limit is 1 fish that must be a minimum of 21".  I can guarantee that if they loosen things up the Bass Snatchers will start having tournaments there, with probably every other tournament organization jumping on what has been a pretty small bandwagon up until now.  I think it would be a positive thing for the most part.

D&M Custom Baits Buzzsaw

I really like the look of this bait by D M. It's a new twist on the Herb's Dilly.