Bass Opener Tomorrow

Bass season opens in a few hours.  There is going to be a 16 boat tournament on Platte/Sullivan and a couple of Snatcher boats are fishing it.  I sure hope those guys have the bass more figured out than I do right now.  I am going to do my normal routine, start by fishing from shore at the GOMH around 5AM then head out in the Trophy when the fish quit or people show up.  I think I'm going to head to the river first thing and see if anybody is fishing there. 

Good Luck Tomorrow!

Steve Got His First Ever MN State Fish Tonight

18" on an Ultimate Jerk Shad (Crackle)

4.78lbs Jerk Shad (Crackle)

Goal Achieved on 5-18-18

 The wind was supposed to blow out of the SE this evening instead it diminished and was out of the South, bummer.  But with the way the weather was, I thought the eyes would really be snapping anyway.  I don't think 4 eyes between the two of us counts as snapping, but I'll take it.  Steve might have had a couple of hits in a Rippin' Rap as well.  We would have undoubtedly caught more, but that stupid 10PM night ban cut us off as they started to bite and Steve figured out what they wanted.  No bugs at all.  Such a pity we couldn't fish until 11 or midnight.  Too bad, I didn't suggest stopping at the Grumpy Old Man Hole before I took him home as there was practically nobody there when I went to check it on my way home.  I didn't fish it either, doh.

Good job, Steve!   

Trophy Is In the Water for 2018

We dumped the Trophy into Sullivan Lake around 7:30PM tonight. I wanted to fish the Sullivan Platte River Outlet (SPRO) area so I put in at the NE Sullivan Access.  Everything worked, but the jury is out on pretty much everything about the trolling motor (battery, pull cord, and the trolling motor itself); It worked fine for tonight, but it was dead calm.

15.25" Teckel Sprinker Frog

I caught my first fish on the real Teckel Sprinker Frog Tonight. My frogging skills are a bit rusty as I caught 3 fish out of about 15 blow ups or follows between the Sprinker, Zoom Horny Toad, and Mad Maxx.

Sunset over the Platte River Outlet

Last years rice beds in the SPRO are thicker than I would prefer, basically, treble hook topwaters and buzzbaits are out in this part of the lake. I will be back and better prepared next time.

But that won't be tomorrow most likely.  East wind

Sun/Mon At Eddy's Jetty

24.5"/4.93lb Grass Pig

11:45PM-3:30AM Eddy's Jetty
Conditions: 50's, Clear, No Wind, Water Level Low and Clear

My arsenal tonight

I was pleasantly surprised to see no ice at Eddy's.  The low clear water made for some awesome fish viewing.  I went to the North Jetty harbor mouth.   There were suckers and walleyes swimming together in the harbor.  On my first cast, I had a small pike follow the grass pig.  Also, a small dogfish checked it out.  On about my fifth cast, I got the 24 incher.  I thought this could be good.  It wasn't.  I was about to give up at 1:30AM when I got another eye on the Grass Pig.

18" Grass Pig

The rest of the night was spent watching fish not bite.  Saw a couple of ski's dozens of suckers and many eyeballs swimming around.  When I was packing to leave a SW breeze came up.  I didn't think it would turn them on and I needed a break, so I went home.

The Dock Is In

Todd and Mallory came up today and Todd did some needed work to reinforce the dock.  After that was done.  Dad and I came down and we put the dock in.  Steve and Kim's help wasn't even really needed. Turns out all that is needed is one person, a lever bar, and the rolling pipes underneath once the dock is at the bottom of the hill, easy peasy.

Opener at GOMH (All Nighter)

 

15.5" Jerk Shad (Crackle)

12:00AM-8:30AM GOMH SW
Conditions:  36-42℉, Clear to Cloudy, Light N wind to calm
Water level to normal high

11" Shiner Minnow

I was hyped up to cash in some gold on the shiner minnows I caught last week. It didn't work out that way. Eddy's Jetty was iced in, so the GOMH it was. I got my first bite around 12:30 am, but it was silver. Some guys on the other side got some gold right away. Lantern Man's son got one, and Lantern Man got one. Shorty after LM got his golden, he told me to throw into the current, which I did, and got a jumper.

14" Shiner Minnow

It then got real slow, and everybody left by 2:30 am. I went fishing on the NE side and got a 15" jumper on the Grass Pig. Peter W. showed up at about 3 am. He got a bullhead right away. I tried the NE side briefly again before someone else showed up to check what was up. At 4 am, the Wheel House Guy showed up and started fishing right next to me. Pretty soon, his brother and other relatives/friends showed up and took up the SE side. WHG got one golden on the NE side. It was dead until about 5:40 am, when I quickly got three nice jumpers on the Poison (2x18", 17.75").

18" Poison/Razor Shad

17.75"/4.12lbs Poison/Razor Shad

It then got slow again for about an hour. I got into a good run of 16" jumpers on a brown/grn pumpkin crawtube, dropping the two big ones. I missed a bunch of bites as well.

18.25'"/3.81lbs Crawtube

I got one good 17" on the Grass Pig and that last pig on the crawtube. I also got one toothy on the craw tube. WHG gave me a banana and some banana bread to eat before leaving. His brother, who fished next to me the whole morning, got a few jumpers and silvers. The people across the way got more of the same. For the most part, fishing was more difficult than expected. I should have fished on the NE side in the wind rather than camping on the SW side like I did. Still, 19 jumpers for the trip isn't exactly terrible. I was disappointed to not get at least one golden, though. My feet were fried from standing in my Bugaboots all night.

For the morning trip
19 Jumpers (18.25,18,18,17.75,17,16) for my 6 best (Stupidly, I only weighed two fish)
1 Toothy
1 Silver
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Dad got me up just before 5 pm to go and put the dock in at the lake place, which we did.

8:45–11:00 pm GOMH NE
Conditions: 62-50℉, partly cloudy, calm

9.5" X-Rap Shallow Shad

Nobody was on the NE side when I got there, so I quickly got my stuff and headed down. Lantern Man arrived as I was getting my stuff laid out. I got a jumper on the first cast and thought it might be on. LM's son came and down on the NW side. He had been fishing the Southside, getting silvers and jumpers. After he left the GOMH last night, his bridge hopping was a resounding failure. His first cast under the bridge resulted in some gold. His friend Kyle came and netted it, and Kyle got a golden on his first cast as well. They got another one, and I got the one I did casting out on the crackle Jerk Shad. I also got a 24.5" toothy casting out on the jerk shad. Two bow fishing boats came through.   LM son and Kyle left. I got the Rock bullhead. Other than that, it was pretty dead. Sneaky C showed up. He was a pretty good day on the gravel lizards wherever he was fishing. I left shortly after Sneaky arrived. I was still worn out from last night and didn't feel like flogging the water anymore.

So that is my 2018 Opener Day 1

Tribute Lilah Loo

I don't remember my reaction when Mom called to tell me that she would be bringing my brother Steve's recently adopted dog back home with them from Florida.  We still lived at the lake place in 2005, and she bolted several times over the first few years both at the lake place and here where we live now.  She and Patti Lou made fast friends.  She was often my bed buddy sleeping up by my head or under the covers.  She got along OK with the cat.  She and Kaylee do not so much, mainly because Kaylee doesn't play nice with other animals much of the time.  The little yipper won me over with her personality, and I'm sure going to miss her. 

Docks In Area Lakes, I Got Skunked Both Morning and Evening

 

It was about 37℉ when I left for the GOMH at 5:10AM.  It was calm, and the world was awake with birds and frogs singing away.  I thought for sure I would get at least something, but the bullheads were just not around.  I went NE side, SW Side, and back to the NE side after sunrise.  I had a toothy on briefly on a white craw tube on one of my last casts.  I then checked the Platte Public Access where the dock was in the water.  Then I went to Bulldog, nothing there.  Then I went to Rock.  The Rock Dock was in, and a boat was out fishing.  Didn't get anything there.  Stopped at Bear Trax, and they just gave me what was left of their crappie minnows as it was mostly sticklebacks and one bullhead/catfish.

 I got the Trophy vacuumed out today, the first run anyway.  I didn't get out until after 7PM.  I was surprised no one was at Bulldog.  No fish, that's why. I tried both spots.  I quickly eliminated Rock, then went to the GOMH.  Nobody there either.  I had one toothy follow the Panfish Chatterbait in on the NE side. Probably the same fish from this morning.  That was it for action.  I stayed un 9:30 or so.  I'm a little concerned that I couldn't get a few fish after a warm sunny day.  Maybe the shallows are warming up to fast? 

2018 Ice Out Platte Lake

I was unable to get out to verify it for myself, but Bear Trax Facebook Page reported it.  I will hopefully have the Trophy in the water on Sunday or Monday.  Thanks to Dads help I was able to get my way too complicated trolling motor situation mostly figured out today or so I hope.  We will see how it works once I'm out on the water.

1st Open Water Fish of 2018(Bulldog)

5" T.H.E. Jig /maggot Bulldog Lake

It can only get better from here.  The only bite I got tonight. I fished at Rock, Bulldog, and the GOMH.  Ice is out on Bulldog and Rock.  Platte is about 60% out.  I think I'll probably be able to call Platte tomorrow.

Rock Lake