Platte Lake Oct. 11th: A Little Better Night

Conditions: Today was in the high 70's with hazy sun. When I went out around 4PM there was about a 8MPH wind but I fished in protected water and it was calm by 6PM. Water temps were in the low 60's. I stopped fishing at about 7:05PM when it was quite dark.

The Report:
I started out by going to the other side of our bay (North) to fish docks. On the first dock I got a bite on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke and missed it. I switched to a baby bass Fluke and got hit again and missed again. Finally after casting back in a bunch of times I pulled out a 13.25" largie on the Fluke. I then got a 11.75" largie up shallow on a Paycheck Baits Repo Man. I fished a dock to the West missing a bite (I think it was small) and then I went back to the 1st dock and caught a 14.25" bass. Next I caught a 9.5" bass and 7" bass on the Repo Man. Here is the eager 7 incher:

I got a 13.5" largie between docks on a bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. Then I missed yet another dock fish with the Fluke. I pulled off the shoreline onto the flat where there had been surface activity and got a 15.25" largie on the Buzzjet Jr.

It was about 5:30PM and I wasn't getting anymore bites out on the flat so I headed out of our bay and into the Big Middle Bay and I stopped at the first dock as there were 3 in a row still in the water. I missed about 4 bites on the baby bass Fluke before finally catching a 15" largie. I think there might have been more fish under the dock but I hung the fluke and didn't get a bite with the crawtube.

I cast out towards the reeds and got a 12.75" largie on the Repo Man. On the next dock I got a small pike on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke and I pulled a 14.25" bass out from the end of a small tree laydown.

Next I headed out onto the flat where I found the schooling bass last week. My first fish out there was a little pike on the Repo Man. After covering lots of water with the Repo Man I finally had a bass fooling with the Repo Man and after hitting it about 5 times it finally hooked up and was my biggest of the night at 16.25". I didn't take the time to get a pic of the fish, just in case I was on the school. There wasn't a school there. I covered a bunch more water on the flat as it was getting dark. And in about a 10 minute period got a 14, and 2x 14.5"'s on the Repo Man also had a couple of pike attacks. Two of those bass took multiple strikes to hook up. Finally it was pretty dark and I had to leave to catch the Vikings game kickoff.

Platte Lake Oct 6th: A Good Night That Could Have Been Great.

Unfortunately I forgot the camera.

Conditions: Today was sunny and in the high 60's with a 10MPH wind out of the NW that turned calm a little after sunset. I fished from 4PM to 7:10PM.

Naturally I tried to catch that fish off Sherman's dock that I missed yesterday, but it was a no show. I worked a bit on the other side of Sherman's dock, long enough to know that the area to Jenny's probably wasn't going to give me much. I decided to hit wind protected docks on the North End of the big central bay.

On the very first dock I had a good pick up on a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke but when I set the hook the line broke. Not sure if it was a pike or maybe part of the dock cut my line. The tag end was frayed up pretty good. I decided to head West 1 dock and give the fish a chance to recover. I think I ended up going two docks with nothing. I got back to the original dock and had a pick up that I whiffed on. I threw the white/chart tail Fluke back to the area and as I was bringing it back I spotted a 12" class bass following. It picked up the Fluke by the tail, and so I couldn't set the hook. After a couple of seconds the fish spit the Fluke instead of sucking it in.

On the other side of the dock is a shallow reed/slop patch that was holding baitfish and there were lots of leaves in the water. I couldn't get anything. About half way across the shallow reed patch I decided to chuck a white single spin white Colorado blade spinnerbait out to the edge of a reed bed that is in a little deeper water. Sure enough I hooked up on a very hard fighting fish that turned out to be a 18" largie. I made several more casts out with nothing and then fished the rest of the shallow reeds. I was casting well beyond the end of the shallow reeds when a 11.5" bass hit the spinnerbait. Next I worked myself out to the deeper reeds but nothing was happening and after about 20 minutes I headed back to the shore. Next fish was a 14" on the Fluke that I think was on the inside weedline in-between docks. The next fish was a 14.75" bass on the Fluke on the inside weedline; I missed this fish about 4 times before I finally caught it. I pulled a 9.5" bass off a boatlift. Next I caught a little pike and the Fluke was done for, so I switched up to an electric Chicken Fluke (bubblegum top, Chart belly, red tail). I got a 13" largie again on the inside weedline.

I skipped the Fluke under a dock to a boat lift and had a fish pick it up. I pulled instead of set and the fish got hung up and got off and the hook hung on the dock. As I was going in to get the hook un-hung I pitched a crawtube over the dock and under the boat and I ended up pulling out a 11.25" largie. I got the crawtube rigged up and pitched it back to the same spot and had another fish pick it up, but I missed it on the hookset. I pitched in several more times. Finally one of the times when I was working the bait up and down it got picked up and I ended up catching a 15" largie. I couldn't get any more bites so I got the hook un-hung and moved on. I got a 13" off another dock and missed a couple of bites. As I was approaching the last dock I was going to hit, I tossed out a bluegill Deps Buzzjet Jr. and it got hit by a 13.25" bass.

The excitement:
It was now after 6:30PM and I headed out onto the weed flat trying to pull a fish on topwater. I had seen some good swirls on the flat while working the shoreline. I was throwing the Buzzjet Jr. and Paycheck Baits Repo Man and nothing was happening so I was about to make a move to the Big West Bay. I decided on one last cast with the Repo Man and sure enough it got hit by a 15" bass. On my next cast I brought in a 12.25" largie. On the next cast I connected with a 18.75". On the next cast I had another blow up, but it didn't hook up. On the next cast same thing. And then I missed another fish on the next cast. Obviously I had found an active school. On the next cast I had a huge bass come all the way out of the water but it didn't hook up. I paused the Repo Man and started working it slow and the fish blew up on it hard again. It was hooked for a second then got off. I think I had one more cast missing a fish and then it settled down. After about 5 minutes of nothing I had a fish that I think was probably a small pike repeatedly strike at the Repo Man. About 5 minutes later I missed another blow up and that was it.

It was cool to get into a school like that, but my execution was pretty pathetic.

I recorded 13 bass caught and 1 Pike. I think I might have forgotten to write down one small bass.

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.

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.

Last Night on Platte

I left to the lake around 3:30PM and first hit up Jenny's from shore, nothing. I then went and got the boat ready fishing the area around the dock pretty good, no hits. Conditions were sunny with a strong wind out of the SE.

Once I got out in the boat I headed just a little to the East and started fishing the rice edge with my new Payo Buzzjet Jr. At first I don't think I was doing a very good job of working the lure. Due to the wind I was getting blown along fairly quickly. Once I got around the little point at the entrance to our bay I was out of the wind. I decided with the high water to stay shallow right up by shore. I got my first fish on the Buzzjet Jr., which was just a little dude.
I kept working along the shore and maybe 150yards down I had this 14.5" smash the Buzzjet Jr.

Eventually I got past a little pad field to where the docks start in earnest. I think at the 2nd dock I skipped my bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke under a boat lift and I pulled out this 17"

After landing the fish I got situated and cast up under the boat lift again and pulled out a 14+".

On the next dock by the boat lift I caught a dink on the Buzzjet Jr. even smaller than that first one I got. I think I missed a couple of bites under the boat lift on this dock. On the next dock I pulled a 13+" and 15+" with the Fluke. Around this time it started getting pretty overcast. On the next couple of docks I pulled a 14+" and this 17.5" off boat lifts on a Texas rigged black/blue Crawtube.
The 17.5" was my big fish of the night; I missed the fish once as it bit and let go before I set the hook, so I pitched back into the same spot between the dock and the boat lift and got her.

I fished about 5 more docks without getting any hits, so I decided with about an hour of sunlight left to hit the slop on Loon Sex Point. I decided to start down along the last 3 docks before the slop starts. Nothing on the docks. I had worked my way maybe 30 yards up into the slop when I had a hit. I let it take the Zoom Horny Toad for several seconds and then set the hook. I missed the fish. I re-rigged the Toad and cast back over the same spot and had a nice bass come out of the water but not hook up. I cast back again and this time caught a 13+" fish. I know the one that came out of the water after the toad was bigger so I cast back over the spot and sure enough I got another hit and hooked up. This bass was just under 15". About 2/3 of the way up the point I had a blow up in a shallow pocket, but I missed it. Didn't get any hits off the end of the point.

In the last bit of daylight I worked the wind blown rice/weed edges with the Buzzjet Jr. and Horny Toad. I had one little pike after the Toad and that was it.

All in all, not a bad night.

Ebayt Monkey Strikes Yet Again

Well I got a Deps Buzzjet Jr., well sort of anyway. The one I won is a Payo Megabass Knock Off. I don't know anything about Payo lures and I think I might have overpaid a little bit based on the asking prices of the Payo Vision 110 knock offs listed on Ebay. I didn't have anything to go on with the Buzzjet Jr. knock off and I did get it for quite a bit less than the $22-$26 that a Deps Buzzjet will fetch at auction.

Can't wait to get it and use it. Think it will be a hot Fall lure.