My Juice In 2024

 I do not in any way attribute the disappointing fishing I experienced this year to me sharing my "Juice" last year. This year was just off. The Jumpin Bullhead bite was off at the Grumpy Old Man Hole. The frog and topwater bite were a struggle. 2024 was just off. 

Here is my Juice for 2024

2024 Platte/Sullivan Trips Fish Caught

Sullivan Only Trips

Platte Only Trips

Platte Lake was just brutal for me this year.

Here is the Juice for me in 2024. Where I did my ice fishing:

Sure the panfish and pike are small for the most part, but I got a lot of action.

2024 Opener Evening Short Trophy Trip In Platte(5/11/24)

  

4lber Dirty Jigs SC Buzzbait/ToadZ

8:15-9:15PM North Channel Inn Bay Platte Lake

66-70℉, PC, 0-3mph W

Water Temp: Low 60's

This trip would not have happened if Steve hadn't taken Mom home from the late hamburger feed. Thanks, Steve! I went to Channel Inn Bay with limited daylight. I got the 4lber at Dogfish Corner, as well as a pike in the hay. I got a quick pike throwing the Swim Jig and a small bass on the first cast with the SBKO. Conditions said I should have gotten plenty of bites. I didn't bring a headlamp or spotlight. I stuck the boat landing, and Todd helped me unload stuff, which was appreciated. I was tired, and it would have taken me quite a while longer without the help.

2Bass 

2Pike 

Lake Place Dock In(4/14/24)

Steve got the dock in today.

 Here is how things looked yesterday when I went down front. Steve must have felt some peer pressure with everybody else's docks going in.

Ice Off Platte, Take 2(4/2/24)

 

Today was the 2nd Ice Off on Platte Lake of 2024!

I shoveled out a path on the SW side of the GOMH and fished for 45 minutes, losing one gator bullhead. A lot of swans around tonight. I saw the beaver again. No loons yet.

GOMH & Platte Report (3/29/24)

 It was in the low 40's today. I didn't head out tonight until around 7:30 when the front/clouds were moving in. Platte and the GOMH are still mostly iced up. It was getting pretty dark when I got to the Rock Access road, so I decided to turn around rather than see if anyone blazed a trail down to the lake. I'm guessing not. It is only supposed to be in the low 40s for the next couple of days, so I am guessing 2nd Ice Off won't be until Tuesday or Wednesday.

GOMH & P/S(3/28/24)

 

Cool sunny day. Platte is ice-covered. Just a little open water at the GOMH. I'd say they got 13/14" at the lakes. Will be interesting to see how much the lake levels rise next week.

GOMH & Platte Iced Up Again(3/27/24)

 

We got about a foot of snow from Sunday to Tuesday and much to my amazement, that combined with the cold on the back half of the storm was enough to refreeze the GOMH area and all of Platte Lake. Sullivan and Long still had open water. I didn't check Bulldog or Rock.  I'm thinking the lake will be open by Easter Sunday. 

Giving Up My Platte/Sullivan Juice For 2023

I just discovered that the Fish Swami App offers me yearly, monthly, and hourly maps of the general location of the fish I caught in the time frame of my choosing. There is no breakdown for fish species, but this year I was pretty much a 50/50 split between pike and bass this year. So here is where I caught them in 2023. 

This map was my Platte/Sullivan trips in which I fished both lakes.

Just my Platte Lake trip fish numbers

My Only Sullivan Lake trip fish numbers

In the coming days, I will do a post contrasting where I caught fish in 2023 vs. 2022, when I mainly was still fishing in Platte Lake.

Platte/Sullivan Trips: 922 fish caught

Platte Lake Trips: 345 fish caught (Probably 80/20 split pike to bass)

Sullivan Lake Trips: 404 fish caught.

 

Ice Off Platte, Sullivan, Rock, and The Dog

Slush and Candles at Platte Lake Access tonight

What it looked like this morning

Slush and Candles East of GOMH

With the way the wind blew today, I think Sully went first. The ice all got pushed to the South and East overnight and was about to get beat up once the wind picked up. 

Rock this morning was slush

Rock Open tonight

The Dog this morning

The Dog Tonight

Area Ice Report

 

I vacuumed out the Trophy today, then went down front. A big bulge in the ice in front of our place down to Jenny's had me thinking more ice was off in our bay than there actually was. Still would not surprise me if ice is off our bay by tomorrow. Ice pushed onto shore in the E corner of F Flat. I didn't see really any extended open water on Rock, and Bulldog looked about the same as it has. The South end of Long is open. Channel Inn Bay was Open, and there was open water past North Point Small Island.

GOMH Yesterday and Today (Minnow Struggle)

 

Yesterday

The Sullivan Sign was back up. Didn't even notice it as I took a quick pick, then was on my way to Brainerd for the Snatchers Banquet.

Slightly more open today

A little bit of bare ground on the hillside

Dead fish & fish struggling to breathe at the surface.
Something I've never witnessed here and an ominous sign.

It's gonna be a while before the North side of the bridge is snow free.

Hopefully, open water here by April 1st

Platte Lake Ice Out Prediction For 2023 (Updated)

No more spitballing; it's March and time for BP to give his official ice-out prediction for Platte Lake. Right now, we have a lot of snow to melt and seem to be heading into a slightly cooler-than-normal weather pattern. The average temp right now in this area is 33℉ and raises 1℉ every couple of days. On the 19th of the month, two weeks from today, the average high temp reaches 40℉. With the forecast being what it is, we are looking like a slow thaw this year. It would take a major warm-up to reach my February Spitball of April 8th. I don't think that is going to happen. There is open water at the Grumpy Old Man Hole, which wasn't the case last year until after March 20th.

I predict the ice will be off Platte Lake on April 17th, 2023 

2022 Prediction April 17th, Ice Off April 24th

2021 PredictionApril 13th, Ice Off on March 29th

2020 Prediction April 8th, Nailed it! 

2019 Prediction May 9th Ice Off Date April 20th 

2018 Prediciton April 22nd Ice Off Date May 2nd 

2017 Prediction March 29th Ice Off Date April 1st 

2016 No Prediction Ice was off on March 23rd

2015 Prediction April 20th Ice Out Date April 3rd

The extended forecast (Updated below)

I wonder why they now say 30's instead of 20's next weekend.