GOMH Birds and Beaver

So I got out to the Grumpy Old Man Hole tonight.  I wish Mike Thompson could have been there with his camera.  He could have gotten some great shots.  As it is you will have to put up with mine.  In the first picture that is a great blue heron flying above that tree (Click All the Pictures to Enlarge).

The view into Sullivan

 It's about 4 to 5 times more open than last Sunday on the Sullivan side.

The view into Platte

 About 3 times more open than last Sunday.

The beaver swam under me.

I also saw an owl and 4 deer over towards the Platte Lake Access.  At this point I'm predicting the lakes to be open in two weeks on the 30th of April.  We've got a few more cool days than it is suppose to start warming up a little.

1 Year Ago Today It Did Snow

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That's right, last year wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.  It got cool for a couple of weeks around this time.  However we did have open water and in two days when it warmed up I put the boat in the water for the first time and got some fish.  I don't know if I'll be able to get the boat out of the back yard this month.  The 10th day of the 10 day forecast looks promising, but we are supposed to get more snow tomorrow and Thursday.  I may go check to see the GOMH later on tonight.

Some lakes in Southern MN are open now.

This Cracked Me Up

Go see more video's at Yumisfun.com

It's Back

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Well we got about 5 more inches of new snow.  It was enough so that I had to get the snow blower out.  This kind of sucks.  The 10 day forecast doesn't have a temp over  42 ^°. Looks like it could very well be May before I get a fish this year. Yikes!

Jersey's For St. Jude's Auction

Brandon Palaniuk, Chris Lane, A-Mart, Luke Clausen, Ott Defoe, Brent Ehrler, Paul Elias, Randall Tharp, Scott Martin, Dave Lefebre and Dave Dudley all have Jersey's up for auction this year.  Be sure to check it out the auctions all end on Sunday.  I'm not sure if there is going to be a second round of auctions or not.

Don't got the cha-ching to put down on a jersey, but want to give to St. Jude's.  I recommend giving to either
Jason Holmer or Glenn Walker who are both giving away prizes to their contributors this year.  Or also Paul Strege who puts together the auctions.

Holmer is giving away one big prize.

While Walker is giving away several small prizes.

Not A Lot Of Progress At The GOMH This Week

I got out to check the Grumpy Old Man Hole tonight.  It was just slightly more open than last week.  The water level is fairly low.  There was a beaver swimming around on the North side.  I did throw a few casts, but didn't get a bite.  The water looked really stained, almost like an algae bloom was going on.  The weather  looks like it is gonna be cool again this week.

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There was a lot of debris floating around

I Can See My Driveway 2013!!!

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I'm calling it clear today, because I wouldn't touch snow on my way out or in.  It looks like it's going to be on the cool side again this week, Harumph Humbug!!!

I'll probably check the GOMH tomorrow.

In the Mail Today- Jonathan Paul Fitovers and Christopherson's Crawtubes (and a Little Forgotten Treasure)

I really like the fact that they come with a permanently attached tether strap.

 I got 50 White Crawtubes and 50 Huckleberry Crawtubes from Christopherson's in Alexandria.

I put them in Zoom bags.

And while I was getting the Zoom bags I discovered some Crawtubes that I bought last year and forgot where in my big box of Zoom Horny Toads.  They are form Jerry's Baits and Tackle out of who knows where.  I got them on Ebay last year.  They are smoke/purple and bluegill.  They came in packs of 20 and I also transferred these to Zoom bags.

2013 When Can I See My Driveway? #5

Almost there.  The Top of driveway is totally clear.  Just a little bit down in the middle.

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Tonight I heard my first Red Wing Blackbird of the year.

2013 When Will I See My Driveway? #4

Well even with the cold weather the last 3 days we have lost quite a bit.  My guess is the ice will be completely  off on Thursday.  It supposed to be up close to 50 degrees the next couple of days.

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One last scrap at the top of the driveway.

The area that will take longest

The very end of the driveway is totally clear.

18 Blog Posts In March

That is the worst post total for March since I started blogging in Nov. of 2004.  I blame it mostly on Facebook.  I wouldn't say 18 posts is a pathetic number though.

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.

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MN Fishing Museum Fishing With the Pro's Benefit

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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.