Pike and Walleye Best Lures for 2021

Caught 966 Pike this year

My double-digit pike lures for 2021

28 Walleyes Landed in 2021

Walleye numbers were way down this year compared to the last three due to low water levels and the difficult Fall bite.

2021 Bass Lure of the Year: Bobby's Perfect Frog

 

The Teckel Whacker and Mad Maxx came out of the gate strong, but by the time frog fishing for the year was over, Bobby's Perfect had run them down and run them over.  The craw tube came in 2nd place when my Jumpin' Bullhead totals were added to my total. Bobby's Perfect edged out the craw tube by 1 fish.

Here is my list of double-digit bass lures this year

Jumpin Bullhead double-digit list:

Solace That the Solstice is Here!

 Time to head North, Sun. Head North!

2021 Lure of the Year: T.H.E. Jig

 

T.H.E. Jig

I ice fished a record number of times in 2021, in large part because of that, I caught a record number of perch(307) and crappies(720). I also caught a record number of sunfish(436), but that was due to me getting the Trophy in the water early. I caught a bunch of those fish on Keith Nelson's T.H.E. Jig; it flat out catches 'em. This year, T.H.E. Jig was my top producing lure with 662 fish caught so far, which breaks my record for most fish caught by a lure in a year.  Previously it was the 510 I caught last year on a Bobby's Perfect Frog.

Pete Carroll As Vikings Head Coach Rumor

 I didn't click on the article and apparently, Fansided thinks this is a ploy by Zigi and Company with little chance of happening. If Slick Rick and Zigi were to pull it off I would applaud the move. Pete Carroll is a proven winner and dynamic football mind. If Coach Carroll is looking for a change of scenery and a new challenge I would welcome him with open arms. I love Zim, but Carroll's teams have been to the promised land twice.

Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing Is Now Open

 

Only 2 Months Until The St. Johns Tourny

Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing is up and ready to go for 2022.

Here is the base prizes list.

Prizes can also be one by joining groups that have them.

21/22 Ice Season Starts With A Crappie

10.5" VMC Fly/Wax (Pink)

 Didn't get a skunk to start ice fishing season for the first time since 2017.

Ice Up

GOMH totallly locked up

Least amount of ice at Rock

 

17 Years And Still Blogging

 

17-Years ago today, I started this blog with the above post. For my 17th Blogoversary, I did a remaster of that first post with Grammarly. There were something like 17 grammar errors that I corrected. The remastered version is also in the archives. Onto another year. Tight Lines and SKOL Vikes!

Story of Struggle And Hope, Highly Recommend Watching This Video

 

Final Open Water Fish of 2021

 

16.5" Jerk Shad (Tomato)

This trip was it for open water in 2021. Saw one walleye and I caught it. Low water made for terrible fishing at Mille Lacs this Fall.

Congrats on the Win Against the Chargers, Coach!

 Please assign someone else play-calling responsibilities for the offense.

Kayak Championship Won By Blonde Girl Kristine Fischer

 

She came in 2nd in for Angler of the Year. Congrats, Kristine! She worked hard to achieve this dream!

(No offense intended by my calling an adult woman a girl.) 

Trophy Pulled For 2021

Forgot to run the gas out, oops.

Loaded and ready to go.

Final Trophy Fish in 2021

I took 186 trips in the Trophy this year. I am not sure if that is a record or not. I caught more than 2,223 fish on those trips.

April	12
May	28
June	36
July	26
Aug	32
September	24
Oct	21
Nov	7
Total	186

Is This My Final Bass of 2021?

Final Bass of 2021?

 Well, the literal answer is no. I didn't like how dark the picture was of the bass after I caught this one.  It is possible I will catch bass at the GOMH or through the ice, but I wouldn't bet on either of those things happening. So today may very well be when I catch my last bass of 2021.

I Still Believe In Mike Zimmer

 It has been a brutal year for the MN Vikings and the fan base. I haven't been incredibly impressed with what have you done for me lately attitude of the fans. If the team turns this season around and makes the playoffs, we will absolutely deserve to be there, and Zimmer will deserve to be the Vikings head coach for as long as he wants to coach. If Kubiak gets his head out of his butt, this team should be fine. The defense is holding up their end of the bargain. 

I thought the Vikes should have gone for the 2pt conversion and the win vs. the Raven's. However, with the way Kubiak's play-calling has been working out this season, I can't say I blame Zim for not wanting to take that bet. Zim put his faith in the kicker for the D to hold on in regulation and, if needed, over time. He was rewarded twice by his D that had been on the field all day. That is a coach that knows his team, and it's a shame he wasn't rewarded for it.

I think the team has to be as frustrated. If I were the Chargers, I wouldn't take the Vikings lightly. I expect the Vikes to put on a smackdown this week.

I believe in you, Zim!   

Dock And Other Things Came In Today (5lber)

 

5.02lbs Jackhammer/Devil Jr (FC)

Last Trip Todd Got a Bass

I think this was the eve of the Deer Opener.  Steve, Todd, and I pulled the dock out then Todd and I went fishing. I got the 5lber in LSB Northside where I has been getting fish. Todd got a couple of bass on the Jackhammer at SPSI and NPBI. We ended on F Flat chasing activity. I think we got a couple of pike.

22.25" Rage Swimmer

 I fished at Eddy's from 10:00 to midnight. Got one bite at the South Jetty it choked the Rage Swimmer. Shined only 1 fish.

That Escalated Quickly

 I won this LiveTarget Wakebait through Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing back in the Fall of 2016; it arrived in early October.  I caught 4 fish with it in 2016, 19 fish in 2017, and 1 fish last year. Basically, until about a week ago, it was in pristine condition. Then in the span of about 3 trips, it caught me 60 fish and now looks like this. I'll be buying a couple more soon. I don't know why I didn't throw it that often in the past. Quality fish love this thing.

Frustrated Incorporated

 My last Vikings blog was after the Week 1 loss to the Bengals. The next two games left me feeling pretty optimistic as they scored at least 30pts in both games and D improving.  Then inexplicably, the wheels fell off the Offence vs. the Browns and continued to sputter vs. the Lions; They almost lost the game blowing a 10-point lead with 5-minutes left. Thankfully, the Lions left too much time on the clock, and Kirk got us in field goal range in three plays, and Joseph made the kick.  It is hard to feel good about the team after the last two Offensive performances. Still, a wins a win, no matter how ugly. There is a lot to feel good about on the defensive side of the ball. Vikes are going to be a tough out because of that fact. And I think our offense is close to working. Maybe things will click next week. 

I just was looking at this year's stats. They are in the top half of the league or higher in most of them. If the Vikes can just perform a little bit better and cut down on the penalties on Offense, they should be alright. 

My Platte/Sullivan Bass Snatcher Tournament Victory Recap

  

4 and a 5

Got Wood Again, Finally

What my scale said

Conditions: 54-72℉, Partly Cloudy to Cloudy, 0-4mph S

The Day:

Darren was kind enough to give me control of the boat for the day. I elected to start in Sullivan at the Intersection. I had Darren set us down a little short of the juice. A decision I almost regretted as Snatcher Ludenia and Nate set down in the general area but fortunately didn't get a bite to slow them down. Darren had something big boil on his frog on about his fifth cast. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get it to strike again. I got us up to the juice and had a fish suck under my frog in a spot where my vision was a bit obscured by reeds. I ended up getting a less than optimal hookset, and the fish quickly got off. A couple minutes later, I had a fish suck my frog under, but this time I was ready and got the day off to a good start with a fish close to 3lbs. I began to work to the East when a boat not in the tournament fished through where I was heading. They caught one small fish, and that was it. I ended up fishing the Intersection instead. It just wasn't happening, and the wind was staying still, so we fished the GOMH on the Sullivan side and then headed into Platte for the rest of the day. 

We spent the next few hours on the North end of Platte in Inlet Bay. I started by fishing the rice line from East to West. I got a small keeper on a Terminator Frog. I think Darren got his first keeper shortly after that. It just wasn't happening on top, so I started throwing a Magnum Super Fluke. We were at the Cookie Jar, and I was just about to pull us off of the rice line when the 4lber bit the Fluke. That kept us on the rice line longer, but we didn't get any more bites. The wind came up a bit, so I pulled us out onto the flat. I got a small keeper and a bunch of pike on the Jackhammer and a craw tube as I worked our way back to where we started. It got calm again. I got my feet set and threw the Terminator Frog way back in the rice line, and 5lber slammed a couple seconds after it landed. I could have sworn I locked the weight at 4.93lbs, but apparently not. I wasn't surprised that my scale weighed it light. We worked the rice corner, then turned around, went deeper into the junk, and I worked our way South. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the slop in Center Inlet. As we made our way into South Inlet, I cast to the coontail mat, and a 3lber took the Terminator Frog about 10 feet out from the mat. A couple minutes later, Darren had a good fish boil on his frog, but unfortunately, his line snapped on the hookset. Darren did get a keeper there in South Inlet. We ended up working our way back to the north with Darren missing several opportunities and me getting pike on a buzzbait. The sun came out, and we got back on the rice line. I got a quality cull, and Darren got his last fish of the day.

As we were coming to the end of the rice, I noticed the front flasher was flickering on and off. Turns out his starting battery was out of juice. I headed us in the direction of the public access, and Smitty came by to see what was up. Smitty has a lithium jumper pack, which got us back in the game for the final hour and a half.  We made a couple of more stops with me getting a few pike, no bass. Just couldn't get one more Platte Lake Special to put my weight for the day over 20lbs.

Results: I won my first Snatcher Tournament with a weight of 19/12, and I also got wood and $ for the 5/2 Lunker.  Smitty came in 2nd with 17/9, and Nate got 3rd with 16/13. 

The win also allowed me to reach my goal of finishing in the club's Top 10 for the year in 10th Place.

My Thoughts: I am so grateful to have drawn Snatcher Darren as a boater and that I fished clean for the most part. I thought I had screwed my chances catching a twenty-pound bag on Wednesday when I didn't know we would be fishing my home lake; Thankfully there were still some melon heads up North. Winning on a lake that has disappointed me so many times made my first win so much sweeter. With the way my season had gone, I seriously doubted I was ever going to reach my number one goal, but I did it. Victory Was Achieved on August 26th, 2021!