15 Top Fishing Memories of 2021

 

1. Winning my first Baxter Bass Snatcher Tournament Ever. 

2. Belle getting her first ever fish on a frog.

3. Frog Fishing With Mal for the first time. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to land a fish. She had plenty of opportunities.

Sullivan Lake 4lber

Platte Lake 4lber

Sullivan Lake 4lber

Platte Lake 4.16lb

Sullivan Lake 3.88lbs 

4. Getting Steve on multiple pigs this year.

5. Fishing with Kane and getting him on some frog fish.

6. Sumo the Stowaway gets me a sumo bass.

7. Three trips with Lois and Chuck.

8. Getting skunked at Leech Lake, listening to Kid Rock Cowboy as we headed back West riding out the rollers, and the drive home with Darrien commiserating about the lousy conditions. 

9. Catching that sumo gill on Sullivan

10. Pete's 21-inch jumpin' bullhead at the Grumpy Old Man Hole and me laying the hammer down on three golden bullheads that night.

11. Some big pike this Fall and losing a big one that jumped out of the net twice on Opener morning.

12. That short, but hot Fall bite on the LiveTarget Wake Gill

13. Ice Fishing in the New Trap and laying the smackdown on the panfish on Rock Lake

14. Spending a morning in the boat with Lowell Borgan on Whitefish Lake

(5.46lbs)

15. Big Momma of the year at the Cookie Jar on June 7th, on Mad Maxx (Bluegrass)

Bonus Memory:

16. Big Doggo on the same night Steve dropped something huge in the rice. This was my 2nd bowin of the day. I caught one in the morning in a boat lane at the SPRO.

Buzzkill

 Mission Aborted Snow To Deep.

Final Two Fish of 2021

 I ended 2021 with a double. The snow and a cold kept me off of the lake for the rest of the remaining days.

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.