5/10: Was tired after the Teen Challenge Weekend at Wapo and so I didn't get out to Bone until the late afternoon. I think I got out after 5PM. I started by doing some Sonar and GPS work then went to the entrance to the Boat Channel. Fish were in there pretty thick and I popped a bunch on topwater and a wacky rigged Senko including a hefty 19" inch fish. Water temps were upper 50's main lake to mid 60's in the channel. Saw a bunch of Eagles, they are all over the place.
5/11: I decided that a week and a half out was plenty of time for the lake to change and I wanted to catch something so I started the morning by fishing the channel entrance and then go inside. It was sunny and warm and I Popped a bunch of fish on the wacky senko's and on a white jig n pig. Got another hefty 19" on the Jig pitched to the base of an isolated pad. Lost the jig to a big muskie that wrapped me in a boat lift; I played the fish all wrong and really should have landed it. The muskie jumped and swam by or under the boat many times in the 10 minutes I fought it. On my pass out I did get a couple of more nice bass. I then went out and did some GPS work and then fished the area by the little island and landed several more keeper bass there on the wacky rig and with a swim jig. Overall a very good day on the water, my 5 Best were easily 13+ and might have gone 15+. I explored much of the East Side. Feeling Good about Bone as I went home.
5/15 Headed to Bone after the MN Opener with GEM at the St. Louis River. Got to Bone about 1:30 on Sunday which was Sunny and Cool after a windy and wet Saturday. Took my time launching and talked with WI Federation guy who was pre-fishing for 8Bone 8Deer 2day split tourney the same weekend as us. They would be launching at 6:30 and so would have first crack at the Channel if any of them wanted it. Just what I didn't need. Got on the water and did GPS work and fished a bit on the North End. Started to rain as I was getting off the water. Found something interesting.
5/16 The start of the Weathermen being dead wrong. Waited all morning for it to get warmer than low 50's. I headed out about 1PM when it finally got over 60 and it looked like it was gonna warm up. Worked down the lake on the West Side and got into a 35or36 Muskie on PinkHJ along with several small bass. Worked the West side as it got cloudier, cooler, and more windy. Popped another muskie this time on craw Frenzy Jerk, this one was bigger, maybe 38". Both muskies unhooked at boat side. Water temps now in mid to low 50's.
5/17 Once again cloudy, windy, cool. The weatherman had predicted 70's and sun every day and was wrong every day. I did some GPS work on the upper West Side. The water was getting colder not warmer. Also did some work on the East Side. Was only catching small fish. I was not satisfied and the weather predictions were still for warming so I decided I would be back Fri.
5/20 Got out a bit late and arrived about 3 or so. Shot the bull will Jack Kiffe and Brad Seiwert and then went out to do some Aqua Viewing. Didn't see a single bass out deep but did find lots of pannies in certain area's. As the sun went down the water had warmed in shallow and there was activity and I found something in super shallow. Would the night temps hold them in? Main Lake Upper 50's North end shallows low to mid 60's.
Tournament Day:Watched 2 boats from WI FED club go right to NBC. Team Bass had 19 Teams and I drew out 17th. It did get into the low 50's but stayed calm and warmer for much of the evening. Was threatening to rain and storm as we launched. I headed right to a shallow area I thought would be good. Much of the North Bay was covered. I immediately landed a 12" on topwater. With boats close I played some defensive fishing and didn't go super shallow right away (this was a mistake as I think I had a good hour were I could have gotten into some better fish super shallow). Caught 3 more on topwater with one just under 14". Just after 7:45 the wind started up a bit out of the SE and the fish moved out. I went super shallow when I had some breathing room 8:30 but by then they were gone.
The wind eventually started really blowing and I headed toward the channel in rollers. Caught a few shorts on a spinnerbait over the flat as I headed to NBC. Nick and Doug were in there working it hard. I fished the entrance with the HT and a ways into the channel. Did miss something by a dock, but got no other bites. As I headed out I decided to work the entrance with the BSF and caught several more shorts.
I then headed out to crank the L in the wind. Out on the Tip did get 2 close shorts on consecutive casts while ripping the weeds with a Bluegill DT 10. I thought I might be onto something but that was it. Worked the inside windblown along the windblown out side and backside without anything. Was 1 PM and nothing in the Well so I headed to the Glass House. Worked the glass house West with a crank and Jerk and got into some shorts. The wind was blowing pretty good and it was getting warmer and got a few shorts on a spinnerbait. Went back and decided to work the Glass house break with a tube and promptly landed a nice fish but it was really blowing and my anchor wasn't holding, got several more shorts. Watched Wick land a couple on Docks, for goodness sakes. Got a few more hits from shorts and a Rocky Rocco, but no more keepers. Time was running short and so I did a quick hit in the Deer Playground, I then remembered I was 10 slow and had to head in. 1 stinking keeper.
Bone Stat Line:TLA: .000
LCP: .200
FWA: 3Lbs
BBP: .000
After Thoughts: It's tough when you are catching short fish on everything you try and have a history on the lake of popping shorts along with good fish in the same area's and techniques together. I kept believing the next bite would measure but they kept being short.
I can't believe the winning team did it on on docks.
Mistakes (What I wish I would have done differently):
1. Not going supper shallow and fishing with the HT right off the bat. I think the fish were there, but I was trying not to tip others off. Plus I was expecting a front/storm from the west not wind out of the SE. I thought the water was gonna be protected and there would be a spree when the front arrived. Instead of playing the weather the weather played me all the way on this one. The weather forecasts being wrong played havoc with my game plan.
2. I recognized the fish moved out and was just to slow in getting to the NBC. I could have beaten Doug's boat in there and could have shared the area with Nick and probably landed at least a couple of good keepers.
3. Should have thrown a jig on the L Tip after the bite stopped.
4. Spent too much time shallow and probably on the L, which meant I left some water on the table. I should have gotten to my spot on LBSKI point even though it would have been roller city there and throwing a spinnerbait off the buoy flat may have been good too.
5. Jack and I should have teamed up. Together we very well might have won it as that he was on better fish and I was using techniques that were getting bites and I almost certainly would have pulled a couple from the back deck.
Parting Thought:
Which is better: A 16th Place(worthless35Pt)3LB FWA and .200LCP
or a 9th Place(42Pt) Skunk?
I'd take the Points and the skunk.
Next Tournament: Koronis/Rice June 4th with Nick Graupe
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