Sunday May 28 BP & Cyberfish:

It's not BP vs. Cyberfish because we were in different worlds a fishin. 

We started the day with a trip to Garrison Alliance Church. From there we headed home to watch the Indy 500 and eat the crappies that Cyb caught yesterday. Round about 4PM the adventure began. The plan was to hit Black Bass Lake in Kathio State Park in our float tubes. The DeLorme Minnesota Atlas and Gazetter makes it look like all you have to do is take a road or trail off of 169 to get there. It turned out to not be that easy and we could not find the lake but we sure tried and went down many a false trail.

The backup plan consisted of forsaking the little 20 acre mud hole which we could not find and hitting the 132,000 acre mud hole we could find. The destination was Wahkon bay were the BP would naturally fish bass and Cyberfish would fish panfish and this out of our float tubes. The bass vs. panfish dichotomy made a grudge match out of the question.

I got out on the fish first landing a 14" bass on a bit off "Merth" Zoom Trick worm. I quickly landed a pudgy 10" bass soon after that. Next thing I know Cyberfish is screaming in delight over a 10" gill. I went over and took his pic with a disposable camera Cyb brought along. I headed back to try and sight fish some more of those bass and the next thing I know Cyb is gleefully catching another 10" gill. I didn't go to take pictures of that one.

I was fishing an area where I could see lots of bass and gills, but I couldn't get any more of the one's I could see to go. Meanwhile Cyb was landing the occasional gill. I started casting a Snagproof tournament frog and managed to land a 17" and then a chunky 18" bass. Meanwhile Cyb was landing the occasional gill. I headed west and Cyb headed in to where I was seeing the bass and gills.

The trip West was a dud except for some nice small talk with some shore owners who were surprised to see a float tuber happen along. They even gave me tips on fish location but it was all for not because if there were fish there they weren't aggressive enough for a topwater frog. Meanwhile Cyb was landing the occasional gill, crappie, and a bass. Just when I got back in talking distance Cyb lost a big bass.

Now I think is a good time to interject the fact that Cyberfish was fishing with a telescoping cane pole. How many people do you suspect have fished Mille Lacs Lake out of a float tube using a cane pole? Cyberfish just ain't normal people THAT's FOR SURE! That big old bass got off by pulling the old swim under the float tubers legs trick. Cyb kept on a catching panfish while I toiled for another blow up. I finally got a strike but could not convert even though the fish gave me a second chance. Cyb kept on a catching panfish until dark.

We got off the lake and headed to DQ and that was that.

FYI- Cyb did get out early before church and pulled a 28" Platte Pike while float tube fishing.

Bass Opener

I didn't repeat last years mistake and got up early to hit the PRO where the early bird gets the worm. I woke up at 5:00 and was on the water by 5:35. It was a cool 67 with a bit of a SE breeze already stirring the air. I headed straight for the Platte River Outlet.

Upon Arrival I had several rods rigged and ready to go. I picked up the white swim jig and reddish purple trailer first. I got a hit on my very first cast but it was a pike. The Swim Jig was getting to caught up in the rice and so I switched to a green Zoom Horny Toad, shortly after starting to throw that I landed a 13.75" bass. Shortly after that I landed a 16.75" fish on the Horny Toad, then I landed a 17" bass with the swim jig. I then caught another 13.75" on the Toad and then a pike and then a 12" bass.

I had started making my way into the river at this point and another boat was coming in there with me. I landed a 15" right in front of these other two guys. They proceeded to go right in front of me and start fishing almost immediately the guy in the front of the other boat caught a 14-16" fish. I kind of worked slowly allowing for us to have some separation. I then started thoroughly working the wind blown side of the river. I caught a couple of 12 inchers then I got 2 that were 15-16", this was fishing behind these two guys. I narrowed the gap between us and decided to split.

I went to a semi-protected part of the PRO outside of the river. The slop was thick enough that it was Snagproof Frog time. I started by throwing a white frog and was shortly rewarded with a 16" bass. A little bit later I caught a 15" fish. I switched to a brown Snagproof Bobby's Perfect Frog, I got a bite and broke off, I'm not sure if it was a pike or not. Disappointed I tied on a Black Red Sparkle Frog and kept fishing. I worked my way to the river mouth then headed to the south shore of the PRO. All I got on the south shore was a few hits from Pike.

I then headed into "Old Cabin Bay" to do a little dock fishing except the good dock run was all covered up by parked panfish fishermen. I moved beyond them and started on docks with a black and green jig. I got a few on the docks and missed a few but nothing bigger than 15" and the fishing was fairly slow. I headed in about 11 O Clock. Overall I did alright. Conditions started to get tough with that wind, there were a ton of people on their docks or out in boats, it was a zoo out there by 9AM.

And then I took a nap

I went out for about 45 minutes around 4:30PM. I was fishing docks in our bay with the black and green jig. I managed to get one little bass. Didn't see much activity but a few sunnies. I left my polarized glasses here at the house. I got back to the house by 5:30 and shortly after that Mike "Cyberfish" Thompson arrived and we had dinner. He had been out on Mille Lacs hammering crappie and sunnies. He said he saw a lot of bedding Larry's and Sally's but could not get them to bite. After Dinner Mike cleaned crappie for a fish fry tomorrow.

We decided to go out around 7:30 in the calm area just to the East of our place. I got one 12"bass and Mike had a couple of follows. This area is full of rice which caused the Trolling Motor to overheat and now I have no working forward speeds. NICE! Fricking Minn Kota piece of crap.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and more windy than today. Dad will have a look at the trolling motor tomorrow. I have a sinking feeling that I will be using our old trolling motor for at least the first couple of tournaments. I think it will work out ok provided I don't have to fight millfoil or rice. Tomorrow with the high winds and boat out of commission Mike and I may go float tubing on a little lake.

Mille Lacs Launch with Dad

Tuesday night I got a call from Mike Cummins of the Fishers of Men Club Twin Cities asking if I would be interested in going out on a launch on Mille Lacs with his Church. Dad has been talking about doing this for a couple of years and so when I asked him we were both in.

At 4PM Wed. Night we headed out the door for Scenic Bay Resort where we were launching out of on Mille Lacs. I elected not to bring anything but a few hooks, beads, and an ice fishing depth finder. Everyone (about 20 people) arrived around 5PM and we were out by 5:20. It was cloudy and threatening rain, but actually stayed dry the whole time. We had light wind intermixed with calm periods and even some sunshine now and then. We were set up with slip bobbers and I rigged myself and dad with different bead set ups and we had different hook colors. We got no bites at the first spot which was sand over 20' of water. We then moved into 16' and rocks where there were a few nibbles but no walleye's. We then headed into shallow water on top of a reef and still nada. We then headed out to about 17' out towards "The Graveyard." We were not there long an Abby Cummins was pulling in the first eye of the trip.

We fired up the grill and ate food. Fish started to be caught and my bobber went down and I reeled in a nice 16" eater. More fish were caught all around the launch and Dad missed a couple of bites.

Abby Cummins caught her second fish which was 22" and the big fish of the trip. Quite a bit later I hooked into a 21" which was the 2nd biggest (Pic above). Dave Villa who was next to me caught a small eye and a rock bass and missed a good bite as it was getting dark. Dad had one last chance at a good fish but it got off on it's way in.

(for better picture click to enlarge)
The group caught 13 keepers had 3 that were two big and probably 3 go back that were too small. All and all we had a good time.

Fishing with Gordy

On Thursday, May 18th, the Fishers of Men Club Twin Cities had our first 3rd Thursday Night Outing, held on the third Thursday night of the month duh!, on Lake Minnetonka. Unfortunately, my boat was the only one to turn out. I arrived at the Maxwell bay access around 3:45 and was out fishing by 4:15PM. It was getting more overcast and threatening rain. I headed up to a weedline in Stubbs Bay and started off by fishing a Bomber Fat A for Pike. I fished my way down to the channel back into Maxwell with only one hit, and that fish didn't hook up. I then moved into the NW bay of Maxwell, which is a big milfoil weed flat. It was calm there, so I started fishing with a Spook-type topwater. I got a small pike and missed a small bass. It started to sprinkle about 5 O'clock. At about 5:15, I had a big swirl that missed the Spook. I let it sit then started walking it again. WHAM! Either a big Pike or Muskie engulfed the Spook, and I set into an instant break-off.

Fortunately, the lure didn't hook up and was left sitting on the surface where the swirl had just been. I retrieved my lure and headed in to pick up Gordy. Gordy was waiting at the dock, and we stayed at the ramp until 6PM to see if anyone else would show. From the Maxwell Access, we headed to Crystal Bay. In the channel between bays, Gordy spotted what we thought was a life jacket; it turned out to be a halfway decent rain jacket with a quarter in a pocket which I hauled aboard. Having another rain jacket is always good for GEM kids. We then headed into a little bay inside Crystal, where I had caught crappies and sunfish before. On our way in, I had a swim jig get bit off; Shortly after that, Gordy pulled in a 16" bass. Shortly after that, I got a 14" bass on the Spook topwater.

Gordy and I fished all around in that little bay. I missed a couple of topwater strikes and also caught a decent-sized bass. Gordy broke out the ultra-lite tackle and caught a couple of small sunnies. Eventually, things died off, and we headed back into Maxwell. The area of Maxwell we ran into was teaming with carp and panfish. While I missed a pike and jumped off a bass, Gordy caught several sunfish and crappie. Sometime when we were in Crystal Bay, it stopped raining, and by the end of the night, it had cleared out nicely. At 8:30, we headed back to the ramp to beat out a league that was weighing in at 9PM. The rest of the Fishers of Men club missed out on a good time.

Today...

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Today...

Was a nice day a wee bit windy. I hung out most of the afternoon throwing the Frisbee to Pattie Lou. Eventually I braved the wind and went out fishing. I caught 3 Pike including a strong 29" that made my day. I also had a break off and caught several bass. I fished Sullivan.

Tomorrow I will be heading to Lake Minnetonka for the inaugural Fishers of Men 3rd Thursday Outing. At this point I expect to be the only boat out there. Oh well.

More trolling motor problem, my bracket broke, but dad worked out a pretty good fix for me. Minn Kota Endura transom mounts are junk for serious fisherman, step up to the Maxxum's.

Brought the Widow Olson some fish to eat and she repaid me with a chocolate bar and banana bread. Had fish for dinner, yum.

Opener In 4 Parts

Opening Report Part 1:
I'm Back. The wind and waves were howling in out of the East which means I couldn't cast very well. After about 6 to 10 casts I was out of there. If the wind stays like that than the Eddy's Jetty may be pretty good tomorrow during the day.

Opening Report Part 2:
I've spent the day so far inside relaxing, the weather has been cool rainy and windy, but plan to get out in a bit. Here is the results so far from the Gov., Governor, first lady reel in walleyes.

Opening Report Part 3:
Around 3PM or so I started getting around to getting the boat ready in a steady drizzle to light rain to steady downpour. I was not thrilled about this. When the boat finally launched I trolled a Excaliber Floater Shad for Pike and Walleye's. I got a pike and then the motor started giving me trouble so I headed into the little east bay. I got 3 small pike and a bass. From there I headed into Sullivan and trolled the Excaliber Floater Shad for Pike and Walleye's with no results. I then headed to the South side of the Pro. I started with throwing a swim jig and caught a small bass immediately. Shortly after that a pike separated me from the swim jig. I put on a spinnerbait and worked all the way into the river. I got 2 more small pike and a bass. I was getting hungry and so I headed back into Platte. I decided to troll with the Excaliber Floater Shad for Pike and Walleye's when I was between the two Islands. Trolling in I whacked a 5-6lb Northern and then I decided I was good and headed in.

Opening Report Part 4:
The weather was finally clearing up and so I decided to head to Mille Lacs and Eddy's Jetty. The reports from Mille Lacs today have been that the fish were on fire. I waited until I saw all the fishing stuff on the 10 O'clock news and then headed out. Between 10:45 and Midnight I landed 4 Eyes all off the same spot on the Jetty. The first two were a 15" keeper and 19" keeper. I then landed a 21.5" slot fish and 20.5" slot fish. After casting for another 15 minutes or so without a bite I decided that was good and left.

Not a bad end to a somewhat crappy day.

Fishers of Men Spring Outing

The Fishers of Men Spring outing was held at Broadwater Lodge on Woman Lake May 6-8.

The weather was nice and the accomodations were excellent for the 2006 Fishers of Men Fishing Club Twin Cities Spring Outing. We had 19 guys and 3 GEM kids. I arrived around 6pm on Friday and headed out to Otter bay to find the guys who had arrived already. I recognized Merv Heitschmidt, Gary Ellis, and Mike Cummins. I kind of avoided them and looked for shallow fish. Otter bay looks like it would be a shallow backwater but it is actually a fairly deep dropping bay. I saw a few bass and lots of baitfish shallow but no crappies or sunnies. Around 7:30 the other boats headed in. Shortly after they left I headed in too.

The guys had been putting a hurt on the Crappies in 10 to 22ft of water and were in the cleaning shack. Frank Evans, formerly of Atikwa Lake Lodge, had caught a 14.5, 1lb11oz Crappie. They pretty much had limited out for 6 guys.

Jeff Compton and family wanted to head out and so I guided them out to the spot those guys had been fishing. I caught nothing but they got 3 and 1 slimer. After 1/2 an hour I headed in to get dinner at Patricks in Longville. Even though the other guys were a 1/2hour in front of me they still had not gotten there fish dinners yet. I had chopped steak and some of the guys fish along with a hearty salad bar. We then headed to One Stop where I bought a highly defective Wing-It Bobber.

Back at the Lodge Mike Price and Armondo had arrived and Dave Lindmark showed up late with Corey and a friend. I hung out with Lowell and Gary Ellis. Gary was nice enough to put 4lb line on one of my reels.

Saturday: After a good pancake breakfast I headed out with Gary and Lowell in search of some slabs. Right away we were smacking fish. Gary got 2, Lowell got 2 and I got one and missed one. That bite died and we moved. I got a bass in the next spot. After a dry spell we moved again. Gary caught a couple more, Lowell got one and I missed another couple of fish before it was time to go in for lunch.

Lunch was taco salad and sandwiches, yum.

I then putzed around for a while, I headed in to Longville to get an ice cream cone and replace that Wing-It Bobber. After getting back I embarked with Jay to go slab hunting.

Fishing was slow, Jay got a slimer and I got 1 keeper crappie and one little one. Jay needed to go in and so I took him in. I then headed out for about 45minutes before dinner getting a decent fish drifting. That was it for me and the elusive Crappie.

We had an excellent fish fry for dinner then hung out into the evening. Mike and the Braham crew took off. Armondo and Mike had a reletively tough day out on backwater lakes. Fishing on Woman was slow but consistant for most with a few limits caught.

Sunday: People were up early for a breakfast of leftovers. I ate and went back to sleep. When I woke up Villa, Thompson, and Jay were about to leave. Lindmark left shortly after them. I headed to fish as that Robert and Tony and the Compton clan were out fishing. I met Robert at the Otter/Broadwater narrow and they told me nothing was going on so I headed in to pack up and leave.

I headed over to Boy Lake to hunt dog fish. The wind had started kicking up out of the south pretty good. I caught two bass including a chunky 19.5 out of the Maiden Cain. I then headed to the Creek that connects Boy and Swift lake. The creek got shallow and I was seeing rocks, so I abandoned that quest and fished the creek which had current moving swiftly. I got a couple of small hammer handles on a white swim jig.

I moved out to the weed flat out from the creek and was throwing the swim jig until a pike took it. I had caught a couple of slimmers and had a decent size eye follow. I then went to the white jig and pig and caught or missed several more slimers. I checked out Rabbit Lake then decided I had enough and packed up.

When I got home I tried Rock for doggies for about 45 minutes. No dogs but bass and slimers were active.

2nd Bowfin of the Yeat

2nd Dogfish of the Year
Got a 21incher tonight on a white Stanley Phantom. May have had another follow.