Tonight's Platte Lake Report: Docks, Maidencane, North

Today was a beautiful day, it was in the mid 70's, sunny, and little wind in the evening. I started fishing around a quarter to 5PM. With the weather being what it was I figured docks might be good, so the plan was to start by hitting a few select docks just across the bay from our lake place.

Last year I bought some Strike King 3X Z Too's which are basically a "super plastic" Super Fluke but I never tried them out, well tonight was going to be their night. One problem, the one I put on wouldn't sink with a regular Gamagatsu 4/0 Wide Gap hook. Not happy I immediately switched to a "funky chicken" Zoom Super Fluke (bubblegum top & chartreuse belly, with a red tail). I didn't catch anything on the first couple of docks, but I was seeing sunfish activity.
I think I got this first bass (14") casting out to a couple of isolated lily pads. On the next dock down I pulled 4 bass and missed one from under a boat lift and dock. As I worked my way down the shore I seemed to have more luck in the pads and weeds out away from the docks, but at the 2nd to last dock I fished I pulled a nice 15.75" out from under a jet ski lift. I continued down the shore fishing the weeds pads and one last dock, getting a few in the 11-14" range. Also during this whole time I missed a few good bites. As I was coming to the end of the stretch of water I was going to fish there is a little group of isolated pads. I pulled 3 bass off those pads and missed a couple of other bites.

I think it was now after 7PM and it was decision time, where to head next? I was going to hit up the point at Loon Sex bay but there was a boat where I wanted to start so I audibled to go across from the Platte Lake Public access where there is maidencane, wild rice, pads, reeds, and cattails. I started out at the end of the West side of the maidencane and worked my way towards shore where the cattails are. I was using a watermelon red Zoom Horny Toad to cover water. I didn't contact fish right away and the first bite stole the buzz legs from the Toad. My first bass was a solid 15+ that smoked it. Unfortunately that was it for the quality I would catch. As I worked my way towards shore I got bass on the Horny Toad and a white/Chart Nose River2Sea Bully Wa slop frog. Unfortunately this area was holding pike and I lost Horny Toad buzz legs a couple of times and the Bully Wa frog went bye bye as well but I did boat some bass. I replaced the Bully Wa with a white Cabela's brand Chuck-It frog and when they named it the Chuck-It they weren't kidding, you can throw it a mile.

Around 8:40PM it was decision time again and I elected to head to the North end of the lake. As I was working my way out of the reeds I got a solid 24" pike on the Horny Toad. Off to the North End where I caught the biggest bass I've gotten out of Platte Lake. The area is the tip of a point where maidencane and reeds with some rice jut out into the lake. The better water tends to be when you get closer to shore after the maidencane ends. I missed the first couple of strikes and lost the buzz on a Horny Toad. I proceeded to miss several opportunities on the Toad and Chuck-It frog, but I did land about 4 bass including the nights best at 17."

(Here is the 17" with Chuck-It) It's amazing how after catching so many 11-14" fish that a 17" seems like a 19".

It was getting dark and the mosquito's started to come out so I called it a night around 9:30PM or so. My official count was 25 bass though I might have caught a few more than that and I think I also caught 4 pike.