Bass Snatcher Little Boy/ Wabedo Tournament

I fished with Darren Kiefer as my boater.  This was the third time I've had the pleasure to share the boat with Darren.  He got a little spun out in this one.

Weather Conditions:  It was a cool September morning with a cold breeze blowing out of the NW when we blasted off at around 7:40AM.  The sun eventually came out and the breeze died down some and it got to 61°F.

The Day: Darren had gotten some good fish in the slop in the Access area when he pre-fished and it was pretty calm there, so that's where we started.  I had a hit on a yellow Horny Toad but missed it in the pads.  We worked his prime area back and forth but didn't come up with anything. Then we fished the small Island right by the access.  We got around to some reeds that had wind blowing on to them and I got my first and biggest fish (17") of the day on the Yellow Horny Toad.  We worked our way around the back side of the Island and I missed a fish in the pads.  Darren also missed something, probably a pike or a muskie in the pads as well.

Next we moved to the North Shore adjacent to the Island and worked the shoreline heading East. One of the two of us got a nice pike on the back side of a reed point.  We got into some pads and docks and I got my 2nd bass of the day (15.25") on the Horny Toad.  I missed a couple of hits in the pads.  We were working some seriously good looking water with pads, rice, and reeds, but not catching anything.  We went back to where we started on the North shore adjacent to the Island and headed East this time.  I landed a little 12.5" keeper on the Horny Toad out of the pads and a 12.75" off of some reeds just beyond a dock on a black T.T. Mad Maxx Frog.

Next we went around the point and got out in the wind.  I saw a muskie swimming with it's head out of the water like they do sometimes.  We went up and fished the windblown reeds of the other Island.  As we came around on the back side out of the wind again Darren had a monster bass miss his frog.

The sun started coming out so we ran up to the NW side of Little Boy and tried a weedline spot, but didn't get anything.  Next, we went into the reeds and I picked up a chunky 16.25" on a yellow Spro Frog.  I also lost a good one in the reeds on the end of a long cast.  Eventually, we gave up on the reeds and headed to Wabedo.

We started fishing some pads that had some wind blowing on them;  The wind was much lighter now.  We ended up getting into some reeds and I caught my keeper fish (15.25") on the Horny Toad.  I think I got 14.5" out on the weed flat just out from the reeds on the Horny Toad and a 15" even farther on the weed flat.  We worked back to the reeds and I got one or two that didn't help.

Next we ran South and worked some pads and rice.  I missed some, caught a couple that didn't help and finally got my final keeper of the day (15.25") all on the Horny Toad.

We ran back up into Little Boy and Darren lost one where that big one missed his bait earlier in the day.  We ended up fishing by the access again.  I got one last fish that didn't help me on the Horny Toad in the pads off the Island in general vicinity where I missed one in the morning.

The Results:  My 6 fish weighed 13lbs 1oz which put me in 7th place out of 26 fishermen.  This was my second best finish of the year. Apparently the Yabbie was working it's magic again as Mark Munson won his second consecutive tournament at these lake with a 18lb 4ozs bag.

My thoughts:  I really enjoyed fishing these lakes.  It was just like fishing Platte/ Sullivan. It's really to bad that big fish missed Darren's frog as the Lunker of the tournament was only 3lbs 12ozs.

This was the last tournament of the year and I think I went out on a good note.  I ended up finishing in 13th Place for the year.  I would have come in 15th place had I not caught that last second fish at Rush Lake.

Bass Snatch Blind Tournament at Cullen Chain

We met at a parking lot in Brainerd at around 6:15AM and found out we would be fishing the Cullen Chain.  I was alright with that as I like the lakes and my boater Guy won the last tournament there.  The weather promised to be warm, mostly sunny and breezy out of the SW.  We launched out of the middle lakes access around quarter to 8AM.  We were first boat out.  Guy didn't want to run the risk of getting caught in the Culvert going to the Upper Lake so we went to a sunken island on the middle lake.  There was a guy fishing topwater there already.  We came in to the SW of him and about 3 of our boats also came in on this spot.  I had what I'm pretty sure was a pike hit at my Stanley Phantom and other than that we got nothing.

We moved to a point off of some reeds and guy got two good quality fish right away.  I got a pike on a black/blue Chigger Craw.  Not wanting to retie I switched to a craw tube.  I got a 12.5" bass on that as well as a rock bass.  I think Guy landed a couple more small keepers.   We then went to another point off of some reeds.  I had tied on another Chigger Craw by then and was quickly rewarded with my best fish of the day a 15.5" largie.

We then fished some reeds and some slop.  Guy got a nice dogfish.  Guy made the call to head to the Lower Lake.  We had to get out and push but made it.  We started on a weedline spot just out from the channel and I was immediately rewarded with a 14" bass.  We then moved around a bunch of places not getting anything.  The wind had come up pretty good by now and there was a reed bed getting nailed by the wind.  Guy caught a a keeper than two quality fish the first 15 minutes we were in the reeds.  One of the fish was the 4/3 Lunker of the tournament.  I broke off my Texas Rigged craw tube with 3/4oz Tungsten Sinker twice getting caught on the reeds, so I switch to a Strike King Hack Attack jig. We stayed in the reeds and I managed to get one that was just short of 14" and two 14.5" bass out of them on the Jig.  I got my limit and I was happy.  I didn't fish the rest of the day very well only getting a rock bass out of some pads missing a few other hits.  Guy put together a pretty good pattern in the middle lake hitting pad and reed edges with the wind blowing in on them and picked up a few culls.  We quit about 15 minutes early.

Results:  My 6 fish went for 8/12 and put me in 20th place.  Guy managed to win the thing  by over 3lbs with 18lbs 2ozs

My thoughts:  My head just wasn't in this one, especially after I caught my limit.  I did enjoy watching Guy put on a show.  This tournament sealed my fate of not going anywhere in the club point standings this year. Oh well.

Got To The GOMH This Morning

Today is the last day I can fish Platte/Sullivan just in case it is our "Blind Tournament" lake this week.  I hit the GOMH at 6AM and promptly missed the first couple of bites I had on my new Strike King KVD Sexy Dawg.  The second fish jumped off right in front of me.  It might have been a smallmouth, but I'm not totally sure on that.  I switched to the Zoom Super Fluke and missed a good hit right away, but it might have been a toothy.  I fished under the bridge and got this 13" jumpin' bullhead which I kept to give to Jenny.  I also got a 11.75" for her on the Fluke as well.  I had toothy's go after my KVD Sexy Dawg Jr's a couple of times but they didn't hit it.  They also tried for the Fluke and missed it as well.  I quit trying at 7:40AM.

Bass Snatchers Rabbit Lake

Weather: The day went back and forth between partly and mostly cloudy.  Wind was light in the morning building to about 10 MPH out of  the NW in the afternoon. Temps went up quickly from a cool morning into the low 70's.

The Day:  We started right around 7AM thanks to my boater Art showing up a bit late.  We got our starting spot, a reed point with boulders on the West lake, despite going out 9th.  The point didn't give us anything but about 15 minutes in as we headed back to the East I got 14.5" on a yellow Zoom Horny Toad out of the reeds.  I was awfully glad to have it, because I came into the tournament awfully pessimistic.  About 10 minutes later I caught one that was to small on the Horny Toad.  Eventually we pulled off of the reeds and slop and I got another dink that didn't measure on a black/blue Berkley Powerbait Crazy Legs Chigger Craw texas rigged with a 3/16oz tungsten weight.  Nothing else happened out there so we moved.

We went to the mouth of a slop bay and worked our way in.  In the pads I got a 15" fish on a Yellow Spro Frog.  I think that was the only fish we had hit in the slop.As we came out of the bay I think that is were Art got his first fish of the day.  Next we headed to a hump that Guy and I fished in my last tournament on Rabbit Lake.  Art just got done telling me "this didn't seem to be the deal" when I hooked into a quality 16.5" bass on the Chigger Craw.  Next at my suggestion we went to a weedline off of some docks that Guy showed me at the previous tournament. I cast into a clump of cabbage weeds that were on the edge of a weed point with the Chigger Craw.  I thought I was caught on some weeds but then my pole kept bending, so I set the hook.  It immediately jumped showing me it was a bass and it was a good one.  When I got it in I estimated it at 19.25".  I had to estimate it because Art ruler was only 17.5" in length.  Art guessed it was close to 5lbs and I said it was a 4 for sure.  It turned out to be 4lbs 4ozs and won me the Lunker/ Big Bass "wood".  Needless to say I was feeling much more positive about the day at this point.

As we worked our way East I spotted a stick in the cabbage on a reed edge and pulled a 15.25" off of it on the Chigger Craw.  Art got a fish off of some  pads with the wind blowing into them.  I missed a good bite in the reeds with wind blowing into them on a craw tube near our starting spot.  We ended up going to the far West end of the lake.  Art lost a good fish right away on a frog, then he caught a dink that was too small.  We worked around the bay.  I did have one hit in the slop, but it may have been a pike.  As we came to the mouth of the bay Art got one in the pads on a frog.  As we worked our way East I got my limit fish, a 14", on a Hack Attack Jig with a Chigger Craw trailer out of a pad edge that had wind blowing on it.  We got back to Guy's docks and I pulled a 13 incher that didn't help me off of a boat lift on the Hack Jig.  On the next dock I culled out the 14" with a 15" with the Hack Jig.  That was my last bite of the day.  We fished some more slop and Art missed some hits.

Results:  The guys really sacked them in this one.  My 14lbs 6ozs bag was only good enough for 13th Place.  Chuck Steinbauer won his 3rd tournament of the year and second in a row with 18/05.

Thoughts:  Huge thank you to Guy Henkensiefken for showing me the area/ spot where the big bass came out of.

We didn't fish in the East Lake at all.

Turns out Guy is my boater for the next tournament, which is a "blind" tournament where we won't find out what lake it's at until that morning.

Rabbit Lake Pre-Fish, Whitefish Culvert, & the GOMH

Yesterday I got out to pre-fish Rabbit Lake with my boater Art for about 3 hours.  We got 1 bass between us.  I had a couple of bites I think were bass and caught and I got a perch on my Ninja Spin.

I hit the Whitefish Culvert on the way back and got 14" there on a Horny Toad.  I also got a jumpin bullhead at the GOMH on the Horny Toad.

I Hardly Knew Ye

Good thing I got this photo of that Stanley Phantom in a jumpin bullhead, because this was one of two it hooked.  The second one dived into the rocks and broke my line.  Total freak occurrence.  I don't know maybe a pike tried to take it out of the bass' mouth.  All I know is I had a pretty good bass on, it dove hard into the rocks and then my line broke while it was pulling hard.  I thought maybe the Speed Clip came off, but my line was broken.  The bass never tried to throw the lure, maybe it got eaten by a big pike, who knows.

I also got a small toothy bullhead on the purple/yellow Phantom.  I got this silver bullhead on a Chigger Craw.

10.5"

 I also got an 8.5" jumper on the Chigger Craw.

I missed two hits at the Culvert and didn't get anything at Jenny's..

 I fished from 5:50AM to 8:20AM

Bass Snatcher Rush Lake (Ottertail) Tournament

I guess you could say after the last two tournaments I got depressed.  I didn't get around to writing this report until 2 weeks later.  There is really not a whole lot to tell.  In the morning my boater Adam predicted it would take 20lbs to win.  We sped off to his starting spot, an off shore weedline.  Adam got 1 bass there on a craw tube I think.  On the second spot he got one on a jig.  We tried a bunch of different places for the next 5 hours only getting a couple of pike. Finally on the starting spot Adam connected with another bass.  I think we left and came back and Adam got 2 more bass.  We left and came back to finish the day on the spot.  With 5 minutes left before we had to go in  I was just about to say it didn't look good for me getting the skunk today, when I had a hit on my Crazy Leg Chigger Craw.  It was a 3.75lb bass, so I didn't get skunked.

Results:
My fish kept me out of last place but that was it.  I was 2nd to last place for the 2nd tournament in a row.  This time I finished in 26th Place.  Chuck Steinbauer won it with 20lbs even.  This was Chuck's 2nd victory of the season.

Thoughts:
I wish I had packed a 2nd Texas Rig Rod.  I finally got the fish after going down to a 3/16th oz weight and the Chigger Craw.  Would it have made a difference, who knows.

Not A Total Bust

I fished from 5:35AM to 7:35AM this morning.  I got a small toothy bullhead at the GOMH on the purple/yellow Stanley Phantom and I got 2 bass at the Culvert on a Tonka Tackle Craw Tube.  I also missed a bite at the Culvert and had a toothy break me off at the GOMH.

My New Phantom's Catch Fish

Here are two of my 3 new Stanley Phantom's that I won on Ebay.  The other one is bone color, which I already have one of, so I left it in it's package and put it with my extra's in the Tackle Warehouse.  I didn't have to wait long and I was pulling in a bullhead, toothy bullhead that is.

I switched to the purple/yellow one and threw it under the bridge.  I missed the first fish that hit it, but on the same cast I  had this fish crush it.

16.5"

I also got a 16" and 12" under the bridge on a Tonka Tackle Craw Tube.  I got a 15" bass on a black Horny Toad at the Culvert.

I fished from 6:15AM to 8:15AM.  I did miss a couple hits on the Craw Tube at the GOMH as well.

Lucky Not To Be Skunked This Morning

I arrived at the GOMH right at sunrise.  It was D E A D dead, no water moving under the bridge and no fish biting except one that showed at a Mad Maxx Frog.  After trying for an hour with nothing, I went to the SW side. Nothing there.  I only brought 1 rod with me to the SW side, so I had to go back to get my stuff.  I decided I might as well throw the Tonka Tackle Craw Tube back to where the fish showed itself one last time.  I had thrown to this spot at least 10 times so far in the morning.  Sure enough a fish picked it up and I landed this chunky 15.5" jumpin' bullhead.

I cast back to the same spot and got a 15.25".  That was it.  I went to the Culvert, but didn't get anything there.  I was done fishing by 7:30AM.

Pre-Fishing Rush Lake (Ottertail)

Aruku Shad Meets a Black & Decker Tackle Wrecker

I was fortunate to be able to go and pre-fish Ottertail Lake with Barry Mowers.  Barry isn't my partner, but he had an open seat, so I went with him.  We were fishing by 7:30AM.  We tried a weedline spot first.  All I saw there was a bunch of perch chasing my swim jig.  Then Barry took us to some reeds and he got a pike and a nice bass or two there.  We got some advice from people fishing in a pontoon, so we headed to the North end of the lake.  We actually didn't find what they told us about to start with, but we found a good area anyway.  I got a bass on a Horny Toad and Barry got a couple of bass and missed a couple as well.  We also saw some pike activity but didn't catch any.  A storm came up and on our way back to the landing we found what the people in the pontoon told us about.  We got loaded up just in time, because it poured and thundered.  We met up with another guy from the club and went and had breakfast.  When we got back to the lake I think it had stopped raining.  We went back up to a different area on the North side of the lake and fish some more reeds and assorted slop.  I got my best bass of the day on a Gambler Ninja spin in the reeds and another good one on the Horny Toad in the reeds with some pads.   I also got a decent size pike while pitching the reeds with a craw tube.  I don't remember if Barry caught anything.

Next we went out and tried to find a good weedline.  It started raining again and the wind had come up out of the SE.  I got a rock bass on our first stop on a bluegill Pure Poison with a green pumpkin Grass Pig Jr.. On about our 3rd or 4th spot I got a couple of small pike on my Aruku Shad.  I had a big 30 inch class pike hit at the Aruku Shad right by the boat but it didn't get hooked.  I threw back in the same direction and got nailed.  I figured it was the same fish but it turned out to be a big old dogfish.  We netted it and it got all tangled up.  You can see from the picture what it did to my bait.

Next we went to some reeds on the South shore Barry got a couple of good bass and I got a 25" pike.  We tried a few docks without any luck.  We cruised around looking at some things then went back up to the North side. I got a small bass on the Ninja Spin and that was the last fish of the day.  We were off the water by 3:30 I think.

Big Bass & Breaking In My New 7' Avid Heavy

20" Mad Maxx Frog

All it takes is one bite to turn an extremely mediocre morning into a great one.  Today I got that bite.  She hit the "Big Sexy" and fortunately didn't take me into the pads like it could have.  She was barely hooked.

To that point in the morning, a good hour and a half into fishing, I missed a jumper and a toothy on the Stanley Phantom and got one 14.5" jumper on a watermelon/red Tonka Tackle Craw Tube.

In the picture you can see my new and vastly improved St. Croix Avid 7' Heavy.  It's lighter than the previous rod and actually loads a little bit when I cast, which the previous rod that was a total broomstick did not really do.  Casting distance is improved and I can now  use it for pitching, which the previous rod didn't do well at all.  It's not quite as powerful as the previous rod, but I'll take that trade off as it still has plenty of power.  I also think it's gonna be quite a bit more sensitive, but I really didn't get enough bites to gauge that very well.  Overall I'm very impressed.

Note- My previous Avid 7' Heavy was a pre-IPC technology rod.

That was all I got at the Grumpy Old Man Hole this morning.  I got a couple of nice fish (16",15") on the Horny Toad at the Culvert and got a total dink at the Inlet on Sullivan on a black/blue Tonka Tackle Craw Tube.  That was it.  I fished from 5:45 to 9AM.  Quite a change from the past two morning where I caught a bunch of small fish.

Another Good Morning at the GOMH & Culvert

I arrived about 10 minutes earlier than yesterday.  I was fishing by 6AM.  They didn't go for the Phantom, but I got a couple small jumpers on the Zoom Horny Toad.  I then started getting them on a green pumpkin Craw Tube where I got them yesterday.  Then I fished under the bridge and got a few that way.  I tried the South side but didn't get anything.  I went back to the North side and got one more small one under the bridge.  Then I went to the Culvert where I missed a small one and got my best fish of the morning on the Horny Toad.  I was done by 8:00AM

17.5"

16 Bass
Best 6:
17.5, 15, 15,14.5, 14.25, 14

They Missed Me!

After not getting out for more than a week I headed to the GOMH this morning, arriving just after 6AM.  I put on the Stanley Phantom and got a bite on my first cast.  I was a little rusty and he got off in the lily pads.  Not to worry I got a fish on my next cast as well.

 I pretty much crushed them on the Phantom getting 10 jumpin bullheads and 1 toothy bullhead before they finally stopped.  The biggest jumper was this 15.25"

I got a couple of small ones on a Horny Toad and 4 small one's on a Zoom Super Fluke and 1 small one on a Craw Tube.  I then moved to the SW side.  I got a 14.25" on the Horny Toad, a 15.5, my biggest fish of the morning, and another 11.5 dink on the Craw Tube.

I then went to the culvert and got a 12.5 and 2x 15"'s on the Horny Toad.  I was done at 8:20AM

23 Bass
1 Pike
Biggest 6 bass
15.5", 15.25", 15", 15",15",14.75"

Nearly A Frustrating Trip

17" Horny Toad

This morning I decided to hit Mille Lacs at sun up. I started at the bridge at Shakopee and had my craw tube bit off the second it hit the water on my first cast.  I picked up a Pure Poison and got bit on my second cast.  It felt like a good fish but came off as it was racing into the current.  I've never seen the water that high.  I didn't get any more hits on that side.  I got a small one on the other side on a Frenzy Popper.  I was fishing Mille Lacs by 5:35AM.  I thought it was going to be calm but there was a slight breeze blowing out of the SE. Not ideal for topwater.  I fished on the North Jetty at the harbor mouth to start.  I've never seen the water as high as it is now.  I got nothing there.  I went to the far North side and fished towards shore I had a fish blow up on the Stanley Phantom but not get it. I made a cast a little farther out from the Jetty and had a small pike or muskie come out of the water after it.  I then cast back to where I got the first blow up.  The fish hit it about 6 times before catching a hook, but it got off right away. I think it was a smallmouth, but can't be sure.  I ended up back at the harbor mouth and I had a fish hit my Grass Pig but it didn't hook up.  I thought it was a smallmouth, but then a couple casts later I had a pike swipe at it as I was bringing it in.
On my way back to the car I had a pike or small muskie come out of the water after the Kelly J I was throwing.  I went and tried the South Jetty, but didn't get a hit.

So I was off to try Wigwam bay, but the water was really to high for fishing there.  So I headed to the culvert  that comes out of Whitefish.  I had a fish blow up on my Horny Toad but I didn't hook up.  I went and tried the other side of the road and had a pig nail the Horny Toad.  The fish cut my wire leader as it swam into the culvert. I was like "DAMN! I don't believe that just happened."  I retied a new Stanley Double Take Frog Hook, but this time I went with the 4/0.  I think the 4/0 is probably a better choice for the Horny Toad as it seemed to fit better than the 5/0 does.  I went back and started throwing the frog.  On the same side I had the break off I got the 17" in the picture.  This fish salvaged my trip.  I got home at 10:00AM.

Luck Only At The GOMH Tonight

Tonight I got out from 8:30PM to 9:45PM.  I hit the culvert first. I missed a fish that nailed my "Big Sexy" in the same spot I got the big one last night.  Unfortunately I didn't hook it.  Had another fish swirl on it and I may have had a couple hits when I sent it under the culvert but I didn't feel anything.  I just heard splashes.

At the GOMH I took the SW side as somebody was on the North side.  I got 2 small jumpers and missed a couple on the Frenzy Popper and had a small one jump me off on the Hack Attack Jig-n-Thief.  I went to go to the North side and the people had left.  I had a jumper jump me off on the Horny Toad and the Hack Jig. It stole my Thief.  I got this 15.5" on the Zoom Super Fluke as the mosquito's were closing in on me.

Derby Fish Tonight from the Culvert

She choked it!

Not one good photo.  I hit the micro button

Tonight I got this 19.25" slob at the Culvert.  That will put me over 20lbs in the Derby.  For some reason I decided to throw the Tru Tungsten Mad Maxx frog first and I was rewarded with that choice. I got a dink pike on the Hack Jig and had 14" or so bass jump me off.  I got a 15" or so jumpin bullhead at the GOMH on the Mad Maxx;  It now sinks pretty quickly, so I'm going to retire it.  I missed a couple of hits on the Mad Maxx as well.  John and his daughter were at the GOMH and got at least 4 jumpers.  A couple of teenagers were fishing at the GOMH as well.  He had a small jumper and golden bullhead in his pail.

This Mornings Sunrise

I also fished at the GOMH in the morning. I got 3 small jumpers on the Frenzy Popper and missed a couple as well.  A couple small jumpers on the Fluke and a 15.5" on the Mad Maxx.  I also fished at the Culvert and Inlet but didn't get anything.

Tonight At The Culvert And GOMH

Sun Setting at the Culvert

Sun Setting in my beard and 14.90" Culvert Bass on Hack Jig with Powerbait Thief Trailer

I got 2 bass and 2 pike at the culvert. One a piece on the Hack Attack Jig with a watermelon Chigger Craw Trailer and one a piece on the Hack Jig with Powerbait Thief trailer.

I then headed to the GOMH

Sunset at the GOMH

15.25" Horny Toad Jumpin' Bullhead

I got the two fish that struck at my Horny Toad tonight; the one in the picture and a 14". Those were my only two bites at the GOMH tonight.  The old Indian guy got 4 small jumpin bullheads fishing the South side with a leech.

A Few Fish Anyway

15.25" Hack Attack Jig w/Chigger Craw trailer

Tonight I was 0 for 5 on Horny Toad bites.  I should have had at least 3 of them.  I did get a few of the bites I had on the Hack Attack Jig.  I ended with 3 bass and a  pike at the Culvert and 1 jumper at the GOMH.  Dr. Hays and his daughter and a friend biked by while I was at the Culvert.  They saw me catch the pike

Broke The Heavy Rod

Well looks like I'm replacing all 3 rods.  I broke the 7' Heavy St. Croix rod fighting a little northern that got down in the weeds.  The rod cracked and broke in two.

Here is the window the cat tried to climb out on resulting on the widow shutting on the 3 rods.

Unfortunately I caught the cat instead of the window. I was really hoping the Heavy St. Croix would make it.  I'm glad I found out now, so I can have the rod back by my next tournament.

Fishing sucked. I didn't get anything at the culvert, and the "new new juice" had two guys fishing it.  They were keeping some jumpin bullheads and letting some go. They were also getting some orange bullheads.  I got 2 jumpers on the SW side and that toothy that I broke the rod on.  I fished from 10AM to 11:45AM.

Morning & Evening

I went fishing this morning from 8:30AM to 10:30AM at the GOMH, the culvert, and the Sullivan Inlet and tonight at the culvert and the GOMH from 8:15PM to 9:45PM.

During the morning trip I got a 14", 15", and a 13" on the SW side on Hack Attack Jig with a Chigger Craw trailer;  I got 14.5" on the North side with it and a 10.25" on the Super Fluke as well.  I got a pair of 14"'s at the culvert on the Hack Attack Jig and I missed a good one that jumped me off at the Inlet.

So for the morning trip I got 7 bass total

The evening trip I started at the culvert. I missed my first two hits on the Horny Toad in the exact same place before catching this 17.90" bass.  It could have been the same fish each time or a different one.  I went to fish on the West side of the Culvert and I had a fish break me off above the wire leader I use.  I'm not sure if the knot gave way or if the line got cut on the culvert as the fish swam into it.  I picked of a 15" on the West side of the culvert with the Hack Attack Jig same trailer as earlier and got a 15" and 14.5" with it on the East side.  I left to go to the GOMH after retying a new Tyger Leader with a 5/0 Stanley Double Take Hook on my Horny Toad rod, that was at 9:10.

I tried the SE side with the Toad first but didn't get any hits.  I then went to the NE side and my first three blow up's all didn't get the Toad, but the 3rd one did and I was impressed that it got hooked.  I had two more  blow ups.  One that missed and one that tore the legs off.  I laid the smack down on two jumpin' bullheads with the Hack Jig and missed another on the spot of 2 missed blow ups.  I also laid the smack down right in front of me on 5 jumpin bullheads between 14" and 16.25" on the Hack Jig.

On the evening trip I got 11 bass total
My best 6: 17.90", 16.25", 15.25", 3x15

Broke A Rod This Morning But Fishing Was Good

Kind of had a feeling this might happen thanks to my cat climbing were it shouldn't have been. He shut the Explorers rear window on it and 2 others. I'm hoping the heavy rod makes it through the season at least. The good thing is they were all St. Croix Avid's, so I can replace them with a new rod at more than 50% off what a new one costs. I'll have this rods replacement before my next tournament.

17.5"

I had caught this jumpin' bullhead, my best of the morning, and 10 others on it between this morning and my last two outings before the rod cracked and broke in two. 

 It was a good morning of fishing.  I hit the GOMH, the PRO Culvert, and the inlet getting fish at each and missing a bunch as well. I arrived at the GOMH at 5:50AM.  I started off getting them on topwater on a Lucky Craft Kelly J (12.5"), a Frenzy Popper (2x14", 15") and the Stanley Phantom (2x13", 3x14", 15", 16" and two little toothy bullheads).  Then I got them on the Fluke until the rod broke (2x14", 17.5",11.75" and a small toothy bullhead).  I got 1 (14") and yet another small toothy on a Chigger Craw.  I left to go to the culvert around 9AM.

There I missed my first several hits on a Horny Toad before finally getting a 13", I also got 1 (14") on a Chigger Craw and 1 (14") on a Subwart in the culvert.

I then headed to the Inlet and missed two good fish on the Grass Pig before connecting with a 15.5".  That was my last fish of the morning.  I quit at 11AM.

Best 6 Fish
17.5", 16", 15.5", 15", 15" and 14.25"
20 bass Total and 4 Pike

Tonight at the GOMH

He started flipping

Well yesterday I ended my consecutive days fishing streak at 49 days.  I really should have gone out.  I wanted to but just didn't.  Today I wasn't going to go either, but then decided to go and fished from 8:30 to 9:45pm.  I got jumpin bullheads on the Stanley Phantom, Zoom Super Fluke, Chigger Craw, and Hack Attack Jig with the Chigger Craw trailer.  I also missed a nice fish on the Mad Maxx frog that jumped me off.  Actually I missed good fish on the Fluke and Chigger Craw as well.  Got a toothy bullhead that broke my line, but I got my hook back and didn't lose the bobber stop.  I got 9 jumpers total and the 1 toothy.

Biggest 6 jumpers were 15.25", 15", 15", 14.25",14", 12"

Here he is! 15" Chigger Craw

Gettin After 'Em At the G.C.I. This Morning

15.5" Super Fluke Fish

GOMH: 
I arrived at the GOMH this morning a bit before 10AM it was cloudy and windy out of the SW.  It misted and even rained for a little bit before the clouds departed and it became bright and sunny.  The water was flowed both ways at some point this morning.  I pretty much crushed them on both sides of the bridge on a grn pumpin Havoc Grass Pig Jr, bluegill color Strike King Pure Poison with Havoc Craw Fatty grn pumpkin trailer, black w/red fleck Powerbait Crazy Legs Chigger Craw, a blue black senko knock off fished on a mushroom head jig (put on after I lost the Grass Pig Jr. to a toothy), a bubble gum Zoom Super Fluke (only lasted 2 fish until it was taken).  The only thing I didn't get bit on was a large clown Skitter Pop.  I got 26 jumpin bullheads total from 10" to 15.5" inches.  John W. showed up as I was getting ready to head to the Platte River Outlet Culvert.  He had been fishing at a culvert at Whitefish upstream of Mille Lacs lake.  He got some bass and a couple of walleyes there.  He was taking the fish to a fish fry at his sisters.

PRO Culvert:
I got 3 more bass for John on the Chigger Craw and he got a couple two.  Looks like with the high water that the Culvert is now gonna be a player.

Sullivan Inlet:  
I got a 15.5" largie on grn pumpkin Grass Pig out of the Culvert area and an almost 15 incher in the reeds.  I also got a 13" on the Chigger Craw.

32 bass total with 5 of them being over 15 inches, but nothing bigger than 15.5 inches

Bass Snatcher Tournament Mission Lakes

The Weather:  It was cloudy with the wind switching directions a few times, and it even got calm a time or two or maybe it was just the shoreline we were fishing.  I don't think it sprinkled, but at one point I put my rain gear on thinking it was going to rain pretty good.  It stayed near 70 degrees the whole day and that was the water temp as well.

The Tournament:
We blasted off from the Upper Mission Access as the 12th boat out of 17 at around a quarter to 7AM. We drove West.  Right away I got  a 13" bass on a reed edge on a bluegill Pure Poison with grn. pumpkin Havoc Craw Fatty Trailer.  A couple of casts later I got hung up in the reeds and I broke off for some reason.  We fished the reeds for a couple more minutes, then went to either a sunken hump or point, I'm not sure which it is.  I fished the area before back at the Challenge Cup we had back in 2009.  I think I missed one bite and that was it.  Nate my boater informed me at one point fish were breaking, but I never saw or heard it.  It was windy.

Next we headed to a weedline off of some reeds West of the Public Access on the Upper Mission.  There I got a pike on the Poison and 14.95" bass on the Stanley Phantom.  Getting this fish wasted a lot of my time because I never had another fish hit it the rest of the day. Eventually we headed to a weedline on the South shore off of some reeds.  Right away I got 30" or so inch pike on the Pure Poison.  Nate got 2 good bass on a jig, and I got my 14" on a Hack Attack Jig with breen Powerbait Chigger Craw trailer.  We moved into the reeds and Nate got another good fish. We went back out and worked the area Nate got the 1st couple without any luck.  We then had a long lull trying along the SE end of the lake.  Nate got one fish I think.

Next we went to a spot that I suggested on the North end of the Lake.  There we ran into Guy and Jim Smith. Nate got his limit.

We next headed to Lower Mission.  I got 13" and a 12" squeaker on a white Horny Toad.  Nate pulled a few fish off some docks, so next we headed to a magic dock, where Nate pulled off about 6 or 7 fish.  He offered me the knock off senko he was throwing and I accepted it.  I don't think the problem was my fluke, but my lousy casting.  I just couldn't get the lure in the right places.  I missed a few bites with the senko, but I finally hooked up with another 12" squeaker.  We worked some more docks and some shoreline cover with me missing several bites.

Next we headed back to the Upper Lake and the spot Nate got his first 3 fish.  I culled one of the 12"'s with a 12.75" on a Grass Pig Jr. and got my big bass of the day 15.25" (1/14) off of a dock with the Hack Attack jig.

We tried a couple more spots on the Upper Lake.  Nate getting a cull at that island/ point thing.  I caught a 12.5" bass that didn't help on a craw tube and got bit off.  Next we headed into the Lower Lake.

We fished a reed bed into the shoreline cover where I missed a couple on the Horny Toad.  Next we went to a sand break and got nothing there.  With 20 minutes left Nate asked my docks or caine.  I chose the caine.  That worked out for Nate cause he got one last good cull.  I missed yet another hit on the Horny Toad and then we were done.

Results:
My six fish weighed 8lbs 11ozs which put me in 32nd out of 33 guys.  Nate weighed 16lbs even and won the tournament by 2ozs!!!  Great job Nate!

There were only 4 bags under 10lbs and 14lb bags went down to 16th Place.  I was only saved from last place because Herman only caught 2 fish.

My Thoughts:
I just had a bad day on the water, it happens.  This is my second worse performance as a Snatcher;  Second only to the beat down I took at Cedar Lake in the 1st tournament of the year.  At least I got a limit in this one.

I don't really know why the day went so bad.  I didn't get tired or lose focus.  My dock skipping and Horny Toad skills both were both super rusty.  I have decided to demote the rod I've been using for skipping docks.  It just doesn't have enough back bone.

One thing other than on the docks were Nate had first crack at them, we never really got into the fish.  We didn't get very many bites on the weedlines for as much as we fished the them.  Sounded like a lot of people got their fish up shallow on the lower lake.  We spent most of the day in the Upper Lake and on the weedlines.

If I had it to do all over again.  I would have thrown the Hack Attack Jig more.  Nate got most of his weigh fish on a black and blue jig.

A Short Trip and A Derby Fish That Doesn't Help

18" Breen Crazy Legs Chigger Craw

The fish doesn't help because my smallest was already 18 inches.

After the major water war this morning I headed to the GOMH.  The rain surprizingly had the water running back into Platte Lake and it was clouded up a bit.  I was out from 7 to 9AM, when it started clearing up outside.  There was a bit of wind but nothing like what blew through around 5AM.  I started out getting jumpin bullheads on a Grass Pig Jr. fishing on the South side of the bridge until a pretty big toothy bullhead wrecked that.  I then switched to the Chigger Craw and got the 18 incher.  That was it for the South side. I re-rigged the Grass Pig Jr and got 3 j.b.'s (15",13.75",12") on it before switching to the Phantom.  I got a 14.25" and a 16" on the Phantom.  My last fish was a 14.75" on a baby bass Zoom Super Fluke.  Fishing wasn't great, but I had fun.  I then went home and got my tackle ready for my tournament at Mission Lakes.

This Morning

15.75"

I took a short trip to the GOMH from 10AM to 11:45AM.  I started off fishing off the bridge on the South side.  I got two small jumpin bullheads on a black/blue Grass Pig Jr. and a very small toothy bullhead when I went down to fish under the bridge on the SE side.  I went down on the SW side and got a 15.25" jumper from under the bridge on the Chigger Craw.

Next I moved the the North side.  I got my biggest fish, the one in the picture, on the chartreuse firetiger Stanley Phantom.  I missed a couple on the Phantom as well, but I don't think they had any size to them for the most part.  I caught 7 jumpers between 10.5" and 14.5" on a Zoom Super Fluke.

Fluke Night

16" First Fish on Da Fluke

Tonight I wasn't gonna fish due to our dog Lilah's intestinal issues, but then I decided to go around 7:30PM.  I arrived at the GOMH at about 7:50PM.  Tonight's mission was to try a new casting set up for Zoom Super Flukes; My Daiwa Sol on my St. Criox Avid 6' 8".  The Fuego I put on it just wasn't working out, too many overruns.  The Sol solved the problem except when trying to skip the bait.  I caught the 16" incher in my first ten casts.  I followed that fish up with another 16" fish in my next 10 casts.  I ended up getting 8 total in the hour I fished with the Fluke.  I didn't get a bite on the Phantom or either of the frogs I tried.  I left at 9:30PM

Best 6 fish: 16", 16", 15.5", 14", 12.5" and 11.5" 

TWOnight's

18"'s Good Side

18's Bad Side

 Monday June 17th:
This was by far the better of both night's, although neither one were bad.  I just crushed them this evening.  I fished from 5:30PM to 8:30PM the whole time on the "new juice."  It started out sunny with a bit of a wind coming out of the NE.  I got three 14" jumpin bullheads on my first few casts on the white Stanley Phantom.  I didn't get anymore hits on that, so started throwing a green pumpkin Grass Pig which I crushed 'em on.  After I had been there half an hour the wind really cranked up out of the same direction, so much so that  I had to adjust the breaks on the reels.  The fish just kept biting and I got 15 total before the fish finally quit biting for me around 7:30PM or so when the clouds moved in.    From that point on  I got one good 15.25" on the Huckleberry and a dink 9.5" on the Phantom.  A guy fishing in the channel with leeches caught a bunch of small fish when the clouds moved in.  These fish were much smaller on average than the one's I had been catching, so I don't think the school moved.  

It started getting pretty cool and the fish stopped biting so I left at 8:30PM

My best six were 18", 15.75", 15.25" and 3x 15"'s  and it was total of 20 jumpin bullheads.  I gave a few of my smaller one's to a guy with a cute girlfriend who went swimming to retrieve a stuck bait.  That was when it was still sunny out.

Tonight:
I got there an hour later this evening at around 6:30PM.  The wind was still out of the NE but much lighter. It was mostly sunny.  Once again right out of the gate I got them on the Stanley Phantom, but this time on the bone color.  I had to work for them a bit but  I got 5  before I finally switched up to a breen Chigger Craw.  I got 3 bullheads on that.  Then the action cut off, once again around 7:30pm just like last night.  But tonight there was no difference in cloud cover.  Eventually I gave up around 9:15pm and headed East of the GOMH
where I landed my last fish of the night, a chunky 16" on the "Big Sexy" Mad Maxx Frog.  Here are the two 16"'s I got.

Chigger Craw 16"

Big Sexy 16"

 My six best tonight were 16", 16", 15.25",15", 14", and 14" with 9 caught total.  All but the one were caught around the "new juice"

My Lucky Night!

But it didn't look that way to start out with. I arrived at the GOMH at about 8:30PM and started casting my white Stanley Phantom just to the left of "the juice."  The "juice" is now plugged up with weeds. On about my third cast a fish was hitting my lure and I jerked.  My Phantom came off of the Norman Speed Clip.  I must not have put it on correctly because that has never ever happened to me with a topwater lure;  Spinnerbaits more times than I care to think about, a couple of times with diving plugs, but never a topwater.  Anyway I hadn't hooked the fish, so I could see it floating out there. I immediately grabbed the chartreuse firetiger Phantom and started casting for it. On about the 3rd attempt a jumpin bullhead jumped all over the chartreuse Phantom. Keep in mind I was not working the bait, just trying to catch my lure.  I quickly reeled it in the discover it was a 19" Derby Fish.

 I got the fish back in the lake.  The current was not pulling from the area my Phantom was sitting, so I re-spotted  it and tried in vain to hook it.  But after about 10 minutes of that a boat came through the channel and agreed to try and get it for me.  Being that it's such a big bait he spotted it no problem when I cast to show him where it was.  I got my Phantom back!  I do have one more in that color, but all the same I don't want to ever lose any of them.  I may never be able to find another one of any color.

Since he went through the "new juice" I cast a Spro Poppin' Frog off to the East and got a 15.5" on that.  I went back to throwing the chartreuse Phantom and got four more jumpers from 13" to 15.5" before the mosquito's chased me out at around 9:35PM.

I Thought It Was Gonna Be On, Instead I Got A Mystery

I arrived East of the GOMH at 8:15 and on my second cast with the Herb's Dilly I got this 16" bass.  I then fished the Dilly for the next 20 minutes, mostly getting it caught in the rice.  I eventually gave up on the Dilly and took my 3 Frog rods to where I got fish last night.  I missed one hit on the Horny Toad.  Then Mike B. came into talking range as he worked down the shore line.  I got a small pike on a black/blue Snag Proof Pro Series Tournament Frog.  I think I got it out with my hands, but might have used my pliers.  This little detail will come into focus in a minute.  Willard drove by just as I released it.  Mike caught several fish beyond my casting range.  I missed a couple of fish on the Snag Proof staying in the spot maybe longer than I should have.  I moved and at about 9:30PM I got this 26" pike on the Horny Toad.

At this point I went to get my pliers from the car.  The pliers were not where they were supposed to be.  I think I got confused at this point, because I now think I carried the pliers with me and must have dropped them.  But at this time I thought I had possibly left them on the car bumper when I caught the pike this morning.  Luckily I was able to get the fish off without need of the pliers.  I looked for the pliers up by the road and in the car, but didn't retrace where I had been tonight.  I will try to do that in the morning.

Will I find them or Not?  When did I lose my pliers?