What I Did Instead of Fish The Tournament at Lake Alexander Today

17" or so

9:40AM-3:20PM

Conditions- Warm Rain, drizzle, cloudy, sometimes calm mostly light to moderate wind out of the E NE but starting out of the S SE, turning partly sunny by the time I left

Our Bass Snatcher Tournament at Lake Alexander was postponed until next week due to a floating blog blocking the access and the thunderstorms today.  So I went to the Grumpy Old Man Hole to give my new Cabela's Guidewear jacket it's first real test.  It rained pretty good for the first couple of hours I was out and it performed well other than me keeping the notepad I write my fish catches on in the inside mesh pouch at the bottom of the jacket.  From now on anything more than a sprinkles and the notepad goes in the inside zippered pocket where I put the cell phone.

I left behind 7' H Avid Crawtube rod and took 6'6" MH rod in it's place and I also put the 6'10" Crucial I have the Mann's Classic Buzzbait on in the truck as well. I also left my dock/Super Fluke rod at home.  I switched all the other rods I was going to use today at Alexander into the truck.  When I arrived it was raining pretty good and I decided to only take out the buzzbait rod.  I started on the SE side and  I had something blow up and not get hooked on my second cast.  I didn't get hit again until I was casting across the channel along the rocks.  I missed that hit too, but eventually got the toothy to hit it again.  It was almost a 23 incher.  I moved to the NW side and got the jumper right away.  I also got a smaller toother.  I then went and got the 7'3" Lamiglas Pure Poison/Stanley Phantom, Crawtube rod, Senko rod, and Yabbie Rod.  I proceeded to catch fish on all of them including my first dogfish of the year on the Lamiglas.

20.5" on the Pure Poison w/Grass Pig Trailer

 

If my count is correct I got 17 jumpin' bullheads, 6 toothy bullheads, and 1 dogfish.  The bites came sporadically and I missed a few of coarse.

Quick Evening Trip

16" Jumper Taking a dump

8:40-9:50PM
Took a quick trip to the GOMH catching fish only on the NE side.  Peter was there and Mike B. came by in his boat and said fishing had been pretty good.  I managed to land 2 dinks and the 16" on the Yabbie and a 18.5" toothy on it as well.  I also got a 14.25" on the KVD Dawg. Peter got a couple of toothies on a Ripple Shad I gave him and a crankbait.

It was sunny and calm.  We went in and got the cupboards from Todd's today.

Morning and Evening GOMH Trips

1st Bullhead of the Morning 15.5" Ripple Shad

4:45-10AM
Conditions: Clear, Sunny, light winds to calm

NE Side
I got the jumpin bullhead in the picture right away on the Berkley Powerbait Ripple Shad.  Then it slowed down.  I put on a Frenzy Minnow and caught a Rippin Rap.

The hooks looked OK, so I put it on.  Immediately I had a fish hit it and get off.  I had that happen two more times, when I got a fish that really wanted it.

17"

It took quite a while for me to get it out of the fishes mouth.  That was it for the time being on the NE side, so I headed to the SW side.

I picked up 3 quick jumpers on a Pure Poison with a Craw Fatty trailer and I got this and one other on the Yabbie.

16.76"

I got several jumpers as well on a Tonka Tackle craw tube, including a 15.25" and 16.5".  Then the toothies started trying to steal my Yabbie.

I got 4 of them total on it between the S and N sides.  The Yabbie body finally came off when I got snagged on something.  I did get one small one on the KVD Dawg as well as a couple more jumpers and one toothy on the NE side on the craw tube.  A guy had what he said was a big bass break his rod and line.  I left around 10AM.

Evening Trip-
7:45-10PM Sunny and Calm
I got 8 jumpers and 3 toothies on Yabbie, Craw Tube, and the KVD Dawg.  Willard was there and Peter got a dogfish.  The Mosquito's were terrible.  Got a pair of 16" jumpers. Everything was caught on the S side.

A Better Morning at the GOMH

16"

18.5"

23.75"

Conditions- Humid, with temps near 60 and clouds and calm turning sunny with a mild breeze out of the NE and reaching close to 70°F by the time I left.
4:45-10 AM

NE Side
I started off the morning with 2 golden bullheads and a 15" jumpin bullhead that wrecked my Grass Pig, so I switched to the Ripple Shad.  I cast way up under the bridge and had a hit on what felt like a good fish.  When bringing it in it got hung up on something that wouldn't move, but when I would give it slack I could feel the fish was still on.  I went up on the brigde and played with trying to free it from there.  It was stuck just outside from under the bridge.  Eventually the fish freed it's self and I landed the 23.75".  I let it go along with the 16".  It was pretty light out by this time so I went to the SW side.

SW side
I got a 15.75" jumper and 24.25" toothy on the Ripple Shad.  The toothy got hooked in the tongue/gills and wasn't going to make it, so I kept it.  I got one squeeker of a keeper on the Pure Poison.  I then started throwing a River2Sea Yabbie and it wasn't long and I was getting some action on it.

1st Fish on a Yabbie

1st Yabbie Fish

 Many of the fish showed signs they had been spawning.  I also got some quality jumpers on a black/blue Tonka Tackle craw tube.  I went back to the NE side just before the sun came out and got my biggest jumper of the day.

Yum Yum Yabbie

17.25"

 I got a few toothies on the Yabbie and lost a good sized one that was probably around 26" or 27."  I started messing around with various square bills, maybe a bump or two but no fish caught.  I got my last fish of the day on a watermelon red craw tube.  Willard showed up, but the toothy and golden were already spoken for.   He arrived about 20 minutes to late.

Well fishing got better, so there is that.

I Got a Picture of a Bass Anyway

He'd been huckleberryed

6:45-10:45PM
Conditions- Humid, 70°F, mostly cloudy, and calm

Today we had thunderstorms at the house, but I don't think much rain made it to Platte/Sullivan.  I thought I was gonna get rained on at some point, but showers staid North and South..  When I arrived there were two cars and people fishing on both of the South sides, so I went NE.  Nothing wanted a buzzbait or Pure Poison.  But I got a couple hits on the Huckleberry and finally hooked into the one in the picture.  Not long after that I had a toothy break me off.  I switched to a Snatchin Stix and promptly got bit off on that.  I then went to a Grass Pig that has wire leader.  I think I missed a good bass on the very first cast.  I had a couple more hits then I got a small toothy that did in my Grass Pig. I then went to the truck and got my other bag which has my plastics and texas rigging stuff, I also grabbed another rod. I rigged a Fluke, the craw tube, and a Snatch Stix on the rod I brought down.

That loon that wrecked my fishing the other day showed up and was pulling the same tricks.  But this time it didn't seem to bother the fish as much.  Shortly after it finally left I I got a 15.5" jumpin bullhead that took out the head of the Huckleberry.  I switched to the black/blue Tonka Tackle craw tube.  I got a 16" jumper on that and a 22.75" toothy.  Peter and his brother showed up, they were there earlier and got one toothy.  He said a little girl got several small bass on a small crankbait.  I switched sides and got my first two topwater fish of the year.  A 12" jumper on the Stanley Phantom and 20" toothy on a black/orange Megabass knockoff.  An old timer who stopped by was more than happy to take that toothy.  After Peter left I went down on the NE side, but didn't get anything.  It's weird,  the mosquito's were horrible until about 9:30, then they just vanished. The lake looked to be down another inch or two.  We're still higher than normal though.

Bass 4
Pike 3

For Bass Opener
Bass 11
Pike 17

Bet on Mille Lacs- Lost Again

23" Swamp Gas Grass Pig

7:30-10:15PM
Conditions- Warm mostly cloudy and a bit of wind out of the West.

Well instead of getting the Trophy ready, not knowing if I would be able to take it out tomorrow because of possible thunder storms all day I decided to take a chance on smallies being at Eddy's.  They weren't.  I got checked by a game warden and talked with a guy fishing with his son who fishes there fairly often.  He hasn't gotten any smallies there yet this year.  He did get some last year though.  I did rescue a sucker that got caught in a little spot in the rocks.  I left at around 8:40PM.  I decided that hitting the Whitefish Chain outlet gave me a good chance of catching a bass so I headed there.  The mosquito's were huge and thick.  I did manage the one pike.  I was quickly off to the GOMH.  Pretty much the daytime people were all gone replaced by people that had just arrived.  I went to talk with the wader guy and his buddy on the NE side.  He got one keeper golden while I was there and I'm pretty sure there was another fish in the bucket that he lied about saying they had just gotten there and not caught anything yet.  I did go down and fish on the SW side because a boat was parked practically on the steps on the SE side.  One guy got two genuine bullheads. I left at 10:15AM.

Even Slower Morning at the GOMH

20" Aruku Shad

4:40-9:00AM
Conditions- Carbon copy of yesterday with the sun warming things up quicker.

I don't know what has the fish all screwed up.  The warming temps, falling water or both, but the fishing stinks.  I arrived this morning just after Josh showed up.  He was down on the NE side and hadn't gotten anything yet.  While I was getting my gear a boat came and parked just inside of the closest buoy on the North side.  I thought that was strange.  I set up on the SW side.  I heard a couple get caught on the other side.  The guy who fished worms from yesterday showed up just a little after 5AM.  I got a 15" jumper on the Grass Pig shortly after he arrived.  Next I got a 19" toothy on the Grass Pig.  A guy showed up and fished next to me with a Lindy Rig.  I think I got a toothy on the Pure Poison and I got one for sure on the Aruku Shad.  I tried a bunch of different lures, but nothing was working.  The two guys left.  I got another small toothy on the Grass Pig while fishing off the bridge.  I offered it to a guy who was fishing on the NW side and he didn't want it.  He had gotten a few bass, so I switched sides.  I got one 22" toothy on the same BPS Crank as yesterday and had a toothy swipe at a couple of baits.  I left and tried the culvert, nothing there.  Same for Bulldog.  We are getting the Trophy out of the Pole Barn today, which means I may be in the boat tomorrow morning.

Bass Opener Bust

Bulldog Lake Lunker

4:00-10:30AM
Conditions- There were some clouds at day break turning sunny, warm, with a breeze out of the S SW

Well after what transpired yesterday, I can't say I'm all that surprised at what transpired today.  After getting in from last nights trip so late I decided I would just stay up all night and be sure to get the spot I wanted at the Grumpy Old Man Hole.  I arrived at 4:00AM and nobody was there.  I put my stuff down on the SE side and went up on the bridge and did some stretching.  I really need to always do that if I plan to fish for any length of time.  From what the radar was showing when I left I expected the clouds that were coming to bring some rain but they didn't.  It was warmer out than I thought it would be and didn't get as cool as what the forecast said it would get.  I was wearing a stocking cap and forgotten to bring a ball cap, Doh!

 I got my first bite at 4:24AM while fishing off of the S side of the bridge with the firetiger Ripple Shad, but whatever it was got off.  I went down to the SE side and started throwing the Grass Pig and missed a couple of bites on that.  Next I picked up a blue/black Pure Poison with Craw Fatty trailer and on my very first cast I had a 16 or so inch fish take it at 4:42AM.  Why no picture you ask?  Well as I swung it up on shore it came off. It wiggled right past me down 3 steps and into the water.  I thought no problem, I'd just catch another one.  I was amazed when I couldn't get another bite on the Poison.  So then I started throwing a huckleberry Craw Tube.  I had a fish swirl on it as I was lifting it out of the water.  I cast back to the spot a couple of times and then got instantly cut off.  Thankfully I was smart enough to not use tungsten and I quickly retied.  I decided to head over to the SW side and cast from there for a bit before someone else showed up.  I brought the Craw Tube and Poison rods with me.  I had a couple of bites that I didn't hook up with when somebody else drove up at 4:58, so I quickly went back to the SE side.  I thought maybe he was a panfish fishermen by the gear he came down with, but he was fishing for jumpers with worms and a bobber.

I got a 21" toothy bullhead on the huckleberry shortly after the other guy showed up.  He got a jumpin bullhead.  I had a few bites on the craw tube, but I was having trouble detecting the bites.  A combination of being out of practice and the old line on my reel.  I switched to a Chigger Craw and got a couple of jumpers on that, but I missed about 7 bites.  The guy with his daughter showed up and were still after panfish and the guy who was in the boat yesterday with his buddy wrecking the jumpers showed up as well.  He anchored for a bit, got nothing and put the trolling motor down.  I experimented with various crankbaits and had a couple bites that got off.  It was really slow.  The guy out in the boat got a dogfish coming down the SE side towards me.  He said "the bass must know it's opener, because it's all I could catch the past couple of days."  I got a slimer while working along the cattails next to shore with a green pumpkin craw tube, also missed another bite that might have been a jumper doing that.

Catch of the Day

While fishing with the Chigger Craw towards under the bridge I thought I had a bite, but it was a snag.  When I went up on the bridge to try and get it loose I found out I was caught on somebody else's snag that it turns out had snagged somebody else, that had snagged somebody else.  All I could see at the time was the Rapala.  I went and got the Pure Poison what has 40lb Power Pro on it and snagged the Rapala.  When I pulled it loose the  other two snags came with it.  The dad said, well at least I caught something.  The hooks still looked good on the rap, so I cast it out a few times but didn't get anything.

The Morning's Entertainment, a goose family that swam through the culvert

Some panfish fisherman showed up and  I went up on the bridge and started casting a swamp gas Grass Pig and I got 3 toothies doing that.  The guy who was fishing with worms and the dad and daughter left around 8AM.  I think the guy with worms got 4 or 5 jumpers total.  I went over to the SW side and got a 15" or so jumper on the green pumpkin craw tube, but I didn't bring the ruler with me to know for sure how big it was. I also forgot to get a picture.  A couple of grandma's showed up so I went back to the SE side and started packing up at about 8:30.  When I got up to the car it looked like the NE side was open, so I put on a senko knock off Snatch Stix from the people at BassSnatchin.com and headed over there only to find some guy was fishing down there.  I went  to the NW side.  I had a toothy under the bridge swipe at the Snatch Stix a couple of different times but not get it.  The other guy left, so I switched sides.  Over there I got a couple of toothies on the Grass Pig and one on an old wooden Bass Pro Shops flat crankbait that I have weighted to suspend. Some guys that were fishing down a little ways from me were more than happy to take them from me.  I left a little before 10 when some kids on bikes who were going to fish showed up.

I headed over to Bulldog Lake and was happy to see no one fishing there so I pulled in.  I got the fish on the top of this blog.  Then unbelievably I caught a smaller one also on the Snatch Stix.  I had to go meet Dad at Jenny's so I didn't stay long.

I wish I would have thought to go fish the Culvert over the Platte River.  I came home and crashed, so that was it for my 1st day of Bass Opener.

8 Pike
6 Bass

GOMH Throws Me A Curve Ball and Stupid Boaters

19.5"

8:30-11:15PM
Conditions:  It was warm enough for short sleeves, partly cloudy, and very little wind on a day that got to 77°F, the warmest day of the year I believe.

The plan was simple, Go and confirm where I should put myself for Bass Opener in the morning.  I wouldn't even fish if it was really crowded.  There were a lot of people on the SW side, couple on the NE side, and nobody on the SE side so I grabbed two rods and went down there.  I started throwing the Piranha, but the fish weren't having that so I switched up to chucking rattlebaits way out. Nothing.

Blog reader Mike B. was out in his boat today and stopped by to talk as he was on his way home.  I don't remember if I had caught anything yet at that point.  We had a good talk and then he left.

Boats started leaving and people started leaving.  I got a toothy and a jumper on the Spro Aruku Shad in "Cell Mate" color.  One of the boats that left trolled through on his trolling motor, not  a problem.  They must have gotten a golden because they came back through not alerting the bullhead fisherman (the guy WAS fishing for bullheads) up on the bridge and he ended up hooking one of the ladies in the boats rods.  That's a problem.  He was able to get it off quick and the guy on the bridge didn't say anything.  After the guy turned around and went through again, another boat decided to troll through, again not a problem.  The 1st boat came back through again, this time I warned the guy to pull up his line.  I made a remark to the bullhead fisherman that continuing to troll through an area where people are fishing from shore is pretty bush league.  I don't know if the people in the boat heard me or not.  They turned around and went back through.  Then the 2nd boat came through catching a nice golden right in front of us and immediately went to turn around.  I said something to the guy, which he didn't appreciate.  He told me there was no law against him trolling under the bridge like that.  It's to bad Willard or Bud  wasn't there to go off on him because that would have been fun to hear..  However, he didn't put his lines back in and headed under the bridge again to leave.  He said something to the other boat as they were coming back through.  This time I cast across the channel and happened to hook his line.  A battle I would win seeing as how I was using 40lb  Power Pro, but the lines unhooked.

I asked the bullhead fisherman if the people who had been fishing on the other side were gone, and he said he thought they were, so I went to the NE side.  It wasn't long before I had a my first golden bullhead of the evening, a small keeper which I gave to the bullhead fisherman.  I ended up giving them 4 golden's.  As the boat came through on one of the passes they asked me how many I caught and I told them.  On their way back through the next time I asked them how many that had gotten and he said they were getting close to their limits (3 people in the boat).  I asked them if they had gotten any bass and they said not one.  So every fish I heard them catch was a golden bullhead if they weren't lying to me.  I did get one nice toothy which I snagged under his jaw.  She was released.  Toothies that size help keep the small one's in check.

33" or so toothy bullhead

After the bullhead fishermen left on a pass from S to N they caught a young guys lighted bobber.  One of the young guys came across the road yelling for them to stop which they did and turned around bringing the bobber in the boat.  The guy kind of lost control of the trolling motor and ended up going under the bridge and I think he scraped his boat a little bit.  Ah justice.  They left not long after that.  I ended up getting my limit golden for the day and left.

This Mornings GOMH Trip

18:5"

5:05-8:30AM
Conditions: Cool to start, but warming to the upper 50's by the time I left, pretty calm and clear

When I arrived this morning no was at the GOMH yet, which was a bit of a surprise.  There was one boat quite away out on the SW side.  I started on the NE side per usual and quickly landed the golden bullhead in the picture on a white Grass Pig.  That was it for the North side and I was on the SW side by 5:20AM.  Jumpin bullheads were active there.  This one was my biggest.

18" Grass Pig

I got one toothy on the SW side and one on the SE side.  The Cook showed up and the guy with the boat left and came back with a buddy.  They started out fishing for panfish, but when the first guy started wrecking some bigger bullheads they both switched to those.  After my 2nd toothy I switched gear and lost a couple bullheads including one nice jumper that threw my Red Eye Shad when it was still way out there.  I went back to the NE side and got this fish on the D & M Baits Piranha on my very first cast, which I clunked off the bridge..

17"

That was it.  I went back and tied a new Tyger Leader on my #1 swimbait rod, a St. Croix LTB 7'3" MH Carolina Rig rod with full cork grips.  I tested to make sure the swimbait swam right and left at around 8:30.

Last Nights Trip to the GOMH

17"

8:00-10:30PM
Conditions- 70°F clear and calm

When I arrived the SE side was clear of boats and open for me to fish on the grass so I took it.  I started out throwing the D & M Baits Piranha and I got a couple of jumpin bullheads on that and missed a toothy or dogfish.  I got the 17" on the .75oz Red Eye Shad I got the pike on this morning.  A family started fishing to the E of me with this little girl who got super excited while catching sunfish.  I got on small jumper on an Aruku Shad and then a boat moved in over where I was throwing.  I was chucking the baits way out there.  I went to the North side where a boat with a couple of kids was just anchoring in the channel close to the bridge.  I tried fishing a Stanley Phantom but nothing wanted topwater.  At probably 9:15 or so I went back to the SE side.  The guy that had moved into my casting area had now moved in closer to the bridge and was throwing Rapala's in.  I had gotten my light Grass Pig rod and I was getting bites but missing just about everything. Finally I sharpened my hook.  I got a few jumpin bullheads.  The boat on the North side left so I went there around 9:50pm. Didn't get anything.  The guy who was the last boat left the South side left around 10:15pm.  I went back to the SE side got a couple more jumpin bullheads and left at 10:30.

This Morning GOMH Trip

19.75"

5AM-9AM
Condtions- Clear, Cool 40°F to start this morning up to 50 or so by the time I left.

I started on the NE side naturally.  I was fishing on the rocks not having any luck in my usual spots, so I cast back behind myself when that 19.75" fish hit my swamp gas Grass Pig. Next I got a couple of small jumpin' bullheads in my usual spots, then I cast back out towards where I got the golden and I got this chunky golden bullhead.

18" and Fat

 A couple of small jumpin bullheads later and I landed this cigar, which went back.

15.5"

With the clear skies it got light out much quicker than yesterday.  I was on the SW side about the time I caught my golden yesterday.  Jumpin bullheads were active on that side.  After my second toothy I went to exchange rods.  I worked by sides and up on the bridge.  Things slowed, when Josh who I met yesterday showed up sometime probably after 6AM.  Another guy showed up and fished with me down on the SW side.  He was trying for panfish.  I put on a .75oz red/chart craw colored Red Eye Shad and bombed it way out there with my Lamiglas 735 and had this toothy bullhead hit it on the very first cast.

18"

I got toothies on 2 of my next ten casts or so.  Josh had gone to the other side by this time.  He came back after getting a toothy and a few jumpers on the other side got nothing and left.  I went to the North side and got 1 small jumper.  I came back an got 1 last small jumper on an Xcaliber X75, while trying several of my new rattlebaits.  I also got fish on both of the Brovarney Jigs I threw yesterday.

Devin's Belated Birthday Greeting From the GOMH

With all the fishing I've been doing I kind of lost track of time for got to get the younger of my two nieces who live down in Florida a birthday card this year.  Devin caught her first bass ever this year, so I came up with a plan to dedicate my first fish of the day to her. It had to be the day after her birthday because it was around 11PM on her birthday when I came up with the idea.  I was hoping it would be a golden bullhead, but it turned out to be a nice chunky 16" jumper that hit my Grass Pig first.  Second fish of the day was a golden bullhead.

17"

I got it way up under the bridge.  That was my only golden of the morning.  It looks darker in the picture than it actually was.  I arrived at 4:45AM and didn't get the golden until around 5:15AM.  A guy showed up who was fishing the Grumpy Old Man Hole for the first time.  He showed up just as I was contemplating moving to the South side.  We talked for a little bit.  Then he went to get his stuff and went down on the SW side.  I arrived on the SE side maybe 5 minutes later.  Turns out his name is Josh and is the Assistant Manager at Reeds Sporting Goods.  He and his wife just bought a house in the Hillman area, not sure if it was in town or not.  He is a multi-species fisherman who prefers toothy critters, which were biting this morning.  I ended up getting 8 toothy bullheads today, with a couple of more missed..

I think got Josh one or two toothies and a couple of jumpers as well.  An older guy came and started fishing on the SW side with Josh for sunfish.  He didn't have much luck.  Fishing slowed and I was contemplating going back to the N side when Josh picked up his stuff and started heading that way.  I told him I was just thinking about doing that and he was nice enough to offer to fish on the NW side, so I could go back to where I was fishing when he first saw me in the morning.  I took him up on the offer.  I buzzed off my first cast with a swim jig toward the channel buoys and was immediately struck by a jumpin bullhead.  I hadn't gotten anything but toothy's out there so far this year.  I had a fish caught or hit on probably my next 10 casts before it slowed down.  Josh got a jumper on a minnow and then had to leave.  As he was going a loon swam into the area I was getting bit in and Josh said something about it.  I took a picture of the loon as it came in, then it came in closer and kept diving in the area I was getting fish.  The loon must of pretty well scattered the bait fish that were in the area because the fish stopped biting for me.

I missed one last toothy and left around 10AM.  I got fish on the Grass Pig, Frenzy Crankbait, Berkley Ripple Shad and two different Brovarney Jigs one with Devil Spear and one with a Grass Pig Jr. for the trailer.

Off the Schnide

17.75 Swamp Gas Grass Pig

After getting skunked last night I was eager to have something pull on my line.  I arrived at the GOMH at around 4:45AM.  I only took my light Grass Pig/jerk/crank rod (6'8" St. Croix Avid Medium XFast) down with me on the NE side.  About 10 minutes in it was just dark enough that I couldn't tell what the small fish that got off right on the rocks as I was bringing it up.  I think it might have been a really small toothy.  About 10 minutes later I got a jumpin bullhead.  I tried a couple different jerkbaits, then I went to the SW side.  That wasn't working so I went up on the bridge and the 17.75" from the picture just inhaled the Grass Pig.  I got a couple more jumpers as the Sun was coming up.

 I had a toothy get off and had then a few minutes later had the tail bit of my Grass Pig.  That was my sign to get more rods.   I started off throwing a Yum Money Minnow and got a 15.5 jumpin bullhead on that as well as several hits that didn't hook up.  I went back to the NE side and got a couple of jumpin bullheads on the green pumpkin/chartreuse Brovarney Jig with a green pumpkin and then a California color Grass Pig Jr..  That was all I got so I went back to the SE side as another guy arrived and a boat showed up and started fishing close to the bridge.  I got a couple of more jumpers on an orange/brown Brovarney Jig with a green pumpkin Havoc Devil Spear.  The guys in the boat jigged up a 24.5" golden and a keeper golden.  It got really overcast, it was getting colder and my upper back was barking at me so I left at 8AM.

Two Follows and One Hit From a Bird at Mille Lacs

The carnage at the North Side of Eddy's Jetty (Click to Enlarge)

Today I fished at Mille Lacs from shore from 5-9PM, with a break to eat dinner at Subway.  I started off fishing at Eddy's Jetty.  I fished off the South and off the North Jetty tonight.  I had a seagull try and grab my jerkbait that was fouled in my line as I was retrieving it.  I also saw a school of large suckers swim past.  It's to bad there isn't a largemouth within a mile of Eddy's because it would have been on that tree in the water.

After I had dinner I went to Cemetery Jetty.  The water is so high I couldn't get out and fish off the tip and unfortunately the ice didn't come in and lay waist to brush that has been growing there.  I did spook something in the old harbor.  On consecutive casts I had follows by absolute beast of a muskie and then a smallmouth on the same KVD jerkbait I got the pike on yesterday.  This muskie could have eaten that pike.  So any muskie fishermen that read my blog, the Cemetery Jetty is the point just to the North of where the Rum River flows out of Vineland Bay.  I've also seen huge muskie at Eddy's Jetty before.  A loon also came by twice.  I pulled off one wood tick going out and 5 and 1 deer tick on my way back

After leaving Mille Lacs I went to the GOMH and got skunked there as well.

Painfully Slow at the GOMH, Eddy's Jetty Big Pike

20.5"

This afternoon I fished at the GOMH from 3:30 to 5:30PM and all I got was this toothy on the NE side.  Not even a hit on the SE side or at Bulldog or Jenny's.  A few oranges were being caught by people in boats and the daughter.  Most boats didn't seem to be getting anything.

I decided to take my evening trip to Mille Lacs at Eddy's Jetty hoping for some smallies or walters.  The Hotel and Restraunt are now completely torn down.

I arrived at around 8PM.  The second lure I threw was a strobe shad Strike King KVD Jerkbait and a rather beat up 35" or so pike hit it.  It didn't put up much of  a fight, but I could tell it was a big fish.

Yes that is ice on the North Jetty

I got to see a nice sunset, but no smallies or walleye's showed themselves.  As required by law I quit fishing at 10PM