Morning Trip GOMH, Culvert, and Jenny's

15.25" on a Yabbie

6:20-8:20am
Conditions- Post thunderstorm cloudy and windy out of the SE some rumbling, no rain

I arrived at the GOMH first and got the Yabbie fish first.  Then this 15.9" on Ish's Poppin' Phattie.

Then I went to the Culvert and got this pretty fish on a yellow Horny Toad.

Next I went to Jenny's and got an 18" pike on the Poppin' Phattie and that was it for my morning.

Evening Trip Jenny's, No Camera

8:05-9:05pm
Was a nice night to get out and fish.  I went to Jenny's.  Got a 16.5" bass and had a pike jump over my Ish's Poppin' Phattie and also missed 1 good fish that was hooked up and missed a few that didn't hook up.  Also used my Mojo "Crankster" for the 1st time.

Leech Lake Snatcher Tournament

In line for blast off

This being written 8 months after the fact, so my details may be a bit sketchy.

I rode up with my boater Jim "Smitty" Smith.  We were supposed to have another guy from the club ride up with us, but he never showed.  We left maybe 20 minutes later then we originally planned.

Conditions:
67 getting up to 77 degrees We had sun and clouds off and on during the day.
Windy in the morning out of the W SW dying down a bit throughout the day.

The Day:
We blasted off around 7:45am or so and Smitty put the hammer down heading South then East.  Tuma passed us pretty early on when the water was still pretty calm.  I thought I really should have brought my Ipod to wear during the run.  Once we got far enough East it got rougher and rougher.  We passed the South end of bear Island and pulled into some reeds that were getting hit pretty well by the wind.  I might have had a bite but it was tough to tell.  We ended up not getting anything there in two passes.  We went to a reed bed that was closer to Bear Island and a little more protected.  I think Smitty got his first one of the day there, a small keeper.  We moved closer to Bear Island fishing reeds and rice that looked fishy to me;  Mostly nothing was home.  I think Jim got a couple off of keepers isolated cover.

We moved to the back side of Partridge Point and I got a 12.5 inch peanut out of reeds next to a dock on a Horny Toad.  That was it on that stretch.

It was about 10am and we made the decision to run North after hitting on last group of reeds where I had a pike hit at my Horny Toad.   Fortunately the ride wasn't nearly as rough as we expected it would be.  Still it must have taken about an hour.  We went to an area I think they call the Campground, we had good luck here in pre-fish.  I caught a 16 incher casting out towards some lilly pads off the back of the boat on the Horny Toad.  I think we both missed a couple of bites.  Smitty wanted to head North to "the juice" where I got my big one in pre-fish, but I said lets give it a little more time.  It worked out for Smitty as he got one.  Then we headed to "the juice", which was almost totally dead.  I did miss one hit.  We crossed paths with somebody Jim knows who was pre-fishing for another tournament.  They were both dumbfounded about how poor the fishing was.

We ended up going farther North and fished a point.  Smitty got a small keeper and I got a rock bass on a craw tube.  Next we went into Leech River Bay/Federal Dam and sucked eggs.  Jim maybe missed one bite.  With about an hour and a half left we bailed to go South.  The ride was a lot smoother and took may 15 to 20 minutes going hammer down most of the time.

We fished Urum Bay the rest of the time. Jim got his limit fish with about 20 minutes left.

Results:  My two fish weighed 3lbs 9ozs and put me in 28th out of 31 anglers fishing.  Jim's 12lb 14oz limit got him 12th place.  The lake was really off today.That weight would have put Jim in 27th Place the last time we fished here in 2012.  The winner was Dennis Lothspeich with 19lbs 5ozs.

My Thoughts:  The fishing royally sucked.  Leech kicked my butt for a third time on tournament day.

Next Tournament: Pelican Lake August 2nd

I Got Something Anyway

17.75" yellow Horny Toad

Got this fish on the way home from the Leech Lake Tournament at the Culvert.  Almost as much weight as I got in the tournament.

Cutting Trees and Shore Fishing

The Sun Just About to Set at the Culvert

5:00-9:10PM
Condition: Nice night for fishing

I started out by cutting branches at Jenny's to give myself casting room.  After that was done I began experimenting with Bobby's Perfect Buzz Frog.  Missed my 1st three or four good blow up's.  I switched rods and went to the lake place via Jim's.  There I got a small pike and this 15.75" bass on Buzz Frog.

I also got a 24" pike on Ish's Poppin' Phattie that went up to John.

I then went back to Jenny's and got the legs bit off the Buzz Frog.  So much for using it at Leech.

I went to the Culvert and got nothing but pictures.  I then went to the GOMH and got a 25" toothy bullhead on a Mad Maxx Frog, which I gave to some bullhead fishermen.

Good Morning At the GOMH

16.5" My camera started acting funny.

6:15-8:45AM
Conditions-  Cool, but it warmed up quick, little wind, hazy, clouds, and sun

I elected to start out with a b/b craw tube on the NE side.  I thought my line started moving, but I'm not 100% sure as I set the hook into nothing.  A couple casts later under the bridge I got the skinny 16.5".   I then went to the SW side and got nothing.  I had a hit on Ish's Poppin' Phattie on the SE side that didn't hook up.  I went back to the NE side and got a 15.5" and 16.5" on the black Phattie.  I got a 12" under the bridge on a bigger sized Yabbie.  I also got a 16" jumpin' bullhead and missed something that nailed my white Horny Toad.  Before I left I went back to the SE side and got a 15" jumper where I had missed the fish earlier.

I went to the Culvert and got a 12" bass on the Horny Toad and missed another fish.

Two On Ish's Poppin' Phattie at the GOMH

14.75"

8:10-9:30PM
Conditions- Mostly cloudy light breeze.

I was disappointed with the casting distance I was getting out of my Revo Rocket yesterday at Leech Lake.  I looked into it and it turns out I had forgotten it has centrifugal brakes as well as magnetic ones.  I got all of those breaks turned off and now it is casting more acceptably.  I tied on a black Snagproof Ish's Poppin' Phattie Frog and that is what I got my two jumpin bullheads tonight on at the GOMH.  I also tried at Jenny's and at the culvert..

Woman Lake and Leech Lake Pre-fish with "Smitty"

Woman Lake: 7:00-9:00AM
Conditions- Calm, sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy

I got to fish today with my boater Jim "Smitty" Smith for the Bass Snatchers Leech Lake Tournament next week.  Jim is well known in MN bass tournament fishing community because he's been very successful and as I came to find out a really nice guy.  We hit Woman Lake first, checking it out for a tournament he's going to fish out there next Sunday.  We found some really nice smallmouth, but they didn't want to bite.  Jim caught 3 dinks and I didn't even get a bite.  I kind of had a brain freeze and forgot I had a rod with a Yabbie on it

Smitty with a quality Leech Lake largie

Leech Lake: 9:00AM-6:00PM
Conditions- Wind from light to fairly moderate out of the the SW alternating between cloudy and sunny with more sun late.

We put in at an area of the Lake I'd never been to before.  I got the first bite of the day out of some reeds on my brand new Snagproof Ish's Poppin' Phattie in black and yellow (Cali).

17" or so 

I missed one more good bite, then we switched area's.  In the new area I missed the first bite.  We went a little while and then Jim got two nice one's  in close proximity to one another out of the slop.  We got into an area with bullrushes, reeds, and pads and I got a 15" on a white Horny Toad.  Jim set the hook on a fish and his line broke.  I cast my toad into the area and ended up hooking his line with the fish still on it.  Jim grabbed the line and brought the fish in.  It was a quality 3lber.  In a tournament, who's fish would that be?

Jim was getting an occasional rock bass and I missed a couple of bites on a craw tube.  Jim lost a good one and I caught one that might have been 4lbs on the Horny toad.  We fished a lot of rice without getting any bites.  We pulled the boat out of the water and went to a different area of the lake.  Jim got a couple of nice one's including one on his last cast of the day and I got a 14" on a craw tube.

Over all Jim was disappointed we didn't get more fish.  I don't know why we didn't get more bites, conditions seemed to be perfect.  It was fun riding around in Smitty's sports car, a 19' Stratos with a 200hp motor.  Wind conditions will dictate what we do and here we go on tournament day.

Sunrise At The GOMH, Caught Somethings

5:32AM When I arrived

When the sun actually rose.

5:30-7:00AM
Conditions: Mostly Sunny light wind out of the W NW. It had a thunderstorm go over last night.

When I arrived I wasn't sure if that was the sunrise or not, it was actually about 4 minutes later.  I started out throwing a white Horny Toad.  Didn't get nothing standing up on the concrete, so I went down on the rocks and cast under the bridge. Nothing.  I went back to the final step on the concrete and when I had about 8 feet to go before I pulled it out of the water a fish hit so hard it actually startled me and I jumped a little bit.  It was this 16" jumpin bullhead.

Kind of skinny, but the hit gave me my money's worth for coming out this morning.  I also got a small toothy on a green pumpkin craw tube.

I went to the Culvert, nothing.

I went to the Inlet and got a 13.5" bass out of the reeds along the road and that was my morning.

Semi-Stormy Morning, Caught Something Anyway

6:20-8:15AM
Conditions- Cloudy and breezy, some light rain and thunder turning Sunny

This is what it looked like when I arrived this morning.

I did get two good fish to take a b/b craw tube.  First one I didn't get the greatest hookset because I kind of thought I was snagged on the bridge.  It jumped and got off.  Could have easily been an 18" or bigger fish.  I didn't get a good look at it but it sure felt like it could have been a giant.  The second fish fought hard and came off down by my feet, but I didn't see it.  I was fishing on the edge of the rocks.

When the storm moved in I left and went to the Culvert.

The back side of the storm as it passed

Finally wrecked the Horny Toad a 9.25" fish

Hooked Solid 13.5"

They weren't at the juice but close.  I got 3 total on a white Horny Toad 9.25", 13.5", 10"

I went back and tried the GOMH but didn't get anything.

Got Something at the GOMH Anyway

15.15" yellow Spro Frog

8:15-9:35PM
Conditions- Sunny, Cool, light wind

I started out at the Culvert, nothing there.  Next I headed to the GOMH where Peter was fishing and Willard was talking.  Peter hadn't been out in a couple of weeks.  Willard tried fishing yesterday and didn't get anything.  I had a pike come out of the water trying for my Spro Frog.  I got a jumpin bullhead in the rice on the far side on a Spro and I missed one under the bridge on a craw  tube.

Horny Toad Goes BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! SWOOSH!

16" on the Horny Toad

5:45-7:45AM
Conditions- Cloudy, Sunny, Cloudy a breeze out of the S SW

I was first person at the GOMH so I took the NE shore.  All I got was one 11" j.b. on a b/b craw tube.

Next I headed to the Culvert and went right to "the juice", nothing.  I was just about to leave when I made one last cast way upstream aided by the wind and BAM! Fish on! 16 incher.  I made another cast way upstream aided by the wind. BAM! Fish on! 14.5 incher.  That process repeated itself 3 more times with each fish getting successively smaller ending on a 12 incher who just barely took it.  I made a couple more casts to the juice, nothing.

The Stanley 4/0 Double Take Frog Hook is the real deal for Zoom Horny Toads.  You don't even have to have the hooks firmly secured by plastic.  Both sides were ripped out on the Toad I was using..

I made a cast way upstream with a Spro Poppin Frog and I had a pike come flying out of the water trying to get it.  With that I was done.  The inlet didn't give me nothing.

I kinda get the feeling if I want to keep catching fish, I'm gonna have to get the Trophy out.   This area of MN didn't get the rain that most of the state saw in June and the fish just don't seem to be hanging at the GOMH like they did when the water was high.