Good Evening at the GOMH (Missed a bite at Jenny's)

12" Zoom Fluke 

6:15-7:10PM GOMH
7:20-7:30 Jenny's
Conditions: Mostly Sunny, calm, temps in high 50's, water low flowing into Sullivan

It was such a nice day I decided to do some fishing.  I started out on the NE side at the GOMH.  I missed a couple of hits on the Piranha.  I just barely hooked the first one to bite the Fluke, the 12" jumpin' bullhead.  I then landed a 17" jumper also on the Fluke.

17" Fluke

I then landed a toothy on the Fluke.

21.5"

I then picked up "Sweet Revenge" and missed a fish that boiled on it hard, but missed along the slop on the NE side just as I was pulling it up onto some standing rice.  The rice is sparse enough now I walked a little ways to the East and tried in the little slop bay.  Didn't get anything.

I then went back and decided to throw Mad Maxx under the bridge.  A pig was under there waiting.

18" Mad Maxx Sweet Revenge

 I tried the SW side and didn't get anything.  I headed to Jenny's and missed a fish there on MM.  It was to dark for me to see what it was as it was fighting me through the rice.  I then drove home and realized I left the camera at the bridge.

Thumbs UP

So I went back and got the camera.

Cedar Lake Pre-fish

26" or so on Mann's Buzz w/Horny Toad

8:30-3:30PM
Conditions: Cloudy until about 11:30 or so,  air temps from about 60 to 74,  water temp mid 60's, wind out of the SSE

Got out with my boater Guy today to pre-fish for our tournament next week.  I just wanted to catch fish so I mostly threw a Mann's Classic Buzzbait with Horny Toad for pike:  I got 8 pike on that including 28" that I thought was a big bass at first.  I might have missed 30" class muskie as well.  I caught 11 pike total.  I caught 3 bass, only 1 of which was bigger than 12 inches.  Guy got a few nice bass, but they were scattered for the most part.

What A Disappointing Tournament!

What I caught My 3 Fish On (2 Bass, 1 Pike)

My first big mistake was thinking I would be able to get a limit no problem.  My boater Bill B. had a good history on the lake and we as a club caught the fire out of them here two years ago in June.  I thought the fish would be everywhere and on the feed, boy was I wrong.  Less than half the field caught a limit and about half of us had 3 fish or less.  It was tough.

My second mistake was not calling to check if my boater pre-fished, which he did end up doing.  I didn't bring my dock skipping rod because I didn't know we would be fishing docks.  Oh well.

Conditions: Post cold front, cool in the morning getting to about 70 degrees, Sunny, light winds for the first 3 hours then getting to be about 10-15mph in the afternoon out of the WSW, about a foot of visibility maybe less.

The Day: We started in the Lower Lake in some maidencaine.  Bill missed a bite on a spinnerbait.  We spent maybe half an hour, than moved up the lake to try some docks.  Bill got a squeaker out of some sparce reeds.  And I got a 11.75" of a dock on the Craw Fatty.

Next we moved to the Upper Lake.  We fished outside of some reeds, then went in to try some docks.  I got my only keeper on the Horny Toad.  I then missed a fish on the HT and Bill also missed a fish on the same dock.

Next we moved to a weedline spot outside of the reeds.  Bill picked up three descent one's on this spot on a Senko.  The last of which he got when Chuck Steinbauer was close by, which gave Bill quite a thrill to do.  The wind came up while we were on this spot.

Next we went to the NE corner of the lake and got nothing, then we went to the reed point by the Upper Lake Access and Bill got an OK fish on the Senko.  I switched to a Grass Pig Jr on a Texas Rig.  I should have put it on a mushroom head jig instead as I got a couple of bites but didn't get hook into them at this spot or at the place Bill got the 3 fish.

Next we went to a spot outside of a reed point on the NW shore.  I got my pike there.  Then we moved in to fish docks.  I missed a bite that took the Horny Toad when I let it sink at the back of a pontoon and another fish that hit the HT as I brought it out of a thick patch of reeds that was out from a dock.

I think Bill got a hammer-handle off an under water point.  With about an hour and a half left we went back to the Lower Lake and retraced our steps back to the docks then maidencaine.  Bill pulled his biggest bass there on a Yabbie.  I missed a hit on the Craw Fatty, but the line was frayed a bit so it was probably a pike.  We then went over by the access where Bill got a small pike on a swim jig with a swimbait.

Results:  My fish weighed 1lbs 8oz, which kept me out of last place by an ounce.  I finished 19th out of 20.  Bills fish weighed 12-13 and put him in 7th Place.  1st Place went to Chuck Johansen with 17-15 after a 2oz dead fish penalty.  Lunker went to Darren Kiefer with a 4lb 6oz fish.  He was fishing with Johansen.

My Thoughts:   I just wanted to go out and catch a bunch of fish.  What a disappointment!

I didn't get a bite on a chatter jigs, Chigger Craws, Red Eye Shad, buzzbait, or a Vixen.

Bulldog & Rock Tonight

Bulldog Lake

6:45-6:50PM Bulldog
6:55-7:30PM Rock Lake

Conditions: 60 degrees, mostly cloudy, light wind out of the WNW.

24" Horny Toad

Caught a pike with a nasty tumor on it's side.  I got it's good side for the pic.  I also tried Jenny's and GOMH, getting nothing.

Cool Night at Bulldog and Rock

Rock Dock

7:00-7:20PM Bulldog Lake

7:30-8:00PM Rock Lake

8:10-8:15PM  Jenny's

Conditions: High 50's, mostly sunny, wind out of the NW so I was protected

Bulldog Lake:

15.5"  Horny Toad

Rock Lake:

18" Horny Toad

At Rock I only got 1 fish in of the 4 that hit.  Probably 3 pike and 1 bass.  The fish in the pic, was the first one to hit and it had tumors all over.  I then had a hit in the lane to the S on the Horny Toad.  I then had what I'm pretty sure was a good bass take the Spro Frog slighty out to the S out from the Dock, but I had a lousy hook set.  Which was stupid of me because I should have anticipated a bite, as I threw to a swirl.  There was another swirl off to the S, that turned out to be a small pike that struck at the Spro, but didn't hook up.

Didn't get anything at Jenny's.

Went to Plan B This Morning

17.5" Horny Toad

6:40-7:20AM GOMH
7:35-7:50AM Bulldog
8:00-8:50AM Rock Lake
Conditions: 60 degrees, cloudy to mostly cloudy, no wind

Plan A was to quickly try the GOMH, then take the Slop Slip out.  That changed due to the road grader working on South Platte Lake Drive when I got there.  At the GOMH I got two small bullheads on the Ultimate Jerk Shad.

7" Jerk Shad

11" Jerk Shad

I was just about to leave when I had the toothy swing and miss the JS.  I cast back and caught the jumper.  I cast back and got the toothy.

Due to the road grader I turned around and went to Bulldog where I got a small pike,

15" Horny Toad

At Rock, conditions were perfect with a lot of baitfish activity.  On the second cast when I was reeling towards the dock to bring the Toad along the dock the 17'er nailed it.

Accidentally Zoomed In 

I also got a 17" pike on the Spro Frog casting N in the rice.

Got One At The GOMH This Morning

After I got the camera working again, fish was already released

6:30-8:00AM
Conditions:  Post thunderstorm, low 70's, wind out of the S SE, cloudy, humid, water level didn't come up and there was barely any current.

I caught a 12.25" jumper on a b/b craw tube under the bridge NE side.  Had a small fish hit the Phantom on the SW side.  I also fished Rock briefly and got nothing

Did Some Catching Today

17" Slush Daddy

Sunrise is moving South

6:40-8:20AM
Conditions:  Post morning thunderstorms, humid, low 70's, partly cloudy, wind out of the S SE

I was hoping the brief heavy rain we had might translate into so fish this morning.  I hit the GOMH first.  I started out by discovering that I forgot to put away a Slush Minnow and Stanley Phantom when I fished the last time.  It took me about a few seconds to realize that was at the Cabin, not at the GOMH.

I started out by putting a Slush Daddy on.  I was just about to pull it out of the water to make another cast when a jumper sucked it in.

Right about where it was sitting when the fish hit.

18" Slush Daddy

I didn't get a better picture because the camera went on the fritz when I went to take another picture.  I released the fish, then got the camera working again;  That's when I took the sunrise picture.

I made a cast out across the channel and had the 17" hit the Slush Daddy.  Those were the only 2 bites I got.  I tried the culvert and didn't get anything.  Next I went to the lake place to retrieve my lures, which I did.  I missed a fish that attacked the Spro Frog when I wasn't paying attention.

I tried Jenny's as well. Nothing doing