Last Day of Sept. Morning and Evening Trips

A little the East of West Point

The point to the West of West point

7:30AM-12:30PM Inlet, Culvert, GOMH, Jenny's, Trophy West Point to Beaver Point
Conditions: 56-50 degrees, Cloudy to mostly cloudy, ENE light wind, water level falling

I didn't get bit at the Inlet, but I did get a pike on the West side of the North culvert.

21.5" Brovarney Jig w/Swim Fluke 

I didn't get anything at the GOMH or Jenny's. I headed the Trophy over to West Point.  Nothing was going on topwater, but I got 3 small bass on the Dinger and a small pike on the black/red Mills Spinnerbait with Swim Fluke Jr. trailer. on the first cast across the point with it.  I worked to the point West of west point missing some hits on the Spinnerbait.  I then worked back across the front getting a bass out front of our place on the spinnerbait.

14" Mills Spinnerbait Fluke Jr

I continued across the front, then I tried the reeds.  There were bait fish there but no bites.  Eventually I drifted in shallow along the W side of Beaver Point. Nothing.  I got just on the other side of Beaver Point dock when I had a good bass light up the Horny Toad.  Slow morning, but that hit made it worth it.

17.5" Horny Toad b/w

I also got a 21.5" pike in front of Sherman's out of the pads.  The sun was starting to poke through and it was now after noon, so I quit.

A Lot of Bites, but the Fish weren't getting the Toad
5:30-7:30PM Dock, West Point North Shore
Conditions: Mid to low 60's, Mostly Sunny, Light NE wind turning calm, Gun shots going off like there was a war to the NW;  They could not have been shooting that many ducks and geese, no way.

I got a small pike off the dock and missed a few hits, then it was off to West Point in the Trophy.  Missed several hits until I got to West Point on the black/white swirl Toad.

15.5" Horny Toad b/w

I missed a couple other hits on West Point.  The wind got calm and I headed to the North side of the bay.  Fish activity all over the place, but once again the fish weren't getting the Toad.  Finally I got this fish and an 11.5"

16.5 Toad

I worked my way down the docks missing more bites.  I had a good fish miss the Toad.  I cast back and it got it that time.  Booyah!!!

19" Toad

Kind of a skinny dude.  I thought it was gonna be an 18"er.  I kept working East missing a few more bites.  I got to the end of the docks.  I had a good hit, but the Horny Toad hook broke off, so I was done.  Don't know if it was a pike bite off or my knot that gave way.  I should have tied on a new Tyger Leader rather than trying to get bye with what was left.  I did catch a lot of fish on that hook and it was getting pretty dull, so not a big loss.

Good Night at the GOMH & At West Point

18.25" Horny Toad b/w

5:30-7:30PM GOMH NE SW, Trophy West Point
Conditions: 60 degrees, Sunny, Light E wind turning calm

I started off at the GOMH. I got a jumper on the NE side on the Piranha with a b/b Chigger Craw.  I missed a couple of hits losing a claw.  I had a small toothy on the NE side and two small one on the SW side on the b/b Crazy Leg Chigger Craw.

Conditions got perfect at the Lake Place I headed West in the Trophy.  I got this 16"er as I approached West Point as well a pike on the Horny Toad.

16" Horny Toad

  I missed the first couple of hits on West Point on the Horny Toad.  But then I landed a small pike, the 18"er, and anther small pike on the Horny Toad.  I also got a 13.75" on the YUM Dinger.

4 bass
6 Pike

Dock & GOMH

I took a trip to get water out of the Trophy.   It was windy out of the NE and cool with temps in the high 50's.  I had a pike strike at the Strike King Spinnerbait on the dock.  I caught a 13" or so jumper on the b/b Chigger Craw on the NE side of the GOMH; I also missed a hit out front on the Platte side on it.  I wore shorts and didn't bring a camera.  It's suppose to get nice this weekend.  It's been windy and cool for a week straight.  Water level is continuing to drop, leaves are starting to fall, and the weeds are thinning out even more.

Tough Tournament Tough Year

I didn't take any pictures.
7:45AM-3:50PM Lower Whitefish, Big Trout, Lower Hay
Conditions: Low 60's, Cloudy with light drizzle in the morning, Wind to Very Windy ESE

The Day:
I missed the only bite right at the boat on Mark's starting spot on a Piranha with a Chigger Craw trailer.  I don't think Mark got anything.  Next we went somewhere on lower Whitefish where a point comes out.  I got a 14.66" bass there on the Piranha and had multiple claws get bit off as well.  Next we went to a close by protected shoreline.  I got 3 pike pretty quickly on a white Booyah Spinnerbait, but the 3rd fish stole the lure. I think Mark got a rock bass off of a dock.

We next went to Big Trout to fish docks.  Mark finally got his first keeper.  I managed to get two keepers on a Yum Dinger.  My lunker (2/1) came off of a pontoon boat lift with a pontoon on it.  That was my last keeper of the day.  I also missed a fish that felt good when it hung me up on a wave runner lift on a craw tube.  I also got a pike on a weedline on the Craw Tube.  Shortly after I got the pike Mark had a nice bass get off as it dove into the weeds.

We went back to Mark's starting spot and got nothing again.  We spent the rest of the day in Lower Hay.   Mark also caught a dink off of dock then had another good fish get off in the weeds on the same dock.  Then the docks went dead.  I caught a 10" dink out over the weeds and Mark caught his 5th and last keeper with about 10 minutes left over shallow weeds.

Results:
My 3 fish weighed 5lbs 4ozs which put me in 14th Place out of 18 anglers.  Mark had 5 fish for 8/13 which put him in 11th Place.  The winner was Mick Ziebell with 17/1.  Lunker was a 3/9 caught by Swannie.  Whitefish fished tough and only 7 limits were caught.

I ended up finishing in 12th Place for the year, behind two guys that didn't fish in two tournaments. smh

Thoughts:
 Not catching fish sucks. For some reason the fish were tucked up well under the docks and the wind made making good presentations difficult even with Mark putting down the Power-Pole.  The day seemed to fly by as well.  Only caught two limits out of the six tournaments and weighed 26 fish out of a possible 36.  By far the worst fishing I've done as a Snatcher.  I didn't reach a single one of my goals for 2016 as a Snatcher.  But I did have a good time despite the poor fishing I encountered.

Congratulations to Chuck Steinbauer on his 12th Baxter Bass Snatchers Mr. Bass title.

Booyah, Small Fish Tonight

15.5" Booyah Spin w/Swim Fluke Jr.

4:30-5:30PM Lake Place Dock, GOMH NE SW
Conditions: 60 degrees, Cloudy, NE wind

I traded the Grass Pig Jr. for a Swim Fluke Jr and got the 15.5" Pike off the dock.  I picked up the Yum Dinger's and was off to the GOMH.  I got this small jumper there on the NE side.

10" Booyah Spin

I then got a small toothy on the NE side and two more on the SW side on the Booyah Spinnerbait.  I had a Secret Night Luck-E-Strike STX Jerkbait get bit off as well.  Water level was down about another inch or two.

Wet Morning

How big is it?

7:15-8:30PM GOMH NE SW, Culvert
Conditions: 57-54 degrees, Cloudy drizzle, NE Wind, water level dropping

I got out a little later than I wanted, not that it mattered.  The water level is now beginning to uncover my standing rock on the NE side.  If it drops another 10 inches I'll be good.  I got the first fish on the NE side on a pumpkin/red flk craw tube.

Getting a little smaller.

 I had the camera zoomed in accidentally. The second picture was framed just perfectly.  I got a 19" pike on the "Secret Night" STX Jerkbait and had a good bass jump and get off on the craw tube on the SW side.  I had a small bass hit the Booyah Spinnerbait at the Culvert.  Didn't get anything at the INlet.

14.25" Craw Tube

Good Day of Fishing, Especially at the GOMH this Morning

Blogged 9/30/16
7:00-11:30AM GOMH NE SW, Culvert, Jenny's, Dock, West Point
Conditions: 64-59 degrees, Mostly Cloudy to cloudy, Calm or Very Light South Wind

I hammered the jumpers at the Grumpy Old Man Hole this morning.  I left having caught 14 jumpers.  Nothing huge but a solid limit of 16 and 17's.

16" STX Secret Night

17.5" Chigger Craw Breen

17.25 Chigger Craw Breen

 With now a weeks worth of hind sight.  It looks like GOMH is now in decline for the season. Thank goodness I hit it on this morning.

14.5" Horny Toad

I got a couple fish at the Culvert, but nothing at the Inlet.  I also got a few at the lake place.

16.5" Horny Toad

5:00-8:00PM GOMH NE and Trophy to the North of the bay
Conditions: 72-65 degrees, Partly cloudy, Calm

16.25" Mad Maxx

I got me a good one on Maxx at the GOMH out on the NE side, was barely but solidly hooked in the corner of the mouth.

17.5" Mad Maxx

15.25" Horny Toad b/w

The fish were short striking the Horny Toad. I had at least 5 or 6 fish do that.

For the day I caught
3 Pike
23 Bass

A Little Bigger Fish On West Point Tonight

16" Yum Dinger

5:00-8:00PM Trophy West Point
Conditions: 70-65 degrees, Mostly Sunny, West wind turning calm at 7PM

Didn't get hit off the dock.  I drove the Trophy to the first dock beyond the Point.  I was coming into the rice when I had a nice bass jump and break the Strike King Spinnerbait.  That spun me out for a little bit.  I didn't have spinnerbait box in the boat.  I put on a swim jig.  Didn't get any hits on that.  I got a couple small pike up by shore on the HOrny Toad and 1 up by the tree.  I also got a 17" pike on the Piranha by the tree.

I got the Dinger bit off on West Point.  I then got 3x16", a 14", and 2x10" bass on West Point.  I missed my next 5 bites as I moved beyond the point.  I didn't get anything when I traveled East to Jenny's.

  I should have motored over to the North Shore at 7PM when the wind quit.

7 Bass
5 Pike

Day Trip In the Trophy (and Off the Dock)

15.5" Pad Crasher Sunburn
Biggest fish of the Day

2:45-6:20PM Dock, Trophy Past West Point to Jenny's
Conditions: 70 degrees, Cloudy to mostly Cloudy, ESE, S, SW, and Calm, Some light rain in the last hour

14" Herb's Dilly

14.5" Herb's Dilly

I started out getting two bass casting a Herb's Dilly towards Sherman's.  Also had a pike get Mad Maxx.  I then took the Trophy and headed past West Point.  I had something hit the Horny Toad and not hook up, that happened multiple times today.  I got 3 bass on the Yum Dinger where the mini school was yesterday on the point.  On the way across the front I missed about 5 bites on the Horny Toad. I switched to black/white swirl.  I got a pike on that.  I got a pike past Beaver Point on the Pad Crasher.  I missed more hits on the Horny Toad.  I got the 15.5" casting out with the Pad Crasher.   I got a couple dink bass on the Horny Toad over by Jenny's neighbors.  I got to the edge of Jenny's neighbors boat lane and I had a short flurry of bass and pike on the Horny Toad, Maxx, and the Pad Crasher.

It got totally calm, but I had to get off the water for the Vikes game.
I ended up with 10 bass and 8 Pike

The Vikes opened the Purple Palace with a win over the Packers. BOOM!

Ok Night on Platte, Nothing Big

14.75" Horny Toad Brown/Blue

5:45-7:50PM Dock and Trophy West then East
Conditions: High to mid 50's, Mostly sunny, West wind turning calm

I got two small pike off the dock on the brown/blue Horny Toad.  I then got in the Trophy and headed West. I got the 14.75" off of the dock beyond Jim's.  I then had the legs get bit off the Horny Toad.  I put on a white one.  I got into a little school on the point.  I got a 14" on the Pad Crasher and missed a couple of bites, then I got a 14.25 on the Horny Toad.  I had a pike miss and I missed a couple of hits on the Grass PIg.  I didn't get anything beyond the point.

I then motored over to Beaver Point dock.  I got a 14" and a 10" on the Horny Toad and missed the best fish of the night when it got off on the Pad Crasher in the weeds.  It might have been a pike.  I had a couple other fish hit on the Horny Toad but not hook up.  That was it for the night.

Darn Storm Moved In at 7PM

14" HOrny Toad

6:00-7:00PM Lake Place off the dock and the Trophy
Conditions: High 60's, Calm, Cloudy

I got a small pike and the bass off the dock.  Fish were pretty active. Unfortunately I didn't get a hit while in the Trophy and a thunderstorm popped up just to the West of me, so I headed in when I was just on the other side of Beaver Point.  Bummer deal.

Good Night Out of the Trophy

16.5" Horny Toad brown/blue

6:00-8:30AM Lake Place Dock, North End of our bay out of the Trophy
Conditions: 60's, Light to calm ENE wind, Mostly Sunny

It's good sign when I get bit on my first two casts even though I didn't catch either fish.  I missed both of the hits on the Herb's Dilly along each side of the dock.  I did get a small snake on the Dilly casting West.  I then put the Trophy in the water and drove to the first dock on the North side of our bay.  It's been 6 years since I last fished over there, 6 freakin' years.

It looks more fishy now.  I got temped to go into the reeds just outside of the bay off of the point.  I had a fish miss the Pad Crasher right up to the boat.  I got caught not paying attention and missed a good hit on the Pad Crasher.  I had a pike miss the Mad Maxx.  I went and tried the first two docks outside of our bay, then got called back into the reeds by this fish.

20.5" Horny Toad brown/blue

  He had a sunny in his tummy.  I got over by the first dock inside our bay and got this fish on the Horny Toad.

14.5" Horny Toad

I got in shallow along the next dock and got this fish.

16.5"  Horny Toad

The guy from the first house commented that it was a nice fish.  I ran down the shoreline catching more bass and 1 pike on the on the Horny Toad.  A few fish got lit up Out but I resisted the temptation to try for them.  I got the last bass in the NE corner.

15.5" Horny Toad

I should have turned around and taken a picture of the sunset tonight.  It was a beautiful night to be out.

GOMH Tonight

I brought the camera, but no pics.
7:15-8:30PM GOMH NE SW
Conditions: Mid 50's, NW Wind, Partly cloudy

I wasn't motivated to get out in the Trophy tonight, but I did go to the GOMH.  I had one small jumper hit the Tomato Jerk Shad on the NE side.  It jumped and got off.  I think I might have had a fish hit the Pad Crasher on a cast I backlashed.  I heard a few things get thumped under the bridge.  I had something hit the Grass Pig on the SW side, but not hook up.

Skunked While Watching Elites Pass By At Eddy's Jetty

6AM at Eddy's

6:00-8:00AM Eddy's Jetty Mille Lacs
Conditions: 65-59 degrees, Wind Sw, Partly cloudy

I didn't get bit.

First Elite to arrive was Chris Lane

Chris Lane

I welcomed Chris to MN when he came by on the trolling motor.

Second guy to launch was Randall Tharp.

Randall Tharp

Third guy to launch was Bradley Roy.  I didn't get a picture of him.  Then came Keith Poche.

Keith Poche

After the sunrise the first one to come through was Dean Rojas.

Dean Rojas

Elites that I didn't take pictures of were Brandon Palaniuk, Adrian Avena, Andy Montgomery, Shaw Grigsby, Bobby Lane, Justin Lucas, and Brett Hite.

I saw 6 tom and 4 hen wild turkeys on the way home.