Better Night In the Trophy

3.41lbs/17.5" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

7:00-9:15PM GOMH, East of GOMH, Channel Inn Bay
Conditions: 80-70℉, Mostly Sunny, Calm-7MPH SW
Water Temp: 78℉

16" Booyah Toad Runner (Sunburn)

After getting skunked last night I wanted a relaxing night on the lake and that is just what I got.  I took my time getting my stuff in the boat.  Because of the way the wind was I ruled out the Melon Patch and headed for the GOMH.  I caught a nice bass right away on the Toad Runner.

16" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

There wasn't a whole lot of bass in the stuff I was fishing but enough to keep me interested.  My first fish on the Sparrow Bobby's Perfect just crushed it.  I got 4 bass (16,16,15.75,17) in the stuff east of the GOMH.  I also had a couple of dogfish mess with me.

17" Playing Camera tricks to look small

  At about 8:40PM I made the short move to Channel Inn Bay.  I caught 3 bass there (15.25, 17.5, 12.75).  The 17 and a half lit the Sparrow up then buried itself in the coontail.  It was a fun night that got dark quick because there were clouds on the western horizon.

15.16lbs For my Best 6 Tonight

7 Bass

Tough Morning, Tougher Night at the Melon Patch

5:30-6:15 GOMH
7:00-NOON Melon Patch, Access Docks West of Pads
Conditions: 54-78℉, Sunny with fog in the morning, Calm
Water Temp: 75℉

I started off the day at the Grumpy Old Man Hole.  I got one small jumper on the NE side.  He hit the Shower Blows 105 about 7 times before I finally got him.  I had a toothy miss the Shower Blows on the SW side.  This what I saw when I came up to leave.

There was almost no fog on the East side of the lake.

Once I got to the West side of the Big Island I was in the soup.  As I got over toward the Access the shoreline became visible and I got to the Melon Patch no problem.

The fog burned off fast after I arrived

I tried to expand the productive water to the South and there was lots of baitfish activity, but nothing to indicate any bass.  I got to where I started last night and saw a dogfish in a hole in the weeds.  When I flipped a jig at it, it spooked.

16.5" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow SF)

Basically, I caught a fish in the same spot as last night to start things off.  It may have been the same fish.  I was sitting in the middle of the Melon Patch not catching anything when I remembered catching some fish in the same looking stuff on a Horny Toad in a Snatchers Tournament on Leech Lake a few years back.

16.25" Horny Toad (Pumpkin)

About 5 casts in that guy wrecked my Toad.  I caught two other bass on the Toad and a good sized green sided toad destroyer.  At 11AM I left the Melon Patch to go try some docks.  I got a couple of 13-inchers off of the tree at the first dock on the Terminator Jig with Chigger Craw trailer.  The second bass did the Chigger Craw in so I switched to a black red fleck Craw Fatty.  I got a total dink near shore off of a boat lift and two 12-inchers off the second to last boat lift I fished.  It was now noon and I had been on the water long enough.
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14.25" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

7:15-9:15PM Melon Patch
Conditions: 78-70℉, Mostly Sunny, Calm-6MPH NW Wind
Water Temp: 78℉

First fish caught well after 8PM

Steve was up for some fishing tonight, so scrapped my plan to hit "The Dock" and went straight to the Melon Patch.  Once again I started to the South.  I missed a small fish right away.  I then had a good fish "dog me" fairly close to the boat.  That means it waked and hit my frog without getting it.  I'm not sure if it was a dogfish or not.  I tried to get the fish to hit a jig and Texas Rigged Chigger Craw, but it wasn't interested.  There wasn't a whole lot going on to the South, so at 8 beelined for the area where I caught fish last night.  Steve got the dink to get the skunk out of the boat.  He caught the 14-incher about 10 minutes later.  I had a pike "dog me" then steal my jig and had another fish dog me in close to the boat.  What a disappointing trip.  There were fish there, they just didn't want topwater tonight.

10.95lbs for my Best 6 Bass of the Day

Good Night Out In the Trophy And The Melon Patch

4.58lbs/19" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

5:30-9:15PM Docks Across, Melon Patch
Conditions: 77-65℉, Partly Cloudy, Calm-4MPH SW NW
Water Temp: 77-72℉

As I shoved off Steve was fishing with Mac. Because the wind was out of the SW I went and started on Jenny's reeds.  Didn't get anything, so I headed across to the docks.  I think I got an 11.5" bass on the third one and then had an 11.5" throw the jig as I was boat flipping it.  I then had a pike steal the Terminator Jig I was using, so I put another one on.  I then missed what I think was a good bass.  I started throwing the Terminator Frog in the pads.

2.73lbs/16.5" Terminator Frog (Black/Red)

This fish was the result and the only bite I got in the pads.  I then pulled a 16,13.5, 12.5, and 11.5" off of "The Dock".  As I came around the front side I had a pike bite off my jig again.  I got a 15.5" on the Terminator Jig I tied on and that fish did in my last Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog. It was rumbling off to the NE, so I headed as far West as I could go in Platte.

There is a rainbow ray faintly visible in both pictures.

The West end of Big West Bay is water I haven't fished in years and I don't think I have ever fished it this late in the summer.  I was pleasantly surprised by what I discovered.  I am calling the area the Melon Patch because it was full of bassmelons.

The Melon Patch

19" Melon

2.68lbs/17" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

2.88lbs/17" Bobby's Perfect

A pike trying to get the Sparrow was the first sign of life.  I then had a hot fish miss a couple times before finally getting my frog right in front of me.  It was 16.25" bass.  I then got the big momma.  She buried me in the rice big time, but I was eventually able to get her to the boat.  I was able to dig through the junk verify it wasn't a dog and get her lipped. I then got the first 17-incher, then a 16.25", and the last 17-inch fish.  The last 17 hit in the really thick rice.  I wasn't sure if it got the frog or not.  After about a 4 second pause I set the hook and thankfully she was still on.

Sunset over the Melon Patch just before I got the last 17-incher

17.76lbs for my Best 6 Bass today

13 Bass
2Pike

Tough Morning, Little Better Evening

Making a big fish look like just a good fish, oops

Not a great day for my photo's

5:30-10:30AM Jenny's Reeds, Reeds Across from Chuck's, Access Across, Access Docks
Conditions: 49-73℉, Sunny, Calm-4MPH NW
Water Temp: 72℉

Another not so great photo

So started at Jenny's reeds, nothing.  I then moved to the reeds beyond Chuck's Point.  There was some surface activity just not on anything I threw, so I headed to the cane across from the public access.  Finally, I had a hit but it buried me in the cane and got off.  Don't know if it was a pike or a bass.

21" Chigger Craw (Watermelon Candy)

I figured I better take a picture with a fish after I finally caught one nearly two hours in.  A fish busted something in the pads shortly after I released the fish.  I cast to the spot with the black/red Terminator a fish took it but it was very pike like so I didn't set the hook.  Fish continued to get blown up over the flat, so I went and tried that for a while, nothing.  I then went into the area where they were last night.  I tried frogs, swim jigs, and punching, getting nothing.  I worked my way across the flat to the pads in the middle of the bay, nothing there.  It was now about 9:45AM.  I headed across to the South shoreline docks. BOOM!

3.76lbs/18" Terminator Jig/Fighting Frog

Got this stud on the second dock.  I also caught a dink and missed a bite.  I worked my way back to the access missing a few hits along the way.  When I got to the access I called it a day.
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4.36lbs/19.25" Terminator Frog (Black/Red)

7:00-9:30PM Docks Across, Double Cane Point
Conditions: 74-67℉, Partly Cloudy after small thunderstorms had come through, Calm-4MPH NW
Water Temp: 75℉

After the success on docks in the morning I thought I would go and see if anything was up at "The Dock" across the bay.  I stopped at the dock to the west.  I had what I think was a pike swirl as I brought my jig up through the pads.  The pads looked so inviting that I put the jig down and made a few casts with the black/red Terminator.  A big fish went for it and missed.  I let the frog sit there, but it didn't come back for it.  As I was reeling the frog in to make another cast a fish swirled right at the boat. I figured it was a pike that had just followed the frog all the way back to the boat.  I had another fish give a half-hearted attempt at the frog more towards shore.  I cast back to the original blowup spot and the big girl jacked me up.  I thought, not bad for 15 minutes of fishing after the terrible morning.  I then got an 11.5 dink on the Terminator Frog.  I went back to give "The Dock" a try and had my jig get bit off.  I did catch an 11.5" dink on a watermelon candy Crazy Legs Chigger Craw.  I worked East fishing the pads, but didn't get a hit.

3.37lbs/17.75" Terminator Frog (Black/Red)
Now that's how you make a big fish look big 

Next, I headed to Double Cane Point starting where the rice meets the reeds/pads.  I got a 14.25" bass on about my third cast. That was it until I got the 17.75" after the sun had set.  I had committed to die in the shallow slop around Double Cane, thankfully I got that fish.  As it was getting dark, I thought what the heck I'll run across to Big Bass Point.  Nothing there and the skeeters showed up eventually.

14.81lbs for my Best 6 for the day

What a disappointing haul for as much time on the water today with the 3 kickers.

...And Then Shark Week Broke Out

Nothing much was going on...

23" Bobby's Perfect

Frog hook is toast thanks to the Black & Decker Tackle Wrecker

6:30-9:20PM NW Inlet, Just East of the 17" Hole/Access Across
Conditions: 74-68℉, Mostly Sunny, Calm-5 MPH NW
Water Temp: 74-70℉

2.75lbs/16.5" Bobby's Perfect

After taking a few days off from fishing I started out the evening fishing the slop in the NW corner of Inlet Bay.  I started in the reeds/pads.  Had a pike swipe at the Sprinker right away, then it was nothing for a long time.  I worked down the rice edge and then back out along the pads.  There was some pike, but that was it.  At 7:45 I headed for the 17" Hole.  I had a pike miss the Bobby's Perfect Frog right away.  Nothing going on at the 17" Hole.  A fish gave its position away on the big rice point just East of the 17" Hole in some standing rice.

2.53lbs/16.25" Bobby's Perfect

This was the fish that gave it's position away.  Unfortunately, it was hooked in the tongue.  It wasn't bleeding so I released it.  Two casts later the 16.5" was in the boat.  A couple casts later a 13.75" was in the boat.  I made a cast along the rice and I noticed the 16.25" floating on the surface, just then I had a good fish hit.  I didn't get a good hookset due to me looking at the 16.25" and the fish got off.  I went and netted the 16.25" and put it in the livewell to hold to see if it would survive.  I then got a 16", a 13, and a 14" bass.  Then I got the dogfish.  Getting that dude settled down and off the hook took a good 10 minutes.  It had spun itself up in the rice really good as the picture of my Bobby's Perfect at the top of this blog shows.  The hook was twisted so that Frog was unusable.  I had a spare with and caught 4 more bass on it (15, 13.5,13,11) and a couple pike.  I also got a couple of 13-inch bass on the yellow Terminator and a pike or two before the skeeters drove me away.

12.87lbs for my Best 6 Bass Tonight

Fishing With Todd In the Morning

Todd coming in after I arrived at 5:20AM

5:50-9:00AM NW Bay, Chuck's Point, Green Cabin
Conditions: 54-74℉, Sunny, 2-6MPH NW
Water Temp: 52℉

14" Terminator Frog (Black/Red)

 I took us to the rice bed in the reeds toward the South end of NW Bay.  Todd got a 14" pretty quickly.   I followed that up with this quality fish.

2.71lbs/16.5" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

It got pretty tough after that.  I landed a 14.25" as we made our way North.  We both missed a couple f bites.  I lost a decent fish just to the East of the juice.  I caught a dink out of a rice island.  I think Todd missed a bite there as well.  Next, we headed to Chuck's/Green Cabin.  I missed a good fish (Pike) on my first cast with the Sprinker.  There wasn't a whole lot of action on Chuck's Point.  A few little blow up misses on Bobby's Perfect in the juice, probably pike.  Todd missed a couple of good bass blowups in the reeds/pads.  I got the last bass (15.75) in the reeds/pads on the Sprinker.  A slow morning, but it could have been worse.  I was pretty exhausted and didn't go fishing again until Friday.

8.99lbs for the Morning

Morning With Todd, Evening with Both Bro's

Steve with 16" Platte Lake Special

5:30-9:00AM Jenny's Reeds & Access Across With Todd
9:20-Noon Loon Sex Bay, Channel Inn Bay
Conditions: 64-76℉, Cloudy some light rain, Calm to 7MPH SE S SW W NW
Water Temp: 75℉

I decided to start on the outside slop edge East of Jenny's.  It was a productive area last year, but this year it hasn't given me much at all.  I wonder if certain parts of Platte Lake didn't have some winter kill this year.  For some reason I worked us onto Jenny's reeds and Todd snapped up two bass out of the slop there after a pike missed my frog.

Small bass to start the morning

15.75" Terminator Frog (Green)

I then took us to the money hole/17" Hole, except there weren't any bass there.  The green Terminator wasn't fishing through the rice really well, so I gave him a black/red one to use.  He had a big fish miss the frog twice then not come back for it on the big rice point.  It just blew me away that we weren't getting anything under the overcast calm conditions, but there was literally no surface activity going on.

15.5" Terminator (Black/Red)

I worked us around the pad edge and finally, Todd connected with a couple good fish and missed a big momma.

16.75" Bobby's Perfect

Finally, I got in on the action with this good fish and another Platte Lake Special.  Todd then got his big one of the day.

16.75" Terminator (Black/Red)

And I got the big one of the day.  I was bringing through some pads when the fish just sucked my frog in.  I thought I felt something so I set the hook and there she was.

3.50lbs/17.9" Bobby's Perfect (White/Green)

As Todd and I worked back on the productive area a fish gave it's position away up in the cane, so I headed that way.  We got in the area and a decent sized pike skied itself missing Todd's frog.  A few casts later I watched as a bass grabbed Todd's frog.  Todd thought it was a pike and didn't set the hook.  I then told Todd it was a bass that was pulling on his line.  He got the 15.5" in the boat.  It was 9am and starting to sprinkle so I took Todd in.

16.25"Bobby's Perfect

Other than the light rain conditions were good for the fish to be biting, even though the fish really weren't, so I went out by myself to Loon Sex Bay.  I got a good bass right away a the start of the slop on the North side of the bay.  I then worked my way around the slop edge of the whole bay.  I had one bassy hit up in some shallow slop and a couple of pike hits and that was it.  The wind came up out of the WNW when I was about halfway through and the sun poked out for a little bit as well.  Didn't even get a hit on Loon Sex Point.  I then went to Channel Inn Bay.  I had a few pike takes and got 16.5" bass sitting right where he should be on the rice edge.  The sun came out so I quit.

Mal and Dev came down and did some fishing as I packed up.

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8:30-9:20PM Jenny's Reeds
Conditions: 75-72℉, Partly Cloudy, 3-6 MPH NW
Water Temp: 78℉

Since we had success fishing Jenny's reeds in the morning I figured it would be a good bet to get some bites with the limited time we had to fish. I had a pike come out of the water and miss my Bobby's Perfect pretty quickly on the windblown side.  As we got around to the lee side Steve and Todd both missed good blowups within a couple minutes of each other.  Steve got the first fish in the boat while we weren't quite to where Todd got the fish this morning.  I took us down Jenny's neighbor's boat channel and didn't get a single fricken sigh of a fish.  I quickly worked us back out of there then worked the inner slop/reeds.  I got a 15.25" on the white Bobby's Perfect and that was it for the trip.  Todd drove us back.  I must have left my notepad sitting on the back of the seat and it got blown out of the boat while heading into the wind

16.35lbs Best 6 Bass for the Day