DNF

Thanks to Neiken's I didn't have to snow blow the whole driveway. We got about a foot. I tried to get out to my spot on Bulldog, but there was just too much snow. Dang it anyway. Not sure if this is going to be my last trip of 2021 or not.
 

Final Trip of 2021

 

Ended the Year with a Double

4:30-7:30PM Bulldog Lake 2021 Holes

21-25℉, Cloudy/Snow, 5-20mph ENE

I was on fish right away, but it was slow until about 6PM, when the action picked up. They really didn't want THE Jig. Pretty even between the minnow and the VMC Fly. I ended the night with a double. I would have stayed longer if it wasn't snowing so hard. Thank goodness the wind was at my back. The roads on the way home were treacherous. Fortunately, a car headed South on a passed by just as I got into the truck.

57 Crips

Christmas Eve Smackdown On Bulldog

21" THE Jig (Wht/Pink)

10" THE Jig (Wht/Pink)

 4:15-7:15PM Bulldog Lake 29' in front of Holy Family 

30-39℉, PC, 3-12mph NW

I was hoping the Bulldog would be free of people seeing as it was  Christmas Eve. I was not disappointed, nobody was there. I was a little surprised there weren't any new holes in the area, and the ones from yesterday were frozen up enough that I couldn't open them with my body weight. I predrilled the holes from last night. Didn't mark anything for the first 10 minutes after putting the minnow down. About 20-minutes in, the first crappie of the night took a minnow. It was then AWWWWWWWWWWWWN for the next hour or so. I stopped putting a minnow down after 4 or so fish because they were aggressive on THE Jig. I was getting bites immediately every time I dropped. I wasted maybe 10-minutes trying to get a fish on the Slab Rap. After about an hour, it slowed down with fish moving in and out. I landed the pike after a good long fight. The last bite of the night was a pike. I didn't take my time, and it broke me off in the hole. Totally my fault. I left them biting. It was so nice fishing in the Legend XL. I had the Vex up on a bucket and would often stand up pull the transducer out of the hole. then sit down and resume fighting the fish.

29 Crips THE Jig

13 Crips Glow Demon

6 Crips VMC Fly

48 Crips

1 Pike THE Jig

1 Pike Glow Demon

2 Pike

1st Ice Trip 1st Fish of 21/22 Ice Fishing Season

10.5" VMC Fly//Wax (Pink)

 4:40-6:15PM Out Front 10' of water 5" of Ice 

32-37℉, PC, 0-6mph WNW

Bear Trax had minnows, so I stopped in to get bait. Tim told me the word was 5" in the bays on Platte. That meant I didn't have to waste time checking ice thickness before bringing my stuff down to the lake, saving me the time I needed because I got to the lake so late. I drilled three sets of holes about 75 yards out front. Marked something in the second set. I wasn't really prepared and missed a couple of bites. The crappie came through about 4' up, and I caught it. Skunk out of the Fish Trap. I put a minnow down. Had a couple possible bites on the minnow and had a couple more lookers on the VMC Fly and THE Jig. Not skunked on the 1st trip for the first time since 2017.

Final Open Water Fish of 2021

16.5" Jerk Shad (Tomato)

7:00-8:50PM South Jetty, North Corner

35℉, Cloudy, 1-3mph SE 

Started on the South Jetty, no action. On the North Jetty spotted one fish and caught it.  MY heart wasn't in so I packed up shortly after letting it go. This was my final trip of the 2021 Open Water Season.

 

Pike Caught, Trophy Out For 2021

1:30-1:50PM F Flat

45℉, Cloudy, 6-10mph ESE 

I was hoping to get a bass for my final trip in the Trophy for 2021, but it was not to be. I headed out to F Flat with the Dobyn's Fury and the Orange Jackhammer. I got a bite and was followed at the waypoint by something small. The Pike came much closer to "The F Flat Juice." I was about to leave, and catching the fish sealed the deal. I headed to the access, and we took the boat out of the water. I forgot to run the gas out of the motor. It is going to rain for the next couple of days then get cold. Boating Season Over. 

Bring on the ice.

 

Barring an unforeseen warm-up, I should be ice fishing slightly before Dec 1st.

Last Bass In the Trophy For 2021

Sun Setting on 2021 Season In The Trophy

 

One of two in the SE Corner

Ended With A Platte Lake Special

3:30-5:30PM SE Corner, LSB, SWBI, NPBI, F Flat

40-52℉, PC, 0-5 mph SW

I got out later than I really should have. Started in front of the Old Resort in our Bay. I got pike on two consecutive casts in the SE Corner. I then bounced to LSB. Nothing going on there. I then headed to the SW Corner of the Big Island as the sun was setting. I got a pike on the Jackhammer as I was trolling for Tuma's spot to where I have caught fish in the past. That didn't work out, so I quickly went to NPBI and the  F Flat. I got two Platte Lake Specials at my waypoint. No clue what is so special about that spot. I'll give that spot one last shot when I take the Trophy out tomorrow.

Penultimate Trip In The Trophy Works Out At The Very End

Took a picture after I got the pike

It was way darker than it looks in this picture.

 3:30-5:30PM Old Resort Flat, NW Corner, NPBI, F Flat
47-50℉, MC, 0-4MPH NW

Started on Old Resort Flat. Missed a couple of bites and had a follow on the Jackhammer. After about 40 minutes, I bailed for the NW corner. There was activity by Rice Island, so I stopped there. Didn't get a bite and stayed too long. Made a quick stop at NPBI, nothing. Headed to F Flat, where I got a pike and two bass. The bass was where I got the bass last night, and the pike was around where I got the pike the previous night. Was so glad the Hail Mary paid off and got the skunk out of the boat. Decided not to try for crappie even though it was calm and I wasn't all that cold.

Big Pike & Bass On A Beautiful Night

Calm Night Was Just What This Soul Needed

34.5" LiveTarget Wake

3.37lb LiveTarget Wake Gill

4:00-6:30PM Reeds Across, F Flat, NPBI, Hole Our Bay

50-60, MC, 0-3MPH S

41-43℉

My plan was to only watch the first half of the Vikings game due to Daylight Saving Time ending. But the game sucked me in. But then the Vikes blowing the lead got me headed off to the lake in a frazzled state. As I was coming up the driveway, Steve waved me up. He was cutting down a tree, and I was lucky it didn't fall on me. Steve was blessed didn't get seriously injured twice. After the Vikes scored two quick touchdowns, the Offense went into hibernation vs. the Ravens. They were in the process of giving the Ravens their first lead of the game as I talked to Steve. When I was ready to head out, the Vikes had tied the score, and the game was headed to overtime. I didn't know how to get the game on my phone, so I listened to my Bass Tournament Morning Playlist instead. A text from Pete made me surmise we lost. Then I got a notification shortly after that Barr had made an interception. I'm not sure if the game was over when Pete texted, or he just gave up prematurely.

Anyway, I started working along and in the Reeds Across the Way, not even getting a bite. As I got to the path separating the South and North Bed, I started listening to the KFAN post-game. There was a little activity along the northern edge of the North Bed. I missed a bite there. I moved across F Flat. It was totally calm now. I had a good size pike follow the LiveTarget Wake to the boat. A couple minutes later, I got the 34.5-inch pike. I don't think the fish that followed was that big, but I could be wrong. It took me a while to land the fish. I played it until it was worn out, and it was barely hooked when I grabbed it. It didn't put up a fuss. I took a quick picture and released it without weighing it because I didn't have the scale ready; I didn't even know if it was in the boat. The scale was in my tackle bag, so I put it in the pouch up front where I usually keep it. About 5 casts later, I got the bass. I didn't get any more bites, and there was scattered activity over the flat once again. It was dark when I went to NPBI. Not sure if the fish I saw out there were shiners or small crips. I didn't put the Loomis 782S in the boat, Doh. I went in and got the rod. I looked unsuccessfully for crappie around the deep hole in our bay.    

 

Crappie Bust, Got a Couple of Pike In Sully

I need to trim the old beard and shave my head as well

 

4:00-7:00PM SPSI, Tuma's Point, Intersection, GOMH

45-58℉, PC, 0-7mph SSW

I got a little later start than I wanted. Tried SPSI no dice. Then I went and searched for crappies for an hour in Sullivan. That wasn't happening, so I mapped for a while. Then fished Tuma's Point. I was just about to move when I caught a small pike on the Jackhammer. I only fished maybe 10 more minutes, then headed to the Intersection. Caught one pike there in the rice narrows. It got totally calm, so I went out and hunted more crappie unsuccessfully. I was underdressed, and my hands were getting cold, so I headed in. Saw a bass and possibly an eye at the bridge.

Talked to Todd after I got back in. He had a deer spook as he was getting to his stand and saw one in the evening but could not get a clean shot as it went into a thicket.

Fishing With Todd On Deer Opener Eve

Todd caught the last and biggest pike of the night

5:00-6:40PM West Point to the old Resort

42-47℉, MC, 7-20mph SSE

Todd came up for his first-ever Deer Opener. He is going to be hunting Jenny's Property. We fished for around an hour. I got the first pike of the trip in front of Jenny's on the Jackhammer. I caught 4 more pike and a bass, that I forgot to take a picture of before I threw it back. I then gave Todd the Jackhammer. I caught a pike on the FireCraw chatterjig Todd had been throwing. Todd got the last pike of the night. We both missed our last bite of the night. I had  4 or 5 that didn't hook up and Todd had 2 or 3 that didn't hook up for the night. 

Got Calm With Steve

The activity lasted a bit longer than usual tonight

Chunky 15-incher

5:30-7PM LSB, NPBI, F Flat

Water Temp: 45-47℉
 

5lber Landed, Dock In, Eye Caught One at Eddy's

5.02lbs Jackhammer/Devil Jr (FC)

Last Trip Todd Got a Bass

I think this was the eve of the Deer Opener.  Steve, Todd, and I pulled the dock out then Todd and I went fishing. I got the 5lber in LSB Northside where I has been getting fish. Todd got a couple of bass on the Jackhammer at SPSI and NPBI. We ended on F Flat chasing activity. I think we got a couple of pike.

22.25" Rage Swimmer

 I fished at Eddy's from 10:00 to midnight. Got one bite at the South Jetty it choked the Rage Swimmer. Shined only 1 fish.
 

Bassin' and Ballin'

3.26lbs Jackhammer/Devil Spear Jr. (Orange)

5:20-6:50PM F Flat, NPBI, SPSI 

50-60℉, Sunny, 3-12mph WNW
Water: 51-53 Very Low Falling

I headed to F-Flat to start. Didn't get a bite, so I headed to the North Point of the big Island. I got 3 bass there, the last of which was the 3lber. I headed to the South Point of the Small Island with that success, where I got one bass and a pike. A  duck hunter hit bottom with his motor cutting across the point up by the reeds. There were several boats out fishing tonight. It was windy to start but calmed down significantly by the time I ran South.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

26" Rippin Rap (Chrome/Blue)

19" Grass Pig (Swamp Gas)

10:00-12:00AM Eddy Jetty North North Corner and Pete's Spot

53-55℉, Clear, 2-4mph WNW

Saw more eyeballs tonight than last night. Sight fished at the North Corner to start. Had a fish hit the clown X-Rap but did not hook up. Caught the pike throwing off of the big standing rock on a Rippin Rap around 10:30. Had a fish in briefly at Pete's Spot around 11:20 or so. Finally had a walleye engulf the Grass Pig on a Outkast Goldeye Jig at 11:35 or so. That was my last bite. Had three boats take out tonight. They said the eye's were biting light.

 

Eyeballing at Eddy's

 

DNF

 Slept in, woke up slowly. Rods for fishing Mille Lacs are at the cabin. Oopsie not anticipating that.

Victory Is Achieved At Platte/Sullivan

  

4 and a 5

Got Wood Again, Finally

What my scale said

Conditions: 54-72℉, Partly Cloudy to Cloudy, 0-4mph S

The Day:

Darren was kind enough to give me control of the boat for the day. I elected to start in Sullivan at the Intersection. I had Darren set us down a little short of the juice. A decision I almost regretted as Snatcher Ludenia and Nate set down in the general area but fortunately didn't get a bite to slow them down. Darren had something big boil on his frog on about his fifth cast. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get it to strike again. I got us up to the juice and had a fish suck under my frog in a spot where my vision was a bit obscured by reeds. I ended up getting a less than optimal hookset, and the fish quickly got off. A couple minutes later, I had a fish suck my frog under, but this time I was ready and got the day off to a good start with a fish close to 3lbs. I began to work to the East when a boat not in the tournament fished through where I was heading. They caught one small fish, and that was it. I ended up fishing the Intersection instead. It just wasn't happening, and the wind was staying still, so we fished the GOMH on the Sullivan side and then headed into Platte for the rest of the day. 

We spent the next few hours on the North end of Platte in Inlet Bay. I started by fishing the rice line from East to West. I got a small keeper on a Terminator Frog. I think Darren got his first keeper shortly after that. It just wasn't happening on top, so I started throwing a Magnum Super Fluke. We were at the Cookie Jar, and I was just about to pull us off of the rice line when the 4lber bit the Fluke. That kept us on the rice line longer, but we didn't get any more bites. The wind came up a bit, so I pulled us out onto the flat. I got a small keeper and a bunch of pike on the Jackhammer and a craw tube as I worked our way back to where we started. It got calm again. I got my feet set and threw the Terminator Frog way back in the rice line, and 5lber slammed a couple seconds after it landed. I could have sworn I locked the weight at 4.93lbs, but apparently not. I wasn't surprised that my scale weighed it light. We worked the rice corner, then turned around, went deeper into the junk, and I worked our way South. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the slop in Center Inlet. As we made our way into South Inlet, I cast to the coontail mat, and a 3lber took the Terminator Frog about 10 feet out from the mat. A couple minutes later, Darren had a good fish boil on his frog, but unfortunately, his line snapped on the hookset. Darren did get a keeper there in South Inlet. We ended up working our way back to the north with Darren missing several opportunities and me getting pike on a buzzbait. The sun came out, and we got back on the rice line. I got a quality cull, and Darren got his last fish of the day.

As we were coming to the end of the rice, I noticed the front flasher was flickering on and off. Turns out his starting battery was out of juice. I headed us in the direction of the public access, and Smitty came by to see what was up. Smitty has a lithium jumper pack, which got us back in the game for the final hour and a half.  We made a couple of more stops with me getting a few pike, no bass. Just couldn't get one more Platte Lake Special to put my weight for the day over 20lbs.

Results: I won my first Snatcher Tournament with a weight of 19/12, and I also got wood and $ for the 5/2 Lunker.  Smitty came in 2nd with 17/9, and Nate got 3rd with 16/13. 

The win also allowed me to reach my goal of finishing in the club's Top 10 for the year in 10th Place.

My Thoughts: I am so grateful to have drawn Snatcher Darren as a boater and that I fished clean for the most part. I thought I had screwed my chances catching a twenty-pound bag on Wednesday when I didn't know we would be fishing my home lake; Thankfully there were still some melon heads up North. Winning on a lake that has disappointed me so many times made my first win so much sweeter. With the way my season had gone, I seriously doubted I was ever going to reach my number one goal, but I did it. Victory Was Achieved on August 26th, 2021!

Skunked At Eddy's Tonight

 Since I can't fish Platte/Sullivan due to it being off-limits for the Snatchers, I thought I'd give Eddy's a try tonight. A lot of High School students around, no fish. There were a few small baitfish at the harbor mouth, but I didn't shine any eyeballs. Water is about 10-inches down from last year. Eddy's grounds crew didn't really tend the jetty, so there is a lot of weeds around. Discovered that I lost Jamar's number with the new phone; I was going to text him and let him know about my trip. Hopefully, he will come back up in Oct and I'll bump into him.  Looks like we have warm weather for another week. Probably won't hit Eddy's again for at least a couple of weeks.