Golden Bullhead On Windy Cool Evening

Chaha oaked it!

21.5" Swim Shad/Minnow

7:30-8:40PM GOMH SW

40℉, Cloudy light rain when I left, 10-15mph NNE 

Water Level Normal High rising

Pete decided not to show up. Smart choice. I got the one bite and bullhead at about 8PM on the 2" Swim Shad with a dead crappie minnow. Totally choked it. I had long johns on, but my feet still got cold. When it started to sprinkle I bounced.

 

Morning And Evening Double Skunk

Up early in the morning, before the ... . I think I had a JB or doggy snap at the BB Chatter and miss at I was pulling it out of the water. It started raining harder, so I left skunked. 

Started at the GOMH, nobody was there. One boat passed under the bridge into Sully. Vikes traded picks with the Packers, huh? Nothing was going on so I hit Bull and Rock. One boat was at Rock. No bites, so I headed back to the GOMH. Nothing was going on. I was hungry so I called it a night early.

Silver Showed Up Tonight As The Packers 2nd Pick Announced

 

Only Bite Tonight

Took two trips today. Rock Dock is in. Skunked first trip after trying to help Steve with the dock. 

After dinner, I fished the Inlet, GOMH, Bulldog, Rock, where a light boat put in. I fished until about 9 PM, then headed back to the GOMH. Spied one baitfish along the SW side. Got a silver when the Packers selection was announced. That was the only bite I got. Stayed until the Vikes draft coverage was over. Thank goodness the Vikes traded down to 32 or I would have been skunked. Vikes picked Safety Lewis Cine. He is a fast, a hard hitter, and a student of the game, he is a well-spoken kid. A new Harry the Hitman?

It was mid-40s with moderate to light E Wind. Cloudy. Got to 52 during the day.

First Trophy Trip Skunked @ Rock Lake

 

Rock Dock, Not In

I got over to the lake place a little after 2PM.  Steve was home. Couldn't get the bilge pump to work or get the motor to turn over, doh! Quickly figured out that I didn't have the motor in neutral; I thought I did and played with it several times. Finally found neutral when I connected the motor up to the troller battery. I got the bilge pump cleaned out the next day, and now it's working. It was sunny but cool.  So rather than start fishing right away, I mapped the lake for a couple of hours.

I then started fishing in the Platte River Outlet Bay, where many Pelicans were and the warmest water, 41℉. Not a single sign of life. So I spent the last hour and a half between the access and the Cane. I was marking stuff in 6 to 10-feet but didn't have a bite.  Water temps were 38-39, so I figure the fish were just lethargic.

I've got two and a half weeks before Opener, and hopefully, the Pelicans will find greener pastures somewhere else.

Rock, Bulldog, and GOMH Skunk

  

I didn't make it to the Public Access on Platte Lake today, but it was definitely open today when I made the North Platte Lake Drive loop.

Rock to the South

Rock to the North

Bulldog Looking SE

Bulldog Looking NE

Sullivan Looking SW

Sullivan will probably be ice-free tomorrow. 

Took the pictures when I took Kaylee for a ride. I was surprised that Rock was open and ready to fish. Bulldog, Long, and Platte were also open.

It was wicked windy out of the WSW tonight with dropping temps, so I fished at Rock tonight for 45-minutes. Giving short shrift to Bulldog and the GOMH as it was getting dark. Got skunked. The weather is going to be windy and in the mid-30s tomorrow

Two Trips Today, Ice Getting Close, Trophy Ready

Ice went off our bay when I was vacuuming out the Trophy.

Red-Wing Blackbird

Did Not turn into a thunderboomer, thankfully

Ice-free to South Big Island

Open to LSB

Ice at the access tonight, so ice out will be tomorrow.

Platte Lake Access

 

North Platte Lake Drive Looking SE towards our bay

Where I park the Trophy, looking OK for now

The rain this morning lit a fire on Bulldog in the access area, and I could see with significant open water on the Eastern side that Bulldog wouldn't have ice for much longer.

Rock dark, but I thought it would still have ice tomorrow.
I was wrong about that.

This morning at 8AM, we got a call from the Chiropractor that he wouldn't be in today, so I headed to the GOMH. Got skunked and left when it started to rain. Got a short downpour at our place and .25" of water. Platte and Mille Lacs got more significant downpours in duration and intensity. I took a nap. Got up around 3:30PM and headed over to the lake place to get the Trophy ready in the 70-degree weather. No thunderstorms, so I got her done. When I was headed over, our bay was 2/3 covered, and there was a kayaker and canoe out along the ice edge. By the time I went down front, our bay was wide open. I took the N. Platte Lake Drive loop, and there was still plenty of ice N and W of the Big Island. Rock was iced up. Bulldog was looking ready to go, as was the ice at the Platte Lake Access.

I fished for about half an hour at the GOMH. Otters were chasing one another in the cattails, and two of them made trips up to the road a couple of times. Red-wing blackbird was in that small tree to the West. Loons were out front. Got skunked again. I started seeing lightning about dark, so I bounced when I heard thunder. The storms never made it this far east. 

Skunked Again Tonight

 

 

Thunderstorms did not develop today in our area. It was primarily occasional light rain with a hefty ENE wind. It was only in the low 40s for most of the day. Bulldog was slightly more open, same with Rock. Ice was pulling away in a bunch more places on Platte. With the warm temps and high winds and rain, I don't see the ice on Platte making it through the weekend. Don't know if I'll be able to get to work on the boat this weekend or not due to the rain. Would really like to have Trophy in Rock Lake no later than Wednesday.

I took two trips to the GOMH tonight. I took the lake tour during the first one after getting the low beam situation taken care of. The first one I only fished for about half an hour. A guy stopped to talk during the first trip. He remembered meeting me over at Rock Lake. We talked for maybe 5-minutes. He said he would be back next week if it warms up and drove a white pickup. Had an Osprey fly over the bridge, then went around Eagle Perch Point about 20-feet off the ground. Very Cool. Also had a low-flying trumpeter swan fly over to Sully tonight. As I was packing to leave on Trip 1. A second smaller loon joined the one that had been swimming over by Intersection Point. They swam around and around one another while dipping their heads underwater, presumably looking for baitfish. Never seen that before. Maybe it was a mating thing.

I stayed until after dark the second trip, hoping some silver bullheads might show up. Nope. Skunked again.

Skunked Tonight, Got Minnows Today

Sunny when the sun came up, then clouded up quickly. Cloudy when Dad and I went to Onamia. Sun came out again by 3PM. Nice night. 

I think Local Walleye Guy fished tonight on the NE side for a while. The weather was pleasant, but I forgot my headlamp. Got minnows today at Reed's. We then went to check Kathio Bridge for suckers, none. Had a turkey take out the driver-side mirror, and dad stopped too quick, spilling the minnows; what a mess. Didn't get a bite. Had a loon make me believe I would get something tonight the way it was bird-dogging on the SE side. There was open water off of the point at SPSI, but was only open 75% of the way there. 

 

Saw Toothy And A Bunch Of Loons

 

Cubby Rod Has Seen Better Days

Bulldog A Little Separation heading North

Water to the foot of the steps SW side

Maybe 14" from the high watermark

Toward SPSI

Spot Stealing Barbarian

Saw a small pike swimming along the NE rocks, Loon night at the GOMH; saw many birds flying South when I was on the SW side and several flying North when I was on the NE side. Didn't get a bite. Stayed after dark. Cool, but calm. Loons calling from the south and north. No signs of life with the spotlight. 40% of the way to SPSI. Some areas on Platte with significant separation from shore and others none at all. Bulldog and Rock didn't change much with today's rain. But I think there will be a significant jump toward open water in the next few days as it warms up.

1st Jumpin Bullhead of 2022

 

3.47lbs Panfish Chatterbait

Fatso? Don't Think So

33% of the way to SPSI

Ever so slight improvement at Bulldog

Went to the Chiropractor today. It was sunny until about 4PM.  Headed out before 7PM. Bulldog and Rock were about the same. Got my first jumper of the year. That was the only bite I got. Nobody at the GOMH but me. Guessing we are about a week out from Platte being open Tons of ducks flew over as I was packing up to go shine the channel.