Closing April With A Bullhead

 

The Headless Fisherman

8:25-8:40 PM Rock Lake

9:00-10:15 PM GOMH SW

Put the new winch on the Trophy and did some dock work. I got to pet Bree, who was in the garage getting brushed. I didn't get to Rock until sunset. Fished for about 20 minutes, and no bites. Skipped The Dog. Nobody at the GOMH. It calmed down by the time I arrived; it was wicked windy today when I walked to J&D's. I got the one gold bullhead and thought I missed one or two more bites. With no wind, it wasn't that bad out. No silver, maybe tomorrow.

1 Golden Bullhead 

1st Bullhead of 2023

 

Bullhead

8:00-9:40PM GOMH SW

53-59℉ , MC,  0-4mph NE

I started by driving the lakes. Ice is still on Platte 25%, Rock 80%, and Bulldog 65%. Ice at the Platte Access. Arrived at the GOMH, a guy was looking at the fish kill. A bunch of floaters today. He told me about the kill in the 90s and how bad it stunk. I went down and fished the SW side. Somebody came by and told me the reason they didn't get the aerator in was no volunteers. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, didn't and now it's dead fish under the bridge; a bunch of sunfish, a few bass and pike. I fished for maybe half an hour and bounced to see what was going on at the Lake Place. Just saw a dead bass, pike, and sunny. No bites. I went back to the bridge. I got a bite, and it ran towards me and got off. 90% sure it was a Gator. About 10 minutes later, I snagged the jumper in the Pelvic fin. I stayed until after dark, hoping Silver might play, but all I saw was some baitfish.

Two Skunks And A Bunch Of Loons

 

4:30-5:20PM SW NE

I got the Trophy vacuumed out. I went down front; Our bay was 20% ice-free. I drove N Platte Lake Drive. Ice pushed North along the F Flat shore. Didn't see much open on Rock or Bulldog. Channel Inn Bay was almost completely open, and NPSI was close to being ice-free. Fished for 45 minutes and didn't get a bite. It started sprinkling as I arrived home.

Skunked 

7:30-9:15PM SW B

No bites again. A minnow or two after dark was the only sign of life. shining off the bridge after dark, a "mudline" was clearly visible in the current flowing into Sully. I've never seen that before. I'm mildly concerned about my chances of catching something this month. Hopefully, Platte loses its ice tomorrow.

Skunked 

Ice and GOMH Skunk Report

 

Bulldog

Checked around the area lakes. Platte and Rock are pulling away from the shore some, and the water level is really high. Still, 2 to 3 days away from ice-out, I think. A guy with 2 teenagers was at the bridge watching birds and taking pictures when I arrived. I started fishing, and they left soon after. Another guy stopped by for a little bit. He said a buddy told him he got a bunch of crappies here last week. Not! Had a few loons flying around and calling. No bites. Stayed until dark and didn't shine anything. I feel good about my chances of getting something by Thursday night.

Skunked 

Skunk Report 4/23

 

NE Side

Open water now East of South Point Small Island

NE Side Water to the steps

I got Bentoned and Bonus Pointed right out of the money at Lake Murray in the BBC Group today. I got a bit of a late start due to eating chicken. Nobody was there. Heard a few loon calls. The SPRO is wide open. It wasn't too cold as I was wearing my ice fishing bibs, and there wasn't much wind. NO bites or signs of life. Two swans flew by in the dark.

Skunked

Skunked at the GOMH Again

A lot of open water in Sully

Open to SPSI tomorrow?

How high is the water, mama?

7:30-8:30PM SW NE GOMH

38-40℉, Sunny, 3-5mph NNW

Water High and rising

Got 5" to 6" of snow yesterday. Uff Dah, was that depressing! Amazingly enough, the lakes were grey, not white, tonight. I fished for an hour on both sides. Open water was well into the Intersection and, as far as I could see, along the NSPRO. On the Platte side, open water along the shoreline nearly to the small island. ESE winds predicted the next couple of days gonna be doing some eating. Not many birds floating on the S side tonight. Some Eagles, Swans, and one loon heading south were flying around. Some small ducks on the Platte side.

Skunked 

 

DNF

 Did not make it to the GOMH today. Got 5" to 6" of snow overnight; how depressing. Was cold and windy; how depressing.  Slept most of the day. Moynagh only weighed a couple of fish, but that was good enough to move up a few more places. He now sits in 15th in AOY, just 49 points back of the 8th Spot.

Crappy Cold Short Evening Skunk

 

7:15-7:30PM SW GOMH 

37℉, Cloudy, 4-6mph N Light rain

Skunked (Went by Sullivan Inlet, which was now ice-free, flowing hard more than 100 yards out. Fished at the GOMH for about 15 minutes until it started sprinkling and I said nah, ain't putting up with this. Heard loons and saw eagles on the SW and ducks on the Platte side, but not a lot of birds around. Checked Bulldog, North Platte Lake Drive, and Rock. Some open water along the ice edge on NPLD.

Morning and Afternoon Trips

6:40-7:20AM GOMH SW NE

56-62℉, PC, 3-4mph S
Water on the rise

I should have gotten up sooner; it was nice out and great color in the sky.  Arrived just before sunrise. Fished both sides. Saw a flying loon and heard the first loon call of the year. Checked out Bulldog and Rock, not much progress.

Skunked

 Here is my morning fishing report

3:45-4:10 PM SW NE GOMH

68℉, Cloudy, 6-8mph S

Water high and rising

Short stop, briefly fishing both sides. It darkened up considerably as I left to head to the lake place. I didn't get the boat vacuumed because of the rain. Trip fail. Got home and was too tired to eat dinner or get an evening trip in. I slept until 11 PM.

Skunked

Skunked Saw A Loon and 3 Eagles

 

I got a late start because the rents went to the Brothers and brought me dinner, which I then ate. Eagle night, I saw a few swans and my first loon of 2023. Open water reached beyond the GOMH bays where the current is. Water came up quite a bit today, and the snow melt is almost over. I am optimistic I will catch something this month. Ice out may even beat last year's date, which was the 24th. It was too hot for me to work on the Trophy today. Tuma caught 27 and is in 2nd going into Day 2 at Toledo Bend.

Skunked

Skunked, Visited Rock and Sullivan Inlet

 

Rock Lake

Winter Kill

Sully Inlet

Into the lake

Heron's on Eagle Perch Point

I had to let Mac out at 1 PM. Ice is out of the boat. Lots of dead fish were scooped up by the evening. Made it to the Rock Access even though it was sketchy. Thanks, snow melt. Went by the Sully Inlet in the evening. Things just started getting rolling into the lake. No bites, no visitors while fishing. Not much traffic. Mid 70's today. Two herons in the Eagle Perch Trees and Pelican picking off dead fish as it swam the ice edge in Platte.

Skunked 

Skunked and Snow Is Disappearing Fast

 

7:30-8:00PM GOMH SW

67-70℉, PC, Calm

Water Low rising

A good number of ducks, a few geese, and swans. It was a really nice day. Snow melting like cray.

Skunked

Skunked Again

 7:45-8:30PM GOMH SW

50℉, PC, Calm

The water level is on the low side right now, with just a little current.

I headed up to the cabin after 7PM. I picked up the two hoses Steve bought and dropped off the new boat winch. Said hi to Mac and Bella and got most of the ice out of the Trophy. Arrived at the GOMH around 7:40PM. A lot of junk in the water and only a little more progress on both sides today. A red wing was in fatso's tree. I saw three dead sunfish. A beaver was swimming around and slapped its tail once. No bites. Four Canadian geese flew into the South side as I was packing up.

Skunked

Got out, Got Skunked

 

I just had to get out and do some fishing at the GOMH. I arrived a little before 5PM and fished until 5:30. Nothing happening except 4 Canadian Geese sunning themselves on the water's edge.

Fish Swami summary:
Skunked (It was a nice day, and I needed a break from Water War prep. No signs of life. There was a little bit of refreeze on the edges from last night's cold temps. Will be moving into a water war next week, so I don't know when I will be out next.)