Couple Of GOMH Trips

Today I fished at the Grumpy Old Man Hole, the river culvert, and the inlet from 5:30AM to 9:00AM and at the GOMH from 9:00PM to 9:45PM.

In the morning things started slow with me getting nothing on the North side.  I switched to the South side and did get a couple of bites on the clack/blue Pure Poison that didn't hook up.  The tail of the Grass Pig Jr. got bit off. I switched to a black/blue Chigger Craw and got my first jumpin bullhead while swimming it.  I got one more doing that and missed a couple.  I switched to the Pure Poison and put a Chigger Craw on it and got 2 that way.  I was going back to the car to change Chigger Craw colors because the one I was using only had one claw left.  I decided to fish off the bridge and immediately smacked 3 fish in a row doing that including my biggest of the morning.

16.75lbs

I switched to the breen color and got one more off the bridge.  I also missed one on a Frenzy Popper off to the SE.

I then went to the North side and got a jumpin bullhead off "the juice" on the Frenzy Popper and the Chigger Craw.  It was now coming up on 8AM so I headed for the river culvert.  I might have had one bite there.  Next I went to the Inlet. I got a pike on the Cane Thumper before losing my jig in the weeds when I made a bad cast.  I had a quality bass on the Chigger Craw jump and get off right by shore.  It was at least 16 inches, maybe as big as 18".

The Evening Trip:

Some grumpy old men tonight

I didn't have much time so I went right to "the juice" and nailed fish on my first 4 casts with a Frenzy Popper.  My second fish was this 16.5 incher.

Willard came over an said hello and Mike B. showed up in his boat.  I got a total of 8 jumpin bullheads and one sunfish on the Frenzy Popper.  On the way home I clipped a deer with the Explorer.

Before The Mosquito's Carried Me Off..

I hit up Bulldog for a few minutes getting a small bass on the Pure Poison and a small pike on the Cane Thumper.  I was there from 8:30-8:45PM

Next I headed to Jenny's had a couple of swirls on the Horny Toad, but didn't get anything.

Last I hit up the GOMH and got a 16" jumpin bullhead on the Horny Toad.  Right after that I got this 17.25" jumper on the Stanley Phantom.

Got both of those on "the juice"

I got this nice 26" toothy bullhead on the Phantom well to the East of "the juice"

The mosquito's got horrible, so I left a little before 9:45PM

Morning Trip to the GOMH, Culvert, and Inlet

I got three jumpin bullheads on the Pure Poison with Grass Pig Jr trailer at the GOMH and two small toothy bullheads on the Cane Thumper.  I was there from 6 to about 7:30AM. "The juice" didn't give anything.

I got nothing at the Culvert

I got 3 pike at the Inlet on the Cane Thumper.  I also talked with a guy who fished there last year and just crushed the bass there.  He got 1 pike off of the access.

Two Trips Today

Dad and I got out to the GOMH from 5PM to 6:30PM.  I mostly caught jumpin bullheads at "the juice" on the chartruese firetiger Stanley Phantom.  I got eight of them doing that and one on the Chigger Craw. I also got one toothy on a watermelon red fleck Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper.  Dad got a jumper and a couple toothy's on the Grass Pig Jr.

I got out again by myself at 8:30PM. I went to Bulldog first and got 4 small bass and a pike on the Cane Thumper and a 15" bass on the Chigger Craw.  I then went to Jenny's for five minutes and got nothing.

I got to the GOMH at ten after 9PM.  I got a couple of jumpin bullheads at "the juice" and a 16" off the NE side.  I then landed these two golden bullheads on the Cane Thumper.

My back was giving me issues, so I quit at 10PM.

Floating Rock

Tonight I made a last minute decision to head over to Rock Lake for a little float tube fishing. I was probably on the water by 8:25PM. Today was mostly cloudy and a little warmer than it's been, but the sun came out around 8PM. Naturally I headed North to the reeds. I started off with a 12" largie pretty quickly on the Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper. I also brought out a rod with the Death Shimmer spinnerbait, but that wasn't working so hot with to much rice around. I ended up wishing I brought the Horny Toad or slop frog rod instead.

Just a little later I got a 14"+ bass and I was off to a good start. I had a good bite in the thick reeds and executed pretty well, but it buried me in the reeds immediately after the hookset. That was my last bite for the night. I made it out past the reeds and then made my way back. It was sort of a disappointment after how things started and went the last time I did this.

Jenny's Skunk and The Dog

I slept most of the day, but when I got up I thought about going fishing. It was overcast with a bit of a wind out of the West (wind has been out of the East for last several days with precipitation). I got the float tube and gear ready, put on my waders and headed out around 7PM just as the sun came out. Jenny's was dead, so by 7:35 I was at Bulldog. I headed South from the access where I had my success last week. It started real slow at Bulldog other than something big waking at my Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper. It got the lure within 10 feet of me and was coming towards me. I waited to feel something but almost as soon as I did the fish let go and was gone. I was throwing the Thumper and Ish's Phat frog and getting nothing. The water was up some more with the recent rain, but the fish were not at the bank. My first fish was this little guy on the Cane Thumper.

Next fish was a small pike on the thumper.

I had a couple of bites on the Ish's Phat Frog but couldn't hook up. Maybe hollow body frogs are not the best float tube baits, because it's hard to put the wicked into the hookset. I got all the way around to where a big pad field comes out and got a 14"+ bass out of the pads right before the big field.

Behind the field up by shore I missed a bite on the Ish and nothing was going in the pads and the mosquito's were starting to some out, so I turned around. I was throwing the Ish and had a really good blow up, but I didn't hook it. That was the last of the action for the night.

Snatchers Platte/Sullivan

The first Baxter Bass Snatcher Club tournament of the year was held on Platte and Sullivan lakes in Central Minnesota. In case you are not aware Platte/Sullivan have been my home lakes since 2003. I lived on Platte Lake from 2003 to 2005. Previous to this event I had fished 4 bass tournaments on the lake, doing terrible in 2 of them. I can't say that I was feeling any pressure, but I definitely wanted to put in a good finish.

We blasted off in Platte at around a quarter to 8AM and my boater Peter and I headed straight to the "Grumpy Old Man Hole"/ the bridge that separates Platte and Sullivan. We were going to start there and actually waved a couple of boats past us so they could head into Sullivan. I was worried someone would be fishing from shore because there was earlier in the morning, but they were gone. However, there was a boat with a couple of young teenage kids fishing in the general vicinity.

Once we got into the area that I consider money, I had a good hit on a black/blue Strike King Pure Poison with black/blue Berkley Havoc Lane's Craw Fatty trailer. I thought the day was starting out fantastic until I saw it was a nice pike. I think it was shortly after this that Pete landed the first bass of the day. Unfortunately, the bass were not stacked up. We ran North quite a ways then came back for a 2nd pass on which Pete landed, what I think was his big bass of the day, a 17+ incher. I think I caught another small pike and I was satisfied it wasn't going to happen, so we headed under the bridge and took off for the Platte River Mouth.

As we were heading toward the river mouth another tournament boat was coming up the SW shore and headed straight for the river. This forced us to take the North shore. Both boats arrived at the river mouth around the same time. I think Pete, I, and Darren, the guy in the front of the other boat, all hooked up around the same time. My fish was a keeper at 13" that I think bit a Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper (dipper) and went in the well (12" minimum). At that point, Darren made a bit of a mistake by not holding up and milking the spot. Pete and I slowed down and Darren kept moving on right into the river. We went back over where Darren had just come from and I landed a 13" and 14.25 on a black/blue Lake Fork Craw Tube and Pete brought in a fish too and I think he missed one as well. When we were satisfied the river mouth had nothing else to give we headed into the river as Darren was coming back out. I don't think they got a bite in the river.

We worked quite a way into the river and I think all we had to show for it was one missed swirl on my purple Berkley Frenzy Popper. Once we got through with what I consider the most productive water. We fired her up and headed in closer to the "dam", which really isn't a dam. We worked the stretch leading to the dam and didn't get a thing. However, once we got close to the dam I fired a cast up by the West wall and had a spawned out 16" blow up on the Frenzy Popper. I then got a 13" and 12.75" behind the dam to fill my limit on the popper. I quickly got my first cull with a 13.25" on the Cane Thumper. I think I also caught a couple that didn't help and maybe Pete got a fish as well. Pete had the idea to go downstream beyond the dam. As we were drifting I put a cast up by shore and a good fish blew up on the Frenzy Popper; It was barely hooked, but I landed the spawned out 17.25" largie.

I think further down the river Pete caught his limit bass and a couple of pike. I got a bass or two that didn't help. We went as far as we could then fired up the big motor to get us back to the dam. There weren't any fish there and we fished our way back upriver. As we were fishing water we bypassed the first time down I pulled in a 15.25" and Pete got another good fish that I think was in the 16" class. I think that one might have been the last of our river fish. We fished back out to the mouth were I got a bass that didn't help and I think Pete got bit off. Pete also broke a rod while we were still in the river.

We then started working on the flat that I call the PRO. I got a 14.25" on the Cane Thumper and a 14.50" and a few fish that didn't help and maybe a pike or two. Pete was getting an occasional fish as well. We worked our way along the North shore to where the docks start. We had just gone past a dock that was underwater when I saw a fish following the Cane Thumper. I let it drop and a big bass took it, turned and started swimming away. I set the hook and got nothing, my line broke inexplicably. I was more than a little bummed. This was at least a 4lb class fish, if not bigger and I'm 99% sure it was a bass because I got a pretty good look at it. 

We worked our way to the East shore, then headed back for a second pass. I think we got a couple fish that didn't help and I broke a rod. Eventually, we got to the area where I missed the big one and I threw a bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke. The Fluke disappeared I set the hook, a fish was on for a couple of seconds then gone. I blew it again, although it may or may not have been the big fish it was in the same spot. On the next dock down I pulled a 14.5" from under a pontoon. This would be my last cull of the day.

We tried doubling back one more time, but the big fish spot didn't produce any bites with a craw tube.

We headed back into Platte and fished the GOMH without success. There were some shore anglers who said they caught a few small bass and had lost a nice one. Next, we hit up a reed point that is a really good spot. I had a very good bite on the Cane Thumper and it was a good fish, but it buried me in the reed stalks and got off. I was quite disappointed I let that happen because I was using a heavy rod. I did get one bass that didn't help on the craw tube.

Next, we headed to Loon Sex Point, which had the wind blowing on it. Pete got a small pike and that was it. Very disappointing. Next, we tried working along the North shore of Loon Sex Bay and that was a bust except one fish for Pete. We gave Loon Sex Point another pass with nothing to show for it, then we headed North with about an hour to go. To be honest I was physically beat at this point. We worked ourselves into Platte River Inlet Bay. I got a pike on a spinnerbait and the bass were nowhere to be found. We were in the wind and having trouble with junk fouling our lures. I suggested we make a move West and North and that paid off with a couple of last hour culls for Pete. That turned out to be a very good thing for Pete who had been culling the wrong fish. He did get a good cull up when he figured it out.

As that I was beat, I suggested we head in about 10 minutes early to get a good shore spot, which we did.

The first thing we weigh is our big fish and when I heard the 17.25" only went 2-10; I was not a happy camper. Then my total weight came to 11lbs 8ozs and I was very disappointed. I figured I had made my goal of getting over 12lbs and coming in short of that on fish that should have gone at least 12 sucked. In the final standings, I came in 12th. Pete weighed 13-12 which put him in 7th. As a pair, we had the 2nd best-combined weight.

Analysis- I'm not gonna say I choked, but I sure had some bad luck that kept me from doing much better. Final bag was 17.25", 16", 15.25", 14.5", 14.5" and 14.25" and somehow that wasn't even close to being over 12lbs, that's sad!!! I've kind of noticed this spring that the bass have not been their usual Platte/Sullivan chunky selves. Breaking my line on that big dog was what really killed me, honestly, I just don't understand how it happened. A pike must have frayed up the line really good and I didn't notice.

Platte/Sullivan showed out well taking almost 16 to win (15-15), 8 bags over 13lbs, and 21 limits. Big Bass was 4-06 with I think a total of 4 that were over 4 and another 3 that were up close to 4lbs.

Platte/Sullivan Pre-Fish with Video

Today was the final day I could pre-fish Platte/Sullivan before the lakes go off limits. Unfortunately I didn't get out until around 5PM. It looks like we are going to have sun for tournament day and today was sunny, so it would have been nice to have a bit more time in under those conditions. I put in at the Platte Lake Public Access and headed East.

At my first stop I hit 3 docks and pulled a 14" off a boat lift with a "California" Havoc Pit Boss. I moved a little South onto the juice and fish were there. I got 3 OK bass and a pike, plus I shook off a few more hits on the Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper. I think it's an area I can count on for something come Saturday. I did a little by sight recon and didn't see anything so it was on to spot #2, the reeds off the South End of the big Island and the reeds behind the big Island. That was unproductive.

Next I headed North right to some docks. I pulled the beat up 16.5" off the second one with a red shad Zoom Super Fluke. Two docks down I got 14.75" on the orange crawdad Yum Wooly Bug. That was the end of my dock fishing as I'd seen enough.

I shook off two that felt like good fish in an area that usually holds a couple. I lost the tail of the Cane Thumper on the first shake off. Then I went out farther into the lake and got a 14.75 on the Gambler EZ. I got a couple more bites on that and had the whole rig go bye bye when I set the hook on one. Not sure if it was a pike or damage I had done to the line on a previous bite that I'm sure was a pike.

I tied on a new Moaner Hook and tried a Yum Money Minnow. It got to be 8PM and I headed to Loon Sex Bay to work an area I didn't get to the other night. I threw the Money Minnow and Stanley Phantom. I think the Money Minnow was a mistake because it just wasn't drawing strikes. I did have a couple of possible hits, but they were just bumps. I pulled a little pike off Loon Sex Point. I moved into an area that at least should have been holding pike and finally I switched off the Money Minnow for a Gambler EZ. The EZ produced a bass and 2 pike pretty quick. It was getting dark and the mosquito's were coming out so I called it a night.

Bass Opener Day 3

Because it's Memorial Day weekend the Minnesota Bass Opener is a 3 day affair.

Today my lower back was giving me issues and I wasn't sure if I was going to get out. It was cloudy and breezy out of the SE. I eventually did get out on Platte Lake around 4:30PM. I headed East.

I started on a few docks that are usually unproductive and they lived up to expectation. After wasting 20 minutes I finally got into more productive water and nabbed this pike off a dock on a small black/red Hart spinnerbait.

As you can see I'm sporting my new cantaloupe Columbia Men's Airgill™ shirt with homemade hoodie. Columbia sent me the shirt to try along with some Drainmaker™ shoes. Today was in the 80's and humid, but with the breeze that Airgill shirt worked it's magic and I wasn't the least bit hot even with the sleeves down. I'm loving the shoes as well and they arrived none to soon as I've been getting my feet wet the past few days.

Anyway I made my way West and was into a good area and I popped this 16" on the Hart spinnerbait.
A little after that I got a 14.25" largie on the chart tiger Stanley Phantom topwater. Next I popped a couple of pike on the white Havoc Grass Pig, losing the Pig on the 2nd pike. I put a Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper on the 1/4oz weighted 5/0 Moaner Stroker Hook. I won those Moaner hooks earlier this year. It sure is nice to get to try something and see how it works for free. I popped one more bass on the Hart Spinnerbait, then I had a small pike destroy the spinnerbait. At that point I decided to head back East. I had my red shad Zoom Super Fluke bit off on the very first dock. It's possible I broke my line on the boat lift, but I think it was probably a pike.

As I worked my way West a guy came out to fish on his dock and got a crappie. I went around him and missed a fish, I think it was a bass, on the Cane Thumper. I covered an area that usually has rice and pads, but none were to be seen and no fish were there. Finally I got to some more docks. I popped a 15" largie on the PB&J Yum Wooly Bug along with an 11+" and a 12". That was the end of the PB&J bait so I tried a orange crawdad Yum Wooly Bug and got a 12" on that. I was in the wind and struggling with boat control thanks to my broken trolling motor bracket. I did pull a 12" and 14.25" off docks with the Cane Thumper as I drifted by.

I made a move, a little later than I should have to Loon Sex Bay. I started working the Phantom and had a couple of misses on that before I connected with a 14" largie. I was covering water quickly and I decided to give the Cane Thumper a try and that paid off with a pike and 3 ok sized bass. I think I figured out how to set the hook on those swimbait bites. It's kind of a surging sweep set. I left the fish biting as I had to get back and get the boat on the trailer before it got to dark.

I stopped at the GOMH on the way home and didn't get a bite.

So that was
13 Bass
6 Pike

All told for Bass Opener weekend this year I landed 51 bass.