Fishing with Jaimen Morning/Duck Hunter Shuts The Bite Down Evening

5.20lbs/20.25" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

Jaimen 1st Fish of the Morning

2.09/15.66" (Sparrow)

6:50-11:00AM Intersection, NW Reeds Sul, S. Inlet Bay to Cookie Jar
70-50℉, PC, 0-4mph SSW
59-62℉ Low

I picked up Jaimen and we headed to the Intersection. Jaimen got a bite where I missed the fish last night. After the fish didn't hook up at least 3 different times Jaimen finally brought in the pike. We then went to a spot Jaimen is really high on in the NW reeds. Jaimen had one or two fish bury him in the reeds. I put the first bass in the boat with a fish that was hooked under the chin. Something got blown up in the reeds. As we were on our way there I got a 14-incher that I finessed through the reeds. Good thing I did that because it was barely hooked. Jaimen lost a fish on a swim jig right after that.  We were going to head back to Platte Lake when Jaimen got word his buddy had arrived. I dropped Jaimen off and headed for South Inlet Bay. Heard activity and got some pike. Finally got a bass blow up at Center R/R/P. I set the hook and only my empty Power Clip came back at me. Easy come easy go. I worked my way all the way to the Cookie Jar getting a couple more pike

Jaimen:
1 Pike

Me:
2 Bass
12 Pike
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Sparrow 5lber from above

4.67lbs/19" Sparrow

4lber Choked It

3.61lbs/18" Sparrow

6:20-8:10PM Double Cane and Big Bass Point
69-72℉, MC, 0-4mph SSE

I wanted to be out fishing by 5PM.  That didn't work out for me because I didn't know what the issue was with the Expedition, so I had to wait for the Kia. I got to the Lake at 6PM, quickly loaded the boat and headed to Double Cane. Conditions were ideal. I missed the first fish to swirl on me due to the reeds. I then put a cast to the Cane/Reed edge and the 5lber crushed it. Sucky Ducky, what a great start!  I then had a good fish bury me in a patch of thicker reeds/pads. I got a pike out of the reeds. I got the 3lber as I came around the NE edge of the Cane. I then headed to the rice to the North. In an open spot I got a 15-incher and then had the 4lber choke the frog. The 4lber put on an aerial show and I thought it was going to be another 5lber. While I was landing the fish a duck hunter with the loudest motor I've ever heard and felt, came cruising past me headed East through the slop. I didn't get another blow up the rest of the night. I did have a fish dog me on the Northside of the cane. Jaimen and his buddy came by and they got one small bass. I switched to Big Bass Point hoping fish might be going there, but I got nothing. It's a bummer I didn't get out earlier and a bummer the duck hunter had to come by. I am pretty sure I would have landed a couple more pigs had that not happened.

4 Bass
4 Pike

With Todd Morning, With Both Bro's In The Evening

15.75" Ish's Phat Frog (Ballin)

6:00-9:00AM Chuck's Point, Big Rice Point, Reeds Outside of Chuck's
Conditions: 59-72℉, Haze Mostly Sunny, Calm
Water Temp: 76℉

15.25" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

I took us to the juice in Green Cabin first.  After 20 minutes and no strikes, I hightailed it on the troller over to Chuck's Point. I caught that 15.25" pretty quickly then added a 13.25", and 12.75" in short order.  I may have caught a 15.25" as well. (Can't remember if I got that second 15.25" here or at Big Rice).  I got on the big motor and was slowly moving us down the reed line on our way out, when Todd got a bass.

13" Ish's Phat Frog (Ballin)

I turned the motor off and Todd took the fish off.  Todd threw back a couple of times and missed a much bigger fish.  That prompted me to grab a rod and fish off the battery compartment.  I quickly missed two good fish that I had no business missing.  That was it.  Next, we went to Cane Across and I got 2 or 3, depending on where that second 15.25" came from there.  I think Todd missed one opportunity.  Next, we went to the Reeds outside of Chuck's.  I had a good fish hang me on a reed and get off.  Todd got two there (13, 12.5).  We made a quick stop at the Reeds Across the Way where Todd missed one good blowup.  I was going to drop Todd off and hit some docks, but I didn't have the dock rod in the boat, so I beached and then decided against it.  I went home and caught a nap.

  I took the girls out on the new tube in the afternoon for a couple hours.  I then came in had lunch, beat the girls in a game of UNO, then learned the card game Trash.  I started getting tired, so I didn't go out with the crew on the pontoon.
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16.75" Terminator Frog (Green)

11.75" Terminator Frog (Hot Mud Camo)

14" Ish's Phat Frog (Ballin)

7:30-9:10PM Reeds Across the Way North
78-72℉, Hazy Sun, Very Light S wind
79℉

At 6:00 when I ate dinner I wasn't feeling up to fishing, but getting some food in me did the trick and I was out the door by 6:35PM. Much to Belle and Mallory's disappointment, Steve decided to come along with us.  The boat wasn't gaining any speed so I aborted my planned run to Green Cabin and went to the reeds across the way.  The fish were active in there, fortunately.  I caught 3 bass (15.25, 13.75, 13.5) pretty quick on the Terminator Frog.  I switched Todd to a Terminator and gave Steve the Ish's that Todd had been using.  Todd caught the dink and Steve got a 12.5" so the skunk was totally out of the boat.  I lost a couple of good one's in the reeds.  Then I got the 16.75" in the boat.  Steve got the 14-incher.  Steve had one at least that big get off as he was lifting it into the boat.  All three of us caught a small pike.  Steve the last bass of the trip (The one at the top of this post).

Todd's pike taken with the flash on

13.29lbs for the Best 6 of the Day

11 Bass for me for the day.
Todd 4 Bass
Steve 4 Bass

With Steve at Channel Inn Bay & The Melon Patch

3.17lbs/17.75" Ish's Phat Frog (Silver)

6:30-9:10PM Channel Inn Bay & The Melon Patch

Conditions: Lower 70's humid, Mostly Sunny with haze, 4-7MPH S

Water Temp: 72-70℉ water level on the rise again.

17" Terminator Frog (Green)

Water in the boat made it a slow haul to Channel INN Bay.  I got the 17-incher right away.  Steve missed a good blow up in the outside of the boat lane.  He missed the next two blow ups as well.  I thin I missed a blow up as well.  At 7:40, when it was pretty clear there wouldn't be any storms tonight I took us to the Melon Patch.  I had a pike steal my special B.A.S.S. color Pad Crasher Frog.  First time using the frog, first hit and he gone.  Easy come easy go.

26" Bobby's Perfect (Sparrow)

Steve had what he believed was a big bass or dogfish blow up on his frog, but lost it.  A couple minutes later Steve had a fish blowup in the same general area and missed it a couple of times.  We both thought it was a dogfish. I cast my frog where the fish was and the 26" pike blasted me.  The fish was hooked by the Power Clip.

  While I was trying to figure out how to get it unhooked Steve missed another blowup.  I missed a blowup as we were drifting through the Patch.  Steve finally hooked and landed a Melonhead.

I caught a 15-incher that I forgot to weigh on my scale.  I used my lantern to get a weight for the fish on my scale (around .25lb light of the actual fish. It was definitely a 2lb 15-inches)

7.42lbs for the 3 Bass tonight

2 Bass

2 Pike 

Steve

1 Bass

2 Pike

15.76lbs Yesterday Morning and tonight's weight

Got Me A Gooden!

19.5" Hack Jig w/Chigger Craw 

Had a big ole belly

3:00-6:30PM South Side of Big Island, The Intersection in Sullivan
Conditions: 60-53 degrees, Sunny, Calm, water temp 50-48 degrees

I started off fishing yesterday's fish and didn't get a thing on the South side of the Big Island.  I then went into Sullivan.  I stopped at the bridge to look for lures along the East wall.  I then went to the SW corner of the Intersection.  I had fish boil on the Pad Crasher right next to the Cattails.  I thought it got it, but I swung into air.  There were baitfish active in the area.

I had a bass miss the Pad Crasher in the thick blown down reeds.  I let the Pad Crasher sit and it came back and got it.

17.75" Pad Crasher

I started pitching in the reeds and I felt a fish, but set into nothing.  I pitched back and got the big one.

Felt like a 5lber

19.5"

I then went to the East side of the Intersection and got my last fish of the night on a Pure Poison in the cabbage.

16.75"

Only 3 fish, but they were good one's.  I should have gone back to the area the baitfish were.

Moon over Sullivan

Done Wore Myself Out/F Flat Discovery Day

18.5" River2Sea Bubble Walker

7:00AM-6:30PM GOMH, Rock Lake, N side of Don's Bay, the reeds and docks across the way.
Conditions: 45-58 degrees, Mostly sunny to mostly cloudy, Calm to light wind NNW NNE, Water Temp 50-53 degrees.

This turned in to my longest day on the water in who knows how long.  I was totally worn out and didn't get on the water again until 4 days later.  This blog is being written 11 days later.

I started at the GOMH and didn't catch anything.  I then went to Rock Lake and didn't get anything there either.

I then got in the Trophy and tried out front and at West point, not getting a thing.  I then ran to the North end of the reeds across the way.  There was a seagull and some baitfish activity on the flat.  I started throwing a River2Sea Rover, a walking topwater across the weed flat.  I had one fish blow up on that but not get it.

Conditions seemed just ideal for topwater, so I switched to a Vixen, then the small Whopper Plopper, and then to a River2Sea Bubble Walker.  The Bubble Walker was what they wanted.

14" River2Sea Bubble Walker

That was the first fish I ever caught on the lure.  I then had a 16.5" not get the lure, but I was patient and just let the bait sit still for about 45 seconds.  I then worked the lure for a couple seconds, then killed it again letting it sit for about 15 seconds.  When I started up again the fish blasted it.

16.5" Bubble Walker

You can see I was working about the length of a cast from shore, casting parallel to shore, sometimes shallower, sometimes out more.  The 18.5" was my fourth fish on the Walker at that point with a couple of more misses.

18.5" Bubble Walker

 I got over by the start of the reeds on the North end of Don's Bay when I got this long, but skinny pike.

27.5" Bubble Walker

I worked the flat back an forth for a number of hours getting enough hits to keep things interesting.  I missed my fair share, that's for sure.

16.5" Bubble Walker

For a little while it looked like it was going to rain and a light wind came up.  I switched to Pop Max and immediately got nailed by a typical fish.

15.75" Pop Max

I then got a small pike and then missed 3 or 4 straight hits.  I then let myself get pulled off of the juice.  Instead of going back to the juice I decided to fish the reeds across the way.  Stuff was getting blown up well inside the reed bed so I worked my way in fishing a Pad Crasher.

16.25" Pad Crasher

I caught a couple and missed a couple doing that.  It was now cooling off and I was getting tired.  I elected to try "The Dock" and was rewarded with a good bass on the Hack Attack Jig.

17.75" Hack Jig w/Chigger Craw breen

That worked out so well I tried the next dock down and got an even bigger fish.

18" Hack Jig w/Chigger Craw

I then hit the two docks and our dock on my way in.  I didn't get anything on the docks, but missed two fish in the pads in front of our place.  I was beat.  On the way home I bumped a deer and sent it rolling into the ditch.  It got back up and kept on running.  It was the darndest thing.  No damage to the Kia Soul, thankfully.

11 bass on the Bubble Walker
2 Pike on the Bubble Walker
16 bass total and 3 pike
I missed at least 12 hits