Slow Evening At the GOMH For Earth Day

10" Glow Demon & Minnow (Platte)

6:30PM-12:30PM GOMH SE SW NE
Conditions: 66-50℉, Mostly Sunny, Wind out of the SW turning calm then starting up again, water flowing both directions.

I woke up when the mail man came, then went back to bed.  Woke up to watch Major League Fishing but had to go back to bed.  I finally woke up at about 3PM in time to catch the 3rd Period and Wild loss in OT.  It's a shame really.  The team never should have made the trade for White and Hanzel.  They weren't the same team.  Anyway, I arrived at the GOMH around 6:30. There were people on the NE side and on the SW, so I quickly took up the SE side.  No boats fishing.  Not a good sign.  The guys on the SW side arrived about 5 minutes before I did and hadn't gotten anything.  I guess they just crushed the fish over at Bulldog earlier in the day.

First thing I did was chuck a bunch of dead minnows because I was an idiot and didn't get fresh water for them yesterday.  About half were dead. I got a small toothy on my first cast on the Swim Shad.  Dad called while I was retying my line.  Some older teenagers showed up that knew the guys on the SW side, they also had been at bulldog crushing the fish.  They landed a couple toothy's and I got another small one.  Willard showed up.  The teenagers left and so did the other guys around 8PM.  About 5 minutes after they left a guy and lady that I've seen down here a couple of weekends showed up.  They got a tiger bullhead, an orange, and jumper.  I had a couple hits on the Swim Shad that didn't hook up.  I went to a minnow on the Cubby Rod.  I went to put a minnow on and the hook was broken off just below where the bard should have been.  Very weird!  I tied on a new hook.  I had a bite on the minnow but missed it.

The guy from Princeton showed up to check out if anything was going on.  I filled him in.  He ended up giving me a bunch of minnows.  He had been fishing at Bulldog crushing the sunfish and bass.  Apparently the teenagers were there and throwing over his lines.  He wasn't real  happy about that.  They were also throwing plugs for bass.  His young daughter fell in the water and he didn't have a change of clothing.  I am glad he stopped and gave me the minnows.  A guy showed up and went down on the NE side

The guy and lady left after it got dark.  I switched sides.  A boat set up with lights for archery went into Platte then came back about 10 minutes later.  The guy who was on the NE side came over to see how I was doing.  He had gotten one jumper.  I thought maybe it was Peter, but it wasn't.  About 5 minutes after he went back to the NE side, Lantern Man showed up and went down on the SE side.  His clan got about 7 silvers last night, but only like 4 of them were keepers.  At about 10PM he caught a silver. I then got a 10" by the rocks.  Which I gave to LM without snapping a picture or recording, duh!

9" Glow Demon & Minnow

I landed the 9" which I did take a picture of and record.  LM got a couple more silvers, but it was slow.

15.5" Demon & Minnow

At about 11:30 I headed over to the NE side.  On about my 3rd cast the bobber went under but I missed it.  I went and got another minnow.  Cast back to the spot and  it was silver on (The one in the 1st picture).  I kept it to give to LM.  Some bow fishermen showed up, took one shot which they missed and left.  About 10 minutes later I got the jumper. I stayed until 12:30PM.  LM got 2 silvers while I was on the Platte side.

It was still rather pleasant out when I left.

3 Silver
1 Jumper
2 Toothy

Ok Night of Fishing

10.75" Storm Wildeye Swim Shad

6:00-7:00PM Bulldog
7:00-7:40PM Rock Dock
7:55PM-1:00AM GOMH SW side
Conditions:  57-41℉, Cloudy to Clear, Windy out of the SE diminishing by 8PM, water flowing into Sullivan.

8" T.H.E. Jig (chart/black)

So I started the night at Bulldog where the guy and his dog were getting a few sunnies.  I didn't get anything and went to the Holy Family Access.  Nothing there.  The guy had left, so I went back to the Bulldog access.  Fishing in the wind was tricky and I had to tie a knot in my line to keep the bobber from sliding all the way down.  I manged to catch 10 sunnies before I headed to Rock.  Nothing was going on there again.

When I got back to 8, I decided to turn right and go to the GOMH.  The guy who was there last night was on the SW side this time.  Willard was sitting in his truck.  I went and talked with him for a little while.

I went down on the SE side and started fishing with the 2" Storm Wildeye Swim Shad.  I caught 3 jumpers and one silver on that.

16" Storm Wildeye

The other guy left and I elected to stay put. I got one silver on the Glow Demon before Lantern Man arrived.  Not much was going on.  I tried the Swim Shad for a while and got a golden.

16.5" Wildeye Swim Shad

Matt W. and some friends showed up and fished on the North side.  I lost a dogfish when it straightened the hook.  At about 11:45 I went up to the car to warm up and listen to the Wild game.  I didn't realize it was this late, but they were in overtime.  I listened for about 10 minutes.  Neither team scored.  Peter W. arrived when I was sitting there.  They tried some bow hunting but didn't see anything.  I went back down and didn't blow the 2nd opportunity at the dogfish.

24" Glow Demon & Minnow

 I didn't think to take a picture of it while I was landing it.  She was released.  I caught a silver bullhead as LM was pulling up stakes.  I gave the fish to him.  I went back down and immediately missed another hit.   I gave the SW side a try for a while, nothing.  I went back and gave the SE 15 more minutes then left at 1AM.

1 Dogfish
3 Jumpers
1 Gold
3 Silver
10 Sunfish

Willard Was At The GOMH Tonight, Got Skunked Again

Willard is in the truck

5:30-8:15PM Bulldog, Rock, and GOMH
Conditions: 51-47℉, Mostly Cloudy, Very Light E wind.

I was amazed, GOM Willard has come back to the GOMH.  Highlight of the evening was catching up with him.  His older brother GOM Lewis has cancer pretty bad.  Willard was also at the GOMH this morning and somebody was fishing that didn't catch anything.

Tonight's Money Shot

Bulldog from Holy Family

Bulldog Lake was about 1/3 of the way open tonight.  Long looked to be 40% open.

Rock Lake looking North

Rock Lake was maybe 20% open and I would say the same for Platte.

Platte is open along the south shore of the Big Island

Three C-130's tonight flying low to Fort Ripley

I didn't get a bite tonight, but I did get a Piranha stuck in the ice at Rock Lake the about 4 feet in from the water line.  It just wouldn't come loose and I wasn't going to break the line and lose it.  I tried snagging it with both of my heavier set ups.  That was unsuccessful.  Eventually I used a piece of two by four drift wood to accelerate the melting process along the ice line.  After about an hour it finally came loose when the water line reached it.  Apparently it was hung up on the Trailer Hitch by the way that thing was bent out of shape.

My guess ice off Long Lake tomorrow and on the 31st for Bulldog, Rock, and Platte.

GOMH in the Evening

15.25" Spro Frog white

8:35-9:30PM
Conditions: Cloudy, comfortable temps in the low 70's, light wind out of the SE

Well I finally got out again.  I can't believe how high the rice has gotten.  I was lucky to pull this guy through it.  Willard, George, the black lady and the guy with the wheelchair were all fishing when I got there.  The water level is down some more.  I tried on the South side first, didn't get a hit.  I think I had 2 hits on the NE side getting the one.

The Slop Slip Plan Half Worked

Slop Slip at the Grumpy Old Man Hole

7:35-9:30PM
Conditions: Hazy Sun, light wind out of the SW, 70's

For the 2nd time in history the Slop Slip was launched from the Grumpy Old Man Hole.  The first time was years ago when the old bridge was still there when CollegeOutdoorsGuy and I did it.  I put it in and took it out all by myself tonight.

The plan was to get off shore to get more bites and more fish.  I got more bites, still only caught two fish.  I had a bite on my very first cast, missed it.  I wasn't ready.  I had the 2nd bite on and it was a good size fish, but it got off right next to the boat.  I'm pretty sure it was a dogfish that hit the yellow Horny Toad.  I got the 3rd bite.

15.25" Horny Toad

I missed the at least 6-8 bites, none of which I hooked, before I caught a 12.75" on a white Spro Frog on my last bite of the night.  Willard left as I was getting the boat up on shore.  I went and talked with George and Peter before I left.

I parked the SUV and boat in the garage seeing as how Mom and Dad won't be home tonight due to mom's fall at Renee's birthday party.  I'm going to give it another shot tomorrow morning.

Morning And Evening Trips to the GOMH

4:50-6:30AM
Conditions: Hazy sun, very light wind, temps mid 50's

I arrived at the skeeters were out, the golden bullheads weren't.  Eventually I put on a KVD Sexy Dawg and on my first cast right after it landed a bullhead hit it, but didn't hook up.  I went over to the SW side and had a bullhead hit and miss a Berkley Frenzy Popper.  I then got a 13" jumpin' bullhead on a bluegill color Pure Poison and I missed a couple of hits on it too.  The Grass Pig Jr. trailer got bit off.

I went back to the NE side just as the Sun was coming up.  I got this 12" jumper.

12" Spro Frog

 The way it hit I thought I had a 16 incher on, not a peanut.  I also caught a small toothy on the Spro.    That was it for the morning.   I noticed that I had lost a screw out of my Tatula's side plate and it was getting loose.  So when I got home I tightened it up and took a screw from a Fuego I'm not using that needs serviced.

Evening Trip:
8:00-9:35PM
Conditions: Hazy Sun and clouds, temp in the 70's, No wind

Willard and the black lady were fishing on the N side of the bridge and Matt W and some guys were fishing on the S side when I arrived.  I started on the SE side and BAM! First cast.

15.5" Horny Toad

I saw the fish wake 4 feet and nail it.  After trying the SW side slop and talking with Willard at the bridge I headed down into the weeds on the NE side.  I tried fishing the Horny Toad, but I couldn't get enough distance.  I had fish boil on the Spro and not get it.  Then I had a fish boil on it and get hooked only to come off as I got it into the thicker rice, same as last night.  I had what I assume was a toothy swing and miss the
Spro.  About half way to the channel I had a jumper suck the Spro down.

17+" Spro Frog

It was a good one.  That was the last surface hit.  I got a small toothy under the bridge on a Sexy Shad Ultimate Jerk Shad.  Peter and his brother were fishing bullheads when I left.

Good Night at the GOMH

Nice Old Man George with 17.5" on a Sexy Shad Ultimate Jerk Shad

7:30-9:45PM
Conditions: Temps in the 70's, mostly sunny, little wind

I arrived when Willard did.  I started on the SE side and I got a 16.75" jumpin' bullhead on this Spro Bronzeye Frog.

16.?? Spro Frog

I didn't get a picture of that fish because my camera went on the fritz.

I missed one other bite on the SE side.

I went to the NE side and got a 15.75" on the Spro and a 16.25" on the H20 Xpress Ultimate Jerk Shad in Sexy Shad color under the bridge.  I missed what was probably a toothy on a Fluke.  There also was a dogfish swimming around.  I went down the shoreline.  Willard had just left when I got this jumper and my camera started working again.

16.?? Spro Frog

I heard another car arrive, so I threw the fish back and walked up the hill to see who it was.  It was George.  I walked back to the bridge and talked with George.  I caught the toothy and gave it to George.  I had a good eater sized golden get off as I tried bringing it up on the rocks.  I was kind of bummed I didn't get it for him.  The mosquito's started getting bad so I called "last cast" and I got a 15.25" jumpin' bullhead.  That wasn't my last cast as I heard baitfish getting hit.  The skeeters were so bad though I only lasted another couple of casts.

Not a bad night at all.

Oh and I nearly forgot.  I had two frogs "get it on" with the Spro on the SE side.

Catching Dinner For Nice Old Man George

13.5" Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke 

7:30-8:10PM Bulldog
8:15-8:25PM Culvert
8:30-9:30PM GOMH
Conditions: Temps in the mid 70's, no wind, mostly sunny, water level is falling

Nothing at Bulldog or the Culvert

When I arrived at the GOMH George was fishing on the N side and Willard was talking.  There were people fishing the S side and a woman in a Kayak fishing there too.  Her boy friend or maybe father was fishing on the bridge NW side. I went and talked to George and Willard for a couple minutes than got my stuff.

I caught a toothy immediately on the Fluke which I gave to George.  I then caught and missed a number of bites on the Fluke, getting George 4 jumpers and the one toothy.  By the fourth fish George was to tired from bringing fish to his car, so he had Willard take it to his car.  The girl in the Kayak came over on our side.  She didn't get anything and pulled up to shore and pulled the yak up to her car.  George left.  I got a really small skinny toothy on the Mad Maxx.  I left before the skeeters got to bad and before it got to dark.  

Got the Skunk Out at Mille Lacs! Good Night at the GOMH Too!

17" Mad Maxx Frog

3:30-5:15PM Mille Lacs
7:30-9:15PM GOMH

Conditions at Mille Lacs: Sunny turning mostly overcast, temps in the mid 70's, Wind out of the ENE, water was not very clear due to wave action

I had to get medications for my mom today.  That meant a trip to Reeds and Mille Lacs Lake.  I forgot my camera, so I didn't get a pic of either smallie I caught (10" and 17").  I got the 10" off the center jetty on a Red Eye Shad.  I then went to the dock off the North jetty corner.  I made a cast along the shoreline side of the dock with the Red Eye Shad and a good fish hit it and went under the dock.  I had it on for a good 30 seconds, but it got off.  Probably a smallie, but I don't know for sure because I didn't see it.  A guy came out and told me he saw a lot of smallies here yesterday.  I got a 17" on the Ultimate Jerk Shad.  I might have had a couple of bumps that didn't hook up.

Conditions at the GOMH: Mostly overcast, turning dead calm, temps in the mid 60's

Peter was there with a friend getting a couple silver bullheads and a couple of oranges.  I started on the SE side and had something boil at the Spro Poppin' Frog in the Channel.  Willard showed up and Peter left.  I went to the SW side and threw the Fluke.  I immediately got bit off.  I put on the Z-Man Chatterstick and caught a small toothy.

   Willard didn't have anything to put it in so I threw it back.   A couple of casts later I got a little nicer one and we found a bag and kept it.  I then caught a small 12" jumpin bullhead that I gave to Willard.  I had another jumper hit the Z-Man, but Willard was sure it was a toothy.  I had a 14" jumper follow then nip at the bait and not get hooked.  That was it for the Z-Man.  I threw the Spro Poppin Frog and missed a hit.  It got it the second time.

13.5" Spro Poppin Frog

I gave it to Willard and one more I got on the Spro.  We moved to the NE side trying to get another toothy, but that didn't happen.  Willard left.  I started throwing the Mad Max with kind of a copper colored bottom.  I forget the name of it.  I got a 15" that was pretty beat up.  I walked down the shoreline to the East and I had a fish make little effort to get Maxx twice.  Third time a 16" fish clocked it.

16?? Mad Maxx

I can't remember if I got one or two more in that 15-16" size besides the 17 incher.  The 17" was the last fish of the night because of the skeeters.

Skunked with My Brother Todd

Today my brother Todd came over to check out some stuff over here after being at the hospital for Mom.  His introduction to Kaylee didn't go so well.  He wanted to do some fishing, so we went out even though it was during the hottest part of the day when it got to 87 degrees.  We tried a Bulldog, Rock, and the GOMH.  It's a good thing we stopped at Bear Trax to get something to drink.  Our best shot at fish was a small bass at Bulldog.  We got to Rock at about 5PM and it was shaded with a breeze out of the SE.  A turtle was laying eggs there by the dock and the beaver swam bye and Todd sat on the dock with his feet in the water and we talked for a while.  We did try fishing as well.  Then we went to the GOMH.  Peter and Matt were there fishing.  Matt had gotten one toothy and Peter a few small oranges on worms.  We tried the SW side and didn't get anything.  Todd left and I tried the NE side, nothing.  I put the Rod Gloves on my rods, then decided to give the SE side one last shot with my Tatula Rod and Reel with the white Spro Poppin' Frog on it.  I had something boil on it on two consecutive cast but didn't hook up.  I was getting ready to pull away in the Expedition when I noticed "Red" in my side mirror.  I had to get out and talk to Willard for a couple of minutes then I left.

Rock, Bulldog, and GOMH Again Tonight

17.5" Chigger Craw

7:40-8:30PM Rock Lake got nothing again.
8:40-9:30PM Bulldog
9:45-11:30PM GOMH

Conditions- Cool low 50's falling into mid 40's, light to no wind out of the NW, mostly sunny

I got out a little earlier tonight, therefore I left Rock earlier.  I started out throwing the new Slush Daddy prop bait.  As Grumpy Old Man Willard was pulling up a good fish swirled on it, but didn't get it.  I kept throwing the Slush Daddy for 5 more minutes as Willard and I talked.  I then switched to the breen Chigger Craw and threw it right to where the fish showed itself and the 17.5" inhaled it.  I caught 3 more bass (12", 15.75", 15") on the Chigger Craw before a Pike bit me off.  It was getting dark so Willard left.  I got a 14.75" on the black/blue craw tube.  I then went back to throwing the Slush Daddy and this fish crushed it.

Slush Daddy

17" H2O Slush Daddy

After trying for about 10 more minutes I headed to the GOMH.  I was surprised there were two cars there as Willard said nobody had been there tonight.  Turns out it was the Meat Guy and his lady.  I went down on the NE side and started casting for golden's which I got.

19.25" Grass Pig

I went up and put it in the car, then went over to discover who the fishermen were.  They had been getting some smaller silvers.  A car pulled up, so I quickly went and grabbed my tackle bag and went back to the NE side.  Turns out it was Lantern Man just checking to see if anything was going.  I had another bite, but it got off.  I think it was a jumper because about 10 seconds after it got off a fish jumped out of the water in the same general area.  I put on a crankbait and pretty much immediately cast it into the bridge giving myself a minor backlash.  I didn't learn my lesson and on the very next cast gave myself a major backlash.  I spent 20 minutes trying to get it out, before deciding to bring it home.  I tied a Speed Clip onto my St. Croix Legend Xtreme, which is the rod I was using for the Chigger Craw that got bit off.    I tried for like 20 minutes and gave up.  Meat Guy wasn't having any luck either.

It took me about half an hour at home to get the backlash out.

Grumpy Old Men & Crappies

Tonight I had my first grumpy old man sightings.  I arrived at the GOMH around 3PM, it was calm and sunny, and some guy switched to the North side when I got there, so I took up the SW side.  I saw two minnows swimming along the rocks, but that was it as far a as action.  Grumpy Old Man Willard showed up around 3:30.

Willard doesn't like to have his picture taken.

Willard told me some stories I'd never heard before and he told me about the C.O. before Kuske who apparently was a hard ass.  Willard said he was taken off of his duty because he had to many death threats against him.  True??? Who knows.  Eventually the foul mouthed Grumpy Old Man Bud showed up.

A couple of boats came and fished and a family fished on the SE side.  Nobody caught anything.  I saw a couple of boats came from the river.  The clouds moved in around 5PM.  When I left at 5:20, a couple of young guys who were fishing on the North side with bass sized Rapala's came and took my spot.

I went to Sue's Drive In with my mom for dinner.  I got out to a lake that shall remain nameless around 8PM.  I was fishing with my pink Cubby Mini-Mite and I got a bite.  It was a crappie that really wanted it.

It went 9.75" and I put it in the bucket in case I got a few more.  I started tipping the Cubby with a minnow and  I  got another 9.75 incher about 5 minutes later.  I missed a bite than I got an 8" which I threw back.  It was getting dark so I went to get might light for the bobber.  When I did the light fell through a hole in the bottom of the pouch it was in and dropped into the lake.  Fortunately I had another light that was still in it's package.  Eventually I switched to Custom Jig and Spins Glow Demon.  While I was trying to spot the bobber light on the bottom of the lake a crappie took down my bobber.  I was lucky to catch another 8".  That was the last bite I got, so I threw back the two I had in the pail.  It was dead calm tonight and I saw many fish out on the lake that were up by the surface spooking while it was still light out.  There was a beaver chewing on a tree to my North about 80 yards that I could see and hear.  A small beaver came and swam around me a few different times, slapping the water with it's tail occasionally.  After dark the loons were calling and I heard an owl or two.  It was a really nice night to be out.  I left around 10:20PM

GOMH Oh Yeah!

Weather: Today was sunny and in the mid-'60s with a breeze out of the NE about from 3 to 10. As I fished the wind would come and go.

Tonight I arrived at the Grumpy Old Man Hole right about 5PM and I set up on the NE side. I started off throwing a clear smoke sparkle Berkley Havoc The Deuce double tail grub on a ball head jig and I was quickly rewarded with an 18 inch toothy bullhead.

I didn't bother to ask if anybody wanted it and threw it back. I started getting some small jumpin bullheads, several of which were jumpers. Next I tried a couple of swim jigs with no luck whatsoever.

I pulled out the River2Sea Wide Glide that I won in a contest and tried to work it. It didn't help that it was breezy and I couldn't work it right. I tried later when there was less wind and still couldn't get the hang of it. The lure is suppose to glide from side to side. It takes a different cadence than a normal walk the dog bait. I'm skeptical that I am going to like it, do to the difficulty in working it properly.

Eventually I put on a black/blue Strike King Pure Poison chatter jig with Berkley Havoc Craw Fatty black blue flake. It didn't take long and I got this 20" class fish.

I gave the toothy to a guy and girl that were fishing. The girl had just left to go to the South side and had been throwing a spinnerbait right where the fish hit. I proceeded to miss a couple of toothy's and then it got slow when the wind picked up.

I was hoping the Poison/Fatty off the bottom when I had a hit and it quickly was apparent this was no little fish. It took a couple of powerful runs pulling drag before I saw it was a toothy. I couldn't see the lure and the line was coming out the side of it mouth. I thought for sure it was going to break me off, but the 14lb Fireline held and I landed this 35 inch beast.

The guy who took the picture thought it was a good idea to take the picture with the truck as a backdrop. I wish he hadn't. This pike went back in the lake. I wish all people would throwback pike that size so they have a chance to get to 40". At 40" I don't care if somebody keeps it for the wall. This is my biggest GOMH toothy bullhead and biggest Platte/Sullivan Pike. However, Cyberfish caught one quite a bit bigger than this one a few years back in shallow slop in like July or August on a hollow body frog. I wish we had a pic of that fish.

After this one I might have gotten a couple of more toothy hits but nothing for sure. Of note, I did get this 18.75" pig jumpin bullhead on the Poison/Fatty.

I'll tell you what, that Berkley Havoc Lane's 4" Craw Fatty is a good bait.

As it got dark GOM Willard came over to see me. He actually had been fishing tonight. He ended up giving his bullheads (orange's and 1 silver) to GOM Lee Ander's grandson to take to Lee Ander. Willard didn't see the pike, so I showed him the picture on the camera.

Also of note, tonight Conservation Officer Kuske showed up for a few minutes. He didn't come over to talk to me, so I didn't get to show him the pike pictures. There were several boats tonight fishing the South GOMH.

I left about a quarter to 10 or so. Didn't even try for silvers.

Bullheads- No Kidding Around!

Weather: We had thunderstorms in the morning or I would have gone out. The rain quit about 8:30AM. The day was cloudy, breezy, and mild with a high of 63°F.

After a feast of silver bullhead for supper I headed out and arrived at the Grumpy Old Man Hole around 7:30PM. No surprise it was busy. The Bud the foul mouthed Grumpy Old Man was there, along with "Bucket Man" who now sits in a chair, a new guy this year who I'll call Turkey with his kid, and then there were several others fishing as well. I set up next to GOM Bud up on the bridge South side. Silver bullheads were coming in everywhere sporadically and after about 10 minutes I got my first and gave it to Bud.

I would give him a total of 3 and also get a 14" bullhead from the bridge. Around 7:50PM Grumpy Old Man Willard showed up. Round about 8:30PM Turkey and son left, so I went down on the SW side were they were. That turned out to be a bad move as I couldn't figure the fish out. Bucket Man filled his limit and I caught a little silver and missed one. Bud managed to fill out his limit up on the bridge. Some other young guys fished the South side of the bridge and got a couple of silvers and jumpers. The people on the SE side were getting fish, but by 9PM it was pretty much just me and Willard and those young guys who were now fishing the North side. Willard suggested I go to the SE side, so I went and tried that. Willard told me that GOM Lee Ander can't drive anymore because of his eye sight and it isn't very likely that he will fish at the GOMH anymore.

After about 5 minutes on the SE side I got a nice silver bullhead. Willard almost took it, but it went back in the lake. Willard left shortly after that. I started nailing a few silvers including this 12.25" fish.

Around 10PM the action slowed, but I did catch a bullhead. Yes a real live bullhead.

I had 3 more bites that I couldn't hook and I left around 10:30PM.

All in all I got
11 Silver Bullhead
1 Jumpin Bullhead
1 Yellow Bullhead

Fishing Report 4/29/07 (GOMH)

Got to the GOMH a little before 8 PM and was pleasantly surprised to find only Willard and one other guy fishing the SW side. Willard had one nice silver bullhead in the pail. I had a grand total of 2 live minnows and a bunch of dead ones to fish with my glow Cubby. I immediately caught fish on the two live minnows. I then started using the dead minnows and got fish on those as well. Someone left and gave their minnows to me, so I had live minnows again. I missed a couple before finally notching a couple more. I caught 7 keepers and 1 dink; I gave the keepers to Willard. As it got darker, the bite died off. I couldn't get my headlamp to light up, so I called it a night.

Goings on at GOMH

For those who don't know, GOMH is short for the "Grumpy Old Man Hole," which is the bridge and channel area where Platte and Sullivan lake connect.

4/4- The Second GOM sighting, GOM#3

I went to the GOMH, and darn it if I didn't get a hit on my second cast or at least what I thought was a bite on the White panther. After a few more casts, I decided to see what a jig and a minnow would do.

About that time, a van pulled up with "Lewis," aka GOM#3. He got out and caught me up on some GOM things. Lee Ander, aka GOM#2, got gangrene from stepping on a nail last July and had his right leg cut off just below the knee. That kept him cooped up for the summer, but he made it out ice fishing almost every day. Willard, aka GOM#1, did lots of the ice fishing with GOM#2. Lewis informed me that he and Willard are brothers, which I did not know. I didn't see much of Lewis at the GOMH last year. Also, Willard just had foot surgery himself and went into town shopping against the doctor's orders because he wasn't feeling any pain in his foot. Lewis was glad to hear I haven't had any heart trouble recently.

Sometime during our conversation, the guy on the NW corner of the GOMH started a grass fire. It started getting smokey, so Lewis and I left.

4/5 The First Bullheads of the season
I arrived at the GOMH at about 6:15PM and started fishing with a green flu flu and a minnow. Lo and behold, I hooked into one of those famous GOMH "jumpin bullheads" that I would say went 15". Nice, pretty, looking fish. A few casts later, I had another bullhead coming in.

Around this time, a Pick Up truck pulled up and started watching me. Not knowing who it was, I didn't bait up and hoped they would leave. Someone lady was walking along the road and started talking to the guy in the truck whose voice I thought I recognized as Lee Ander's; Sure enough, that's who it was. Soon after Lee Ander stopped, a younger guy in a car also stopped. I had to go to Bible Study, so I picked up my stuff and headed to the truck. I asked Lee Ander how he was doing, and he gave me the whole story about his leg. He also told me about his winter fishing success on Platte and Sullivan. Just as I told Lee Ander I was heading to Bible Study, up drives Willard with an offer to give me a shoe. He was talking about the shoe brace they gave him after his surgery. Naturally, Willard had to tell me all about that ordeal and how much pain he had been in. The surgery was a big success, and his recovery was speedy. Willard said he hadn't even needed to take one of the pain pills his Dr. prescribed. After about another 15-minute delay, I was off to Garrison Alliance.

Looks like I'll be hearing a lot from the GOM this spring. One can only hope they will be as entertaining as ever. Actually, it's really only Willard who is fun; he almost never stops talking.