Bassin' and Ballin'

3.26lbs Jackhammer/Devil Spear Jr. (Orange)

5:20-6:50PM F Flat, NPBI, SPSI 

50-60℉, Sunny, 3-12mph WNW
Water: 51-53 Very Low Falling

I headed to F-Flat to start. Didn't get a bite, so I headed to the North Point of the big Island. I got 3 bass there, the last of which was the 3lber. I headed to the South Point of the Small Island with that success, where I got one bass and a pike. A  duck hunter hit bottom with his motor cutting across the point up by the reeds. There were several boats out fishing tonight. It was windy to start but calmed down significantly by the time I ran South.

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26" Rippin Rap (Chrome/Blue)

19" Grass Pig (Swamp Gas)

10:00-12:00AM Eddy Jetty North North Corner and Pete's Spot

53-55℉, Clear, 2-4mph WNW

Saw more eyeballs tonight than last night. Sight fished at the North Corner to start. Had a fish hit the clown X-Rap but did not hook up. Caught the pike throwing off of the big standing rock on a Rippin Rap around 10:30. Had a fish in briefly at Pete's Spot around 11:20 or so. Finally had a walleye engulf the Grass Pig on a Outkast Goldeye Jig at 11:35 or so. That was my last bite. Had three boats take out tonight. They said the eye's were biting light.

 

GOMH Morning/ In the Trophy in the Evening

13" Shower Blows 105 (Bone)

5:00-8:30AM GOMH NE SW SE
47-45℉, Cloudy, 4-6 ESE
LOw and falling

Excellent morning at the GOMH.  Sunrise Spectacular! The bullheads were there and biting.  The first one was a 17" jumper that hit the second the Grass Pig hit the water on the far end of the tube.  Caught a bunch on the Jerk Shad on the NE side.  On the SW side I got several jumpers on the Jerk Shad as well.  Had several bites on topwater, but only caught a little guy.

15 Jumpin' Bullheads
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4-4oz 19.33" Poison (Blue/Black)

4-4oz 19.33" Craw Tube (Junebug)

3-6oz 17.75" Poison/Swim Fluke Jr.

Not a bad day at all

Trophy Back In the Water w/'93 Johnson
5:30-9:00PM River Mouth SPRO Sullivan Lake
51-50℉, Cloudy some light rain, 6-15mph SSE
53℉ Low and falling

Launched out of the NE access on Sulivan, and everything checked out, so I headed to the River Mouth.  Boy, it was windy out of the East.  It sprinkled on and off the whole time.  I missed several bites to start, very frustrating.   I did get a couple of bass.  I spent way too much time at the River Mouth.  I then made my way along the NSPRO, connecting with a good bass when I got into some emerging Lillies. I caught bass and pike as I made my way across the flat.  Then I hit a school anchored and put the wood to them with the Poison and Crawtube.  Missing several fish, unfortunately.  That finally died down.  I tried to mark a couple spots on the Garmin Striker but only managed to get one to save, doh.  I caught the last pig of the night on the Poison in the general vicinity of the school, which was some green cabbage in the Lillies.  John W. was landing a toothy when I went through at the GOMH.  I lost a lot of fish tonight. My game has just not been on this year.  At least I've got the Trophy back in the water. 

16 Bass
3 Pike 

2020 Opener Success

25.5" X-Rap Shad Shallow (Pink)

20" Shad Shallow

24" SK Colorado Blade (Black/Red)

12" Senko KO (GP)

12:00-2:30AM Eddy's Jetty North Corner
3:00-4:00AM Mac's Twin Bay Point
5:45-7:00AM GOMH SE
33-30℉, PC, 0-3mph N

I arrived at Eddy's with 10-minutes to spare.  There were two guys with a boat that decided for whatever reason to fish from the Jetty.  Winds were ideal for being out on the lake.  They took the North Harbor mouth.  As I was getting my baits set Casino Security stopped.  He told me it was closed, but he wasn't going to kick us out, but if the police stopped we'd have to go.  At about a quarter after one of the guys at harbor mouth caught one.  Just after that, a truck with two guys arrived.  They went to the center jetty and one of the guys caught several fish.  Around 1AM my guides started freezing up, but I didn't realize it.  I ended up breaking off a Jerk Shad when my line cut at the spool. I didn't check my line and ended up breaking off my first bite losing a Shad Shallow.  It wasn't even a big walleye.  I missed a bite then caught one on the chart Shad Shallow.  I missed a good hit on an X-Rap.  I put on the Pink Shad Shallow and that was the ticket.  Unfortunately, the Security guy came back and kicked us out just when I had the fish dialed. Lantern Man's Son showed up as I was putting my gear in the car. He had gotten some silver, but no gold.

I decided to give Mac's Twin Bay a try.  It's not the fishing spot I had hoped it would be, but I was able to make casts and catch a big (25.5).   I hooked into another big, but it broke me off when it went on a run.  I think it must have got me on a Zeeb because that was Fireline I had just put on.  A little while after that a mid 30's ski or pike swam by.  At 4AM I headed home for a quick tackle change and then I was off to the GOMH.

Wheel House Guy had been there since 4:30AM and didn't get a thing.  I started on the NE side and missed a toothy that hit on the craw tube.  It wasn't happening so I went to the SE side. I got two toothies. One on a Strike King Spinnerbait (24") and one on a Grass Pig (19.5).  Delroy's Boys got a couple of jumpers.  I bounced and went to Bulldog and got one small bass on a Neko Rig.

I called it a morning at 7:30Am

I got word that the Trophy was ready.  I put off going to get it until 4PM and it was sleeting so I didn't try her out.

Morning GOMH/ Evening Bulldog & GOMH

19.5" Cubby/minnow

16.5" Cubby/Minow

5:35-7:00AM GOMH NE SW
47℉, PC, 0-4mph NW

Started on the SW side, nothing.  Switched to the NE.  Got a golden and a couple jumpers on the Cubby/minnow combo.  I went back on the SW side got a couple more jumpers.  No silvers again.
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8" THE Jig/worm

14.5" Poison/Grass Pig Jr.

Full Moon up before sunset

24" Cubby/Minnow

6:40-7:00PM GOMH NE
7:05-7:40 Bulldog Access and Bog Spot
7:45-8:10PM Lake Dock
8:25-11:00PM GOMH SE SW NE

I went to the GOMH first.  The NE was open so I went there.  I got a jumper on a Strike King Spinnerbait on the first cast.  I also got a jumper on the Grass Pig.  Not much was going on so I bounced quickly.  Nobody was at Bulldog.  I got a few sunfish and a couple bass.  Sunfish were an unapologetic attempt to boost my fish caught per hour numbers, but it wasn't whack and stack so I bounced.  I went and got the stroller and an anchor at the Lake Place. I threw a few casts when John W. called from the GOMH.  Turns out only one lady was there, so I beelined to get a spot.  Sure enough, only the one lady was there. I took the open SE side.  John left. Around 9PM I got a silver just as the lady hooked a jumper as I was explaining current moving into Platte makes the fishing more difficult a lot of the time.  I put the silver in the bucket.  Turns out it was the only one I would get.  At the end of the night, I released it from the bucket forgetting to take a picture, duh!  I did take a pic of it sitting by the shore in the shallow water.  Then like a putz, I didn't recall that I had taken the picture and erased it by mistake thinking the picture was a mistake, double duh!  The lady left. I switched to the SW side and didn't get a bite.  I then went to the NE side and got the 24" golden bullhead.  That was my last bite of the night.  A small pike swam along the rocks and there were shiners and I think a school of very small 3" crappies tonight.  The moon was bright and I just hung around listening to the frogs for a while.  Only 2 days until Opener.

Morning/Evening GOMH (Rock Blog Link)

12.75" 1-3oz Cubby/Minnow 

12.75" 1-4ozs Cubby

19.5" Poison

14" Poison

4:50-7:00AM GOMH NE SW SE
38-35℉, PC, 0-4mph ENE

I got there when it was still dark. Unfortunately, no silvers were around.  I did get the gold and a couple of jumpers on the NE side.  And nothing but a few jumpers on the S side.  Pierz teacher came down for a bit.
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Slop Slip Inaugural Trip
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8:00-10:00PM GOMH SE
55-57℉, PC, 0-4mph wsw

Lantern Man's son and a buddy were fishing the SW side when I got there.  They had gotten a few jumpers.  A small jumper was the first my first bite. Then I got two slabber bullheads in a row.  Brett started getting them. I broke off the 2" Swim Shad on a cattail and had to fish it off.  LM showed up.  I broke off a crappie when I was taking it off, costing me time when they were biting.  Both LM and I landed a couple and missed a few.  They were getting more bites on the SW side. I left at 10PM because I needed to get some sleep.

Morning and Evening at the GOMH

16.5" Cubby/minnow

5:45-7:00AM GOMH NE SW
35-37℉, PC, 6-18mph E

I did manage to get out of bed despite the fact I didn't pop right up when my alarm went off at 4:30AM.  I arrived just in time to get the peak light refraction from the pre-sunrise.  All I caught was some jumpers and toothy's.  I called it quits a little after an hour.  It was chilly out.

I went back to bed and got up at 2:00PM two hours before my alarm went off.  I used that extra time to get the Expedition cleaned out some and put numbers and the license on the Slop Slip. I was surprised the boat license showed up so quickly.
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12.75"/1-3oz Cubby/Minnow

17.5"/3-5oz Poison/Swim Fluke Jr.

7:30-10:00PM GOMH NE SE Bridge SW
40-50℉, PC, 5-13mph ENE

There was no one at the GOMH when I arrived.  I decided to see what was going on at the Northside hoping maybe a dogfish would show up.  Nope, just a few jumpin' bullheads.  I did miss some hits on a craw tube so it's possible one of those was a dogfish.  Finally, around 8:30PM I couldn't take any more of the wind so I went to the Southside.  There were 4 people on the SE side and one guy on the SW side.  I fished off the bridge toward the SW side.  I missed a bite because I was paying attention to a guy on the SE side that was bringing in a jumper.  Then the guy on the SW side brought in a silver bullhead.  The guy who caught the jumper was surprised to be informed that bass is not open yet.  He was going to put it in a bucket, doh!  Haven't seen a C.O. this year, but the Grumpy Old Man Hole is not the place to have an out of season fish in possession. I got a couple silvers giving them to the guy on the SW side of the bridge.  He already had 4 or 5 in the cooler when I gave him the first one.  I should have taken the SW side when I had the chance, oh well.  The guys on the SE side left before 9PM so that's where I went.  A buddy joined the guy on the SW side when I was getting my stuff organized on the SE side.  I landed 4 silvers and missed at least that many more. The big dude was my last fish of the night.  I thought it was 13" for sure, but it just had big shoulders.  It did go over a pound.  I gave up at 10PM.  They were still catching fish on the other side when I left.

Good Night On The Jetty

26" Crackle Jerk Shad

26" Pike Crackle Jerk Shad

3/7,22" Grass Pig Jr.

3/9,25" Crackle Jerk Shad

6:30-9:30PM Harbor Mouth and North Corner
30-34℉, Partly Cloudy, 2-7mph NNW

Finally, a night above freezing before dark so I headed over to the Jetty.  The wind blowing in on the Northside of the Jetty was cold. It took me about half an hour to get acclimated to it.  I got a walleye (22.5) right away at the Harbor Mouth on the Grass Pig.  The second fish was off the North Corner on the Grass Pig.  I then switched up to the Crackle Jerk Shad and the eyes were all over it.  I got 13 eyes (25,25,24.75,24.75,24.5,23,23,22.5,22,22,21,18.5,18.5) and 1 Pike on the Crackle with fish coming at the Harbor Mouth and North Corner.  I had a Eddy's Launch Captain stop and talk for a little while.  The last fish of the night was 20.25" eye that bit the small green pumpkin Rage Swimmer at the Harbor Mouth.  The fish really quit biting by 9PM.

16 Eye
1 Pike

Ok Night On the Jetty

4/1, Jerk Shad (Tomato)

8:15-10:30PM North Corner Eddy's Jetty, Standing Rock and Harbor Mouth50℉, Partly Cloudy/Moonrise about 9PM, 4mph SE

I started things off getting a 20-inch eye at the Harbor Mouth on the Green Tiger UV Rippin Rap.  I then got a 18.5 and 20-incher on the Grass Pig at the North Corner and the Standing Rock.  I then got a 19.5" on the Crackle Jerk Shad, but the fish were just not that into it.  I got 5 fish on the Tomato Jerk Shad (17,18.5x2, 19,23) off of the North Corner.  It was a slow but steady slog.  I got hungry so left at 10:30PM even though the last bite of the evening was the biggest.

9 Eyes

Couple Hours On Eddy's Jetty

3/11,23.5" Grass Pig (Swamp Gas)

2/5,21.5" Rippin' Rap (Perch)

8:25-11:10PM South Jetty, North Corner
43℉, Cloudy saw the moon a couple of times around 11, 0-3 WNW
Water High and temps are probably in the mid 40's

I headed straight over from fishing at Platte.  I stopped at Subway and got a meatball sub.  There was a boat in my parking spot, so I parked at the South Jetty and ate my sub.  I started out throwing the perch Rippin Rap.  I was just about to stop throwing it when I got a 21.5-inch walleye at the Harbor Mouth.  That was the only bite I got on the Rippin Rap.  Didn't get any hits on the Shad Shallow. On my second cast off of the South Corner with the Grass Pig, I got the big fish of the night.  I got two more fish (14,20.5) on the South Jetty on the Grass Pig.  I also had one come off shortly after hooking up.  A little after 10PM I went to the North Jetty.  I lost a really good one in close to the Jetty on the Grass Pig at the North Corner; The sucker stole the tail.  I caught a 19-incher on the new Grass Pig on the North Corner.  I finished the night with a 21-incher on the Crackle Jerk Shad at the North Corner.

7 Eye's

GOMH/Inlet Morning/Evening GOMH and Eddy's with Pete

Got a there a little late for the red sky

17" Yum Dinger (Brandy)

5:15-7:15AM GOMH NE SW, Culvert, Inlet
69℉, Partly Cloudy, 4mph S

Started on the NE side and got a small toothy on the Jerk Shad and lost something on the SBKO.  I made a quick move for the SW side and I almost waited too long as a guy was getting out of his car just after I crossed the road.  A jumper started hitting stuff on top so I quickly fired out the Shower Blows and caught it.  I got a couple of toothy's.  The guy went to the North side and a couple of other guys showed up. I got the big one on the Dinger.  As I left one of the later arriving guys told me he thought 6am would be early enough to be the first ones there.   That gave me a chuckle.  Probably not gonna happen in June.  I lost something at the culvert.  Caught 1 pike at the INlet and had a couple of other strikes.
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17 or so Grass Pig

15.5" Jerk Shad (Crackle)

17 maybe

13" Maybe

7:45-8:05PM GOMH NE SW
8:40-10:00PM Eddy's Jetty North Corner
80-74℉, Partly Cloudy, 4mph SSE

The plan was to meet Pete around 9ish at Eddy's Jetty.  I had to drop off some garbage at the lake place and took a swing by the GOMH. Nobody was there so I fished it. Had one toothy swirl at me on the NE side.  Nothing on the SW side so off to Mille Lacs I went.  The South Jetty had a family fishing there.  Nobody on Center or North other than some partyers at the North Harbor Mouth area.  Of course, I took the North Corner.  Started out throwing Ploppers, then a spinnerbait.  No sign of a smallie.  I put the two rods back in the car a grabbed the Loomis spinning rod with a small swimbait and the Lew's rod with a Grass Pig. I started out using the Loomis and something that felt small bite, but it was definitely a fish.  After about 10 minutes and nothing else. I switched the Grass Pig to 6'8" Avid and put a crackle Jerk Shad on the Lew's and started throwing the Grass Pig.  I was quickly rewarded with the 17-inch walleye.  I think Pete arrived a little bit before I caught the fish, but he had to rig up and whatever.  I lost what felt like a good eye and my Grass Pig wasn't in the greatest shape, so I went to grab another out of my jacket except there weren't any in there. So I grabbed the Lew's and started fishing the Jerk Shad.  On about my 10th cast, I was surprised to bring in a smallmouth.  After I released it.  Pete made contact with me.  A guy who was fishing with his young daughter hooked into a pig; I didn't get a great look at it, but it was 25+.  Pete came up to the North Corner and banged two walleyes straightaway.  I got a 20-incher that bit as I was reeling up to keep the Jerk Shad out of the rocks. Pete then caught the little smallie and just like that it was 10PM.  It was a pleasant night with a breeze to keep the bugs off and a thunderstorm off in the far NW.  On the way home saw lots of deer and a bear on Shakopee Lake Rd.