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 & Evening On Platte

2.79lbs/17" Craw Tube (Junebug)

6:50-11:00AM: NPBI, NPSI, Chuck's Point, SNW Dock, NW Juice, NPBI, West Point
55-63℉, Sunny to Cloudy, 3-8mph West
Water Level High and Rising

A lot of shooting this morning as I was getting loaded up and once I got out. North Point Big Island was my first stop.  I got a 16 and 13 there along with a 20-inch pike on the Jackhammer.  From there I went to B.I. South Point and didn't get anything there.  I then went to NPSI and got a pike there on the Jackhammer.  I got some pike on the Jackhammer at the SPSI (I went up the East side of the Island a little way, not just off the point).  I then went to Chuck's Point and got some hits in the Ish's that didn't hook up.  I broke off a craw tube on a fish in the trash and reeds.  I got a couple of bass (17, 14.25) along the reed/pad edge and a couple of pike.  I made my way toward the NW Bay getting a couple of dinks off the SNW Dock on a Senko Knock Off.  I got a 15-incher there on the reed edge and also lost a fish on the reed edge. From there I headed to the NW Juice.  There was a duck hunter sitting in Todd's Pond.  Got a couple of pike there and a 13-incher on the War Eagle Buzz Toad and missed a couple of bites as well.  I missed bites as I came in at NPBI and West Point.  Made it home with about 15-minutes to spare before kick-off.

Vikes manhandled to Raiders 34 -14

9 Bass
11 Pike   
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6:30-8:00PM Starting Spot to Double Cane Point
60℉, Mostly Cloudy, 0-4 WSW

I should have gotten out earlier, but what am I gonna do the Twins were on and won the game 12-8 vs KC.  I headed out to the starting spot.  There was a buzzbait ripple on the water and that was what I was throwing.  Got a bunch of pike and 2 bass on the War Eagle Buzz Toad and missed some hits as well. Also got 1 pike on the Jackhammer.  Had a couple pike swipe at me in the reeds on the Ish's and missed one quality knock on the Ish's.  I got sucked into that beautiful looking stuff yet again.  It's just sad it isn't holding fish this year.  I stopped at the NPBI on the way in.  It was calm and totally peaceful so I just floated for a while before finally heading in.

9 Pike
2 Bass

Gettin After 'Em At the G.C.I. This Morning

15.5" Super Fluke Fish

GOMH: 
I arrived at the GOMH this morning a bit before 10AM it was cloudy and windy out of the SW.  It misted and even rained for a little bit before the clouds departed and it became bright and sunny.  The water was flowed both ways at some point this morning.  I pretty much crushed them on both sides of the bridge on a grn pumpin Havoc Grass Pig Jr, bluegill color Strike King Pure Poison with Havoc Craw Fatty grn pumpkin trailer, black w/red fleck Powerbait Crazy Legs Chigger Craw, a blue black senko knock off fished on a mushroom head jig (put on after I lost the Grass Pig Jr. to a toothy), a bubble gum Zoom Super Fluke (only lasted 2 fish until it was taken).  The only thing I didn't get bit on was a large clown Skitter Pop.  I got 26 jumpin bullheads total from 10" to 15.5" inches.  John W. showed up as I was getting ready to head to the Platte River Outlet Culvert.  He had been fishing at a culvert at Whitefish upstream of Mille Lacs lake.  He got some bass and a couple of walleyes there.  He was taking the fish to a fish fry at his sisters.

PRO Culvert:
I got 3 more bass for John on the Chigger Craw and he got a couple two.  Looks like with the high water that the Culvert is now gonna be a player.

Sullivan Inlet:  
I got a 15.5" largie on grn pumpkin Grass Pig out of the Culvert area and an almost 15 incher in the reeds.  I also got a 13" on the Chigger Craw.

32 bass total with 5 of them being over 15 inches, but nothing bigger than 15.5 inches

Bass Snatcher Tournament Mission Lakes

The Weather:  It was cloudy with the wind switching directions a few times, and it even got calm a time or two or maybe it was just the shoreline we were fishing.  I don't think it sprinkled, but at one point I put my rain gear on thinking it was going to rain pretty good.  It stayed near 70 degrees the whole day and that was the water temp as well.

The Tournament:
We blasted off from the Upper Mission Access as the 12th boat out of 17 at around a quarter to 7AM. We drove West.  Right away I got  a 13" bass on a reed edge on a bluegill Pure Poison with grn. pumpkin Havoc Craw Fatty Trailer.  A couple of casts later I got hung up in the reeds and I broke off for some reason.  We fished the reeds for a couple more minutes, then went to either a sunken hump or point, I'm not sure which it is.  I fished the area before back at the Challenge Cup we had back in 2009.  I think I missed one bite and that was it.  Nate my boater informed me at one point fish were breaking, but I never saw or heard it.  It was windy.

Next we headed to a weedline off of some reeds West of the Public Access on the Upper Mission.  There I got a pike on the Poison and 14.95" bass on the Stanley Phantom.  Getting this fish wasted a lot of my time because I never had another fish hit it the rest of the day. Eventually we headed to a weedline on the South shore off of some reeds.  Right away I got 30" or so inch pike on the Pure Poison.  Nate got 2 good bass on a jig, and I got my 14" on a Hack Attack Jig with breen Powerbait Chigger Craw trailer.  We moved into the reeds and Nate got another good fish. We went back out and worked the area Nate got the 1st couple without any luck.  We then had a long lull trying along the SE end of the lake.  Nate got one fish I think.

Next we went to a spot that I suggested on the North end of the Lake.  There we ran into Guy and Jim Smith. Nate got his limit.

We next headed to Lower Mission.  I got 13" and a 12" squeaker on a white Horny Toad.  Nate pulled a few fish off some docks, so next we headed to a magic dock, where Nate pulled off about 6 or 7 fish.  He offered me the knock off senko he was throwing and I accepted it.  I don't think the problem was my fluke, but my lousy casting.  I just couldn't get the lure in the right places.  I missed a few bites with the senko, but I finally hooked up with another 12" squeaker.  We worked some more docks and some shoreline cover with me missing several bites.

Next we headed back to the Upper Lake and the spot Nate got his first 3 fish.  I culled one of the 12"'s with a 12.75" on a Grass Pig Jr. and got my big bass of the day 15.25" (1/14) off of a dock with the Hack Attack jig.

We tried a couple more spots on the Upper Lake.  Nate getting a cull at that island/ point thing.  I caught a 12.5" bass that didn't help on a craw tube and got bit off.  Next we headed into the Lower Lake.

We fished a reed bed into the shoreline cover where I missed a couple on the Horny Toad.  Next we went to a sand break and got nothing there.  With 20 minutes left Nate asked my docks or caine.  I chose the caine.  That worked out for Nate cause he got one last good cull.  I missed yet another hit on the Horny Toad and then we were done.

Results:
My six fish weighed 8lbs 11ozs which put me in 32nd out of 33 guys.  Nate weighed 16lbs even and won the tournament by 2ozs!!!  Great job Nate!

There were only 4 bags under 10lbs and 14lb bags went down to 16th Place.  I was only saved from last place because Herman only caught 2 fish.

My Thoughts:
I just had a bad day on the water, it happens.  This is my second worse performance as a Snatcher;  Second only to the beat down I took at Cedar Lake in the 1st tournament of the year.  At least I got a limit in this one.

I don't really know why the day went so bad.  I didn't get tired or lose focus.  My dock skipping and Horny Toad skills both were both super rusty.  I have decided to demote the rod I've been using for skipping docks.  It just doesn't have enough back bone.

One thing other than on the docks were Nate had first crack at them, we never really got into the fish.  We didn't get very many bites on the weedlines for as much as we fished the them.  Sounded like a lot of people got their fish up shallow on the lower lake.  We spent most of the day in the Upper Lake and on the weedlines.

If I had it to do all over again.  I would have thrown the Hack Attack Jig more.  Nate got most of his weigh fish on a black and blue jig.