Not According To Plan This Morning

With the flash on

Flash On

5:30-6:00AM GOMH NE
6:00-6:30AM Driving to the Hospital in Onamia
6:30-7:45AM Mostly waiting for things to get done
8:00-10:15AM Mille Lacs Eddy's Jetty
Conditions: 60's, Cloudy, some sprinkles, light to very light E wind

I wanted to arrive at the Grumpy Old Man Hole at 5:15, but spent to long putzing around.  The sky was still cool looking when I got there but not quite as pink.  After taking pictures I went down on the NE side.  I got hit immediately on the Loon Whopper Plopper.

13" Whopper Plopper

 That was it for topwater.  I tried a few other baits then tied on the Jerk Shad and brought in this small toothy on it.

19" Jerk Shad Crackle

It was hooked by one hook on the middle treble.  I made the mistake of trying to take it off the hook.  As I went to grab it started fighting.  In a instant the treble was out of the fish and in-bedded in my thumb.

 There is a first time for everything and this was the first time a fish stuck me beyond the barb.  It was in deep and not pulling out at all.  I didn't think the line trick would work with how deep the hook was so I headed to the Hospital in Onamia.  I was right about the line trick.  The P.A. numbed up my thumb then cut the hook as far up as he could.  He was able to push the point through than pull it out.  It took 5 minutes.  They gave me some antibiotics and a prescription and I was out of there.

I decided to head up to Eddy's and try for some smallies.  Having the numb thumb didn't effect my ability to cast or hold the rod.  I fished for about 45 minutes without so much as a sign of a fish when a fish gave itself away well within casting distance.  I put on this Lucky Craft Kelly J.

 Sure enough a 17-18" smallie hit it.  I maneuvered it into the harbor mouth where it jumped a couple of times and got off.  That was it for action for about half an hour until I got this pike on the Jerk Shad.

22" Jerk Shad

I think I had one other bite on the Jerk Shad that didn't hook up.  The sun was starting to break through the clouds and I had flogged the water enough so I headed home.

GOMH & Peavy

17" Chigger Craw

5:15-8:45AM GOMH, Rock, Peavy
Conditions: 74-69 degrees, Windy to Very Windy out of the S, Sun and clouds

The guy who was there last weekend, was there when I arrived this morning.  I didn't go down and talk.  Just went straight to fishing.  They didn't want topwater.  I had a 15-16" throw the Chigger Craw back at me on the first cast with it.  I got the 17" along the near wall and a 9" dink on the Chigger out in the channel.  I was hung up for quite a while, but I got my tungsten sinker back, which I immediately replaced with a steel one.  I noticed the reel handle was loose on my Fuego on the Swimbait Rod.  The cap had come off of the reel handle.

I didn't get anything at Rock and only fished for maybe 20 minutes in the wind.  I decided to hit Peavy.  I had something hit the Plopper but not hook up.  I got 2 dink bass and a small pike.  I fished at Peavy for at least and hour.

Came home and got the reel fixed and got the boat motor to work, fingers crossed.

 

Hittin' the Plopper at the GOMH Tonight

14.25" Whopper Plopper

8:15-9:00PM GOMH NE
9:10-9:40 PM Lake Place Dock

There was a family fishing on the South side of the bridge when I arrived at the GOMH tonight.  I went down on the NE side.  I put a different Fuego Reel Reel on my new 7'4" TD Zillion Heavy Swimbait Rod after the mistake yesterday.  I was able to cast out the Piranha a few times out into the lake without a backlash, so I put on the Whopper Plopper.  First cast to the opposite side of the bridge and the 14.25" jumped on it.  A few casts later into the tunnel and I had another one.

16.25" Whopper Plopper

   It was a beat up fish, but it fought well.  I had a toothy bite off the white Poison out over the channel and I missed a bite in the tube on the Chigger Craw.  The family left, but I didn't fish the S side. Mistake!

I went to the Lake Place and the only bites I got there was most likely a pike in the open water out from Sherman's dock.

It Wasn't A Sunfish

17" Chigger Craw pumpkin grn flk

7:00-8:15AM GOMH SW NE
Conditions: 58 degrees, N wind, mostly sunny

After yesterday's trip I was in no big hurry to get out.  It was cloudy in the East with no color in the sunrise. I started on the SW side. Nothing on topwater.  Got the first bullhead of the morning on the Poison.

14.33" Pure Poison/Swim Fluke Jr. White

It was a really good fighter.  I thought it was going to be 15" at least.  Then I got a 12" under the bridge on the Chigger Craw.  I went over to the SE side. No hits.  Then I went to the NE side with just the Chigger Craw.  I was about to go back when I had what I thought was a sunfish picking at it.  After about 7 seconds of that it got picked up and I set the hook into the 17 incher.  That was the last bite of the morning.

8:40-9:05PM Rock Lake
9:15-9:45PM Lake Place Platte
Conditions: 60's, Calm, partly cloudy, perfect topwater conditions

Tonight was to be the inaugural trip for my new 7'4" Heavy TD Zillion Swimbait Rod I won on Ebay this week.  Unfortunately I spooled the line on the wrong Fuego Reel, one with absolutely no brakes.  First cast off Rock Dock was a birds nest, which I had to reel in and untangle in the parking lot because a boat was coming into get trailered up.  Once they were out of the way I did a couple more casts with the Piranha and back in the car the Zillion went.  The reel is unworkable.  Fish were on the surface but I couldn't figure out what they were. They weren't really getting hit and I couldn't get a strike on any of the topwater lures I tried.  I left shortly after 9PM and went to the Lake Place because dad told me about fish activity in the rice.

20" Spro Frog

I missed the first hit because the fish silently took the black/red Spro Frog off the surface and it was far enough out I couldn't tell my frog went missing.  The rod got pulled down and by the time I collected myself for the hookset it was to late.  I missed a good hit over in front of Jim's Dock and a smaller fish hit as well.  I got the pike out beyond the rice out front of Sherman's. The skeeters showed up and I left.