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.

 

Rock Dock/Productive Trophy Trip In the PM

7.5" THE Jig/wax worm

Storm Swim Shad

Calm night on the lake

3:30-4:00PM Rock Dock, Bulldog,GOMH

62℉, PC, Calm

On my way back to feed Kaylee, I hit Rock Dock and GOMH. I got a bite on my second cast with the 2" Storm Swim Shad, the 17" pike in the picture. That little pike also took swings at two different size 6 X-Raps at the ramp. I also had a bigger pike swipe at the pearl X-Rap about 7-feet out from the dock. I didn't get any hits at the GOMH or Bulldog and only threw a few casts on each side.

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6.5" THE Jig/waxie

6:00-10:00PM GOMH to River Mouth

55-64℉, PC, 0-3mph NE

I started mapping at the North GOMH Bay Point. There were people fishing off the bridge and the SE side. I didn't get any bites until I got to the Sunfish Area of the Intersection. It was slow to start. Lots of fish activity all around me. It picked up towards dark.  All I caught tonight were sunfish. No true bulls tonight, but I did get a few 8" fish. I then did some mapping and shining when it got dark enough. I saw one bass at the River Mouth and it was the only one I saw. A lot of shiners in the river mouth area though. The SPRO was mostly empty except for shiners. Once I got to the sunfish area I saw a bunch of them, but not the size of the first night. In one 30-foot stretch, I saw 6 pike. There was basically nothing from the second buoy to the GOMH except for a few shiners. I talked to Lantern Man who wasn't getting anything. I saw one good size crappie up towards the first dock North and also marked a boulder that I didn't know was there.

37 Sunfish

3 Fish, DQ Break, 3 Fish

 

6:30-8:00PM North Corner

8:40-10:00PM NC and Harbor Mouth

56-52℉, PC, 5-14mph SSW

Nothing at the Harbor Mouth to start. I got on the North Corner standing rock and got 25-incher way out there on the Sexy Shad Jerk Shad. He must have had a little buddy follow him in because I had two eyes staring back at me when I got back to the Standing Rock. I immediately converted that 18-incher on the Jerk shad. A couple casts later and I had fish number three. Then I went for about half an hour without a bite. I was hungry so I went to DQ. After I got back I got an 18.5 at the NSR on the Rage Swimmer Jr. And I picked off an 18" on a gold X-Rap at the Harbor Mouth after losing one. The final fish of the night came at about a quarter to 10PM at the NSR on the X-Rap. Didn't get any moonlight until right about 10PM. Only saw 3 or 4 swimmers tonight. The muskrats were sure busy though.

Slow Start Hot At The End

5lber X-Rap (Clown)

5.09lbs Rage Swimmer Jr. (GP)

 

Trucked and Choked It

2.86lbs X-Rap (Clown)

6:30-10:00PM North Corner, CSR, Harbor Mouth

35-39℉, Clear, 0-12mph SW

Nothing while it was light outside. Finally,  I got a bite around 8PM, but it got off. About 10 minutes later I had the fish truck and choke the X-Rap. He had a couple of fish running with him. They wanted a hard pull at the start then a long pause. I had another couple of fish follow me and hit but not hook up. I tried the Rage Swimmer Jr. and got a little flurry at the Harbor Mouth and one at the CSR as well. Then that abated after I lost 4 or 5 straight fish. I got one on the Jerk Shad and three more on the Clown X-Rap. I ended the night getting 4 fish in about 6 casts on the blue/chrome Salmo Sting Floater and the final fish of the night came at the Harbor Mouth on the Sting. It was calm to start with a pretty good wind blowing out of the SW at the end.

13 Eyes and saw 6 to 10. 

It Snowed A Little and I Had A Few Bites

 

23" Rage Swimmer

8:00-10:00PM NCSR

34-39℉, Cloudy, 0-4mph W NW

It was dead calm when I arrived, but the lake itself was not flat. I got the first fish in 20-minutes. It was the 23-incher that I spotted. She didn't get it the first time she came to the lure but got it the second time about 8 casts later. I didn't see her hit as she was swimming away from me when she got it. About an hour later I got my second fish, an 18.5-incher on the gold/orange X-Rap 10. I had one other fish on that hit the Rage Swimmer Jr. I think I had a couple of hits on the 4.75" Swimmer that just grabbed the tail. Saw a giant that swam away immediately when I cast to it with the Rattlin Rap. Had a fish come in hot on the RR and RS but not get it by the time I had to pull them out of the water.

 

Good Night at the Jetty

4/3, 24.5" Rage Swimmer

22.5" Jerk Shad

8:10-10:00PM Harbor Mouth, North Corner
54-51℉, Cloudy, 2-6mph SSE

I started out the night missing a hit on the Rage Swimmer on my third cast at the Harbor Mouth.  About 5 casts later I got the big one of the night.  That was my last bite on the 4" Swimmer.  I tried the Grass Pig and Rippin Rap and didn't get a bite.  I got a 16.5-incher on the X-Rap and lost a bite as well at the North Corner.  I got an 18.5" at the North Corner on the Tomato Jerk Shad sometime around 9:30PM after the wind had picked up a bit  My upper back was bugging me, but I had brought the GLX 782 with the small Rage Swimmer down to the North Corner so I decided to give it a  shot.  I got a 20.5" on what was going to be my last cast.

I went down and got my stuff and took a picture of my weight for the night and then zeroed the scale.  I got down to the North end of the Jetty to pick up the two rods I had down there and I thought I'd take a few more casts with the little Swimmer.  I ended up getting 5 eyes in about 20 minutes with 2 (20,21.5) on the Rage Swimmer and 3 (18,18.5,22.5) on the Crackle Jerk Shad.  Even though the fish were biting my back was hurting and I was hungry so I called last fish on the Crackle caught it and left.

4 Eyes
Then
5 Eyes

They Wanted A Feathered Treble

3/1,20.5" X-Rap 10 (Glass Ghost/Pearl)

8:00-10:00PM North Corner Eddy's Jetty

61℉, Cloudy to mostly cloudy, the moon did come out at 9:50 or so, 5-8mph SSE

Fish were sporadically getting busted along the Jetty all night.  I wasn't able to convert any of it into a bite 

The wave action was a lot less than I expected it would be.  I tried a Rippen Rap to start.  Nothing.  Then I tried the Shad Shallow, nothing.  I decided to go with the pearl X-Rap and the 17-20-inch walleyes ate that thing up.  I got 7 fish in about 35 minutes.  The bite had slowed a bit and I was thinking about switching lures when I backlashed and bye-bye X-Rap.  Should have re-tied my Power Clip as that is where my line broke I think.  I went to the Grass Pig and lost a good feeling fish on the first cast.  I lost one other bite at the North Corner Standing rock.  I then tried the Tomato and Crackle,  I briefly had a fish on one of those two.  I then went to the Rage Swimmer and got a 20-incher and missed a couple of bites.  I then thought to myself.  They really liked that feathered X-Rap, why don't I put one of them back on.  I put on my other Glass Ghost, but it didn't have many feathers left.  I put on a pearl/blue X-Rap with full feather and caught two fish pretty quick. My back was tightening up and I was hungry so I didn't wait to see if the moonlight would turn on the big girls.  All the fish tonight were between 18-20.5-inches.

10 Eyes    

GOMH & River Mouth/GOMH Evening

3.81lbs/18" Brovarney Jig/Grass Pig Jr.

3.88lbs/18.25" Shower Blows

3.17lbs/17.75" Shower Blows 105

21.9" Grass Pig

Was a little late getting out the door this morning  Wheel House Guy had been there about half an hour and had two goldens.  I got a couple of toothy's and a small jumper on the NE side.  WHG took a bathroom break, so I went down on the SW side.   I got the 18-incher there.  It wasn't happening so I went to the Trophy.

In the Trophy I made the call to go to the River Mouth.  I was immediately rewarded with some topwater fish on the Shower Blows 105.  I lost a good one.  The fish were primarily in the river mouth, nothing down the river.  Also got some on the SPRO North Flat.  Unfortunately, I had to have the car back and left them biting.  Got my first Sprinker Fish of the year

Took the bikes into Todd.

Got back with some light out so I headed to the GOMH.  I was the only one there.  Lost a fish, caught the one golden.  Proceeded to lose 3 more bites, then caught a toothy.  Lantern Man and son showed up.  LM put on a clinic.  I tried a minnow and lost a couple of bites. LM son got a couple silvers on a shad rap.  I didn't have any energy so I left at 10PM.

Opener First Trip A Mild Success

25" X-Rap (Big Fish of the night)

24.5" X-Rap Shallow Shad (Lure saver fish)

24.75" Jerk Shad (1st Fish of 2019)

20.5" Grass Pig

16" Jerk Shad

12:00-3:40AM Eddy's Jetty
40℉, Clear moon till about 2:40 or so, 2-6mph SW, High Water

When I arrived at the Jetty, the North Harbor Mouth was taken and the NW corner was open so I went there.  I could see multiple eye' swimming around. Instead of casting right away I decided to watch the first casts of the 5 guys to the South of me.  A couple seconds in and a guy on the Center Jetty was hooked up, a good sign.  I quickly switched from the Rippin Rap to the Swimbait, to the Jerk Shad.  I saw a few more fish get caught prompting quick changes.  Got a 24.75 on the first cast with the Crackle Jerk Shad.  About 15 minutes later I got a 16-incher.  I switched lures a few times.  I got two (24,25) nice ones on a pearl X-Rap.  They wanted it extremely slow.  I switched to X-Rap  Shad Shallow and got 17" and 24.5" that freed the bait when I was trying to free it from the rocks.   Snagged snagged snagged then the rod was almost ripped out of my hands when the 24.5" grabbed it.  I was very thankful that fish saved my lure.  As the moon was going down I got on last smaller fish on the Jerk Shad. I also had one last bite that didn't hook up on the Jerk Shad.  It seemed like I would get a bite every 15 to 20 minutes. for the first hour and a half.  The other guys picked up a fish occasionally.  As not much was going on I made the call the head to the GOMH at 3:40AM.

4:15-7:15AM GOMH NE
40-52℉, Partly Cloudy, 4-6mph SSE, High rising water

Wheelhouse Guy arrived just a few minutes before me and was down on the SW side.  He was all by himself at that point.  We talked for a couple of minutes then I went down on the NE side.  I got 20.5" golden on my third cast into the tube on the Grass Pig.  I thought this might be good, but that was the only golden bite I got. I gave the fish to WHG.  I was just about to head to the Trophy when I started getting jumpers on the Crackle Jerk Shad.  I also got some jumpers on the Brovarney Jig with Grass Pig Jr. trailer.  After the second boat came through the action stopped. It was awfully sunny out.  Other than a few of WHG family, nobody showed up until I was packing up to leave.  WHG lost a good pike and brought me a banana.

Not a great start, but it was solid. 

Morning Bust/Out In The Trophy Again Tonight

8" THE Jig

8" THE Jig

Cool Blustery Night

16.75" X-Rap Size 6 (Blue Pearl)

Kaylee making sure she gets taken out before I go

6;00-7:00AM GOMH
40℉, Cloudy showers to the south, minimal wind

Nothing was going on. Caught a toothy on the NE side and a single jumper on the SW side.

7:15-8:45PM Channel Inn Bay
56-53℉, Mostly Cloudy, 5-10mph NNW

I woke up at 5PM and left the house a little after 6PM, so starting at the GOMH like last night was out.  On the way to the lake, it hit me Channel Inn Bay, should be protected from the wind and I've caught pannies and doggies there in the past.  I got everything in the boat and was ready to go at 20 to 7, but the motor wouldn't start.  I put the battery on the charger for 15 minutes then tried it again. Still nothing.  I played around with the kill switch and it started.  I headed off to the dogfish cut, but nothing was going on.  I ended up drifting south in the wind and got into the sunfish just past the beaver dam.  I had the rocket bobber get attacked twice.  I ended up with 5 sunfish, 2 pike, and 1 bass.  I was getting cold and the bow lights weren't working so I turned in early.

I stopped at the GOMH on the way home.  Lantern Man was on the SE side.  He saw a dogfish swim bye and some bullhead fishermen on the SW side caught one.  No silvers so I left.

GOMH & A Trip In the Trophy

19.5" X-Rap size 6 (Firetiger)

1st Fish in the Trophy for 2019

Back at the Lake Place

4:30-6:00PM GOMH
7:00-10:00PM PRMouth SPRO
65-58℉, Cloudy to Partly Cloudy with occasional showers, 0-25mph SW NE

When I arrived at the GOMH I had to wait a little while for a shower to pass.  There was one guy fishing on the SW side.  He had gotten a couple of jumpers.  I got a jumper on the Swim Shad, Cubby/Minnow (Pink) and the firetiger X-Rap size 6.  I also got the golden bullhead on the X-Rap, lost another one and had a bite that felt very crappie like get off.  A squall passed through just before 6PM and after it passed I figured that was my key to head for the Trophy.

I departed the Grumpy Old Man Hole at 6PM in hopes I would be able to recreate the magic of yesteryear at the mouth of the Platte River in Lake Sullivan.  To do that, I would need the assistance of a boat obviously.  By the time I had loaded up and was underway the wind had calmed down significantly just like it was forecast to do.  The water temp was 52℉, which was right but the fish just weren't there other than a few straggler bass.  I went a little way up the river, but that was unproductive.  I got surprised when a front quickly blew over bringing some rain.  But that made the bow light work, so I can't complain.  I ran the hay flat looking for fish with my Go For Wild Headlamp. Unfortunately, the water isn't as clear as it could be and there was some ripple as well.  I mostly spied shiners and a few small sunnies.  Lantern Man was at the bridge and had only gotten one silver bullhead.  I was starting to get cold so I called it a night at 10PM.   

Still No Silver Tonight

17.75" X-Rap Size 6 (Firetiger)

7:00-9:30PM GOMH SE
52-49℉, Cloudy to Partly Cloudy, 3-8mph S
High

Lantern Man's son along with his two girls was fishing down on the SW side when I arrived.  All he had gotten was some jumpin' bullheads.  That would be all I would get at well.  Lantern Man joined them around 9PM.  Didn't see a single silver get caught except for maybe in that boat. They definitely pulled in some kind of panfish.  If it's not too windy tomorrow I may take the Trophy out.  As I was putting my stuff in the car Pete called and Peter W. showed up.  Heard back from Peter at 11PM that nobody caught anything.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be warm like they are forecasting and that will bring the silvers back.  If not, it's a week until Opener.