Sunday, May 29, 2005

Bass Opener with Cyberfish.

MN Bass Openner 2005! May 28,2005
And it's Cyberfish on top so far.

Morning went somewhat according to the plan.

I did get out slightly later than I wanted and I spent too much time with little fish at the GOMH. I only got a couple decent bass at the GOMH with the biggest being 15+". Caught numerous little ones from 6-13" all on Senko's or 10 Husky Jerks. I enjoyed watching a bass boat parade at the GOMH overpass. The Range Bassmaster have a club tourny here next weekend.

By the time I got to the PRO it had been worked over by at least 2 boats both bass fishing. I got a 16" on a BSF right away, but it was tough. I did manage another 16er and missed one that was in the 17inch range. The fish were skittish and barely taking a pink 10HJ. I headed in at 10 to pick up up Cyb, but he hadn't arrived.

I then went to fish the East Dock row in our bay. Got a strike from a sickly looking Pike and that was it. Didn't do the full row and I went in for lunch and Mike still wasn't there.

Here's a pic of my morning fish.
Posted by Hello
Cyb showed up about Noon on Sat. as I was preparing to take a nap and watching FLW outdoors. We headed out and went to the Back Bay and there were no crappies or bass. We then headed to the GOMH and nothing in the immediate area. We headed up the East side to the intersection...
Posted by Hello
...where Cyb got a 17.5" and 18.5", both of which boiled on my bait first with me getting a couple of little ones. I was getting hungry and tired and so we headed in.

We decided to nix the plan about going to Bordon or ML even though it was calm the water was cold and we decided the action wouldn't be very good. I took a nap and Cyb went gill fishing but managed to land lots of little bass and what he described as an absolute football of a 16.5.".

Cyb got me up around 6PM and we were on the north end of Platte by 7. Mike was catching Pike and gills on a Mini-Mite while I got pike on a BSF and Popper. I had one super vicious hit from either a Big Dog or Pike on the Popper but it missed the bait. We ended up having Pike for dinner and sunfish and 1 bass going to the widow Olson.

Bass Openner Day 1 Brings a Cyberfish Victory

Sunday May 29, 2005
Posted by Hello


The BP was one tired dude. To tired too get up and fish at 5AM, too tired to get up for church with Cyb and BP's Dad, too tired to get up and fish @ 11AM, Noon, 1PM, 2PM, or 3PM. Cyb went for a walk, played guitar, and mellowed out during this time. Finally I did get up, but we didn't head right out but ate sandwiches then went to the Pole Barn for a visit.

We didn't get out until after 5PM when it was threatening rain and had gotten very windy. Cyb was picking some nice gills and small bass off the dock.
Posted by Hello
Yes, I meant SMALL Bass. (He actually got a smaller one when we went out in the boat)

We eventually headed to the other side of the bay to check docks for bass and Crappies. We got pike and gills and perch instead. Mike got 1 mini Crappie. We then went to the Back Bay where the pic with the Rainbow, Loons, and Boat was taken. As it turned out the rain pretty much missed us and it calmed down quite a bit. Not a bad night. In the back bay we got mainly Pike and Gills. Maybe Cyb got a Crappie. Where are the bass?

As it got dark we headed to the GOMH for Crappies, and Cyb landed a few small ones, I got a bullhead (for real) on jig and power twister.

Day 2 was a Draw (no credible bass for either)

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Teen Challenge Wapo WI Openner

Man, this already seems like it is an eternity away.

Friday May 6th:
The original plan was to be there and fishing early but getting my stuff in order and getting there took a while and so I arrived just after dinner. I did get some salad and milk. Put my gear up in the new lodge (room to myself), Dave Villa helped me launch the boat and then took Matt and Nate fishing. Went to the Wapo mini channel which was full of fish and algae. Got to watch a small beaver and I got one small sunny. The scum was too much and we went back to Bear Trap. I did get a hammerhandle on a weed edge on a crappie jig.

Went in, got stuff ready and had devotional time around the camp fire. Got the rest of stuff organized and went to bed.

WI Opener Saturday May 7th:
It was a cool and windy morning. Nate did not get up at 5am so I took Matt and Shaun out instead. We bucked the wind out in front of camp and I may have gotten 1 small bass. Then we went to the South Point spot and I think I got a couple of bass and Matt maybe got one. Headed in for breakfast and was there on time but they started early so nothing was left.

I then took James out and we went to the South Point and fished rattletrap, Rogues, and Crankbaits. James landed this nice White Bass:
Posted by Hello.
I then landed this White Bass:

Posted by HelloI think I may have gotten another small White, a pike, and a couple of bass. On out way in we hit the channel entrance and fished back to camp with both of us getting a few Larry's.

After Lunch I took Mark out (once we got my stuff back from Hurricane Peter) and we had a total blast. Mark was so excited to be out in God's Creation and we got to see a couple of Eagles close up not to mention Mark nabbing his 1st Pike.
Posted by Hello Mark was super excited to have caught that fish.

I later nabbed a small pike and then this cute mini-Ski:
Posted by Hello
Mark and I were mostly trolling cranks and I thought I noticed a pontoon deep in the Balsam Branch which is a wide and shallow inlet to Wapo. Mark and I were trying to figure out if that was Pete with the pontoon, but I thought maybe it was just a docked pontoon way in there.

We stopped getting fish trolling and so we started working the shore line weeds into the Balsam Branch. We got a couple of small bass as we got closer to figuring out that it was indeed Cisco Pete stuck back in there. We fished a bit more than motored back praying we wouldn't get stuck.

We took the wrong path the 1st time and had to turn around in the shallow heavy bullrush mats. Then when we got to them we put together a plan to get them turned and we gave them our battery for starting their motor. We got em turned and they got the motor started but they got stuck either because of the wind some lousy driving and the weeds. Next me and Mark started pulling them out and they got the motor started, but by now their intake was clogged and before they got all the way out of the worst of it their engine was overheating. Hurricane Pete had the brilliant solution of pouring the minnow bucket water w/minnows on the engine. Mark remarked that a huge ball of smoke came up from the motor. Anyway, it was way past dinner and we pulled the Pontoon to a dock, I left Mark to keep the situation calm and to allow me to get up on plane and back to camp faster.

Once back at camp, Villa was out looking and the other fast boat had left. I found a driver and we went to pick up the guys in the van. Fortunately we found them quick and then Villa found the pontoon to tow back. The Van had a good laugh over the situation especially the minnows on the motor part. We also went in and had PB&J for dinner making light of the situation.

My scheduled trip was switched to the morning and Shaun, Eric, and I went out and got a couple of bass, maybe a pike, and small walleye. I proceeded to lose the Gold HJ12 when it got caught in the trolling motor. We trolled for a bit but didn't get nothing. Some jerk cut me off as we were trolling and had the right of way.

Mike Thompson showed a bit before lunch after H.P. dropped his boat on the ramp (NICE). Unfortunately no sign of Mark Schutz and that Triton X.

Sunday May 8th
Since Eric only got a half hour the night before, he was my before breakfast trip. We may have tried out in front of the camp to the channel and then went South on Bear Trap to the Buoyed Point and South Point. I landed a nice bass off of the Buoy Point....
Posted by Hello
It was calm and fish were busting on the surface so we ran back to get surface lures which turned out to be a bust. I got a couple of small bass and a pike at the SP. I ended up losing my Gold Suspending Rogue to a Pike. OUCH! Both of my producing Gold suspenders gone on consecutive trips. Eric was struggling, but did get a couple of fish as we fished the channel back to camp on our way in.
Posted by Hello
BTW- This was an extra long trip as that on Sunday their is 10AM brunch. Eric got several bass in the last hour, but no Pike like he wanted.

It looked like it was threatening rain as Jesse and I headed out at 1PM. Jesse was kind enough to let me take a nap. We headed over to the dam area on Wapo and I immediately got into some smallies on HJ10's.

I then made a mistake and tried to switch up to topwater which they wouldn't hit and by the time I switched back the school was gone.

We fished the dam area and around the point. The sun came out and it warmed up real good. We then headed to the north end and worked the west shore into the BB inlet. As we got further into the inlet the water temps rose into the 60's and I caught some small bass and missed a nice one. Jesse had some bites but missed them. This area was beginning to fill with fish and I told him it would be very good pretty soon, maybe this evening, but I wouldn't run to fish it again this day. We headed back for dinner and got knocked off plane by the heavy wind, I was able to get us back up and back to camp on time for dinner. Jesse was great to fish with even though I don't think he landed anything.

After Dinner I helped get Thompson's boat squared away while Ryan went out with Mark and James in my boat. I then went out with repeat customers Mark and James. By this time some of the TC guys were getting burnt out on fishing or were having success from shore or the pontoon and were sticking with that. We first fished around the camp to the channel and got a couple of bass and maybe 1 small pike.
Posted by HelloIt was a beautiful evening with light wind and warmer temps. We went over to work the smallie spot, but got nothing we then headed over to the pontoon which had been productive again. We started trolling the Wapo area of Camp and I hooked this White Bass.
Posted by Hello
We let our lines back out and immediately Mark said "Fish ON!" and sure enough he pulled up a 20+inch Eye, which I never did get a pick of cause he was so excited and took right up to show off.

They were cooking up the fish and I was pretty wiped out. I went up to bed shortly after having some fish and getting the boat prepped for Ryan to take out.

Monday May 9th:The plan was to take out Eric and Dean at 5:15am but I slept over my alarm and didn't wake up until 6:30. The guys left a note saying they thought I probably needed the rest and they would catch me later. Some caught a carp last night and they put it in Don's shower, haylarious!

I ended up taking out Eric for about and hour and he landed this one right away...Posted by Hello. We got a couple of bass on our way back into camp along the Channel run. Still no Pike for Eric.

After Breakfast my trip was with Ryan and Nate and we went trolling. I got tired and let Nate drive while he and Ryan fished. They got nothing and when we got by camp Nate had enough and James jumped in and they trolled to the SP. I started waking up when I think James got this White.Posted by Hello(Pictured with Ryan holding fish)

I think James caught a Pike or two and maybe a couple small bass and I landed this nice slab.
Posted by Hello

After Lunch Dean and I headed to the North end and fished into the BB inlet. The farther in we got the better the bassin' became. Dean nailed this Toad after a thunderstorm passed over.
Posted by Hello
He was mostly getting them on a spinnerbait and then Spitting King while I was using a swimming jig and experimenting with Horny Toads. Eventually I switched to a Frenzy Popper and started whacking fish like crazy. Dean switched to the frenzy and started whacking them too. We were having so much fun we opted to miss dinner and keep fishing. We headed back in about 1/2hour late after Dean whacked 1 last fish. We had a ball. The water here was in the low to mid 60's.

I got amped on some more PBJ, COKE, and Kit Kats, and Ryan and I headed out to the BBInlet to whack and stack. Unfortunately the camera ran out of juice cause we both got some solid fish and probably landed about 20 a piece, mostly bass with a couple of Pike, mostly on topwater. We were rocking em and missed as many as we caught. The fish were pre-spawn feedbagging in 2-4feet of water hiding in Curly Pond Cabbage that was 1-2.5 feet off bottom. Many of the strikes were very explosive. It was not quite as good as Thompson and I's Bass Go NON-STOPPO at WAPO 2000 Topwater extravaganza but it was close. That is the kind of fishing that spoils you rotten when you get into it. Pre-Spawn rocks!

Got back, had devo's. I tried to encourage the TC guys. We watched the pics and tried to pack up.

Tuesday May 10th:
Didn't take anyone morning fishing, in fact I didn't even organize my boat or put the cover on the previous night. I had to be out of my room by 8 AM. I think Ryan helped me trailer the boat and I got my stuff packed and gave Dave a ride to the NW Wapo access. After the TC guys left, I needed a nap then headed to Bone.

April 25th 2005

Tried at the GOMH with all kinds of stuff, the Crips moved out and JBullheads moved in. Got 20 including a couple of toads. Also got 1 Eye and 3 Pike. Some of this fishing was at the Rock Access. Went over to Warzeka's and ate bullhead.

April 21 to 24 2005

No record of fishing on the 21st.

22nd
Went to the GOMH and got 1 hammer handle.

23rd
Fished out of the boat at the Green House and a few other places. Got nothing. Did land a couple of Crips at the GOMH out of boat. I think on plastics.

24rd
Posted by Hello
Fished the evening bite at GOMH. Nabbed some bullheads, a few Crappies and one big ole bass.
Posted by Hello
Also this was the gathering night for three of Grumpy Old Men: Willard, Lee Ander, and Lewis and I forgot the name of the 4th.

Here's some of the Crips...
Posted by Hello

April 20th 2005

More night fishing, it was consistant but there was no hot bite. I ended up with 7 good Crappies. I believe this was the start of a long cooling trend. Also had been eating high on the hog with those Crips.

April 19th 2005

Posted by Hello
Fishing at the GOMH. Don't remember much as that this is a month later, but got a couple of good bullheads on the Mean Green.
Posted by Hello
I think some guy landed a golden bullhead.

Did the evening thing again as that the weather was very good. The action was consistent on Bullheads and  with a good bite at 12:15AM. Again caught a bunch of Crappies with a few nice ones.
Posted by Hello

Monday April 18th

Posted by Hello
I am updating this one more than a month later and so my details are sketchy at best. I believe I tried in our bay in Platte first; getting 1 nice Crappie but that was it. In the evening I went by car to the GOMH and probably got some bass and then fished the night bite for Crappies. It was slow but consistent until about 1AM and then the fish went berserk. I did miss one really big bass. Was fishing lighted bobber with Glow Demon and Minnow. I got a limit of solid 9-12" Crappies.
Posted by Hello