Rock Dock In, I got Skunked

 

Rock Dock In

Tonight a little after 6:30PM I headed to the GOMH stopping to see if the dock was in at the Platte Lake Access, something I was going to do but forgot about last night. The Rowdy Bullhead fisherman was fishing on the North Side. I didn't get a bite in 20-minutes and headed to Rock where the Rock Dock was in. I got two bites there but didn't have either fish on for very long. I fished until it got dark and I was convinced I wasn't going to get a crappie. I then headed back to the bridge. There were a couple more guys fishing bullhead, no sign of Lantern Man. I fished briefly on the SW and SE side. Saw a little crappie and some little sunfish in the rocks, but not nearly as many as a couple nights ago. They were really tucked into the rocks tonight. The Bullhead fishermen left when I did. I had ice forming in my guides at Rock and the GOMH so it was just below freezing.

Rock, Bull, and GOMH With Steve, LM & Son

12.75" THE Jig/Minnow (G/Pink)

 

Early@GOMH/Rock&Bulldog Afternoon/Evening In the Trophy

 Darn pictures came out in reverse order from how I picked them.

Sunset Over the SPRO

14" Craw Tube (White)

11" THE Jig (C/O)

16.33 THE Jig (G/Pink)

Rock Dock Not In

Pulled the Pontoon Lift Up a Yard

Sunrise @ GOMH

Lantern, Lighted Bobber, Moon

5:45-8:00AM GOMH/Bulldog

I got out early hoping silvers might have moved in. No such luck. I did have a bite by a sizeable fish on the Jack Hammer. It was really pulling hard and then came off. Bummer. The odds are pretty good it was a dogfish coming off like that. I briefly stopped at Bulldog. Nothing.

4:15-5:00PM Rock/Bullldog/GOMH

80℉, PC, Calm

I decided to go straight to the Lake Place and get the Pontoon Lift lifted up the hill a little bit. I was going to hit Bulldog Lake first.  We were able to winch it up thanks to Devin blocking it as we made progress. I then helped Steve move the old decks. I then went to Rock. The Rock Dock isn't in yet. I got a bite quickly on glow pink THE Jig and it was a bass. Then nothing. I quickly moved on to Bulldog. Got a bass there quickly on chart/orange THE Jig. Then Nothing. I quickly moved to the GOMH. Nothing there. I was hungry, so I didn't stay long. I made a quick sandwich and headed out again.

6:20-9:00PM River Mouth, SPRO, GOMH

70-80℉, PC, Calm

Steve almost came fishing with me, but the possibility of thunderstorms held him back as I told him I was headed to the River Mouth in Sullivan. I should have stopped at the GOMH when I saw baitfish activity along the NW GOMH Bay shoreline up by the Abrahamson's. There was no baitfish activity at the River Mouth. I did get the one bass there on the craw tube. I  also got what was most likely a pike in the vast hay field up by the deadhead. I was amazed I couldn't buy a bite anywhere in that stuff on THE Jig. I worked a boat lane and the intersection where I could have sworn I was marking stuff in the weeds in 8 to 9 feet. It was just an ideal night to be out. Warm with no bugs or wind. I worked the GOMH for quite a while. The Rowdy Bullhead fishermen were fishing off the Northside not getting anything. Thunderstorms to the East. As I went under the bridge I only saw a couple of shiners. I talked with the bullhead guys for a while. Didn't see or catch anything where the baitfish had been. I took my time before I headed in. About ten minutes after I got back the wind came up pretty good. Magnificent thunderstorm to the south as I drove home. It thundered around here from 11:30 to 12:30.

Morning & Evening at the GOMH

28.5" 2" Swim Shad

5:00-7:30AM GOMH NE SW
Conditions: 38-42℉, Mostly Sunny, NW Wind
High and falling

17.5" Glow Demon/minnow

16.25" Swim Shad

You never know what the GOMH is going to give me.  This morning it paid off with a big slab of gold.  Biggest golden bullhead I've ever caught at the Grumpy Old Man Hole.  I also got the one small golden bullhead, a toothy, and a few jumpers on the NE side.  On the SW side, I only got jumpers.  A guy stopped and fished for 20 minutes or so.  He didn't get anything.  Biggest jumper of the morning was 17.5, caught on the Cubby/minnow.  I can't believe that the silvers have left already.

11.25" Glow Demon

9:00PM-12:30AM GOMH SE SW
Conditions: 50-45℉, Partly Cloudy, Light N Wind
Water level high but falling

I got a late start due to having to record the Big Bang Theory then a flat tire on the Expedition.   Much to my surprise, no one was at the GOMH when I arrived. Lantern Man showed up when I was getting my stuff out.   I took the SE side and he took the SW side.  I caught a silver on my very first cast then missed one on my second.  I thought maybe it would be AWWWWWWWWN, but it wasn't.  A Bullhead fisherman and his two daughters showed up and fished the NE side.  I got the one bullhead and gave it to them.  They had a dogfish break them off.  Lantern Man started getting some fish, especially around 10:45PM.   I ended up giving him the two I had in the bucket to fill out his limit.  I went on the SW side after he left.  Got a silver on my very first cast.  Didn't get another bite for half an hour.  I ended up with 6 silvers and the bullhead bullhead.  I left a little after 12:30AM.  MUch to my surprise the Twins post game was still on.

Rock Dock In, Bulldog Produces

Same date as last year

5:30-6:35PM Rock
6:40-8:10PM Bulldog
8:15-9:45PM GOMH
Conditions: 53-46℉, NNW Wind, Partly Cloudy,

I got out a little later tonight so I dropped stopping at the GOMH first.  Do to lack of tire tracks going in I thought there was no chance the Rock Dock would be in the lake.  I was wrong.  I fished for an hour and didn't get a bite.

Next I headed to Bulldog.  A guy was fishing with his dog at the access, so I went to Holy Family.  No fish there.  I went to the access and the guy was OK with me fishing there.   The dog wasn't so sure about me at first.

6" T.H.E. Jig (chart/black)

The sunnies provided non stop action again tonight.  We both got a bonus bass.  He was throwing everything back as well.  He left at about 7:20PM.  About 5 minutes later was when the bigger bluegills started biting.  I got five that were 8.5".

15" THE Jig

8.5" THE Jig

8.5" THE Jig

I left for the GOMH at about 8:15.  The Bullhead Boys were back fishing off the N side of the bridge.  That had been there since 6PM and hadn't gotten anything.  He said there was one boat fishing tonight.  He said they got a couple bass.  I didn't get any hits on the SE side.  I switched to the SW side at the same time the Bullhead Boys left.  Didn't get any hits there either.  I also gave the NE side 10 minutes.  Water flowed both ways and was slack as well.

1 Bass
31 Sunfish

Plopped A Whopper Tonight

17" River2Sea Whopper Plopper

8:15-9:30PM Bulldog
9:40-11:15 GOMH SW NE
Conditions: 66-60 degrees, light SE wind turning calm, mostly sunny, moon is almost full and was out from the word go tonight.

The plan was to hit Rock first, but two guys were on the dock fishing so I went to Bulldog which I was pleased to see was open.  I started out throwing a sexy shad H2O Slush Daddy and it nailed on like my second cast.

15.33" Slush Daddy

That was the last hit I got on that, so then I went to the bone Whopper Plopper.  On about my third cast the fish in the first picture nailed it.  The only thing that kept it from being a 4lber was it's length, only 17".  It was a chunk and full of eggs.  I would have gotten a couple other pics of it but I ran out of juice.  A couple of minutes later I cast the Plopper practically on top of a pad root sitting right by shore and a 15.25 jumped on it as soon as it hit the water.  That was it for the Plopper action.  Next I went to the "tomato" Stanley Phantom and had a 15.5" jump on it on the first cast.  After fishing it for 5 more minutes.  I tried the Craw Fatty.  I missed about 4 hits on that and caught a 10".  I thought about going to Rock or Holy Family, but I didn't make the move.  I cycled through the topwaters a second time.  Something small hit a the Plopper as I was bringing it by the tree in that picture above.  Could have easily been a small pike.  When it got sufficiently dark I put on the loon colored Plopper, but didn't get any hits.  I left at about 9:35.

The GOMH had the Rowdy Bullhead Fishermen on both sides of the bridge and a guy who knows me, possibly the meat guy, trying for silvers on the SE side.  He didn't catch anything.  A family was leaving when I got there and they had gotten one good jumper, some toothy's and some mostly small oranges.  I talked with the Rowdy Bullhead fisherman for a while.  He was pissed off at somebody driving a Ranger who went under the bridge too fast for his liking that blasted off right away.  Eventually I went down on the SW side and started casting.  When the other guy left I was going to leave as well, but then the RBF left as well.  I moved the car to my spot and through the Plopper for a bit on both sides and through the Crackle under the bridge without any success.  There was very little noise under the bridge the whole time I was there.  Just a couple of fairly week splashes.  I left at 11:15    

Morning and Evening GOMH Trips

16.75" Glow Demon w/minnow

5:15-6:50PM
Conditions:  36-33degrees, calm, mostly sunny

The silvers were either not there or active.  There was some baitfish activity.  Got some jumpers and one toothy on the NE side as I was thinking about taking that tube picture.  Here is the toothy.

23" WildEye Swim Shad

8:30-11:30PM

Conditions: 60-50 degrees, mostly sunny, calm

10.25" Glow Demon w/minnow

The access at Bulldog was taken by that guy, so I tried Holy Family, didn't get a bite.

At the GOMH Joe's bearded friend was there.  He had gotten a couple toothy's and a couple jumpers.  He got his first silver shortly after I got there.  The guy and his daughter showed up and fished by me and the Rowdy Bullhead fishermen showed up as well. My first fish was a bullhead bullhead.  The RBF got a dogfish on the North side.  The bite was slow as it has been.  CO Kuske showed up at about 11PM.  Joe's friend forgot his lic. but Kuske was able to verify he had one.  I got 2 silvers, Joe's friend got 3, and the Dad and daughter got about 3 a piece. I got sick of pulling teeth so I left at 11:30PM.   

Rock, Bulldog, GOMH

15" 2" Swim Shad

7:40-8:20PM Rock Lake
8:30-9:00PM Bulldog
9:15-12:10PM GOMH SE

Conditions: 60-40 degrees, light wind NE diminishing to calm, mostly clear,  Amazing Northern Lights and shooting star to the South

It was a halfway decent day.  Stopped at the GOMH first.  The guy with his daughter was there not having much success.  Those little bugs were terrible.

Rock Lake produced one small pike.

16.5" Craw tube

Got the one fish at Bulldog.  The guy with the graphics on his Suburban stopped and started fishing.  He got a bass and some sunfish.  He kept one of the sunfish.  Said it was the biggest one he's gotten.  He didn't know what a dogfish is.  He has gotten a couple small crappies there this year.  I think he might be someone new to the area.

11" Glow Demon

When I arrived at the GOMH the guy and his daughter were still there and one of the Rowdy Bullhead Fishermen.  The guy had gotten a couple small jumpers and toothy's, no silvers.  As I was getting my gear Lantern Man showed up.  I took up the SE side.  Lantern Man got the first silver, just as the guy and his daughter were leaving.   I got a bullhead bullhead.  Then I started getting some silvers, which I gave to LM.  Fishing was pretty slow.  The Rowdy Bullhead Fisherman who likes bass fishing showed up with his fiance. She was catching most of the bullheads off of the Northside.  I got 6 silvers total and missed about 4 bites.  I left just after midnight to make it home to see Fear The Walking Dead.

I'm now at 260 crappies for the year.

Missed My Share Tonight

One of the Rowdy Bullhead Fisherman with a nice fin

7:45PM-12:30AM
Conditions: 66-52 degrees, Mostly to partly cloudy, calm to very light NE wind

Since I got such a late start today I elected just to stick with the GOMH tonight.  It was beautiful and glass calm out.  I was second guessing my decision when that nice fin was caught.  Unfortunately the rowdy bullhead fishermen are under the impression that it is illegal to release bowfin alive and unharmed.  I tried to tell them differently, but they wouldn't listen.  He told me the CO told this to him and I wasn't gonna argue with him.  So it's now a dead bowfin.  Fortunately they had one also break their line.

I was fishing of the bridge on the South side when I got the first silver bullhead of the night.

10.75" Glow Demon w/minnow

I gave it to Peter & Matt W.  It was pretty slow with a couple of silvers and jumpers being caught.  As it was getting dark Peter and has friends vacated the SE shore to try for bullheads off the North side of the bridge.  I moved down there getting one more silver and then Lantern Man and his friend showed up and came down by me.  LM got a hit on his first cast.  Occasionally I would have a fish take the bobber down hard and I'd usually miss the fish.  I did get a few nice silvers that I gave to LM.  Peter left without getting any bullheads.  I battled a dogfish for a couple of minutes before it got off.  Sorry I didn't get a picture, but just as well trying to land it on the SE rocks is treacherous.

The bullhead fishermen left, so I went to the SW side and got a silver immediately before I even had all my stuff over.  Turns out Lantern Man got his limit and was leaving.  I got one more fish before going back to the SE side.  I got a couple more silvers, including one were I tripped and fell as I was going to measure it.  A dying crappie was up against the rocks and I got to watch a bowfin, probably the one I lost, come and take it.

I was on my last minnow of the night when a fish took the bobber down hard.  It was probably a jumpin bullhead as it jumped a  couple of times and got off.  As I was packing up, I decided to try for the bowfin with the D & M Piranha.  On about the 3rd cast I locked up with something good.

Just a golden bullhead.

23.75" D & M Baits Piranha

That was it for the night.

8 Silvers (I should have had double this)
1 Bowfin
1 Golden

Morning & Evening Trips Today

24.25" Storm WildEye Swim Shad

Morning
5:30-7:30AM GOMH SW, Bulldog
Evening
7:45-9:30PM GOMH SE

Conditions: Temps in the Low 50's, Cloudy, Heavy NE wind in the evening, Moderate NE wind in the morning.

I hit the GOMH early hoping I might get some more silvers.  They either weren't there or weren't hitting.  I did have a pike jump me off.  Missed one other bite.  The Cook and his brother showed up.  They didn't get anything in the 20 minutes I was there with them.  I bailed to go try Bulldog.

At Bulldog I got 5 sunfish on T.H.E. Jig with a maggot including a 7".  Also had what was probably a small bass get off after battling it 3/4th of the way in.  I got sick of the wind so I left.  I went to the chiropractor this morning for the first time in a year in a half.  My lower back is in a little bit of pain.

Evening Trip:
I got up after 5PM and didn't get to the GOMH until 7:45PM.  It was WIND DEE.  The Rowdy Bullhead fisherman and a buddy along with a guy and his young daughter were on the SW side.  They brought in two silvers right away.  Apparently they had gotten a jumper and a couple of toothy's. They had been there 2 plus hours.  I started out throwing the WildEye on the Muse Gold Rod and the golden bullhead smoked it.  After not getting anything more after 10 minutes I switched the Cubby and a minnow.  I was reeling it in when a toothy nailed it right before I was going to pull it out of the water.

22" Cubby Mini-Mite w/Minnow

   A guy came down to fish by me while I was taking the fish off.  I threw it back on the North side.  It was now dark enough that I put the Cubby Rod down and went to the Glow Demon rod.  The guy next to me got a silver.  I got a silver.

11" Glow Demon w/minnow

The guy and his daughter and the guy who was next to me left.  He gave me his fish.  Lantern Man showed up and set up on the SW side.  He got a small one right away.  I got 3 more silvers before I left.  With the wave action it was tough to tell when I was getting hit as they were biting light.  The last two had the minnow really deep.  The RBF came over with his pliers and got the hook out on my last fish.  I had enough and was getting cool so I hung it up at 9:30PM.  It supposed to rain tomorrow.  I say bring it.

Morning GOMH, Evening Rock

17" Cubby w/minnow

5:50-7:20AM
Conditions- Cloudy, breezy out of the NE, temp 43 degrees
I started off on the SW side fishing it for an hour getting nothing.  I switched to the SE side and I got 3 jumpin bullheads.  Another guy showed up and got a small toothy.

18" Cubby w/minnow

6:15-8:30PM
Conditions: Mostly sunny, warmer than yesterday (54) and a slightly stronger NE wind
Had my Mini Fat Rap get bit off by a pike first thing.  A boater came and put in.  I missed one bite in the hour or so they were out.  As they were pulling the boat out I caught my only fish of the evening.  I tried Bulldog and the GOMH was covered up by bullhead fishermen.