Jenny's and Bulldog

Tonight I headed out of the house a bit after 7PM, it was cloudy warm and humid and conditions seemed right for the fish to be on. My first stop was Jenny's. Right away I got a bite but didn't hook up off to the right. I threw back and it boiled on it again. 3rd time was the charm and I brought in this skinny 16" class fish.
I thought this was going to be a much smaller fish from the way it had attacked the Horny Toad. Off to the left I got a couple of similar bites, where I let the fish take the toad and it was there, but when I set the hook I got nothing. Right before I left I had a boil to the right.

I hit Bulldog with the float tube around a quarter to 8 from the access and headed South. All I threw was the Horny Toad and it was pretty dead. I caught a 11.5" and 12.75" bass and missed a few more unimpressive hits. The fish just are not in less than 3 feet of water in the rice and pads. I went around to the big pad bed again. I made my way back fairly quick and had enought time to hit Jenny's again, but that was a bust.

You would think with the high water the shallows would be supercharged, but that is not what I am finding. I think I'm going to have to put the float tube away.

Floating Rock

Tonight I made a last minute decision to head over to Rock Lake for a little float tube fishing. I was probably on the water by 8:25PM. Today was mostly cloudy and a little warmer than it's been, but the sun came out around 8PM. Naturally I headed North to the reeds. I started off with a 12" largie pretty quickly on the Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper. I also brought out a rod with the Death Shimmer spinnerbait, but that wasn't working so hot with to much rice around. I ended up wishing I brought the Horny Toad or slop frog rod instead.

Just a little later I got a 14"+ bass and I was off to a good start. I had a good bite in the thick reeds and executed pretty well, but it buried me in the reeds immediately after the hookset. That was my last bite for the night. I made it out past the reeds and then made my way back. It was sort of a disappointment after how things started and went the last time I did this.

Jenny's Skunk and The Dog

I slept most of the day, but when I got up I thought about going fishing. It was overcast with a bit of a wind out of the West (wind has been out of the East for last several days with precipitation). I got the float tube and gear ready, put on my waders and headed out around 7PM just as the sun came out. Jenny's was dead, so by 7:35 I was at Bulldog. I headed South from the access where I had my success last week. It started real slow at Bulldog other than something big waking at my Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper. It got the lure within 10 feet of me and was coming towards me. I waited to feel something but almost as soon as I did the fish let go and was gone. I was throwing the Thumper and Ish's Phat frog and getting nothing. The water was up some more with the recent rain, but the fish were not at the bank. My first fish was this little guy on the Cane Thumper.

Next fish was a small pike on the thumper.

I had a couple of bites on the Ish's Phat Frog but couldn't hook up. Maybe hollow body frogs are not the best float tube baits, because it's hard to put the wicked into the hookset. I got all the way around to where a big pad field comes out and got a 14"+ bass out of the pads right before the big field.

Behind the field up by shore I missed a bite on the Ish and nothing was going in the pads and the mosquito's were starting to some out, so I turned around. I was throwing the Ish and had a really good blow up, but I didn't hook it. That was the last of the action for the night.

New To Me Rod, Jenny's and Bulldog

Today I was pleasantly surprised to receive the Lamiglas Excel Bass 735C I got on Ebay (7'3"MH). I wasn't sure when it was shipped and I didn't know if I'd have it in time for Sunday's Bass Snatcher tournament. The rod is designed for frogs and small swimbaits. At this point I want to get a feel for how it works for "Dipper Fishing," since I broke the rod I really like for that and won't replace it until next month. The Excel is not as soft as that Croix LTB or the Rapala Long Cast I was now using for the Dippers. The Excel, however, is not as stiff as my 7'3" Croix Avid MH's that I like for frogs, but not dippers. So tonight I went to test it out.

I didn't get out of the house until after 7:15PM and I made Jenny's on Platte Lake my first stop. The thing is that the rice is now up and matted at Jenny's so it isn't the best place for dipper fishing. I gave it a try, but when I didn't get any hits right away I switched to a Snagproof Ish's Phat Frog.

I got this skinny 16.5" and a much more healthy 16", as well as missing a few hits. The mosquito's were bad and I wasn't getting to use the Excel, so I decided to bounce over to Bulldog a little after 8PM. I put the float tube in at the Public Access and headed South just like on Monday night. It turned out to be an OK decision because I got a few bites on the black Berkley Havoc Grass Pig on the Excel rod. First fish was a 14" bass and then a 12" bass. I made a cast up next to shore and as soon as the Grass Pig hit the water a fish nailed it and I landed this fat 17.5"

After that action I caught another 12incher and a nice pike. I had another good bass on that got off, half way in to the tube. The mosquito's started getting really bad, so I started to head back throwing the frog. I think I had a couple of fish slap at the frog, but nothing pounded it. I think I was done fishing by 9:20PM.

So far my impressions of the Excel for Dippers is positive, but the jury is still out at this point.

More Float Tubing Bulldog & Quick Hitter at Jenny's

Tonight I was out on Bulldog about 1/2 an hour longer than yesterday and caught 9 less fish. I started at the Holy Family Bingo Palace launch. I fished a little to the South, but mostly went North. I got my first fish, which was a 13.5 bass on the brown Ish's Phat Frog casting into the reeds to the South of the Access. I had a few fish hit the frog but they weren't really taking it. Follow up with the black Berkley Havoc Grass Pig was mostly unproductive. I saw a dogfish. At around 8:30PM I had a little flurry of action before a front came through and it started raining. I got a 14" and 12" bass on the Grass Pig and missed a few bites on the GP and Phat Frog. The wind came up with the front and I decided I had gone as far as I wanted to go, which really wasn't that far I actually covered more water last night.

Here is the 14":



There was a little light left when I got back to the car and the wind was out of the S SE, so I thought I would give Jenny's a try real quick. That was a good call as I got this 16"


and another that went 15.5" on the Phat Frog. I also had a couple of other blow ups. It got dark pretty quick and the skeeters were bad, so I headed out around 9:15PM

Float Tubing Bulldog

My last pair of waders leaked badly so I hadn't been out in my float tube for a couple of years. I got a new pair of waders this winter and so I'll be doing some float tubing this year and tonight was the first trip and I chose to go to Bulldog Lake. Bulldog is 141 acres and has a dirt access with limited trailer parking and only a few cabins on the lake. It's pretty much lined with slop almost all the way around (rice,reeds,pads). The lake kicked out a legit 8lb bass around 5 years ago. The lake doesn't get a whole lot of pressure, but I've been told by a guy who has a place on the lake that it isn't as good for bass as it used to be. Tonight there actually was a truck and trailer at the access when I arrived about a quarter after 7PM.

Conditions were overcast with a little light rain as I first started out, but it cleared up around 9PM. There was a light breeze blowing out of the SE.

The public access is on the SW shore and I decided to head South. I brought a rod rigged with a brown Snagproof Ish's Phat Frog and a rod rigged with a black Berkley Havoc Lane's Grass Pig. I casted for a while at the access without luck so I got in the float tube and started off. I can't even believe I got the first fish I did. By far the smallest hollow body frog fish I've ever caught.
Down a little ways I had a fish boil at the frog, but not take it. I followed up with the Grass Pig. I was just about to switch back to the frog when I got a hit. I set the hook and it was a good one.

It went 18.5 and was a total pig. Great way to start the trip. I mostly threw the frog, but I caught more fish on the Grass Pig and the 3 biggest. My biggest 6 fish were 18.5", 15.25",15",14",14",13". I caught a total of 11 bass and my last fish was a small pike on the Grass Pig. I fished until the mosquito's started getting bad, which was a bit later than usual because of the breeze.

Mille Lacs Cemetery Jetty

Is to go and float tube in Mille Lacs for Smallies along the West Side. There is a mild wind and I haven't been out in the tube in forever.

Hope I don't tie into a big Ski or Pike and get taken out to sea.
(Actually I have a plan, if one of those huge dudes bites I will freespool until I get up into shallow enough water to stand then fight him from there.)

Got myself 4 smallies and a few misses, nothing bigger than 16.5" 2on a 3/16oz White/Chart Strike King Spinnerbait, 1 on a Frenzy Pop, and a little dude on the Sammy, YES the Sammy of big price point catcher of little fish.

Fished the Cemetery Jetty down to the Rum outlet and back. There were less rocks than I thought in this area. I should have Jetty jumped as that the fish were on rocks. Live and Learn. It was tons o fun and a beautiful night with huge moon rising in the SW.