GOMH, A Tip from A Muskrat and Loon, and a Windy Evening Trip

4:45-7:00AM GOMH
7:30-10:30AM Reeds Across the Way, Loon Sex Point
Conditions: 64-74℉, Cloudy to mostly Cloudy, Calm to 20 Plus out of the ESE
Water Temp: 68℉

2nd bullhead of the morning first was a toothy

Rain Delay spent in the car listing to the U2 Experience.

Thunderstorms had been taken off the morning forecast, but the weather had other plans.  I arrived at the GOMH at a quarter to 5.  I lost my first two hits.  The first felt like a jumper, but I had a golden fool me once last year when it went full jumper by hitting a topwater and jumping during the fight so who knows.  The other fish hit and didn't hook up.  First fish was a toothy on the Rippin Rap.  The panfish guy showed up a little after 5AM as I was landing the toothy.  I got the jumper then I saw some lightening to the NW.  I got a few dink jumpers on the Gunfish 117 and the new chatterjig I got from eBay.  Then the rain delay happened due to lightning.

15.25" Fatty on the eBay Vet CJ/Swim Fluke (Grey/GP)

I caught the fatty after the rain delay and stayed too long.  It was calm when I left and loading the boat.  By the time I started out wind had come up out of the ENE.  That wasn't the forecasted direction which was SSE.  With the way the wind was, I decided to scrap my plan of going to LSP and start on the north end of the reeds across the way where it was calm.  I missed my first 4 bites or so on the Toad Runner, probably pike.  Then I caught a couple pike.

The bass the muskrat helped me catch
15.25" Terminator Frog

So this big old muskrat swims by the boat and I asked it if it had seen any bass.  It told me it saw some in swimming around in the thick reeds.  I put the next cast in the thickest reed clump I could see and immediately had a bass blast my frog.  That ole muskrat was no liar.  Between the two reed beds, there was a loon just hanging out.  I asked it if it had any tips for me.  It told me to try over by the reed point I was heading for.  I caught a 16-inch fish there.  The wind picked up out of the ESE.  I headed to LSP and it was blowing like a mofo.  I got a couple of pike at the intersection off the end of the point on the eBay CJ and Bluegrass Maxx.  I then anchored my way down the point and got a 16.25" on Maxx.  I missed a few fish as well.  I decided to call it a day and my trolling motor rope broke.  We will call that experiment a failure.  While I was trying to get that straightened out I noticed a rope that would work perfectly just sitting in the bottom of my battery compartment.  Dad must have put it there this Spring for me to use as a backup motor starting rope.  It even has a handle.  As I was trying to fish out the broken section to be able to lift up the bracket it started thundering, so I headed in.  I was able fish out the section on shore but wasn't to keen on fixing things in the rain, so I got my stuff in the car and left it.
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16.6" Toad Runner (Sunburn)

7:30-9:30PM Starting Spot, SE Corner Inlet Bay

Conditions: 80-76℉, Partly Cloudy, Windy Windy Windy

Water Temp: 71℉

I had intended to get out by 7 but that trolling motor rope and  a few other odds and ends needed attention.  It was blowing pretty good out of the ENE so I elected to go up to the starting spot and drift West.  I lost a 14-incher as I tried to boat flip it right away.  Other than a couple pike and one good hit that I missed that was it for the starting spot.  The wind switched out of the ESE about the time I got to the Spot.  I then headed to the one place I knew I could get some calm water in the SE corner of Inlet Bay. I got a couple of pike there on the Terminator.  I switched up to the Toad Runner and had the bass light it up.  I was so glad to get that fish.  I drifted out of the corner getting a few pike on the Toad Runner and missing a couple bites as well.  The sunset was magnificent.

Best 6 Bass for the Day

     

Frustrating Trip From Start To Finish

13.9" Gunfish 117 (bluegill)

6:15-8:45PM Pad Point, Reeds Across the Way, F Flat
Conditions: 64℉, Cloudy some light Rain, East Wind
Water Temp: 70℉

I was pretty worn out from the tournament yesterday.  I didn't go fishing with Todd in the morning.  He caught a 19 incher.  Coming up on 6PM it looked like some significant rain was heading for the area.  I wanted to get the rain out of the boat before the rain hit and fish at the GOMH if it wasn't raining by the time I was done.  On the way there I decided if the battery was in the boat I would take the boat out instead.  The battery was in the boat and there was barely any water in it.

I took off for pad point and a gust of wind blew off my Cabela's Cap.  Just fricken great.  I quickly turned around and pulled it out of the water.  At pad point they didn't want the Plopper or Gunfish 117.  I missed a hit in the pads on Maxx and had a pike bite off the red shad craw tube and steal the tungsten sinker that I stupidly didn't take off.

It looked like the rain was quickly approaching, but I decided to head to the reed split across the way.  I got a dink bass of a dock as I was telling the cabin owner about my trip so far.  He thought they should really be snapping and I totally agreed.  I didn't get anything on the South reeds NE corner.  It looked now as if the rain was going to go to the South and North of me so I kept fishing.

It started to sprinkle lightly.  I made a cast with the Plopper and broke the line at the spool, but I only lost about 15 feet of line.  My frustration level was pretty high at this point with my poor day fishing yesterday and the fish not going on topwater today like I thought they should.  I did have one fish hit Maxx in the reeds and not get it.  It didn't come back for seconds.  I got out on F Flat and it was clear to me they weren't wanting the Plopper, so I switched to the Gunfish 117.  I was just about ready to head in, so I could fish the GOMH from shore when I got the fish in the picture.  I then caught a small pike and 12.9" bass.  It was getting dark and I had a pike steal the Gunfish.  It never resurfaced at least as far as I could see.  I looked for a while then packed up and left.

3 Bass
1 Pike

Another Dink Fest At The GOMH This Morning

7" Shower Blows Knock Off (Firetiger)

5:45-8:15AM GOMH NE SE
Conditions: 56-59℉, Cloudy some light sprinkles as I left, Wind out of the NNW switching to NNE.  I switched to the SE side shortly after that.

10.5" Jerk Shad (Tomato)

 I was putzing around to much so I didn't get out of the house until 5:30AM.  When I arrived there was a truck already there.  It was a guy that was fishing the SW side on Opener.  He was on the SW side again and had been there about an hour.  He'd gotten a couple of jumpers.  I took my stuff down to the NE side.  As I was headed there the panfish guy pulled up with a buddy.  Didn't get a hit on the Piranha or X-Rap Shallow Shad.  I got a couple of quick dinks on the Jerk Shad and then decided getting them on topwater would be funner if they would go.

7" Shower Blows KO

They did! And I got a couple of toads as well.

16.33" Shower Blows KO (Firetiger)

19" Shower Blows

I was getting my bites out.  But I saw something get hit in the tube, so I went and cast to the area.  It took it swiping at the lure three times, but the 19" eventually hooked up, but just barely by the rear hook.  Fortunately I got her in.  It looked like she wasn't totally done dropping eggs yet to me.  4lber maybe a touch under.

16" Shower Blows

I even got a couple of dink toothys on the NE side as well on the SBKO.  I also got a 20.5" toothy on the bluegill Poison.  The panfish guy came over on the NE side.

The wind switched and  the bite had slowed down, so I went to the SE side.  I had a fish absolutely crush the SBKO on my fourth cast.  All I caught a glimpse of was some white.  I thought maybe it was a huge bass, but it wasn't.

23.75" SBKO

I managed to land it even though the Fireline was in it's mouth.  I quickly landed one more toothy and put the SBKO away. I got one last dink on the Gunfish 117 and missed a bite or two.  My back was starting to ache and it started to rain, so I left.

5 Toothy
20 Jumpers
Biggest Six (19, 16.33, 12.25, 12, 11.75, 11.75)

Make Up Your Mind Dave!

The view from the Trophy out front of Jenny's

8:00-10:00PM Dock and in the Trophy to Jenny's and back
10:30-11:00PM GOMH NE
Conditions: 65-57℉, Partly Cloudy, Windy out of the WNW turning calm

After a myriad of interruptions I finally finished the Snake and Clown Show blog and was ready to head out fishing at 7:30PM.  I realized as I was headed down the road that I forgot to take a pain pill and do my stretching.  I also forgot to look at the wind forecast.  My plan was to head to the Lake Place and pump water out of the boat from the rain we got tonight, fish off the dock, possibly go out in the Trophy or maybe not, maybe hit Bulldog, and definitely stop last at the GOMH.

When I arrived at the Lake Place one of the renters friends named Caleb was fishing for sunfish off the dock with a beetle spin.  He had gotten a few nice sunfish and some small pike.  After I got the water mostly out of the boat, which didn't take long because it didn't rain very much, I went and got a Horny Toad rod, Pure Poison rod, and Craw Tube rod.  I had a good blow up on the Horny Toad by the back of Sherman's pontoon, but I didn't get a good hookset and it came off.  Felt like a pretty good fish.  The wind was blowing pretty good, so I decided I wasn't going to take the Trophy out.  I talked fishing with Caleb until he packed up at about 8:15PM.  I missed at least 3 hits on the Pure Poison.  There were several painted turtles swimming around.  The wind started dying around 8:30, so I talked myself into taking the Trophy out.

I headed towards Jenny's throwing a Plopper.  This fish slammed it.

15.5" Whopper Plopper

  That was my only Plopper bite.  I did have pike hit the Horny Toad and two different pike miss the Gunfish 117, but basically it became clear that topwater wasn't the deal tonight by the time I got to Jenny's.  I fished my way back not getting a hit.  I went to start putting my lures back in the tackle boxes and briefly thought I had lost my Mojo with the Plopper overboard because I didn't see it. I was just being an idiot because it was the rod I was fishing with when I decided to stop fishing and I laid it down off the front of the casting deck where I couldn't see it because I was looking towards the back of the boat, duh!  I got my lures put away and got the Trophy beached a little after 10PM.

I arrived at the GOMH around 10:30PM just as the bow fishing pontoon with the lights underneath was passing into Platte Lake.  They said they saw a huge bass under the bridge.  I didn't get a bite and didn't hear anything get hit under the bridge either.  I left at 11PM.

Some days are better than others.

1 Bass
3 Pike