Ploppin' Whoppers at Mille Lacs

20.5" Whopper Plopper

4:30-6:30AM GOMH NE SE
7:00-9:00AM Mille Lacs Eddy's Jetty N
Conditions: 68 degrees, mostly sunny turning cloudy, very light ESE wind, carp were making a racket spawning in Sullivan.

After last nights trip to the Grumpy Old Man Hole I was quite confident when I headed out this morning.  I was a little stunned when forty minutes into fishing the NE side I hadn't even had sniff and a panfish fisherman showed up and took the SW side.  I switched to the SE side where I have to cast to my right/backhand to get under the bridge.  Also the casting angles aren't nearly as good because of the way the vegetation and rocks are.  I had one toothy swipe at my Chigger Craw.  After about 20 minutes nothing was happening so I went back to the NE side.  I saw a 17" toothy and sub 10" jumper.  I threw a Spro Frog in the rice, not even a hit and nothing under the bridge either.  I packed up to leave at 6:30 having not caught anything.

I pointed the KIA towards Mille Lacs, hoping that the rumors I'd been hearing about the smallies going on topwater would work out for me.  With smallmouth I never know if they are going to be at my main shore fishing spot or not.  I found out on my first cast.

12.5" Whopper Plopper

Yeah, it was a small fish, but it hit topwater and got the skunk off.  About 15 minutes later I got another one.

14.5" Whopper Plopper

About 15 minutes later I got the big one.  I was really hoping it was gonna go 21 inches.  I couldn't decide what I wanted to do to land it as it was to the North of the harbor mouth.  I was unable to steer it into the harbor, so I ended up shimming down a large semi slippery slab where I was able to grab the fish.

 I could't see the screen to know I had taken a bad picture and the camera went on the fritz.  A lady and her husband were down front and offered to take a picture for me.  I got the camera to work right again and got the one good pic and one's better than none.  I had to hold the fish upright for about a minute before it swam off.

Clouds moved in and I think I got one hit on the loon colored Plopper that didn't hook up.  Coming up on 9AM it started thundering and threatening rain so I left.

Mille Lacs Morning w/Pete/ Platte with Pete Evening

I think Pete and I not getting out until 9AM probably cost us because by the time we got to Mille Lacs there was little wind and it was blowing out of the SW thus making the Eddy's Jetty protected water. It was warm with an occasional breeze picking up and it was overcast most of the time, but fishing was slow. Pete messed around with a few perch in the harbor while I fished quite a bit farther out from the harbor mouths, we were on the center Jetty.

The first time my bobber went down I caught nothing. The second time it went down I wasn't paying attention, but it didn't cost me this brute smallmouth.


The pig was 20.25" and the biggest bass I've caught in several years. It hit on a leech below a bobber with a glow bead and pink hook.

I had a few bites from some perch and maybe a couple of other bites from real fish, but I didn't connect when I had the chance. Boats coming in were pretty much all singing the blues. We left about 2PM, so we were there for a chunk of the day.

With Pete@Platte:
After napping for the afternoon Pete and I arrived at Platte to do some boat fishing a little after 7PM. Thunderstorms were rumbling to the East and South, but we stayed dry. Basically I put the trolling motor down and we worked East towards Jenny's. The pike were far more active tonight and Pete caught 7 to my 5 or 6. I got 2 on a wht/chart Monsoor Swim Jig with pearl 4" Action Plastics Grub and the others were caught on a Storm Kickin' Stick Swimbait. Pete got his on a buzzbait. We both missed several bites and we didn't get a single bass.