Rocky Solstice Action

 

23.75" Demon/Minnow

11" Demon/Minnow

6" EBay Blade Bait (Gold)

Famous Rock Lake Bullhead to end  the night

3:00-8:00 PM Rock Lake My Spot 12-16'

37-38℉, MC, 0-5 MPH SE
Visibility was about 5' to start, but by 4PM reduced considerably with the overcast and sediment in the water.

I took Mack out and visited with Belle and Bean. Nobody was out so I just parked where the dock normally sits. I waddled my way out and drilled four sets of holes starting at 12' by the Cane. I immediately had perch down the 12' hole. I caught a couple on a small gold-blade bait. The Perch scattered sure enough I had a pike come through and hit the bait, but it came off quickly. I saw a couple more pike come through. I put a minnow down and had a pike hit it. Unfortunately, the line got caught on the blade bait when I was trying to reel it up. As I was trying to get the line off of the blade bait, the 3lb test down by the Glow Demon broke. Who knows if I would have been able to land the fish if it didn't get caught On the blade bait. It got slow. I left the minnow down and checked my other holes for life, 2 out of 3 did. I got back and my bobber was down. I set the hook and landed the pike which was hooked on the outside of the beak, fortunately.  I saw one or two more pike and caught a few perch on the minnow. It was getting dark and the action shallow stopped, so I worked my way deeper, stopping briefly at the 2nd set and then set up shop at the 3rd set where I was marking something on the bottom. I switched to a glow Tubby Jig and finally got a bite, small crappie. That fired up the school. I got a nice crappie out of the hole that engulfed the Demon/Minnow, but the line broke before I lipped it. I took pics, got the Demon out of the back of its throat, threw it back, then got retied. Put the minnow back down and got hit quickly.  Once again I broke the 3lb test before I lipped the fish. Then I knocked my forceps down a hole when I went to reach for it. I didn't put it back where it belongs. To make it even more of a cluster of a situation I needed to cut myself a fresh leader of 3lb test off of one of my jigging rods to get the minnow back in action. By the time I was back in the action, the fish had gone inactive and it was like pulling teeth the rest of the time. The final fish was a bullhead. I think the crappies started hitting a little before 6PM when I was contemplating giving up for the night.

8Crip 

7YP 

1Pike 

1Bullhead

 

Platte and The Dog With A Sore Back

 

Old Dog Special

w/waxie for the crappie

Only fish that bit on Platte

7:45-9:15AM 8' out from Platte Access

10:50-11:40AM 29' Holy Family Hole The Dog

32℉, Cloudy, 3-6mph SSE

I wrenched my back, putting the Fish Trap into the KIA. Got a cool pic of the sunrise before I set up. Had something good on right away take the cubby, but didn't get a good hook set, and it came off. Had a few perch and sunfish swim through. Got the pike on a Blade Bait, and that was it for action. Visibility wasn't very good.

1 Pike

There was a guy out fishing when I arrived. The ice was 4' and cracking when I drilled holes. Just a bit unnerving. Didn't mark anything so I just started fishing my holes. Marked a few towards the bottom.  Missed a few bites. I'm rusty, bad hooksets. Landed one crip, and it was time to go. My back was sore all morning.

1 Crip