A Little Better Fishing This Morning

4.12lbs Craw Tube (Grn Pumpkin)

5:45-9:45AM West Point, SPSI, GOMIT, SSBI in the Trophy
Conditions: 53-73℉, Mostly Sunny, Calm to Light SE Wind
Water Temp: 73℉

I made a last second decision to go to the Trophy and not to shore fish at the GOMH.

Once on the lake I made a last second decision to go to West Point first and was quickly rewarded with two 14 inchers (14.33, 14.25) on the Shower Blows knock off.

14.25" SBKO

I missed a couple of hits on the SBKO.  Got one that was just short of 12" on a green pumpkin craw tube and missed a few bites on that as well.

18.5" Craw Tube (grn. pumpkin)

Next I headed to SPSI.  Nothing went for my topwaters, so I threw the craw tube in the reeds.  I lost a fish that felt very pike like.  Then I had a fish pick it up and drop it right before I set the hook.  I threw back and the big girl picked it up.  I also got a 14.25" on the craw tube casting out toward the buoy.  I had a fish pick up and drop the craw tube a few times just beyond the buoy.  I think I annoyed that fish (15.25) into biting the Whopper Plopper 90.  I also got a small pike on the Plopper.

I then headed to the GOMH and got a 10" on the SBKO and a 12" on the Whopper Plopper 90.  I also got a 12" on the craw tube.  I moved East of the GOMH.  I had a couple of fish boil on the Ish's frog, but not eat it.  I went back to the SPSI and got another small pike on the Whopper Plopper 90 and that was it.  I then went to the South shore of the big island.  I got a small bass and pike there on the LiveTarget Bluegill.  The fish had pretty much been shut off for the past two hours, so I called it a day.

12.01lbs for my Best 6

11 Bass
4 Pike

Slow Evening In the Trophy

Running from Chuck's Point to SPSI about 1/3 way there

Setting Sun Over Channel Inn Bay when I arrived at SPSI

7:00-9:30PM Green Cabin Bay, Chuck's Point, SPSI, GOMHIT
Conditions: 73-70℉, Mostly Sunny, Light N wind & Calm
Water Temp: 76℉

We had heavy rains at the lake this morning, so I had to get the boat drained first thing.  That took about 20 minutes.  Then the motor wouldn't start because it wasn't getting any juice.  I took the cowling off and there was a little bit of weeds under the flywheel.  What the ???. I cleared out the weeds and then it immediately turned over.  I put the cowling back on and it started right up.  I headed to Green Cabin Bay instead of across from the public access in a last second decision.

10.5"  Ish's Phat (Brown)

I got that dink on my very first cast.  A couple casts later I had something slash at me and not get it.  I had a pike jump out of the water at me by two guy dock.  Nothing was going on at the inlet.  I could hear water flowing in.  I then B lined to Chuck's Point.  I could hear water flowing in there. I had something small hit me there.  I had a pike come after me in the reeds,  I got an 11.5" bass as I worked down the reeds.  Conditions seemed perfect and there was occasional baitfish activity, but nothing was going on the surface.  I did try the craw tube for a while as well and didn't even have a pick up with that.  I put treble hook lures on and tried outside the reeds briefly.  I headed to the South point of the small island at about quarter to 9PM.  A pontoon boat was just leaving leaving the area as I arrived. Don't know if they were fishing or not.

15" Jackall Pompadour

A fish got blasted in the reeds behind me

 I only got this one bite on SPSI.  There was some fish activity, but they were up and gone in a flash.  Probably pike.  I then headed to the GOMH.  Something completely missed the SBKO under the bridge.  Sounded like a pike that launched itself, but I didn't see it.  I then got a 15" jumper on the SBKO.  The skeeters were terrible by the time I got the fish weighed.  I put on my rain gear and threw a few more casts and had to get out of there.

Fricken Frack

My plan was to get past the islands and then put my treble hook baits away with the boat slowly moving in forward.  I had all but one bait put away when I had to go to the back of the boat to take it out of gear because a pontoon was coming toward me.  Obviously, I knocked my box over as I went to do that.  Just fricking magnificent.  A couple of baits were hooked to my rain pants.  I don't know if the pontoon was trolling or what, but they sure came in close to me.  I was preoccupied getting hooks out of my clothes and shoe to notice what they were up to.  Eventually I got the mess straightened out and headed home.

Another pathetic trip

4 Bass
3 Pike

Slow Morning In the Trophy

Sunrise from SPBI

5:45-9:00AM SPBI, SPSI, GOMHIT
Conditions: 59-70℉, Mostly Sunny, Wind SSE SSW
Water Temp: 73℉

10.5" Whopper Plopper 90 (Yellow Head)

I arrived at the South point of the big island just as the sun was over the horizon.  A bald eagle flew out of a tree on the point, circled around a couple of times, and then dove picking up a sunfish.  Cool way to start the morning.  The only bite on SPBI was that dink.

I then went to SPSI and got 16" pike on the black SBKO.  That was it for topwater fish there.  I got a 13.5 " bass on a craw tube and a 19" pike.  I missed a few hits as well on the craw tube.

15.5" SBKO (Black/hrng bone)

 I then went to the GOMH.  Panfish guy was fishing the SW side.  I got the one good jumper on the SBKO.  I got a 12" jumper on the craw tube and the proceeded to get my Texas rig stuck in the rocks.  I had to break the fricken thing off and it had a tungsten sinker on it. Ridiculous!

I then got a toothy bullhead on black/blue Piranha.  I then gave up on the bridge and started working m way East with a frog.  I had one toothy miss it and that was it. Sad!

On the way back I tried Fluke fishing some of the docks on Don's Point.  Didn't get a hit and called it quits.

Ridiculous!

4 Bass
4 Pike

Got Out For A Bit Tonight

15.25" LiveTarget Frog

8:00-9:45PM Loon Sex Bay, SPSI
Conditions: 76-70℉, Mostly Sunny, Wind ESE
Water Temp: 76℉

The setting sun as it came visible off the South point of the big island while I was running to the South Point of the small island.

When I arrived at SPSI, then the camera stopped working

I was pretty worn out today from the beating I took on North Long yesterday.  I did manage to take the girls (Belle, Mallory, and Natalie) out to knee board for a little while in the afternoon. I went home after that and just kind of sat around.  The weather is supposed to get really warm tomorrow so I thought I should get out and fish.  I didn't get to the lake place until about 7:40 . Per usual I had to get all my gear in the boat and also get the battery in the boat for the trolling motor.

With the East wind I decided on Loon Sex Bay with the plan to hit SPSI to end the night.  I was quickly rewarded in LSB with the 15.25 in the picture. I then had a pike bite off the LiveTarget Frog: Thankfully I was able to find and retrieve it.  I didn't retie it on, but went with the brown Ish's.  That got a couple of boils, but nothing getting the lure.  I switched to the Bobby's perfect.  I had a couple of pike hit at that and I didn't hook up with a fish that just smashed it.

Then it was off to SPSI.  I started by throwing the Pompadour and was just about to quit throwing it when a fish hit it, but didn't hook up.  A couple casts later I got a 16" bass on it.  That was it for the Pompadour.  I got three quick small pike on the yellow head Whopper Plopper 90.  Then I got an 11", 15", 9.5" and 13.5" bass on the yellow head.

Last fish of the night was an 11.5" bass on the SBKO black herring bone.

8.70lbs Best 6 Bass of the NIght

 Not a great night by any means, but I was catching them on topwater.

Snatcher North Long Lake Tournament

1lb 10ozs Lake Fork Craw Tube (Grn Pumkin/Brown)

6:45-2:50PM North Long Lake we fished all 3 Bays
Conditions: 60-83℉, Partly to Mostly Sunny, Wind All Day out of multiple directions

I came into this tournament without a care in the world.  I was not prepared mentally for how difficult catching fish might prove.  After the pre-fish I was sure we were gonna catch a limit a piece.  Boy was I wrong.  Normally, I am content to let my boater call all the shots for the day and am loathe to offer suggestions.  I need to recognize instances where I need to be more assertive.  This tournament was probably one of those instances, but I can't say with any confidence that the results would have been much different.

The Day:
I had thought to myself that starting where we caught multiple fish and then quickly left in 371 Bay should be our start spot.  Checkbook suggested we start in the reeds where we got fish in Merrifield Bay.  No problem.  Fish for 30 minutes, if we don't get a bite get out of there and go to 371.  That is pretty much the way it played out.

When we got to 371 Bay a boat was anchored maybe 50 yards to the NE of the juice.  We were there maybe 15 minutes and Checkbook got bit off.  I don't remember if I had gone to the front of the boat or not when I caught my only bass of the day on a Lake Fork Craw Tube.  I threw out a marker buoy and went and got the fish weighed and put a cull tag in.  By the time I was ready to fish again Checkbook was retied and back on the trolling motor.  Over the next hour or so I missed a couple of hits and got a pike.  I think Checkbook caught a pike.  The boat that was anchored finally left.  Checkbook wanted to leave as well.  I thought we should fish toward where the boat was anchored, but didn't speak up.

We went to the reeds in 371 that I had a blow up in during pre-fish.  Checkbook got his lone keeper there on a jig.

Next we headed to the main lake.  We apparently just missed fishing a spot that had a bunch of small keepers on it.  We didn't find the weeds.  I suggested we try some docks.  We went to either a resort or marina not sure which.  Didn't get anything there.  We fished some reeds nothing.  Tried another spot close by. Nothing.  We headed back to Merrifield Bay and fished the steep break on the North Shore narrows into the bay.  A good looking spot, but we didn't get a hit other than me getting bit off once.

Next we tried some reeds on the South shoreline, nothing.  We tried some docks.  I think Checkbook got a rock bass.  We tried some more reeds and some great looking shallow slop along the cattail shoreline.  Not a sign of a fish.  It was now about 2PM and both us were pretty frustrated.  I think I pulled the plug on where we were fishing maybe a bit to quickly as we were approaching some good looking water with some cain and thicker reeds, but I really wanted to get back to that weedline spot on 371 and that is where we went and  spent the rest of the day.  We caught several pike there and both got bit off in the final hour.  I also missed a few hits that might have been bass.  I later learned that a lot of the bass bites felt like panfish and you really had to coax them into taking it.  Or it could be that panfish were playing with a bait until a bass came to investigate.  Whatever, the day was over and we didn't figure that part of the puzzle out.

Results: My fish weighed 1lb 10ozs, which put me in 23rd Place out of 24 anglers with Checkbook  taking last.  Keith Tuma won by more than a pound and a half with 17/09 and with 4/05 Lunker.

My Thoughts:  I didn't really get spun out.  It's just that everything we tried didn't work.  If anything I was to casual believing we would eventually find and catch some bass. Looking back at my tournament results in July I haven't caught a limit in the month since 2012, ouch.  This finish pretty much forces my hand.  If I want any shot at making the Super 6 at the end of the year I'm going to have to fish Thunder Lake and miss my oldest brothers wedding ceremony.  A disaster on this level next month at Gull will make that decision a moot point.

Next Tournament: Gull Lake August 12th  

  

Unlucky/Lucky

3.37lbs Ish's Phat (Brown)

6:15-6:45 GOMH NE SW
7:30-9:15PM Start Spot & Inlet Bay
Conditions: 63℉, Mostly Cloudy, Light NW Wind
Water Temp: 72℉

15" SBKO

16" SBKO

A good start to the night with two quality fish at the GOMH.  Then my luck ran out when I went down on the SW side and a toothy stole one of my black/herring bone Shower Blows knock offs.  If it surfaced I didn't see it. Bummer!

17.25" Ish's

I then went out in the Trophy heading up just East of the starting spot.  On my very first cast I scored the big one of the night.  It was in a rice pad transition.  The only fish I got out of the thick stuff.  I got a 15.5" in the reeds out front of the inlet on the Terminator Popper.  I lost a good fish on the Chinooki out by the reeds as well.  I wasn't prepared for it and didn't get a good hookset.  I had a good size pike come out of the water after the Terminator Poppin' Frog on a reed point.  I also caught a small pike on the  Terminator Popper.

Cool sunset

Only 4 Bass Tonight

4 Bass
4 Pike

North Long Pre-Fish

No Pictures, forgot camera and scale.

I arrived just before 7AM and Bob ,aka Checkbook, already had the boat in the water.  It was cloudy with a SE wind.  We started out by going to 371 Bay just inside the narrows on the North side.  I got a small bass on the Pure Poison/Super Fluke Jr. and a small pike.  Bob got bit off.

From there we went and checked some reeds on the West shoreline.  I missed a hit in some thick reeds on a frog, but that was it.  We then tried a stretch of rice and pads that Bob fished with Chuck Steinbauer in the Fall.  I missed one hit, probably a pike, on the Frog.

We then went to an area with good cabbage and caught 4 bass and a few pike before we got out of there.

Then we messed around on the main body for a few hours and couldn't find anything.

We spent the last couple of hours in Merrifield Bay.  The wind had switched up out of the NW and really started blowing.  We couldn't get anything on the Boy Scout humps.  We then went into some reeds on the North side.  Bob lost a good one and caught a pike.  I managed to catch 4 or 5 keepers in the reeds, nothing special, and a rock bass.  We quit at 3PM.  All but 1 bass was caught on a Huckleberry Craw Tube.

Feeling OK about tournament day.  We don't have much, but I think I'll be able to get a limit.  Hopefully we will have cloud cover and  the fish will get active and I can get some good one's to go on topwater.  Topwater flat didn't work on this day.

OK Morning GOMH & In the Trophy

BAM! 4.38lber Chigger Craw/Strike King Swing Football Head

5:30AM-11:30AM GOMH NE SW, SPSI, Out From Jenny's Reeds and Out Front
Conditions: 58-68℉, Partly to Mostly Cloudy, Light ESE Wind
Water Temp: 76℉

There was activity in the tube and I got one to go on the Shower Blows knock off to start things off.

16.25" SBKO

I then got a 15" on the Armor Tube Worm and missed a couple of bites. I then went to the SW side.  No topwater hits there.  I had a good size ? jump and break off the Armor Tube Worm/Wacky Head Jig.  I then had a good jumper jump and get off on the Chigger Craw/Strike King Swing Football Head.  I also caught a 15".  All this took about an hour.

18.75" Chigger Craw/Swing Head

I then headed to the Trophy and SPSI. Nothing going on topwater.  I put on the Swing head and got a 14" and then the big one.  I got one last 14.75" on that and the Chigger Craw was toast.  I put on a Craw Fatty and lost a good one on that.  That shut the school down.  I got 2 dinks on the 90 size Whopper Plopper.  I went over and checked a few docks on the South shore getting one pike on the Outkast/Craw Fatty combo.  I went back to the point ad got a pike on the Craw Fatty.

I then went to the slop East of Jenny's and the fish just weren't going.  I then went out side the slop and started casting the LiveTarget Bluegill Wakebait just like last year and caught a bunch of pike and a couple of bass (15.5x2).

14.21lbs Best 6 Bass

12 Bass (18.75, 16.25, 15.5, 15.5, 15, 15)
13 Pike  

Slow Morning/Slow Evening

Sunset

5:45-8:45AM SPSI & Across from the Public Access
Conditions: 60-70℉, Mostly Sunny, Light NE Wind
Water Temp: 72℉

14.5" Ish's Phat Frog

I gave the SPSI a try this morning first thing. I got a 15" and 11.5" there on the Shower Blows knock off.  I then went to the maidencaine across from the public access and had a 16.5 chunker light up the Ish's frog on my first cast. I forgot to take a picture of it, just like I forgot to take a picture of the 15".  My head wasn't 100% in the game this morning.  I missed several good fish.  There was a lot of activity in the maidencaine area.  It was getting warm and I didn't want to put on sunscreen so I bailed.

16.5" Ish's My Last Fish of the morning

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16" Big Sexy

7:00-9:30PM NW Corner & Across from the Public Access Platte Lake.
Conditions: 80-70℉, Mostly Sunny, NW Wind turning calm
Water Temp: 77℉

I started out on the juice and nothing was going on, but there was some baitfish activity.  I just think were turned off tonight.  I had a couple pike swipes as I worked my way South.  I had a dink get off at the boat then landed the 16 on the Big Sexy Mad Maxx .  I caught a dink and worked my way to the outside reed edge.  I caught a 14.5" there.

I made a move to the maidencaine, then quickly decided to try the slop point instead.  I had a good size fish wake at Big Sexy, but I was unfortunately moving towards the lure at the time an spooked whatever it was.  As it was getting dark I nabbed two quick bass (16.25,14) back in the rice and slop. I marked a waypoint and headed out of there.

12.74lbs for my 6 Best Today

A pretty mediocre day.  Hopefully the fish will be more active tomorrow.

15 Minute Skunk

I was so tired from yesterday, I basically slept from when I got home last night until 8PM tonight.  I just crashed.  Didn't change clothes until I got up around 8AM.  I went to the bathroom, changed clothes, took my meds and went back to bed.   I woke up for about an hour around 5PM and went back to bed.  I went to drain water from the boat at about 9PM.  I fished at the GOMH for 15 minutes.  didn't get anything and the skeeters were coming out thick, so I left.

Topwater With Todd/Slow Evening With the Crew

Early Start This Morning

18.75" Hexa Chinooki (Cotton Candy)

Another Shower Blows Knock Off the Hexa Chinooki

18" SBKO (Black Herring Bone)

16.75" Chinooki

10.5" SBKO 

Todd and I took off just before sunrise and the fish were on the South Point of the Small Island.  The 18.75" was the first fish landed.  I saw it was barely hooked so I boat flipped it, rather than wait for the net. Todd and I then doubled up.  Me with a 16.5" and Todd with a 13.75". Todd then got the 18".  Then I got the 16.75" and we were lucky Todd didn't get a face full of hooks as the Chinooki came unhooked in the net and flew up at him. Todd got 1 last 14.25" on the SP.  He also lost one or two good one's.

We then headed to the South Point of the Big Island.  I caught 15" bass there and Todd missed one that boiled on the Terminator Frog.  Then we went to F Flat and I got a couple of small pike on the Chinooki.  Todd got a small pike on the Shower Blows knock off.  We went to North end of the reeds across the way and Todd got the crappie there on the SBKO.  We fished the reeds a little bit.  I left the Shower Blows box open and it dumped over completely.  Our fishing time was up, so we headed in.  I got the lures untangled and back in the box as Todd got the girls ready to go to the pancake breakfast at mom and Dad's church.

I got home from the pancake breakfast and took a short nap.  Todd called letting me know they got out the big inflatable island, so i could rest a couple of hours longer, which I foolishly didn't do.  Isabelle called for me to come up at about 12:15PM.  I took the girls tubing for a couple of hours.  Then they went and played on the inflatable island and I took a nap on the Trophy.  Mom brought dinner and I took Kaylee back in her car and got gas.  We had brats and hamburgers.  I then took out Belle and Mallory on the inflatable that Dad bought.  Belle didn't care for it.  Mallory liked it. And Sophia didn't try it.

7.5" Puddle Jumper

7" Panfish Tube

17" Terminator Frog

Fishing was slower tonight and we were all pretty exhausted.  Mallory and Belle were bickering with one another.  The hook on the panfish tube broke on a good fish.  Belle didn't catch anything tonight.

Best 6 Bass for Todd and I for the Day, 18.87lbs Stout