MTW Opener & GOMH Open Tonight

Today was the Offical Tackle Warehouse Opener, even though I did go in there briefly yesterday morning.  Both GOMH Bays are now open.  Loons were calling, swans were trumpeting, frogs were making a racket, saw a great blue heron and a white heron.  A bald eagle was at the dead deer and a deer ran in front of me on 8 on my way to the GOMH.  Didn't get a bite again tonight and I'm now down to two of Pete's minnows left.

Around The Area Tonight

I checked out Bulldog, Rock, and the GOMH tonight.  Loons and Swans were at the GOMH tonight for Steve, Kim, and Devin to see.  I found my scissors which I apparently dropped last Fall.  It was a little on the cool side when I first arrived at the GOMH do to a light wind.  There was a guy fishing the NW side with his little daughter.  He said he didn't see any suckers in any of the rivers he checked.  I didn't catch anything.  Once the wind died it was actually pretty pleasant.

Bulldog

Rock Public Access

Pulling away from shore at Rock

GOMH not as open as I thought it would be tonight

Loons and Swans

The scissors I didn't know I had dropped

GOMH Tonight

Sullivan Side GOMH Now Open

The sun came out at about 2:30PM today.  I don't think it even sprinkled when the front past over.  Water was up another 4" or so.  I think I saw some fish activity on the surface, but I didn't have a bite.  I put line on the Lew's combo today.  I will say that Tournament MB reel sure casts nice.  I was impressed.  The Custom Speed Stick doesn't have a hook hanger and I don't care for the feel of the handle.

The forecast is looking good.

Where Things Stand Today

I didn't leave the house until right about 8PM tonight.  When I arrived at the GOMH there was a four-wheeler parked where I needed to be to recreate a shot I took on 4/23/13.  So I headed on to the Platte Lake Public Access which is now trashed.  I then went to the culvert where the water is up at least 10" from a couple of days ago.  When I arrived back at the GOMH the people had left.  There was an otter out on the ice on Sullivan that eventually paid me a visit.  A few ducks around, but not as many as I would expect.  Didn't catch anything in the 15 minutes I fished.  Today was the warmest it has been.  The water level is above normal now and rising.  It was flowing into Platte again tonight.  The weather is supposed to stay at or above normal.  I'm thinking ice out in around 12 days or so. 

Platte Lake

GOMH Tonight

It was the warmest day of the year so far.  Water was flowing into Platte and was up a few inches from yesterday.  Didn't have any bites.

Pete Caught Some Fish On Bulldog Today

Pete drilled in the right spot

4:00-8:00PM Bulldog Lake
Conditions: 35-31℉, Cloudy, Calm
Depth: 30' with the fish coming 7' and up

After getting Steve up to speed on a chainsaw and visiting Don W for a bit we headed out to Bulldog Lake.  Pete went right out to the deep hole where I wanted to go yesterday and drilled a couple of holes.  I was right behind him this time.  I started getting my stuff ready to fish.  Pete dropped down in the first hole and immediately brought up a little perch.  Next thing he brought up was a crappie and then another and then another.  I went and drilled a couple of holes.  By the time I was done the fish had left Pete's hole.  I didn't get anything in my first hole and briefly had some fish below the second one.  Pete and I drilled around hoping to connect with some fish.  We went about an hour and a half without getting anything, but Pete getting a few perch.  After 7PM Pete started catching fish again, even a few small bluegills.  I missed all the bites I had.  Pete caught his fish on a small chart. tungsten jig with maggots or a minnow.  He ended up keeping 10 crappies.  I didn't catch anything.  Pete had fun but felt bad I didn't catch anything. I didn't care one way or the other about me getting fish.  I didn't have to clean any.

12 Crappies
15 Perch
3 Sunfish

Fishing With Pete On Bulldog

Dead center to center-left is where the Crappies have been all winter

Pete went so far to the South he wasn't in the picture frame

5:30-7:50PM Bulldog Lake
Conditions: 28-26℉, Cloudy some light snow, Light N wind
Depth: 25-22 feet, fish just under the ice to 10 feet down.  Water clarity was down significantly.

4" VMC Fly/Maggot

So after not fishing last night.  We went out tonight on Bulldog.  Rather than wait for me to get my stuff ready to go.  Pete loaded his sled with his stuff and the auger and headed off to find fish not consulting me on where we should start looking for fish.  I don't think Pete had ever looked at a Bulldog Lake map and he's never ice fished it.  I don't know if I've even taken him to the lake shore fishing.  He had no clue where he was going.  By the time I was out of the shore reeds I was yelling for him to stop.  He drilled a hole well to the South East of the deepest part of the basin where the crappies had been all winter and where I wanted to start.  Instead of using reverse on the Ion he waited for me to show up so he could get an ice scoop.

I grabbed the auger and started off to the North drilling holes as I went.  Instead of following my lead and fishing in the holes I drilled to look for fish.  Pete just staid at the hole he drilled.  I got back to where Pete was and where I had left my Fish Trap.  Pete wanted to go to the South shore over by the big hill.  I drilled some holes off in that direction so Pete could look for a non-existent drop-off.  Then I went back to where Pete was fishing and got my stuff set up for fishing.  I would head North and Pete would head South.

4" VMC Fly/maggots

I didn't find anything in the first hole I drilled, but quickly had fish coming through in the top of the water column in the second hole on the Glow Demon Spoon.  I didn't catch any of those initial marks.  I caught a couple of small perch and then got that dink crappie on the VMC Fly.  I was having a heck of a time detecting bites.  I did lose something that felt bigger.

Pete had worked his way about 100 yards to the East of where I was fishing and he waved for me to come over to where he was fishing.  There were fish about 10 feet down over 23 feet of water. I drilled a hole about 20 feet away from him.  I caught one good 9.5" crappie.  Pete tried a minnow, the fish disappeared and Pete was getting cold so we left at about 8 or so.

I'm not sure if Pete caught anything.  Apparently, after being here for a day and a half he didn't have the proper tackle with him.  Really Pete? SMHRE

2 Crappies
3 Perch

Skunked On Bulldog

I debated back and forth. Should I go or shouldn't I go.  I decided to go just before 5PM right before it started to snow.  I was hoping maybe the front would turn then on.  It didn't.  I missed a couple of bites and didn't get a hit on the minnow.  I set up closer to Holy Family, kind of in line where others were fishing.  It was snowing pretty good and I wasn't hardly marking anything, so I was out of there by 6:15PM.

Ice Fishing with Dev

10.5" VMC Fly/maggots

4:00-6:15PM Platte Lake Out Front
Conditions: 30-24℉, Mostly Sunny, W Windy
Depth 7' or so

Devin's first ever ice fish

I finally got my act together and took Devin ice fishing for the 1st time.  I searched for fish using the GPS and Aqua -Vu Micro 5c. I started drilling to shallow.  By the time Devin got out there I had spied some fish.  I had Devin help me drill the second hole, which we put the old Aqua-Vu in.  While I was getting that setup Devin was outside with Storm.  Unfortunately, there was a weed partially blocking the screen.   Sure enough, the perch were still down there.  I caught one perch then took Storm from Devin and told her what to do.  She quickly located the lure on the Aqua -Vu and caught her first fish lickety-split.  We caught a bunch and avoided a bunch.  Didn't see any sunfish.

    We tried to avoid the little ones, but Dev managed to catch a couple of really small ones. 

Steve felled the tree, while we were out fishing. Steve came out and Devin showed him how she was catching them while I held Storm.  They went back up to the cabin.  I had a pike bite off a Rippin' Rap.  I elected not to move and packed up around 6PM.  Steve helped me pull my stuff up the hill.  Shortly after arriving at home, I got a call from Steve.  Kim hit a deer on 27 just before the turn on 8.  So I drove down to where she was at.  There was significant front-end damage to the Expedition and the airbag went off.  Kim was shaken up but was able to drive it to J & D's service station.  Sherman drove Steve down and picked Kim up.  I don't know if the truck is fixable or not.  Thankfully, the snow storm we were supposed to get tomorrow has veered to the North.  Hopefully, the storm on Monday/Tuesday misses us as well. 

Checked By Lady C.O.Tonight

5:20-6:40PM Bulldog Lake
Conditions: 27-22℉, Cloudy, NW Windy
Depth: 27'

9" VMC Tubb/maggots

Crappies weren't interested in minnows again tonight. I got my first couple of crappies on the Glow Demon Spoon. Then a long lull.  I switched to the VMC Tubby.  The lady C.O. checked my license.  I got one fish on the Tubby.  That's it 3 crappies.

8.75" Demon Spoon/Mayfly/maggot

 3 Crappies

277 Crappies for the Winter

Beardless at Bulldog

8.75" VMC Fly/maggot

5:40-7:00PM Bulldog
Conditions: 40-30℉, Partly Cloudy, SW Wind turning calm
Depth 27'

9" VMC Fly/maggots

I started out the night dropping valentines and birthday gifts off for Steve and Devin.

I watched the dogs wrestle around some.  I left the cabin at about a quarter after 5.  I was set up to fish around 5:40.  The ice is getting thick, but not quite enough that I need an extension.  Minnows didn't get me a bite.  Had fish down there off and on.  After pulling two up and losing them in the hole I broke off the VMC Fly as I was bringing another one up.  I managed to get the two I got pictures of.  It was slow so I gave up at 7PM.

5 Crappies