My Morning on Team Bass Tournament Day

 

Platte Lake Special To Start the Morning

5:36-10:00AM Cookie Jar, Out From Chuck's Reeds, Chuck's Pt, West of Access Rice, Reeds, and Docks, Todd's School to just North of the Dead Head where it becomes complete slop. 

55-70℉, Sunny, 2-5mph S

69-70℉ Water Temp

So it was Team Bass Tournament day, and I was fishing a solid hour plus before they blasted off. My first stop was the Cookie Jar. I lost what I assume was a Platte Lake Special. Caught a dink, a PLS, and a pike. Next, I headed to Chuck's Out Reeds. A sure thing to get bites, except it hasn't given me anything three times in a row now. They blasted off with 5 or 6 boats. I was amazed that they all appeared to head East except one that looked to be headed for Sullivan. I went to Chucks and had only one blow-up that missed my lure, probably a pike.

I went to West of Access Rice for the first time in forever, not getting anything. I slid in and tried some docks and didn't get anything. Went out and tried the reeds where there were signs of life, but I didn't get anything to hit. So I headed to Sullivan. Pulled one Platte Lake Special off of Todd's School on the Pit Boss after thoroughly working the area with frogs and not raising anything. I was thinking about working my way to the river. I got a 1lber at the last boat lane and had 3lber miss the Billy Goat right before the slop started that I would have to work my way through to get to the river. I said screw it and called it a day instead. I ended up napping instead of going to the weigh-in.

The Team Bass Results:

Skunked Tonight Off The Dock

 Wierd ran in the sun as I drove up to the lake tonight. I got my new transducer arm squared away and then fished off the dock for half an hour. No bites, not even on T.H.E. Jig. Did hear some sunfish snaps in the rice.

I just couldn't make myself wake up and get out of bed this morning to fish with Todd. He got a bass and pike. Fishing the Melon Patch and Access Across. He got the fish at Access Across.

DNF

 Was thinking about going out tonight, but the weather made it an iffy proposition so I went back to bed after dinner. I will be well rested when I head out tomorrow morning.

DNF

 I was maybe a bit fished out today. Got tired after dinner, so I laid down for a bit rather than pack the car and go. I was just going to fish out front if I went, which I didn't. I will probably be out early tomorrow even though it is supposed to be windy.

Bass Snatchers Gull/Crow Wing River Tournament

Chuck Fields wins 2nd Consecutive Tournament.

 

Sara & Herman with "Lunker Wood"

Sara with her 6lb Lunker & a 3/03

4/02 on Big Bite BFE

Pike on the Berkley Fusion19 Jig/KVD Shiner

What I caught fish on

Conditions: Periods of clouds and sun, 70's to upper 80's, a bit humid, light winds

The Day:
I was so disappointed that my Tackle Warehouse order did not arrive on Friday, but such is life. We blasted off as boat #4 and headed West, getting passed by Snatcher Dennis as we headed up river. Our first and second spots were slop areas on adjacent sides of the river, and we didn't get a bite at either place in about an hour of fishing. So we headed up river farther, and Bill got a quality smallmouth right away on a popper. He then got a rock bass and a couple of non-keeper smallmouths. I got a pike on a lipless Frenzy and a rock bass on a Jackhammer. I also had something that felt quality on for a few seconds on our second pass down by where Bill got the smallie.

From there, we headed up in sight of the bridge, and Bill popped a nice large on his first pitch. I think I got a pike and rock bass, and Bill got a couple of non-keeper smallies and rockies. I think we moved down the river just a little way. Bill got a nice smallie throwing a Senko by the shore and a fourth nice keeper smallmouth in the middle of the river. We pulled in behind Snatcher Al, where Bill got his first keeper; Bill got a non-keeper smallmouth.  We went down river a little way, and I got the big pike which put up a good battle. I took my time with it, and Bill eventually netted it and took pictures. I wasn't too pleased because the day was more than half over, and I didn't have a bass in the boat yet. We worked a shaded bank and didn't get anything. So next, we headed back to where the river narrows to the East of the public access. And started working our way West fishing wood. Bill got his 5th keeper pretty quickly. We continued working wood. Finally, I got a keeper in the boat out of some weeds and wood, and it was a good one, 4lbs.

There was a slop area just upriver from where I got my fish, and in the next 10-minutes, I had my bag for the day, catching two quick fish on a frog. We then went back up river to our second stop working that slop bay better than we did the first time. I got one 11-inch largemouth on a frog. Then we crossed the river expanding on our first area of the morning. Bill had to miss 5 or 6 bites on his frog before he finally got his limit fish in the boat, which was a quality largemouth. I think he then caught one that didn't help him. For the final 20-minutes, we worked the slop area by the access. I had a fish boil on my frog but did not get it and didn't try again. And then the day was done.

Results: My 3 fish weighed 7/13, which put me in 13th Place out of 17 Anglers, two of which blanked. Chuck Fields made it back-to-back wins with a 17/01 bag, and my boater Snatcher Ludenia made it back-to-back as runner-up with a 16/12. Lunker went to Snatcher Sara with a 6lb Pig.

Thoughts: I should have thought more about what it would take to catch some smallmouth. I should have thrown a football jig and brought some swing heads and square bills. I really think my lack of forethought cost me a limit. At a minimum, I should have been able to catch at least one smallmouth.  

 

One Small Bass, Tonight

Belle took the pic

 

One bass tonight, ouch!

6:40-9:45PM Reeds Across S & N, Loon Bay

72-80℉, MS, 3-8mph ENE

78℉ water High

Went to Reeds Across South while Todd had dinner. Got two pike and one bass on a chatterbait along the reed edge. I went back to pick up Todd. He tweaked his back, so I went back out alone. I went to Loon Bay. I got a pike off of a dock on Grapes of Wrath. It was dead in there, so I bounced to Reeds Across North. Had a couple of fish slap at my frogs in the reeds, pike probably. I left the reeds for F-Flat cabbage. I didn't get a bite at my waypoint, so I turned around and worked the reed line getting two pike and missing a couple of bites. Rough trip.

Bass Snatchers Thunder Lake Tournament

Chuck Fields with the W and Lunker,
with Co-Angler Snatcher Sarah.

 

3/8 Herb's Dilly Buzzbait (Yellow Frog)

Conditions: Rain intermittently in the morning with the sun coming out in the afternoon. Wind: 3-8mph

The Day: It started raining as we were waiting to blast off. We headed to our first spot, and Hammer was amazed no one went North along with us. We started off in the best cabbage Hammer had found in his prefish. About 45-minutes in, he got the skunk out of the boat on a craw tube. We worked around a point of reeds, and he got a second bite. I started throwing a buzzbait into the reeds as we worked outside the reed line. I missed my first bite, which was a small fish. I then got two bass in the boat lickety-split. So we drifted into the reeds, and I got my big fish of the day. As we worked inside the reeds, I got fish four and five along with missing a couple. Hammer had a couple fish blow up on his buzzbait, but they got off. Snatcher Chuck and Nate showed up.  Chuck and Nate doubled up on a spot I had my eye on.  I got my limit fish, which was a line burner. The topwater bite quit. I got a couple of fish on the Brovarney/Rage Bug combo with both fish throwing my Rage Bug, rats. Hammer was having a rough time getting his bites in the boat, losing a good one on a jig or craw tube. I also got a case of the misses in the same area not hooking up with 2 or 3 that hit the buzzbait; partly my fault for making ill-considered casts. 

We then went to some docks on the west side of the bay, but nothing there. Hammer borrowed a spinnerbait from me, and we returned to the reeds. Snatcher Bailey and Metalhead were in the area this time. Hammer was getting bit on the spinnerbait and me on the buzzbait and Jig, with both of us catching most of the bites but dropping a few as well. It rained pretty good when we were in the reeds that second time. We then went back to the West side of the bay, where it was calm and worked reeds along the shoreline. I was unaware they were there because they only stood about a foot above the water. I got my frog game on catching several pound and a half to pound and three-quarters cookie cutters. Hammer was throwing a Sprinker Frog and having a rough go keeping them pinned. We got over by Smitty and Mick, where I had a Platte Lake Special miss Little Alan, but it wouldn't hit it again.

We then headed south to try Hammers Smallie areas. He got a couple of largemouths, and I maybe had a small smallie take a shot at the 130 Plopper. For the final hour and a half, we went back North trying the cabbage one more time with nothing happening. I got a minor upgrade pitching the Brovarney to some pads in the reeds. We ended back on the West side of that Northern bay. I checked my fish before we headed out and was dismayed to discover my big fish, which was swimming just fine when I culled  20-minutes prior, was now dead, bummer.

Results: My fish weighed 12/8 with the dead fish penalty, and I finished in 11th Place. Snatcher Fields won it with 19/10, and he got Lunker with a 4/3 smallie; at least that was what I think it was. Snatcher Darren won the Co-Angler Challenge/Cash in a close race, with his 4-pounda putting him over the top.

Thoughts: I just didn't get enough of my bites in the boat. Probably could have had a 14 to15ish bag if I did. I wish I had known those reeds were along the shoreline the first time we went there. We should have given them a try.  

Slow morning, but I enjoyed myself

 I got a later start than I wanted due to a bolt breaking on my trolling motor bracket last night. I was lucky it wasn't a much later start as I had an inspiration that was a time saver from the original way I was going to go about it. I was off before sunrise. I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to head to F Flat because there would be calm water there. Tried topwater, nothing. So then I tried a Jackhammer, unbelievably nothing. Finally, I got a small pike on Z-Man Big Blade as I made my way to the reeds, where I got my two fish last night. Topwater wasn't happening there either, so I started throwing a swim jig. I was about to throw the white flag as I completed my drift through reeds when a 19-incher made my morning. I got the 27.5-inch pike on my second drift through the reeds. I ended up back on F Flat. I learned a lot about how the cabbage is set up this year. It looks better than it has in years. Not holding hardly any fish is power for the coarse at this point. I think the lake lost 80% or more of its fish population last winter because they didn't put in the aerator as they needed to. 4 Bass landed out of 6 opportunities in 5 hours of fishing. I did at least get some action from a pike in the cabbage with several fish being 24-inch class.

DNF

I was unaware that I would be the lead plumber in replacing our kitchen faucet. I found this out when I got back from the chiropractor around 4PM. Had I known about this project, I would have stopped at the Grumpy Old Man Hole on the way home. Putting me in charge of completing this "honey-do" was not a good plan by Dad. Post-stroke, I have a mechanical IQ of about 2.  The job required somebody with some plumbing experience and at least an average mechanical IQ. I quickly recognized this job would sap my patience reserves. I told the parents I was calling my brother Steve. He has done a variety of home improvement tasks including plumbing. He was already planning on coming over tonight. Well, things got shuffled, but Steve got over after 6PM, and his tire patching project didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked. Then the faucet was a PIA. We finally got the old faucet off, but by then, it was too late for me to consider hitting up the GOMH. Steve will be back to put the new one in tomorrow.

Bass Snatcher Farm Island Tournament

 

Snatcher Dennis Took The W!

Thoughts Going In: 

Farm Island has always given me a limit. Pre-fish made me even more confident. Dennis tells me before we blast off that he did get out pre-fishing one more day, and his starting spot was full of bass; it was empty the day we pre-fished, except pike. Confidence level: High.

Conditions: Sunny, Light to Moderate SW Wind

The Day: We blasted off boat one and went to Dennis' honey hole. The problem is that it was filled with pike, just like the day we pre-fished. Dennis got bit off two or three times, and we both caught multiple slimers. Dennis did get a quality bass off a dock. After an hour and a half or so, we headed southwest. Nothing at the point where I got two fish during pre-fish. So then we headed NW. I got the skunk out of the boat using a fluke at a dock just after Dennis got bit off. From there, we headed south again, and Dennis cracked a biggun off a dock. That is what we did for most of the day, with Dennis picking off a good fish every half-hour to 45-minutes. My dock game was rusty, and there weren't many bass around. I did get my second keeper on a return trip to the starting spot. And that was all she wrote for me, two bass in the boat. I did miss a few bites on the Fluke, but those could have been rockies.

Results: My two fish put me in 19th Place. Dennis ran away with his 19/1 bag. Lunker went to Smitty with a 4/2, and Zach Noyes won his first Co-Angler Challenge, beating out The Beast Beau Bacon by an ounce.

Thoughts: We just caught "The Farm" on a tough day, as the final results show. Congratulations to Snatcher Dennis for starting off the year on the right foot. On to Thunder. 

Big Golden, A Jumper, and Bass 'n Pike at S. Inlet

 

7.04lbs/28" KVD Shiner

8:15-8:55PM S, Sully Inlet
Nice night. I elected to mow the lawn instead of fish. It worked out for me

 (The first cast didn't have distance so I was unprepared for the strike I got on the buzzbait which came almost immediately after it landed. Then got a couple of pike and a couple of bass. Missed my last 4 or 5 bites, because I had a bent-up hook point.)

2Bass 

2Pike

9:05-9:40PM GOMH SW NW

(Nobody was around so I quickly unpacked and headed to the SW side. Got the one jumper on a chatter and missed a couple of bites on other stuff. Stuff was getting smoked in the tube. So I headed to the North side just as somebody else arrived. He was able to get to the NE side first. He lost a jumper then broke off on a lily pad. I missed something then hooked into the 7lb Golden. The other guy took a picture and measured it. I called it a night after releasing the fish. Mosquitos were annoying but not terrible.)

1Jump 

1Gold

Fishing with Todd in the Morning And with Both Bro's In the Evening

Quality first bite

Another Quality Buzzbait Fish

1st Double of the morning

 

Todd got a bass right away on the buzzbait. Took us a little while to figure out they were offshore a bit in pads. Caught them pretty good once we figured them out. Doubled up three times. 1st time on bass, then multi, then pike. The storm chased us in 5-minutes early It was a solid morning. Should have left maybe 15-minutes sooner this morning.

Todd: 5Bass 7Pike, 

Me: 6Bass 8Pike

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only added a 3lber and 1 small cull in the evening trip

5:20-9:20PM East of GOMH, Sully GOMH to Intersection, SSPRO to River

65-72℉, Cloudy, 4-12mph ESE

Very High 

Only were able to make it to 10.7mph as we headed out with the wind at our back. Had a little bit of water in the boat from a morning thunderstorm.  We started East of GOMH. Todd got a 3lber right away on Herb's. Steve lost a fish right after that and I thought it would be AWWWWWN, but we struggled to get bit. We mostly drifted to the  SPRO where I was confident there was fish. We would get an occasional bite I should have thrown anchor but didn't think of it. We ended up in the river. We got a couple of bites in there, but not much for landed fish. Got a little over 10mph for top speed on our way back in. We got the wave runner lift and wave runner in the lake before we headed out. 

Todd: 3Bass 7Pike, 

Steve: 6Bass 3Pike 

Me: 4Bass 3Pike 

(Fish counts are sketchy for the evening trip) 

OK Night in the Trophy On Platte/Sullivan

Nothing But Platte Lake Specials tonight

I think I culled 5 or 6 times

3:00-9:30 PM NW Corner to Big Bass Pt, Deep in Guy's to Double Cane Pt, Channel Inn Bay, SPRO North to River Mouth.

70-74℉, PC, 0-6mph SW SE

61-65℉, Very High Falling

 Started in the NW Corner of Platte, mostly pike but did get about 4 or 5 bass as well. Made my way to Big Bass PT only landing one of 4 or 5 bites. Jumped across the Bay. Got one bass deep in Guy's Bay. Nothing at Double Cane Pt. I bounced to Channel Inn Bay at 6:15 PM. It was calmer there. Couldn't keep them pinned to start with. The fish were aggressive. Settled on the buzzbait. Lost a big dog because I did hammer the hook home on the strike. After 8 PM I headed into Sully. working the NSPRO shoreline. Got a few more bass and pike. It was just an OK night considering conditions. Just couldn't find a group of fish other than in CIB and they were spread out there. Lots of beat-up tails tonight.

19 Bass 

17 Pike

1Fin 

Fishing With Chuck & Lois For A Few Hours

 2:30-5:30PM Guy's Bay, Sully NW Reeds to River Mouth, S. Inlet, Across SPSI 

62-67℉, Cloudy, 5-15mph W

 Lois showed us how to do it. Catching 5 bass to Chuck and I's 3. Lois got one in Guy's. the 2nd and biggest at the SW Intersection. Got a couple of pike as we went into SPRO. Lois got a bass at the river mouth and I dropped a good feeling fish. I think Chuch lost one as well. We went to the S Inlet where Lois got one off a dock. Next to the NE Intersection, where I got a small bass and Chuck got a pike. Then to CIB. I got a pike on the Southside of the dock where Todd got the bass yesterday. Then we went across from the SPSI. Chuck and I both got a bass. and I got a pike and missed a bite or two. We were all a bit worn out so we called it a day. Steve Fellegy was doing AIS inspections at the access.

MN Opener 2022

 Skunked (Some natives were fishing at the North Jetty when I arrived at 11:30PM and not getting anything. One small eye was swimming around and a boat was out bobber fishing and I think getting fish. I quickly bailed on the North Jetty for the South as some guys with a boat set up on Center Jetty. A little bit of activity on South, but nothing close in so I could track with the fish. I texted Brett and he told me they hammered 'em at the GOMH. I bailed at 2:15 am. I stopped at Kathio Bridge and listened to loons calling.) 

GOMH:

Skunked (Nobody was there when I arrived just after 4AM. Put on the rubbers and headed down on the NE side. WHG showed up as I was getting settled. There was a lot of baitfish activity, but I couldn't buy a bite. Made the executive decision to head to the Trophy at 4:30 AM)

First Legal Bass of 2022 Mini-Max (Fire Craw)

Big Bass of the Day at the GOMH

(Skies looked dark but I sent it anyway. Hit something as I was steaming toward the small Island. The motor sputtered but didn't lose much speed. Got to the River Mouth; first and only boat. Got a 10" on the Mini-Max. Started getting some fish on the SBKO. As the front approached I missed 7 or 8 bites. The front passed only raining for a couple of minutes. Got fish on jerks, chatters, craw tubes, paddletails. Seems like I would get a couple of fish then need to switch up. Wasn't real efficient with my business. The sun came out and wind came up out of the South. I made my way across the SPRO, but it was really blowing so I called it a morning.)

20Bass 3Pike 

 (Stopped at the GOMH on my way home. Nobody was there so I headed down with 3 rods. Craw tube got bit off before I could catch anything on it. Had multiple hits on the the craw, Grass Pig, and a couple of Chatters. Fish just not getting it good today. Had a lot of misses in the boat. Got my biggest of the morning in the Pirahana 2, but left the scale at the lake. Mother nature called so I bounced.)

3 Jump

(4 Rods with me, 5 casts per rod on the SW side with a few bonus casts resulted in 7 jumpers before I headed to the lake place as Todd was finishing up with the dock decking.)

7Jump 

Todd's first bass of 2022, 1st fish was a pike

 (Todd started off on fire at the River Mouth. I talked to Chuck Steinbauer who is coming down to fish P/S tomorrow. We worked our way East into Platte. Nothing was going on in CIB other than at the dock just beyond the Abrahamson's where Todd got a 3lber. So I jumped us back to the river mouth after nothing at the juice. We got a few more bass. Good trip. Todd was headed home before I was done loading the boat.)

Todd: 15Bass 1Pike, Me:12 Bass

Todd: 15Bass 1Pike

Me: 42 Bass 3 Pike

Total Fish: 57 Bass 4 Pike

Short Mid-Morning And Long Evening GOMH Trip

10:00-10:30AM GOMH 
53℉, Sunny, 3mph E

1 JUmp (Just a quick trip to see if anything was happening. It wasn't. Hopefully, I'll have the Trophy in Platte tonight.) 

5:30-11:30PM GOMH NE SW

63-71℉, Sunny, 0-6mph ESE

Another guy arrived a little before me and took the SW side. Amazingly no boats when I arrived. The other guy got one jumper about 45 minutes in. Shortly after that, Lantern Man Son and Kyle showed up. I gave them the SE and went to the NE side. Two dudes showed up and fished off the N bridge. I caught a small toothy. I had a bigger one follow me in. I started seeing baitfish activity. Got more toothys and a few jumpers as well. One of the Jumpers buried me in the shore weeds, but thankfully Dock Guy had rubber boots and a net and was able to net the 2.5lber. The bald dude finished the shore East of GOMH and got one silver. I got into three oranges, and then some wind came up. Got a couple more toothy and jumpers. I went to get my sweatshirt and hoodie, which were on the SE side, with Brett. And behold, Drinkin Dave was up on the bridge fishing, sober. So we talked for about 10 minutes. When I finally returned to the NE side, Dock Guy and his dad had left. I didn't get any bites, and the guy who was there when I arrived left, so I went and joined Kyle on the SW side. We both got a couple of silvers, and Brett got 3 or 4. We called it a night after 11 PM. Wild beat the Blues 3-0 and are now up 2-1 in the series.