5-25-14 Sun

5-25-2014 Sun. 8:30AM-7:30PM myself & Scott
Weather: (1335) SE8, partly cloudy, 81˚, 30.02 falling
Water: clear, 62 ˚, 11.85 falling, 93 kcfs
Caught: Me: 19 pike 13-39.5”, 11 LMB 12-16”, 1 SMB 15”
Scott: 27 Pike 15-36”, 18 LMB 12-18”, 1 walleye 26”

Comments:

It was another spring time excursion up to the big waters of the Mississippi river near Wabasha. The trip was by far the best trip of the year up to this area; we caught the most and the biggest pike of the year.
The day started out with small fish, but then we moved to bigger waters and the size structure dramatically increased. Scott was hesitant to move far away from the numbers game in exchange for the possibility of bigger and better fish. He also constantly back boated me and I wanted to get out of areas with defined borders. Back boating is basically moving parallel and in close proximity to some structure while fishing. This gives the guy who is running the trolling motor almost all the water to fish, but it gives the guy in the back very little area between the boat and shore line and structure.
I fished a myriad of baits today which included a: spinner bait, buzz bait, swim bait, senco, rattle trap and in line spinners. The bait that gave me the best success on the larger fish was a Bucher Buck Tail in an orange and yellow combination. Scott basically fished one bait; the old reliable spinner bait. I think I am going to have to call him spinner bait Scott.

Observations:

The water is still very high up here, but it is clear. There is not a lot of aquatic growth yet, except for some lily pads in the more sheltered bays. My red bud tree has finally started to bloom.

5-23-14 Fri

5-23-2014 Fri. 10AM-6PM myself
Weather: (1353) NW7, clear, 74˚, 30.20 steady
Water: clear to turbid, 62-65 ˚, 630.65 falling, 116 kcfs
Who: Myself
Caught: 3 pike 18-20”, 30 LMB 12-17”

Comments:

I had the day off and I was fishing solo, it could not get any better. What better way to take advantage of the situation then to explore. I put the boat in at the Genoa landing and headed across the river to explore the side channels and marshes of the Minnesota side.
All I can say is wow! This area is huge and it was all flooded. I don’t think there was one speck of dry land anywhere in the bottoms. I estimate there was three to four feet of water in the woods. This is one big area and with all the water it was a daunting task finding the fish.
Almost all the fish I caught came from the way upper end just off the dike or railroad tracks. I was totally amazed at the amount of carp I saw just leisurely swimming around without much caution. Most of the bass came from shallow back bay areas. I suspect most were males moving in to find nesting areas.

Observations:

There was not much for new aquatic weed growth; I think the water was just too high for it to get enough sunlight and warmth. The carp are very close to their yearly spawning frenzy. The lilac and apple trees are at full bloom, but my red bud tree is not.

5-22-14 Thr

5-22-2014 Thr. 6PM-8:30PM, myself and Scott
Weather: N13, clear, 71˚, 30.11 rising
Water: clear, 62 ˚, 11.02 falling, 110 kcfs
Who: Myself and Scott
Caught: Me: 1 pike 20”, 3 LMB 14-15”
Scott: 3 pike 20-27”, 4 LMB 14-16”

Comments:

It was a bass and pike trip with Scott tonight after work. My left arm was still pretty sore from our marathon fisheree last Sunday, so I took it easy tonight. The fish were not in much of a feeding mood tonight. Most of the fish we caught tonight were in sheltered bays relating to some type of dead emergent vegetation.
Observations:

The water is still very high, but it has begun to drop. The growing season is in full swing, but my red bud tree is still not showing much of a sign of life.

5-20-14 Tue

5-20-2014 Tue
Weather: (1853) NW 5, clear, 79˚, 29.81 steady
Water: clear, 62 ˚, 11.59 falling, 122 kcfs
Who: Myself
Caught: 3 pike 20-33”, 4 LMB 12-17”, 1 W. Bass 15”

Comments:

It was an evening fishing trip by myself. I had two goals this evening: test the go devil and catch some fish. I have been having some electrical start issue with the engine, so I replaced the solenoid and the switch. I seemed to have succeeded in fixing the problem, now the engine starts with ease.
Fishing tonight was okay. The fish did not seem to be overly aggressive. I missed just as many as I caught. With the water continuing to drop the fish seem to be somewhat scattered. However, the fish I did catch were pretty tight some sort of cover and out of the current.

Observations:

I can once again see my dock. The lily pads in back bay locations are popping up and everywhere and some are fully expanded and on the surface. The milfoil in the upper end of the lake has exploded and covers the surface in some areas. The lilacs are not quite to full bloom yet and it seems as if the trees have leafed out over the past couple of days.

5-18-14 Sun

5-18-2014 Sun
Weather: (1253) W10 G20, partly cloudy, 72˚, 30.11 steady
Water: clear, 56 ˚ am 58 ˚ pm, 12.83 falling, 118 kcfs
Who: Myself and Scott
Caught: Me: 18 pike 18-36”, 8 LMB 15-19”, 1 SMB 18”
Scott: 18 pike 18-26”, 8 LMB 15-18”

Comments:

It was my annual pike fishing trip up to Nelson with Scott, and it ended up being a marathon. We casted and fished very hard for almost twelve hours without a break.
As usual our fishing trips are very competitive. This trip I was looking for larger sized pike and Scott appeared to be trying to catch as many fish as possible. I caught almost all my fish on swim baits and Scott caught most of his on a spinner bait.
In the morning the fish did not seem to be nearly as aggressive, and the slower presentation of the swim bait definitely out fished the spinner bait. But, as the day progressed and the water temperature got warmer the spinner bait accounted for more fish, but not bigger fish.

Observations:

The water is still very high, but it has reached its peak and will slowly start to fall. There was very little sign of new aquatic plant growth. The apple, lilac and bleeding hearts are starting to bloom.

5-16-14 Fri.

5-16-2014 Fri
Weather: (1853) overcast, W7, 51˚, 30.04 steady
Water: clear, 56 ˚, 12 rising, 131 kcfs
Who: Myself and Mark S.
Caught: Total: about 3 pike and 4 bass, nothing huge

Comments:

I was fishing the lake by the house with co-worker Mark Sampson. We were targeting LMB and pike, and we were somewhat successful.

Observations:

The water continues to rise and it just hit flood stage today. Even though it is very high it is still very clear. We still have not had many days of really seasonally warm weather; in fact tonight some locations around here may see some frost by morning.

5-14-2014 Wed

5-14-2014
Weather: (1753) NE 6, clear, 57˚, 30.10 falling
Water: 59 ˚, clear, 11.41 rising, 118 kcfs
Who: Myself and Scott
Caught: Me: 3 LMB 14”, 2 pike 22-28”
Scott: 4 pike 20-33”, 4 LMB 13-16”

Comments:

It was an evening fishing trip with Scott, with pike and bass on the radar. The conditions were more in line with being pleasant for fishing, but not for catching. I did not think the bite would be as good as last night, and I was right!
The fish seem to be more scattered and harder to find the higher the water goes. Most of the fish we caught were quite tight to some type of dead emergent vegetation.

Observations:

The dandelions in the yard are blooming, and the rhubarb is getting quite large. The bleeding heart plant on the north side of the house is now about twelve inches tall. I have still not seen any life from my red bud tree, and I am afraid it has not survived the brutal winter.