Event 9 - Rice Lake - 9/6/2018

Well boys and girl, it's with great sadness I write my next to last post for the year. Tomorrow night it will all come to an end, as we fish on the Whitefish Chain from 4:00-8:00. We will fish out of the West Shore Drive landing on Cross Lake, so don't be an idiot and put in on Lower Hay...if you do, besides being an idiot, you must be deaf and blind too. Being dumb goes without saying.

So, last Thursday we were on Rice Lake, and I must say we've never seen so many weeds. I blame the water skiing group that put on a few shows this summer. I think they stirred up some long dormant seeds or something, because the weeds were fricken rediculas. There were some nice fish caught though, and they looked healthy, so the fishery must be in pretty good shape.

As far as the points go, Simon and Paul are making a late surge, winning the last two weeks on Rice and North Fucking Long by a fairly wide margin. I think it's going to be too little too late though, because they are 29 points behind Steve and Brandon, who, along with their "in your face asshole" shirts proclaiming their first place standing, may be too far ahead to choke it away. But having said that, not too far back hiding in the weeds are last years winners Mark and Luther, who are 13.5 points behind. Is that a big enough lead to hold them off? I don't know if it is or not, but as I write this, we'll know in 24 hours.

I hope everyone can show up tomorrow night for our last event, because we've missed those of you who haven't made it the past couple of weeks. You never know, this may be your last best chance to fish soft water this year. A week from tonight it's going to be considerably colder, so get up off the couch, tell the ole spouse you're going fishing and you'll be back when you're back. That should work out just fine. See you tomorrow on the chain. Maybe after we're done we'll go to Moonlite or someplace and get hammered.

For updated standings click HERE

For event detail click HERE

PS: I adjusted the points from the fuck up on North Fucking Long, so hopefully they are correct now.

Event 8 - North Long - 8/30/2018

What can I say about North Long that hasn't been already said? Maybe this...I discovered that is possible to sink, or at least attempt, to sink your partners boat. Why you may ask? Well, it seems my partner has a problem with holes. You would think that he would have figured out which hole should be used by now, considering his life is probably half over. Maybe no one properly showed him which hole to look for while putting it in. Or maybe he just likes putting it in a different hole to see what kind of shit might happen. Or maybe he just doesn't care which hole is the right hole as he shoves it in really hard hoping it will fit snugly. Sam also found out a hole needs to have it put in properly, but he was with a new one so maybe he just assumed it's hole would close on it's own the closer he got to shoving off. So after some discussion about which hole to use, Sam shoved off happily, and my partner jumped in with both feet substantially wetting himself in the process.

As far as the fishing went, it mostly sucked as usual, but I'm posting last weeks points with this disclaimer: they might be fucked up. You see, while we were talking about holes at the landing, everyone was so excited to see how long the subjects filled the awaiting trough, making it somewhat impossible to hold these eager boys back. So, I may have fucked up a number or two, so if I did, let me know. By the way, Paul and Simon, minus Simon, won with 32 points, unless those numbers are fucked up. Let me know tonight, and for God's sake Jim, I hope you are prepared to stick it in the correct and preferred hole tonight.

For updated standings click HERE

For event detail click HERE

Rabbit Lake - Event Seven - 8/16/2018

I don't know where everyone was, but we only had six boats show up for Rabbit. I think that is probably the lowest number of boats we've had at an event. Jim and I could have stayed home, because we didn't catch a fish...check that, Jim caught a rock bass...check that, Jim had a rock bass on the end of his line, but he lost it. He actually wanted me to get the net because it was the biggest rock bass he'd ever seen. When I looked, as I continued working the shoreline totally ignoring his repeated requests for the net, all I could see were weeds, which is consistent with just about every other time he yells for the net. The ole Zebco was screaming though as line was being stripped from his reel as he fought those weeds that just wouldn't give up. Back to the real fishing.

We had our first tie of the year, mostly because last years Pike rules were in effect. Mark & Luther, along with the whiny crying babies Steve & Brandon, both had 38 points; but since the S & B boys whined about me saying I'm putting my money on Mark & Luther on being the league champs again in another blog post I'm docking whiny boys 2 points for sounding like 10 year old girls. I'm also throwing out their Pike on Rabbit, for bringing in Pike that were too big on Woman, so that's another 7 points. I'm also docking them for trying to leave early on Rabbit, by throwing out their Bass total of 16 points. Which also means their Bass and Pike that counted as big fish in that category don't count either...there goes another six points. That leaves them with a single Walleye, but since they weren't fishing for Walleye's at the time, there is no need to count that fish either...shit, there goes the tri-fecta. Which leaves them with 2 show points, but I'm throwing them out as well for making me write about whiny little bitches that think I'm old. Care to whine and bitch about it on North f'n Long tomorrow night girls?

Big fish goes to Mark & Luther for bringing in a 25+ inch pig that looked like a Walleye. So why don't longer Pike count? Pics on big fish don't count you whiny little bitches.

Except for Jim and I, everyone actually did pretty good. That will probably hold true tomorrow night on North f'n Long too. We start at 5:30 tomorrow night; quit at 8:30. See you then!

For updated standings, click HERE
For event detail, click HERE

Woman Lake - Event Six - 8/2/2018

Woman Lake is a conundrum. When I looked this big word up, right beside the description was a picture of Woman Lake. Only fitting, I suppose. This lake is so intriguing (look this up on your own) that is just draws you in with all of its structure, great shoreline and scrumptious looking and very friendly paddle boarder's. However, putting the structure and scrumptiousness aside, the fish don't like us. That is disturbing because we're a friendly group. All of our fish, except for those unlucky enough to be born a walleye, are released, so what is wrong with them?!?!? We'll I'll tell ya...they're not hungry. Bait fish are everywhere, so I'm going to propose we put Woman on earlier in the year, if we keep it. It's a great lake so I think we should keep it.

The big news coming from that night, is that we officially have a leader change. Just two events ago, it looked like Joey and Austin were going to cruise to a victory, but with no fish and only show up points to their credit on Whitefish and Woman, they have slipped to third. Steve and Brandon are now on top with 135 points followed by last year's champion Mark and Luther with 129. At this point, if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Mark and Luther; those guys are very consistent. 

That's going to be it for now. Rabbit is up next, and last years pike rules are in effect. All pike within 24 - 36 inches must be photographed and immediately released. Steve and Brandon, that means you too; take a fricken picture this time, or they don't count.

For updated standings, click HERE

For event detail click HERE

Event Five - Whitefish Chain 7/19/18

Hello bitches! Miss me? The long computer drought of 2018 is over, and during this horrendous ordeal, we didn't loose much. All of the league history that I had going into the blackout is still there, but I do not have the event detail from Roosevelt. I have the totals, which I sent out after the event, but you'll notice I put the point totals in the "show" box. Anyway, the points are up to date; and I'm back at this; football will soon be starting; I'm not dead yet; all is right with the world.

I don't feel the urge to write a book regarding Edward and Roosevelt, so I'll just stick with the Whitefish Chain. I don't know if it was the weather or if all of your doomsday predictions about catching 50 pike were just bullshit, but there were no where near that many pike caught. I know everyone didn't make those predictions, but the ones who did know who they are. One of the new rules this year concerning pike and picture taking did come into play on Whitefish. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 30 and 1/8 inch pike Derrick and his son caught was a picture. Therefore, it is not eligible to be big fish. Only measured fish count. If it wasn't a picture, then that is the big fish, and I can be corrected on Thursday. 

So, the big winners for the WFC, are the fifth different winners in five different events, so that's pretty cool. Jamie and Chuck scored a win with 33 points, followed by Steve & Brandon at 27.5. The biggest news of the night, is that our point leaders of Joey and Austin, were SKUNKED! They are now sitting on only a 4 point lead, so I guess the rest of us aren't fishing for second place after all. Speaking of second, Jim and I fell too. I can't blame him though, because he wasn't there. We did catch a walleye, and since no one else did, it was the biggest eye caught. The big fish of the night will go to Mark and Luther with a 26.5 inch pike pending the picture outcome.

That will do it for now. We're on Woman this Thursday from 6:00 to 9:00, so I'll see you there!

For standings click HERE
For event detail click HERE  

*I've been told that pike of Derricks was measured, so it is the big fish of the night. Glad that is cleared up.

Event Number Two - Pelican Lake 6/7/2018

First off, sorry for the delay in getting this done. It was a combination of being busy, plus I had to make some changes to my spreadsheet. Since we are using half points, I needed to make a line item for those half point fish on my sheet. You won't see any difference on the detail that's posted, but it is less confusing for me since I made those changes.

Right before putting in, Sam walked up to me and asked if we were on the right lake since it wasn't blowing like a sum bitch. For the most part, it was very calm for Pelican, and we didn't have to beat ourselves up getting to our favorite spots. Most everyone else's spots in the league are better than Jim and I's spots, because there were several fish caught, which again is different for Pelican. Troy and Ryan took top honors with 32.5 points. Joey and Austin are still atop the overall leader board with 56 points for the year, but Troy and Ryan are close behind with 53. Also, for the second straight week, the biggest fish of the night was caught by the team with the most points when they measured a 30.25 inch Pike.

This is the first time since I don't know when, that we started on Gull and moved Pelican back two weeks. As a result it means we're fishing three weeks in a row, but it paid off fish wise. Last year we had two more boats in the league, but this year we are catching more/bigger fish. Last year on Gull, we had a combined 180 points; this year we had 204.5. On Pelican last year, we had 174 points; this year we had 183. Both lakes seem in pretty good shape, but we've noticed less weeds in some areas, and more in others. The shallow areas seem to have more, but the deeper weed line seems to be less defined. Maybe it's a result of late ice out, or something more sinister...only time will tell.

Next week (tomorrow as I write this) we're on Edward. It's been pounded pretty hard this week, so we'll see what happens.

For the even detail click HERE.
For the standings, click HERE.

Event Number One…Gull Lake Chain 5/31/18

I held up on doing the notes this week, waiting on a reply to a text from me to Chris, Ben & Brent, about their participation in the league this year. Since none of them can bother to take all of five seconds and say yes or no, I’ll assume by their frustrating silence, that they are not fishing. I only wanted to know so I could figure out what we’d be handing out money wise to those of us who have decided to get off our assess and hit the water in search of all important points. More on the money later.

First off, it was great seeing everyone again, as well as meeting a couple of newbies. The weather on Gull Lake was amazing, and the fish were cooperating as well. There were a lot of Bass caught. Word has it that most came from under or around docks in fairly shallow water. I have to report this because there were no Bass in our livewell, so I have no first hand knowledge if this is indeed true. I would trust the guys I’m fishing with to pull me out of the water if I fell in and was drowning, but telling the truth about where or how they caught fish is an entirely different story. I also have no first hand knowledge of where or how two boats managed to catch a Walleye apiece. I have a feeling it was by accident while casting or trolling a weed edge for Bass or Pike in about 12 feet of water, but that is only a guess.

Pike, on the other hand, is a fish I have first hand knowledge about. Before I get into how and where, there were lot of Pike caught, so the DNR should be happy with us. We took a total of 28 Pike under 22 inches out of the lake. Yay for us! There were also several in the slot that were photographed and released, as well as a few over 26 that were measured and released. I thought our new Pike procedure went well, as it certainly cut down on handling them at the measuring trough. For us, ours came while trolling just above the weeds in 8 to 12 feet of water while dragging a spinner bait. Others caught theirs while casing as well as trolling spinner baits or plugs, but the one thing we all had in common, was the weed line. That’s where they were hanging out, and if everyone does their part, in a few years those under 22’s will be few and far between while larger toothy critters roam the deep.

You may be wondering why I haven’t said anything smart ass like about my partner so far. Well, it’s because he actually caught fish. He still doesn’t like touching them, but he did catch them, and I only had to stop the trolling run once and grab the net for a big glob of weeds rather than a fish that was bending his rod and mysteriously taking out drag. But again, he caught fish and no docks; God is good.

So, Joey and Austin were the big winners on Thursday with 28.5 points. You no doubt noticed the half point. I was originally going to round up to the nearest point, but my spreadsheet makes it easy to handle half points, so that’s how we’ll do it. It should cut down on ties at the very least. Anyway, in addition to their night leading 28.5 points, they also came away with the biggest fish of the night hauling in a 27.5 inch Pike. Bonus points wise, they also had the biggest Walleye and a tri-fecta, so it was a good night for those boys. Congrats!

Now for the money. We have 11 teams in and paid, for a total pot of $1,650. I like even numbers when handing out money, so just like in years past, we’ll do $50 a night for big fish, so subtract $500 and we have $1,150. Subtract from that $50 for expenses, and we’re at $1,100. In keeping with even numbers, we’ll pay out $200 at year end for first and second place. $125 for first, and $75 for second. That leaves us with an even $900 or $90 for the nightly winners. Nice and tidy. Bada boom, bada bing.

So that’s the report for Gull Lake this year. Next week we’re on Pelican putting in on Stewart’s Bay and fishing from 6:00 to 9:30. State regs apply for Pike on Pelican as well, so follow the same script next week. As always, if you see something funky with the scoring, let me know. By the way, last year we had 13 boats fish Gull scoring 180 points. This year we had 11 boats and we scored 197 points.

For the standings, click HERE.

For the event detail, click HERE.

2018 - The Beginning of a Great Year of Fishing

On Thursday night the 19^th, we had our annual start up meeting at Billy’s. The turnout was sparser than I expected, but I appreciate the discussion we had from the guys that were there. From what I was told that night, we have at least 10, maybe 11 teams this year. I’d appreciate hearing from those of you that were in it last year that aren’t going to be this year. I need to set the payouts for the year prior to our first outing, so the sooner the better. Also, if anyone is thinking of joining this year, please have them contact me quickly as well.

We discussed quite a few things that I’ll get into, but most of the discussion revolved around what to do about the new state-wide Pike regulation. After kicking around some ideas, here is what the rules will look like for the slimers this year. First off, thanks to a heads-up phone call from Dustyn, because these new rules will NOT apply to Rabbit and Woman lakes. Those two lakes already have special regulations regarding Pike, and the state-wide regulations do not trump those; so, the same rules as before will prevail. In those two lakes, all Pike from 24-36 inches must be released, so get yourself a bump board, and take a picture. BTW, no more tape measures or rulers will be accepted for measuring fish and taking a picture. They have to be on a bump board, or they won’t count. The possession limit is three per person (so four per boat is just fine) with only one over 36 inches. That takes care of Rabbit and Woman. As for the rest of the lakes, here goes:

New State Reg: All Pike between 22 & 26 inches must be immediately released. Two over 26 may be kept. Limit of 10 Pike under 22 inches is ENCOURAGED.

2018 Pike Rules:

·       All Pike between 22 & 26 inches will be photographed on a bump board (not a gunnel side ruler or tape measure…no exceptions) and released.

·       There will be no minimum on Pike. Up to 20 Pike per boat under 22 inches can be kept and 1/2 point will be awarded for each fish. (If all you have are fish under 22 inches, then four of them will receive 1 point each, thus creating a fill for the night…all others will receive ½ point) No measuring will be necessary, but all Pike must be counted and removed from the lake in order to receive the allotted points. (Putting them in a bucket [with ice] rather than your live well may be a wise choice) After all Pike have been counted, the half point will be rounded up for an even score. Example: If someone has 4 ½ points (9 fish) that don’t count towards the fill, they will be rounded up to 5 points for the night.

·       If you choose not to remove the fish, Pike under 22 inches will still be counted, but only 1 point per fish up to the “fill” amount of 4 will be counted. In other words, the old rules apply if you choose not to take the fish home.

This new rule will also affect big fish points for the night. We will not use a photograph for determining big fish; only measured fish will be eligible, so it is possible that a Pike just under 22 inches could take the big fish pot. It’s also possible, that a Bass or Walleye could be big fish for the night. Either way, it’s going to be an interesting year. If for some reason we don’t like it, we’ll fix it next year, but for this year, them are the rules for Pike and big fish.

Next item up for discussion was the schedule and the lakes we are fishing. We decided to keep Woman Lake this year, so we’ll be fishing the same lakes that we did last year. We also decided to push the schedule back a week since there will probably still be ice on the lakes opening weekend. Here is the schedule for 2018:

May 31^st         Gull                6:00-9:30         Zorbaz Landing

June 7^th           Pelican           6:00-9:30         Stewart’s Bay Landing

June 14^th         Edward          6:00-9:30        

June 28^th         Roosevelt      6:00-9:30

July 19^th          Whitefish      6:00-9:30         Lower Hay Lake Landing

August 2^nd     Woman          6:00-9:15

August 16^th    Rabbit            6:00-9:00

August 30^th    N Long          5:30-8:30

Sept 6^th           Rice                4:00-8:00

Sept 13^th         Whitefish      4:00-8:00         West Shore Drive Landing

That’s the schedule. I decided to throw in some make up dates if needed as well:

June 21^st         6:00-9:30 (Gull, Pelican or Edward)

July 26^th          6:00-9:30 (Whitefish, or Pelican or Edward if 2 out of the first 3 were X’d)

August 9^th      6:00-9:00 (Woman)

August 23^rd   6:00-9:00 (Rabbit)

Sept 20^th         4:00-7:30 (N Long, Rice or Whitefish)

That’s it for now. More to come at a later date so stay tuned.

Brad

PS: I've checked the schedules that I can find thus far, and we don't have any conflicts with other leagues.