Bill Babler

9am. Gauge says 3.75 inches the last 24 hours. I didn’t dump the total of 1.6 from yesterday. It’s still drizzling here at Hobbs Hollow, Shell Knob. We were going also to check the Yard Pattern. Not going, I just won’t pull the boat on a rainy hi way. Just fills it with road dirt and slime. Maybe Monday.

50 plus NuTech jigs for sale. Various sizes with lots of 3/8 and 1/2 oz. Almost impossible to find. Contact Joe. by TEXT at 417-224-3585. I’m posting for Joe.

Rained super hard for about an hour and a half this Morning with wind just howling. Gauge said 1.5 inches that we really didn’t need. Lake level looks like it will blow past 927 pretty easy today.

Bet they’re on the yard pattern across from Cow Creek.

Your boat probably thinks your lost fishing that close to the bank. 🤣🤣🤣 I know mine gets a little shaky when I get that close.

Yes and no. Pretty tight and you’re launching off the parking lot not the ramp. You do have to be very careful as huge rocks line the upper ramp. They would cut a tire in a second. At this point the dock is accessible if you jump. I can do it so that means it’s an easy leap.

Debris from SK to Big M is Down Right Scary early in the morning. Steven and I started at 5:30 from the SK bridge. Big floaters everywhere, with some showing just the tip and a lot more underwater. On top of the heavy trash there was a very thick fog. I was trying to get to Emerald Beach but no way. Worked out good for us as we stopped and just caught the fire out of them on a bluffend. 3/4 oz. Dixie Jet did the damage. Also a small jig. Steven totally whipped the TAR out of me. Probably catching 4 to 1. On top of that I kept jumping them off. I’m guessing I jumped at least 10 off. Glad it happened like that however even if I would have put them all in the boat I still would have had my tail kicked. There were guys out there running on GPS in that fog and debris. Totally Stupid. We heard at least 3 different boats hit floaters. One sounded like it was going to cost money. Caught fish off only 2 locations. Both had shad a plenty. SM and K’s mostly but Steve did catch one good LM. I jumped one off and also a Big Small Jaw along with my other faux paws. Yesterday was similar for me. Dropped my coffee right out of the truck and broke the Yeti lid. Lost a Giant SM on a top water. Threw a chatter bait 15’ up in a tree. Lost a jig flipping on the first cast. Backlashed a reel throwing a flutter spoon. I mean a knife job, It was nasty. All the while calm and collected Steve kept catching. He called me a Bull in a China Shop. Wish he could come down more often. It was a great two days fishing with my son.

I just ran and gunned yesterday. My Phoenix is a year old this week and I only have 38 hours on it. There is still a shad spawn going on early. I had a decent topwater morning from 5:30 till about 6:15 right in front of the bushes on a Speed Shad. Also had a pile of fish on a 3/8oz. white jackhammer when they ignored my topwater. I’m guessing my best 5 maybe 14 pounds. Again, lots of small jaws. I had a 3.75 K or I would not have had that much weight. There are still some K’s that are spawning, guarding fry and also staging. Caught some totally pre-spawn K’s on a flutter spoon out in front of a big spawning cove. They were unmarked and beautiful with totally extended abdomens. I guess it’s possible that they just won’t spawn but I’m betting they will. Surface temp at Baxter for me when I started was 66.7. When I put it on the trailer at 3 pm, it had reached 69 degrees. These low to mid 50’s nights are keeping it cool. Got really good at identifying fry guarders and fry as opposed to shad balls. Fry is in an extremely round ball that’s very loose and you can count the individual fry. The guard is usually sulking right on top. The shad schools are not in a totally round ball and are configured differently and 99% of the time you can’t count them. Really never. They also are free swimming within the school changing location and directions while the bass schools are much more coordinated and uniform. Moving more in unison and maintaining individual places in the school rather than helter skelter like the shad. Fished about 20 locations in the 10 hours I was on the water. ONLY caught fish if I could see them on either 2D or LiveScope, mostly scope. If I didn’t see em I didn’t get bit. I know we hate the scope, but it just totally eliminates dead water. Don’t care how good it looks or if you have caught them there for 20 years. Some days they just aren’t there. FFS saves what’s most important to us. Time. I had about 40 total yesterday. Best 2 baits were the 3/8 oz. Jig and of course the little 2.8 Keitech. On a sad note I dropped two 4 pound walleye right at the boat. Back to back casts. Didn’t have a net and the little swim bait popped out of both of them while I was trying to get my mitts on them. Probably would have kept one. Maybe, but not two. Spoke to some guys that were flipping bushes and throwing a blade back in the bushes and one guy had done well and the other not so much. I tried that a bit but no love. Most of my fish were 15’, even the suspended K’s I caught in front of the spawning cove. Suspended or on the bottom at that 15’ mark. Here is my neighbor and his son day before yesterday on Lake Fork. They said yesterday was terrible. But man, day before was the total BOMB. All topwater spook and frog. Biggest 7.14. Best 5 close to 30 pounds.

Thanks for the photos. Great trip. Can’t wait to hear about your Sturgeon Bay outing.

Lazy Lee’s is a long way from mid-lake. Most consider anything down hill from KC to be dam area. That being said, catching a crappie down there anytime is a 90% no proposition. During a holiday I would hate my chances even with LiveScope. However all is not lost. Kennel Branch is right across the lake. Go to the back of it, there is plenty of pole timber back there and you might be able to fish in peace. Night crawler will be the deal for bluegill. I’d start at 15’ and work shallower. Also back in the adjacent cove to your resort Prior to going back in Kennel at the back of point 7 before the docks there is a shallow timbered pocket that at times holds gills and gogs. You can swim a small swim bait or again use live bait. The flats just across from LL on the down hill side of point 7 are very good locations for walleye. Jig and crawler or drop shot crawler work well here. Start at 15’ and work out to 30’. You can also troll bottom bouncers with crawlers here or a deep running crank bait. News is out about Whites surfacing on the same flat and on the points at LL and the flats across from Cow Creek early in the mornings. I mean early 5:15 to maybe if your lucky 6:30. If you’re keeping them to eat I’d use a lipless crank bait in 3/4, oz. silver in either black or blue back. You can throw it a long way. You can also catch them on a pop-r. It just doesn’t throw as far. They will eat the little swimsuit but the lipless is a better weapon. Be careful with them as they remind me of a porcupine. They will also eat a jigging or flutter spoon, all better than a swim bait. The bouy point and adjacent flat across from Cow is also a good place for walleye and bluegill. If you find bluegill on the long gravel run outs you will also find walleye. I really don’t think the gills are spawning yet so I’m guessing they will be a bit deeper 15’ plus on the main lake gravel. Back in the pole timber pockets they may be shallower. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

We stayed out at Sand Bay Lodge. Not Sand Bay Resort. About 10 minutes from Sturgeon Bay, right on Green Bay. Absolutely beautiful. The Lodge has 3 properties, we found out. Only thought it had 2. Big Lodge holds a Big group. I believe 18. Second house is 4 bed 3 bath and is fantastic We found out they also have a small cabin.

Griz sounds like you need a Ned in your future with all those daddy’s. Kangaroo was busy the day Becky and I were going to try it. Several guides. I’m guessing they were blown off the Big Pond too. Parking at the Roo is a problem if it’s busy. Can’t really get off the road and it is as tight as hot water washed jeans, with rigs parked both sides of the road. I just don’t know if they have more than the one ramp. It was the only one we could find behind the golf course.

I will most different stop. Sounds like my kind of place. Probably not a much better place in the country than Door County May thru October Katy bar the Door the rest of the year. However they said they had a super mild Winter this year.

Griz, we were going to fish Kangaroo. Have you fished it? Went up there one day and really couldn’t find a place to park at the ramp we looked at. About a dozen rigs were lining the road both sides and I would have had to back a city block between them. Thanks

😁👏👍👌

A Caveat on the restaurant recommendation, Terriorman. We were getting most of our information from a group of ladies that were 50’s, 60’s and 70’s that were size O to size 4 that played Pickleball 4 hours a day 7 days a week and wore spandex leggings, mini-tennis skirts and halter mid-drift tops. 😂😂😂. One lady, I think it was Maggie told Becky we know how to spend our calories. Margaritas, Great wine, Martinis, Bloody Mary’s, and Craft Beer. 🤩 Another one chimed in saying don’t forget Cherry Cheese Cake and Chocolate. Totally fun awesome group. PS Their husbands were more into the Craft Beer and were not quite in the same shape😁😁😁 A relief to me 👏👏👏

Terriorman, we were there but neither of us are into Polish Food. I’m absolutely sure it’s great, but just not our deal. Saw it rated very highly and asked our PB group about it. Was not their bag either. They said you had to like Sauerkraut, cabbage, green peppers and heavy sauces. DaveB and his group may be into that so thanks for posting it as it’s rated off the charts. I’m kinda a steak and tator guy and Becky has never met anything swimming in the sea she is not crazy about.

No problems with the gobies. Slime, moss, zebra muscles BAD. Guide said Green Bay out to Washington just keeps getting worse every year for moss and zebras. Retie and check your line a lot. Best braid to carbon knot is a 5 wrap surgeon knot. Beats the FG by 1/2 Mile and you can tie it in 30 seconds. You very seldom ever hear it going thru the guides.

One of the most quaint and beautiful places I’ve been to and this includes Alaska. Limitless activities and places to see. 3 places you have to take the Ladies; 1. Lunch at the Mink River Basin Bar. $ Everything and I mean everything made in house. Portions are legendary. Drink menu with 50 plus craft beers. Homemade twice cooked fries. Hand cut tempora beer battered rings. Burgers cooked your way to perfection plus a fantastic seafood and daily specials menu. In house dessert. Becky had chocolate mousse with homemade whipped cream, IT WAS NAUGHTY 👿 Can’t miss eatery. 15 minutes from Egg. 2. Nightingale Supper Club. $$ Sturgeon Bay. Prime rib cooked to perfection fork tender. I had mine blackened med.rare covered in mushrooms. Best I’ve ever had. PERIOD. Fish and seafood fantastic for non-beef eaters. 3. Donnie Gliddens Lodge. $$$ Magnificent views Dress up. Business casual. Seafood Steaks. This place is super high end and expensive. 4 persons with cocktails supper and desert and tip will push $400.00. You won’t think you wasted the money, it’s that good. 4. Sonney’s Sturgeon Bay. $$ pizza and Italian , amazing views of Sturgeon Bay Harbor. Anything Cherry up there is the best you’ve ever had. Cherries are their life and it shows Make sure the girls go to Renard’s cheese shop. If you come home without a bottle of their Cherry Butter you have made a HUGE MISTAKE. We have eaten at least 15 jars of it since last year. It’s just crazy good. Also 100’s of craft cheeses that are just out of this world. Between Egg and Ephraum there is a huge cove that has a long curved runout in the middle. It’s about a mile from Egg. Can’t miss it. It is totally the bomb. You could stay in there all day weather permitting. Most all the guides were using a micro-Howie’s tube on a 1/8 th. head swimming it slowly just off the bottom. It really works. We had lots of moss and slime to deal with I don’t know if it disappeared like it does here. Also we had a huge bug problem the day I was with the guide. He said it was the worst he had ever seen. We both swallowed and coughed them up. Not mosquito but midges. He said they go away after May. Becky didn’t like them the day we got on the water, she had to cover her mouth and nose to avoid them. Also for some reason the lake is down about a foot. My guide said he had never seen it that low. I don’t think that’s a problem however. Give us a report when you get back. If we had had another couple with us, where the ladies could have been together not on a boat, we probably could have gotten another couple of days fishing. However I do get queasy in 4 ft. rollers. Make sure if you take a boat to rent a car for the ladies. I believe Sturgeon Bay has 3 car rentals. If they have their own ride you will have two very happy girls. Probably won’t be able to keep track of them there is so much for them to do. Another thing is I got to look at several multi-species boats. Personally I think the Vexus is by far the best. Warrior and Lund also top of the line. Fished out of a Ranger and it would be the 4th. Choice no doubt. You see a lot of Minn Kota and Hummingbirds up there but everyone has a Garmin on the bow. Good Luck. Hope this is some good information. Also if the ladies are pickleball players the faculties and welcoming folks of the Door County PB Club are fantastic.

Wife and I got home Monday from Whisky. We had a super time and fishing was the smallest part of it. Missed the Cherry Tree bloom it should be. Next week but the Redbuds and ornamental trees were fantastic. It’s a long drive especially on the way up we got caught in a jam due to a wreck on 55 in Chitown. Sat for 2.5 hours and onstar could not help us. Lodging was great and the restaurants in Door County are the best we have been to in 45 years of marriage. Now about the fishing. Fishing the Great Lakes is a Super Challenge. Not only are 99% of the fish in 10 percent of the water, but at times that 10% is unfishable due to weather. (WIND). Or, the lack there of. First day of fishing I took a guide trip. It was Super Tough. Still flat calm and a sky that you could see to eternity. Guide caught 3 and I caught 2. BRUTAL. From what I heard however there was a bite as a friend on a trip had 20 plus with a couple over 5 pounds. Strangely it was a walleye trip and they were fishing channel swings in 15’ of water, trolling cranks. He said walleye fishing sucked because they couldn’t keep the Smallmouth off. Next 2 days for us we’re unfishable. With wind out of the ENE with gusts to 40 MPH. We got out Friday to a gentle breeze at 5-10 MPH and I fished a location I had caught them on last year, swimming a small Howie’s tube and a 2.8 Keitech. Both with 1/8th. oz. Heads. Guide showed me the tube swimming deal, as nothing can hit the bottom or it comes back either with a zebra mussel or slime. We caught 14 up to 4 pounds. One nearly ate Becky up. We were fishing out of Egg Harbor so she only fished an hour or two and then walked to lots and lots of shopping. We met some fantastic people and played a ton of Pickleball. Door County has a magnificent facility and we felt right at home with a group of 50’s, 60’s and folks our age. Very competitive they could play. Lots of 3.5 to 4.0 players, just like us. We were going to stay and fish 1 more day but again 30 MPH Wind put a stop to that. I’m not comfortable with my wife in the boat with 3 and 4 foot rollers. Guys it’s a fantastic place to take the wife but if it’s going to be straight fishing go with a guy group. Last year we were winded out only one day. This year it got us 3 days. If I go back next year I’m spending 2 weeks. Maybe after Labor Day as the big 3 tournaments will be over. Had a fantastic time with Becky and she really enjoyed it except for the 14 hour drive.

That Wednesday deal sounds like a blast if you can get a few boats let me know. I’d love to fish it. Seniors Derby.

He may not be scoping but he has lots of other tricks besides casting and cranking. He put me on a pattern and I ran with it. As we have touched on in the past, post spawn fish will gang up. Some of these locations will hold initially depending on location lots of pre-spawners. I’m the one who has been pounding the dirt, and he informed me they were already out there. Believe it or not, lots of the dam area guides are already out there with a night crawler dangling for their clients. Seems early for that, but there are just loads of SM out there. For the past month I’m catching way more SM than I’m catching K’s in any depth. LM are running second. KC to the SK bridge. I have not been up the White, Kings or James yet. Don’t pigeon hole James. I’m guessing he has caught as many fish over deep trees on a flutter spoon a jigging spoon, jerk bait and a Redfin than a lot of us combined 😁😁

Yikes. On Topwater, Dixie Jet flutter spoon and a 2.8 Keitech Think pre-spawn when the water is cold and they’re just starting to move up and stage. RIGHT THERE.

I’m catching a Bucket Load of SM out deep. All spawned out. Plenty of LM out there. They also have been spawned out. These are deep pre and post spawn locations. There are also quite a few Big, Big K’s mixed in with them that are pre spawn. Kentucky’s are fat as toads and have not stepped up to the maturity ward yet in any numbers. I haven’t caught a spawned out K yet. Don’t know if y’all watched any of the MLF today but Nick Hatfield was on a very similar pattern as I’ve been fishing. Unlike Nick however I’m not catching one every cast. 🤣🤣 They will be scattered spawning thru the 1st. Holiday, especially the K’s, but we have had a minor and a major wave finish up.

Wow, that’s some kind of a day. Congrats