I got out for a 3hr tour morning. 24 degrees at launch, but the winds finally subsided. I picked up the 45" beauty below about 10 minutes in, trolling the same point that the 46.25" came from the other day. Making an early pass over this point is mandatory at this point. 

An hour or so later I lost another big'n while trolling over a deep rock pile, then put a 36" in the net about a half hour before I had to call it quits. Current total stands at 106 for me and 124 for Team Tim & Tammy. One heck of a year!!! Three more days of fishcation then back to reality. Booo...

Mid 30's and blowing 15 - 25, occasional rain and snow showers. Brr... but I managed to add a couple fat 40 inchers to the tally.  

 Two more days of fishcation left. 30's again tomorrow, but light winds will make it much more pleasant. Planning on putting in a long day.

Heck of a year Tim! 

2 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

Heck of a year Tim! 

Thanks, It sure has been. The end is near. Tuesday could be my last trip, or I might get to fish another week or two. Depends on how accurate ol Inaccuweather's extended forecast is. Lol. Surface temp was 42 today and it's been steadily dropping about one degree per day. It gets super tough once it drops below 40.

Interesting evening. It was 30 something degrees so I figured I would just fish off my dock. Couldn’t help but wanting to cover more water so by the time I walked to the dock I grabbed a kayak and went out. Fished close to home but still wanted to cover some water so I went to my favorite crappie dock. It was loaded, got several. While I was reeling one in, a huge fish tried to eat it! I thought it was a striper. Then it kept trying to eat my crappie and it was a 5+ lb largemouth!!! I couldn’t get it to swallow the crappie and even if it had, my 6 ft flemsy spinning rod and 6 lb line wouldn’t have stood a chance under a dock but I was willing to try it haha. 
 

Paddled back to the dock in the dark and the neighbors Saint Bernard and chocolate lab were there ready to kill me . I have petted the Saint Bernard before but here lately he doesn’t like me. I was able to splash the heck out of him with my paddle and he ran away pretty far and I got the kayak out of the water and secured a tree branch for protection. He chased me up thru my yard but every time he got close I charged toward him and he ran away. 
 

 

@TnRiver46, his name isn't Cujo is it? 😯😂

Well, haven’t had anything to contribute bass wise since MI is in full winter mode. I did get in a little late fall shore fishing for river-run steelhead, Atlantic and coho salmon. I released everything and while it did give me that little voice of regret having missed most of the good fall bite, I don’t regret pushing bass into mid November.
 

I had about a 10 day, 3 trip river season before it went quickly to early winter. I did well enough to say it was worth those few trips in the chaos.

 

I spent 10hrs on the water today, mostly trolling A -rigs. I caught two small fish, 32" and  33" and lost a third that was only a little bigger. Saw a few giants on sonar, but they weren't playing today. All three bites came between 09:00 and 10:00, the hour leading up to moon set. Typical for this time of year, that bite window wasn't open very long. 

 Surface temp was 38 - 39.5 with more cold incoming, so that's a wrap for my 2025 season.

I took a pic of the 32" since I thought it might be my last fish of the year.

The 33" came shortly after, but it was hooked deep so I didn't mess with a pic. I cut the hook and it swam off strong without much bleeding. I think it'll be fine.

Here's a pic of the lake this morning. Low 30's, low clouds, and low winds all day. It was pretty enjoyable weather for December fishing.

It was an awesome year. I learned a lot that'll give me a better foundation to build upon next year.

 My final tally stands at 111 muskie over 30" with 28 of those being 40" or better. Tammy caught 18 with 6 of hers being over 40", so 129 in the bag for the team this year. Now that she's retired, her numbers will go way up next year. 

 Time to get busy on the Honeydo list.

14 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

I spent on the water today, mostly trolling A -rigs. I caught two small fish, 32" and  33" and lost a third that was only a little bigger. Saw a few giants on sonar, but they weren't playing today. All three bites came between 09:00 and 10:00, the hour leading up to moon set. Typical for this time of year, that bite window wasn't open very long. 

 Surface temp was 38 - 39.5 with more cold incoming, so that's a wrap for my 2025 season.

I took a pic of the 32" since I thought it might be my last fish of the year.

The 33" came shortly after, but it was hooked deep so I didn't mess with a pic. I cut the hook and it swam off strong without much bleeding. I think it'll be fine.

Here's a pic of the lake this morning. Low 30's, low clouds, and low winds all day. It was pretty enjoyable weather for December fishing.

It was an awesome year. I learned a lot that'll give me a better foundation to build upon next year.

 The final tally stands at 111 muskie over 30" with 28 of those being 40" or better. Tammy caught 18 with 6 of hers being over 40", so 129 in the bag for the team this year. Now that she's retired, her numbers will go way up next year. 

 Time to get busy on the Honeydo list.

Congrats to you both on another 100 plus  Musky Season.  Thanks for bringing us along.  And while I know you won't  admit it, your addiction is brutally hard work. 

Major Respect Brother.

A-Jay

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Congrats to you both on another 100 plus  Musky Season.  Thanks for bringing us along.  And while I know you won't  admit it, your addiction is brutally hard work. 

Major Respect Brother.

A-Jay

Thanks A-Jay. That compliment carries weight coming from you. I always enjoy your reports/vids. Big brownies, pike, muskie, trout....... You got some serious skills brother. 

I hope Lynn's feeling up to getting out more next year. It always warms my heart and puts a smile on my face seeing you two kids out there together. 

Congrats on a great season @T-Billy!

50 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Honeydo list

@T-Billy, I sure understand your musky focus. They're magnificent fish. Congrats again on your wonderful season and it's so cool that Tammy will be fishing more. 

@T-Billy…man of a thousand muskies. Awesome year, man!

@T-Billy and Tammy, that's a heck of a year.

129!!!

Our last Mid range trip(4 Days trip).

6 hours ago, ATA said:

Our last Mid range trip(4 Days trip).

I won’t lie and tell anyone I like fish but dang that looks like a freezer full my man. Congratulations to you and the missus👊🏻

Nice @ATA! That must have been a fun trip! The tuna (yellowfin?) must have been a blast. Congrats bud

@Jigfishn10 One small bluefin and six other 6 yellowfin, also a yellow tail, which was in cooler.

@Eric 26 Honestly, two freezers full always, and we give fish out every time we have a chance to friends and family. Thanks for the comment.

Cheek meat acquired! Sunny warm Saturday, 6 hours one bite haha. Now it’s high of 25 low in teens……. Midweek should get better 

 

walleye wings!!!

Can’t pass on that cheek meat!

Looks good @TnRiver46. I might have to thaw out a bag of fillets. 

@T-Billy Outstanding year just don't set the bar too high because it makes it that much harder to improve from such a lofty position. 😀

24 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@T-Billy Outstanding year just don't set the bar too high because it makes it that much harder to improve from such a lofty position. 😀

I hear ya Dwight. This year might be tough to top. Now that the wife's retired, I reckon I can expect to get by butt kicked on a more regular basis. Lol.