I am finally back home and on the fish.  This is one of three nice fish Nig and I caught last night in an hour.  This fish went 22 1/2" in length and fell victim to a jig and leech combination.  We were also catching a few fish on crankbaits in less than 6 feet of water.  We spent the first hour of the evening fishing (catching) crappies.  I think I was able to catch a crappie on 3 out of 4 casts.  It was a ton of fun!  The average size was a bit small but it still made for a fun night. 

As for opening weekend, it was a bit tough to say the least.  I spent Friday night with Walser, Okie and Jay fishing Gull and got skunked.  We tried some shallow crankbaits as well as some bobber fishing and ended up cold and back at the cabin.  Saturday morning I spent some time in shallow waters looking for walleyes and found lots of nice bass instead.   Saturday evening I went fishing on Serpent lake in Deerwood, MN for the first time ever.  I went over there to take Betsy and her brothers out fishing.  Upon arrival I was told by the whole family that there weren't any fish in the lake and they each bet me 5 dollars I would not catch anything.  We went out in the evening to fish a few reefs but had no luck and at dark we tried fishing crankbaits but still had no luck.  It was very windy, rainy, and as the sun went down snowy.  Now that I had multiple excuses for not catching anything....I still couldn't bring myself to give up.  My hard work eventually paid off, and I was able to catch a nice 18" walleye on a crankbait right at dark.  Moments later I hooked up on another nice walleye only to lose it boatside while trying to net it.  At this point the wind and rain had gotten the best of me and I had to go in and warm up.  My work was done; I had proven there were walleyes in Serpent Lake and they will bite if you have the right presentation.  I will fish this lake again before summer is over and hope to continue to learn more about it.  Will be on the water the next few evenings with clients and will report back soon. 

The nice weather this past weekend gave Betsy, Matt Rauenhorst, and I a chance to get on the water and chase some panfish on Minnetonka.  Betsy was able to land this "giant" largemouth bass while fishing for crappies.  She also learned how to bait her own hook and take fish off.  We will see how well she does this weekend with fish that have teeth.  It was a good day on the water.  We caught in up wards of 75 plus crappies, a bunch of sunnies, and a few bass.  If we are lucky we will have photos with a few walleyes from this coming weekend.         

Tim and Rachel were able to make it out for a little crappie fishing on Waconia on Sunday!  Both enjoyed some success but the fish ran a little on the small side.  Many others joined us for the day including, Nig, Eddie, Betsy, and Neasha.  It really turned into a great day with many smiles, laughs, and fish to be caught. 

We fished in 23 feet of water and caught all of the crappies on worms and crappie minnows.  They were biting very light but after many misses we were able to figure them out.  Tim had the hot hole to start but eventually Rachel turned it on and I think she ended up with the most fish. 

Tim even your fish is tiny...!?!?  No wonder they call you Tiny Tim! 

Look out for the sisters....  I think they were trying to give this one a kiss and send it on its way.  Poor fish!  I am sure  he was scared to death. 

What can I say!?!  We had a record weekend on Upper Red Lake this last weekend.  This is a small sample of the 300 plus huge crappies we caught in less than 48 hrs.  I will be throwing more pictures up shortly.  I have to say thank you to Jay, Keith, Jason, Jeremy, Shane, and Lee.  Special thanks to Ryan and Mark Raveling of Raveling OutdoorS!  With out you guys, this trip couldn't have been a success.  If you or any one you know wants to get up and get in on this hot action, please contact me for availability.