Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

It’s been over a month since the last Top 5 Update. We’ve been catching fish but nothing to boost our totals. A Lake Storey trip last week produced a quality fish to bump me up a couple of ounces as noted below.

Weight: 3-6
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: September 8
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Water Temp: 71F
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white)
Structure: Tree/logs
Angler Comments: An old faithful spot on the lake came through with a quality bite. It is a spot that we’ve named “The Most Fished Tree” for short. Perhaps I will relate the rest of the story about the name in the full report on this trip later this week.
Top 5 Weight: 18-12 (4-14,3-13,3-6,3-6,3-5) culls a 3-4

I always like to take a shot at Lake Storey as fishing heads into the home stretch and so far so good with a pair of trips. I still need to catch up on the full report for the September outing and I am currently in the process of trying my luck again. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – September 6

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I got wind that some of my Knox County public strip ground had received a “hair cut” making bank access much more angler friendly. That looked too good to pass up even though hiking and biking is getting to be more of a workout with each passing year. Read on for the recap.

Stats
Date: September 6
Location: Knox County public strip pits (7 lakes)
Time: 2:05pm-7:25pm
Totals: 14 bass
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with a BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 7 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 2 bass, 5″ Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram flake) – 2 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 1 bass, Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 1 bass, 7″ Berkley Power Worm (tequila sunrise) on an Owner 3/16 oz. Shaky Head – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-5 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 5-8 (1-5,1-2,1-1,1-0,1-0)

Winning Lures

3:40pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-2 (13.5″) on lipless crankbait

Tune of the Trip
The End of the Innocence – Don Henley (1989)
“We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by and the tall grass waves in the wind.”
Thanks to some groundwork by the site crew, a great deal of the bank vegetation had been obliterated. Instead of watching the reeds lining the shore waving in the wind and wishing I could get to the water, much of the bank was wide open.

For many years, these shorelines have been completely inaccessible

Notes and Nonsense

Landscaping – Much has changed over the thirty-five years that I have roamed the Knox County strip mines. Population dynamics, new fishing holes, drained fishing holes, improved access, and nature allowed to run wild are among the observed changes. Occasionally, some changes occur that are a boon to hiking anglers. This year such an improvement is the clearing of shoreline weeds, reeds, and brush in some locations. Access to the banks of several lakes has opened to levels not seen since the 1990s. Kudos to the site staff in looking out for us anglers (and a fellow strip mine angler for putting in a request).

Haven’t had a backlash as ugly as the one on this day that cost me half of my spool

Professional Overrun – I favor a baitcaster when it comes to bass fishing although I do pack along a couple spinning combos for more finesse-oriented presentations. But no matter how long you have wielded a baitcaster (just over forty years in my case), you are going to experience backlash (or fancily referred to as “professional overrun”). Heavy winds got me on this day as my frog got too high on a cast and fouled my spool bigtime. In fact, I had to cut the mess out, strip all the line off, and put what was salvageable back on the reel. Fortunately, I was in the middle of nowhere, so no one witnessed this ritual of shame. Or heard a few bad words even though I am not much for profanity. If you are a bass angler, I suppose you have been there as well.

4:42pm – Top Bass at 1-5 (14.5″) on a Senko

Missing Bass – Every once in a while when I review my GoPro footage from a fishing trip, I find a missing bass. On the water, I make notes on my phone for each catch as a temporary log which is then entered in more detail in a spiral notebook and Access database (yes, I know there are fishing log apps, but I am old and a creature of habit). In the case of this outing, I failed to record a chatterbait catch from 6:01pm. As it is not the first time such a logging error has occurred, I suspect that I have actually caught a few more than the 7,774 “meticulously” documented largemouth bass since 1997.

Fatigue in the Fifties – It’s strange to think that I am much closer to sixty than fifty. When thinking back to the fact that I first started fishing these waters in my early twenties, much has changed in addition to the landscape. I covered over four miles while peeking at ten different bodies of water and by the time that I wandered far from the parking lot, I was already feeling beat. One goes in with the realization that one must make his way back out. I was tired and clumsy as I fished with inaccurate casts and was occasionally out of tune with my presentations. I was tired and sore when I got back to my truck. I was tired and stiff after my hour drive home. I was restless and fighting off cramps as I lay in bed that night. But I was back on the water two days later, feeling only mildly refreshed yet resolved to stand in a boat for eight hours. That’s another story.

Fourteen bass and nothing real big but a rewarding hike and bike to take advantage of the enhanced bank access. Often, as I sit in my truck or nurse my sore body after such a stunt, I ponder a “farewell” tour for some of these lakes. Eventually, I get over it but one of these days…Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Trip Tunes – August 24

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Another drive to the fishing hole provides yet another opportunity to ramble about tunes and my lifelong allegiance to the radio dial.

5. The Safety Dance – Men Without Hats (1982)
Music in the 80s was both weird and wonderful and encompassed my teenage years in their entirety. This tune and band are a perfect slice of 80s music. While not technically a one-hit wonder (see “Pop Goes the World), this smash reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A bit of research shows that “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Tell Her About It’ kept it from reaching the top. And as a bonus, it is the only song I know that includes the word “imbecile” in the lyrics.

4. Different Drum – The Stone Poneys (1967)
This tune is as old as I am, and it is still a winner fifty-eight years later. Lead vocalist, Linda Ronstadt, would go on to be one of the leading ladies of the 1970s but for my money, this cut was better than any of her memorable string of cover tunes (as was “Long Long Time” from 1970). A cool note on “Different Drum” is that it was written by the late Michael Nesmith of The Monkees.

3. Dreamer – Supertramp (1974)
Like many Supertramp tunes, there is a lot going on in this song. Multiple vocalists, multiple keyboards, call and response, ups and downs, and changes of pace. I have no clue on the musical technicalities so I will just call it “Far out” as some of the lyrics state. And speaking of “far out”, I think that slang should make a return to regular usage. Somewhere around here, I’ve got a DVD copy of a program called “The Old Grey Whistle Test” that features a fun 1974 rendition of this tune (the clip can also be found online). On a sad note, I learned of the passing of Supertramp’s Rick Davies a day prior to putting this post together.

2. Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen (1987)
You sure can’t take a trip through the soundtrack of the 80s on the big screen without a shout out to Dirty Dancing. While I am not a rabid fan of the film, you can’t deny its impact. And while “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” from the soundtrack went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, I like this song better. Eric Carmen’s one-two punch of an 80s comeback with this tune and “Make Me Lose Control” still stop me on the radio dial every time.

1. Spirit of the Radio – Rush (1980)
As a guy who still digs his radio, this song sums up what it is all about.
“Begin the day with a friendly voice
A companion, unobtrusive
Plays that song that’s so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood.”
I have begun many days this way. And have ended many a night in the same fashion.
“Off on your way, hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the spirits ever lingers
Undemanding contact in your happy solitude.”
And that sums up the ride to the fishing hole, or anywhere else with the radio dial as my steady companion.

Talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report – August 31

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I look forward to fishing the Lake Storey fall drawdown each year but this year I opted for a day of advance casting while the lake was still at full pool. It was a daring move on a Labor Day weekend Sunday, but the crowd wasn’t too bad, and the bass were in a good mood to start the morning. Unfortunately, they got stubborn later. Read on for the rest of the story.

Starting Lineup

Stats
Date: August 31
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 6:50am-1:35pm
Totals: 10 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy to windy, 57-73F
Water temperature: 78F
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 5 bass, War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 3 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad)- 1 bass, Googan Squad Gridiron Jig (rotten pumpkin) with Net Bait B Bug (natural craw swirl) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-14 (Spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight: 8-0 (1-14,1-12,1-8,1-7,1-7)

6:53am – Top Bass #4 at 1-7 (14″) on a buzzbait

Tune of the Trip
“Love on the Rocks” – Neil Diamond (1980)
I do like Neil Diamond, but this tune certainly does not crack my Top 5 from his catalog. However, some of “the rocks” at Lake Storey were a big winner on this trip. More details in the notes below.

7:17am – Top Bass #1 at 1-14 (16″) on a spinnerbait

Notes and Nonsense

Frog False Start – One of the lures in my starting lineup was a Spro Flappin Frog. Leading up to this trip, I had a game plan to head immediately to a weedy flat after launching, saving some other areas in proximity to the ramp for later in the day. Upon arriving at the flat, however, I was greeted with absolutely no surface weeds. As a result, I never made a single cast with the frog. Instead, I picked up a buzzbait and was greeted with my first catch of the morning on my third cast. It was the lone topwater catch of the day.

7:29am – Top Bass #3 at 1-8 (14.5″) on a spinnerbait

Boom and Bust – Defined as an “alternation of prosperity and depression”, boom and bust was an accurate description of my day on the water. The depression part only related to a decrease in bites, not in attitude as it is tough to get too down even when the fish quit biting. At 9:01am, I landed my eighth bass of the morning, barely two hours after launching. For the next four and a half hours, I would only fool two more fish. I altered presentations, continued to hit proven spots, and worked them thoroughly from different angles when possible but continued to come up empty. That’s fishing.

Rockpile bass are noted above with four from one spot (time/length/weight/lure)

Love on the Rocks – According to the Neil Diamid song cited above, “Love on the rocks, ain’t no big surprise.” Lake Storey features several rockpiles scattered along its length and they are always worth some casts. My favorite and most consistent of those spots consists of a length of rubble and cinder blocks sitting about sixty feet off the bank on an expansive flat. On this trip, that area produced four bass in the span of fifteen minutes on a lipless crankbait. One of my favorite “tricks” for fishing this spot is a change of retrieve direction. After working both perpendicular and parallel to the cover with multiple casts, I move past the area and then cast back to it in parallel fashion from the opposite direction. This approach frequently produces a bite from a fish that ignored my prior casts. And right on time, it worked again on this trip as noted in the 8:44am log entry above.

8:38am – Top Bass #2 at 1-12 (15″) on a lipless crankbait

9:01am – Top Bass #5 at 1-7 (14″) on a spinnerbait

A double-digit haul is a decent trip for me on Lake Storey, but good bites were elusive. All bites are “good” but my definition of a “good one” is a two-pound or better fish as that is what it takes to meet my daily goal of a ten-pound Top 5. I came up short this time, but I intend to take another shot or two as the annual fall drawdown is set to kick in after the Labor Day holiday. As September dawns, I view the remaining months as the home stretch of another year on the water. Here’s hoping there’s some more “good ones” out there. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – August 24

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Somehow it was exactly a month since my last fishing trip (July 24) when I set out for my first August bass of the year. I was overdue and hoping that the bass had missed me.

Stats
Date: August 24
Location: Knox County public strip pits (4 lakes)
Time: 6:05am-11:50am (4.75 hours)
Totals: 20 bass
Weather: Sunny to partly cloudy/breezy to windy, 55-68F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 14 bass, Whopper Plopper 110 – 5 bass, 3.8″ Bass Pro Shops Speed Shad (K’s Magic) with 3/16 oz Owner Flashy Swimmer jighead – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-12 Frog
Top 5 Weight: 10-9 (2-12,2-3,2-0,1-14,1-12)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
“In The Dark” – Billy Squier (1981)
As the days get shorter, it gets easier to get to the fishing hole before dawn. I left home at 4:20am and was tying lures on in the parking lot on the tailgate by the light of a cell phone. The clear night sky was also pretty cool on the drive, with an alignment of planets and Orion to the east/southeast.

My pic doesn’t really do it justice as I should have snapped it before sunrise

Notes and Nonsense

Topwater Treat – Nineteen of the twenty bass on this outing were fooled by topwater lures (fourteen on a frog and five on propbait). The sunrise topwater bite lived up to my expectations and the continuing bite throughout the morning was icing on the cake. Bright sun did not deter the bass and some chop on the water was just what the doctor ordered as those bass prowled both the flats and the deeper edges of shoreline vegetation.

8:17am – Top Bass at 2-12 (18″) on a frog

 

Wading the Weeds – The area that I fished does not get much attention in terms of upkeep for angler access. And that’s just fine. While I am not entirely anti-social, it is kind of fun to fish and never see another soul. Although with weeds as high as my head in some places, I would not know anyone was around anyway. It takes ample effort to get to most of the fishing holes but as I lipped the 2-12 for my first quality catch of the morning, I said aloud on video, “Well, that makes it worth the wade through the weeds.”

11:48am – Top Bass Runner up at 2-3 (16″) on a frog on the final cast of the trip

Last Cast Bass – I had a plan to meet Julie in Woodhull to pick up the boys and take them to my folks for a visit and watch the Cubs game. My deadline to leave the lot was 12:30pm. At 10:50am, I hit what was to be my final spot and still needed one more quality bite to push my Top 5 for the day into double digits (my weight was sitting at 9-5). At 10:53am, I got a 2-0 to boost my weight to 9-14 but a near hour drought followed. Luck was on my side as I got the fianl bite that I needed at 11:48am, a bass weighing 2-3 that pushed my Top 5 Weight to 10-9. Having a fifteen-minute walk back to my truck, I elected to make that my final cast of a productive outing.

Winning lures

 

The bass treated me well after leaving them alone for a month. Throw in a good visit with my folks and a 4-3 Cubs victory on the road to sweep a three-game series from the Angels and it was quite a Sunday. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Trip Tunes – July 23 & 24

Posted on by Troy Jackson

5. Man in the Moon – R.E.M. (1992)
I’m honestly not much of an R.E.M. fan as I like this one and “Stand”, and that’s about it. The alternative rock scene just never really floated my boat. But this tune was just weird enough to grab my ear. As the lyrics progress, you’ve got references to rock and roll, classic games, the highly unusual Andy Kaufman, professional wrestling, The King, The Bible, scientific stalwarts, and conspiracy. It still leaves me thinking what in the world did I just listen to? And does anybody else get a kick out of singing along to Michael Stipe’s impersonation of Andy Kaufman impersonating an Elvis impersonator with “Hey, baby”?

4. There’s Only One Way to Rock – Sammy Hagar (1982)
I can only take so much of Sammy Hagar’s yapping, and I still vote for David Lee Roth as the best Van Halen lead singer. But I do like a lot of The Red Rocker’s solo stuff including this one. It’s hard not to like a rock n’ roll song that celebrates rock n’ roll. However, there remains debate on the whole “one way” prospect. Several years ago, I ran across a meme that offered up the amazing possibility that scientists had discovered a second way to rock. After some internet searching though, I was unable to find any follow up, so it seems that Sammy’s theory remains robust.

3. Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll – Blue Oyster Cult (1972)
And here’s another rock n’ roll song that celebrates rock n’ roll. It hits you right off the bat with a killer riff followed by a cool opening line, “My heart is black, and my lips are cold.” Thow in a shout out to guitars and amps along with another cool opener to the second verse with “Gardens of Nocturne, forbidden delights” and man, what a tune. In addition, the band has a totally cool rock n’ roll name. There’s just no way that you can pass up a listen to this jam when you hit it on the radio dial.

2. Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who (1971)
I’ve always liked this tune and more than fifty years after its release, the message still rings as true as ever. As tough as it is, I’ve managed to stay out of the social media fray, and I won’t start now. It is unlikely that anyone is going to change anybody else’s mind, and I have wound up “in trouble” a time or two. The song’s composer, Pete Townshend, seems like a jerk but I can relate to his opinions expressed via these lyrics. And I reckon that’s all I have to say about that.

1. Hard Luck Woman – KISS (1976)
KISS has long provided an earful and eyeful of fun rock n’ roll. Although Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons dominated the vocal and visual styling of the band throughout the years, two of my Top 5 favorite KISS tunes provide a welcome shift to ballads delivered by a singing drummer, Peter Criss. His raspy delivery on this tune is a welcome shift from a vocal formula that typically featured a heavy dose of shouting out loud as they rock and rolled all nite. While I’m here, I need to give a shout out to the fourth original member, Ace Frehley, whose solo cut “New Your Groove” is also a favorite. For some reason, it is my Saturday morning wake-up/pep rally sort of song, and it is streaming as I put the finishing touches on this post.

Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – July 24

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I headed back to the Knox County strip mines for a second straight day on the heels of my birthday trip. These trips can be a workout but I still had plenty in the tank and I was eager to get off the grid, get away from the grind, and create some more fish stories.

6:43am – Top Bass at 3-5 (19″) on a frog

Stats

Date: July 24
Location: Knox County public strip pits (two lakes)
Time: 5:50am-8:35am,9:30am-11:30am
Totals: 19 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/windy, 75-89F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 13 bass, 3.8″ Bass Pro Shops Speed Shad (K’s Magic) with 3/16 oz Owner Flashy Swimmer jighead – 5 bass, 7″ Berkley Power Worm (tequila sunrise) on an Owner 3/16 oz. Shaky Head – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-5 Frog
Top 5 Weight: 11-5 (3-5,2-13,1-12,1-12,1-11)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Changes – David Bowie (1972)
“So the days float through my eyes but still the days seem the same.”
I heard this one driving down to and around the Victoria, IL strip mines. I couldn’t help but do some reminiscing as I have been prowling around the area for close to forty years. So much has changed on so many levels, but it’s still fishing and a chance to recharge the batteries.

7:54am – Top Bass Runner-up at 2-13 on a swimbait

Notes and Nonsense

Lake One History – My first stop was a lake that hasn’t gotten a whole lot of my attention over the years with only four visits since 2011. However, this trip marked my second shot this year. Oddly, one of my most memorable fish stories on this lake was a day when I did not catch a single fish. Quite a few years ago, when my oldest daughter, Helena, was in grade school I hit the lake for an outing after getting her to school. I drove a half an hour to the lake, dragged my boat to the water, and was ready to start casting when my phone rang. Helena was sick and needed picked up. So, I rowed back to my launching point, loaded up, and headed home. Been a while as she is now married and a long way from “home” in California.

Lake One Results – Early morning, overcast skies, and a bit of chop on the water set up well for topwater frog fishing and the bass were onboard with the lure selection. Ten bass were landed on the frog including my all-time Top Bass for the lake at 3-5. In addition, a swimbait produced a solid 2-13 on a deep weedline. All told, this trip featured five of the top eleven bass I have ever landed from this lake making for a daily Top 5 weight of 11-5.

Lake One Top 5 Update – My all-time Top 5 for this lake sat at 9-15, meaning that I needed a one-ounce boost to reach double digits. That one ounce would require landing a 1-14 to knock out a 1-13 as the lightest bass in my creel. My 3-5 (frog) and 2-13 (swimbait) provided quite a boost and the current Top 5 stands at 12-6.

11:09am – Top Bass #5 (tie) at 1-11 on a frog

Lake Two History – Thirty-five years ago, when I first fished this lake, it was part of one long, winding narrow strip pit. Over the years, a walking bridge was built over a constricted part of the lake allowing easier walk-in access to a batch of interior lakes. Eventually, a land bridge was constructed, and the one lake is now divided into two separate bodies of water connected only by a shallow culvert.

Winning lures

Lake Two Results – The frog bite was not as impressive as I moved to the second lake at mid-morning. Really no surprise there, as the clouds dissipating and relatively clear water did not present ideal conditions. In addition, the lily pad growth had exploded to cover the entire shoreline up to nearly thirty feet from the bank. The key was to find pockets or channels for the frog or to work a worm or swimbait around the deep weed edges. I caught enough to keep me interested but nothing to boost my Top 5 weight for the day.

Lake Two Top 5 Update – A 1-11 (frog) and a 1-4 (frog) boosted the lake Top 5 from 5-10 to 6-9 by culling a pair of one-pound fish. Always a success when getting a boost but still plenty of work to do to hit double digits.

 

A second consecutive successful morning on the water with back-to-back days breaking the daily ten-pound Top 5 mark. Not bad for the dog days of summer and what would be the end of my July fishing. Time will tell when I get to hit the water in August but stay tuned in the meantime for a Trip Tunes post. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Eleven more bass in the Top 5 log and time for an update as we begin a new month.

Bass Totals (largemouth and spotted)

2025 Totals
March = 10 bass
April = 16 bass
May = 22 bass
June = 5 bass
July = 11 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
March = 11-3 (2-15,2-8,1-15,1-15,1-14)
April = 18-9 (4-14,4-10,3-13,2-14,2-6)
May = 22-9 (5-7,4-15,4-7,3-15,3-13)
June = 16-3 (4-0,3-9,3-4,2-11,2-11)
July = 19-15 (4-15,4-13,3-8,3-6,3-5)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 30 bass
Bank = 34 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 16-8 (3-8,3-6,3-5.3-4,3-1)
Bank = 25-0 (5-7,4-15,4-15,4-14,4-13)

Public vs. Private
Public = 62 bass
Private = 2 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 25-0 (5-7,4-15,4-15,4-14,4-13)
Private = 6-11 (3-13,2-14)

The Baits
Plastic Worm = 16 bass (Top Bass 4-15 Jim Junk)
Frog = 11 bass (Top Bass 3-6 Troy Jackson)
Chatterbait = 9 bass (Top Bass 4-14 Chatterbait)
Jerkbait = 9 bass (Top Bass 2-8 John Kirkemo)
Lipless Crankbait = 7 bass (Top Bass 4-10 Brent Jackson)
Underspin = 4 bass (Top Bass 5-7 Jim Junk)
Swimbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 4-13 Jim Junk)
Popper = 2 bass (Top Bass 2-4 Brent Jackson)
Grub = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-2 Troy Jackson)
Propbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-13 Troy Jackson)
Spinnerbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 1-8 Troy Jackson)

Monthly Top Bass
March
2-15 Jim Junk
April
4-14 Troy Jackson
May
5-7 Jim Junk
June
4-0 Jim Junk
July
4-15 Jim Junk

2024 Top 10 Bass
5-7 Jim Junk 5/17
4-15 Jim Junk 5/25
4-15 Jim Junk 7/19
4-14 Troy Jackson 4/19
4-13 Jim Junk 7/10
4-10 Brent Jackson 4/6
4-7 Jim Junk 5/30
4-0 Jim Junk 6/7
3-15 Jim Junk 5/2
3-13 Jim Junk 4/6
3-13 Troy Jackson 5/16

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 24-9 (5-7,4-15,4-15,4-13,4-7)
Troy Jackson 18-10 (4-14,3-13,3-6,3-5,3-4)
Brent Jackson 16-1 (4-10,3-8.,3-1,2-8,2-6)
John Kirkemo 9-10 (2-8,2-4,1-14,1-10,1-6)
Carly Jackson 1-2 (1-2)

Other Species

Walleye
Brent Jackson 1-6 (1-6)

Good luck if you get out there and stay tuned for another strip mine report and a batch of Top 5 Trip Tunes. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – July 23

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I took a vacation day on my birthday to fish in the morning and then have family time later in the day. On such summer days, I get up around 3:30am to finish a few pieces of preparation with the aim of reaching the water right around sunrise. I get a solid morning of fishing and return home by about 1:00pm to take a nap and enjoy family time in the evening.

Stats
Date: July 23
Location: Knox County public strip pits (two lakes)
Time: 5:40am-11:45am
Totals: 15 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/windy, 74-89F
Lures: 7″ Berkley Power Worm (tequila sunrise) on an Owner 3/16 oz. Shaky Head – 10 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 3-6 Frog
Top 5 Weight: 10-6 (3-6,2-4,2-3,1-5,1-4)

Starting Lineup

Tune of the Trip
Iron Man – Black Sabbath (1971)
“Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all
Or if he moves will he fall?”
As expected, there was a spate of songs on the radio in tribute to Ozzy Osbourne considering his passing the previous day. The first line above applied to being out in the heat and nearly undertaking a lengthy portage before coming to my senses. The last two lines hit home at the end of the trip after dragging the boat back to the truck. A nap was in order once I returned home.

6:05am – First bass at 2-4 (16.5″) on a Spro frog

Notes and Nonsense

Ten-Pound Top 5 – My top goal when I hit the water is to post a double-digit Top 5 (five heaviest bass weighing ten pounds or better). I had hit the mark on an April 19 trip (10-4) but otherwise it had been close but no cigar on May 16 (9-15) and July 12 (9-11). For this trip I was able to reach the mark again with a birthday creel weighing 10-6. Which just so happens to be the heaviest bag landed on July 23.

8:21am – Top Bass at 3-6 (20″) on a Spro frog and the all-time birthday bass runner-up

Top Birthday Bass – These days, I like to get on the water for a while on my birthday to just kind of get away from it all. And, because I just like to fish, I guess my birthday is a day like any other day in that regard. Several years, Dad and I would hit the creek chasing catfish, carp, or whatever else would bite a dew worm. In more recent years, the birthday trip has been strictly bass fishing. Anyway, I have birthday fishing data dating back to a July 23, 1985 bass landed at Lake Bracken. Among those birthday bass, the 3-6 fish landed this year represents the Top Birthday Bass runner-up to a 3-8 caught at Little John’s Moose/Elk Lake on July 23, 2017.

Winning lures

Top 5 Update
The 3-6 culls a 3-4 from what I call Discovery Lake bumping the all-time Top 5 on the water to an impressive 19-8.

Shaking Things Up – I tried a new presentation called a “Shaky Head” worm and it was my top producer of the day. Now, I am a creature of habit so time will tell if this approach gets further use on the strip pits, but it seemed like a good fit on paper and did not disappoint when put into practice.

Birthday bass thumb means it was a successful morning on the water

More to come with another strip mine report from the following day but I will conclude with a thought that was running through my head at one point on this outing. I had visions of significant portage to reach a remote lake, and I scouted it out at one hundred and thirty-six steps through tall grass, uneven terrain, and a stand of shoreline reeds. Throw in full sun and temperatures pushing ninety degrees and I wavered a bit. After roughly thirty steps of dragging the boat and gear, I wised up and turned back around. As I eased the boat back into the main lake, I heard Nemo’s dad, Marlin, chiding me, “You think you can do these things, but you just can’t, Nemo.” Granted, it was a little hard to take but solid advice on a hot, July day. Perhaps another time, perhaps not.

Here’s to another trip around the sun. Talk to you later, Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I took my birthday and the following day off work and hit a different strip mine area each day. The results were good and included a pair of fish that gave my Top 5 a boost.

Weight: 3-6 (20”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: July 23
Weather: Sunny/windy, 80F
Water Temp: Not available
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad)
Structure: Weedy flat
Angler Comments: This one was kind of a bonus bass as the sunny conditions were not optimum for a topwater bite on a shallow flat. But it felt like it was worth a few casts and if you have a lure in the water, anything can happen.

Weight: 3-5 (19”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: July 24
Weather: Overcast/breezy, 76F
Water Temp: Not available
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad)
Structure: Weedy flat
Angler Comments: After missing a large blowup on a weedy point, I made another cast to the area and caught a one-pounder. I suspected that it was not the fish that had missed and made another cast after releasing the one-pounder. “Luck” was on my side as I got a second chance on what I believe was the fish that produced the initial strike.
Top 5 Weight: 18-10 (4-14,3-13,3-6,3-5,3-4) culls a pair at 3-1

It’s tough to beat topwater and the bass continue to be receptive to that Spro Flappin Frog. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and I will keep firing away as the summer progresses. Full reports and some trip tunes from these two outings on the way. Talk to you later. Troy