With all of my public strip mine waters entering their last month or so of fishing availability before they lock us anglers out in favor of diminishing the waterfowl population it was high time for a visit. Walk-in/bicycle access makes for a challenge but plenty of bass to be had if one is willing to put forth the effort. Still willing, still able and still smarter than a couple dozen bass, including some quality catches.
Stats
Date: September 2, 2017
Locations: Knox County, IL public access strip mines (7 lakes)
Time: 7:00am-1:45pm (5.0 hours fishing, the rest walking or driving)
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/calm to breezy
Air Temp: 47F-74F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 27 bass
Lures:
5” Senko wacky rig (pumpkin/black flake or green pumpkin) – 10 bass
Strike King KVD 2.5 Rattling Squarebill crankbait (natural pumpkinseed) – 7 bass
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (Snow White shad) – 5 bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 4 bass
Zoom Baby Brush Hog (green pumpkin) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-8 KVD 2.5 crankbait
Top 5 Weight: 12-12 (3-8,3-5,2-5,2-1,1-9)
7:02am Top Bass (and first bass) 18″ 3-8 KVD 2.5 Squarebill Crankbait
Notes & Nonsense
Great Start – On about the third cast of the morning with a buzzbait I was rewarded with a large blowup. Unfortunately, I was not rewarded with a bass as it apparently had some poor aim. Another cast with the buzzbait failed to get a repeat so I fired out my Strike King KVD 2.5 crankbait instead and hooked up with a 3-8 which would set the Top Bass bar pretty high. In fact, that first bass wound up being Top Bass for the day although I had one later that gave it a run for the money. Anyway, a couple casts later I landed a 2-1 and then a 1-9 less than ten minutes later. So, after 13 minutes of casting I had 3 of my Top 5 in the log at 7-2 and was pretty excited about the solid start. Things slowed for the next several hours in terms of quality bites but that would eventually take a turn for the better.
7:05am 15.5″ 2-1 KVD 2.5 Squarebill Crankbait
7:13am 14″ 1-9 KVD 2.5 Squarebill Crankbait
Fishing Tips – I’d spoken with an old friend on my previous stop at the Knox County strip mines and he had tipped me off to a couple spots that may be worth a look in light of some habitat alterations making access a little more angler friendly. Both were spots I had not visited in many years but his tips definitely paid dividends to the tune of six bass (couple others threw the lure as well) and three of my Top 5 for the day. Thanks to Mike for the info and I hope to work them over again a bit more thoroughly before the year is out.
No Repeat – One of the lakes I fished was a revisit of my August 23 outing which saw the spot give up 35 bass, including 27 on a buzzbait. Two minutes of casting on this morning and I had two buzzbait bass in the log so, of course, I was thinking, “Alright, here we go again.” Then the bite completely shut down and I only managed one more bass over the next 40 minutes. Not sure what went awry there as conditions were quite favorable, I guess too many of them still had sore lips from the previous buzzfest.
11:44am 18″ 3-5 KVD 2.5 Squarebill Crankbait
(Note: the lone pic that is not a selfie, terrain makes it near impossible to shoot a timer shot with a “real” camera.)
1:16pm 17″ 2-5 Senko wacky rig
One That Got Away – Doesn’t happen every outing thankfully, but this is the age old standard bit of “unlucky” fishing luck that hits any angler who puts in time on the water. This one came on a Senko and after the hookset it never stopped running away from my position on the bank and the 10-pound test gave way. I never got a look at the bass, so who knows, but I will say that several fish that I landed in the one-pound range sure had me fooled into thinking they were larger in the initial stages of the fight. Kind of makes me feel better anyway. This one could also be attributed to angler error for not checking my line after my previous catch on the Senko had choked it. I’m usually pretty good on this aspect of basic bass fishing but not above the occasional careless mistake. Once again, who knows, all a part of being a fisherman I guess.
Most Valuable Lure – Strike King KVD 2.5 Rattling Squarebill Crankbait (natural pumpkinseed)
Lure of the Day – It felt good to nail a few on a good, old crankbait for a change. The KVD 2.5 squarebill that did the trick runs to a depth of about five feet. I’m typically a little leery throwing these things from the bank, especially on unfamiliar waters as I am cheap and don’t want to get snagged on some underwater structure when I don’t have the means to get the lure back. On this morning, the bass just wouldn’t commit to a topwater bite and I was comfortable with the lakes I was fishing being snag-free so this bait was my choice in finding a sub-surface bite without having to slow down my presentation. It was indeed a winner, producing four of my Top 5 bass when worked with an occasional rip and pause in the retrieve.
I’ve got a couple more postings in the works regarding this outing that I look to get out later this week. Hope you’ll stop back for a look and don’t forget the Facebook page if you do that thing as there’s plenty of additional outdoor stuff over there as well. Talk to you later. Troy