Easter Weekend saw some decent weather giving folks an opportunity to do some social distancing in the outdoors. As a result, the total submissions for 2020 more than doubled with the catches below.

Weight: 2-1 (17”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 11
Weather: Overcast/windy
Water Temp: no reading
Location: Knox County strip mine
Lure: Stanley Vibra Shaft Spinnerbait (blue glimmer)
Structure: Flat
Angler Comments: Old school Lure Lunacy runner-up comes through proving that its appearance in the final was not a fluke.

Weight: 1-11 (15.5”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 11
Weather: Overcast/windy
Water Temp: no reading
Location: Knox County strip mine
Lure: Stanley Vibra Shaft Spinnerbait (blue glimmer)
Structure: Saddle
Angler Comments: Perfect setup as this bass was hanging around a windblown ridge separating two deeper sections on this body of water. I suspected that there would be a bass in the neighborhood and always a treat when it works.

Weight: 1-11 (15”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 11
Weather: Overcast/windy
Water Temp: no reading
Location: Knox County strip mine
Lure: Stanley Chatterbait (bluegill) with Zako trailer (smoke)
Structure: Ledge/drop
Angler Comments: Never have had much luck getting a chatterbait going but found an area that set up well for a bank bound angler. Wading out a few feet on a shallow ledge allowed for a parallel retrieve along the ledge’s steep drop into the depths. As the lure hit the transition, success!

Weight: 1-14 (15”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 11
Weather: Overcast/windy
Water Temp: no reading
Location: Knox County strip mine
Lure: Stanley Chatterbait (bluegill) with Zako trailer (smoke)
Structure: Point/drop
Angler Comments: A broad, shallow point allowed for a cast into deeper water and a retrieve covering the transition from deep to shallow. Not a lot of coverage of a strike zone for a bank angler but got the cast in the vicinity of this interested bass.

Weight: 1-14 (15”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 11
Weather: Overcast/windy
Water Temp: no reading
Location: Knox County strip mine
Lure: Stanley Chatterbait (bluegill) with Zako trailer (smoke)
Structure: Point/drop
Angler Comments: Similar to the previous catch only a shorter, stubbier point produced this identical result.
Top 5 Weight: 9-4 (2-1,1-14,1-14,1-11,1-11) culls 1-8,1-5 and 1-4

Weight: 3-0
Angler: Teagan Mills
Date: April 12
Location: Private pond
Lure: Worm
Top 5 Weight: 3-0

Weight: 1-5
Angler: Brady Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County strip pit
Lure: Senko wacky rig

Weight: 1-2
Angler: Brady Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County strip pit
Lure: Senko wacky rig

Weight: 1-0
Angler: Brady Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County strip pit
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Top 5 Weight: 3-7 (1-5,1-2,1-0)

Weight: 1-5
Angler: Kennedy Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County strip pit
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Fishing Guide Comments: The kids both got fishing poles for Easter so I thought we would try them out. We fished for bluegills for about a half an hour with no bites and the kids were both ready to go. I convinced Kennedy to try another lake not too far away. She got a bite after a few minutes but did not hook it. Brady was just sitting on a bucket up the hill. He was ready to leave. I made two casts with a jig and caught two bass around a pound. They were both a little more interested at that point. I tied Senkos on their poles and Brady caught one before I could even get Kennedy’s tied on. Brady ended up with 5 bass – biggest was 1-5. Kennedy ended up with 2 bass – she tied for the big bass of the day at 1-5. They actually casted, hooked, and landed (or beached) them all by themselves. I told them the Senko was Uncle Troy’s favorite lure. I think it is probably their favorite now too.
Top 5 Weight: 1-5

Nothing like a little fresh air amidst the ongoing disruption of our regular routines. Cool to see some youngsters getting out there too for a bit of distancing from electronic devices. Well done parents and a fine example that I hope to emulate soon. Of course, don’t put those devices away until after you visit this website and the Troy Jackson Outdoors YouTube channel for an essential distraction. Talk to you later. Troy